CSFF Tour - The Shadow Lamp, Day 3

In Which The Butter Is Stretched Too Thin Over The Toast

Hello again CSFF Tour fans. The monthly focus on Christian speculative fiction is wrapping up on the fourth book of the Bright Empires series, The Shadow Lamp by Stephen Lawhead. Yesterday I did a brief recap of the other three books so far. This link will take you to all of my prior posts on the Bright Empires series. 

Lawhead said this was an ambitious series for him and that he didn't think he could write something like it earlier in his career. Now he was at a point that he could wrestle it.

Out of four rounds so far, the score card for this fight would be Lawhead 3 to 1. Unfortunately, The Shadow Lamp misses the mark in comparison to the other books. 

It is a major challenge to find a story that can stretch for a trilogy, much less five books. There has to be enough conflict and high enough stakes to carry a reader through to the end.

The Bright Empires series has a significant crisis to solve by the end of book five - the potential destruction of the universe. So that's something.

The problem with book four is that it became too much of a set up story. There is a lot of shuffling the pieces to get them into the proper position. However, the stakes do not often grab the reader and make them care enough about what happens. 

For instance, Lady Fayth and her loyal manservant Giles separate from the main group of heroes and get lost in an unknown dimension. There are harrowing circumstances, but the reason for their departure and the subsequent trial is nebulous. I shrugged my shoulders. Okay, why did that happen?

There are numerous plot points swirling around from the various players trying to figure out ley travel through dimensions for their own purposes. Some of them explain some background or seem to be moving somewhere, only to fizzle out. Maybe there is more to the story of Douglas, or the pirate attack suffered by the Burleigh men, but the significance was lost to me.

There were also two gatherings where educated people talked. A lot. They set up the huge consequences that happened in the prior book and pointed to the final act, but there wasn't much action or development within The Shadow Lamp itself.

The writing quality was still well done. Lawhead is so good at description and setting from his research and experience. I'm invested enough in the story that I will see it through to the end. I have faith that the last installment will be worth following this series for five years from when it released to its conclusion next year. But The Shadow Lamp will be the filler episode that is quickly forgotten in the midst of the other books.

One other factor has been discussed elsewhere in the tour, but Lawhead has discussed a little more theology in books 3 and 4 over the first two books. 

I could see the seeds he planted and was excited about the firstfruits revealed in The Spirit Well. But in The Shadow Lamp, he takes the mythology he's created for the story regarding time and the idea of the multiverse and places it against the nature of God, in my opinion. Basically, if the heroes don't fix things, the timestream will collapse on itself and destroy everything. 

I don't have a problem with a big cataclysm in a book - the bigger the stakes the better, usually. Like bacon. You can't have too much bacon. But I digress.

The issue is when this can happen despite God. That's what it sounds like could happen. Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe he'll clarify things in book five. Until then, my opinion was that this particular point is a detraction to the whole.

So, the take-home point? The Shadow Lamp is not a bad book. It's just not very memorable. It is by no means a deal-breaker in reading the Bright Empires series. My experience with Lawhead is that he can be a streaky writer. Some of his books have been my favorites. And some...not so much. Unfortunately The Shadow Lamp will stay in the shadows of my memory when all is said and done.

If you wonder what others are saying, Becky Miller has the list of all the participants. So I'll see you on the other side of the ley lines. 

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CSFF Tour - The Shadow Lamp, Day 2

In Which The Blogger Gets A Hand Cramp By Trying To Keep It All Straight

Hey, the CSFF Tour is continuing the focus on The Shadow Lamp, the fourth book in the five book Bright Empires series by Stephen Lawhead.

Lawhead is a prolific fantasy author with 24 books to his name. He's written about the Crusades to Robin Hood, from Byzantium to a Celtic fantasy land, an Arthur series and kids books. Now he calls Bright Empires his most ambitious work yet.

It's hard to bring together four different books into three short blog posts. But, that's my task today.

Here's a very quick run-down of the previous books.

