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Toonopolis #2
Toonopolis: Chi Lin
Toonopolis is a cartoon city that is home to the thoughts and ideas of all sentient beings in the universe. As the center of the Tooniverse, it acts as an other-worldly rest stop for these creations.
Chi Lin was the last unicorn on Earth before he sought a safe haven for himself and his maiden, Saucha—a thirteenth century Indian girl. Little did he realize that even though they were safe from death in the cartoon universe, they were not safe from the machinations of Agent Mimic on Earth.
Gemini—having barely escaped with his mind intact during his first adventure in Toonopolis—returns to the Tooniverse with Jimbob the Talking Eggplant on a quest to find Chi Lin before Mimic can manipulate the unicorn into doing his bidding. Join Gemini on an all new adventure into both familiar and brand-new realms of Toonopolis where he makes more friends, visits old ones, and is reminded that things are not always what they seem to be in this strange and ever-changing world.
Chi Lin was the last unicorn on Earth before he sought a safe haven for himself and his maiden, Saucha—a thirteenth century Indian girl. Little did he realize that even though they were safe from death in the cartoon universe, they were not safe from the machinations of Agent Mimic on Earth.
Gemini—having barely escaped with his mind intact during his first adventure in Toonopolis—returns to the Tooniverse with Jimbob the Talking Eggplant on a quest to find Chi Lin before Mimic can manipulate the unicorn into doing his bidding. Join Gemini on an all new adventure into both familiar and brand-new realms of Toonopolis where he makes more friends, visits old ones, and is reminded that things are not always what they seem to be in this strange and ever-changing world.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2017
About the author
Jeremy Rodden
19 books189 followersI spent the first ten years of my professional life in retail sales, working my way up to store management positions in two different Fortune 500 retailers. Along the way, I managed to earn a BA in Religion and English Writing from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA and an MA in Secondary Education from Holy Family University, also in Philadelphia.
After completing my Masters, I began teaching high school English. When my second son was born in May, 2010, however, my wife and I decided that it would be more prudent for me to be a stay-at-home dad, taking care of the new baby along with my first child, who was born in June, 2005. I have since had the challenge and pleasure of being a homemaker.
It was at this time that I finally grasped the stories that had been in my head since I was a teenager and wrangled them to paper. Toonopolis began as a silly interactive fiction game played with some real life and virtual friends. The game only lasted a few years but the world I had created and my characters never escaped my thoughts.
As a writer, I consider C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll as my strongest influences. They were able to create magical worlds that readers of all ages enjoy, which is exactly what I want to achieve with Toonopolis. It is a lofty goal, indeed, but the only goals that will invariably be unachievable are the ones that are not set.
Welcome to my world. I hope you have as much fun as I do.
After completing my Masters, I began teaching high school English. When my second son was born in May, 2010, however, my wife and I decided that it would be more prudent for me to be a stay-at-home dad, taking care of the new baby along with my first child, who was born in June, 2005. I have since had the challenge and pleasure of being a homemaker.
It was at this time that I finally grasped the stories that had been in my head since I was a teenager and wrangled them to paper. Toonopolis began as a silly interactive fiction game played with some real life and virtual friends. The game only lasted a few years but the world I had created and my characters never escaped my thoughts.
As a writer, I consider C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll as my strongest influences. They were able to create magical worlds that readers of all ages enjoy, which is exactly what I want to achieve with Toonopolis. It is a lofty goal, indeed, but the only goals that will invariably be unachievable are the ones that are not set.
Welcome to my world. I hope you have as much fun as I do.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 10, 2018
Another AMAZING novel by Jeremy Rodden!! I just can’t get enough of Toonopolis!! Yet again a zany mad cap adventure with Gemini, Jimbob, some new faces and some old favourites that I couldn’t put down!
I won’t go too much into the story as any of you who have not yet read the first one (SHAME ON YOU, REALLY! GO DO THAT!) won’t know what’s happened so far. But one of my favourite things about this book is the characters, in a pithy off hand way, breaking the fourth wall to explain things.
“I feel like we’re starting the same story all over again. Last time I came to the Tooniverse , I started right in this spot after being shuffled through Sorting Square.”
“Right after you met me!” Jimbob beamed his giant, toothy grin.
