The Skin Map, by Stephen R. Lawhead

Stephen Lawhead has never been a conventional Christian author, or even a conventional fantasy author. He writes by his own rules. Sometimes I like what he does, sometimes not so much. But all in all I was pleased with his novel The Skin Map, and look forward to the continuation of the series.

The main character is a generally unremarkable young man, Kit Livingston, who lives in contemporary London. One day he gets lost and wanders into an alley, where he meets a man who claims to be his great-grandfather, Cosimo Livingston. Cosimo claims that there are invisible paths and portals (“ley lines”) throughout the world, by which knowledgeable travelers may travel through time, space, and dimension.

Kit tries to explain to his girlfriend Wilhelmina why he missed their date. To prove his story to her, he takes her back to that alley and successfully makes a jump to the historical past—17th Century London. But he gets separated from Wilhelmina, who finds herself (we learn later) in Bohemia at about the same time. (One of the pleasures of this book is the Wilhelmina subplot, in which an unhappy 21st Century feminist finds personal fulfillment as a businesswoman in 17th Century Prague.)

Kit finds Cosimo, who agrees it’s important to try to locate Wilhelmina and send her home. But to do that they need a map. There is only one map of the ley lines, the “Skin Map,” a piece of parchment made from the tattooed skin of the first explorer to chart the space-and-time-byways. (He had the map made on his own torso so that he could never lose it.) That map has been cut into several pieces, and the single piece Cosimo and his friend Sir Henry Fayth possessed has been stolen. Before long they learn they have more serious problems than the disappearance of Wilhelmina. A very dangerous and resourceful enemy is doing his best to assemble the Skin Map for his own megalomaniac purposes, and he will stint at no crime to get what he wants.

I found The Skin Map a very engaging fantasy entertainment, suitable for teens and older. Good values are taught, and Christianity is presented in a serious, positive light. I think Stephen Lawhead was wise to move away from medieval fantasy, at least for a while. He seems to have grown uncomfortable with the kind of sword-and-armor violence that such stories demand, and this idiosyncratic adventure gives him scope for other kinds of action. Recommended.

Call for bloggers

I’m currently contacting bloggers, offering free e-copies of Troll Valley for review. If you are writing an established blog (no newbies or once-a-year bloggers allowed), contact me through this blog to ask for yours.

Update: To make the process easier, the handiest way to request a review copy is to e-mail me at lars (AT) larswalker (dot) com, and let me know what reader format you prefer. Thanks. lw

Dark Blonde, by David H. Fears

Her eyes were wide set, clear as a newborn’s, and a pale shade of blue that bordered on slate gray. I suddenly wanted to find paint that shade and redo my whole house with it.

Full disclosure: I got my e-book of Dark Blonde free from the author, David H. Fears. I reviewed his first Mike Angel novel, Dark Quarry, a while back, and he e-,mailed me to ask when I was going to review the next one, Dark Lake. I replied, frankly, that I didn’t like that book as well, and I thought the level of graphic sex (it’s about human sex trafficking) was probably a little high for the readers of this blog. He then sent me a copy of Dark Blonde and asked me to try that one, and indeed I like it better (though I’m omitting the cover art from this review. It’s not pornographic, but it’s a little racy for the room).

Private eye Mike Angel, as you may recall from my previous review, is a New York detective relocated to Chicago. He has a partner, a retired New York cop named Rick Anthony, and a secretary named Molly, who is also his girlfriend. In Dark Blonde, he is hired by Julia Gateswood, former beauty queen and now wife of a promising senatorial candidate, to look for her sister, who has disappeared. It doesn’t take long to find the sister, or rather her body, which is discovered decapitated in the Gateswoods’ summer house. Julia wants Mike to stay on the case, and he is ready to do just about anything for the gorgeous Julia. Instead of the police interfering, Chicago police reformer O. W. Wilson (a real historical character) particularly asks Mike to get involved and help out. It all comes down to old family secrets and contemporary corruption in the end.

