"The Bone House" by Stephen R. Lawhead

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Stephen R. Lawhead. The Bone House (Bright Empires). Thomas Nelson, 2011. 416 pgs. 

One year ago, less one week, I posted my review of Stephen Lawheads The Skin Map, which is the first book in the "Bright Empires" series. Here, then, is the second book in that series. The Bone House continues the story of Kit Livingston in his quest for the skin map. One piece has been found, but the stakes have been raised. Kit has inherited this quest from his grandfather, Cosimo, but Kit is now on the run, and, except for the help of his surprisingly resourceful girlfriend Mina, on his own. 

This book was a pleasant surprise. It is an incredibly rare series which gets better in the second book, but Lawhead has done just that. He has maintained the depth of character development, excellent descriptions of the scenes, and at the same time upped the pace and removed my one qualm with the first book in this series: the confusion of jumping from time to time. In this book, he is much more careful to place cues at the beginning of each chapter so that you know where you are, in the story at least. 

Conclusion: 4 Stars. Conditionally recommended. The only condition is that you like a mix of history, science fiction, and fantasy. Really though, you should like it, it's fun reading. 

This book was provided by Booksneeze for review. 

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