{"title":"About Bright Empires","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol-table-wrap\"\u003e\n\u003ctable class=\"wsite-multicol-table\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody class=\"wsite-multicol-tbody\"\u003e\n\u003ctr class=\"wsite-multicol-tr\"\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"wsite-multicol-col\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"wsite-content-title\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff1212;\"\u003eSummary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"paragraph\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdventures and treasure hunters traverse through time, space, and parallel dimensions in search of a skin map and the secrets it holds. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"wsite-content-title\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff0b0b;\"\u003eStats\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"paragraph\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGenre: \u003c\/strong\u003eAdult science-fiction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeries length:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eFive books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eViolence: \u003c\/strong\u003eModerate violence\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMagic\/Supernatural:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eModerate supernatural, some left unexplained, some attributed to science\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRomance:\u003c\/strong\u003e Light to moderate \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChristian\/spiritual element:\u003c\/strong\u003e Subtle elements\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRecommendation: \u003c\/strong\u003eReaders who like mind-benders and exploring a wide variety of historical periods and places\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou might like this book if you liked...\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuantum Leap\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-skin-map-by-stephen-lawhead","title":"The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead","description":"\u003cp\u003eBook 1 of Bright Empires\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is the ultimate quest for the ultimate treasure. Chasing a map tattooed on human skin. Across an omniverse of intersecting realities. To unravel the future of the future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKit Livingstone’s great-grandfather appears to him in a deserted alley during a tumultuous storm. He reveals an unbelievable story: that the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legend or the weekend hobby of deluded cranks, but pathways to other worlds. To those who know how to use them, they grant the ability to travel the multi-layered universe of which we ordinarily inhabit only a tiny part.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOne explorer knew more than most. Braving every danger, he toured both time and space on voyages of heroic discovery. Ever on his guard and fearful of becoming lost in the cosmos, he developed an intricate code—a roadmap of symbols—that he tattooed onto his own body. This Skin Map has since been lost in time. Now the race is on to recover all the pieces and discover its secrets.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut the Skin Map itself is not the ultimate goal. It is merely the beginning of a vast and marvelous quest for a prize beyond imagining.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Bright Empires series—from acclaimed author Stephen R. Lawhead—is a unique blend of epic treasure hunt, ancient history, alternate realities, cutting-edge physics, philosophy, and mystery. The result is a page-turning, adventure like no other.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpening Lines:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHad he but known that before the day was over he would discover the hidden dimensions of the universe, Kit might have been better prepared. At lest, he would have brought an umbrella.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLike most Londoners, Kit was a martyr to the daily travails of navigating a city whose complexities were legendary. he knew well the dangers even the most inconsequential foray could involve. Venturing out into the world beyond his doorstep was the urban equivalent of trial by combat and he armed himself as best he could. He had long ago learned his small patch of the great metropolitan sprawl; he knew where the things most needful for survival were to be found and how to get to them. He kept in his head a ready-reference library of street maps, bus routes, and time schedules. He had memorised the pertinent sections of the London Underground tube schematic; he knew the quickest ways to work, and from work to his favourite pubs, the grocers, the cinema, the park where he jogged.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSadly, it was rarely enough. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Imagination Investigation Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46767243788514,"sku":null,"price":18.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0734\/8348\/5410\/files\/ScienceFictionTheSkinMap-Lawhead.png?v=1758332317"},{"product_id":"the-bone-house-by-stephen-lawhead","title":"The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead","description":"\u003cp\u003eBook 2 of Bright Empires\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKit Livingstone met his great-grandfather Cosimo in a rainy alley in London where he discovered the truth about alternate realities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNow he’s on the run—and on a quest—trying to understand the impossible mission he inherited from Cosimo: to restore a map that charts the hidden dimensions of the multiverse. Survival depends on staying one step ahead of the savage Burley Men.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe key is the Skin Map—but where it leads and what it means, Kit has no idea. The pieces have been scattered throughout this universe and beyond.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMina, from her outpost in seventeenth-century Prague, is quickly gaining both the experience and the means to succeed in the quest. Yet so are those with evil intent who, from the shadows, are manipulating great minds of history for their own malign purposes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThose who know how to use the ley lines have left their own world behind to travel across time and space—down avenues of Egyptian sphinxes, to an Etruscan tufa tomb, into a Bohemian coffee shop, and across a Stone Age landscape where universes collide—in this, the second quest to unlock the mystery of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Bone House\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpening Lines:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom a snug in the corner of the Museum Tavern, Douglas Flinders-Petrie dipped a sop of bread into the gravy of his steak and kidney pudding and watched the entrance to the British Museum across the street. The great edifice was dark, the building closed to the public for over three hours. The employees had gone home, the charwomen had finished their cleaning, and the high iron gates were locked behind them. The courtyard was empty and, outside the gates, there were fewer people on the street now than an hour ago. he felt no sense of urgency: only keen anticipation, which he savoured as he took another draught of London Pride. He had spent most of the afternoon in the museum, once more marking the doors and exits, the blind spots, the rooms where a person might hide and remain unseen by the night watchmen, of which there were but three to cover the entire acreage of the sprawling institution. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Imagination Investigation Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46767250669794,"sku":null,"price":18.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0734\/8348\/5410\/files\/ScienceFictionTheBoneHouse-Lawhead.png?v=1756332562"},{"product_id":"the-spirit-well-by-stephen-lawhead","title":"The Spirit Well by Stephen Lawhead","description":"\u003cp\u003eBook 3 of Bright Empires\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"paragraph\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eThe Search for the Map—and the secret behind its cryptic code—intensifies in a quest across time, space, and multiple realities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKit 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCassandra 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol-table-wrap\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpening Lines:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCassandra Clarke dug bones for a living. She spent every summer of her professional life hunkered down in trenches of various depths with a trowel in one hand and a whisk broom in the other, excavating the skeletal remains of creatures long dead, many of which were known only to science and some known to no one at all. Although digging was in her blood--her mother was Alison Brett Clarke, palaeontologist of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTurkana Boy\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e renown--Cassandra did not plan to spend her entire life in plexiglas goggles with dust in her hair and a damp handkerchief over her nose. her ambition was far greater than crating up fossils to be carefully catalogued and then locked away in some musty museum basement. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Imagination Investigation Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46767252209890,"sku":null,"price":18.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0734\/8348\/5410\/files\/ScienceFictionTheSpiritWell-Lawhead.png?v=1758332537"},{"product_id":"the-shadow-lamp-by-stephen-lawhead","title":"The Shadow Lamp by Stephen Lawhead","description":"\u003cp\u003eBook 4 of Bright Empires\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"paragraph\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eThe quest for answers—and ultimate survival—hinges on finding the cosmic link between the Skin Map, the Shadow Lamp, and the Spirit Well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe search for the map of blue symbols began in a rainy alley in London but has since expanded through space and time and includes more seekers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKit, Mina, Gianni, Cass, Haven, and Giles have gathered in Mina’s 16th-century coffee house and are united in their determination to find a path back to the Spirit Well. Yet, with their shadow lamps destroyed and key pieces of the map still missing, the journey will be far more difficult than they imagine. And when one of their own disappears with Sir Henry’s cryptic Green Book, they no longer know who to trust.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt the same time, the Zetetic Society has uncovered a terrifying secret which, if proven, will rock the very foundations of Creation. The quest for answers is no longer limited to recovering an unknown treasure. The fate of the universe depends on unraveling the riddle of the Skin Map.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol-table-wrap\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpening Lines:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKit stood gazing at the burnt-out ley lamp still sizzling at his feet. The heat from the metal carapace had singed the dry grass, sending tiny tendrils of white smoke drifting up to assault his nostrils with a harsh metallic scent. overpowered by the energy coursing around and through the enormous tree before them, the devices had expired in a burst of heat and blue light. \"I guess that's that,\" he concluded. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Imagination Investigation Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46767253029090,"sku":null,"price":18.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0734\/8348\/5410\/files\/ScienceFictionTheShadowLamp-Lawhead.png?v=1758332112"},{"product_id":"the-fatal-tree-by-stephen-lawhead","title":"The Fatal Tree by Stephen Lawhead","description":"\u003cp\u003eBook 5 of Bright Empires\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"paragraph\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eKit stared at his fellow questors. “Is this it . . . \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe End of Everything?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt started with small, seemingly insignificant wrinkles in time: A busy bridge suddenly disappears, spilling cars into the sea. A beast from another realm roams modern streets. Napoleon’s army appears in 1930s Damascus ready for battle. But that’s only the beginning as entire realities collide and collapse.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe questors are spread throughout the universe. Mina is stuck on a plain of solid ice, her only companion an angry cave lion. Tony and Gianni are monitoring the cataclysmic reversal of the cosmic expansion—but coming up short on answers. And Burleigh is languishing in a dreary underground dungeon—his only hope of survival the very man he tried to murder. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKit and Cass are back in the Stone Age trying to reach the Spirit Well. But an enormous yew tree has grown over the portal, effectively cutting off any chance of return. Unless someone can find a solution—and fast—all Creation will be destroyed in the universal apocalypse known as The End of Everything.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this final volume of the fantastic Bright Empires series, Stephen R. Lawhead brings this multi-stranded tale to a stunning and immensely satisfying conclusion.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wsite-multicol-table-wrap\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpening Lines:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGordon Seiferts looked out the window of the operations module of Skybase Alpha. he blinked and looked again because he saw something that should not have been there: the moon. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCaptain Seiferts was undertaking his daily background radiation reading and thermal image of Earth, but the blue planet was nowhere to be seen in his field of vision. He swivelled the camera 230 degrees and was able to bring Earth into view, but the metrics were all skewed. Fearing that the space station had somehow drifted out of orbit, he hurried down to the command module, where the mystery was compounded. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Imagination Investigation Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46767253586146,"sku":null,"price":18.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0734\/8348\/5410\/files\/ScienceFictionTheFatalTree-Lawhead.png?v=1756333227"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0734\/8348\/5410\/collections\/ScienceFictionTheSkinMap-Lawhead.png?v=1759194713","url":"https:\/\/yvbmmp-18.myshopify.com\/collections\/about-bright-empires.oembed","provider":"Imagination Investigation Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}