FantasyThyme

The Skin Map:
The Bright Empires Series - Book One
by
Stephen R Lawhead

Blog Tour - Day 3

It's Not Just Skins versus Shirts in the Grand Scheme of Things

(click image for Amazon link or click link below)

The Skin Map - available from:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Skin-Map-Bright-Empires/dp/1595548041/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288545476&sr=1-1

CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/the-skin-map-bright-empires/stephen-lawhead/9781595548047/pd/548047?item_code=WW&netp_id=793674&event=ESRCN&view=details

Author Webpage:
Stephen R Lawhead – http://www.stephenlawhead.com/

I received a review copy from Thomas Nelson of The Skin Map
for this blog tour

On the third and final day of the Skin Map Blog Tour I wanted to mention some of the little details Mr. Lawhead included that helped bring the settings to life. One of the most painful chapters to read concerns when the original Skin Map owner, Arthur Flinders-Petrie travels to China during the early days of Chinese-British trade. Arthur returns to the House of Wu, the most gifted tattoo artist in China, to render on Arthur's chest the most important location yet found. Until reading the tattoo scene I had never realized the pain suffered through to gain the tattoo. This chapter is aptly named "In Which an Honorable Skin is Notably Inscribed."

Another chapter title I liked is, "In Which Wilheminia Changes History Much for the Better." As mentioned in yesterday's blog, one of the themes, or lessons, I liked is that things work out for a reason. In Wilhemina's case, her terrible plight is instead the best thing that might have happened to her. How she turned the tables on the businessmen in 1600s Prague reminded me of Mark Twain's book, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. She used her modern knowledge to level the playing field for her and Etzell.

A small detail I appreciated about the Skin Map layout are the inclusion of the swirls and marks appearing at the top of each chapter, and alluded to on the Skin Map. The symbols helped me visualize how the Skin Map may have been marked in like manner. I even wondered if the symbols in some way point to the locations of each chapter.

In closing, I want to say how well I enjoyed reading the book. When the book arrived in the mail Friday afternoon I was afraid I might have too short a time to do the story justice. Instead, I finished the book by the next evening and hated to close the cover as the last chapter ended. Fans of Sliders and The Time Tunnel will appreciate the rich storytelling and scenes found in The Skin Map. I wish the sequel released early next year, but craftsmanship takes time and makes it worth the wait.