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Bright Empires #3
The Spirit Well
Kit Livingstone is on a quest for the ultimate treasure---a tattooed map to an alternate universe! When he witnesses Arthur Flinders-Petrie carry his dead wife into a pool of light---and emerge with her alive---Kit wonders if The Spirit Well is the secret of the map. And if it is, can Arthur's ruthless great-grandson be far behind?
377 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2012
104 people are currently reading
1404 people want to read
About the author
Stephen R. Lawhead
102 books2,743 followersStephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium, Patrick, and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion.
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephenlawhead...
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephenlawhead...
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
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December 20, 2012
In style, texture, quality and content, this third installment of Lawhead's Bright Empires series is pretty consistent with its predecessors. I felt that the writing was arguably smoother, however (and the author's ability to describe physical settings has always been top-notch, here and elsewhere in the series and his corpus as a whole). The plot is definitely advanced, though, in ways both small and large. We have the introduction of a new major character, paleontologist Cassandra Clarke, who's both likeable and apparently destined to play a big part in the next two books. And with the entry of the Zetetic Society into the mix, Lawhead begins to weave into the storyline a teleological and theistic theme much more open and explicit than in the first two books, with the ley travelers seen as being caught up in, and serving one side or the other in, a cosmic struggle of good and evil, fulfillment vs. destruction, the benevolent purposes of God for a multiverse of eternal loving community against the malevolent designs of spiritual forces opposed to God (the word "Satan" isn't used, but comes to mind) for the universal annihilation of warmth and light and love. As in the Bible and a great deal of other Christian literature, God and His adversaries are viewed as working through human agency --though just how humans are to be directly involved in this conflict is a murky question left for the remaining volumes of the series to delineate.
As in the first two books, and even more so here, Lawhead eschews linear plotting. We not only have a number of characters moving independently back and forth on historical timelines from the Stone Age to the present, and extensive use of what elsewhere would be called "flashbacks" to reveal crucial information about past events (except that Lawhead would argue that the distinction between "past" and "present" is an illusion); we also have them interacting with each other in time frames that are out of sync with each other. That's a difficult concept to put across; but it means that, for instance, a character can do something for another one --but when he meets her later, though he remembers her doing it and the situation is affected by the fact that she did, from her perspective she hasn't done it yet! I'm reading this series as a buddy read with my Goodreads friend Jackie (whose insights add a great deal to the reading experience!) who's an avid Dr. Who fan; she pointed out that the approach to time in the two series is quite similar. My experience of the TV series is confined to one episode, and I'm not a fan; but I think Whovians would be particularly attuned to appreciating the Bright Empires books. (As a case in point, Jackie gave this installment one more star than I did.) Since we're reading these books in absolute rather than relative time, though, we now have a problem: we have to wait until September for the next one. :-(
As in the first two books, and even more so here, Lawhead eschews linear plotting. We not only have a number of characters moving independently back and forth on historical timelines from the Stone Age to the present, and extensive use of what elsewhere would be called "flashbacks" to reveal crucial information about past events (except that Lawhead would argue that the distinction between "past" and "present" is an illusion); we also have them interacting with each other in time frames that are out of sync with each other. That's a difficult concept to put across; but it means that, for instance, a character can do something for another one --but when he meets her later, though he remembers her doing it and the situation is affected by the fact that she did, from her perspective she hasn't done it yet! I'm reading this series as a buddy read with my Goodreads friend Jackie (whose insights add a great deal to the reading experience!) who's an avid Dr. Who fan; she pointed out that the approach to time in the two series is quite similar. My experience of the TV series is confined to one episode, and I'm not a fan; but I think Whovians would be particularly attuned to appreciating the Bright Empires books. (As a case in point, Jackie gave this installment one more star than I did.) Since we're reading these books in absolute rather than relative time, though, we now have a problem: we have to wait until September for the next one. :-(
January 9, 2013
Spoiler Alert:
Having read the first two books in the series, I was looking forward to a continuation of the plot-line. However, what I found was a rehashing of character situations that had been implied in the first two books with the consequences already revealed. The only truly new twist or development was the introduction of a new character, Dr. Cassandra Clarke, paleontologist. Some minor character development occurs in the first couple of Cassandra chapters, leading me to believe that she is a scientist of the atheist variety, very skeptical, very secular, and very critical of "spiritual whack jobs." She is also portrayed as extremely conscious of keeping up her professional reputation with her colleagues, being a woman in a world of science run mostly by men. Then, suddenly, in the back half of the book that takes the plot in mighty swerve in a spiritual direction, she suddenly divulges to a person she has just met (very out of character) that she has believed in God since she was a little girl. I guess the author understood his character better than I did, which only tells me that he withheld much of his author's knowledge from us readers.
The author appears to be more obsessed in this book with filling in holes in the story rather than developing characters and moving the story forward. There were too many characters following too many separate tracks, all seemingly in an attempt by the author to set the reader up for some unknown future climax that did not make it into this book. A lack of an intermediate climax or any new or continuing conflict, as each book in a series should have, or of any new element to the plot (other than the thought that maybe some good and all powerful creator might be controlling things) left me wondering why the author felt he even needed to include this book in the series. All in all, it appears that the author was just meeting a quantity requirement in his contract with his publisher while getting a years-worth of vacations for research purposes into exotic lands out of the deal.
The chapters on the four generations of Flinders-Petrie men were for the sole purpose of explaining why and how the skin map came to be divided into pieces and buried in different locations. These chapters contributed nothing else to the story, nor did they really give us any juicy character development, other than continuing to tell us what we already knew regarding the heartless nature of Douglas. The only purpose of one chapter on Charles and Lord Burleigh seemed to be only for the purpose of revealing how Charles own failings lead him to be hard on his son, Douglas. This would normally be good character development if Charles were a major character. But he is not. He dies in this book without having added any real plot to the story. Wasted pages that would have been better devoted to Cassandra character development.
The chapters on Kit added absolutely nothing except for a little comic relief in a Spanish town when he shows up in cave-man regalia. As a result, rather than being further fleshed out, the character of Kit now seems to be quite random, as portrayed by his weird impatience and pushiness exhibited with Mina and Brother Lazarus. After having spent all that time with the River Clan, in which he exhibited huge amounts of patience (as did I with no story progression during these chapters), he suddenly had no patience.
