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The Imaginary Corpse Kindle Edition

by Tyler Hayes (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 124 ratings
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A dinosaur detective in the land of unwanted ideas battles trauma, anxiety, and the first serial killer of imaginary friends.

Most ideas fade away when we’re done with them. Some we love enough to become Real. But what about the ones we love, and walk away from? 
Tippy the triceratops was once a little girl’s imaginary friend, a dinosaur detective who could help her make sense of the world. But when her father died, Tippy fell into the Stillreal, the underbelly of the Imagination, where discarded ideas go when they’re too Real to disappear. Now, he passes time doing detective work for other unwanted ideas – until Tippy runs into The Man in the Coat, a nightmare monster who can do the impossible: kill an idea permanently. Now Tippy must overcome his own trauma and solve the case, before there’s nothing left but imaginary corpses. 

File Unders: Fantasy [ Fuzzy Fiends | Death to Imagination | Hardboiled but Sweet | Not Barney ]
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  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Angry Robot
  5. Publication date
    September 10, 2019
  6. File size
    4671 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hayes’s debut is an affectionate, lightly mocking homage to noir tales… A strong psychological thread weaves through the story as characters confront the trauma of being imaginary and forgotten, adding depth to what at first may seem a silly concept. Readers will revel in this strange, fully realized world."
 – Publishers Weekly

"The Imaginary Corpse is one of the best detective noir stories I've read in a long time. It just happens to be about a plush triceratops whose best friends are a disembodied hand and a four-color superheroine… it's elegant, beautifully constructed, innovative, and true. It's Real. Tippy is going to be Real for a lot of people, and that's a magical thing for a yellow plush triceratops."
– Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of October Daye and InCryptid

"A wholly original take on the lands of make-believe from a captivating new voice in the genre. Hayes takes the reader on a journey to the heart of themselves, reminding them of all that was lost and all that can never be forgotten. A book as comforting and as cathartic as your first knocked-out tooth."
– Meg Elison, Philip K. Dick Award-winning author of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

"This reminds me of Jonathan Lethem's Gun, with Occasional Music, plus the Brian Aldiss-inspired first act of AI, with splashes of Philip K. Dick and Haruki Murakami."
– Library Journal

“Brilliantly playful and deadly serious at the same time, often in the same sentence. Hayes knows the secret of world creation, building a new reality detail by detail, all of it ringing true even when outrageously absurd. A nightmare in day-glo colours, populated by outcasts and outlaws, private eyes and forgotten toys.”
– Jeff Noon, author of  The Body Library,  shortlisted for the Philip K Dick Award

"Hayes nails that tone in the midst of what may be 2019’s weirdest premise… the most unusual SFF-mystery mashup you’ll read this year."
– B&N Sci Fi & Fantasy Blog

"Combining detective noir, Toy Story, and an in-depth look at trauma, Hayes has crafted the most unlikely formula and makes it sing. The Imaginary Corpse is inventive, fun, and touching, in the most unexpected way. The world – real and imaginary – needs more triceratops detectives." 
– Mike Chen, author of Here and Now and Then

"This is detective noir shot through with technicolor playfulness the likes of which I haven't seen since Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's pure imagination on multiple axes – with a ton of heart."
– Alex Wells, author of Hunger Makes the Wolf

“This book is messed up in all the right ways. It’s as if Pixar’s Inside Out mugged Toy Story in a surrealist Raymond Chandler novel. Weird, fun, scary, and a great mystery to boot. Hayes sticks the landing.”
—Jennifer Brozek, Author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy.

"An immensely creative, bittersweet sugar rush of a fantasy-noir novel: Who Framed Roger Rabbit meets Paranoia Agent with a touch of creepy-cute Coraline atmosphere... I heartily recommend The Imaginary Corpse to any reader seeking a delightfully different book."
– Wendy Trimboli, author of The Resurrectionist of Caligo

"For adults who want to recapture some of their youthful imaginings, while reading an excellent book about trauma, forgiveness, and acceptance, The Imaginary Corpse will definitely fill that niche."
– Mad Scientist Journal

About the Author

Tyler Hayes is a science fiction and fantasy writer from Northern California. He writes stories he hopes will show people that not only are we not alone in this terrifying world, but we might just make things better. His fiction has appeared online and in print in anthologies from Alliteration Ink, Graveside Tales, and Aetherwatch. The Imaginary Corpse is Tyler's debut novel.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07KDW3PHV
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Angry Robot (September 10, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 10, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4671 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 124 ratings

