The protagonist, the Mindworm of the title, is an orphan, the result of a
liaison between a U.S. Navy lieutenant and a nurse aboard ship during viewing
of early atomic tests. He is a mutant, as a result of the atomic fallout after
the testing, and he can "hear" the thoughts of others around him.
Cast out into the world as a young adult, he is about to be gang raped by
hoboes when he discovers an ability to feed off strong emotions, killing one of
his assailants in the process. He uses this to eliminate the rest of his
attackers. He moves from town to town, eavesdropping on the thoughts of people
around him, and using his abilities to induce the intense emotion he craves and
to gain material wealth. The thoughts he hears often represent a brutal side of
America, as he hears the large and small cruelties people inflict on each
other, ranging from family quarrels to beatings carried out in dark alleyways.
He can hear thoughts in other languages, though he understands them only as
"gobble gobble gobble...". As he moves into communities where new Eastern
European immigrants have congregated, he starts hearing the term "wompyear".
Just as he realizes that this is their pronunciation of the word "vampire" and
they have recognized him, his neighbors burst in and kill him.
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All books by C M Kornbluth