For me, the chapters on Mina have always been the saving grace of this book series. She is the most developed character. Unfortunately, the chapters on Mina in this installment don't add much except confusion. Upon going back and trying to review the many “Mina chapters” in the three books, I am finding what appear to be inconsistencies in her convoluted story line. After having rescued Kit and Giles in Egypt at the end of book 1 and socking Kit in the arm hard for having abandoned her back in that alley in London in the beginning of book 1, book 2 has Mina sending Kit to find Thomas Young in the present in Luxor while she takes Giles to see Thomas Young in his past in Scotland. She and Giles then return to find Kit helping Thomas Young with the tomb excavation to find part of the skin map. Upon finding it, they leave Egypt and go to Prague, where Mina then helps Kit and Giles escape from Burleigh. Later, as Burleigh is getting suspicious of her, she goes off to consult with Brother Lazarus. Her story then goes into flash-back mode of how she first discovered and came to know Brother Lazarus before she had found Kit and Giles in Egypt and how Brother Lazarus had then sent her in search of Thomas Young whom she is told is not in London but in Egypt, and then going to Egypt via the ley-jump at Mixen Hump, finds and rescues Kit and Giles. So, why does she know to go find Thomas Young In Scotland after rescuing Kit and Giles in Egypt, when nothing in Egypt (after rescuing Kit and Giles) tells her he would be in Scotland at some time in his past? And when Kit shows up in Spain in Book 3 after escaping Prague and spending some time in a pre-historic version of the world, and finds Brother Lazarus and Mina together, and Mina says she remembers helping Kit and Giles escape Prague but knows nothing about rescuing them in Egypt, I was left scratching my head. If her rescue of Kit and Giles in Egypt has not occurred yet, then why does she punch Kit in the arm for having abandoned her in London when she does rescue him in Egypt, which had to have happened after this meeting of the two of them with Brother Lazarus in Spain.
The only possible explanation to all of this is that there are two different alternate-reality versions of Mina who are crossing paths. I doubt this is the case, because a character states a theory in book 3 that there is only ever one "conscious" version of each person in all of the possible realities. Why would the author seemingly go out of his way to explain this? It will likely require a straight through reading of all of the Mina chapters and mapping of her noted interactions and knowledge of other characters in different chapters in order to figure it all out. Even if there are no inconsistencies, but instead there are nuanced clues meant to give reading pleasure to the quick of mind, the story line of Mina is so complex and scattered in a non-chronological order that the casual reader would never notice the nuances, and whatever grand disclosure the author has waiting for us in the future would likely be lost on the reader. I like wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff in fiction (shout out to Doctor Who fans). However, it is frustrating when the author can't seem to pull it all back together for the reader and just gets lost in his/her own time tricks.
Overall, not as entertaining as I had hoped.
Having read the first two books in the series, I was looking forward to a continuation of the plot-line. However, what I found was a rehashing of character situations that had been implied in the first two books with the consequences already revealed. The only truly new twist or development was the introduction of a new character, Dr. Cassandra Clarke, paleontologist. Some minor character development occurs in the first couple of Cassandra chapters, leading me to believe that she is a scientist of the atheist variety, very skeptical, very secular, and very critical of "spiritual whack jobs." She is also portrayed as extremely conscious of keeping up her professional reputation with her colleagues, being a woman in a world of science run mostly by men. Then, suddenly, in the back half of the book that takes the plot in mighty swerve in a spiritual direction, she suddenly divulges to a person she has just met (very out of character) that she has believed in God since she was a little girl. I guess the author understood his character better than I did, which only tells me that he withheld much of his author's knowledge from us readers.
The author appears to be more obsessed in this book with filling in holes in the story rather than developing characters and moving the story forward. There were too many characters following too many separate tracks, all seemingly in an attempt by the author to set the reader up for some unknown future climax that did not make it into this book. A lack of an intermediate climax or any new or continuing conflict, as each book in a series should have, or of any new element to the plot (other than the thought that maybe some good and all powerful creator might be controlling things) left me wondering why the author felt he even needed to include this book in the series. All in all, it appears that the author was just meeting a quantity requirement in his contract with his publisher while getting a years-worth of vacations for research purposes into exotic lands out of the deal.
The chapters on the four generations of Flinders-Petrie men were for the sole purpose of explaining why and how the skin map came to be divided into pieces and buried in different locations. These chapters contributed nothing else to the story, nor did they really give us any juicy character development, other than continuing to tell us what we already knew regarding the heartless nature of Douglas. The only purpose of one chapter on Charles and Lord Burleigh seemed to be only for the purpose of revealing how Charles own failings lead him to be hard on his son, Douglas. This would normally be good character development if Charles were a major character. But he is not. He dies in this book without having added any real plot to the story. Wasted pages that would have been better devoted to Cassandra character development.
The chapters on Kit added absolutely nothing except for a little comic relief in a Spanish town when he shows up in cave-man regalia. As a result, rather than being further fleshed out, the character of Kit now seems to be quite random, as portrayed by his weird impatience and pushiness exhibited with Mina and Brother Lazarus. After having spent all that time with the River Clan, in which he exhibited huge amounts of patience (as did I with no story progression during these chapters), he suddenly had no patience.
For me, the chapters on Mina have always been the saving grace of this book series. She is the most developed character. Unfortunately, the chapters on Mina in this installment don't add much except confusion. Upon going back and trying to review the many “Mina chapters” in the three books, I am finding what appear to be inconsistencies in her convoluted story line. After having rescued Kit and Giles in Egypt at the end of book 1 and socking Kit in the arm hard for having abandoned her back in that alley in London in the beginning of book 1, book 2 has Mina sending Kit to find Thomas Young in the present in Luxor while she takes Giles to see Thomas Young in his past in Scotland. She and Giles then return to find Kit helping Thomas Young with the tomb excavation to find part of the skin map. Upon finding it, they leave Egypt and go to Prague, where Mina then helps Kit and Giles escape from Burleigh. Later, as Burleigh is getting suspicious of her, she goes off to consult with Brother Lazarus. Her story then goes into flash-back mode of how she first discovered and came to know Brother Lazarus before she had found Kit and Giles in Egypt and how Brother Lazarus had then sent her in search of Thomas Young whom she is told is not in London but in Egypt, and then going to Egypt via the ley-jump at Mixen Hump, finds and rescues Kit and Giles. So, why does she know to go find Thomas Young In Scotland after rescuing Kit and Giles in Egypt, when nothing in Egypt (after rescuing Kit and Giles) tells her he would be in Scotland at some time in his past? And when Kit shows up in Spain in Book 3 after escaping Prague and spending some time in a pre-historic version of the world, and finds Brother Lazarus and Mina together, and Mina says she remembers helping Kit and Giles escape Prague but knows nothing about rescuing them in Egypt, I was left scratching my head. If her rescue of Kit and Giles in Egypt has not occurred yet, then why does she punch Kit in the arm for having abandoned her in London when she does rescue him in Egypt, which had to have happened after this meeting of the two of them with Brother Lazarus in Spain.
