"Bright Empires Book 1: The Skin Map" by Stephen Lawhead

The writing of Stephen Lawhead has always impressed me. He is a true master of the craft. He has the rare gift of being able to approach familiar subjects (like time travel and parallel dimensions) and to introduce them in new and engaging ways. And, I must say, that this story is very engaging.
The summary of the plot doesn't quite do it justice: two modern-day people are magically transported to a different world, where they must race against the evil men to get the ultimate prize. That is the gist of the story, but there is SO much more to it!
Mister Lawhead is able to lead you along, following several different characters - and only give you enough information to know their stories are crucially connected, but never enough information to have you guess the outcome. That is the mark of a great writer. His version of time travel possibility is one of the more complete (and clearly stated) that I've ever read, which gives the story a certain credibility. And the idea of the map being made of human skin is certainly realistic (as it has been done by real people), but wonderfully creative nonetheless.
There were a few times where the story focused on one person for so long that, when the next chapter re-visited another character, it took me a moment to remember what was going on the last time I read about them - but this is not a criticism of the writing as much as it is a criticism of my memory! Other than that, I can think of no negative comments to make of this book. The characters are believable, the emotions are tangible, and the mystery is tantalizing. In short, I can hardly wait to read the second story in the series!
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers as part of the Booksneeze bloggers' program. I was not required to write a positive review.