Nick and the Glimmung
“But of all of them, father-things, werjes, trobes—Glimmung is the most dangerous and the one to be avoided.” It’s a credit to Dick’s wit and narrative tempo that by the time this sentence occurs readers will not only know what the heck he’s talking about, but they also might even chuckle a little bit at the sentiment. All this craziness begins on Earth, albeit a crowded futuristic version, where pets are no longer allowed. Nick has been hiding his cat, Horace, but when the anti-pet man shows up, Nick’s parents decide to move the family (and cat) to the lush paradise of Plowman’s Planet. Unfortunately they arrive in the midst of a weird war between various bizarre native creatures and the Glimmung, an evil being guarding a future-telling book. Written in 1966 but never released in the U.S., Dick’s only young-adult book feels more like an improvisation than a fully formed novel, but his dark humor, icky invertebrates, and almost Seussian sense of humor keep the focus off the shaky plot and on the admirable inventiveness. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.