C.S. Lakin writes the following of The Map Across Time: A Fairy Tale: “I know it sounds arrogant, but it is my favorite book in all the world and it is comforting, inspiring and moving. And because there is so much in there about me and my struggles in life, my dreams and hopes, it is a part of me I wouldn’t want to be without.”
The second tale in the Gates of Heaven series, The Map Across Time: A Fairy Tale contains many of the elements that are also present in the first, The Wolf of Tebron, and then some more. Both tales are set in a mythical world that is permeated with a sense of both good and evil—a world in which the leading protagonists are required to battle not only external forces that seem to be beyond their control, but also their own inner demons of fear, anxiety and self-doubt. The tales are most definitely coming of age novels, in which the well-rounded characters come
increasingly into their own as they both literally and metaphorically navigate their way across a landscape that is lovingly, though at times fearfully, depicted. C.S. Lakin may be a writer of fantasies, but she is also at heart very much the realist, who is fully aware of the complexities of living in a diverse world. Her sensitive appreciation of all things both natural and supernatural resonates throughout her work, in which she not only shows her heightened appreciation for the tangible aspects of our existence, but also her sustained awareness of matters transcending our mortal coil. Lakin expresses a deeper intent with the series, which she voices in a statement regarding her broad purpose in writing this series of adventure tales for adults: “Although these books are clearly future-based and involve Scripture and allegory, my mission is to reconcile a lost world to God, for as my characters wander lost through the pages of my books, my readers wander with them, until they find they are home.” Coming home to self and to the microcosm of the wider world that surrounds one is thus pivotal to both The Wolf of Tebron and The Map Across Time. Both works, in addition to being inspiring and deeply moving, are also highly accessible, on no matter which level you read them.
Ideal for the general reader, who does not need to be faith-based to enjoy it,The Map Across Time can be read on its own, as, although the themes and part of the story have some bearing on the earlier The Wolf of Tebron, the story can also be considered to be self-contained and capable of standing on its own two feet. For any avid follower of fantasy, I would most definitely recommend investing in the whole series as it appears—you will most definitely not wish to miss out on any of the tales, and I look forward to the day when the Gates of Heaven series comes to rival other, much less meritorious, works of fantasy that have so come to dominate the mass media market in recent years.
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