Tag Archives: claus series

Tis The Season – Toymaker by Tony Bertauski @tonybertauski

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HAPPY HOLIDAZE AND A NEW RELEASE

Toymaker: Return of the Lost Toys (A Science Fiction Adventure) (Claus Universe Book 9)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Is there a Santa Claus? Elves? Reindeer? Do they live at the North Pole? Why haven’t humans ever found them? If you have been following the series, you may have some of the answers already.

Avery Neva (Snow) Tannenbaum was born on her Nana Rai’s birthday and they celebrated it together every year. This year is different. Her Nana has passed away and left a last request.

Toymaker is all about him, and the Hunt for him. But there is so much more going on the just a game and there is more to the Hunt than win or lose.

I love the unique characters and the world they live in. Dangerous and magical, good and bad…and TOYS. Thank you Santa.

Tony Bertauski has a way with words and has written of a fantastical, magical fantasy world, filled with imagination and creativity, weaving the real world, the future, the past, and the present into a present (?).

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Toymaker by Tony Bertauski.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

The 9th standalone novel in the Claus Universe.

One Christmas morning, a mystery gift appeared under trees around the world. It was the exact same gift, inscribed with the maker’s initials in tiny letters: BT and Company. It was months before anyone knew exactly what the gift did.

Avery Tannenbaum’s brother was one of the lucky few to receive one. It was on her birthday when the mysterious gifts came to life. A contest was announced. It was also on that very same day Avery’s grandmother passed away.

An eccentric, wealthy woman, Nana Rai left detailed instructions on how to commemorate her passing, a celebration to be held on Christmas morning, which just so happened to be the same day the contest was set to end. Avery’s family travels to a cold and snowy land to honor her grandmother’s wishes. And it’s here she uncovers the true purpose of the mystery gift, and why the makers launched a global contest.

As Nana Rai’s celebration nears, Avery follows clues her grandmother left behind. BT and Company are searching for the Toymaker. And Avery knows what they’ll do when they find him. She becomes part of her grandmother’s plan to stop them. The real mystery isn’t where the Toymaker is hiding.

It’s why he’s hiding in the first place.

REVIEWS FOR THE CLAUS UNIVERSE

  • “Amazing rewrites that will astound you!” –Ruth Jackson, Amazon Reviewer
  • “Best Santa Story Ever!” – Bob, Amazon Reviewer
  • “Simply lovely.” –jl, Amazon Reviewer
  • “MY HEART GREW THREE SIZES…” – Amazon Reviewer
  • “Couldn’t Put It Down.” – Amazon Reviewer
  • “Fantasy at it’s [sic] finest.” –Carol, Amazon Reviewer
  • “Absolutely phenomenal!” –JayFly, Amazon Reviewer
  • “A++” –TKJ 131, Amazon Reviewer
  • “Absolutely Awesome.” –Dee greusel, Amazon Reviewer
  • “I absolutely love this series…” –Kara McCabe, Amazon Reviewer
  • “Tony is an excellent story teller!” jjjlake, Amazon Reviewer
  • “I want MORE!” –J. Bunch, Amazon Reviewer
  • “Awesomely engaging!” –Janice Everett, Amazon Reviewer

ABOUT TONY BERTAUSKI

Tony Bertauski

Get my books FREE. Tell me where to send them at http://bertauski.com

My grandpa never graduated high school. He retired from a steel mill in the mid-70s. He was uneducated, but he was a voracious reader. I remember going through his bookshelves of paperback sci-fi novels, smelling musty old paper, pulling Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov off shelf and promising to bring them back. I was fascinated by robots that could think and act like people. What happened when they died?

I’ve written textbooks on landscape design, but that was straightforward, informational writing; the kind of stuff that helps most people get to sleep. I’ve also been writing a gardening column with a humorous slant. That takes a little more finesse, but still informational for the most part.

I’m a cynical reader. I demand the writer sweep me into his/her story and carry me to the end. I’d rather sail a boat than climb a mountain. That’s the sort of stuff I wanted to write, not the assigned reading we used to get in high school. I wanted to create stories that kept you up late.

Fiction, GOOD fiction, is hard to write. Having a story unfold inside your head is an experience different than reading. You connect with characters in a deeper, more meaningful way. You feel them, empathize with them, cheer for them and even mourn. The challenge is to get the reader to experience the same thing, even if it’s only a fraction of what the writer feels. Not so easy.

MY TONY BERTAUSKI REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Gingerman: In Search of the Toymaker by Tony Bertauski @tonybertauski

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I have been reading the Claus series by Tony Bertauski since the first one, Claus, Legend of the Fat Man. I have missed one or two, and hope to catch up on them. The series is unique and fun to read.

Gingerman: In Search of the Toymaker (Claus #8)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Gingerman is not my first foray into the world of Claus by Tony Bertauski and it won’t be my last. I have been loving this quirky series since the beginning, with Claus, Legend of the Fat Man.

Christmas White Blizzard, better known as Chris, is off to school. His mother loved Christmas so much, she names him and his sister, Yuletide. He is terrified of going off to school, but his desire to learn overrides his fears.

The Institute of Creative Minds is the ultimate dichotomy:

“Be creative and free. But follow the rules or go home.”

The Institute is unlike any school I have ever heard of before. It is Christmas all the time.

When he meets Joli, she decides to be his introduction to the school. I love her feisty, independent personality. She’s a rebel.

Gingerman….well, I don’t want to spoil your introduction to him, so you will need to discover everything about him yourself. I will tell you…he is…unusual. Whether he is good or bad, we will have to wait and see. The verdict is still out, but I do have my thoughts.

The magic of Christmas comes alive through Tony Bertauski’s descriptive words. So, come along with me, Chris, and the Gingerman to solve the mystery of the Institute. It is a wild ride and I think you may enjoy it. It is delightful, unique and mysterious.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Gingerman by Tony Bertauski.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

His real name is Christmas. It’s embarrassing.

He’s been accepted into the Institute of Creative Mind, a prestigious institute for eccentrics, outliers, and gifted students. A school located in the middle of nowhere with two-hundred-year-old castles and a formidable stone wall. A school where Christmas is celebrated the entire year.

Christmas trees, ornaments, and lights decorate the castles. Presents are given out every month, and students are pitted against each other in creative challenges. Chris soon finds out, however, the stakes are high.

The losers are expelled.

He spends sleepless nights keeping up with his homework to not disappoint his parents and to keep a cruel guidance counsellor off his back. But this place is more than a demanding school for gifted students. Chris finds a clue in a textbook his first night, written in code.

Run, run as fast as you can.

When he’s presented with an impossibility that defies all laws of physics and biology, anything becomes possible. Chris discovers students aren’t chosen for their artistic abilities but because of a DNA test. He doesn’t know what the school is really after. If he doesn’t stop them, Christmas will end forever. Everything depends on his courage.

And a strange little friend.

ABOUT TONY BERTAUSKI

Tony Bertauski

Get my books FREE. Tell me where to send them at http://bertauski.com

My grandpa never graduated high school. He retired from a steel mill in the mid-70s. He was uneducated, but he was a voracious reader. I remember going through his bookshelves of paperback sci-fi novels, smelling musty old paper, pulling Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov off shelf and promising to bring them back. I was fascinated by robots that could think and act like people. What happened when they died?

I’ve written textbooks on landscape design, but that was straightforward, informational writing; the kind of stuff that helps most people get to sleep. I’ve also been writing a gardening column with a humorous slant. That takes a little more finesse, but still informational for the most part.

I’m a cynical reader. I demand the writer sweep me into his/her story and carry me to the end. I’d rather sail a boat than climb a mountain. That’s the sort of stuff I wanted to write, not the assigned reading we used to get in high school. I wanted to create stories that kept you up late.

Fiction, GOOD fiction, is hard to write. Having a story unfold inside your head is an experience different than reading. You connect with characters in a deeper, more meaningful way. You feel them, empathize with them, cheer for them and even mourn. The challenge is to get the reader to experience the same thing, even if it’s only a fraction of what the writer feels. Not so easy.

MY TONY BERTAUSKI REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!