A Book Review of Illuminatedby Matt Bronleewe

Mark Bronleewe, co-founder and ex-member of Jars of Clay, has added author to his long list of accomplishments. Illuminated is the first of five August Adams adventures from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

This novel follows August Adams, who 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. 

This is a Book to

ROAST

I was extremely excited when I first heard about this book. The premise, plot, and the reviews said that this book would be like “if you turned National Treasure into international treasure, traded Da Vinci codes for Gutenberg Bibles, married it to Indiana Jones, and added the pacing of 24…” (Aspiring Retail Magazine). All that hype made me think this book would be the CBA’s version of The Da Vinci Code, which is a book I felt was long over due. But I wasn’t too far into the book when I became very disappointed.

While the history of the Gutenberg Bibles and the illuminations within are very interesting, the connections to the main character and the plot’s conspiracy are weak. Even when you reach the epilogue you still have no idea how all the pieces fit together. Even the pieces you have put together don’t hold their weight in the story.

Pacing is also lacking the enthusiasm and conflict to send the reader racing through the pages. While there is conflict and danger, there are large spaces of too much information rather than moving the reader along the half eaten bread crumb trail.

I do wish to applaud the marketing team at Thomas Nelson for their work on this book, for without their efforts I may never have picked up this book. But in all their efforts in comparing this book to The Da Vinci Code, they have done the CBA a great disservice. For the poor writing style and half baked plot is one of the many reasons books in the CBA are looked at as Christian fluff, instead of strong pieces of literature.