The Skin Map
When Kit’s long-dead great-grandfather reappears, he reveals a hidden familial talent for traveling along the world’s ley lines. Fantastic and frightening events unfold in the wake of this revelation. Soon Kit and his erstwhile girlfriend Mina are separated by time, distance, and a band of villains intent on discovering Kit’s grandfather’s secrets. Stephen R. Lawhead’s The Skin Map (2013) intersperses time travel and world-hopping sequences with quiet character-building moments that give this series opener a slow-burn thrill. Lawhead’s weighty historical prose shines in the exotic locales, and he carefully allows his characters room for growth and complexity. Though the sense of urgency lessens in the middle, final chapters ramp up stakes and action to lead into the rest of the five-book Bright Empires series.
Best for: Adult fans of slow-burn historical adventure, epic stories, and complex characters.
Discern: Mild swearing, violent villains, people are shown fatally poisoned and in their last hours, people meddle with history for personal gain and greater good without mention of God’s providence.
This one was, quite frankly, a disappointment after hearing about how good Stephen Lawhead’s books are. Strangely enough, the story about Mina, Kit’s barely girlfriend, is far more fascinating than anything that Kit (our lead) goes through. Lorehaven has called it a slow-burn thriller, but there really are very few thrills. Also, most series start with a book that is stand-alone but then can be followed up by later volumes. The first book’s ending begs for the rest of the series, but I can’t find myself interested enough to continue.
Picked this up as one of the “all in one” sets a while back and I’ve re-read the series a couple of times now. I think this may be one of my favorite Lawhead series to date. I do agree on the slow burn, though. You go through all 5 books to get the full story and there’s always a hint that there’s more that could be told in that realm.