The pun in the title will probably say more about whether you want to read a book like this or not, but here we go anyway....This is the sequel to The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, the bestest funny book you could read. Jack, a human, came to Toy Town--where toys are alive and people from fairy tales exist as the ruling class over the toys they deem inferior--and met Eddie the Teddy Bear, a most special bear who worked as a detective with Bill Winkle, who was missing at the time (the time of the first book, why do you ask?) Well, that case solved, right, and now we get the sequel. Following? I thought not, but no matter, read on.As we start this second mostest funny book, Eddie is back to trying to cadge drinks at Tinto's bar, Jack is hot and heavy with a dollie he works with, and someone incinerated all the cymbal clapping monkeys in Toy Town. Jack and Eddie will soon be on the case, although it is unclear who, exactly, is the comedy side-kick. Spacemen, beyond the Second Big O, and enough movie cliches to up-end to fill a rather large book of up-ended movie cliches. Once you've accepted Rankin's logic and abandoned what is now your illogic, you'll be fine.
About 3/4th the way through this book, I flipped to the front to see what decade it was originally printed. I was not expecting 2006, then again I was kind of expecting the Other Eddie to be a terminator bear, so there's that. The second book in this series lacked a bit of the wonder that the first one held. I do so enjoy reading about toys living in a land made up of toys and while there was a little of that in this book, there was a much larger mystery that did not require descriptions of toys in Toyland. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but there was a certain bit of novelty missing in the second book that was clear and present in the first. I suppose it would be near-impossible to recreate that wtfery in a sequel, though.
What do You think about The Toyminator (2006)?
It feels like a couple of years has passed since the events in Hollow Bunnies. Eddie Bear is down on his luck again, and determined to be a detective. Something is killing toys, some people think its aliens. And one toy has told the detectives to 'beware the chickens'. This is a fun sequel, more action packed than the first book, and less of a mystery story. The humour again comes from the situations, and uses known genres but plays with them. It is difficult to review this book without spoiling it, but the twist is really clever. A very good read.
—Angela
A story about a Teddy Bear detective and his human comedy sidekick, space aliens, and talking toot to the barman in your local.Brilliant stuff... not exactly "normal" but hey who wants normal. For me the main point of readng is escapism, and Robert Rankin, packs your bags for you and buys your tickets to another world.Similar style than Douglas Adams (he of the Hitch-hikers Guide to Galaxy fame) but due to be more recently written, there are endless references to modern day culture, which raise a chuckle.
—Noel G
