Toys in Babylon: A Language App Parody and Whodunit

By: Patrick Finegan
Publisher: Two Skates Publishing
Publication Date: August 15, 2024
ISBN: 978-1733902557
Reviewed by: Kathy Stickles
Review Date: August 25, 2024

Toys in Babylon is such a different kind of story and it is hard not to sing its praises. I found the story to be satire at its best. With plenty of artificial intelligence, great friendships between characters, a lot of jokes, a little romance, and a big mystery, it contains so much that readers will love, while being completely unlike anything you have read before.
Toys in Babylon is, first and foremost, the story of Coki the bear, the mascot of one of the world’s highly successful language apps. Coki has disappeared…and the question of whether the bear has been kidnapped or murdered is high in everyone’s mind as the story progresses. In this story, a majority of the characters are animated members of the language app who are used to help a person study but, in this case, have created lives of their own outside the app. As the characters, both human and animated, attempt to figure out what has happened to Coki, the characters take on their own personalities and entertain the reader in ways that definitely have not been done before in a book, at least not one that I have ever read.
Patrick Finegan has given readers something so creative with this book and I am sure that it will appeal to many, whether or not you have studied a language online through an app. While there is not a lot of detail in the book about how the human and animated characters can relate to each other the way they do, it does not detract from the story. This is one where you just have to jump in and let your imagination play along and not get deeply involved in the “how” it is being accomplished. You will have so much more fun that way!
The characters themselves are quite nicely developed, whether real or animated, and they keep the story moving right along as the pages turn. While your mind might fill with a little bit of worry regarding the fact that these animated characters are doing and speaking whatever they want, they really do make sense and, as a reader, you can find yourself actually caring about them and what is happening with the company that is causing them such confusion and pain. As I mentioned, you just have to “go” with it and not constantly question and you will adore the story.
Toys in Babylon is a story that I would recommend to others regardless of the type of books you favor. It is different, fun, and in some ways, very educational. For fans of artificial intelligence, it is a book that just may teach you a lot. For mystery fans, it is just a great story with clues that you can enjoy trying to figure out. For everyone else, it is just a fabulous parody to have fun with. Mr. Finegan has done something wonderful here and I will be very interested to see what he comes up with next.
Quill says: Toys in Babylon is such a humorous and creative story and quite different from other things out there, which is what makes it such a fun read. It is not often, dare I say never before, when a mystery fan can get a really good mystery wrapped around a group of cartoon characters.
For more information on Toys in Babylon, please visit the publisher’s website at: twoskates.com/
Author Interview