Review of "The Skin Map" by Stephen R. Lawhead

“The Skin Map” by Stephen R. Lawhead is a Fantasy story in which characters transcend time and space. The “Ley Lines” are intersections between various timelines. Anybody who find themselves at these intersections at the right time, will find themselves transported to another world altogether. This story is about the select group of people who try to preserve the secret of Ley Lines while, as usual, a villain seeks the lines for personal gain. Only person in this world knows all the routes of Ley lines and tattooed it in his torso, to save it from being lost or falling in wrong hands. The skin on which the map is tattooed is called the “Skin Map”.  The plot of the story is to find that Skin map to unravel the secrets of Ley lines.

The author’s expertise in Fantasy genre is quite apparent in the book. He has included elaborate details about the places, people, costumes, landscapes etc.; however, this elaboration becomes tedious after a while because the plot of the story gets lost. The plot opens up interestingly but drifts away midway due to lack of focus. Characters like Wilhelmina and her effort to develop the bakery business is an unwanted drag in an otherwise interesting narration. It is rather an unwanted distraction for the reader because it does not add any value to the overall plot. The relationships seem to be shallow and the reader is unable to relate to any of the pain that the character suffers eg. the friendship of Sir Henry and Cosimo. The author could have realized the complete potential of the plot by sparing some more time in characterization and explaining the relationships in details and could have added some more emotion and feel to the characters.

I would recommend this book for those who have a lot of time on their hand and patience to read through every word twice to really understand and appreciate the vision of the author.