The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

Book Description
Enter the ultimate treasure hunt--with a map made of skin, a playing field of alternate realities, and a prize that is the greatest mystery of all.
Kit Livingstone's great-grandfather has re-appeared with an unbelievable story--the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legends but truly are pathways to other worlds. So few people know how to use them, though, that doing so is fraught with danger.
But one explorer knew more than most. Because of his fear of being unable to find his way home, he developed an intricate code and tattooed his map onto his skin. But the map has since been lost and rival factions are in desperate competition to recover it. What none of them yet realize is that the skin map itself is not the prize at the end of this race . . . but merely the first goal of a vast and marvelous quest to regain Paradise.

My Thoughts:
This book catches your attention and is a wonderful beginning to a new series. Kit is just an ordinary guy but on this particular day, he comes face to face with his great grandfather. He tells Kit that the 'fictional' ley lines are real and they send people through time and space, but you have to know how to use them. There is a man who has a map of the ley lines tattooed on himself and Kit has to find him/the map! The only problem is, there are others looking for the map as well.
I love the fact the author uses British 'slang' through the book! It is like you can actually hear the words being said and it is so awesome. The imagery is also well written to where if you close your eyes you can see in your mind the scene the author describes. There are a LOT of characters to get to know and it does seem a lot to take in, but it kept my attention throughout. It does get a bit confusing with Kit going from place to place and time to time. I think it is set up well for the next books to 'pull together' all the threads of the book and make them one.
This book was a solid 4/5. It is a wonderful start to a promising series.

Thank you to booksneeze for providing the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.