The Skin Map - This kicks off the adventure by introducing us to Kit Livingstone, the main character who has inherited his family's skill of ley travel, the journeying between dimensions of the multiverse. Except he's not very skilled at it. He loses his girlfriend Mina in 16th century Prague, ends up betrayed and left to die in an Egyptian tomb, only to be rescued by said Mina, who is a quicker study than her boyfriend. It turns out a lot of people are looking for the Skin Map, a map made of the skin of Arthur Flinders-Petrie, a man skilled at ley travel who tattooed directions on his own skin using strange symbols as code. Guess he won't lose that map...

The Bone House - Now there are more stories bouncing back and forth in time. We learn the origin of the villainous Lord Burleigh, who was the bad guy in the previous book. Arthur is looking for a way to save his wife. Kit and Mina try to dodge Burleigh, and Kit being Kit gets stranded in the Stone Age and ends up in a Bone House. Funny how that worked out...

The Spirit Well - Now Kit stumbles on a way out of the Stone Age and is reunited once again with Mina. A new traveler, Cassandra Clarke, an American paleontologist, has fallen through time and has been found by the Zetetic Society, a group dedicated to ley travel and watching out for good. If everyone could just find the blasted Skin Map, everything would be alright. Of course, there are different folks with their own agendas weaving through time. And one traveler might just have broken the universe...

Whew. There's a lot to chew on there. Lawhead is a skilled writer and researcher. He travels widely and is very good with the historical detail, so the various locales are very intriguing. He writes in a slightly detached style giving the book a subtle whimsy and British feel. So far, very good. Like he says, the books are unique in the speculative fiction field.

If you want to see all of my posts on the Bright Empires series, here's the link to all the tags. Fittingly, like the narration in the series the posts don't necessarily come in order. You can also go to Stephen Lawhead's Facebook page or author page. Finally, Becky Miller is our tour guide, and she gathers all the posts together here from all of the participants. I'll have my review of The Shadow Lamp tomorrow.

Of course, if you can figure out time travel, you can read it right now.
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CSFF Tour Day 3 - The Spirit Well

In Which The End Game Becomes Visible, If Only For A Moment.

The CSFF Tour is wrapping up our feature of The Spirit Well, the third book in the Bright Empires series by Stephen Lawhead.

This mind-bending series is a fascinating mash-up of quantum physics, historical mystery, and pre-Starbucks coffee culture with an Indiana Jones twist. Lawhead is a gifted writer and this ambitious five book set challenges his readers with a forth and back approach as the characters wind through multiple dimensions stretching from Macau to ancient Egypt to modern day London and even the Stone Age.

This is all well and good, but if this is the Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy tour, where is the Christian part?

There have been praying monks and characters who mention God, but there is also a mysterious well with resurrection-like power and the pesky dimension-hopping that seems to contradict things we know. Why is this series published by a Christian publishing house?

The Spirit Well gives us our first substantial insight into the spiritual underpinnings of the series on pages 304-305. Cassandra Clarke is a young paleontologist who was swept up by this dimensional traveling to 1930's Damascus and has met up with two strange people from the Zetetic Society. She is being asked to join this group in their quest to encourage the "transformation of the universe." The society members are afraid that reaching a special landmark called the Omega Point will be thwarted by the enemies of good unless the Society can succeed.

The skeptical scientist points out a fallacy at this:

"So," concluded Cass, "Almighty God is not strong enough alone to bring about His purpose for the universe. He needs you and your society to make it happen; otherwise it has all been for nothing. Is that what you're saying?"

That isn't the end of it. Cassandra voices a reasonable doubt at what she's being told. Still, her experience of traveling through time and space has changed her paradigm already. The beauty of what has happened so far in the Bright Empires series is brought out by the elderly Mrs. Peelstick in response:

"...God has always worked through the small, the insignificant, the powerless - it seems to be sewn into the very fabric of the universe...

...Over and over again, we see that when anyone willingly gives whatever resources they have to Him - whether it is nothing more than five smooth stones gathered from a dry streambed or five little loaves of bread and two dried sprats - then God's greater purpose can proceed...

...And one poor, wandering country preacher - homeless, penniless, friendless, and despised by all but a handful of no-account fishermen and a few women - gave himself so fully to God that the combined might of the two most powerful forces in his world - the Roman empire and the religious authorities - could not stop him."

One simple speech, expertly seated in the mid-point of the series, anchors this tale in the ways of the Almighty God. Stephen Lawhead has been writing at a high level for many years. He didn't reveal the spiritual underpinnings right away. The wait made it more poignant when it finally came. Patience is a powerful weapon for the author.