“Right after I met you,” Gemini echoed.
Jimbob hopped closer to Gemini and put a hand on his leg. “But every story has to start somewhere. And technically this story is a sequel to the first one and clearly there has to be some repetition to remind people
about events from the first story .”
Gemini blinked. “What people?”
Jimbob shrugged his eggplant shoulders.”
“Actually, I need to ask you about an old quest from last time I was here.”
“And avoid reusing too many gags from our last adventure,” Jimbob added.”
And with that wonderful Abbott and Costello “Who’s On First” kind of humour
“I’m getting a bad feeling in my stomach,” he replied. Ursidae adjusted the tilt of the helicopter to look for a place to land.
“What do you mean?” he asked the two smaller companions. Jimbob let out a loud belch. Gemini glared at him.
Leothas rolled his eyes.
“My stomach feels better,” the eggplant said.
“But yeah, I also feel what the French call a certain je ne say quaff.”
“Je ne sais quoi,” Ursidae corrected.
“And what does that mean?”
“I don’t know what,” the manbear translated.
“Then why would you say it?” Jimbob asked.
“No, it means, ‘I don’t know what.’”
Jimbob sighed. “We clarified you don’t know what it means. Can we just move on? I don’t want you to be any more embarrassed.”
it has all of that same wonderful and hilarious references to gaming,
“He looked up at Sir Goodypants’s castle and saw a faint glimmer indicating that there was, indeed, an invisible
barrier protecting the castle from the air. “Invisible walls. The bane of any MMORPG. . .”
“Ah yes, a morpg!” Jimbob said, mockingly
pronouncing the acronym as a single word.
“What’s a morpg?” asked the Pinball Wizard.
Jimbob added, “Isn’t it like a giant wolf?”
“That’s a worg,” Gemini answered.
“An old shapeshifter character from the X -Men cartoon?”
“Morph.”
“A breakfast cereal?”
Gemini sighed. “It’s like you’re not even trying anymore.”
“DADADADADAAA!
A strange chime came from the television and Gemini saw the young adventurer on the screen spin in
a circle and jump in the air, his previously limp shield arm held up high.
“Were you not just hurt?” Chi Lin asked.
“I leveled up,” Leothas beamed. “I go back to full health when I level. A good thing, too, because my arm really hurt!”
And pop culture,
“If Artax and
Atreyu there go through the Swamps of Sadness, I’m not watching. Too many bad feels there.”
“Ursidae, jog his memory,” Jimbob said from right behind them. He had apparently joined them once the danger was handled.
Ursidae shrugged. Jimbob sighed. “Aw, come on? Princess Bride reference? You hit him on the head and he gets knocked
out and then you say, ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to jog him so hard’?”
Ok, ok. I know at this point you guys are thinking… Geez, is she just going to quote at us this entire review?! Well…. I’m smart enough to know when awesome writing can win you over better than I can!! And, when I go back to a book to write my review and at least 50% of it is highlighted for quotes?? I know it’s a good book! I honestly want to know when it is going to be made into movies or a T.V series because the writing calls up such wonderful, nostalgic kinds of images!
Fine, you want a little bit about the book… well, I will spoil some of the places we visit in this book to entice you all to catch up, or continue! You will now be introduced to new and wonderful places, such as “Romantica” the place of cold and lonely Billionaires finding love in ‘unlikely’ places, “The Pirates Isle (Kaizoku Island)”, and the one that had me LITERALLY on the floor laughing “Hipsterville”, no… “Portlandish”, no…. “Amsterdam”?? What is that place called again? I never could keep up with the trends!
“It’s kind of a newer section of Toonopolis so I don’t know a lot about it. But it’s basically full of irony and retro lovers. People here are so far ahead of the
trends they go all the way around to steal trends from their parents and grandparents.”
In any case, get this series! I don’t care how old or young you are, I guarantee you will find yourself laughing at these books!
I won’t go too much into the story as any of you who have not yet read the first one (SHAME ON YOU, REALLY! GO DO THAT!) won’t know what’s happened so far. But one of my favourite things about this book is the characters, in a pithy off hand way, breaking the fourth wall to explain things.
“I feel like we’re starting the same story all over again. Last time I came to the Tooniverse , I started right in this spot after being shuffled through Sorting Square.”
