Tinker

Elfhome #1

by Wen Spencer

The First Entry in Wen Spencer’s Popular Tinker Series

Inventor, girl genius Tinker lives in a near-future Pittsburgh which now exists mostly in the land of the elves. She runs her salvage business, pays her taxes, and tries to keep the local ambient level of magic down with gadgets of her own design. When a pack of wargs chase an Elven noble into her scrap yard, life as she knows it takes a serious detour. Tinker finds herself taking on the Elven court, the NSA, the Elven Interdimensional Agency, technology smugglers and a college-minded xenobiologist as she tries to stay focused on what's really important – her first date. Armed with an intelligence the size of a planet, steel-toed boots, and a junkyard dog attitude, Tinker is ready to kick butt to get her first kiss.

About Wen

"Each and every character is fascinating, extraordinarily well-developed, and gets right under your skin. . . . A terrific, memorable story." —Julie E. Czerneda, author of In the Company of Others

"Spencer takes her readers on a fast-paced journey into disbelief. [Her] timing is impeccable and the denouement stunning." — Romantic Times (four-star review)

"This novel [ Alien Taste ] is keeper-shelf material." — BookBrowser

"Wonderfully inventive . . . a fun protagonist." — Locus

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Magic, Elves

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

John W. Campbell Award Winner Wen Spencer resides in paradise in Hilo, Hawaii with two volcanoes overlooking her home. Spencer says that she often wakes up and exclaims "Oh my god, I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific!" This, says Spencer, is a far cry from her twenty years of living in land-locked Pittsburgh.

The Elfhome series opener, Tinker, won the 2003 Sapphire Award for Best Science Fiction Romance and was a finalist for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Fantasy Novel. Wolf Who Rules, the sequel to Tinker, was chosen as a Top Pick by Romantic Times and given their top rating of four and a half stars. Other Baen books include space opera thriller Endless Blue and Eight Million Gods.

Reviews

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Notes on the first half:
I'm having problems with this, mostly related to my reading as a writer. I like the character Tinker okay, but she is one heck of a Mary Sue. She's a genius, she's cute, everyone loves her except the elf-woman who's jealous, she wins fights despite (as we are frequently told) she's just a little thing, she's related to the most important people you can think of in that world, and I'm getting the strong feeling she has a Destiny. The narrative is thick with info-dumps, just sitting there like lumps in mashed potatoes. So those aspects are slowing me down. What may cause me to stop is not related to the writing at all. It's my personal squick.

SPOILER!!
Tinker is non-consensually turned into an elf.

I've only attempted to read Jack Chalker once, and it was exactly this that put me off. An interesting, imperfect, realistic character changes into a supernatural being. Just because, as far as I could tell.
There's an Andre Norton I didn't enjoy because the character ends up transferred mentally first into a wolf, then into an alien body, because his own body is murdered in the course of torture. I did read that one all the way through, because there was a valid reason for him to be changed, and because the way the story dealt with someone losing his physical self and losing that continuity worked for me. But it still made me profoundly uncomfortable.
Sometime I should examine in more detail why this is a disturbing idea to me.

Notes on the second half:
I skimmed through the last part with a growing unease. Here's my issue. You've got the impossibly gorgeous long-haired Nordic-type elves, who have kind of a crap political system (I give Spencer credit, the elf social system gets some criticism), with whom our heroine allies herself, not entirely by choice (again, good for Spencer, I like uncertain and equivocal alliances).
The baddies, and are they ever bad, are another supernatural/alien race, the oni. And their slave-races, the kitsune and tengu. Spencer is obviously an anime/manga fan and that's cool too. However. One of the sympathetic elf characters says twice that the oni and associates "breed like mice". Anybody else catching ugly echoes here? Because I am.
The human baddies are the Chinese, who stole Tinker's dad's plans and killed him in the doing, and built the Gate that dumped Pittsburgh in Elfhome. There are supposedly Chinese immigrants in Pittsburgh, though I don't recall any Chinese characters actually appearing. It turns out

*SPOILER ALERT*

that the Chinese govt is actually being run by the oni, and all the Chinese immigrants in Pittsburgh are actually oni in disguise.

At which point, the WTF indicators lit up. Look, I'm just an old white broad who never got past second year in Asian languages, but even I know that oni are Japanese, as are kitsune and tengu. Where is Japan in all this? Why is China ruled by Japanese spirits, and why do they not have Chinese names if they've embedded themselves in Chinese culture as long as suggested? Are there no real Chinese or Japanese people? Are they all evil spirits that breed like mice?
I'm sure Spencer is a very nice person. And none of the Amazon reviews commented on any racist subtext. So maybe it's just me. But it made me uncomfortable, and I'm not inclined to read the next one.

[Crystal Starr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

What a silly, ridonkulous book. There is just so much absurd and wrong - and yet it wasn't so terrible that I could rate it 1 star.

Full Review:

I suppose I should stop procrastinating and just try reviewing this crazy book a friend of mine recommended for Books and Soup Buddies (that's a thing, right? It is now!).

So Tinker is actually an 18-year old woman named Alexander Graham Bell. Both of her parents were dead long before she was born (still don't get that plot point) so she was raised in Pittsburg (which now floats between Earth and an alternate dimension called Elfhome, occupied, by, you guessed it, Elves) by her grandfather alongside her dear cousin "Oil Can". (Why do these characters have names like this? How much zaniness can be endured before the world implodes upon itself?!) She's a super brilliant genius virgin (but of course), who one day meets this elf, WindWolf, who is nearly killed. She has to keep the elf alive during "shutdown", the one day a month that Pittsburgh is back on Earth, away from Elfhome and magic and all those things that could keep Windwolf alive. So Oil Can and Tinker spend the first quarter or so of the book racing around to keep Windwolf alive.

And THEN the weird sh!t happened. Namely the magical!Elf!sex!transformation.

So. There is some good. I like that Tinker loves math and science. I also like how upbeat and positive she is. And she's pretty damned independent, not taking shit from d-bags (like the person Nate turns out to be - I suppose I should be "sorry" I spoiled it but given that Police Officer Nate who has known Tinker since she was a tween at one point attempts to rape Tinker and admits he's been lusting for her since she was like 12 - BIG FAT NOPE).

Oh and it's also interesting the concept of different worlds and gates leading to worlds. That was cool.

And...

And...

Geez, this was SUCH a disjointed read! At the end of the day, thinking back to what the beginning of THIS BOOK was, I'm like, "That was the same book?!" It feels like at least three distinct books thrown into one:

Book 1: Save Windwolf!

Book 2: Magic Elf Transformation Sex!

Book 3: Evil Asian Stereotypes!

Can anyone in this story bother to respect Tinker's autonomy? Lane pushes Tinker to go to college and - gasp - LEARN MOAR STUFFS. (It's always rather weird to read about these characters being like "I am super smart but I don't want to go to college because icky". Wouldn't you WANT the excuse to do NOTHING but learn all day??) Nate forces himself on her - literally! Windwolf isn't clear about his intent to turn her into an Elf and force her to be his wife when he has (admittedly consensual) sex with her. And then of course, bad guys being baddies leads us to an actual rape complete with forced pregnancy. YAY! Don't you just love this?!

And then Tinker herself has got to be one of the Mary Sueiest Mary Sues I've read. Petite, gorgeous without trying, a genius at the ripe old age of 18, sexing up the most eligible Elf around, attracting the attention of numerous potential lovers, and literally transforming into an Elf?!

Side note: why must we insist on using English names for other cultures? Doesn't anyone else find it a little denigrating to call a full-grown Elf, trained in the arts or war and defense, "Pony"? Seriously?

At the first half of the book, I probably would have just laughed and rated 3- stars. It's cheestastic and silly, but harmless. But so much disregard of personal boundaries, lack of consent, deception, and just plain weird overload, 2- stars is a VERY generous rating from me. I will NOT be reading further in this strange series.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a relatively quick read for a non-romance (since they are my favorite I usually zip through them). I guess I finished it in about 10 days but I also read a few books at the same time. I guess romantic books get read quicker because of the pull of the romantic relationship. Having said that, maybe that is why I finished this quickly. Tinker is a great heroine, smart, likeable, human, and interesting. The world is an interesting one: Pittsburgh with a twist. In this book, Pittsburgh goes from Earth to Elfhome every 28 days because of a gate between the worlds. Hence, it's not quite considered Earth.
This book is immersed in a world of magic meets science. The elves live in a world of magic, but on Earth magic is linked to and explained by science. Tinker, a mechanical genius, is able to exploit the link between magic and science.
The book opens with a bang: Tinker saves a beautiful, aristocratic elf from large, carnivorous creatures trying to kill him when they barge into her salvage yard. It turns out they have a link because the elf Windwolf saved her life as an eight year old, and cast a spell that linked his lifeforce to hers. He is badly injured and needs her mechanical/magical expertise to keep him alive until they can get him back to Elfhome. He is very impressed with her and falls for her as a result. Tinker spends some time wondering how an elf like Windwolf, rich, high-born, and perfect to her, could be interested in her. It turns out that she has been crushing on him since she was eight years old.
I won't spoil you, but let us say that Windwolf is not about to let Tinker walk out of his life. Their romance unfolds in a very fascinating, enjoyable manner, with some good action and magic as well. There is also another potential love interest that I spend a few moments wondering if Tinker wasn't more likely to end up with him.
If you like magic and elves, but also credible science with fiction thrown in, this book will do it for you. I must admit some of the quantum physics went over my head, because I'm more of a biological scientist. But I don't consider that an impediment to enjoying the book.
Also if you like kickbutt heroines, you will also love this book. As a matter of fact, I am adding Tinker to my list of favorite, unusual, and in her own way, kickbutt heroines. She definitely earned it as, she saves the day more than a few times. Few heroines make this list, so this is quite a compliment.
Some may find Tinker's internal back and forth about her relationship with Windwolf annoying, but since she is an 18 year old with no romantic experience, I found it realistic. I know I certainly wouldn't have recognized my true love at 18 years of age.
Windwolf is dreamy and intriguing, and although he is not in the book as much as I would like, you know that he's waiting in the background and is a significant part of the storyline, and that definitely is satisfying.
I like the premise of the book and the memorable characters, although some seem to drop off the page. I wonder if they reemerge in the sequel. One thing for sure, I am rooting for Tinker and Windwolf to have a long, loving life together.
I heartily recommend this book to urban fantasy, romance, and magical book fans, with a good bit of science thrown in.

[Andrea]

This book had a lot that I liked a great deal, but more that didn't work for me, and some stuff that made me outright uncomfortable.

The basic set up is that the various mythologies of earth are a reflection of alternate universes. So elves are the inhabitants of one alternate universe, and other alternate universes contain creatures that also form the basis of other stories of earth. Earth found out about this by building a dimensional gate that as a side-effect takes part of a city into the alternate world of the elves for month-long visits, then returning for a single day. Tinker, the protagonist, has lived her whole life in the part of the city that gets transposed, and though she's travelled the bare fringes of the elven world, she's never gone out into the human world.

Both the setup and the heroine were very interesting to me. Magic is a science in this set-up and Tinker is a genius who likes to invent things, and is very interested in the science of magic. She also owns a junk yard, has just recently turned eighteen, and is a bit distrustful of the government (because of a patch of being young without a legal guardian). Tinker I enjoyed, and I liked her science smarts and her bravery in the face of danger and practical response to emergencies.

I did not like the tired old "no idea how sexy you are" thing, but I especially disliked the "you're so smart, but you're so naïve" thing. Most of all, I hated how stupid this supposed genius was. It doesn't occur to her that the rigidly caste-stratified elves might behave differently toward someone adopted into the clan of the local lord. She accepts symbolic gifts without asking what they mean, even when she's been warned specifically against that. She agrees to have a "life saving" spell cast on her without any explanation of what exactly that means.

Despite being descended from an elf, having been in part raised by a half-elf, worshipping elven gods, and living all her life in a transposing bit of the elven world, she is almost wilfully ignorant of everything elvish that actually happens in the story. Indeed, of almost everything except physics and electronics. Some of this is hand waved by her grandfather wanting her to focus on the important sciency parts of her education, but it's hard to stay on side with a character who displays such a sheer lack of intellectual curiosity - or common sense.

On the other women aspect, Tinker does at least spend time with two older women who have been in their way mothers to her, but there is also the standard jealous beautiful antagonist that makes Tinker feel grubby and not pretty. The whole crux of the romance in this story seems to be "you're not like elven women, who are cowards". And, sadly, there was a solid serving of aggressive men all puffed up, fighting over Tinker.

The whole "you're legal now" thing made me seriously uncomfortable, and I also struggled with certain racial aspects. The elves are self-constructed immortals who raised themselves up with genetic manipulation. They also created servant castes, designed for particular purposes. It's very unfortunate that the representative of the (strong and a bit stupid) bodyguard/soldier caste we meet also seems to be the only major character with dark skin (it's possible that he's the only named character with dark skin). It doesn't help that he has the cutesy nickname of Pony. [I really liked the character, but didn't really understand why humans needed an English translation of the elves' names. Yes they had long names, but why not just use the primary word of their name in Elvish rather than call them by a translation of the meaning?]

