The title of this book explains that it discusses both the history of science fiction and the toy figurines that illustrate science fiction works. The book description claims that the author guides the reader on “an often-nostalgic walk-through science fiction in all its various forms, and to describe the figurines and brands associated with it.” Unfortunately, this work is a case where one should pay attention to the title, not the description. The book is broken into two separate units. The first is a recounting of the history of science fiction that starts with novels written centuries before the genre existed, books that could be classified as being proto science fiction. Although the writer promises a brief history of the genre, the section is quite lengthy and was filled with quotes from other authors who have tackled the subject in a better manner. The second half of the book was the discussion of science fiction models and toys. Here the author demonstrated his expertise, and he would have been better served if the book had been written as two separate works. The second half of the book discussed science fiction toys and models with interesting details about the toys and the various manufactures. These pages were filled with the full color photographs of various toys that I expected. In this section, I did enjoy the nostalgic walk through that the description had promised.

This review is based on an advanced reader e-book that I received from Pen and Sword Books and Netgalley. I recommend this book for avid science fiction toy collectors.

The History of Science Fiction and Its Toy Figures was a bit of a mixed bag for me. To start with the positive, I’m going to actually begin with the second half of the book., which focuses on the figurines. Now, the first point to be made is this is obviously a nice book. If you have no interest in sci-fi toys, particularly those figurines, this is not the book for you. On the other hand, if you are interest in the topic, then Toiati offers up an extremely thorough, if not completely exhaustive as he apologizes (needlessly) for several times, coverage of the topic, with details on the dimensions, the manufacturing process, the company history, the tie-ins to other media of the toys/figures, often also adding in the going rate if one wants to find them on the number of for-sale sites he references. Even better, the book is filled with color photographs and illustrations. It’s a great resource for the topic.

As for the first half of the book, the science fiction history, while it’s serviceable, there are far better books on the topic: more thorough, better sources, and, honestly, much better written. While the content is, I’d say, adequate in this section, the writing is choppy, lacks style, and probably worst, lacks a sense of voice, as far too much of it is made up of quotes, a number from basic websites such as Wikipedia (this is still true to an extent in the second half, but to a lesser degree). It’s the sort of lost-amidst-the-quotes writing I often see in my first-year writing classes, which is too bad because one certainly has a sense Toiati has a voice that could be engaging. Honestly, I didn’t think this section was even necessary to the book.

That said, as noted at the top, this is a rich book and one isn’t coming here for literary history. So while one could just as easily skip the first half, or muddle through it, the section’s issues don’t really detract from the book’s primary purpose/focus. For those coming here for that, and really why else would you pick this title up, this is a thorough and wonderfully illustrated work

I found this a curious book, marrying a semi-scholarly hisotory of science fiction with a photo-laden survey of SF toys and figurines. I think I would have preferred two longer, separate books. The history was, by necessity, scattershot and not comprehensive, filled with personal takes, and challenging to read. The figurine portion was more appealing and clearly a labor of love. Excellent photos and many rarities, though I felt some pictures got repeat usage.