In the violence- and pollution-stricken world of 1999, HIV-positive publisher Jack Finnegan is drawn into the seductive web of Leonard Thorpe, who possesses a magical elixir that cures Jack and transforms his world.
Glimmering
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From Amazon
In 1999 the world has gone to hell: global warming, AIDS, urban decay, environmental disasters, and, above it all, the Glimmering. The Glimmering is an accident of modern society, a phenomenon that is destroying the ozone layer and killing the earth. In these last days, Jack Finnegan, suffering from AIDS, has come home to his family's decaying Manhattan mansion to die. He will meet Trip Marlowe, a rock star hooked on the hallucinogenic IZE, and unknowingly play out a bizarre drama scripted by his former lover, the "sociocultural pathologist" Leonard Thrope. You won't be able to put down this engrossing tale.
From Library Journal
After a March 1997 Antarctic ocean avalanche released methane to mix with bromotetrachloride in the atmosphere during a solar storm, strange charged particles began the glimmering in the ozone layer. HIV-positive magazine publisher Jack Finnegan awaits the millennium in his crumbling New York mansion. Hand's (Waking the Moon, HarperPrism: HarperCollins, 1995) bleak ecological disaster novel, which straddles sf and fantasy, belongs in most collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By "daikuma"
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have long been a die hard fan of intense science fiction. The one star I'll give Hand for this book is for her excellent use of deep imagery in the work to invoke almost physical responses from the reader.
However, the rest of what makes a story into a novel is missing. The characters are lackluster (at best), having no real passion or direction, and gaining none as the story progresses. For a while I was truly enthralled by the read, one page pulling me into the next until I had burned through the first three hundred pages in as many minutes.
And then it died...not in a blast, or a convoluted plot twist, or even in any way that could be defined as heroic, romantic, philosophical, or otherwise. It faded as if it had never been. The story just seems to stop (like a car stalling silently on a fast highway) the story coasts in neutral for about 150 pages, flares like the engine sputtering to life for a heartbeat, (but not really) and then sliding onto the shoulder, making you wonder why you got in the car at all!
Even if you like the occasional anticlimactic plot twist, this takes the concept a step further, where the only characters who receive any sort of finality die in ignoble, boring ways. I am also a male reader, but unlike one of my fellow reviewers, I don't need a huge hollywood style ending.
I would, however, like an ACTUAL ending.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By James Byrd
Format:Mass Market Paperback
OK... I understand that pop culture is what sells these days, but I don't think that you should push it to the extreme. Elizabeth Hand has tried to turn the next millenium into a Generation X sex fest. I am having a hard time finishing this book, due to the fact that I want to gag each time I read about Leonard Thorpe and all of Jack Finnegan's past homosexual activities and Trip Marlowe's narcissistic sexcapades. Who ever made the comment that this book is like Stephen King rewriting TS Elliot must not have read either of these authors. Elizabeth Hand should take time off from trying to write novels, and either write _Star Trek_ episodes or write for FOX's _Dark Angel_.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I read this book around 2 years ago - having been a fan of previous books. What an extreme disappointment! No plot - no resolution and a feeling when I was finished of I'd like to return this book because it wasn't worth the money I'd spent.
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2.9 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
A let down even if you haven't read her other books
This book started out pretty good. It had a cool framing tale, even believable, and the characters seem to be pretty well-developed, if not very deep. Read more
Published on Mar 2 2000 by Robert Tanory
3.0 out of 5 stars
Glimmering
With the discovery of Brite as a replacement for fluorocarbons, rejoicing scientists believe that they have saved the ozone layer. Read more
Published on Feb 23 2000 by "blackjewel"
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fundamentally disturbing
Though it didn't disturb me quite as much as "Winterlong," this novel still set my teeth on edge. Read more
Published on Nov 3 1999 by Stephanie Flatley
4.0 out of 5 stars
MESMERIZING
I FINISHED THE BOOK A FEW WEEKS AGO AND AM STILL HAUNTED BY IT. LIKE ONE OTHER REVIEWER WROTE: IS THE SCATTERED DRUG-INDUCED PLOT HER POINT, OR IS IT JUST THAT SHE HAS NO... Read more
Published on Oct 16 1999 by VICTORIA
2.0 out of 5 stars
A letdown if you've read her other works
I read the phenominally good Waking the Moon in two sittings. Glimmering, however, took me two weeks due to my general impatience with the book and its plot (or lack thereof). Read more
Published on Sep 1 1999
2.0 out of 5 stars
should have been better
I'm a fan of Hand's writing, and when I found this book I was terribly excited. The plot looked great, and the reviews were good. But it was really a let-down. Read more
Published on April 1 1999 by erincbtm@aol.com
2.0 out of 5 stars
I'm a Hand fan, but this was weak.
I love almost everything by Elizabeth Hand - she is probably the most unique writer working today. I really didn't like this book, though. Read more
Published on Feb 20 1999 by Peter F. Delaney
2.0 out of 5 stars
Depressing view of sexuality
You may be entranced by the author's language. You may be fascinated by her view of the "future" (1999). You may enjoy her characters. Read more
Published on Jan 3 1999
2.0 out of 5 stars
Written by - or for - the MTV Generation
Eliabeth Hand has a way with words, but she's terrible with sustaining a narrative. Plot threads are introduced, only to unravel later as she gets distracted and pursues another... Read more
Published on Dec 1 1998
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bad Science
I know it's fiction, but it is supposed to be SCIENCE fiction. I couldn't get past the first chapter. Read more
Published on Nov 25 1998
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