The Glimme

by Emily Rodda, Marc McBride (Illustrator)

Lone Annie sees dragons in your future…She sees giants. She sees fire and water. She sees death. Finn’s life in the village of Wichant is hard. Only his drawings of the wild coastline, with its dragon-shaped clouds and headlands that look like giants, make him happy. Then the strange housekeeper from a mysterious clifftop mansion sees his talent and buys him for a handful of gold and then reveals to him seven extraordinary paintings. Finn thinks the paintings must be pure fantasy—such amazing scenes and creatures can’t be real! He’s wrong. Soon he is going to slip through the veil between worlds and plunge into the wonders and perils of The Glimme.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Middle Grade, Dragons, Childrens, Fiction, Audiobook

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Emily Rodda (real name Jennifer Rowe) was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1973 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. Moving into a publishing career, first as a book editor, and finally as a publisher at Angus & Robertson, Rodda's first book was published in 1984.

Reviews

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Do you draw what you see?’

‘It is very thin here, the veil,’ she whispered, leaning forward as if she was telling a great secret. ‘Some places in the world are like that, and this is one of them.’

Shortly after we’re introduced to Finn, a young boy who has lived in the small village of Wichant his entire life, a strange woman, only known as the Housekeeper, buys him from his grandparents for a bag of gold.

The Housekeeper takes Finn to the mysterious Edge House on the clifftop.

There Finn is shown seven exquisite paintings. These are not ordinary paintings, though. The scenes depicted on them are more realistic than Finn realises.

Behold the Glimme, where dragons fly,
And see a wondrous tale unfold.

This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful books I will ever have the privilege of picking my jaw off the floor over. I was interested in the story but once I caught a glimpse of Marc McBride’s illustrations I was hooked. They’re an incredible blend of realistic and surreal. The attention to detail and the combination of dark and dreary with vibrant colours, often appearing in the same image, was captivating.

I almost didn’t care about the words that accompanied the story of the pictures initially and came close to allowing myself to remain hypnotised by the dragons and castles. I planned on drooling over the pictures and then sending the book back to the library unread, because of Book Nerd Problem #486: practically every book I currently want to read arrived at the library at the same time!

Then I glanced at the first couple of pages of text and the words sucked me in too. I’m not usually drawn to adventure stories where I’m spending so much of my time witnessing battles and the travelling time between them but I enjoyed this story. My favourite characters were Finn, artist turned hostage turned unexpected hero, and Lone Annie, a scarred woman who foresees the dragons, giants and other very specific encounters our intrepid adventurers face.

The illustrations lined up with the storyline so well (one of my pet peeves is when the details of an illustration are different to what the story describes) and it made sense to me when I learned that the illustrator approached the author with a set of paintings, asking them to write their story. I’m having so much trouble choosing a favourite so I’m going to show you two of them. This is Finn inside the Edge House. See all of the books? Dream house!

The other is my favourite dragon illustration. This is Greenfire chatting to Chieftain Gor. Check out the details!

Now, this may be a case of me seeing what I want to see but I could have sworn there was a Predator in the foreground of the painting showing the feast in Castle Nye. In this story his name is Quinlin and it’s only when he’s seen in profile that he makes me think he was a Predator in another life.

The artist’s secret is the key
To doors no eyes but mine can see.

You would be forgiven for thinking I’ve shown you practically all of the illustrations contained in this book but I haven’t even come close. There are so many characters you have yet to be introduced to, locations you have not glimpsed and fantasy elements come of life that await you within its pages.

Although they’re gorgeous, the photos I’ve taken of the book’s pages do not do these illustrations justice at all! You’ve got to experience them for yourself!

My only regret related to this book? I waited and waited for my library copy to arrive and by the time I opened the first page and realised just how extraordinary this book truly is, I’d missed out on the opportunity to buy my own signed copy. Lesson painfully learned!

[April (Aprilius Maximus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Soon he is going to slip through the veil between worlds and plunge into the wonders and perils of The Glimme."

[trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers]

★★★★

This was super fun! The illustrations were a really cool mix that looked almost like edited photographs! This wasn't anything too deep, but for a short fantasy book, I thought the world building was pretty good and it was a compelling read, so I would recommend it!

trigger warnings: death of a parent (in the past), mention of people who have drowned, domestic abuse, war themes, fantasy violence, fire, death.

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful story and even more gorgeous illustrations!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars.


Ohhhh my Dragons this was fantastic! Firstly, I can't not mention just how breathtaking the artwork in this is and yes, I do mean ARTwork and not just illustrations. The artwork is ridiculously good and I felt like I was in a Museum of Art and had to hold my breath so I didn't make a sound. I don't even know if I spent more time absorbing the artwork or actually reading the story.

Like Deltora Quest, this story is also an adventure filled with Magic, danger, friendships, enemies and of course, Dragons. Gorgeous, stunning, huge dragons. With portals and twists and turns you won't see coming.

Emily Rodda has pleased me once again with an amazing Middle Grade Fantasy story that pulls you into an amazing World I didn't want to leave.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
An unexpected second Australian authored book in one day! Fantasy has not been a genre that I’ve ever been naturally drawn to, but being a total product of my 80s childhood, I watched some incredibly random Australian children’s tv programmes. The storylines and characters from some of these are burned into my emotional soul. I remember sitting in my bedroom, viewing one on a tiny portable tv and my heart totally breaking as characters fought, and some fell to a supernatural unexplained being - is the relatability something to do with the island living and the challenging mentality of battling the larger unknown? Wanting to do grown up independent things but them being quite scary?

This is a detached and claustrophobic creeping tale - a cross of Return to Oz’s land changes and threats with the group adventures of the Famous Five if they’d wandered into Game of Thrones. The classic use of the enemy hardly featuring but driving the extreme circumstances whilst finding the bravery and possibilities within themselves. I fell asleep listening to this and had the most intense dreams of conflict and threat that I had to wake up early and finish properly! Very good and a recommendation for my children in the next few years for an adventure of their own with Finn and a big old literary shield to help with the fight... and of course Andrew Scott delivered the suitable eerie tone necessary

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

This is the first time I've been disappointed by an Emily Rodda book. Sadly, this just didn't pull me into the story as Rodda's writing so often does - it is definitely my least favourite of all her books. It was pretty obvious that the illustrations (which really were stunning and exciting and the highlight of the book) were compensating for a rather uninteresting story. The writing was as lovely as always, but the plot and characters just did not interest me. The story was just too predictable to be enjoyable. I'm not likely to re-read it anytime soon.

[Emily Bedford · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Glimme, in my opinion, would've been better off as a series. As this is a middle-grade stand-alone fantasy I do have to give credit where it's due. The dragons were my favourite part and it had a really strong beginning. However, it seemed to lose its edge halfway through and then felt almost like it was frantically trying to wrap up. The illustrations were very odd, I'm not sure how to describe them. They were definitely stunning but whatever medium the illustrator used I didn't think it worked for this story.

[TJ Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t wait to have kids so I can read them this book. Complete with an intriguing, easy to follow and well written story and beautiful full page (or spread) pictures to accompany it, this is one amazing book to start reading to them young and getting them to read as they get older. I cannot say enough good things about the beautiful art within the book, but rush out and see for yourself!

[Cassandra Doon · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son and I read this together. It was really good. Great introduction for children to the fantasy world.

[Josh 谢翊杰 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.5 stars.

Emily Rodda is my favourite author! Her stories, characters and worlds that she has created break the limits of traditional stories. This book is no different. I especially love how Emily Rodda shocks and stuns me with her trademark twists right at the end of every book, including The Glimme.

This book has stunning and captivating illustrations every few pages. It's particularly clever for children's books as you wouldn't want overly wordy descriptions, but still want to show how the magical setting and fantastical creatures look and feel.

