Millennial Glory: Hidden Light by Wendie Edwards

The Millennial Glory Series is a saga of a family set in the time leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. Hidden Light is the first book in this series. As the Second Coming of Christ is one of my favorite subjects of study, it is also one of my favorite subjects to explore in fiction. I really enjoyed the "Great and Terrible" series by Chris Stewart. When I heard there was another series written about the Last Days, I thought I'd better try it out.

Here is the summary of the book, taken from the Millennial Glory website: "A strange plague breaks out among a rebellious segment of society. The sickness is related to a mysterious man who claims he is the resurrected Savior of the world. His intent is to hide the light of the truth as he stands in its stead. His words are hypnotic. His message is deadly. Corrynne Rogers is an Intensive Care nurse who cares for the dying. Through her hospital association she uncovers a destructive plan to implant computer chips under the skin in any who worship the false Christ in an effort to control the followers. Some followers are killed by a flesh eating bacteria as they turn away from the religious leader. Eventually, Corrynne exposes the deadly plan but not in time to protect one of her own from the lethal chip. The Zulu countdown has begun. Fire is prophesied to rain from heaven to punish those who refuse to accept the false Christ. But will it? Time will only tell."

I really enjoyed this book. It is set in Provo, Utah, a place I am very familiar with. It was easy to picture the places that the story takes place in. I also liked that the story revolves around a large LDS family that is truly unified and trying to live the Gospel. I enjoyed reading about their relationships and seeing their love for each other through their reactions to what is going on around them. I loved to get to know the characters as they are easy to love and as conflict arises, they arise to the occasion to demonstrate strong character and inspire hope.

I also enjoyed that this book is so well documented. Although it is a work of fiction, there are footnotes throughout the chapter. At the end of each chapter, the author documents her sources of information, whether it be from scripture, actual events, or science, the references are there for easy perusal and further study. I found this book to be very fun to read. At 422 pages (many of which are documentation) I found it quick and exciting. Last night I was at the climax of the story and simply couldn't put my book down until it was over. I love books like that. I will definitely be reading the next in this series, and found out that the 9th installment of Millennial Glory is to be released in October of 2009. I look forward to becoming immersed in this series.