We may want to rush to make it known that our work points to Jesus. I think it is better when it is placed in the proper context. After 2.75 of the series, we finally see the glow of the Light of the world. It is not dwelled upon. The characters move on. But the wait is worth it. The impact left me with a highly satisfied feeling, seeing an image in the tapestry pop out after it was just out of view the whole time.

Sure, the dimensional aspect is not in our usual understanding - but this is speculative fiction after all.

There's something to perseverance, both in writing and in reading. Lawhead stated he's waited 15 years to write this book, and just now feels he can do it justice. I'm thankful that an enjoyable yarn has such a careful craftsman at the helm.

Does this book sound interesting to you? Leave your thoughts below. Be sure to check out the other blogs posting. Becky Miller keeps a list of the posts for you.

We'll see you next month. Unless one of us stumbles upon an active ley line first...
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CSFF Tour Day 2 - The Spirit Well

In Which The Blogger Brings It All Home In Style.

Welcome back to the CSFF Tour of Stephen Lawhead's latest book in his Bright Empires series, The Spirit Well.

Yesterday I did a quick overview of the first two books in the series, but if I was really walking in the spirit of this series, I might well do things out of order.

Why is that?

The whole series focuses on the idea of the multiverse (called in the books the Omniverse) - an infinite number of alternate dimensions out there. Imagine a world where the Nazis invaded North America, or one where the wheel wasn't invented. The characters in this series don't go in the past per se, they jump to different dimensions. In the first book a ley traveler stops the Great London Fire in the 1600s by waking the baker who inadvertantly started it.

With that as a background, shall we begin?

A detailed synopsis is impossible without giving away fun things from the first two books. The main protagonist Kit is stranded in Stone Age times, which doesn't seem to bother him all that much. His girlfriend Mina is busy mastering ley traveling and avoiding the machinations of the ruthless Lord Burleigh. A new character, paleontologist Cassandra Clarke, goes from a modern-day dig in the Arizona desert to 1930's Damascus and becomes a popular woman with a group that looks to play an important role in the rest of the series.

The centerpiece of the books are the Skin Map, the tattooed skin of one Arthur Flinders-Petrie. This gentleman was the leading expert in ley travel and kept a unique code on his chest to help him navagate the complicated waters. The Spirit Well delves into the unpleasant business of how Arthur became separated from his map, while other characters both fair and foul seek the Skin Map for their own purposes.

Lawhead has attempted a complicated story, a tale only a master at his craft could accomplish. Thankfully, the author is such a master. The book gives a handy list of important characters followed by a short recap of the events so far. He then introduces the new character Cassandra to be his launch point into book 3.

One must pay attention and hang on tight, as the book does not proceed in a truly linear fashion. If you're dealing with the multiverse, why should you? It weaves back and forth through many characters and locales in pushing the plot forward (for the most part). For readers of the series, there are points that explain questions from the first two books, which just whets the appetite for more.

There is action and excitement at times, but other moments are chances to admire Lawhead's gift for bringing the reader into the varied settings. He is a world traveler and excellent researcher, so the details are expressive and inviting. I want to visit Damascus after reading the book (though perhaps not right now).

The story winds its journey like a lazy river. There are moments of rapids and white water, other times with beautiful scenery to enjoy, and occasions where it seems to wind back on itself. Still, the tale flows toward an ending that looks to be a revelation.

I really enjoyed the first book, but felt the second book had a slight letdown. The Spirit Well wins deeper affection from me. I am frustrated that I'll be waiting another two years for the final resolution, but the Bright Empires journey is quite worth it.

So this is one man's opinion. Becky Miller keeps a list of all of the tour participants, and there is more information there. Jim Armstrong picked up the book fresh without reading the others, and shares his thoughts on a complicated book viewed with new eyes.

I'll be talking more about the faith element of the book tomorrow - this is a Christian tour after all. How can a book of multiple dimensions be considered Christian fiction?
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Oh, I did receive a free copy in exchange for a fair review - nothing else.
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CSFF Tour - The Bone House, Day 3

In Which The Reviewer Tries To Judge Fairly Without Being A Raving Fanboy...

