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Book Review of Tinker (Tinker, Bk 1)

Tinker (Tinker, Bk 1)
jai avatar reviewed on + 310 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


Great combination of sci-fi and fantasy. Wen (short for Wendy) Spencer explains elves and other mythical creatures in a very original manner: they are from a different dimension. In "Tinker", an interdimensional gate transports the whole city of Pittsburg to Earth once a month for supplies (a day called Shutdown), while the rest of the time it is in Elfland. Unfortunately the designer of this gate is long dead and no one else really understands how it works. Tinker is a girl genius raised in Pittsburg under this unusual situation. She owns a salvage business and one night, hours before Shutdown, an elf runs into her yard chased by monsters. Tinker steps in to help and this act changes her life forever as the elf is Windwolf, viceroy of the elves. A very interesting read: I fell in love with the worlds and loved some of the ideas used to explain elves and japanese folklore like oni and tengu. I did notice some Mary-Sue aspects to Tinker (smart, so many men are in love with her, she doesn't realise her own beauty .. blah). Some flaws did help her from becoming a complete Mary-Sue: she is only 18 and completely clueless about relationships with men and her own hormones, and she is capable of acting before thinking despite her genius apparently. This is the first of a series (yay!) and I plan on continuing it as there are several things left open that I would like to know about and I think Tinker's past will prove to be interesting as well as elf society and politics as a whole.