Another uncomfortable point was the antagonists, who come from an alt world that forms the basis of Japanese mythology, and are said to be invading hordes that "breed like mice".

Anyway – I started out really liking this story, but it ended up as a not for me. Too much of the aggressive/domineering male factor, too many actions of the main character that bugged me, and a romance that had serious consent issues.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and the whole series (so far, looking forward to more). Wen seems to come up with very unique story lines. I love all of her books. 7/1/16 Re-read: So enjoyable, every time I re-read it.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2
A strange experience. I had read other people's reviews, both negative and positive, before buying this novel. And while reading it, I kept nodding my assent with all of them. There's no doubt in my mind both side are right. Yes, this book is lily white, the heroine is a bit of a Mary Sue, etc. etc. But none of it was enough to mar the book for me. (The heroine's MarySueness didn't have that much impact, the enemy was based on Japanese's tradition, but I didn't feel it was based on race. But this are my perceptions.)

Laura had told me this book was YA (before YA become trendy), and I see why. I don't think it's the heroine age that makes this a young adult book (even if she is barely 18). It's the naivité of the story. Yes, the story, not the heroine. Oh, the heroine is borderline (and quite often over line) stupid in her simplicity and naivité, but it's the world and the story built around her that shows the target audience.

There's no grittyness, no gray to the plot. Betrayal hurts, but it's no one important, no one significant. The world is at risk, but never really. No one dies, no one is hurt among the "good" guys. This is a YA feel for me.

Let's be clear: I devoured this book, staying up all night until the end. I growled and threatened to bite my SO when he suggested it was time to go to bed. Still, I can't deny it's far from perfect.

Mostly, because too many characters were too shallow for my tastes. Nathan moved for big brother to stalkerish wannabe boyfriend and then disappeared. I understand this is a world on the Rim between two others, but there was no explanation to his sudden move toward a marriage bed. He was convenient as a comparison to the elf (who by the way isn't that more complex.)
Riki and Sparrow were so self-evident to be painful to read.
I loved Tinker and her brain, but her lack of reaction to the spell was really off-putting. He basically robbed you of a choice, in all facets of life, marriage, jobs, where to live, and how. Yes, she's young and maybe ineffective at expressing her feelings (but she had no problem with rage with the tengu), still.
And about feeling. I'm almost tempted to say that maybe the story would have been better off without the "romance". Because honestly I don't see how two people fall in love in a day. With all their previous background, there's really no sense as a reader that the love is real, but for the author's hand.
(My thoughts on Tinker are better expressed by Andrea Host: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... I don't necessarily agree with everything she says, but I do on this. See spoiler.)

A question to the other readers: am I particularly dumb (or tired) or the magic-science mumble-bumble was too difficult to follow?

[Lisa Emme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just did a re-read on this after reading Wood Sprites. It continues to be one of my favourite books.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I forced myself through this book because a friend's mom was kind enough to get me the series, but boy howdy, I did not enjoy it. The race and gender politics are beyond problematic, and there's a bucketful of consent issues made worse by the fact that Tinker responds to them all with vague anger/confusion followed by a noncommittal shrug. There's a lot of rape-y bodice ripping topped off by an actual public rape. Incredibly high squick factor with virtually no commentary.

All of that would be enough to turn me away from the book, but if that's not enough for you, the characters and plot were lackluster too. Her love interest might as well only be mentioned occasionally by name for all the feel we get for his character. I spent most of the book rooting for her and Pony instead. The concept of the gate was dropped in bits an pieces in a way that I found confusing and unsatisfying rather than mysterious. Tinker herself feels like she was written by a 16 year old fanfic author. She doesn't seem like a single cohesive character, but rather a lot of skills and positive traits of other heroes cobbled together with no glue.

As a side note, for the love of god, what is so attractive about an ancient mystery man falling rapturously in love with a girl just out of puberty? That sounds like a horror novel, not a romance.

In conclusion, I do not recommend this book because it made me feel like I needed to marathon Buffy as a palate cleanser, after which I remembered how much older Angel is than Buffy, which lead to a small existential crisis and a large bill at Cherry on Top.

[Lightreads · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sci-Fi/fantasy. Due to unexpected consequences of building a transdimensional gate in orbit over Earth, our Pittsburgh spends all but one day of each month on Elfhome. Our intrepid heroin runs a junkyard, builds things, and tangles with elves and other interdimensional troubles. Good God, this is vile. The pseudoscientific set-up is actually sort of interesting, and there was potential in the interdimensional relations aspects of having a piece of the United States on foreign soil, but these things are ignored in favor of transformative!sex!magic, gratuitous romantic entanglements for Mary-Sue Tinker, and truly disgusting racial politics. I kept reading due to a rubbernecking impulse, and indeed it really is terrible to the predictable, patronizing end. After spending the whole book angsting about going to Earth for college because she just cannot choose, Tinker highs off and makes that choice for the entire city after she's turned into an elf by the power of magic!elf!sex (oops, did I ruin that for you?).

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book I read in a single sitting tends to get top marks from me. This book reminded me a lot of the Bordertown books, with a bit of quantum mechanics and scifi tossed in.

[Olga Godim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when it came out in 2003 and I loved it. Now, after I read the third book in the Tinker series – Elfhome – I decided to reread this one, the book that started Tinker’s adventures. And I loved it again, much more than the book #3.
Tinker is a charming girl, unaware of her allure but full of spunk and wit. A genius in all things mechanical, she is first and foremost a compassionate human being, prone to helping everyone who comes into her sphere. When her lover, the glorious elf Windwolf, uses magic to transform her into an elf, because he can’t think of her dying on him after a mere 70 or 80 years, he loves her too much for that, she remains a “human with fancy ears” by her own admission and acts like one.
Her every thought is triggered by humanity. No mater how sharp her ears have became, she never turns into a scheming, arrogant elven bitch, as so many elves in this tale seem to be. Is it their immortality that inspires their haughtiness and their snobbish disdain for humans, I wonder?
The interlacing of human technology and elven magic in the novel is ingenious, and Tinker’s interactions with both humans and elves of her home city of Pittsbrgh are simultaneously off-beat and funny, believable and incredible. Add to that the all-powerful EIA (Elven Interdimensional Agency), evil Oni lords, a hoverbike chase (yes, Tinker invented hoverbikes), a betrayal or two, a DNA adventure, several mythical creatures unexpectedly turned real, and Windwolf’s rival for Tinker’s affection, a human cop Nathan, and the resulting cat’s cradle of contradictory desires and goals becomes a pretty good fantasy novel.
I’d even call it an undiscovered gem, although the ending is a bit unfinished in my opinion. I’d prefer another chapter to tie up the loose ends, but of course, it’s the author’s prerogative not to do so.
Overall, a delightfully original fantasy with a dollop of Sci-fi. Highly recommended.

[KatieV]

I made it to almost the halfway point and still didn't like the heroine at all. She didn't seem to have any deep emotions and was kind of flippant with others emotions. I got so tired of being hit over the head with how she doesn't know she's the hottest chick ever born. Maybe it's a first book thing, but I just couldn't get into it. To be fair, I highly associate elves with baking cookies in hollow trees and have a hard time seeing them as sexy.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one's fun. A nice take on the cross-world SF/Fantasy hybrid with good politicking on both sides of the divide and some fabulous surprises along the way.

In particular, I like the way the main character's specialness is worked into the plot without breaking suspension of disbelief and the way her flaws and youth are handled.

Basic setup: the Chinese government steals some not-quite-done research on making a star drive and builds it, not-quite-understanding how it works. The result is a probably working star gate (colony ships are reporting back, but it's a one-way trip so far, with no gate at the other end) but the side effect is a resonance point in PhiladelphiaPittsburgh that sends the whole city to Elfhome, another dimension with elves and monsters and magic.

As a compromise, the gate is shut down for one day a month, pulling PhillyPittsy back and allowing trade and diplomatic relations between humans and elves.

Our protagonist, who goes by the cognomen Tinker, is a mechanical genius who runs a scrapyard in PhiladelphiaPittsburgh and tinkers with machines (like her line of souped-up racing hoverbikes) on the side. She becomes involved with the elves and spends the one-day shutdown protecting a near-dead elf prince from assassins and smugglers. As a result, she gets pulled into cross-world intrigue and develops a much closer relationship with the elves than almost any humans.

Fun stuff. High tech works, but no power is available on most of Elfhome. PhiladelphiaPittsburgh has power stations but humans don't have access to magic training. They can buy pre-printed spells, though, and make use of those alongside their machines. The elves are incorporating human design and technology into everything they can without the sometimes-unfortunate side effects of magical activity in a strong electromagnetic field. And Tinker starts to make sense of it all.

The author throws us some great surprises. Tinker's relationship with the elves winds up much closer--and more complicated--than expected. The history of elven interaction with Earth is far more complex than any human knew (and even the few elves and half-elves who have been trapped on earth in hiding for thousands of years don't know the whole story) and human western culture turns out not to have a monopoly on this fact-based cross-world mythology.

The relationship side of the story is pretty well handled, although you have to make allowances for Tinker's limited access to boys and limiting all-science training from her slightly nuts grandfather while growing up in an under-populated PhiladelphiaPittsburgh. Her strange upbringing (her grandfather used stored sperm from her 10-years-dead father to in vitro impregnate a surrogate with an egg from an already-dead woman and raised Tinker on science, math, and engineering) explains some of her odd and naive interactions with men she's attracted to or who are attracted to her.

The elf she rescued is an interesting character, if a little flat. He isn't quite the Charlaine Harris male (i.e., only there to make the lead female clearly desirable), but he can be close at times. He may come into his own in the sequel, which is named after him instead of her.

Read this one for the fun setting and the fun intrigue, but read it especially for two major plot turns: one about halfway through and involving Tinker making a poorly-informed, if not at all bad, decision and the other about 2/3 of the way through when the antagonists of the book reveal themselves to come from a mostly-unexpected direction.

The book also has four of five very nicely written action set pieces, including a very entertaining and readable hoverbike chase, a great assault by a powered-up magic user, several escapes from potentially devastating guards, and a fun sequence fighting back against a mind reader/illusion projector.

I haven't read the sequel Wolf Who Rules, but friends liked it, so I have hopes for it.

[Hopper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel mislead. I read this book on a recommendation from a friend that I would love this strong female character. In addition, the front of the book notes "Buffy fans should find a lot to like." Are you kidding me? How could any reasonable person suggest that a Buffy fan would approve of this drivel.

I gave the book a two rather than a one for the following reasons:
1. The author has some very creative ideas. However, the ideas are not well developed. I'm still unclear on the whole shutdown business and this would have been a better book if the author took the time to paint a better picture of some of the sci-fi/fantasy concepts.
2. I liked that Tinker was scientifically inclined and that she was alright with getting dirty.
3. I enjoyed Pony's character, mostly for his loyalty and devotion to his occupation.

That's about all that I enjoyed in this book.



I'm staring at the book cover and I don't get it. The book is called Tinker. Look at the cover. There are two characters. Do either character look like Tinker? They aren't even female characters.

I hated Tinker's character. Mostly because I didn't feel she had any. I saw her as a weak, silly little girl, who was gifted with intelligence, but had zero sense. I appreciate flawed characters, but with understandable, character building flaws.

I lost all faith that Tinker could be redeemed after she allowed Windwolf to put a spell on her without any explanation just so that she could get laid. Come on. Seriously? The dude turned her into a freakin' elf without her consent and she ended up being pretty alright with it. Oh, and then she finds out that it wasn't just that stole her humanity, but now she is also his wife, but it's ok because she loves him. How? She doesn't know a damn thing about him, and what she does know, should have sent any reasonably intelligent person running in the opposite direction. I would have beat the hell out of him and walked away.

Also, I'm all for violence and sexuality in books, but I found the sexuality in this book oddly out of place with the weirdly romantic overtones. The rape of Chiyo, as everyone, including Tinker just watched was bizarre. It just didn't sit well with me. Speaking of rape, Nathan's attempted rape on Tinker. What the hell? Ok, I get it, Tinker is the absolute worse judge of character ever and she welcomes abusive, controlling men into her life and fantasizes about having sex with them.

A couple pages from the end, after the big battle, Tinker and Windwolf fall into each other's arms and make love. If I had only read that page first, I never would have wasted my time reading this book.

And now, that I have reached the conclusion of my review, I have talked myself into rating this book a one, because, in spite of some great ideas, I really didn't like this book.

Summary:
A twisted romance involving a pathetic, human female who drops everything good in her life, and walks away from her family and friends to follow an elf who deceives her and holds her captive. She gets swept away in a ton of political crap between elves and oni and is traded from an elf prisoner to an oni prisoner, while the whole time dreaming of making love with her elf husband, or her bodyguard, whichever is more convenient.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tinker was an absolute delightful melding of science fiction and fantasy. Within the first few pages I found myself immediately drawn into the world, and loving every second of it.

A quarter way through the book I realized what was so entrancing about the story, it seriously reminded me of reading a manga (japanese style comic). There is a type of genre of manga that melds high fantasy with sci/fi which I have never before seen actually expressed in just writing, and I must say I was damn well impressed. There are several scenes in the books I could imagine easily as a comic page, and in fact inspired me to draw myself! Curious, I looked online and found with no surprise that the author is indeed a fan of anime and manga, and that influence has blossomed into a wonderful tale that will have you clutching the book every inch of the way, putting off sleep for just "one more chapter".

[Katyana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really torn about this book.

On the one hand, there are tons of things I really enjoyed:
-interesting setup
-cool worldbuilding
-quantum theory magic / unique magic system
-brilliant engineer FMC
-strong family relationships (partially found family)

On the other hand, there are tons of things I didn't. Let's walk through those with a little more detail.

FMC issues
Tinker is 18. I didn't realize this, and honestly likely wouldn't have picked it up if I did, because I'm not generally a YA fan. That said, Tinker isn't a typical YA FMC - she's not angsty and overwrought, she's exceptionally clever, and I didn't find her narrative annoying. She's a genius with engineering and tech, but a fucking moron with social stuff...at times straying into TSTL with it. She's also a Mary Sue. Now, I've said in other reviews that I like my heroines with a dash of Mary Sue, but Tinker is really over the top with it. She's an 18 year old bombshell who thinks she's ugly, and every man falls in love with her, every woman hates her (except for Lain and Tooloo, but they helped raise her so that's to be expected).

I also struggled with the fact that she's brilliant but yet struggles to put obvious things together. Look, I thought it was pretty obvious who the bad guys are - both Riki and Sparrow - but she not only didn't see it, she was actively manipulated by them repeatedly and just kept letting herself get played. It is hard to accept that our genius FMC is this dumb.

Some parts were skeevy
This is possibly an extension of her Mary Sue-dom, but like, one of her and her brother/cousin (cousins, but were raised as siblings) good friends is Nathan. Nathan has been like a big brother to her for her whole life - he's 10 years older than her and very protective. He tells her that he's been infatuated with her since she was 15. Tinker had no idea. He's been waiting for her to be an adult to express his love (/infatuation), trying to hold out until she was 19. She says okay, well, let's try a date and see if we can be in a relationship or if we're better off friends / almost-siblings. So they do, and he is honestly gross. Sticking his hand up her dress in public, trying to convince her to move in with him and get married ... and this is capped off with him attempting to rape her. Seriously, wtf? It honestly doesn't make sense - how did this guy treat her like a sister for the last 18 years, and then like a switch got flipped, he expects insta-love from her and sex/marriage on the first date ... which also happens to be her first EVER date with anyone.

You could argue that with Windwolf (the MMC) it was skeevy too, given that he's 200 and she's 18. I have less of a problem with that, though. Partially because that's just part of the buy-in when you're talking about an immortal and a human falling in love. And partially because he imo was careful of her and attentive. I don't blame him for the marriage / elf thing, because it legitimately seems like he didn't realize she didn't understand. Lain says the same - she's fluent in Low Elvish and was partially raised by a half-elf, and has familiarity with some of their customs. So it isn't unbelievable that when she accepted his courting gift he assumed she understood. And while he could have been more explicit about changing her into an elf, his dialogue was talking about that, but just in a more poetic way - down that path of your life, all roads lead to death, and this path is life ... etc. I'm okay with Windwolf. He's a little high-handed, as you'd expect from an elf ruler, but he seems to care about her and be concerned about what makes her happy. He wants her to be herself. He finds her mind fascinating, and her heart beautiful. I dig it.

I'm going to read on and see if this was just a bit of a clunky first book - there's a hell of a lot to set up. If Tinker gets a little bit more of a head on her shoulders in terms of dealing with people, I think I'll like this series very much.

[Leiah Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say, when I saw this book listed, I forget where, I thought it might not be all that much, but it was at hand, so I picked it up. Oh. My. God. I could not have been more wrong, or more happy to be so.

"Tinker", and the follow-up, "Wolf Who Rules" are extraordinary. The concept of science as the foundation of magic is one I have always wished someone would write about - and Spencer does it in a believable, extremely well developed, and well written manner. I picked up the book for an 'easy' read, and within a few pages was totally hooked.

Admittedly, I am a sucker for BOTH fantasy and science books. The "multiverse" and "bubble universe" studies, as well as the whole concept of quantum physics, fascinates me. No, I am not a scientist, never got to learn, but I can still read about it, right? Many authors use alternate universes to base their stories. Spencer takes it further, placing her stories in a possible future, where layers of universes flow-through to a possible future Earth we all recognize. And set in Pittsburgh, no less? Ok, you write about the city you know, and even though I laughed when I read where it was set (who would think Pittsburgh for a land of fairie?) Spencer really makes you feel like you are there, walking the streets of Pittsburgh, that you know the people she writes about. And she makes you really care about them.

Tinker is fascinating. In a way genetically engineered to become the creature of her grandfather's dreams, she is a genius at mathematics and mechanics in a Pittsburgh moved to a land of magic. Good hearted, down-to-earth, intelligent, and smart as a whip, she is a perfectly realized character, with enough confidence in herself to be strong, and yet not a total screaming bitch as some authors like their heroines to be. She knows that she is not always right, is often unsure of herself, but still takes care of business, taking care of the people who depend on her for their safety and their own. She takes physical change, pain, and uncertainty and becomes the stronger for it. She never gives up who she is - amazing given the situations she finds herself thrown into with no preparation, no training, and socialization to the laws and goals of the group she suddenly finds herself a part of. Kudos, Ms. Spencer, for a beautifully developed group of characters, firmly based in both fantasy, and reality!

Tinker's grasp of technology, as well as her grasp of magic theory and the integration between the two makes this a fascinating new meld of my two favorite fields. I can hardly wait for "Elfhome" due out in July! I picked these up at the library, but am purchasing both of these books for my library to pull out again and again - and have already pre-ordered "Elfhome". Thank you, Ms. Spencer, for writing wonderful characters!!!!!

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

There be spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

I'd heard some good things about this book, so I decided to give it a try. I also knew the author was a fan of manga (and therefore presumably Japanese culture) beforehand. Cool. I adore manga too.

Thing is, the concept is interesting. The whole piece-of-earth-in-foreign-realm idea got me absorbed in the first chapter. Trying to make sense of all the new terminology, figuring out the history, politics (especially the inter-species ones) was all great.

And then everything kind of goes downhill.

I liked Tinker the most in the first few chapters when she was badass and saved Windwolf. It was refreshing to read about a genius heroine who is purportedly amazing at quantum physics. As I read on, however, I found myself being more and more detached from Tinker. To be honest, aside from the whole genius mechanic label slapped on her, I don't particularly find Tinker very different from typical heroines. There is proof that Tinker's 'legend' isn't false, we get to see her in action in her junkyard, but everything else about Tinker... I know some people liked her, and to each her own. I just couldn't personally connect with her (or understand most some of the things she did). Even with a smart heroine, the entire book (or at least the part I read, which was the first 4/5 of it) is spent with Tinker mired in her confusion, ignorance, and indecision. As if fiction needs more heroines tripping over their own feet.

Tinker wasn't the worse part of the book for me though. Oh no, it gets worse.

Can we talk about the racial tensions in this book? Because I can't unsee them. I can't just ignore it and pretend everything is awesome and my isn't this author cool for putting in references to the mystical Orient. On the most basic level, this is how the characters in this book go: If you're a good character, you have Caucasian features. If you're a bad character, you have Asian features. The 'good' mythological race, the one we and the heroine are supposed to sympathize with, is drawn from European mythology. The 'bad' mythological race, the oni, are drawn from Japanese mythology. Let's not forget that America is the 'good' human country, and all human characters, who are American, in the book are white (except for a brief mention of Chinatown and one stock 'Asian man' behind his okonomiyaki cart). And of course China is the 'bad' human country.

The mythology is weird too. The oni have distinctively Japanese names, the mythology is drawn purely from Japanese culture (aside from the Foo dogs, but an explanation for why these Chinese mythological creatures are included in Japanese mythology is given on p. 144). There was a mention of Chinese dragons too, as 'poisonous snakes'. Okay, now that we've established the mythology for the bad oni are drawn from Japanese culture, what is up with the repetitive discussion on China? How is China in any way connected to Japanese mythology? Why is there absolutely no discussion of Japan? Why the heck were the oni stranded in China? What were they doing in China, taking a jaunt on the Great Wall and snapping photos of the Forbidden Palace? I suppose I just feel there's something not quite right with all this talk on China and Japanese mythological creatures. Somehow the two are supposed to connect together, but I just don't see how. China has its own rich and vast mythology that, guess what, is distinct from Japan's. Why not draw on that instead?

The Elves are characterized in a way so that they seem distinct from the human race. They don't share human culture, or language. Their systems of governance and politics, their history... the author really fleshed this out. The oni, on the other hand, are too close to Japanese culture for my liking. Please explain to me how a race of mythological creatures that developed on a separate plane somehow develop a culture remarkably similar to Japan's (down to the kimono). Or have names that sound remarkably similar to Japanese names. You might argue it's because the oni were stuck in the human world and thus caught onto human culture. But oni are immortal, in their own private homes they shouldn't have to act human and should remember their own culture and language. Nor should they have to call themselves by Japanese names. And don't get forget they were stranded in China. Which. Isn't. Japan.

So yeah. Basically it's stereotyping one race as good, another as evil, and having some weird Oriental/Asian mash of things thrown in there (the continent of Asia is not some all-you-can-eat pile-whatever-you-want-onto-your-plate buffet). I would prefer Japanese and Chinese mythology to be represented properly and not caricatured, otherwise authors are just appropriating elements of other cultures and stuffing it in 'cause it looks cool. The whole Big Bad China-wait-no-Japan-wait-no-Japanese-Shinto-oni thing just doesn't work. That, and last time I was there America isn't just made up of white people. There really are other races that live in America. I know, I know, it's the whole please let's have diversity in your characters thing, but having one race as your good characters and another race as your bad characters does not cut it.

I'm not even going into the mess that is Tinker and Windwolf's relationship. Aside from the whole insta-love thing (especially on Windwolf's part) and Tinker's dallying around with Nathan and Windwolf (which I can understand but can't exactly respect). Oh, and the whole non-consensual turning of Tinker into an elf (am still puzzled by that part - as in why it was added in the beginning, forced on Tinker, with little to no set up, because the books I like the most actually discuss the differences between mortal and immortal, and characters put themselves through hell to gain immortality for maximum impact), and how Windwolf trapped Tinker into a marriage. That, and Tinker and Windwolf have no build up or basis for their relationship. They have little interaction with each other (hell, I understand and like Tinker's relationship with Pony more than Windwolf), and most of it featured Windwolf near death. Whoops, guess I did delve a bit into the train wreck.

To summarize: I don't think the author was intentionally racist (God, I hope not, although casting all your bad guys as Asian characters is cutting it really close). And great, the author wanted to incorporate other cultures. Just please, be careful with representation. Other cultures means they aren't exactly yours. You don't really know them as intimately, and honestly have no right to stereotype them as bad guys. Or somehow draw in one Asian country while discussing another Asian culture's mythology and throw them together.

[Genevieve Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm of two minds about Tinker. On the one hand, the concept and story are so unique, and fun, it made this book a page-turner. It's well thought out, and the world-building is amazing. As a result, I find myself picking this book up again and again. Tinker as a heroine is also a great character--unique both in personality and physical attributes, a brainy but petite offspring of a brilliant scientist who chooses to work in a junk yard with her brother.

There are two reasons I deducted a star (so you can consider them each half-star deductions).

First, while I love the idea of throwing the audience into the story head-first, there is so much world and so many unique things going on that the opening is confusing. The writing is a bit dense and there is a lot of invented terminology and terminology being used in unique ways. While we all hate exposition, I think a little more context allowing the audience to understand what things were would have helped, or even just drawing out the scene a bit longer to allow for better descriptions (with, yes, exposition added).

Secondly, I love the character of Tinker overall but by the end of the book I felt not all of the characters had grown/changed in realistic ways. One or two characters have changes to their personalities that don't make sense given what the author already established.

Overall, however, I definitely recommend the book for anyone who likes fantasy and fun reads, it's worth buying and having on your shelf.

[MB (What she read) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting in spite of the main character being a Mary Sue and her love interest being what some would consider 'every woman's elf fantasy'. (Not mine, btw.) This novel would have benefitted from better world-building and setting the scene in the first several chapters as I was still confused by the middle of the book.

The villain was too evil for words, there is some pretty obvious racism in the 'evil' characters, and several parts were just too disturbingly weird for me. This book kept my attention but annoyed me. I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel or not.

[Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The overview above is not inaccurate, but I don’t think it does the essence of the story justice. I regard Tinker as one of the most unique books I’ve ever read, mostly because it’s a really cool mix of genres. The setting, atmosphere, and characterization read very much like an urban fantasy. The concept is very futuristic/science fiction. And the plot sits comfortable in the romance genre. And the elves… let’s not forget about that fantasy element. Even for such an eclectic mix of ideas, everything works together brilliantly. I loved how resourceful and creative the main character, Tinker, was and reading about her was easily my favorite element of the novel. Overall, if you are sick of the same old stuff, give Tinker a try – it is an experience if nothing else. This is the second time I’ve read this novel because the third book FINALLY came out and I wanted a refresher… you lucky ducks who haven’t read it yet won’t have to sit and wonder for six years whether or not there will be a conclusion.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.nikihawkes.com

[Shannon C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just did a re-read of this series and I enjoyed it the second time around even better than the first. I think this would appeal to urban fantasy fans. It is set in an alternate Pittsburgh. The characters and world are well-crafted. I like the mix of adventure, action, mystery and romance. I particularly like that the lead gal Tinker is super smart, quirky, loyal and honorable. She is not your run-of-the-mill urban fantasy heroine. I also really like the supporting cast, like Oilcan, Pony and Windwolf.

Books 2 & 3 I rated even higher--a full 5 stars. I was happy to see that book 4 is scheduled to come out this year.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf'ed after about a hundred pages. I was already disturbed by the number of references to Tinker's panties and bra, and I was on the fence about her budding sexuality. Then comes the confession of her buddy the cop that he's been sexually obsessed with her since she was 15 and he was 25. She's 18 now and he's 28. Horribly inappropriate. So I looked at the reviews and saw enough intimations of racism, including that the bad guys are a conflation of Japanese and Chinese cultural stuff. So nope, I'm done.

Other than that, the setup of the world's seemed pretty interesting, as did Tinker's junkyard-type live/work arrangement. But not enough to keep reading.

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first and in my opinion the best book of the series. It is such an interesting world that Tink lives in. I love the twist on the elves and there is so much going on in this book I'm not even sure what to call it lol. It a little bit of fantasy and a little scifi in one. But it is mostly romance. It can get a bit graphic though an one part made me want to close my eyes till it was over lol.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Very interesting world building-great mix of magic, mysticism, and theoretical science! I also liked Tinker as a character-she was seriously smart mentally and pretty street savvy (Just wish she wasn't so romantically inexperienced...bc that lead to some uncomfortable scenes)

"You were fifteen, and I was twenty-five. I kept my hands to myself. I would bust any guy for doing what I was thinking."

^Are we at all surprised that this adult man who admitted to being attracted to a 15 yr old eventually tries to rape her because he thinks 'taking her virginity' will maker her "his"? Not me.

"Trust me, my little, savage Tink." He kissed her neck, finding some pleasure zone that she didn't know existed. Trust him? Wasn't that the line that men always used? But she did trust him, perhaps more than she knew, perhaps more than she should.

^This guy turns her into an elf w/o her consent by seducing her, having sex with her, and not telling her what he is actually doing...aaand Sadly he doesn't exactly get any consequences for this kind of bs as he and Tinker end up married. Le Sigh.



That being said-I wasn't really buying to romance. I mean what is up with all of these 100+ year old mythical men being paired with naive virginal teen girls? Trope as old as time I guess. Sigh x2
But beyond that there was the whole consent "confusion", or if I'm being more honest with how I felt reading it---manipulation.

"All the gods in heaven!" she swore. "I'm going to kill him!" "He didn't tell you that he was going to change you? He just took you out to the woods and changed you?" "Yes!" Tinker answered without thinking, and then caught the dangerously hard look on his face. "No. No. He didn't. He asked me, but I didn't understand. You know how he is. How they all are. I didn't understand."

'Do you want to be an elf?' That's all you had to ask so that I knew what decision I was really making. I feel like you tricked me. I feel like you betrayed my trust!"

It wasn't that Windwolf had taken away all her choices, but the ones left were dubious.

Moving on--I did like the side characters- Oilcan and Pony were fun to read, and so were Tooloo and Lain. I also enjoyed the sprinkling of different mythologies like Japanese oni and tengu.

But yeah we barely spent any meaningful time with the main couple- mixed with me not really liking him- and I felt the ending was a little wonky.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This science fiction/urban fantasy story takes place in the near future. A future where a interdimensional gate has been invented to let people travel to distant planets. There is a side effect, though. Pittsburgh - or a big part of it - finds itself shifted to Elfhome every time the gate is turned on and returned to Earth when it is off.

Tinker is about eighteen and has spent her whole life in Pittsburgh both while it is on Earth and when it is one Elfhome. She's never actually visited any other places on Earth and isn't really interested. She a technical genius who own her own scrapyard. She was raised and educated by her grandfather who kept her a secret. After his death, she has her cousin Oilcan and friends including half-Elf Tooloo and Xenobiologist Lain who have been her mentors and teachers.

When wargs chase an Elf lord into her scrapyard and she saves his life, her life takes a totally new turn. It was already starting to shift because Lain convinced her to take the entrance exams for Carnegie Mellon which put her on the radar of the NSA because her answers indicated that she might be able to build another gate. It also put her on the radar of the Oni from still another world who want her to build them a gate so that they can conquer or expand to Earth and Elfhome.

The elf she rescued was Windwolf who happens to be the Viceroy of the part of Elfhome where Pittsburg appears. Cultural misunderstandings on both their parts finds them married and finds Tinker changed into an elf herself.

Then she's kidnapped by the Oni and forced to build them a new gate because they have threatened everyone she loves if she does not. But Tinker is a genius and her plans include foiling their plans and saving herself and those she loves.

This story had great characters and intriguing worldbuilding. I liked Tinker. I liked that she was torn between Earth and Elfhome. I liked the elf magic and the way Tinker dealt with it even though her own focus was on physics.

This is the first of a five book series which was published between 2003 and 2016, It looks like a sixth book is scheduled for publication in 2022.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" Tinker is the first book in Wen Spencer’s Elfhome series that I would say is most aptly categorized as science fantasy. It takes place in a near future where the city of Pittsburgh has been interdimensionally transported to the planet of Elfhome via a gate that seems to operate based in some type of quantum physics, hence the science fiction aspect. However, Elfhome is, as its name suggests, home to the elves, who in this mythology are aliens. Otherwise, though, they and their civilization are very much like any other elves you may have read about that populate many fantasy worlds. In this realm, we have Tinker, a teenager who runs her own scrapyard and who is a literal genius when it comes to anything of a technical nature. She’s content with her life until, one night, an Elven noble is chased into her scrapyard by a pack of wargs. She manages to kill the wargs, but the elf, who she recognizes as a clan leader named Windwolf, is badly wounded. Without the magic of an Elven hospital, she knows he won’t survive and it’s the one night each month when Pittsburgh goes back to Earth for twenty-four hours. It’s up to Tinker to use her ingenuity to keep Windwolf alive until they return to Elfhome. In doing so, she sets in motion a series of events that will change her life forever as Windwolf expresses his gratitude in a wholly unexpected way and she discovers that she’s the subject of an Elven prophecy. It also puts her on the radar of both the NSA, who say she’s in grave danger as the daughter of the scientist who created the gate, and the EIA (Elven Interdimensional Agency), who want her help with finding technology smugglers. In the end, she finds herself kidnapped by evil oni who want her to build another gate for them and must use her wits to find a way out of her predicament.