[Stevie Loveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the story itself was slightly patchy but I have to say the illustrations were very well done, all around I have to say it is a very well done book and I give it 3 overall star.

[Sian Ballantyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this with my son, beautiful imagery and adventure for 7yo.

[Ame Zelada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't stand the voice in the audiobook, probably ruined the book for me. Nice easy story for a long car drive otherwise.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dreamy, somewhat melancholic children’s fantasy by Emily Rodda, rendered even more so by Andrew Scott’s audiobook reading. (Most young readers will prefer the hardcover, which is brimming with lush, full-page colour illustrations courtesy of Marc McBride.) Neatly plotted and pleasingly self-contained.

[Tash Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this with my son. He loved it, though, wished there was more of the dragons!
I liked the world building and the little surprise twist at the end.

[Claire Hennessy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sadly disappointing entry in Rodda's otherwise fantastic fantasy writing. I at first thought that it was just my annoyance at so much art by McBride replacing description by Rodda that made me dislike this book, but by the time I reached the end I realised that the story itself felt dull and predictable.
The "reveal" that the housekeeper was the dragon queen was something that I had guessed at long before but not the outcome I actually wanted. The second reveal, that Teller was Finn's absent father, hit me a few pages before it was announced and I dreaded having to read the words. The final reveal, that Lone Annie was the grandmother of Lori literally made me groan aloud at its sheer absurdity.
Another point is that although McBride's art style normally fills my with wonder, I found prolonged exposure to it lessened it in my eyes until it just felt like a rushed photoshop project.
I am normally a huge fan of Rodda's work. Her Rowan of Rin series is what got me into reading for pleasure in the first place at the age of nine. Her other more recent work, the Star of Deltora series, was also great. This book, for me, is the worst of hers there is. Maybe if I did not hold her to such a high standard I would not dislike it so much but compared to her other books, this is a letdown.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book hard to rate and may have been a bit harsh as I think it’s target audience - middle school readers, especially boys - will love it. The overall production is excellent with glossy pages and frames border the text to give a regal feel to the book and reading experience - all designed to set off the truly magnificent, glorious and mesmerising illustrations but Marc McBride. Dragons galore (his trademark creature) are accompanied by a cast of exotic, fearsome and fantastical beast, all in a mythical, somewhat Medieval setting. The artwork is superb and inspired Emily Rodda to pen a story to bring them altogether. Rodda freely states that the illustrations came first, and for me, it showed. The action packed tale that unfolds is entertaining but, with an adult eye, I found the characters were flat and I could not become fully committed to the danger and perils that they faced. There just wasn’t enough depth and the ending was just a bit too neat, and abrupt. However, I think young readers will be carried along by the illustrations and adventure and for those transitioning to high school, a familiar and popular duo writing for a slightly older audience will be well received.
2020 CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers shortlist title.

[a*s*h · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very, very cool, and even more impressive is how somehow it felt like a whole epic journey and battle and all while being like a fairly short tale. Almost movie like. Anyway, adding Finn to list of Trademark Emily Rodda Male Protagonist list; he’s most like Rowan for this one. Loved the different tribes and while I didn’t get to SEE Marc McBride’s amazing art, the cover was way awesome enough, and made the WHOLE story so much cooler in my head. God the cover is cool. ANYWAY, I’m also a sucker for “ragtag bunch of people with different personalities and a traitor go on a perilous journey and save the day against all odds” so this was just like a very good hearty meal of a book. Also, the Bolinda audiobook is read by ANDREW SCOTT, and the voices and accents he puts on are SO delightful and fun, thank you sir. Anyway. Time for the Fairy Realm books, I think.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Glimme (Unabridged) is a fantasy novel for children, written by Emily Rodda. I read the audiobook version that was narrated by Andrew Scott. The book starts in Witchant (formerly Witchhaunt). The main character of the book is Finn. He makes pictures of dragons. He had found the blank sketchbook in the attic, amongst his dead mother’s things. However, due to the death of his mother and disappearance of his father, he is staying with others. And they don’t approve of his talent for drawing. When he is watching his sketchbook being destroyed, Finn finds himself being bought by the housekeeper of a nearby place. She then shows him paintings, telling him to look closer at them. One day, he finds himself inside a different world, the one that was shown through the paintings.

