Bright Empires Series Book 3
Author: Stephen Lawhead
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (September 4, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-1595548061
Hardcover: 400 pages
May be purchased here.
About the Book:
The search for the map—and the secret behind its cryptic code—intensifies in a quest across time, space, and multiple realities.My Thoughts:
But what if the true treasure isn’t the map at all . . . what if the map marks something far greater? Something one world cannot contain? Those who desire to unlock that mystery are in a race to possess the secret—for good or evil.
Kit Livingstone is mastering the ability to travel across realities using ley lines and has forged a link from the Bone House, a sacred lodge made of animal bones, to the fabled Spirit Well, a place of profound power.
His friend Mina is undercover in a Spanish monastery high in the Pyrenees, learning all she can from a monk named Brother Lazarus. Still determined to find Kit, she is beginning to experience a greater destiny than she can fathom.
Cassandra Clarke is overseeing an archaeological dig in Arizona when a chance encounter transports her to 1950s Damascus. There, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to the Seekers—the last living remnants of the Zetetic Society who need her help to track down the missing Cosimo Livingstone and his grandson Kit.
But there are darker forces at work in the universe whose agents always seem to be one step ahead of the rest—and they’re all desperate to gain the ultimate prize in this treasure hunt where the stakes increase at every turn. At the heart of the mystery lies the Spirit Well.
"The Spirit Well" is the third book of the Bright Empire Series and like many fantasy and science fiction books, really cannot be picked up in the middle of the series, but should be started from the beginning. The first book, "The Skin Map" sets the stage and introduces the characters and the second book, "The Bone House" goes a bit deeper and one becomes a bit more personal with the characters and their roles. If you miss these novels, you will most certainly be struggling to keep up with the characters and why they are making certain choices and for what purposes.
The series started out slow for me and I really wondered if the third would be any better. Usually a series starts to go downhill from midpoint on, but that wasn't the case here! "The Spirit Well" picked up and was both exciting as well as captivating. Pieces of the puzzle started to fit together and I began to connect with both Kit and Mina - something I didn't quite do in the other books. This book demonstrated the talent I have heard that Lawhead has!
In my review of "The Bone House", I had wondered how this series was categorized as Christian fiction, because I wasn't really seeing it in the first two books. This one answers that question as we start to see the larger picture develop.
The fourth book of the Bright Empires Series "The Shadow Lamp" is due out in September 2013. It is going to be a long, torturous wait...
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
About the Author:
Stephen's website can be found at: http://www.stephenlawhead.com/
or on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/StephenRLawhead
and Twitter: https://twitter.com/StephenLawhead
Make sure to visit the other participating tour members listed below and see what they have to say about "The Spirit Well".
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a favorable review.
I like both Kit and Mina more, too. I think it's because they have grown and changed as a result of their experiences. It's another bit of mastery on Mr. Lawhead's part, I think.
ReplyDeleteBecky
I've been enjoying the series so far, good to see a lot of people think it gets better!
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