Old books, New fiction

Illuminated

by Matt Bronleewe

Secret societies, hidden codes, ancient art – This isn’t the latest controversy penned by Dan Brown. This is the stunning debut novel from producer/songwriter Matt Bronleewe. Illuminated combines edge-of-your-seat action with a centuries old mystery, creating a story that hooks the reader early and keeps the pages turning.

Most ancient book scholars spend their days in rooms devoid of sunlight examining books many centuries old, but August Adams isn’t your standard, everyday archaeobibliologist. Not content to remain in the confines of museums and back rooms, August throws himself into the acquisition and sale of ancient books. Because of August’s thirst for adventure he has fractured his relationships with his son and his (now ex) wife, and he struggles to keep his head above water financially.

After a brief prologue introducing the reader to a young Johannes Gutenberg, the man who would later invent the printing press, the book opens with August leaping into the heat of the excitement as the airplane he is on experiences some extreme turbulence. After the turbulence dies down and he returns to his seat we find out that August has found a Gutenberg Bible, one of the rarest, and therefore costliest, books in the world and is delivering it to a buyer in New York. He has high hopes that this one sale will bring him out of debt and put him in better standing with his kid and ex-wife.

August and his family are then swept up into a centuries old mystery involving secret codes hidden within the illuminations in the margins of Gutenberg Bibles and secret societies connected in some way to both the Knights Templar and Count Dracula.

Unrelentingly paced, Illuminated grabs you by the shirt and doesn’t let go until long after the final page has been read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good intrigue. Be warned though, this book is NOT for the faint-of-heart; there are one or two scenes that contain somewhat graphic violence.

My only complaint for Mr. Bronleewe is that the book ended too soon. I would have liked more interaction between August and his family, and more information about the secret societies. Matt Bronleewe represents the next generation of Christian Fiction, and the future looks very bright.