About the author

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Tyler Hayes

Tyler Hayes

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
124 global ratings
Where do imaginary friends go when we no longer need them?
4 Stars
Where do imaginary friends go when we no longer need them?
“The Imaginary Corpse” by Tyler Hayes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Mystery Allegory. Location: The Stillreal. Time: Imaginary. Note: Not a children’s book.Wait-what? Did Thursday Next from Jasper Fforde’s series and Woody from Toy Story write a book together, with detective ideas from Roger Rabbit and emotional baggage from Pixar’s Inside Out?Where do imaginary friends go when we don’t want them anymore? There’s a place called the Stillreal. It’s the land of unwanted ideas-abandoned by their creators, but too real to fade away. Residents are called Friends, and they use each other’s preferred pronouns.Detective Tippy lives there. He’s a yellow, 2-foot-tall-at-the-shoulders stuffed triceratops. He’s also a hard-drinking (root beer, that is), hard-boiled detective, and a bit of a smarty pants. Tippy helps newcomers and provides detective services. After Tippy solves ‘The Case of the Screaming Corn’, the truly terrifying ‘Man in the Coat’ shows up. Tippy and friends Spiderhand and Miss Mighty must stop him before he destroys all Friends.Despite the main character being a stuffed animal, this book is about love, loss, trauma, and emotional damage. Friends are traumatized by being forgotten or set aside by their real-world people who have their own real-world traumas.The book takes an allegorical look at childhood trauma and what children do to feel safe. It also looks at adult trauma and its aftermath. The writing style ensures that the trauma doesn’t weigh readers down as much as a real world story. Instead it allows them to reflect back on raised issues. It’s full of snarky humor, with wonderful world-building. It’s quirky, poignant, forgiving, accepting, and heart-breaking. As Detective Tippy says: ‘That tinkling sound is my heart breaking again’.The only issue, for me, was the book felt too long for its type/genre. I got the message, and wanted it to end so I could reflect. It’s 4 Stillreal Stars from me!🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️”
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Top reviews from the United States

Bertzen
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary!
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2019
Verified Purchase
Read a brief teaser review of this before it was formally published, and bought it more out of a sense of curiosity than anything else.

I am very, very glad I did!

It's a wonderful book, smart and clever and funny and fascinating and engaging and most importantly, full of heart. You very quickly come to care about Tippy and Friends, and to root (beer) for them, and to want to know where the journey will take them next! Brilliant!

If you love detective fiction and mysteries, all the better, but not a requirement! And rest assured, this is NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK! Ya audiences will enjoy it, but it is very definitely aimed at adults!

Would love a sequel, but look forward to whatever this author puts out next!

Congratulations, Mr. Hayes!!
2 people found this helpful
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DemonViewLLC
4.0 out of 5 stars It's different.. in a good way.
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This really is a hard book to review especially since I don't want to give any real spoilers. I can only describe this as A gritty pulp detective noir set in a world of imaginary friends. However since it is an imaginary friends world, everything is sanitized and kept clean, after all, it's kids that have imaginary friends. So our hard drinking bitter detective sticks to his favorite soda.... This makes it a bit of a difficult book for people to relate to. Too grown up for young kids and just a bit too silly for grown adults. Our main hero is supposed to be a detective with great powers of deduction and yet, it always feels like he's a step behind all the time. There's also times when the reader is told that the detective finally has figured out a piece of the puzzle or realizes something.... but the reader isn't told what and then the point is promptly forgotten about because nothing happens in relation what just happened. However about halfway through the book the reader is suddenly shown that things that are happing have a darker and more sinister reason.... but the author doesn't really go along with this thread which is a pity. I think if he had, the book could have blown people away. I have to say, at the end of the day, I'd find it hard to recommend this book to people because I just can't think of anyone who this would appeal to genre wise. The author does whisk things along at a pretty good pace though and I have to say, he's extremely well written and easy to read. The story doesn't get bogged down at all, it's just that it manages to take off, but not soar. At the end of the day, I thought I wanted to give this book 3 stars for being just "ok" but then I realized something. Due to the way the characters were written, the way they interacted, that as silly as the whole thing is, I would actually read a sequel. I do want to revisit this world and see what happens next. For that, it get's an extra star as that's what a good author should do, leave you wanting more. Pretty sure that even if a sequel to this story never happens, that Tyler Hayes has a great future ahead of him as a writer and I'll be reading his next novel.
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Catherine
5.0 out of 5 stars Mind-blowing
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2021
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I keep trying to explain this book to people but nothing I say can capture the warmth, depth, humanity, and aching sadness in this book. It's a brilliant exploration of imagination and humanity, and it's a damn fine romp through an amazing series of worlds to boot.

