Illuminated by Matt Bronleewe
Description:
August Adams has failed his family before. He's sacrificed relationships in pursuit of adventure, fame, and money. Now the very lives of those he loves depend on his ability to decipher a centuries-old puzzle encrypted in the colorful hand-painted illuminations that adorn three rare Gutenberg Bibles.
It's a secret that could yield unimaginable wealth, undermine two major religions, and change the course of Western civilization. Two ruthless, ancient organizations are willing to do anything to get their hands on it. And August has the span of one transatlantic flight to figure it out.
If he fails, those he holds most dear will die. If he succeeds, he'll destroy a national treasure.
The clock ticks, the suspense mounts, and the body count rises as August pits his knowledge and his love for his family against the clock, secret societies, and even Johannes Gutenberg himself.
About the Author:
Matt Bronleewe is a record producer and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He was a founding member of the band Jars of Clay and has worked with Grammy-award-winning artists including Michael W. Smith an Rebecca St. James, as well as multi-platinum-selling international artists such as Natalie Imbruglia. He and his wife, Karin, have three children, George, Cole, and Grace.
My Reivew:
Illuminated reminds me of a treasure hunt. The main characters are archaeobibliologists--more simply put, people who work with old books. In order to save the life of their son, the book specialists, August and April must solve complicated clues hidden in three rare Gutenberg Bibles.
The fast pace of the book kicks off almost immediately with the reader bouncing between the crises of April as she attemts to steal a rare Gutenburg Bible from a museum, to August, who is trying to solve the illuminations (pictures) messages while traveling in a plane across the world, and Charlie, their son who is just trying to survive the clutches of one abducter to another. Some of the acts of the "bad guys" of the Order of the Drago are quite grusome and it is a bit surreal that Charlie is able to survive what he witnesses without desintegrating into an emotional break-down, but the storyline is addictive and compelling in the same way that "National Treasure" was.
I found some of the "solutions" to the illuminations to come to August too easily and to feel too simplistic, but overall I enjoyed the book and especially the concept of the treasure hunt.
I give the book my "mostly sunny" review.