I think Stephen Lawhead is our most toured author at this point in the CSFF Tour. I was a big fan of his prior to being involved with the CSFF, so I am quite familiar with his writing. Still, as we feature the second book in his Bright Empires series, The Bone House, I have to admire how he continues to grow as an author.

I've led each post of this tour off with the phrase "In Which...", a literary device he uses for each of his chapters. It gives a little tease into what will happen in the chapter, and gives a touch of whimsy at times. A small detail, but it marks this series and helps make it more memorable than the standard chapter titles.

He is writing this series channeling 19th century writing style, like some of the books we're required to read in high school English. He doesn't write directly, with prose that hits its point and moves on. He describes things with a leisurely style and it comes across to this American brain as very British (I would be interested in any Brit opinion here.) It gives a different flow, and just the style of writing adds to the creation of the setting.

Lawhead is well-traveled, and it shows in his great description of the locations and settings of the book. From an Etruscan tomb to the Egyptian desert and even a Stone Age camp, the reader always experiences the places in the book almost as a character in the book does.

The concept of traveling through multiple dimensions via ley leaping is very intriguing, and it offers a lot for a novelist to play with in terms of a "sandbox." Lawhead keeps us jumping around with the various characters, and gives some philosophy to think about while we're being entertained. Becky Miller talks about how he puts Christian ideas into the story very naturally. I think Lawhead is one of the best authors out there in doing this, so much so that it feels in a different league than most of what I read for Christian fiction blog tours. The book doesn't feel "Christian", but it definitely comes through.

Still, I have to admit that The Bone House doesn't work as well for me as The Skin Map. This isn't saying it is bad, because it is an enjoyable read. It is still intriguing, but there's something that it is missing - a solid meal without the secret sauce? Actually, I can identify the aspects that detracted for me.

1. Plot twists - Done right, plot twists keep the reader turning pages. In the second book, Lawhead doubles back and covers some past ground, filling in the history for certain characters. The series is already challenging with the time/dimensional jumps. When he discusses a character who died at the end of book one as living in book two, it threw me. He ties it up in the end, but it still confused me. There's other examples of this, enough to be distracting.

2. Heroic heroes - Kit Livingstone is the main protagonist of the book, although others help carry the story. Still, he is the main one, and is just isn't very...heroic. He is pretty passive, going with the flow of what happens, and is a bit of a dunce. He's lucky to be alive, and as such, he isn't impressive in The Bone House. I saw growth in him in the first book that seemed to evaporate in the second.

Overall, these complaints shouldn't detract from the thought-provoking work Lawhead is doing. He's one of the best writers in the CBA, and he should get attention for the Bright Empires series in the wider market as well. The Bone House came across to me as a satisfying sequel that got to third base, but didn't knock it out of the park. A triple is still good, right? I'll be looking forward to the next book, The Spirit Well, next year to see where/when this goes!

I'm sure there are different opinions from my CSFF tribe. Our intrepid leader Becky Miller keeps track of all of the posts, so go check them out. That's where I'm going. And maybe we'll cross paths on a ley leap sometime/someplace.
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Legal mumbo-jumbo: This review is based upon a copy of the book provided to me free of charge by the publisher, a courtesy I appreciate, but which does not guarantee my recommendation. I strive to evaluate every book I review purely on its intrinsic merits. (comment boldly borrowed from Fred Warren, cause he wrote it so well)
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CSFF Tour - The Skin Map Day 1

How do make sure you will never, EVER lose your way?

A map would be nice. Then again, a map can be lost.

What if you put the map on something you could never lose? What would that be? It would be...a skin map.

The Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy Tour is featuring an intriguing book, the latest from well-known author Stephen Lawhead, The Skin Map.

Lawhead is an author I've been talking about since my first involvement with the CSFF tour. He has carved out a strong niche writing fantasy and historical novels alike. He loves the mythic aspect of stories, and he has played with some of the big ones in his King Arthur epic The Pendragon Cycle and his unique take on Robin Hood in The Raven King Trilogy.

But to hear Lawhead in his own words, nothing may compare to what he has in store with the planned five volume Bright Empires series:

'I have not read or written anything quite like it,’ says Lawhead. ‘It’s been forming in my mind for at least fifteen years. Now I am finally writing it, because I think I can finally do justice to such an intricately woven storyline.