Take a chance on this weird little book. Give it a few chapters as it finds its footing. And then I dare you to try and put it down!
3 people found this helpful
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J. Miles
5.0 out of 5 stars A sweet, fun read
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019
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If Pixar made a movie that was just for adults, but taught us anew all the things we were supposed to learn as children but all still need reminding of from time to time, it would be The Imaginary Corpse. This book is full of heart and delightful imagination. It's a mystery story about a dinosaur detective trying to solve an unthinkable murder, but really it's about how to keep going and take care of each other (and ourselves) when the challenges we face seem too difficult.
7 people found this helpful
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Hawk eye
4.0 out of 5 stars A VERY unique take on a murder mystery
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
The author of this book took two vastly different sets of stories and mixed them together. I'd say he largely succeeded!

As many say, this book mashes 1950's era murder mysteries with child friendly themes like Barney the Dinosaur, along with some elements that are rarely discussed, such as superheroes that some teens and young adults may imagine up, wishing they could be.

As such, a lot of details clash in this book. Some sections spun me around with so much detail that I got disoriented and had to re-read that section to try and wrap my head around it all. Other sections are very "gray", in that they gloss over details, almost seeming to assume the reader already knows and understands the details and their pertinence to the story. It's this nuance that keeps me from giving this book five stars.

But I really can't complain. Seriously, step back and think about what it would take to mix such polar opposite themes together: One dark, brooding, with the constant presence of violence or potential of violence, the other bright, happy, with no pains, fears, or worries, and everyone gets along.

So for that effort alone, I give this book a high score. The trick here is trying to decide what audience this is for. I would have to say those with eccentric tastes. You really can't ignore one theme or the other.

So while this book does have elements that are very child friendly, the various tensions (I'm being oblique here) of the teen-imagined elements and of course the dark, brooding, and scary elements make this book unsuitable for children.

But if you're the type that wants a book that focuses on one of the elements I listed, this book may discourage you, since again, it's constantly showing a mishmash of several elements. For example, if you read for the dark nitty gritty of the "whodunnit" aspects of murder mystery, having to read the main character's disposition as a former imaginary friend of a child, and the happy, friendly town he lives in may put you off.

So, nitpicks about the themes occasional failure to mix in details, this book was a great adventure to go on!
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and feel good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2022
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I bought this book as a gift for my sister who was feeling down. She loved it and it really helped cheer her up. Fantastic quirky book.
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Emily Charlotte
4.0 out of 5 stars A triceratops?!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
The Imaginary Corpse - 4/5
By Tyler Hayes

A detective story where the detective is a yellow plush triceratops with a love for root beer?! This was definitely the story for me!

This book was brilliant and had me reeled in from the first sentence.

This story had an absolutely brilliant twist to it - I loved how there was a murderer in the ‘Stillreal’ and also a murderer in the ‘real world’. I thought it worked really well and is definitely something I will read again and again!
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Mrs. Cj Waller
5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, odd and incredibly readable.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2019
Verified Purchase
Quite unlike anything I've ever read before, Hayes manages to write a compelling boom about imaginary friends who made me pine for mine. Tippy is adorable without being saccharine, and the story is stuffed with child-like wonder without being childish. Make no mistake - this isn't a kid's book - but it does capture what it means to have an imaginary friend, and the reasons these particular Friends are in the Stillreal will melt the hardest of hearts.
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Tim A
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a book with a great concept and a great heart. There are echoes of Terry Pratchett Robert Rankin andJasper Fforde but at the end it is its own book.
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Weirdly wonderful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
One of the most unexpected stories I have read in a while. Surprised to find myself emotional at points. Especially, when it's about imaginary friends. Full of compassion, empathy and love, as well as murder, and things that go bump in the night. Must mention the Alliteration, weirdly wonderful.
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