Book Review: The Toyshop at the End of the World by Robert Brown

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The Toyshop at the End of the World by Robert Brown is the third novel in The Airship Pirates Chronicles. It is written from the two little girls point of view, which are adopted by Robert and Kristina during Wrath of Fate. I think the idea is good, just not worked out completely well.

Book Review: The Toyshop at the End of the World by Robert Brown

Rating:


Title & Author: The Toyshop at the End of the World by Robert Brown
Genre: Dystopia, Adventure
Release Date: November 4 2015
Series: Airship Pirate Chronicles
Publisher: Createspace

Synopsis

At the top of a dusty cellar stairs, two little girls sit listening at a crack in the ceiling. Chloe and Isabella live here beneath the floor, in a cramped and dreadful basement apartment, where they have cared for their sick mother for as long as they can remember – never told what they are hiding from and never allowed to leave. They sit day after day listening to the sound of happy children above them, wishing for a different life than the life of fear and hiding they were born into. One day, the food stops coming. Desperate, they crack open the hatch door. They creep out to find themselves in Herr Drosselmeyer’s Toys, the most fantastical toy shop in the world, and the final project of the great Doctor Calvin Calgori. Calgori – the very man who had invented time travel and thinking automatons! Each night the girls sneak out to play with, and befriend, the marvelous toys – until they learn why they’ve been forced to spend their lives in hiding.

I gave The Toyshop at the End of the World by Robert Brown three out of five hearts. The story was adorable and fun. But sometimes the two little girls from this novel, Cleo and Bella, respond a bit too mature.

The story fits exactly with the world of Abney Park. It starts out in the city, under the workshop of known toymaker. The girls take care of their mom, who is ill, and an uncle that comes every couple of days to give them food. How does this man enter the shop, if the shop owner is upstairs and does not know he is dropping by? Because the kids never mention hearing the toymaker shuffling to the door to open it. It is never explained.

I wondered why the toymaker was allowed to keep his shop in the culture of the city, since everyone has to earn their own food coupons. And he was basically keeping the shop, selling nothing and helping the government every so often with their automatons. I am not sure that would make enough for him to survive on.

There were some reality problems I found that even in this world would not work that well. The kids escape the city by hangglider, but the wind is so strong Gyrod (the automaton) can barely keep hold of it. But later the uncle can keep hold of it with only one hand. This felt like something that would be impossible. Also the two little girl survive in the middle of no-where for some time before they find other people, this would probably not possible because the kids would probably go back to the city to their uncle and Gyrod, instead of heading deeping into the wild.

Even though I found these problems, I did like it. It was very cute and at some points sad and happy at the same time. That is why I gave it three hearts, no more no less.

Abney Park recently released the first four chapters of The Wrath of Fate, the first novel in the Airship Pirates Chronicles on youtube as audio, including some of the pictures from the novel, which I love! So go ahead and listen (and watch) to it, I think it sounds great.

Let me know what you thought of this book!
If you have any requests for which book I should talk about next, please let me know in the comments down below.

For now, let books enrich your life!

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