Although David H. Fears’s writing plainly hearkens back to the pulp authors of old, like Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane (especially Spillane), and is done very well in my opinion, Mike Angel distinguishes himself in a couple of ways. One is that Fears has boldly embraced the obvious fact that private eye stories are fantasy stories, and has added some plain fantasy elements—Mike’s dead father gives him psychic warnings when he’s in danger (oddly, Mike generally ignores them), and also warns him wordlessly through a tingling in a facial scar.

There’s a further element of fantasy too, I think. I’ve written before that private eye stories are a form of male wish-fulfillment. Pulp detectives tend to live lives that ordinary males envy. Mike is enviable—in a way that stretches credibility—in his sex life. It’s not just that beautiful women constantly throw themselves at him. That pretty much goes with the genre. But Mike also has a gorgeous and sweet girlfriend who doesn’t mind that he strays, as long as he keeps it a secret from her. This relationship adds a level of depth to Mike’s character that a lot of pulp detectives lack (a very good thing). On the other hand, I find it pretty hard to believe in—especially in the early 1960s, before the sexual revolution.

But if you can buy that, there’s lots to like in Dark Blonde for the hard-boiled fan. Cautions for language, violence, and graphic sexual situations.

Profits Are Up

Earning money from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library

In other news, I have joined Lars in becoming a Kindle Fire owner. It’s nice, though I haven’t used it a lot yet. I need to install wi-fi at home. I see there are a number of classic books on Kindle for free. I pulled down Thoughts on Art and Life, some Jonathan Edwards’ sermons, and several Wodehouse novels. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Troll Valley on sale (Kindle)

As promised, for you Kindle owners, Troll Valley is now available in that sacred format at Amazon.com.

As a side note, I e-mailed Andrew Klavan himself today, offering him a review copy, and he actually wrote back and said he’d like one. (Apparently I won his favor with my favorable review of Agnes Mallory.)

So you might say it’s a good day.

And now you know what to do with that Amazon gift card you got for Christmas!

Troll Valley on sale (Nook)

I’m going to try to do a splashier announcement when the Kindle version is available too, but for now Troll Valley is available for your Nook (plus a couple odd formats for phones and things, as I understand it) from Lulu.

I’m a Kindle guy myself, and strongly object to this discrimination in favor of Nook owners. I shall send myself a stiff letter of protest without delay.

Transfer of Power, by Vince Flynn

Good writing and good storytelling are two distinct qualities, and don’t necessarily reside in the same practitioner. Bestselling Minnesota author Vince Flynn is a classic case in point.

In terms of storytelling, his performance is flawless. Transfer of Power begins, after some brief preliminaries, with super-secret operative Mitch Rapp leading a commando raid into Iran (this is before 9/11) to kidnap a terrorist ringleader. Then the focus shifts to one of that ringleader’s proteges, Rafique Aziz, who is planning an audacious attack on the White House itself, intended both to kidnap the president and to humiliate the United States. Information the CIA extracts from its prisoner (through torture; Flynn makes no bones about it) allows enough warning to enable the Secret Service to get the president into a safe bunker before the terrorists take possession of the building. But the terrorists have a drill and a weak vice president with whom to negotiate.

The tension never lets up. Hero Mitch Rapp employs all his formidable commando skills, and often defies his superiors, in a dangerous operation to infiltrate the White House and impose summary justice on the attackers. He is ruthless and his actions are viscerally satisfying. Also he gets the girl.

As a piece of prose writing, the book is less successful. The force of the narrative pulls the reader along so quickly that he barely notices frequent infelicities, like “Warch, who was more entrusted with the president’s life than any other person in the Secret Service…,” and “…he wondered if he wasn’t being overly paranoid,” and my personal favorite— “the two junior officers fell in astride their senior.” Best to just move along and not inquire too closely into these careless turns of phrase.

As an entertainment, Transfer of Power is a great success. As a statement of a viewpoint on how the War On Terror should be fought, it deserves respectful attention. As a piece of literature, it’s… a successful entertainment.

Cautions for language, violence and adult themes.