The Toyminator [Hardcover]

Robert Rankin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Somewhere over the rainbow and beyond the Yellow Brick Road stands Toy City, formerly known as Toy Town. And things are not going well for the city’s inhabitants. There have been outbreaks of STC—Spontaneous Toy Combustion—and strange signs and portents in the Heavens. Preachers of Toy City’s many religions are predicting that the End Times are nigh and that a Toy City Apocalypse will soon come to pass. But can it be true? Or is there a simple explanation—alien invasion, for instance? With the body count rising and the forces of law and order baffled, it’s time for a hero to step forward and save the day. Well, two heroes actually. Eddie Bear, Toy City Private Eye, and his loyal sidekick, Jack. And they are about to face their biggest challenge yet—to save not only toykind, but mankind as well.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There's an imaginative plot, and the author's trademark humour, making the result a hugely entertaining and engaging adventure. Eddie Bear and Jack are definitely two of Rankin's most enjoyable creations and hopefully still have many more off the wall adventures to come." DREAMWATCH "The Toyminator has enough running jokes, crazy footnotes and toilet humour to keep even the hardcore fans happy - and keep the new reader chuckling with delight too. It's mad, but wonderfully funny. A typically entertaining, rude and quite bizarre Robert Rankin novel." -- Sandy auden SFX "What you're getting is vintage Rankin. Booze sodden private dick Eddie Bear is a marvellous creation." STARBURST "The insane clockwork mouse inside Robert Rankin's head shows no signs of running down. This is fantastic news for those of us that relish his compulsive brand of insanity. The master of deranged fantasy." -- Daniel Coysh THE MORNING STAR "Wacky and slightly peverse. If the title makes you smile, play spot-the-film references." -- Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES

About the Author

Robert Rankin is an unrepentant Luddite who writes his bestselling novels by hand in exercise books. He is the author of The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, The Witches of Chiswick, The Brentford Trilogy (5 books), The Armageddon Quartet (3 books) and many more.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz; 1st Ed. (U.K.) edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575070102
• ISBN-13: 978-0575070103
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,633,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, January 3, 2007

By 

K. Winters "Kati" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Toyminator (Hardcover)

If you liked Hollow Chocolate Bunnies Of The Apocalypse then you'll love the sequel, but make sure you read Hollow Chocolate Bunnies Of The Apocalypse first or you wont know what the hell is going on!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rankin's books are as strange as., March 3, 2007

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Toyminator (Hardcover)

The cover copy says this is the "longed-for sequel to The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse." That's a bit of publisher's hyperbole, but after four years, Rankin has indeed produced a sequel. Eddie Bear, Toytown PI (he used to be the bear of the late Bill Winkie), has been removed from the position of Mayor by the kindly, white-haired old toymaker who put him in that job at the end of the first book. Eddie, it appears, is a reformer and his efforts didn't go over too well. So he gets back together with Jack, his human partner (or, possibly, his "comedy sidekick"), who has been washing dishes in a diner (part of Nadine Sprat's franchise operation). At this point, you can see where Rankin's peculiarly English sense of humor is going, if you didn't already know. Anyway, the two get caught up in the investigation of the simultaneous murder of every cymbal-playing wind-up monkey in Toytown, followed by the abduction by chicken-aliens of a club band and the opera's orchestra, followed by an incursion into the meat-head world Beyond the Second Big O. Frankly, Rankin's idiosyncratic narrative style is more fun than the plot itself. (He not infrequently tries too hard.) Myself, I still prefer Terry Pratchett, but this isn't bad.

5.0 out of 5 stars A much needed sequel, December 9, 2010

By 

Danielle Ackerman (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Toyminator (Paperback)

If you are a fan of shamelessly laughing out loud while reading a book (and you've already read Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse), then you will most likely thoroughly enjoy this book. I have to admit that I would be content in reading just the day to day lives and banter of Eddie Bear and Jack. Robert Rankin's writing style infuses this book with colorful and strange language and humor that I never grow tired of. I think a third book in the series is a necessity.