The Brave Little Toaster
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The Brave Little Toaster is a novella by Thomas M. Disch intended for children or as put by Disch A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances. The story centers around five household appliances—Lampy (a lamp), Blanky (an electric blanket), Radio (a radio), Kirby (a vacuum cleaner), and the Toaster (a toaster)—on their quest to find their owner, Rob (also referred to as "The Master").
The book contains many differences from the 1987 film but is essentially the same story.
[edit] Background
The story first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1980. Although appearing in a general circulation magazine, the story was written in the style of a children's fable. It was one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy stories of the early 1980s, and was nominated for both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novella.
In 1987 the novella was adapted by Disch as an animated film.
Disch would later write a sequel to the book, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. In this book, the Brave Little Toaster and his companions all travel to Mars to stop an invasion from hostile appliances who have a colony there.
[edit] Characters
- Toaster
Toaster is the protagonist, and is just as brave as he is described in the title. He acts like a leader for the others and never gives up.
- Lampy
A lamp that shines a bright light, but it not very "bright" in intelligence.
- Blanky
A shy and scared blanket that always needs reassuring.
- Radio
A radio that constantly talks about anything it can think of, and is a complete know-it-all. It annoys the others by trying to act intelligent.
- Kirby
A big strong vaccuum. He is said to be grumpy and bossy, but he is still a valuable part of the team.
