The Skin Map Review

The Skin Map is the first book I’ve read by Stephen R. Lawhead and I thorougly enjoyed it. The book falls into the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre and a lot of these books follow the same general pattern: a sort of “Here and Back Again” theme like J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Lawhead’s treatment is vastly and refreshingly different. Instead of a single epic journey travelled by all of the main characters and their interactions with the people and places along the way, The Skin Map has several simultaneous threads going on with the various characters. The main character, Kit Livingston, lives a life of no real purpose. When he encounters his great-grandfather Cosimo who has been dead for years, he is pulled into a world of time travel, ley lines, and basically trying to stay alive as he and Cosimo try to keep the Skin Map from falling into the wrong hands.

The level of detail in the book keeps the story interesting without being too much; imagination is still required. I prefer that to an author who paints such a detailed word picture that no real room is left for the reader to visualize anything on his or her own. The pacing is good: not too slow, nor is it so intense you’re left breathless when you put the book down.

I enjoyed the book so much that I have since purchased the entire King Raven series. I have read Hood, the first installment from that series and I would recommend both books to anyone who enjoys a good Sci-Fi/Fantasy read.

Disclaimer: I received this book as a part of Thomas Nelson’s Booksneeze program.