Toymaker

by Hesham N. Ali

In the room where Hayat and Yahiya's grandfather tinkers all their toys, is the one place in the house they were never allowed entry, until that is, on one late evening when the door to that particular room was mysteriously left unlocked.

48 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2021

About the author

“Some believe writing is a lost form of art. To others, writing may just be another tedious fulltime job . . .”

Born and raised in a minuscule Middle Eastern island known to man as the Kingdom of Bahrain. His entire life, Hesham had traversed through the infinite cosmos and amidst the time of the dinosaurs, falling all the way down the rabbit hole. When he finally emerged on the other side into the backward world of fiction writing where he battled his greatest demons in a multiverse of genres—that was when his reign of madness began.
2014 was the year he was diagnosed with the infamous “Writer’s Bug”. By 2016 he debuted with two novels: {Fear in Flesh} and {A Portrait of Memories}. Hesham was 23 when he published both titles only 2 months apart during that year. As his passion for making up stories keeps on growing, so does his love for creating fictional worlds then tearing them asunder.

“. . . To me, writing is an artistically driven lifestyle. We make of it what we envision and desire.”

Find out more and stay in touch with the author through . . .

Instagram: @h.madrex
Amazon.com: @Hesham N. Ali
Goodreads: @Hesham N. Ali
Email: hesham_nasser@outlook.com

Reviews

[Dalal519 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few words to describe this story: finding comfort, solving mysteries and reveling secrets.

I enjoyed reading this short story. The plot is interesting, it gave me the “Nutcracker” vibes, especially with some of the toys and characters that appeared throughout the story.
The story line is filled with things that could get you to be excited about finding out what might happen next! I liked the illustrations, they gave a visual touch to the story. I also liked some of the creepy parts at the end of the story. If you are a fan of one of the “Nutcracker” shows, movies, or stories, you might be interested in reading this twisted tale.

[Omar Al shomily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting untraditional relationship that was presented in a creepy yet celebratory way.
What even made it more captivating is the unique and beautiful illustrations that elevated the whole thing even more.

I am so down for more short stories like this!

[Zahraa Marhoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the whole story, the book starts with a great opening, revealing of the characters was in a nice way, the descriptive is so clear, the event keeps to be mysterious and fuzzy, brilliant, exciting and intelligent writing. In another word, can be finished in one sitting.

Liked the parts where the author illuminates the characteristic of the children as they can’t wait for the surprises, and their curiosity and desire for the forbidden things to them.

[Reem N. Alomari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was given to me for an honest review from my good friend Hesham!

I enjoyed the combination of innocence and creepiness in this book. And I loved the Alice in Wonderland feel to it when we see the toys! Truly magical.

I felt like the writing could have been simpler, but that’s just my taste.

I don’t normally read short-stories but I was glad I got to finish reading this!

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author takes us through a creative and imaginative experience, where Hayat and Yahya discover their grandfather's toymaking workshop. I enjoyed the way in which the toys were described in a unique and strange manner, that made the story more life-like and real, and the twist was very intriguing to me. Some of the words used are overly fancy and elaborate and the grammar was off in some places, but overall a wonderful and short read. Looking forward to reading more of these engaging short stories!