Tinker

ISBN: 0-7434-7165-2 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com

A Borderlands-like setting is lightly explored here, but serves as a good backdrop to an excellent protagonist, a cast of appealing characters, and non-stop excitement.

Reviewed by David on November 15, 2003 (rev. 1)

Genre: Fantasy (Magic, Politics, Coming of Age, Near Future, Multiple Worlds, Urban Fantasy, Elfpunk)

Synopsis: A few decades in the future, an experimental interdimensional gate plunges Pittsburgh into another world. The world turns out to be full of elves and magic. A compromise shuts down the gate monthly, returning the city back to Earth and allowing limited communications between the two worlds.

Pittsburgh, the tightly controlled city of commerce, is a temporary home for visiting scientists, truck drivers, and curious elves. However, among the reduced permanent population of the gateway city is Tinker, a young woman happily running a junk yard with the help of her cousin.

Then one night an Elf runs into her junkyard, pursued by magical monsters, and Tinker's quiet existance will never be the same...

Full Review: This Borderlands-style novel starts in medias res with an adventure and never loses its excellent pacing. The world is not deeply explored, and while interesting, lacks the depth and subtlety of the more intricate fantasies. However, it serves as a solid enough background for the non-stop action of this fantasy, and what it never lacks for is fun.

Tinker herself is a central point of the quality of this book: she is extremely intelligent but inexperienced, self-assured yet plagued by fears and doubts of adolescents everywhere. Her headlong pace with everything slows down as she deals with her awakening sexuality, but only for a moment. In the indominable Tinker fashion, the young woman cuts short her angst by drawing decision trees.

The supporting cast is interesting as well, and even the most mustache-twirling villains (and there are a couple) are drawn with some interesting attributes.

The combination of deft pace and superbly appealing characters make this urban fantasy a joy to read. While complete in itself, the book leaves several enticing possibilities for a sequel.

Overall: 7; Plot: 6; Characters: 7; Style: 6.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 5.5;

ISBN: 0-7434-7165-2 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com