New!
articles • book quests • news • library
reviews • podcast • gifts • archives
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

A Crown of Chains
Reviews, Jan 27, 2023

The Magician’s Nephew Taught Me Christ’s Compassion in the Midst of Grief
Elijah David in Articles, Jan 26, 2023

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, Jan 25, 2023

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy · sci-fi · and beyond
middle grade · young adult · grown-ups
All novels Search Add a novel
Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Podcast sponsors | Subscribe links
Archives Feedback

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

141. Ten Years After ‘An Unexpected Journey,’ Must We Really Hate The Hobbit Films? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 13, 2022

Quests

Join our monthly digital book quests.

Lorehaven Guild Faith statement FAQs

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, January 2023

Prince Caspian
Book Quests, January 2023

Dream of Kings
Book Quests, December 2022

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Book Quests, November 2022

Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review

A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“New and returning readers of all ages would do well to seek deeper magic within C. S. Lewis’s faithful classic.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

Gifts

Find new gifts for Christian fans

Archives

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

Speculative Faith | archives

Lorehaven issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
About
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Gifts
Guild
Archives
SpecFaith
Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ Library
Author:
Stephen Lawhead
Ages:
adult young adult
Genres:
BookTags:
alternate universes ancient Egypt ley lines map medieval Prague
Publisher:
Thomas Nelson
Lorehaven may use referral links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

The Skin Map

It is the ultimate quest for the ultimate treasure — chasing a map tattooed on human skin. To unravel the future of the future. Kit Livingston’s great-grandfather appears to him in a deserted alley during a tumultuous storm. He reveals […]
Stephen Lawhead · for adult, young adult readers · May 2010

It is the ultimate quest for the ultimate treasure — chasing a map tattooed on human skin. To unravel the future of the future.

Kit Livingston’s great-grandfather appears to him in a deserted alley during a tumultuous storm. He reveals an unbelievable story: that the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legend or the weekend hobby of deluded cranks, but pathways to other worlds. To those who know how to use them, they grant the ability to travel the multi-layered universe of which we ordinarily inhabit only a tiny part.

One explorer knew more than most. Braving every danger, he toured both time and space on voyages of heroic discovery. Ever on his guard, and fearful of becoming lost in the cosmos, he developed an intricate code–a roadmap of symbols–that he tattooed onto his own body. This Skin Map has since been lost in time. Now the race is on to recover all the pieces and discover its secrets.

But the Skin Map itself is not the ultimate goal. It is merely the beginning.

Book one, The Bright Empires series — alternate universe science fantasy for adults and young adults

Lorehaven may use referral links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  1. Fred Warren says:
    November 8, 2011 at 11:13 pm

    Review by Fred Warren:

    Kit Livingstone is having trouble negotiating the London Underground subway system. Service in his neighborhood is limited on weekends, and the fare machines aren’t taking his card. As he plods to a connecting station in the rain, he encounters a strange old man who claims to be his great-grandfather, Cosimo–the great-grandfather who disappeared without a trace back in 1893. Kit dismisses him as a drunk or lunatic, but the old man knows things about Kit and his family that nobody outside the family could know. If that wasn’t odd enough, the stranger leads Kit down a nearby alley, and they emerge in a different part of England, in an entirely different time.

    It’s a bit much to absorb all at once. Cosimo has apparently discovered the secret of traveling along ley lines, mysterious pathways of force that connect ancient landmarks around the world. Depending on where and when you enter the network, travel across time, space, and alternate dimensions is also possible–and it seems Kit has the innate ability to detect and access the focal points of ley energy. Cosimo wants to enlist Kit in some sort of quest involving ley travel, but Kit needs some time to think about it. He returns home and tries to explain his remarkable experience to his girlfriend, Wilhelmina, who is understandably skeptical. He takes her back to the alley in an attempt to duplicate his trip with Cosimo. He succeeds, mostly, but Wilhelmina is separated from Kit during the transition, her destination unknown. In a panic, Kit seeks out Cosimo, but finding someone lost in the ley network is very difficult and largely a matter of trial and error. They’ll need some help, in the form of the only existing map of Earth’s ley system. There are a few other problems, though:

    The map is tattooed on a parchment made from human skin.
    The map has been cut into pieces.
    Nobody knows where all the pieces are.
    Other people are searching for the Skin Map. Big, nasty people.

    The one certainty is that Kit’s life will never be quite the same. He’s exchanged his humdrum London routine for something quite remarkable–and more dangerous than he can possibly imagine.

    The Skin Map is the first installment of Stephen R. Lawhead’s Bright Empires series, planned to encompass five volumes. He’ll need every one of them. The scope of this story is as broad as time itself and spans several alternate universes. If the first book is any indication, we’re in for a rollicking roller-coaster adventure full of wonder and mystery. We follow Kit, Wilhelmina, and their friends to 1600′s England, Prague, Macau, and finally to Ancient Egypt, where the hunt for the Skin Map takes on a deadly urgency. All sorts of interesting things happen along the way. We meet people familiar from our own history and others completely novel. Kit learns what it takes to fit in among different cultures and times, and it’s not as easy as he expects. The surprisingly resourceful Wilhelmina partners with a German baker to found the first coffeehouse in the Holy Roman Empire. We also discover the meaning, origin, and tragic history of the Skin Map.

    Lawhead bounces the story at a quick pace among various key locations in the story, which can be a little disorienting, but it mirrors the characters’ experiences. The diverse settings are described in vivid, affectionate detail. I liked that the author didn’t gloss over some practical difficulties of time travel, including language barriers. Some of his characters seemed almost too conveniently equipped to cope with the challenges of their unexpected jaunts across time and space, but the story also implies a larger hand at work guiding their travels–not God, precisely, at least not to the characters’ understanding, but they do acknowledge a “Providence” steering events in an unknown direction and helping them escape from tight spots. The ley lines themselves are a genuine mystery of our world, and Lawhead uses them to good effect as a springboard for this delightful tale.

    Suitable for teens and up. If you enjoy historical adventures, tales of time travel, theSherlock Holmes mysteries, or science fiction romps along the lines of Doctor Who, you’ll have a wonderful time reading The Skin Map.

    >>This review is based upon a copy of the book provided to me free of charge by the publisher, a courtesy I appreciate, but which does not guarantee my recommendation. I strive to evaluate every book I review purely on its intrinsic merits.<<

    Reply

Share your fantastical feedback. Cancel reply

Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors and publishers:
Reach new fans with Lorehaven

Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter