One of the rare DNFs in my life. I'm sorry, I tried, multiple times but just couldn't get into this book. Perhaps it was the language, or just that the story started slow, but I couldn't do it. :(

This book was definitely not what I thought it would be. The stories of each clan and their member's strengths and weaknesses was surprisingly good. Whether small, large, rich, poor, white, black, red or yellow, each clans contributions were extremely important to the survival of the whole......sound familiar? The interactions between the locals and the clans also held many stories that can be found in today's news.
I found the book a little confusing at the start....I actually reread the first few chapters once I got further into the book because then they made sense. Barring that, this was a very entertaining read that I have shared with several friends. I'm sure it will generate some interesting conversations.

-great world building
-good character development
- it was a littke hard to get into, because the beginnig was a little hard to understand
-slow at the beginning

I had trouble finishing this one because the story did not seem to be progressing. I think the idea of the Tinkers is a good one, but I need to be more drawn into the story and the characters. It also felt as if there was a lot of "telling" what happened instead of "showing." it.

I still gave it three stars for the excellent premise of this novel.

I received a free copy of this book from BooksGoSocial via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

I really struggled to read The Tales of the Tinkers & eventually gave up after almost a third of the book.
I liked the idea of the book but found it very slow going. There was far too much detailed explanation of The Tinkers themselves without the story moving forward very much. A small section of the story indicated where the story may go in the future but it was too long in coming.
When an author is creating a world or version of our world, there is a great temptation to explain it in great detail. Ideally, however these needs to be done as the story moves forward rather than just a large chunk of explanation. I didn't feel this happened in this book & I lost interest.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

I needed a book to read to get my ratio up, so I nervously clicked Read Now and hoped that I would find something that clicked with me on even a small level. What I found was Tales of the Tinkers, and it clicked with me all right. It's a story about family and traditions and what we do when it comes time for some of those traditions to change. It's a very timely story and I couldn't help but think of my own family while reading it. 4 out of 4 stars!

Great world-building and character development

I thought the world-building, character development, and the Tinker society were done very well. The system of magic is also very good. But there were a couple of things about the book that bothered me. The first of these is the use of dialect spelling in the dialogue. I found it disrupted the flow of the book. I also question that only the Scottish Tinkers and one Irish Tinker had dialect spelling even though there were Tinker clans from around the world in the book. My second of these is the story developed too slowly for my taste. But once it was developed, the book was hard to put down. Overall though, I enjoyed the book.Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the reviewer copy.

A fascinating story, entertaining and well written.
I loved the style of writing, the world building and the character development.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Chris Mathewson spins a tale that feels historical, but is rooted in another world entirely. I enjoyed this book as a fan of the science fiction genre, appreciated the author's cleverness, and would gladly recommend this title.

Tales of the Tinkers is a well written alternate history/parallel worlds fantasy by Chris Mathewson (& clan). Released 26th June 2020, it's 396 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is an exuberant romp of an adventure. There are plot elements large and small intertwining to create a surprisingly rich and engaging story about family, honor, finding one's place in the universe, being useful and following your creative passions, and being true to oneself. The language is mostly family friendly, there are a few instances of "bloody" "dammit" and "bugger", but nothing worse. The style is lighthearted and fairly deep at the same time and invites comparisons with Pratchett. (It's *not* Pratchett, but it reminds me of him in some good ways).

The author writes dialect into the dialogue and at least at first, it can be slow going. For comparison, it reminded me a lot of the Nac Mac Feegle in Wee Free Men (Pratchett, again).

Four stars. Well worth seeking out this indie published fantasy. I sincerely hope the author (and clan) continue with the story.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book. A timely story about family. Solid story, original idea, and definitely worth a read!