BRIGHT EMPIRES is the most challenging work I’ve ever undertaken, and I’m alternately exhilarated and terrified by it.'

I would be challenged too, by a work of time travel and crossing into alternate dimensions involving skin maps, Burley Men, and good coffee.  

But more on that later.

Until tomorrow, see what clues you can follow in my fellow travelers below:
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
George Duncan
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Shannon McDermott
Allen McGraw
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Gavin Patchett
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Donna Swanson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Elizabeth Williams
Dave Wilson

CSFF Tour - The Shadow Lamp Day 1

In Which An Old Friend Comes Back To Visit, So To Speak

Welcome back to the CSFF Tour. The best in Christian speculative fiction comes through this great resource. And this month, I had a chance to read the book!

I am excited to participate because we're featuring the latest in the Bright Empires series, The Shadow Lamp by Stephen Lawhead. This is the fourth book in the series, so we are quite familiar with the comings and goings of the various characters. Well, that might be generous.

The Bright Empires series deals with a peculiar feature - the ability to travel through the multiverse by an intriguing feature known as ley lines.

An Englishman named Kit Livingstone was living a rather uninspired life until his great-grandfather Cosimo introduced him to the family business of traveling to different dimensions.

After trips to 16th century Prague, a Stone Age hunter-gatherer camp, and an escape from an Egyptian tomb, Kit has gathered with some friends. His girlfriend Mina, the Italian priest Gianni, and the American paleotonlogist Cassandra are on the verge of a major discovery. If only they had their shadow lamps to guide them in the treacherous dangers of ley travel.

Because the journey to find the Skin Map, return to the Bone House, and discover the mystery of the Spirit Well has already claimed many lives. Oh, and it might be threatening the fabric of all creation.

For more information, you can go to Stephen Lawhead's Facebook page or author page. Also, the fine folks below are joining in the discussion, so check them out as well.

Julie Bihn Red Bissell Thomas Clayton Booher Thomas Fletcher Booher Beckie Burnham Jeff Chapman Karri Compton Theresa Dunlap April Erwin Timothy Hicks Christopher Hopper Becky Jesse Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Carol Keen Rebekah Loper Shannon McDermott Meagan @ Blooming with Books Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirriam Neal Writer Rani Nathan Reimer Chawna Schroeder Jojo Sutis Rachel Starr Thomson Robert Treskillard Steve Trower Rachel Wyant Phyllis Wheeler Deborah Wilson

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. 

My Top Books of 2012

Hello 2013.

I must confess, so far you look a lot like 2012 - except you're a lot colder. Minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit when I got to work today? Ouch.

I wonder what books will come from you. It's always cool to look back and see just what I've read and what tickled my fancy.

But it's still 2012's turn. For such a crazy year I'm impressed I can remember one book I've read. Thankfully, book blogging and using Goodreads is helping. So here are my favorite books* from last year.

5. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. The first book I blogged about in 2012 stuck with me throughout the year. From the eye-catching cover to the intriguing premise and suspenseful examination of medical ethics, it was a striking book to me. It's listed as a teen book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, even if the first few chapters took a little getting used to, as the author used an interesting layout and chapter structure in the early going.

4. The Spirit Well by Stephen Lawhead. The CSFF Blog Tour is always a highlight to me, and one of the benefits has been to read many of Stephen Lawhead's recent books. His writing skill is remarkable, and he seems to be avoiding the consistency issue I felt he had in earlier series. The Bright Empires series is an ambitious project delving into the multiverse and the price of coffee in 1600's Vienna (seriously). The Spirit Well is the third in the series and holds the storyline solid as the midway tentpole.

3. Dreamlander by K.M. Weiland. A friend put me in touch with Ms. Weiland, who was looking for some advanced readers of her latest fantasy. I've enjoyed her writing advice site through the year, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to see if the rubber met the road. I was very pleased with the idea of a person living in a dream world while they slept. It's been done before, but she did it with style and substance.

2. Proof by Jordyn Redwood. I really enjoyed the debut novel by Jordyn. A pediatric ER nurse by day, she has been offering her medical advice blog Redwood's Medical Edge as a service to writers for a few years. She also proved her writing chops with a thrill ride of a medical mystery. I had the pleasure of meeting her at the ACFW Conference in Dallas, but I had already read her book and enjoyed the page-turner. Looking forward to number 2 in her Bloodlines trilogy coming out soon.

1. Rare Earth by Davis Bunn. I had read a book by Mr. Dunn a long time ago but lost track of him. He kept churning out books, and I picked up Rare Earth for another blog tour this summer. Finally it gave me a template in the CBA publishing realm for my project - an international suspense with heart. He wrote a thrilling book that opened up eyes to problems in the real world of displaced people, but did it with dignity and a very enjoyable read.

*My only caveat is that these are my favorite fiction books of 2012. Out of the non-fiction books that I read, there is one that made the biggest impact on me last year. But you'll have to wait for Mission Monday for that one.
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How about you? What were your favorite books from 2012?
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CSFF Tour Day 1 - The Spirit Well

In Which We Jump Back To Move Ahead.

Welcome to the October 2012 CSFF Tour, featuring the best Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy reads available.

This month is a treat because we get to feature one of the greatest speculative fiction writers out there: Stephen Lawhead. His prolific work has been published and re-released and he keeps on stretching his boundaries and using new concepts to fuel his latest work, the Bright Empires series and the third in the five volume tale, The Spirit Well.

The enjoyable part of following a series on the tour is getting to read each one and not losing track of them. The difficulty becomes remembering all that happens and writing about it coherently, but I shall persevere and attept to set the record straight.

In the first book, The Skin Map, a rather ordinary Brit named Kit Livingstone got an unexpected visit from an older chap - who happened to be his great-grandfather. The man was quite spry for someone who should be dead.

It turns out that Kit's family has the ability to travel via ley lines, special energy forces that were marked by primitive populations through mounds, lines, and other features that have long baffled modern research. These portals open to alternate dimensions, into the very Omniverse. Pretty handy overall.

The Skin Map introduces the quest for, you guessed it, the skin map, a series of tattoos on the skin of the most prolific ley traveler that could show the way to the fabled Spirit Well. Kit chases it and his girlfriend Mina (whom he accidentally lost while ley leaping, but ended up landing on her feet anyway). As any good quest should, he has a villian after him in the form of the evil Lord Burleigh, who has a group of thugs called Burley men trailing the hapless Kit.

In the second book The Bone House the adventure continues as Kit escapes death thanks to his resourceful Mina, the man behind the Skin Map (literally) plots the rescue of his beloved wife, and more is revealed about the origin of Lord Burleigh. Through twists and turns in time and space, we end up with Kit at the very edge of the mysterious Spirit Well.

Thus begins book three, which continues the tale. And this blog will continue to discuss tomorrow. If you're waiting for more, please check out my fellow travelers below as we explore the labyrinthine Skin Map and see if we can do better than Kit. Or you can check out my prior posts on The Skin Map and The Bone House to get more in-depth on the previous books.

Jim Armstrong
 Julie Bihn
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Brenda Castro
Jeff Chapman
Christine
Karri Compton
Theresa Dunlap
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Jeremy Harder

Bruce Hennigan

Timothy Hicks

Janeen Ippolito

Becca Johnson

Carol Keen

Emileigh Latham

Rebekah Loper

Shannon McDermott

Meagan @ Blooming with Books

Rebecca LuElla Miller

Anna Mittower

Joan Nienhuis

Lyn Perry

Nathan Reimer

Chawna Schroeder

Rachel Starr Thomson

Robert Treskillard

Steve Trower

Dona Watson

Shane Werlinger

Phyllis Wheeler

CSFF Tour - The Bone House, Day 2

In Which The Blogger Attempts To Explain It All So Far

Stephen Lawhead said last year with the beginning of the Bright Empires series:

'I have not read or written anything quite like it,’ says Lawhead. ‘It’s been forming in my mind for at least fifteen years. Now I am finally writing it, because I think I can finally do justice to such an intricately woven storyline.’

And an intricately woven storyline it is.

Yesterday's post gave a quick overview of the first book in the series, The Skin Map. Today I'll try to get you into The Bone House without any spoilers revealed.