“Right after you met me!” Jimbob beamed his giant, toothy grin.
“Right after I met you,” Gemini echoed.
Jimbob hopped closer to Gemini and put a hand on his leg. “But every story has to start somewhere. And technically this story is a sequel to the first one and clearly there has to be some repetition to remind people
about events from the first story .”
Gemini blinked. “What people?”
Jimbob shrugged his eggplant shoulders.”
“Actually, I need to ask you about an old quest from last time I was here.”
“And avoid reusing too many gags from our last adventure,” Jimbob added.”
And with that wonderful Abbott and Costello “Who’s On First” kind of humour
“I’m getting a bad feeling in my stomach,” he replied. Ursidae adjusted the tilt of the helicopter to look for a place to land.
“What do you mean?” he asked the two smaller companions. Jimbob let out a loud belch. Gemini glared at him.
Leothas rolled his eyes.
“My stomach feels better,” the eggplant said.
“But yeah, I also feel what the French call a certain je ne say quaff.”
“Je ne sais quoi,” Ursidae corrected.
“And what does that mean?”
“I don’t know what,” the manbear translated.
“Then why would you say it?” Jimbob asked.
“No, it means, ‘I don’t know what.’”
Jimbob sighed. “We clarified you don’t know what it means. Can we just move on? I don’t want you to be any more embarrassed.”
it has all of that same wonderful and hilarious references to gaming,
“He looked up at Sir Goodypants’s castle and saw a faint glimmer indicating that there was, indeed, an invisible
barrier protecting the castle from the air. “Invisible walls. The bane of any MMORPG. . .”
“Ah yes, a morpg!” Jimbob said, mockingly
pronouncing the acronym as a single word.
“What’s a morpg?” asked the Pinball Wizard.
Jimbob added, “Isn’t it like a giant wolf?”
“That’s a worg,” Gemini answered.
“An old shapeshifter character from the X -Men cartoon?”
“Morph.”
“A breakfast cereal?”
Gemini sighed. “It’s like you’re not even trying anymore.”
“DADADADADAAA!
A strange chime came from the television and Gemini saw the young adventurer on the screen spin in
a circle and jump in the air, his previously limp shield arm held up high.
“Were you not just hurt?” Chi Lin asked.
“I leveled up,” Leothas beamed. “I go back to full health when I level. A good thing, too, because my arm really hurt!”
And pop culture,
“If Artax and
Atreyu there go through the Swamps of Sadness, I’m not watching. Too many bad feels there.”
“Ursidae, jog his memory,” Jimbob said from right behind them. He had apparently joined them once the danger was handled.
Ursidae shrugged. Jimbob sighed. “Aw, come on? Princess Bride reference? You hit him on the head and he gets knocked
out and then you say, ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to jog him so hard’?”
Ok, ok. I know at this point you guys are thinking… Geez, is she just going to quote at us this entire review?! Well…. I’m smart enough to know when awesome writing can win you over better than I can!! And, when I go back to a book to write my review and at least 50% of it is highlighted for quotes?? I know it’s a good book! I honestly want to know when it is going to be made into movies or a T.V series because the writing calls up such wonderful, nostalgic kinds of images!
Fine, you want a little bit about the book… well, I will spoil some of the places we visit in this book to entice you all to catch up, or continue! You will now be introduced to new and wonderful places, such as “Romantica” the place of cold and lonely Billionaires finding love in ‘unlikely’ places, “The Pirates Isle (Kaizoku Island)”, and the one that had me LITERALLY on the floor laughing “Hipsterville”, no… “Portlandish”, no…. “Amsterdam”?? What is that place called again? I never could keep up with the trends!
“It’s kind of a newer section of Toonopolis so I don’t know a lot about it. But it’s basically full of irony and retro lovers. People here are so far ahead of the
trends they go all the way around to steal trends from their parents and grandparents.”
In any case, get this series! I don’t care how old or young you are, I guarantee you will find yourself laughing at these books!
May 14, 2020
Wonderful series
November 9, 2021
Toonopolis Chi Lin
Chi Lin is the last unicorn, and Saucha his
pure maiden. They have taken refuge in the
Tooniverse, where they can’t be killed.
But they can still be manipulated, and
Agent Mimic is coming to do just that.
