Elfhome: Tinker gets more confident

Elfhome by Wen Spencer

Elfhome (2012) is the third book in Wen Spencer’s ELFHOME series, and it’s definitely not where you want to start if you’re new to the series. You’ll need to have read Tinker and Wolf Who Rules first to fully grasp what’s going on and why the stakes are so high.

The story kicks off with Tinker recovering from a broken arm and being cornered by a persistent reporter who, despite being annoying, serves a useful purpose: reminding us of past events and setting the stage for the new problems Tinker will face in Elfhome. And there are a bunch of problems. Winter is coming, and Pittsburgh, now stranded in Elfhome, won’t be getting its usual monthly supplies from Earth. Meanwhile, the elves are still hunting the Oni, so Tinker must figure out how to reconnect Pittsburgh to Earth, master her magic, and stop the elves from committing genocide against the Oni.

But let’s not forget: the Oni are evil. They’re kidnapping elven and tengu children, either eating them or using them for horrific breeding experiments. The humans of Pittsburgh are blissfully unaware that they’ll probably be next on the menu. Tinker is determined to stop the Oni, save the kids, and figure out what the Oni are up to with the breeding projects. She gets a lot of help from her cousin Oilcan, who really starts to come into his own in this book, and Tommy, who also plays a significant role in Elfhome.

This shift toward Oilcan and Tommy’s development might disappoint some of Tinker’s fans, but Tinker is definitely growing as a character, too. She’s more confident and capable than before, balancing her many roles as a scientist, elf princess, wife, and defender of Pittsburgh.

In this installment we learn more about the bioengineering of the elves and tengu. We also learn more about Tinker’s mother and the heritage of both Tinker and Oilcan, though there are still mysteries here.

The ELFHOME series is creative, well written, and often amusing. The biggest issue I’ve had, which I keep mentioning, is the sometimes brutal, graphic content, especially the violence toward children. While this is a central part of the plot, it starts to feel unnecessarily shocking after a while. The themes of abuse, torture, rape, and other non-consensual acts continue to gross me out. These scenes start to feel more exploitative and shocking than creatively necessary.

I probably would have given up on ELFHOME by now if I hadn’t already purchased all the audiobooks. (The Audible Studios editions of the ELFHOME novels are nicely read by Tanya Eby.) Interestingly, the fourth book, Wood Sprites, focuses on new characters, a set of twins who live in New York City and might be related to Tinker. I’m intrigued and look forward to this change.