The only possible explanation to all of this is that there are two different alternate-reality versions of Mina who are crossing paths. I doubt this is the case, because a character states a theory in book 3 that there is only ever one "conscious" version of each person in all of the possible realities. Why would the author seemingly go out of his way to explain this? It will likely require a straight through reading of all of the Mina chapters and mapping of her noted interactions and knowledge of other characters in different chapters in order to figure it all out. Even if there are no inconsistencies, but instead there are nuanced clues meant to give reading pleasure to the quick of mind, the story line of Mina is so complex and scattered in a non-chronological order that the casual reader would never notice the nuances, and whatever grand disclosure the author has waiting for us in the future would likely be lost on the reader. I like wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff in fiction (shout out to Doctor Who fans). However, it is frustrating when the author can't seem to pull it all back together for the reader and just gets lost in his/her own time tricks.
Overall, not as entertaining as I had hoped.
October 20, 2016
(Review originally posted on The Page Dreamer: https://thepagedreamer.wordpress.com/...)
The middle book in this 5-book series, The Spirit Well was another great addition to the Bright Empires novels. Enthralled, I sped through it in just a few days and can't wait to continue the saga. Once again, I'm in a hurry to review this one, in effect capturing my thoughts at this point, so I can scurry along to read book 4, The Shadow Lamp... I must find out what happens next!
Again, the character list, "previously", and ending essay were amusing and enlightening -- I just love how even the extra beginning and ending matter are interesting. In short, I love basically every word of these books -- literally.
The story itself is progressing in quite a fascinating manner, branching out in all directions (past/present/etc.). There were many new revelations! Some of a tragic or scary nature... and others verrrry intriguing... Let's just say there's a lot going on (and as the series progresses, it's increasingly difficult to write spoiler-free reviews, but I shall do my best). The writing continues to be phenomenal as well and it's just a pleasure to read. :)
There's quite a collection of characters by now, but I never got them mixed up, and they were one and all delightful to read about. There were several point-of-view characters, both familiar and new; most notably Cassandra Clarke. I think I like Cass. *nod* Kit and Wilhelmina continue to be my favorite people to read about, on their separate journeys. I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH. <3 I always love reading about them. It's also always interesting to get glimpses at the lives of the generations of the Flinders-Petrie family: Arthur, Benedict, Charles, and Douglas, piecing things together. (And I'm also beginning to know what to think about them... hmm...) I still loathe Burleigh and Snipe, for the record. (But what's a book without some well-placed loathing for the villains, I ask you.) Still on the fence about Lady Fayth... I love Etzel and Giles, and En-Ul and his River City Clan. We can add the Zetetic Society (mostly Brendan [Irish accent!], Rosemary [tea!], Tess [oh goodness, this lady! XD]) to our list of new acquaintances -- still working on what I think about the society as a whole since I feel only recently acquainted with it, but methinks I like these people -- as well as Brother Lazarus, who's a definite new favorite. He's an extremely quotable chap. :) The people in these books are so well written!
Once again, we're all over the map and time-periods, and I absolutely love it. Modern-day Arizona (that's new! We hadn't been to America yet...), the Stone Age, Egypt, China, 1600s Prague, 1800s Italy, 1970s Spain, 1930s Damascus, present-day London, 1800s England, medieval Oxford... (And of course Black Mixen Tump. I love saying that name--dunno why--even though it's a scary place.) What a delightful tapestry of time and locality! Not to mention sprinklings of different languages (German, Spanish, Italian, French, Latin) for an extra immersive, authentic flavor. These books positively ooze rich multi-cultural feelings and it's glorious.
I'm not sure exactly why I felt this way (maybe because we didn't in book 2?) but it was neat to pop back into modern-day London again! That part, and the contrast with the older time periods, was great. Love love love! (Sale! Everything must go! XD Goodness, how awful. :P) And ah, good old Grafton Street, bringing back memories of the opening of book 1... It makes me all nostalgic. (I still can't help but feel that the opening chapter of The Skin Map, "In Which Old Ghosts Meet", when paired with the presence of a "Grafton Street" in London, is suspiciously like a reference to a certain old song I know... Especially when so many characters in these books are so fond of repeating that there's no such thing as coincidence...)
Some of the interlacing storylines, especially Mina's, make my head hurt, and I love it. Time travel-y stories are delightful to read about. She hadn't... done something important yet that we saw happen in book 1 -- MIND. BLOWN. I was even trying to make a time/character thread diagram, which... didn't go so well. XD I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the time-y things.
Did I have quibbles or uncertainties? Maybe a couple. One part was very sad... even though I should have expected it. But still. Sadness. :( There were a couple things that had me pausing to reflect, leading to some interesting ponderings, so even if I wasn't sure how I felt about them, they at least served the purpose of making me think. I'll have to see how things pan out in the rest of the series, but they didn't make me dislike it, per se, just... unsure. So my quibbles aren't really quibbles, and I don't have any concrete complaints.
A few more brief thoughts/reactions:
+ I love how the experiences of Kit and Wilhelmina in the times/places they "adopt" (or... perhaps adopt them?) are so good for them. <3 They really benefit from their adventures, which is fabulous.
+ There is much tea and yummy foods. (In the words of Brendan: "That will be Mrs. Peelstick making tea. We live on tea, it seems." ...I love this book.)
+ It's still perfectly enjoyable/appropriate for Young Adult readers, as well as for older adults, I would say -- basically, everyone should read it.
+ Some more tendrils of Christianity creep into this book than in the previous two -- the tapestry is widening out.
+ The language barrier/misunderstanding about the map was very well done.
+ The new ley lamp is absolutely fascinating.
+ The moment when a certain... erm... cat shows up by a certain... erm... road -- that was one of those priceless moments of AAHH which I loved. No idea why, I just did.
+ I found the Spanish peoples' reactions to Kit to be hilarious -- nobody wanted to deal with him, and they kept shuffling him off to somebody else. XD
+ That ending! How can it stop there? *flailing around* These books do have a tendency to simply stop and leave one squirming for the next one. ;) I must read book 4 ASAP.
Overall? I greatly enjoyed this one and can safely say that it has joined the ranks along with The Skin Map (book 1) and The Bone House (book 2) as excellent specimens of books in a series I'm enjoying more and more.
