Toward the Gleam (Doran)

I just finished the third of the fiction books I ordered based on some recommendations, Toward the Gleam by T. M. Doran.

The other two were This Thing of Darkness by K. V. Turley and Fiorella De Maria, and A Bloody Habit by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson.

Of the three, Toward the Gleam was my favorite. Interestingly, the order in which I read them was the reverse order in which I rank them. All were good in their own way, but I thought Gleam the best of the lot.

One thing I did notice among these recent books is they all had fictionalized versions of actual historical figures. (Is this a trend among Catholic writers of a certain school these day?) Darkness was about an interview with Bela Lugosi. Bloody had a brief appearance of Bram Stoker. And Gleam - my goodness. Among the folks who show up are G.K. Chesterton (who at one point saves the life of  the main character!), C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Agatha Christie, Edith Stein, and Winston Churchill (!). The main character is also a famous individual (under an assumed name). I won't reveal who he is, but I was able to figure it out early in the book.

The premise of the book is that a man on a hike finds a book about an ancient previously unknown  civilization written in mysterious runes. A philologist by trade, he spends years trying to translate it. Along the way a criminal mastermind, who seeks knowledge from that civilization thinking it would give him great power, discovers the main character has something connected with that civilization, but does not know exactly what it is. The villain tries to cajole, bribe, then threaten the main character and his family and friends in an effort to obtain that artifact. Some attempts on the life of the main character are made (and along the way several people are indeed killed), but he is saved through luck, his own resources, and the help of his friends (the folks mentioned earlier).

I won't reveal more of the plot.  

The characterizations were believable. The plot moves along. The philosophical discussions don't bog down the story. It was fun recognizing the famous folks and what this book is really about. There are a few elements that stretch credulity (it is fiction, after all), but all the loose threads are resolved by the end.

An enjoyable read.  

Pax et bonum