“Illuminated” by Matt Bronleewe

Book Bytes fiction review:

“Illuminated” by Matt Bronleewe http://www.mattbronleewe.com
Thomas Nelson Publisher http://www.thomasnelson.com
ISBN-10: 1-59554-249-3, ISBN-13: 978-1-59554-249-6
314 pages hardcover
$22.99 US

“Illuminated” is the improbable story of how and why three irreplaceable Gutenberg Bibles are stolen. Almost every event in this author’s first novel is far-fetched. Character development is thin, but the action is thick.

You don’t need to know or care much about Johannes Gutenberg or his bibles to enjoy “Illuminated.” The core story is how a divorced husband and wife collaborate with their talented young son to work alongside the bad guys in order to save their small family. Aside from son Charlie, the other interesting member is Grandma Rose, a feisty dame who is very handy with her sewing scissors. The parents, April and August, are in most of the plot but are not richly portrayed.

The most realistic occurrence in this plot-heavy thriller is when April, who works at the Library of Congress, knocks on a blank concrete wall at the dead end of an underground corridor “until the sound under her knuckles changed.” She and Norman, a library security guard, then use the severed hand of her boss to activate a special biometric scanner that opens an exit in the wall, directly into a subway train tunnel. “She pulled her head back just in time to watch the Metro Transit cars streak past.”

April and August are archeobibliologists, who love the study of reeeaally old books. He sells them, and she looks after them. Gutenberg was the Big Kahuna, and within the illuminations that adorn his extraordinary bibles he hid hints of an enormous secret treasure — each volume is a little bit different.

The most interesting minor character is Stanley, a clean-up hit man who is in the book for a short time, but who makes a strong impression. “He always liked to save — when time permitted — an eyetooth from each of his victims. He had a necklace full of them. The skin around his neck had become raw from where it wore on him, but he didn’t mind.” His line of work specialty is described on page 179, but you should skip it if you’re squeamish.

The villains are members of two different ancient theological secret societies, who don’t play softball. All you need to know about them in real life is to be v-e-r-y careful before letting someone with FBI credentials into your house or office without world class backup. Norman served that purpose for April, until a surprise encounter in the aforementioned subway tunnel. Another hint: always take a good flashlight and warm clothes when you sneak into the luggage hold below the passenger deck during a commercial flight.

The best serious parts in “Illuminated” are the grayscale images from Gutenberg Bibles. These graphics are printed alongside the text in which they are described in detail by August, within a historical-religious-geopolitical context. Author Matt Bronleewe is to be congratulated for how he handles these fine sections.

Book Bytes encourages the author to keep writing and publishing. He is good at giving readers reasons to turn the pages, and there is a nice payoff by the unlikely ending. With more character development and depth, his future novels will be satisfying in a comprehensive literary way, rather than containing ongoing plot and not much more.