Now if you'll pardon me, I have a large book titled The Shadow Lamp (Quest the Fourth) calling my name, which I intend to devour at once. Toodle-pip and all that.
I will leave you with some quotes from The Spirit Well to help convince you that you need this series in your life (because you do, you know).
FAVORITE QUOTES
"I insist you go away before we both say something we will have need of confessing."
"Dear lady," offered the priest with a smile, "there are no accidents."
Kit spent the next few hours idling in the gate-keeper's lodge as a sort of quasi-captive -- he was not locked up, nor was he free to go, for every time he got up and tried to leave, the porter came running after him, scolding in Spanish, and he was pushed back into the lodge. [I have no idea why I laughed so hard at this, but there you go.]
The old lady regarded her with a sudden intensity, then announced, "I'm going to adopt you, dear heart. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Cass replied. "But do I look like I need adopting?"
"Not in the least," Tess answered.
Probably, I should have locked Kit in the strongbox as well, she thought sulkily. [Wilhelmina, of course.]
"I am gobsmacked. ... You clever little thing." [Mina again. I love her dialog.]
"Don't you know?"
He shook his head. "Nobody tells me anything." [<-- The story of Kit's life, right there.]
"It does not matter where one starts; it is where one finishes that makes all the difference."
The middle book in this 5-book series, The Spirit Well was another great addition to the Bright Empires novels. Enthralled, I sped through it in just a few days and can't wait to continue the saga. Once again, I'm in a hurry to review this one, in effect capturing my thoughts at this point, so I can scurry along to read book 4, The Shadow Lamp... I must find out what happens next!
Again, the character list, "previously", and ending essay were amusing and enlightening -- I just love how even the extra beginning and ending matter are interesting. In short, I love basically every word of these books -- literally.
The story itself is progressing in quite a fascinating manner, branching out in all directions (past/present/etc.). There were many new revelations! Some of a tragic or scary nature... and others verrrry intriguing... Let's just say there's a lot going on (and as the series progresses, it's increasingly difficult to write spoiler-free reviews, but I shall do my best). The writing continues to be phenomenal as well and it's just a pleasure to read. :)
There's quite a collection of characters by now, but I never got them mixed up, and they were one and all delightful to read about. There were several point-of-view characters, both familiar and new; most notably Cassandra Clarke. I think I like Cass. *nod* Kit and Wilhelmina continue to be my favorite people to read about, on their separate journeys. I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH. <3 I always love reading about them. It's also always interesting to get glimpses at the lives of the generations of the Flinders-Petrie family: Arthur, Benedict, Charles, and Douglas, piecing things together. (And I'm also beginning to know what to think about them... hmm...) I still loathe Burleigh and Snipe, for the record. (But what's a book without some well-placed loathing for the villains, I ask you.) Still on the fence about Lady Fayth... I love Etzel and Giles, and En-Ul and his River City Clan. We can add the Zetetic Society (mostly Brendan [Irish accent!], Rosemary [tea!], Tess [oh goodness, this lady! XD]) to our list of new acquaintances -- still working on what I think about the society as a whole since I feel only recently acquainted with it, but methinks I like these people -- as well as Brother Lazarus, who's a definite new favorite. He's an extremely quotable chap. :) The people in these books are so well written!
Once again, we're all over the map and time-periods, and I absolutely love it. Modern-day Arizona (that's new! We hadn't been to America yet...), the Stone Age, Egypt, China, 1600s Prague, 1800s Italy, 1970s Spain, 1930s Damascus, present-day London, 1800s England, medieval Oxford... (And of course Black Mixen Tump. I love saying that name--dunno why--even though it's a scary place.) What a delightful tapestry of time and locality! Not to mention sprinklings of different languages (German, Spanish, Italian, French, Latin) for an extra immersive, authentic flavor. These books positively ooze rich multi-cultural feelings and it's glorious.
I'm not sure exactly why I felt this way (maybe because we didn't in book 2?) but it was neat to pop back into modern-day London again! That part, and the contrast with the older time periods, was great. Love love love! (Sale! Everything must go! XD Goodness, how awful. :P) And ah, good old Grafton Street, bringing back memories of the opening of book 1... It makes me all nostalgic. (I still can't help but feel that the opening chapter of The Skin Map, "In Which Old Ghosts Meet", when paired with the presence of a "Grafton Street" in London, is suspiciously like a reference to a certain old song I know... Especially when so many characters in these books are so fond of repeating that there's no such thing as coincidence...)
Some of the interlacing storylines, especially Mina's, make my head hurt, and I love it. Time travel-y stories are delightful to read about. She hadn't... done something important yet that we saw happen in book 1 -- MIND. BLOWN. I was even trying to make a time/character thread diagram, which... didn't go so well. XD I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the time-y things.
Did I have quibbles or uncertainties? Maybe a couple. One part was very sad... even though I should have expected it. But still. Sadness. :( There were a couple things that had me pausing to reflect, leading to some interesting ponderings, so even if I wasn't sure how I felt about them, they at least served the purpose of making me think. I'll have to see how things pan out in the rest of the series, but they didn't make me dislike it, per se, just... unsure. So my quibbles aren't really quibbles, and I don't have any concrete complaints.
A few more brief thoughts/reactions:
+ I love how the experiences of Kit and Wilhelmina in the times/places they "adopt" (or... perhaps adopt them?) are so good for them. <3 They really benefit from their adventures, which is fabulous.
+ There is much tea and yummy foods. (In the words of Brendan: "That will be Mrs. Peelstick making tea. We live on tea, it seems." ...I love this book.)
+ It's still perfectly enjoyable/appropriate for Young Adult readers, as well as for older adults, I would say -- basically, everyone should read it.
+ Some more tendrils of Christianity creep into this book than in the previous two -- the tapestry is widening out.
+ The language barrier/misunderstanding about the map was very well done.
+ The new ley lamp is absolutely fascinating.
+ The moment when a certain... erm... cat shows up by a certain... erm... road -- that was one of those priceless moments of AAHH which I loved. No idea why, I just did.
+ I found the Spanish peoples' reactions to Kit to be hilarious -- nobody wanted to deal with him, and they kept shuffling him off to somebody else. XD
+ That ending! How can it stop there? *flailing around* These books do have a tendency to simply stop and leave one squirming for the next one. ;) I must read book 4 ASAP.
Overall? I greatly enjoyed this one and can safely say that it has joined the ranks along with The Skin Map (book 1) and The Bone House (book 2) as excellent specimens of books in a series I'm enjoying more and more.
Now if you'll pardon me, I have a large book titled The Shadow Lamp (Quest the Fourth) calling my name, which I intend to devour at once. Toodle-pip and all that.