(I listened to the audiobook version, so I apologise if I have misspelt any names or words from the book.) I really liked the book when I began reading it. I found this on BorrowBox, in the catalogue of my local library. I ended up getting myself an audiobook copy of it. I had put it on my wishlist of books to buy before I even made it to the fourth chapter. And I’d really like to get a paperback copy of it, because I’d love to see the illustrations.

I think the author has done a good job in creating lore for the area. And there’s a good atmosphere to the book, with the way the author gives little bits of knowledge of the town and history of it, as well as little bits of information about the people there. At the same time, I think it’s a good level of detail for the age group. It’s listed as a middle grade book, and I think a lot of kids will love the adventure of the book.

I quite liked a lot of the characters. I felt like there was a good backstory to each of them. Also, I think it was really interesting that, at the end, the author was able to loop back to each of the characters and provide some explanation as to who they really are. I loved the rich storytelling of the Glimme and the backstory to it, as well as the connection to the town and the paintings in the house. For me, it felt like an incredible journey.

I think the narrator does well with doing voices for each of the characters, and I think many of the voice make them feel like very realistic characters. Especially with the pacing of the way they talk and giving them emotional notes. Though, I think the volume of the narrator is very quiet at some points. And I needed to put the volume of my audio software up to full in order to hear them.

Overall, I think it’s a brilliant book. As I said above, I’ve already purchased myself an audiobook copy. I loved the work the author did. There are some really great characters and storylines to the book. By the end of it, I feel like the author had completed the story well. I also think the narration was really well done. I definitely recommend giving the book a try!

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

The short version is that this isn't a good book and Emily Rodda has written much better novels

I was disappointed by this book. I have loved every other Emily Rodda book that I have read but this book just fell flat for me. There was a large cast of characters all most all of which felt two dimensional. I kept getting character names confused and the only way that I could keep track of who was doing what was because of the illustrations or I would have been completely lost. I found the main character very annoying and nearly impossible to relate to or sympathise with. It was extremely plot heavy and it didn't feel like a cohesive story, instead of flowing from one scene to the next, there where time jumps and it felt all over the place. The only way that I managed to get through this book was with the audio book and I would have DNF'ed this book at the very beginning if it hadn't been for the audiobook.

This is just a personal opinion/criticism of mine but I personally didn't enjoy the illustration style but that is just a matter of my personal taste.

In my opinion, Emily Rodda's usual tone was lacking in this book and she has written much better novels. I personally would recommend The Shop at Hoopers Bend rather than wasting your time on this boring novel.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit to not being a huge Fantasy buff but the amazing illustrations in this convinced me to read it. And I'm so glad I did!! As well as the mind blowing illustrations there is the beautiful story of Finn, whose mother died when he was young and whose father deserted him. His grandfather sells him to a mysterious woman who is the house keeper at the even more mysterious cliff top house for a bag of gold. She sees some talent in Finn- he is quite the artist and she has a job for him. I won't say anymore but the story itself was a slow burn building with twists, turns and reveals to a very satisfying conclusion. I think that this is a book that will be beloved by many for a long time, for a great many reasons. Thank you Emily Rodda for not retiring (she's been writing for decades, surely she's tired...) and for giving me two 5 star reads in 12 months (the other being His name was Walter).

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This stand alone book by Emily Rodda is a beautiful children’s novel with all Rodda’s usual trademarks of fantasy, rhymes and twists at the end.

It celebrates the arts, painting, song, and storytelling as the characters realise that the things they love to do best are their greatest strengths.

Rodda explores themes of family love, sacrifice and misuse of power leading to unintended consequences. Her world is fascinating, I wish there were more books about the Glimme that explores this Narnia-esk land; but alas, we shall have to rely on our imaginations to do that.

