Inside The Cover: The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead (a book review)

The Skin Map
by Stephen R. Lawhead
A Thomas Nelson publication

Editorial Review:


It is the ultimate quest for the ultimate treasure: chasing a map tattooed on human skin across an omniverse of interesting realities 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 of a vast and marvelous quest for a prize beyond imagining.
The Bright Empires series - from acclaimed author Stephen Lawhead - is a unique blending of epic treasure hunt, ancient history, alternate realities, cutting-edge physics, philosophy, and mystery. The result is a unpauseable, fantastical adventure like no other.

My review:

The description of this book reeled me in right off. I thought this audio version would be the perfect background for my car rides in the morning getting the hubby and kids where they need to go. The first couple discs were nice. The narrator does a great job, especially with the different voices of Kit and his great-grandfather. A narrator is definitely an important piece to the puzzle when it comes to an audio book.
However, my interest in this book declined more and more as it went along. I think the overall plot has a lot of potential but if it had some tweaks here and there, it could very well be a great Spielberg movie.
I found some situations a little far fetched in the sense of what could pass as realistic. I don't mean the fantasy part of the story either. I mean, reactions and the characters themselves at times. The way it ended makes me want to get the next book because I hate having things feel unfinished, however I just don't care a whole lot of what happens next.

I would give this book 2-3 stars. The birth of this book is amazing but it grew up to be an average read with a habit of disappointing.
Others loved this book. If you would like to see for yourself, you can buy this unabridged audio book on Amazon.

I received this product for the purpose of review from Booksneeze. The opinions in this post are 100% my own and may differ from yours.