I will leave you with some quotes from The Spirit Well to help convince you that you need this series in your life (because you do, you know).
FAVORITE QUOTES
"I insist you go away before we both say something we will have need of confessing."
"Dear lady," offered the priest with a smile, "there are no accidents."
Kit spent the next few hours idling in the gate-keeper's lodge as a sort of quasi-captive -- he was not locked up, nor was he free to go, for every time he got up and tried to leave, the porter came running after him, scolding in Spanish, and he was pushed back into the lodge. [I have no idea why I laughed so hard at this, but there you go.]
The old lady regarded her with a sudden intensity, then announced, "I'm going to adopt you, dear heart. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Cass replied. "But do I look like I need adopting?"
"Not in the least," Tess answered.
Probably, I should have locked Kit in the strongbox as well, she thought sulkily. [Wilhelmina, of course.]
"I am gobsmacked. ... You clever little thing." [Mina again. I love her dialog.]
"Don't you know?"
He shook his head. "Nobody tells me anything." [<-- The story of Kit's life, right there.]
"It does not matter where one starts; it is where one finishes that makes all the difference."
September 3, 2012
Kit Livingstone is on a quest for the ultimate treasure—-a tattooed map to an alternate universe! When he witnesses Arthur Flinders-Petrie carry his dead wife into a pool of light—-and emerge with her alive—-Kit wonders if The Spirit Well is the secret of the map. And if it is, can Arthur’s ruthless great-grandson be far behind?
I have not read any of the other book’s in the Bright Empires series, but it was ok. The book started off with a synopsis of the past two books. There are several character’s and in George R.R. Martin style each chapter jumps to another person’s story. I never felt lost, but I was a bit bored. For whatever reason this book just didn’t click with me. I tried to read his King Raven series, but I couldn’t get into that either. I know many people love this author, but he just doesn’t do it for me. So if you are a fan of Lawhead I’m sure you’ll love this book. If you’re like me and weren’t able to get into any of his other book’s, skip this. If you’ve never read any of his stuff and were thinking about reading this, I would suggest reading the first chapter in your local book store (or on your eBook seller’s site) and if you love the style pick it up. If you feel bored or like you’re forcing yourself to read it than this is not the book for you.
I have not read any of the other book’s in the Bright Empires series, but it was ok. The book started off with a synopsis of the past two books. There are several character’s and in George R.R. Martin style each chapter jumps to another person’s story. I never felt lost, but I was a bit bored. For whatever reason this book just didn’t click with me. I tried to read his King Raven series, but I couldn’t get into that either. I know many people love this author, but he just doesn’t do it for me. So if you are a fan of Lawhead I’m sure you’ll love this book. If you’re like me and weren’t able to get into any of his other book’s, skip this. If you’ve never read any of his stuff and were thinking about reading this, I would suggest reading the first chapter in your local book store (or on your eBook seller’s site) and if you love the style pick it up. If you feel bored or like you’re forcing yourself to read it than this is not the book for you.
January 30, 2025
Okay, this is still pretty good. There is a bit of a lull with one character that's interesting, but a bit too drawn out. Otherwise though, I'm enjoying the ongoing quest and the new character promises some added intrigue in the coming books, I hope. Beyond that, not a lot to say without spoiling things so yeah, on to book four.
August 1, 2021
An interesting ensemble of characters, truly menacing villains, and the incredible allure of time travel and adventure. A very enjoyable read.
Although, one of the characters joins a very cult-like organization whose members sound like zealous cultists with their nebulous religious preaching and crazy look in their eyes; and never dispelled that impression til the end of the book. An unorthodox choice for the good guys, to be sure.
Although, one of the characters joins a very cult-like organization whose members sound like zealous cultists with their nebulous religious preaching and crazy look in their eyes; and never dispelled that impression til the end of the book. An unorthodox choice for the good guys, to be sure.
October 17, 2018
Kit finally is able meet up once again with Wilhelmina to compare notes. While Cassandra Carson becomes a new member of ley line travellers and is given an assignment to fulfill.
September 4, 2020
goodread...
April 11, 2018
In The Spirit Well by Stephen R. Lawhead Kit, Mina and the others continue their adventures. Kit is lost in the stone-age, Mina enlists the help of Brother Lazarus to find him while both Lord Burleigh and the nefarious Douglas Petrie-Smith (great-grandson of Arthur) continues their attempts to find and interpret the Skin Map. Lawhead introduces some new characters, including Casandra - a palaeontologist from Arizona --- and we learn more back-story and find out more about the well of souls or Spirit Well - but maybe there is even more mysteries to fathom.
The story or plot is something like a maze or a tangled ball of thread --- and much like the Doctor and River Song --- timelines can intersect higgly piggly. Lawhead does a great job of interweaving the many strands of the plot, keeping my interest, revealing more while at the same time sustaining the mystery. Both Mina and Kit develop as characters and we learn more of what motivates the 'bad guys' and what inspires the 'good guys'. As always, the settings are immersive. All in all, an enjoyable and interesting third book in a five-book series.
The story or plot is something like a maze or a tangled ball of thread --- and much like the Doctor and River Song --- timelines can intersect higgly piggly. Lawhead does a great job of interweaving the many strands of the plot, keeping my interest, revealing more while at the same time sustaining the mystery. Both Mina and Kit develop as characters and we learn more of what motivates the 'bad guys' and what inspires the 'good guys'. As always, the settings are immersive. All in all, an enjoyable and interesting third book in a five-book series.
October 21, 2017
Book 3 of 5, and progress has been made. There's not much I can say about the actual plot without doling out spoilers at this point. Suffice to say, I'm still enjoying the unfolding quest/mystery/drama. And I've jumped straight into Book 4. Onward!
December 17, 2024
The next chapter of the series. The author has done a good job of keeping me engaged in the story despite it being long.
February 14, 2017
Bit disapointed with this book. I dont know where he was going with the last half. Just shoved a new character in, then seem to go no where with the story for the rest of the book.
Felt like a book version of an 'anime filler.'
Felt like a book version of an 'anime filler.'
August 18, 2016
The Spirit Well is a great book that is part of the Bright Empires collection. This series is amazing and will keep you guessing and wondering what will come next. You really need to start at the beginning of the series though so if you haven't read the other books go back to The Skin Map and start there.
It is worth reading through this series as you travel through time and space exploring the world through traveling through and across ley lines that weave time and space together, yet are only open at the right moments at the right places on earth. The ancient civilizations understood the importance of Ley lines and often marked them with monuments such as Stone Hinge. This story is full of surprises and intriguing blend of real places and events and the fictional story create a dynamic world that comes to life as you read. The characters are amazing and you will find yourself rooting for several and hating others.
