Blog Archives

The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead

Posted on December 15, 2011
by
Order from:

 

Reason for Reading:
  • I enjoyed the Lawhead books I’ve read in the past, and decided to give him a go with this series.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

An avenue of Egyptian sphinxes, an Etruscan tufa tomb, a Bohemian coffee shop, and a Stone Age landscape where universes collide …

Kit Livingstone met his great grandfather Cosimo in a rainy alley in London where he discovered the reality of alternate realities.

Now he’s on the run – and on a quest, trying to understand the impossible mission he inherited from Cosimo: to restore a map that charts the hidden dimensions of the multiverse while staying one step ahead of the savage Burley Men.

The key is the Skin Map – but where it leads and what it means, Kit has no idea. The pieces have been scattered throughout this universe and beyond.


My Review:

The Bone House is the book that made reading The Skin Map worth it.  I loved this book, for its adventure and its characters.  My only complaint?  It feels as if the story is being drug out for the series sake.

This is a problem that occurs when there are many storylines happening at once.  When you skip from character to character and pieces are put together.  Speaking of pieces put together, that’s another of my pet peeves – when characters are added into the book in such a way it seems as if they were added last minute in order to keep the story moving.  Does it make the story less exciting? No.  It just gives it that element of… “eye-rolling, whatever”, you know.. the unbelievable (even when reading about science fiction/fantasy things like time travel and magic).

I hope that all made sense.

Still, The Bone House took off running from where The Skin Map left off and left me wanting more answers at the end.  Lawhead is definitely a master when it comes to spinning a good tale, I have to say.  I’ll be right there on the list waiting for the next installment to come out.

Check out these reviews!

Footprints in the Butter

Leave a Reply ?

The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead

Posted on December 14, 2011
by
Order from:

 

Reason for Reading:
  • I enjoyed the Lawhead books I’ve read in the past, and decided to give him a go with this series.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Kit Livingstone’s great-grandfather has re-appeared with an unbelievable story–the ley lines throughoutBritain are not merely the stuff of legends but truly are pathways to other worlds. So few people know how to use them, though, that doing so is fraught with danger.

But one explorer knew more than most. Because of his fear of being unable to find his way home, he developed an intricate code and tattooed his map onto his skin. But the map has since been lost and rival factions are in desperate competition to recover it. What none of them yet realize is that the skin map itself is not the prize at the end of this race . . . but merely the first goal of a vast and marvelous quest to regain Paradise.

Enter the ultimate treasure hunt–with a map made of skin, a playing field of alternate realities, and a prize that is the greatest mystery of all.

My Review:

I don’t know what it is with all these books that deal with ley lines and time travel and alternate realities, but I’m totally digging it.  Stephen Lawhead splashes into this time-travel alternate reality thing with a bang, giving us a group of characters that are likeable and not so likeable and providing us with trips to Egypt, England and other fantastic places and times – no limits here!

There is a lot of set-up in The Skin Map, a lot of scientific explaining and figuring out how things work and, I won’t lie.. a lot of the Cosimo/Kit storyline had me bored to tears in places – but as I’ve learned in the times I’ve read Lawhead, it’s worth the payoff.

I think my favorite storyline deals with Wilhemina – it was just so perfect and had me giddy with happiness – but I won’t spoil it more for you.. just check the series out because it is worth it!

If you are a science fiction fan, or even wanting to be a sci-fi fan but are too afraid of the genre to dip your toes into it, then this is the perfect blending of history and sci-fi.  It moves slowly enough that it’s easy to grasp and has just the right amount of action in it to make it worth while.

Check out these reviews!

Inside the Wrong Mind

[ 2 Replies ]

Merlin by Stephen Lawhead

Posted on March 14, 2011
by
Order from:
Reason(s) for Reading:
  • After reading Taliesin a few weeks ago I wanted to continue the story.

    Summary from GoodReads:

    He was born to greatness, the son of a druid bard and a princess of lost Atlantis. A trained warrior, blessed with the gifts of prophecy and song, he grew to manhood in a land ravaged by the brutal greed of petty chieftains and barbarian invaders.

    Merlin: Respected, feared and hated by many, he was to have a higher destiny. for It was he who prepared the way for the momentous event that would unite the Island of the Mighty—the coming of Arthur Pendragon, Lord of the Kingdom of Summer.

    My Review:

    I struggled with Merlin.  While I loved Taliesin there were aspects of that book as well that I struggled with, mostly the names and places.  I took my time reading it and then I took my time reading Merlin and with Merlin, I just ended up feeling completely out of my depths.

    I felt while I was reading this story, that I should have come into it knowing a little more about the history.  As it was, I was surrounded by names and places that I couldn’t pronounce and a story that I just couldn’t follow, no matter how many times I flipped back and forth trying to remember and put things together.  I’m really unhappy about this too, because I desperately wanted to like this book as much as I liked the first.

    I will probably give it another try another time.  In the meantime, I don’t think I’ll be moving on to the next book in the series anytime soon.


     

    Leave a Reply ?

    Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead

    Posted on February 24, 2011
    by
    Order from:
    Reason(s) for Reading:
    • This title came to my attention through my friends blog.  It was the first series I requested on Paperback Swap.  Just now getting around to reading it!
    I  also recommend:

    Summary from GoodReads:

    An enchanting tale of love and loss, glory and grandeur, set in the twilight of Rome’s power — where the Celtic chieftains of Britain battle to save their land from an onrushing darkness. In this modern classic, Stephen Lawhead presents a majestic retelling of western literature’s most compelling epic. A Druid Prince — Singer at the Dawn of the Age. His song would kindle a vision that would burn forever. Taliesin, oracle of melody. His singing bore the haunting beauty of another world . . . and the spark of a kingdom yet to come. Charis, Lady of the Lake — Driven by the cataclysm that destroyed her home — the scented groves of the Isle of Apples, the coliseums of the bull dancers of Atlantis — she encountered an uncertain future in a barbarous land . . . and the bard who would capture her untamed heart. Their love would bridge two worlds. And like golden threads, their lives would knit the fabric of a timeless legend; that of Merlin the prophet . . . and Arthur the king.

    My Review:

    The combination of the King Arthur legend, Celts, Britons, magic, faith, lore and Atlantis is pretty compelling.  If any of those (or all of them) sparks your interest then this is a book to put on your to-read list, and preferably near the top of said list.

    I’ve had my copy of this book for several months now.  I kept meaning to pick it up, but then I’d get bogged down in some good, and some not-so-good titles as I tried to keep up with all the new, hot releases.  Taliesin is a very good example of why not all good books are new titles.  This is a fantastic story featuring two very compelling main characters.   I enjoyed each storyline equally, although I admit to being a bit more biased character-wise toward Charis, the beautiful, strong princess of Atlantis.

    I will admit to being a bit concerned over the faith aspect of the novel.  I wasn’t sure how it would be approached, if it would come off corny or.. even worse, like it was a completely different story forced into the story that was flowing so well.  But it was seamless and a beautiful message in and of itself.

    Taliesin is a story that I plan to enjoy again and I am definitely glad I made sure to have the following books on hand as well.  While I wasn’t so much of a fan of Lawhead’s Robin Hood re-tellings, I think I might have done better to have read these books first.

    Check out these review(s):

    The Warden’s Walk

    [ 3 Replies ]