Bone House by Stephen R. Lawhead

The Bone House by Stephen R Lawhead is the second book in the Bright Empires Series. It starts immediately where the first novel, Skin Map, left off.
Kit Livingstone, still reeling from the death of his grandfather Cosimo, finds himself on the run to find a map that contains the interlinkings of the multiverse. His survival depends on staying away from the Burley Men and finding the elusive pieces of the Skin Map. Meanwhile Kit's girlfriend Mina is quickly finding out more and more about how Kit is to succeed on his quest. However, so are their enemies. Will Mina and Kit find the parts of the map before those who lurk in darkness do?

The Bone House is an exciting book, filled with mysteries and new thrills. However, the structure of the book reduces the unity and complete understanding of the plot. The storyline jumps from one character to another, from one time to another, to one world to another. Many of the characters are unknown to the reader, so the reader has trouble properly placing the characters in the story. The plot becomes so fragmented at times that I had trouble following what was happening or staying interested in the story. Because the book is about jumping from one time to another and oftentimes one world to another, it is understandable that the author wanted to create a structure that mirrored ley leaps. However, I found it to take away from the overall story. If you can stick with the novel and read past about two thirds of the way, everything begins to make sense and the story becomes less fractured and more enjoyable.
I love Stephen R. Lawhead's novels, so I was a little disappointed in the fractured nature of most of Bone House. If you read The Skin Map and thought it was a little fractured, I would not recommend The Bone House because it is even more so. However, if you loved the structure and plotline of The Skin Map and really want to know what happens next, I would highly recommend The Bone House. And if you have not read The Skin Map, there is no way you will know what is going on in The Bone House.