Teenage hero, Gemini, is called to their rescue.
That is the story line, according to the ads
and blurbs. But it could be just a framework
to tack all the good bits onto. Or, perhaps,
the usual Toonopolis suspects upstage the
designated stars, and run away with the story.
As Gemini and Jimbob, the sarcastic eggplant,
quest their way through Toonopolis, they
persuade various toons to help them. The group
is always small, its composition shifting, and
so, it’s easy to imagine yourself there, included
in the adventures and friendships.
“You shouldn’t make fun of disabled kids”,
Gemini cautions his father, the eggplant,
early in the book. This reprimand comes back
to haunt them a few pages later when they
encounter Solo, a defective teenage unicorn.
Disinvited, Solo follows them anyway, testing
their inclusive sympathies and tolerance.
Jimbob is part compulsive social critic
and part legless stand-up comedian.
He satirizes or parodies everything:
pro sports, hipsters, video games, D&D,
pirates, superheroes, zombies, songs,
movies, musicals, books, and especially
digital technology. Some of it, in the
Tooniversity and the Hall of Super Heroes,
in Steamport and aboard the Fairwinds.2
is spectacular. It even works. But I was
smitten with Hannah, barista in the
Suckling Pig. Leothas had posted a video
of himself in battle, and Hannah was
just able to stream it to a screen through
the Glitchnet. Poor girl. She made eyes
at Gemini, and he hurried away.
When you lose sight of it all, The Sun
sees everything. But, is it a she or a he?
Jimbob applies the congressionally mandated
Third Person Singular as a Plural, they/them ,
to demonstrate how stupid that is.
And all of this pop culture, this technology,
these culture wars, came after my time.
I need to level up. I need a guide to the
Newniverse, and Jimbob the Talking Eggplant,
Dad, Jeremy Rodden, will do nicely.
But I don’t mean to slight his considerable
plot; there is a final, epic, battle:
Pureblack balls. Rainbow juice.
Imagination running loose.
Mortal enemies appear.
Zephyr ! Get us out of here !
Chi Lin is the last unicorn, and Saucha his
pure maiden. They have taken refuge in the
Tooniverse, where they can’t be killed.
But they can still be manipulated, and
Agent Mimic is coming to do just that.
Teenage hero, Gemini, is called to their rescue.
That is the story line, according to the ads
and blurbs. But it could be just a framework
to tack all the good bits onto. Or, perhaps,
the usual Toonopolis suspects upstage the
designated stars, and run away with the story.
As Gemini and Jimbob, the sarcastic eggplant,
quest their way through Toonopolis, they
persuade various toons to help them. The group
is always small, its composition shifting, and
so, it’s easy to imagine yourself there, included
in the adventures and friendships.
“You shouldn’t make fun of disabled kids”,
Gemini cautions his father, the eggplant,
early in the book. This reprimand comes back
to haunt them a few pages later when they
encounter Solo, a defective teenage unicorn.
Disinvited, Solo follows them anyway, testing
their inclusive sympathies and tolerance.
Jimbob is part compulsive social critic
and part legless stand-up comedian.
He satirizes or parodies everything:
pro sports, hipsters, video games, D&D,
pirates, superheroes, zombies, songs,
movies, musicals, books, and especially
digital technology. Some of it, in the
Tooniversity and the Hall of Super Heroes,
in Steamport and aboard the Fairwinds.2
is spectacular. It even works. But I was
smitten with Hannah, barista in the
Suckling Pig. Leothas had posted a video
of himself in battle, and Hannah was
just able to stream it to a screen through
the Glitchnet. Poor girl. She made eyes
at Gemini, and he hurried away.
When you lose sight of it all, The Sun
sees everything. But, is it a she or a he?
Jimbob applies the congressionally mandated
Third Person Singular as a Plural, they/them ,
to demonstrate how stupid that is.
And all of this pop culture, this technology,
these culture wars, came after my time.
I need to level up. I need a guide to the
Newniverse, and Jimbob the Talking Eggplant,
Dad, Jeremy Rodden, will do nicely.
But I don’t mean to slight his considerable
plot; there is a final, epic, battle:
Pureblack balls. Rainbow juice.
Imagination running loose.
Mortal enemies appear.
Zephyr ! Get us out of here !
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews