Glimmer by Marjorie B Kellogg is a pseudo-dystopian novel set in New York City in 2110, where climate change has altered the city’s landscape, mostly flooded and practically destroyed. Those who could escape from it did, and those left behind bonded and created some sort of faction – ala Water World – called dens.
The titular character Glimmer is simply a name that she gave herself and who seemed to have lost her memory—narrating the grim situation of the city and the world entire, and her life in Unca Joe den. I do love Glimmer as a character. She’s very likable, smart, and very determined. She is a young adult that makes excellent choices.
The world-building created by the author here is a scenario that will make you realize that we humans are the most vulnerable on this planet, and we need to get our shit together before it’s too late. Some of the things mentioned here are happening now in some parts of the world. The most recent example is when the Covid19 pandemic started, and people drove in numbers and hoarded supplies. It’s selfishness that corrupted people. In Glimmer, it’s worse, so just imagine that.
It took me a while to finish Glimmer. The first half was sluggish and not as engaging, but the premise is interesting enough for me to push through with it. After the very slow beginning, the pacing started to pick up, and the story just bulldozed into something scary, exciting, and thought-provoking. There are a lot of great scenes here, particularly when the group got together to move into a new home – Uhm, within the city as well. It was heart-racing and heartwarming altogether.
I do love the relevance of this book on what’s happening in the world now. I love the research that went into it because they are all realistic, and some are even happening now. You just have to persevere with its slow pacing initially, but I promised that it delivers a good and pretty solid story overall. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it really won’t matter by the time you finish it.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Published October 19th 2021 by Daw Books
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher, Daw Books, via Netgalley for an impartial and honest review.
About the Author
Writer and scenic designer Marjorie Bradley Kellogg lives in Franklin, NY, where she is the editor of The New Franklin Register. She is the author of Glimmer, A Rumor of Angels, Harmony, The Dragon Quartet, and Lear’s Daughters. She has designed scenery for Broadway, Off-Broadway, and for resident theatres across the country and in Europe, receiving many industry awards for her work. She taught at Princeton and Columbia and was Associate Professor of Theater at Colgate University from 1995 to 2017.
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