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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to Suspend my Disbelief for This One, December 22, 2007
Sometimes I wish I could stop picking up these thrillers based on literary history. It seems to be a rare skill these days to put together one that really thrills from beginning to end. In Illuminated, Mr. Bronleewe makes an honorable attempt, but falls short.
In this one, there is a secret hidden in the illuminations of Gutenberg bibles, placed there by Johnnes Gutenberg himself. There are not one, but two secret societies--the Orphans and the Order of the Dragon--racing to protect and/or uncover the secret. The secret, of course, leads to an ancient, hidden treasure.
OK, to be honest, I eat this kind of stuff up. And, to be fair, there's a lot of interesting stuff in here about Gutenberg, his bibles, and the history of the period. I'm just having a harder and harder time dealing with the suspension of disbelief required of these novels. And I don't mean the foundations of the story. I'm willing to throw my lot in with those. It's how the action unfolds, which breaks through the boundaries of the credible.
Just a few examples (spoiler alert): the bulk of this novel unfolds over the course of a single airline flight from Europe to America. Granted, that makes for a quick and easy read, but it also puts a strain on the events that have to happen. During the time required for this flight, a librarian steals a Gutenberg from the Library of Congress underneath the noses of professional thieves and killers; an asthmatic, pre-pubescent boy saves his grandmother and himself from multiple professional killers (and interprets a key clue from the Gutenbergs); and our protagonist--in a couple hours--figures out the multiple stages of the hidden secret that has remained unknown for hundreds of years. Then, he misleads his captors as to the meaning of the secret, escapes from a bomb with his family, and discovers the secret for himself.
I'm sorry to everyone who appreciates this kind of action but I like even my thrillers to at least remain within certain bounds of believability. This one crossed the line for me and made it hard for me to enjoy the more pleasurable aspects of this novel. This was an idea that deserved better treatment, I think.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting But...., September 3, 2007
Illuminated is truly an exciting story. For that I have given it three stars.
However I found all of the characters, even 8-year old Charlie, to be remarkably unappealing. August Adams seemed to deserve all of the trouble that came his way. April was simply obnoxious.
Other problems: why was there so much turbulence when August's plane landed in New York, but none when April's plane arrived only minutes later? Why was April's mother constantly referred to as "Grandma Rose", as if being Charlie's grandmother was the only thing worth mentioning about her? Why wasn't much more said about Dr. Winter, who apparently had a key role in the plot? And the dialogue was unrealistic. It did not seem like real conversation.
I feel that Illuminated just missed being a great thriller and was in need of some serious editing. Not to shorten it--at least it isn't weighed down with excessive description--but simply to have it make more sense.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old Books, New Fiction, August 8, 2007
Secret societies, hidden codes, ancient art - This isn't the latest controversy penned by Dan Brown. This is a 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.
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