Probably aged 9+
If you are familiar with Rodda’s fantasy I’d say it’s fairly similar to her others works in terms of violence, monsters and magic, possibly slightly tamer.

[Wendy Sice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book from our school Book Fair because of its stunning illustrations and hardback format. It is just beautiful to look at! But the story is a bit lacking in parts. I’m not even sure how; perhaps there wasn’t enough emotion or internal monologue from the main character Finn. Or not enough detail. I just can’t put my finger on what was leaving me cold. By the last third of the book, though, I was right into it, and all the giants, dragons, Krakens, serpents and magical palaces finally had me enthralled. The villain of the book was quirky and engaging and there were some fabulous links made at the end, which I was not expecting, which definitely gave the book its heart.

[Bella Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

i recently just heard about this book it is my first Emily Rodda book
because of brain damage growing up i was a late reader so didn't know about her for a long time.
but i recently heard about this book brought a copy a few weeks ago and found i could not put it down
its story is gripping and pulls you into the world of Glimme i love drawing and to read about a kid who loves to draw things like dragons as much as me and i do it was wonderful and entertaining a lot of twists and turns i didn't see coming. i would definitely re read this book again many more times than i thought possible that i would.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous quality hardback children’s fantasy adventure.....just what you’d expect from super talented author, Emily Rodda and brilliant illustrator, Marc McBride.
McBride did a series of fantasy illustrations and then asked Rodda to write a story based on these panels. An unusual way to work I would think... and it may have been a big ask. If anyone could do the illustrations justice it would be Rodda, but I found that the awesome illustrations seriously outweighed the story.
This title has been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards. Good luck to them both.

[Hung · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNFed about 20% in.

The illustrations were very impressive but there were too many of them to the point of distraction. The story on the hand felt like it was targeted towards very young readers. The main characters are young but not very bright. It felt like I'm reading an adventure story where the heroes are the dumb one but in this case they were not fortunate enough to have smart companions to help guide them. I just could not be bothered to continue reading.

This was my second Emily Rodda's book. I enjoyed The Forests of Silence much more for its faster pacing.

[Vaish -bookishbelle1008 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family friend lent me this book to read and it took me right back to my primary school days, curled up in the corner of the library, vicariously reading fantasy books with vivid illustrations. The world building is lush and the story compelling; add to that these gorgeous drawings and you have a winner of a book, especially for primary/middle school grade kids. I did feel that the story could've delved deeper, however I understand that the target audience may prefer to pick up something simple, creative yet meaningful.

[trijnewijn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik vermoed dat veel van de charme van het boek verloren gaat in de audio versie. In andere reviews worden de illustraties geprezen, maar die kregen we natuurlijk niet te zien en de vertelstem lag mij niet. Manlief vond het een heel fijne en rustgevende stem, voor mij voelde het zodanig rustig dat het moeilijk was om spanning te voelen bij de avontuurlijke delen van het verhaal. Al zorgden de kreetjes van Lone Annie wel voor gegniffel, en apprecieer ik de onverwachte zaken -zoals het effectief praten met aanvallers of de omgang met de reuzen-, het verhaal ging voor mij een beetje verloren.

[Anika Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations make this hardback tome a joy to read. The story is exciting, but a little scary now and then - it'd suit middle-grade readers and up rather than reading to younger ones, unless they're into that sort of thing.

The story follows a young boy as he steps into a painting and enters the world of the Glimme, where he goes on an adventure to end a war between dragons and other races. An accessible fantasy adventure for young readers.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Glimme is a very pretty fantasy story. The colourful illustrations should draw in those reluctant readers who usually turn to comedic works for their easy reading illustrated style. It’s a cute little tale of dragons and giants and magic, though the ending felt a little rushed to me. I enjoyed it, though not as much as Rodda’s other recent works - The shop at Hooper’s Bend and His name was Walter.