Toonopolis: Gemini [Hardcover]

Jeremy Rodden (Author), Cami Woodruff (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2011

Gemini finds himself thrown into a cartoon universe, becomes a reluctant hero, and fights to save Toonopolis's destruction from a deadly shadowy figure.

"I found this novel to be extremely humorous and well written, and Rodden's explanations of toon life and abilities is fascinating."
- Books: The Cheapest Vacation You Can Buy

"If you enjoy cartoons, world building, and fun adventures (like I do), this book is a great addition to your library."
- Ann Charles, award-winning bestselling author of Nearly Departed in Deadwood

"This book seriously has it all: adventure, humour, twists and turns and characters that are loveable."
- Read 2 Review

"Think Man of La Mancha meets Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with an eggplant as Sancho Panza."
- Hampton Networks

"What an awesome and colorful world! What a lovable bunch of characters! Throw in the great adventure and subtle humor even an adult can laugh at and you have all of the necessary makings for an adult and child to enjoy together."
- Novel Opinion

If you are a fan of fantasy books, movies, comics, cartoons, and video games, you will love Toonopolis: Gemini!

"I admit, I've never read anything like it."
- C.C. Cole, author of the Gastar series

***Be sure to check out Jeremy Rodden's other Toonopolis books.

***For a change of pace, check out Jeremy Rodden's Kindle bestselling nonfiction book on Fatherhood (#2) by stay-at-home dads: The Myth of Mr. Mom.

Editorial Reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Portmanteau Press LLC (May 30, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615457215
• ISBN-13: 978-0615457215
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,235,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I spent the first ten years of my professional life in retail sales, working my way up to store management positions in two different Fortune 500 retailers. Along the way, I managed to earn a BA in Religion and English Writing from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA and an MA in Secondary Education from Holy Family University, also in Philadelphia.

After completing my Masters, I began teaching high school English. When my second son was born in May, 2010, however, my wife and I decided that it would be more prudent for me to be a stay-at-home dad, taking care of the new baby along with my first son, who was born in June, 2005. I have since had the challenge and pleasure of being a homemaker.

It was at this time that I finally grasped the stories that had been in my head since I was a teenager and wrangled them to paper. Toonopolis began as a silly interactive fiction game played with some real life and virtual friends. The game only lasted a few years but the world I had created and my characters never escaped my thoughts.

As a writer, I consider C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll to be my strongest influences. They were able to create magical worlds that readers of all ages enjoy, which is exactly what I want to achieve with Toonopolis. It is a lofty goal, indeed, but the only goals that will invariably be unachievable are the ones that are not set.

Welcome to my world. I hope you have as much fun as I do.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Done! May 26, 2011

By A Book Vacation

Format:Hardcover

I really enjoyed this novel. Rodden has taken the toon world a created a wonderful story about their universe--it's completely original and something we don't think about much: what is life like for a toon? I found this novel to be extremely humorous and well written, and Rodden's explanations of toon life and abilities is fascinating. For instance, I've never thought about why toons can run off cliffs and not fall until they look down, but Rodden explains why this is so, and it's an ingenious explanation! I found this a lot as I read--Rodden is very thorough and it's obvious that he's spent a lot of time thinking about, and refining, explanations for the strange capabilities toons possess.

I loved the writing style Rodden uses. It's told from two different perspectives, one from Special Agent Mimic, from the human world, and one from Gemini, the human boy sent to Toonopolis for research purposes. It was enlightening to read about Mimic's plans and thoughts as he read up on the research being conducted, and I liked that it switched viewpoints so the reader can see inside both Gemini's and Special Agent Mimic's mind. I think this is a very interesting way to present a story, and I highly enjoyed it, especially the revelation about the Shadowy figure at the end of the novel--I never saw it coming!

The characters within the novel are hilarious, and I especially liked Jimbob the talking eggplant. As I was reading the novel I kept snorting with laughter, and my students, who were taking a test, were highly alarmed at the guffaws and snorts I kept making. I just couldn't control myself, it was highly funny, and for some reason I kept thinking about Animaniacs; that same sense of humor permeates this novel and makes it an awesome read....

I love that this novel is age appropriate, for MG and YA, but it can also make adults laugh, and so it transpires the age gaps and is, in my opinion, appropriate for all ages. Check it out; you won't be disappointed! Four stars! Read more ›

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How can you not love it? September 2, 2011

By D. Brown

Format:Kindle Edition

As much as I've thought about it, I'm still finding it difficult to see how I can possibly do justice to the imaginative, wonderful, glorious feat of writing that is Toonopolis. Jeremy Rodden has taken the best and worst of a range of things that were dear to us in our childhoods (but probably drove our parents crackers) and remain endearing to us now as - even though we are allegedly adults - we prove ourselves to be simply bigger kids.

