The Flight of the Schimmerplotz

The Flight of the Schimmerplotz is an entertaining read but has an important underlying message as we follow heroes Breslin Herndon (aka Brexxie, or the Brain) and Jack Rigalto (aka Jacks, or the Brawn). Jacks is hired by a top-secret government group called the Cosmic Intelligence Group to protect Brexxie. It is one day that Brexxie, Jacks, and Jacks’ six-year-old daughter Sara are in the park in New York City when a large window in the sky, a schimmerplotz, appears. Brexxie and Sara are sucked into the window before Jacks even knows what is happening and from there, the adventure begins.

First and foremost, this is not just another good guys versus bad guys story. The important message in this book is well integrated into a kidding-like dialogue between the main characters and some really great brand namedropping, however, Brexxie and Jacks are fighting against a group of socialist monsters who are after absolute power over the world. Charles A. Salter gives us a taste of the chaos that is about to occur when General Bnindagun appears. Although the characters seem to be somewhat comic book-like and the timeline is laid out like a video game with bosses representing something much worse than the evil character before (there is even an arena battle with a giant and ostrich), the book heeds warning to those who think that democracy should be a thing of the past and we should all succumb to the elite government. As Jacks and Brexxie travel to what seems to be either another dimension or the future, they see people eating one another, people with no electricity or homes, and people with no control over their environment, in other words, an apocalypse.”With hideous shrieks of feral joy, some of the pitiable creatures around him began to literally tear him apart and munch on his fried remains.”

The details in this book were very well thought out. From descriptions of what they were wearing (why that’s Polo by Ralph Lauren) to Brexxie’s undeniably cool gadgets that get him and Jacks out of hot water to the Peanut M&M obsession Brexxie has, it was these little pieces that made me chuckle throughout the book and gave it a lightheartedness amongst the battle scenes.

I recommend The Flight of the Schimmerplotz to the people of America who still believe in patriotism and democracy and who love a great story with lots of action, cool gadgets, and heroes who aren’t so ordinary.