Conceived in a very unconventional way, Tinker was born in the Pittsburgh of Elfhome and has never visited Earth even on the one day each month that it returns to its home planet. She was raised by her grandfather in Pittsburgh, which of course, is primarily populated by humans, but having been around them all her life, she’s very familiar with the elves as well. When she was thirteen, she saved Windwolf’s life, after which he marked her, tying their life forces to one another. At first, he doesn’t remember her, though, when she once again save his life five years later. Tinker is a kind, compassionate person, so I believe she would have tried everything in her power to save Windwolf, no matter what, but she works that much harder, because she has no idea how the spell connecting them works and fears if he dies, she might die as well. Luckily that doesn’t happen, but the event sets a lot of wheels in motion that make it all but impossible for Tinker to go back to her ordinary life in the scrapyard. Up to that point, Tinker was content with her life, and making good money with her business. She has her cousin, Oilcan, and friends in the city who are more like family. She’s also been looking forward to her first date and her first kiss, both of which she gets from one of those friends, but neither turns out the way she might have hoped. Instead, she finds herself intensely attracted to Windwolf who brings a transformation to her life in more ways than one that she never would’ve expected. But with these new changes and realizations comes a great deal of danger.

I love smart heroines and Tinker is definitely that. She’s clearly the most intelligent person in any room and I like that that part of her persona is brought out so well. She bears a certain humility, though, that I think keeps her from seeing what a gem she really is and it takes the elves, mainly Windwolf, to help her realize her full potential. She also cares a lot about her human friends and family and ends up finding new friends amongst the elves to which her kindness extends. If I had any complaint about her at all, it would probably be that she sometimes doesn’t seem to know her own mind, especially who she wants to be with romantically, but I admit that could just be a product of her callow youth and inexperience and her not seeing herself the way others do.

While Tinker has multiple men that she’s attracted to, and to some extent, tests the waters with, throughout, I had a special fondness for Windwolf from the moment we meet him. He’s a kind and honorable elf, and although he does a couple of very significant things to Tinker without her full knowledge or consent, I understood that it wasn’t done in a malicious or manipulative way. It was merely a misunderstanding based in cultural differences and a language barrier, so it was forgivable to me. Not to mention, even though Tinker has mixed feelings about these changes in her life that take her some time to work through, she ultimately keeps coming back to Windwolf as the one who seems to hold the most allure for her, and whenever she’s with him, she’s wholeheartedly into him.

Overall, Tinker was a fun, imaginative, and adventurous read. The melding of the science fiction and fantasy elements was done seamlessly and somehow they worked together wonderfully. Tinker is a great character and it was fun going on this journey with her. The story also has a touch of romance in it that I enjoyed, although since it’s mostly secondary to other events, I wouldn’t call the book a romance novel. There were times I wished we could have had Windwolf’s perspective, as I kind of wanted to know what was going through his mind, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker. Since the next book of the series, Wolf Who Rules, appears to be all about him and hopefully from his POV, I’m willing to wait to see if it gives me more insights into his character. There were some loose threads left hanging in this story, but again, since there’s more still to come, I’m giving the author a pass in hopes that we’ll see them wrapped up better in the subsequent books. That being the case, the only thing that was a little bothersome is the extent of the technical passages. I love when we get to see smart, geeky characters in their element, because it makes their characterization more authentic, but I prefer if those elements are seamlessly woven into the narrative. However, Tinker goes into technical descriptions of what she’s doing rather often, which usually made me zone out a little. I also couldn’t tell for sure if it was rooted in actual science or was simply technobabble, but either way it was perhaps a little much and one of the main reasons, I dropped a half star. Otherwise, Tinker was an enjoyable read that has me looking forward to picking up the second book soon to see what happens next.

Note: This book contains a scene of attempted sexual assault of a main character, as well as a scene involving the rape and forced impregnation of a supporting character, which could distress sensitive readers.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The wargs chased the elf over Pittsburgh Scrap and Salvage's tall chain-link fence shortly after the hyperphase gate powered down."

So opens Tinker, which is a very fast-paced book. Amazingly fast-paced. Astoundingly.... well, you get the idea. Boredom will not be a problem if you read Tinker.

Circa 2050, Pittsburgh has been transported (mostly) to Elfhome, as a side-effect of the startup of a new Chinese orbital interdimensional gate. Tinker, just turned 18, owns the junkyard, and is a full-fledged Grrl Genius to boot, with a mouth (and steel-toe boots) to match. Oh, and Tink's Dad, the gate's inventor, died 10 years before she was born...

Tink's being romanced by the rich, powerful, gorgeous, sexy Elvish Viceroy. Can we say "female wish-fulfillment wet dream?" Wet dreams do play a part, actually, and this is not a criticism.

Oh, man, this book is so good. A light, clever, sexy SF-fantasy/romance that's just a whole lot of fun to read. Right up there with the best of the "scientific magic" books, and a clear "A" rating -- but you should know that it's the first of a seemingly open-ended series. So the ending is just the end of an episode. Regardless, I liked it a lot, and I'm ready for #2!

2020 note, after reading "Bare Snow Falling on Fairywood", a short, free prequel: https://www.baen.com/bare_snow_falling
It was interesting glancing through the reviews of TINKER, which most readers liked, but a few HATED. And I could see the point of the ones who disliked it -- especially since I tried to reread the book in 2015, quickly bogged down, and abandoned the reread. But I sure had fun the first time!

[Jai · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still 5 stars more than a decade later!

I remember when I first saw this book on the "New Release" shelves in Forbidden Planet. It was clearly a Baen hardback - look at the cover art! A bit of an odd title but I already knew Baen were GOD so of course I read the blurb....and bought the incredibly expensive US import! (Back then the hardback imports were generally about £4-£6 more than homegrown editions).

So freaking worth it! Of course the fact that I then proceeded to wait...and wait....and wait....for a sequel was less awesome!

Uh-hum. So, as you can tell, this is a reread. A worthy reread. Wen Spencer has an excellent writing style; at times we follow Tinkers' stream of conscious, typical young adult thoughts about sex blending seamlessly with quantum physic ponderings. At other times we take a step back to listen to the intriguing background of exactly how Pittsburgh translocated to an alternate dimension. The mythology is distinctly oriental as opposed to the more common use of Celtic and European folklore - it suits the elves, though maybe that's the skill of a good writer showing. There's fast paced action and mystery. Dinosaurs and dog-things. Humans and elves. Magic and science. It's just an utterly marvellous blend of SF and fantasy - it's like an angel snatched my unvoiced genre dreams and mashed them together, swallowed them and then spat them out!

READ IT