When we last left our intrepid Kit Livingstone, he was barely saved from a gruesome death in an already occupied tomb. His girlfriend Mina, having worked some kinks out of this ley travel business from her base in 17th century Prague, points him in the direction (dimension?) of Dr. Thomas Young, an incredible thinker, to find an artifact in Egypt.

Meanwhile, a gentleman by the name of Douglas Flinders-Petrie is working his way to deciphering another special item he "acquired," posing as an Irish monk in the Middle Ages. His distant relative Arthur Flinders-Petrie is also working to save something precious, this time in ancient Italy.

As traveling along ley lines moves a person through both time and place into different dimensions, the journey hops back and forth, bringing perspective to the villanous Lord Burliegh and the mysterious Lady Fayth.

The various threads, at times seemingly random and unconnected, begin to weave a significant tale as Kit stumbles into the secret of the Bone House.

If this seems somewhat vague, this is in part to protect surprises from the first book. The other part is that this is the story - a mystery with many parts. In order to understand, you will have to dive in. I will tell you about the dive in tomorrow's post.

In the meantime, Becky Miller diligently keeps up with all of the posts for this blog tour, so check out my partners in crime for more on this intriguing series.
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Top Books of 2010

A new year already? Sheesh!

I haven't been able to read as much this year. I hope it changes, but I still read some good books and want to feature the best I've read from 2010. The first link is to the book's Amazon page, and the second link is to content here at Spoiled for the Ordinary (SftO).

5. The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead. The opening salvo in the 5 book Bright Empires series, Lawhead continues his skillful use of British legend for story fodder. StfO discusses it here.

4. Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes. Good writing is good writing, whether a book is written primarily for a male or female audience. This book is considered "contemporary fiction" even though it may seem geared toward a female audience. Anyone who appreciates well-written fiction will enjoy this tale of a terminal woman making a way for her young daughter in the hometown she left behind years ago. I give it a manly thumbs up in this review.

3. Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. This book sparked a lot of discussion during the CSFF tour, and was one of the most provocative we've reviewed. The book started slow, but those with patience will find a rich tale of faith that wrestles with issues of immigration, legalism, license, and grace set in the Southwest in both the 1700's and modern day in an intricately woven tapestry. There is much more in these posts.

2. Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand.  This book introduces us to Roland March, a Houston detective nearing burnout. In a gritty, true-to-life voice, Bertrand draws us in to the ups and downs of March's last chance at getting back into homicide investigation. Noted in SftO posts here. 

1. Listen by Rene Gutteridge. She has hit the #1 spot in my list before with one of her comedic books. This time she brings a tale of suspense that deals with the power of words. Conversations in a small town start being posted on an anonymous website, causing a lot of strife when private words become public. This is what I wrote in my review this year:

However, the book is more than an entertaining read. The theme of the power of words is well-crafted, and it invites anyone to take a thoughtful look at their own use of language to hurt or heal. Some books try to beat you over the head with a message - this story takes you along for the ride but leaves you pondering it afterwards. It is not preachy, but it is a valuable part of the whole message.

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There was one very near miss that could easily make my list - Wonders Never Cease by Tim Downs. It is different from his usual style, but highly entertaining nonetheless.

Here's to more great books in 2011!
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CSFF Tour - The Bone House, Day 1

In Which The Blogger Goes Back In Time Approximately One Year

It is time again for the CSFF Tour, highlighting some of the finest in Christian speculative fiction.

We're dialing up Stephen Lawhead once again, featuring the second book in the Bright Empires series The Bone House.

He seems to have something for body parts and book titles this series. We featured the first book, The Skin Map last year. You can find my posts on it here.

To set up the tour, last time young Kit Livingstone ran into a distant relative. His great-grandfather Cosimo, who should be dead, but appeared quite spry for a corpse. Cosimo explained that Kit needed to help him with a quest that stretched literal dimensions, as he was using a phenomenom termed "ley travel" to hop to different places and times.

 

Kit was uncertain about this new information, being a rather unimaginative fellow. However, after losing his girlfriend Mina in 17th century Prague and being pursued in ancient Egypt by Burley men, he needed less convincing.

All he needs to do now is find Mina, avoid the villanous Lord Burleigh, acquire the missing Skin Map, and discover someone who knows what in the world it means.

There's more to this tale, but check back tomorrow for more on this intriguing tale. If you just can't wait, check out my fellow tourmates below for more insight!

Noah Arsenault Red Bissell Thomas Clayton Booher Beckie Burnham Morgan L. Busse CSFF Blog Tour Jeff Chapman Carol Bruce Collett Karri Compton D. G. D. Davidson Theresa Dunlap April Erwin Victor Gentile Tori Greene Ryan Heart Bruce Hennigan Timothy Hicks Christopher Hopper Janeen Ippolito Becca Johnson Julie Carol Keen Krystine Kercher Marzabeth Katie McCurdy Shannon McDermott Rebecca LuElla Miller Joan Nienhuis Chawna Schroeder Kathleen Smith Donna Swanson Rachel Starr Thomson Robert Treskillard Steve Trower Fred Warren Phyllis Wheeler Nicole White Rachel Wyant

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CSFF Tour - The Skin Map Day 3

In Which The Blogger Finally Gets Around To Telling The Reader If The Book Is Any Good.

The CSFF Tour is featuring the latest from acclaimed author Stephen Lawhead, The Skin Map, first book of the Bright Empires series. Yesterday I gave a synopsis of the book, if you missed it. How does it stand up?

I've said here in the past that Stephen Lawhead is one of my favorite authors. For some reason, a couple of his books (usually the second or third in a series) have fallen flat for me. It's almost if he's a little streaky. Does The Skin Map strike hard or does it miss?

Thankfully, I can testify that Lawhead is on target with this first book. There's wit, suspense, intrigue, and the Lawhead tradmark of making a setting come alive. You see some of this with the very first lines of the book:

Had he but known that before the day was over he would discover the hidden dimensions of the universe, Kit might have been better prepared. At least, he would have brought an umbrella.

(Best opening line I've read since, "The nun hit me in the mouth and said, 'Get out of my house.'")

Lawhead has stated on his website that he's been writing this series in his head for the last 15 years or so, just now he has the skill to handle all of the complexity. I would believe it. He has numerous characters jumping from the Home World to different times and locales, and he brings the unique flavor of each place out. There's enough characters and locations (and times!) that it almost gets confusing, but he keeps things moving forward. Many threads are started, and it may seem a little disconnected in the middle of the book. The beauty is that in the apparent chaos ensuing, it snaps together in the end, leaving the reader going "Whoa." If a reader isn't patient or attentive, they could get lost.

The book follows 20-something Kit Livingstone as he discovers his gift for traveling the mysterious ley lines, his girlfriend Mina as she gets lost in 17th century Prague, the Man Who Is Map forging paths through the dimensions, and the ruthless Lord Burleigh. Each character brings their own weight to their sections. I don't feel like I'm reading one voice for each person - they are individuals. Their interaction with the various settings is thought-provoking, such as the timeline in which Kit's relative Cosimo stops the famous Fire of London in1666 just by waking the baker whose oven started the disaster.

Despite a rather large cast and the varied times, the book is suspenseful and a great page-turner. My only complaint is the book is a major set-up for the whole series. It makes sense that it can't be too self-limiting, and the reader is left with a major cliffhanger at the end. I am ready for book two, like RIGHT NOW.

A couple further thoughts:
As I discussed yesterday, the story's premise hinges on these ley lines acting as corridors to these alternate universes. These are well-known to the pagan and new age movements, considered powerful centers of energy. Lawhead has used many other mythic components in his fiction, such as Atlantis and Merlin in the Pendragon Cycle, and Celtic myths in the Song of Albion trilogy. However, he has taking these seemingly pagan points and turned them into a natual way of speaking of faith and Christ. He makes it an organic part of the story. Christianity isn't proclaimed loudly in The Skin Map, but there are characters who speak and ponder about God and how He may be working through the Omniverse (multiple universes). Speculative, but still informed by faith. Potential authors can learn here from Mr. Lawhead.

Finally, check out his website for a good interview from Lawhead regarding the research he does for his work. It is informative to those curious about how to write a realistic setting, one of his strengths.

 As always, the other fun folk at the CSFF Tour have more to say, and you can find the full list on Becky Miller's blog.
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BTW, the FTC requires a blogger to disclose whether they got a free review copy. I am disclosing that I used my birthday gift card to Barnes and Noble on this book. I am a very satisfied consumer!
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