Toonopolis is like putting on a time travelling fluffy dressing gown covered in fairies or footballs that transports you to every Saturday morning of your youth and adolescence and every snatched moment of your adulthood where you pretended you weren't watching Dungeons and Dragons, Donald Duck or Thundercats but were secretly loving every minute. It encapsulates the lack of logic that surrounds not only cartoons but also video games and how willing we are to suspend disbelief in our quest for entertainment but also shows how, when we are willing to do that, things can be much much more enjoyable.

As a `grown up' who readily admits to recently watching all 80 episodes of Batfink, wiling away hours on World of Warcraft and loving Studio Ghibli, there are some cringing moments in the book for me. Not, let me hasten to add, that I'm cringing at the author's work: absolutely NOT. Instead, I'm cringing at myself. Yep, I've spent that Saturday morning killing rats in a basement in a quest similar to one Gemini is offered. I've built up a party that - whilst it seemed logical at the time - had as much sense to it as Gemini's band of merry men (including talking Eggplant, mechanical dog and Miss Fire). And I've loved every minute....

Toonopolis is a bundle of fun but it does have some serious underlying messages to it too, including the importance of not leaping to conclusions without all the facts and the necessity of accepting yourself rather than constantly trying to fight against what or who you are. Additionally, it has an ending that raises many questions and leaves you wondering, thoughtful and wanting more. Thankfully this is only book one of the Toonopolis Files so we can share a cheer that there's more of this wonderful world to encounter.

How can you not love a book that is, in essence, an Alice in Wonderland for the modern era? Or in which distance is measured in PEZ candies? Or where the author paradoxically uses an impressive and varied vocabulary so deftly to tell a story that makes you feel young enough to have a spelling book again? This is a book for everyone who accepts that as logical as they may think they are, there's still a bit of the illogical rebellious Saturday morning slob in them. And really, it's a book for all those people who aren't like that because, by the end of it, they will be. Read more ›

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun book for the young and young at heart June 6, 2011

By Wulfstan TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Jeremy Rodden's debut fantasy novel is a fun little read, suitable for grades 5 through the bifocal set. Lighthearted, with plenty of little in jokes about comics and cartoons in general.

Our Hero, "Gemini" is a young teen boy, taken to wearing bright colors- which when he gets sent to a cartoon world, makes him fit in pretty well. Slightly reminiscent of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" here we never run into any of the better known comic characters (and the book actually has a good reason for that!), but still plenty of archetypes, who fans will have fun identifying.

Jeremy also has made a link between our world and Toonopolis, a very important link between creator and created, one which lends an air of danger and immediacy to Gemini's tour of this fantastic world.

You'll love some of the characters that populate Toonopolis, such as Jim-Bob the Talking Eggplant.

Jeremy also keeps it family friendly and mostly light, nothing too scary or dark here.

I am looking forward to more by this new author!

I rcvd a copy for review.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Scream of Saturday Morning Cartoons October 4, 2011

By George Sirois

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Remember when Scream came out in theaters in 1996? How it was able to tell a very effective horror story while also deconstructing the genre and lovingly pointing out all of the flaws in our favorite flicks of the past?

Well, allow me to introduce Jeremy Rodden's "Toonopolis: Gemini" - the Scream of Saturday Morning Cartoons.

Our main character is a young man known only as Gemini and identified as an animated character who was once a real boy. He seeks to go through the various towns of Toonopolis to locate a Nothing-like villain named Shadowy Figure and also try to figure out who he really is.

Toonopolis: Gemini is a very Tolkien-esque journey as we see our hero and a trusty mentor / comedic relief sidekick going from town to town, encountering various animated heroes and villains and putting the spotlight on what Gemini can do in this world now that he is living by the cartoon rules. There's a particularly wonderful scene early in the book that features a character breaking down the rules, very much like Randy from Scream. That scene had me cracking up and fondly thinking back to the days when Wile E. Coyote was running past the edge of a cliff completely unaware that gravity was going to strike if he even dared to look down just once.

The book is tailor made to fit my style of humor, and the randomness of the characters brilliantly evokes Douglas Adams if he were force-fed Saturday morning cartoon culture. Make sure you pick this up ASAP, especially if you remember the days of sitting in front of the television with a bowl of cereal and throwing yourself into various magical lands.