This is one of my two favorite series, I can't recommend this book and the rest of the series enough.
5 Star, only because they won't let me give it ten.
It is worth reading through this series as you travel through time and space exploring the world through traveling through and across ley lines that weave time and space together, yet are only open at the right moments at the right places on earth. The ancient civilizations understood the importance of Ley lines and often marked them with monuments such as Stone Hinge. This story is full of surprises and intriguing blend of real places and events and the fictional story create a dynamic world that comes to life as you read. The characters are amazing and you will find yourself rooting for several and hating others.
This is one of my two favorite series, I can't recommend this book and the rest of the series enough.
5 Star, only because they won't let me give it ten.
November 29, 2020
Initial Response
THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK SO FAR.
High Lights
- OH. Where do I begin? Like, for real?
- Kit is awesome. I love his relationship with the River City Clan. It's so great.
- Mina is awesome. She's basically the sensible, knows-it-all, person in this scenario and it works amazingly well. Plus she knows people from literally...everywhere.
- It all read so smoothly! It was like a movie playing in my head the whole time. I picture everything, the character's voices were clear, and it was SO fun.
- Also, the dialogue is my favorite thing. Like, I need more dialogue. Seriously.
Low Lights
- I HATE DOUGLAS. Just...so you know...
- We didn't get to see very much of Burleigh in this installment, but I have a feeling it's building to something very big in the coming books.
- Cassandra was an interesting addition to the storyline. I don't know much about her yet, and the chapters with her were a little rocky for me, but I'm curious to see what her part in this is.
Conclusion
IT'S A GREAT BOOK. That's all I have to say. I can't WAIT to read the next book! :D
THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK SO FAR.
High Lights
- OH. Where do I begin? Like, for real?
- Kit is awesome. I love his relationship with the River City Clan. It's so great.
- Mina is awesome. She's basically the sensible, knows-it-all, person in this scenario and it works amazingly well. Plus she knows people from literally...everywhere.
- It all read so smoothly! It was like a movie playing in my head the whole time. I picture everything, the character's voices were clear, and it was SO fun.
- Also, the dialogue is my favorite thing. Like, I need more dialogue. Seriously.
Low Lights
- I HATE DOUGLAS. Just...so you know...
- We didn't get to see very much of Burleigh in this installment, but I have a feeling it's building to something very big in the coming books.
- Cassandra was an interesting addition to the storyline. I don't know much about her yet, and the chapters with her were a little rocky for me, but I'm curious to see what her part in this is.
Conclusion
IT'S A GREAT BOOK. That's all I have to say. I can't WAIT to read the next book! :D
June 6, 2018
p. 347 "May this light be a symbol of the Great Light on which you may rely as you make passage through the darkness of ignorance, evil and death towards the never-ending light of eternity."
p. 349 "Prayer is our greatest and most salutary weapon in the eternal battle. No less than gravity, prayer is one of the elemental forces that moves the world. We underestimate it at our peril."
p. 372, "The road is a metaphor for change and transformation. The human race seems to love nothing more than a long detour. The road and its inherent detours, dangers, and disasters can be a forceful agent of change.
p. 374 - author describes pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain and says, "If there was to be any transformation in the spiritual orientation of the pilgrim's soul, that change would take place not on arrival as if by magic, but in the long, hard work of The Way."
p. 349 "Prayer is our greatest and most salutary weapon in the eternal battle. No less than gravity, prayer is one of the elemental forces that moves the world. We underestimate it at our peril."
p. 372, "The road is a metaphor for change and transformation. The human race seems to love nothing more than a long detour. The road and its inherent detours, dangers, and disasters can be a forceful agent of change.
p. 374 - author describes pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain and says, "If there was to be any transformation in the spiritual orientation of the pilgrim's soul, that change would take place not on arrival as if by magic, but in the long, hard work of The Way."
December 2, 2012
Lawhead exhibits his usual fine writing, but three books into the series, "The Spirit Well" has begun to run the storyline off the rails. The narrative meanders, and there is no real plot or confrontation moving the story forward. The characters (which we jump back and forth to without any real sense of organization or "moving forward") have lost most of their defining motivations and individual quirks that made them interesting in the first place. In other words, "the shine is off the apple" on this series, in a big way. I've read everything Mr. Lawhead has written, and have always been a fan. But he has his work cut out for him in the next installment in the "Bright Empires" series if he hopes to raise the work back up to his usual high standard of storytelling.
April 16, 2016
Well, I certainly did like it! Maybe not loved it, but it was soooo interesting. Lawhead writes beautifully and descriptively, and I liked the fact that this book filled in the answers to so many questions -- consolation for the questions it introduced!! It was a little slower than the others but I didn't mind that. I can't lay my finger on anything that's wrong, other than that it's not completely my type of book. I think it's because I love heavier classics so much that I found it lacking. More character study, you know. But, that's just me! My favorite parts were where Lawhead described the manifold places all over the world ... every place is special and interesting.
January 14, 2022
Whewwwww! Book 3 of 5 was a good place for the author to slow the pace down and build up the older characters and their past and those connected to them as well as introduce new characters.
Travels: London, Egypt, back to prehistoric times and Syria.
Whilemenia is still my BFF in my head. Lol! She is getting more fearless as the book goes on.
Kit has found his “people.” It’s fun to read how he is to a time and place that we humans today can’t even fathom.
Arthur and the skin map is my favorite part of the story and wait with great expectation for the nuggets of information.
Overall just a good read.
This book may have a trigger for some:
Death
Entitlement
Murder
Travels: London, Egypt, back to prehistoric times and Syria.
Whilemenia is still my BFF in my head. Lol! She is getting more fearless as the book goes on.
Kit has found his “people.” It’s fun to read how he is to a time and place that we humans today can’t even fathom.
Arthur and the skin map is my favorite part of the story and wait with great expectation for the nuggets of information.
Overall just a good read.
This book may have a trigger for some:
Death
Entitlement
Murder
September 13, 2019
This is where in the narrative thread the Christian lore starts to really come thru (I knew to expect it as I used to read Lawhead in my fundie/evangelical Christian days). I haven't entirely decided yet if it's C.S. Lewis kind of tolerable theological angle, or blergh level of bothersome preachy fundie Christian theologizing. Slightly leaning towards the latter enough that this one made me wrinkle my nose a bit but I'll probably pursue book #4 and hopefully I won't feel the need to throw my Kindle across the room.
