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The Toyminator by Robert Rankin
01/12/2006 . Source: Paul Skevington 
pub: Gollancz. 315 page enlarged paperback. Price: £12.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-575-07774-3. 314 page hardback. Price: £12.99 (UK only). ISBN: 0-575-07010-2. Buy The Toyminator in the USA - or Buy The Toyminator in the UK  check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
Before you ask, this book is not about killing machines sent back in time to assassinate problematic Los Angeles folk. It is in fact the latest book by Robert Rankin, another frighteningly bonkers entry in a series of works that should come with a health warning on them for the protection of the sanity of their readers.
The book is a sequel to 'The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies Of The Apocalypse', which I have to admit I have not yet read, despite the imprecations to do so found in the footnotes of the first few chapters of this book. As is often the case with Rankin though, it doesn't seem to be essential to read the preceding work as the author tries hard to make the book as readable for new readers as it will be for established ones.
In the novel, we follow Eddie Bear, recently deposed mayor of Toy City (formerly Toy Town), as he attempts to make his way back up from the lowly position he finds himself in. He has a hard time doing this, as he is now a universally despised figure, blamed for everything that goes wrong in the lives of the inhabitants of Toy City, from inclement weather to the supposedly impending end of the world. This situation doesn't last long as Eddie soon finds his old meathead (ie human) companion Jack and together they form a plan to restart their detective agency.
No sooner have they decided to do this, than a case drops into their laps. All over the city cymbal-clapping monkeys are turning to dust without any explanation. For the good of their fellow toys and for the sake of avoiding a lengthy prison sentence if they fail to discover the culprits, Jack and Eddie set out to solve the case.
For anyone who has read Rankin before, what follows next will be a familiar experience, but no less an enjoyable one. Everything is given a typically Rankin twist. From the nostalgic descriptions of the toy citizens of Toy City to the irreverence with which they are treated. There is, of course, a pub within which large amounts of alcohol are consumed with a minimal amount of money changing hands - if only real life worked like this! There is much action in the form of shootings and biffings. Add in a bit of perverted doll sex and a lascivious calculator named 'Wallah' and you're in for a real good time, Mister Bear.
What I found even more striking whilst reading this book is Rankin's love of language. It's easy to discount the wordplay as pure silliness, but it betrays an intuitive understanding of how words work. Rankin twists and moulds them to comedic effect without ever producing a difficult or uncomfortable sentence. What we are left with is a distinctive and highly readable style that continues to evolve even now that he is on his twenty-eighth novt us also not forget the chickens. Appease them, for they are fearsome and quick to anger.
It must be said that the book does occasionally have a haphazard feel to it, in the construction of relationships, between Jack and Amelie for example, and some plot strands left unattended. This is probably a result of the wild creative process going on here, but it's safe to say there is still room for improvement in Rankin's work which is good, otherwise there wouldn't be any point reading his next book would there?
I'd love to tell you more, but there are some things you just have to discover for yourself. Don't argue with me, I've got a General Electric Mini Gun under the table...
Paul Skevington
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