January 27, 2015
I enjoyed both of the previous books in this series, but The Spirit Well is so far my favorite. I love how Lawhead weaves in spiritual elements into this installment while slowly pulling back the curtain on the complicated plotline. Enough questions are answered to make way for new ones. I have no idea where Lawhead is going with this series, but I'm looking forward to following the journey!
August 3, 2021
Another good book by Mr. Lawhead. Towards the end of the book it became a little too Sunday School'ish, but still interesting. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Not looking forward to the series ending. As with all serial books you become invested in the characters. This book is no exception.
June 12, 2012
Interesting premise. I read the first, skipped the second, now this is the third. Felt a little top heavy from time to time as I slogged through the various storylines and tried to keep up with the characters. But, the alternate realities and the idea of time jumping..that's intriguing....
January 12, 2015
The story keeps growing and going in fascinating directions... of course, this is the middle volume of a five volume set, so Lawhead continues to add new twists & characters - thankfully, without reducing clarity or narrative drive.
Can't wait to read the next volume!
Can't wait to read the next volume!
January 10, 2016
This series by Mr. Lawhead Is one of the most thought provoking he has written so far. I look forward to the final two books.
February 16, 2021
I like the mentions of food. :)
April 23, 2022
This third entry into the Bright Empires series has a lot of explanatory backstories. As others have noted, the Bright Empires series should be regarded as one large book that was divided into five equal parts. Each book in this series starts where the previous one ended, and they don’t come to any conclusions at the end. As well, Lawhead has packed an excessive number of characters into the overall story which gets even more confusing given the time travel and the presence of multi-generational family lines. In this book, we follow Kit’s continuing adventures from the Stone Age back to reuniting with Mina. We get backstory on how Mina learned so much about last lines. We also learn about some of the Petrie descendants, though it isn’t clear on what role they are playing. We are introduced to a new character, Cass, who is clearly a recruit to the “good guy” team. We also learn a little bit about Burley’s emergence and transformation into a villain, though I suspect there is lot more to that story. All in all, Lawhead is a good storyteller, but I do wish that he would have streamlined this overall story by cutting out some unnecessary characters (or perhaps giving more cursory coverage of them if they are important later on). Mina and Cass are favorite characters, with Kit being okay but rather dull.
December 21, 2024
Rating this at 2.5, because I liked it a bit less than the first two books. It feels like more of the same. I didn’t want a new character introduced in Cassandra, and I don’t see the purpose of her, because I really am not getting the purpose yet of a bunch of the other characters. They all seem to be on a life-threatening quest for who knows what exactly—is it the map, or some treasure the map might lead to, or the Spirit Well is the treasure of eternal life to which the map leads? Also I don’t like that one of Arthur’s descendants is a bad guy, so I don’t know where that’s going. I’m not quite sure I care to root for even Kit and Mina, because just when you start getting attached to them, you’re jerked off somewhere and sometime else to look at someone else. I don’t see it as very important to give background now for Mina’s actions in books 1-2. It’s actually getting a bit boring. We need more explanations now, a little more movement forward, not sideways or backwards.
November 7, 2012
Unlike many books, the hardest part of this review is summarizing the story. For one thing, it’s nearly impossible to talk about this one without referring to the previous two of the five-book Bright Empires series.
And secondly, the story is … not linear. I may as well give a SPOILER ALERT now. I don’t know how to do this review without referring to plot details, some critical.
The Story. Kit Livingston, having transported inadvertently along a ley line to the Stone Age at the end of The Bone House, is adapting and learning, not just about survival, but about community.
Mina, his former significant other who has found herself as a small business owner in medieval Prague, realizes she is in danger from Lord Archibald Burleigh who wants the Skin Map–a coded mapping of the ley lines that shows where the Spirit Well is located–and will stop at nothing to find all its segmented parts. Consequently, Mina decides to go into hiding, setting off a lengthy flashback recalling how she became a student of the ley lines which allow travelers to move from one dimension to the other.
Cassandra, a PhD candidate working on an archaeological dig in Arizona, inadvertently stumbles upon a powerful ley line. In an effort to replicate and document the experience, she becomes lost in twentieth century Syria. When she discovers a society of fellow or former travelers, she becomes a member and accepts their first assignment: to find Kit and his great-grandfather.
The story ends with Kit and Mina, still the character in her flashback, reunited but back in the Stone Age all because Kit stumbled upon what everyone is actually looking for: the Spirit Well. He believes he can return there, but there’s a problem. His access point that opened to the Spirit Well dimension is blocked.
Strengths. I may have lost some of you with that last paragraph. Mina, on her way to hide, thinks back over her years of learning how to travel the ley lines and the help she received and the events that occurred. One of those events was connecting with Kit of story-time present.
I almost missed this, thinking I’d read carelessly and overlooked where the flashback ended. But at one point Kit speaks of Mina rescuing him in Egypt, an event that occurred in The Skin Map, but Mina informed him that for her, in her current dimension, that event hadn’t happened yet.
How is this a strength? It illustrates to me how brilliantly Stephen Lawhead is handling the multiple strands of this plot–past and present and their intersection.
The thing that impressed me the most was that I never felt lost. Once or twice I had to remind myself who some of the minor characters were, but whenever a chapter (frequently) began with a different point of view character, I quite easily fell right into their plight and setting, just as eager to learn more as when Mr. Lawhead took us away from them.
This is a major accomplishment, I think, because I generally complain about books with shifting point of view characters and back-and-forth story threads. The thing that was different in The Spirit Well, as I saw it, was that the story itself called for this format. This was not a whimsical approach, an author showing off his cleverness for the sake of impressing his readership. No. This story is better, or perhaps, requires, this interweaving of characters and places and times. Mr. Lawhead does it brilliantly.
In addition, in The Spirit Well the characters come alive, largely because they grow and change.
Thirdly, the spiritual ramifications of all that’s happening come closer to the surface. There’s much here to explore in the next two books, but God is not hiding, and the characters are more aware of Him than they have been in the previous two books.
One more. The settings are rich. Mr. Lawhead did a remarkable job bringing these various places, and times, alive. All his talents as a historical novelist are on display.
Weaknesses. I don’t have anything. Some people on the CSFF Blog Tour mentioned the slow pace. I never found it so. Kit is thrust from the Stone Age and is in immediate danger, Mina must flee her home in Prague or be captured, Cass follows her scholarly curiosity and becomes lost in another dimension with no way of knowing how to get home. Meanwhile, Arthur, the man who tattooed the ley line locations to his body, is killed, the map created, and divided. There’s betrayal and manipulation, suspicion and death. There’s also hope and help and healing. It’s an incredible story, masterfully told.
Recommendation. I’ve liked the previous Stephen Lawhead books CSFF has toured. This one is a cut above the others. In addition, this feels important–like Mr. Lawhead is showing in his story great spiritual truths. Some worry that these “truths” may turn out to be falsehoods. I have no reason to believe that to be so. I could be wrong, but at this point, I think the direction of the Bright Empires series is up.
It’s a mystery inside a science fantasy, with characters who are developing into people I care about. This is a must read for Stephen Lawhead fans and for those interested in time travel stories or multidimensional stories. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction or fantasy. It’s the kind of book anyone who considers themselves a reader would enjoy. But my recommendation is to start with The Skin Map and read them all. This is a series you won’t want to miss. Also be sure to tell your friends. (They might be ticked off if they find out you were sitting on this one without telling them. ;-) )
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher which in no way colored my review.
And secondly, the story is … not linear. I may as well give a SPOILER ALERT now. I don’t know how to do this review without referring to plot details, some critical.
The Story. Kit Livingston, having transported inadvertently along a ley line to the Stone Age at the end of The Bone House, is adapting and learning, not just about survival, but about community.
Mina, his former significant other who has found herself as a small business owner in medieval Prague, realizes she is in danger from Lord Archibald Burleigh who wants the Skin Map–a coded mapping of the ley lines that shows where the Spirit Well is located–and will stop at nothing to find all its segmented parts. Consequently, Mina decides to go into hiding, setting off a lengthy flashback recalling how she became a student of the ley lines which allow travelers to move from one dimension to the other.
Cassandra, a PhD candidate working on an archaeological dig in Arizona, inadvertently stumbles upon a powerful ley line. In an effort to replicate and document the experience, she becomes lost in twentieth century Syria. When she discovers a society of fellow or former travelers, she becomes a member and accepts their first assignment: to find Kit and his great-grandfather.
The story ends with Kit and Mina, still the character in her flashback, reunited but back in the Stone Age all because Kit stumbled upon what everyone is actually looking for: the Spirit Well. He believes he can return there, but there’s a problem. His access point that opened to the Spirit Well dimension is blocked.
Strengths. I may have lost some of you with that last paragraph. Mina, on her way to hide, thinks back over her years of learning how to travel the ley lines and the help she received and the events that occurred. One of those events was connecting with Kit of story-time present.
I almost missed this, thinking I’d read carelessly and overlooked where the flashback ended. But at one point Kit speaks of Mina rescuing him in Egypt, an event that occurred in The Skin Map, but Mina informed him that for her, in her current dimension, that event hadn’t happened yet.
How is this a strength? It illustrates to me how brilliantly Stephen Lawhead is handling the multiple strands of this plot–past and present and their intersection.
The thing that impressed me the most was that I never felt lost. Once or twice I had to remind myself who some of the minor characters were, but whenever a chapter (frequently) began with a different point of view character, I quite easily fell right into their plight and setting, just as eager to learn more as when Mr. Lawhead took us away from them.
This is a major accomplishment, I think, because I generally complain about books with shifting point of view characters and back-and-forth story threads. The thing that was different in The Spirit Well, as I saw it, was that the story itself called for this format. This was not a whimsical approach, an author showing off his cleverness for the sake of impressing his readership. No. This story is better, or perhaps, requires, this interweaving of characters and places and times. Mr. Lawhead does it brilliantly.
In addition, in The Spirit Well the characters come alive, largely because they grow and change.
Thirdly, the spiritual ramifications of all that’s happening come closer to the surface. There’s much here to explore in the next two books, but God is not hiding, and the characters are more aware of Him than they have been in the previous two books.
One more. The settings are rich. Mr. Lawhead did a remarkable job bringing these various places, and times, alive. All his talents as a historical novelist are on display.
Weaknesses. I don’t have anything. Some people on the CSFF Blog Tour mentioned the slow pace. I never found it so. Kit is thrust from the Stone Age and is in immediate danger, Mina must flee her home in Prague or be captured, Cass follows her scholarly curiosity and becomes lost in another dimension with no way of knowing how to get home. Meanwhile, Arthur, the man who tattooed the ley line locations to his body, is killed, the map created, and divided. There’s betrayal and manipulation, suspicion and death. There’s also hope and help and healing. It’s an incredible story, masterfully told.
Recommendation. I’ve liked the previous Stephen Lawhead books CSFF has toured. This one is a cut above the others. In addition, this feels important–like Mr. Lawhead is showing in his story great spiritual truths. Some worry that these “truths” may turn out to be falsehoods. I have no reason to believe that to be so. I could be wrong, but at this point, I think the direction of the Bright Empires series is up.
It’s a mystery inside a science fantasy, with characters who are developing into people I care about. This is a must read for Stephen Lawhead fans and for those interested in time travel stories or multidimensional stories. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction or fantasy. It’s the kind of book anyone who considers themselves a reader would enjoy. But my recommendation is to start with The Skin Map and read them all. This is a series you won’t want to miss. Also be sure to tell your friends. (They might be ticked off if they find out you were sitting on this one without telling them. ;-) )
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher which in no way colored my review.
July 30, 2018
Another well narrated audio book. I have been enjoying this series and I look forward to how this story will ultimately end. My husband is also reading this series and is a bit farther along. On a recent long drive we plugged this one in so I could continue listening to it. He mentioned, "Ahh, this is when it gets goddy" I am not sure I would necessarily describe it as such but yes, this book does start to involve characters that see the act of traveling between worlds far more religiously. I don't yet feel that any untoward preaching has occurred but he said it only gets worse in his opinion, but yet he wants to know what will happen so he also continues reading. So bottom line is we are both still very much enjoying this series with or without an unanticipated religious connotation.
March 11, 2020
Book three of the "Bright Empires" series has a similar feel to the first two books. The big difference is that Lawhead really starts to theologise in this book. On one side I find it fascinating, because Christians are rarely portrayed in a positive light in works of fiction. On the other, the fantastic nature of this series means that the faith of the characters becomes a little confusing, the book itself sound more like a universalist in nature, or something that is suggesting that humans themselves have an untapped heavenly power to them.
I'm not sure yet whether my niggling concerns are just concessions to a fantasy story, or a theological agenda being put forward in the book. Either way, choosing to ignore it, it is still an enjoyable series.
I'm not sure yet whether my niggling concerns are just concessions to a fantasy story, or a theological agenda being put forward in the book. Either way, choosing to ignore it, it is still an enjoyable series.
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