lcgerstmann's review against another edition
3.0
In 1908 all the little fans of Oz pestered Mr. Baum with letters begging him to reunite Dorothy and the Wizard and so he wrote a story to appease them.
It starts with Dorothy, a farm boy and his horse Jeb, falling through a crack in the Earth and landing in a strange glass world with weird gravity, people made of vegetables that want to kill them and conveniently enough, the Wizard (as humbug as ever).
This sounds as odd and fascinating as would be expected from Baum but unfortunately the whimsy and magic I loved about the previous books was missing. This book was much darker. Dorothy and her friends escape the vegetable people after killing their Prince only to find themselves in more strange lands with even stranger people that also want to kill them or that they kill. This is very heavy for a children's book. For example, Toto has been replaced by a sassy cat named Eureka, who of course can talk (although Toto couldn't ?) and this cat wants to eat the pet pigs of the Wizard so when one of them goes missing, the cat goes on trial and Dorothy's dear friend, Princess Ozma sentences Dorothy's cat to death! What? My kids were horrified! Can you imagine if Toto was to be killed in the first story?
Also, Dorothy seems to be getting dumber as the books progress, she now talks like a hillbilly. Her constantly calling the wooden "gargoyles", "gurgles" did not come off as cute or funny.
The most annoying of all (if it didn't happen in this book, it was the previous) was the inconsistent and completely contradictory explanation of how the Wizard became the ruler of Oz and how Ozma became Tip. No matter how much I love these books and are willing to give Baum his liberties, this change was HUGE and changes the entire premise of the world of Oz! I only hope that the next book wasn't a forced idea by fans but Baum's natural progression of the story.
It starts with Dorothy, a farm boy and his horse Jeb, falling through a crack in the Earth and landing in a strange glass world with weird gravity, people made of vegetables that want to kill them and conveniently enough, the Wizard (as humbug as ever).
This sounds as odd and fascinating as would be expected from Baum but unfortunately the whimsy and magic I loved about the previous books was missing. This book was much darker. Dorothy and her friends escape the vegetable people after killing their Prince only to find themselves in more strange lands with even stranger people that also want to kill them or that they kill. This is very heavy for a children's book. For example, Toto has been replaced by a sassy cat named Eureka, who of course can talk (although Toto couldn't ?) and this cat wants to eat the pet pigs of the Wizard so when one of them goes missing, the cat goes on trial and Dorothy's dear friend, Princess Ozma sentences Dorothy's cat to death! What? My kids were horrified! Can you imagine if Toto was to be killed in the first story?
Also, Dorothy seems to be getting dumber as the books progress, she now talks like a hillbilly. Her constantly calling the wooden "gargoyles", "gurgles" did not come off as cute or funny.
The most annoying of all (if it didn't happen in this book, it was the previous) was the inconsistent and completely contradictory explanation of how the Wizard became the ruler of Oz and how Ozma became Tip. No matter how much I love these books and are willing to give Baum his liberties, this change was HUGE and changes the entire premise of the world of Oz! I only hope that the next book wasn't a forced idea by fans but Baum's natural progression of the story.
kindlereads's review against another edition
2.0
This reminded me very much of the first Wizard of Oz book and I was not very impressed.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
"During a California earthquake Dorothy falls into the underground Land of the Manaboos where she again meets the Wizard of Oz." (From Amazon)
If you like Wizard of Oz this novel will keep the adventure going.
"During a California earthquake Dorothy falls into the underground Land of the Manaboos where she again meets the Wizard of Oz." (From Amazon)
If you like Wizard of Oz this novel will keep the adventure going.
kian_a's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
timartin's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
chandraleereads's review
3.5
3.5/5 stars. I am knocking off half a star because this is when the series starts to have inconsistencies (but they don’t bother me much so I will only give this one demerit). Overall another silly and fun journey with Dorothy and friends.
gizmo_42's review against another edition
5.0
Another amazing story from the world of oz, new and old characters can be seen, these stories are easy to read and keeps.You wanting to read more, written in detail that you can pictures you are reading. I cannot wait to read the rest of the oz series
kaylamolander's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. Not the best Oz book. Seemed to meander and serve more as a plot device for the longer series than as a standalone book.
davros4's review against another edition
2.0
Not sure if it is due to my having read the first four Oz books in a row, but I was disappointed with this one.
When Dorothy tells her gang that Ozma will save them at 4pm it was just too convenient, especially as it had probably been 4pm a few times during the journey. So either Dorothy only remembered she needed to make the signal once they had reached the dead end in the cave (given that Ozma checks on her at the same time every day, this doesn't seem plausible), or Ozma is just a shit friend, as Dorothy et al were in strife pretty much the whole time in the story.... Do you really need to give a signal for help when you're being attacked by wooden Gargoyles and everyone around you is fighting for their lives?
I did like the introduction to new friends to have an adventure with though, and the lands they travelled through were as imaginative and bizarre as you'd expect. Hoping the next book will be better.
When Dorothy tells her gang that Ozma will save them at 4pm it was just too convenient, especially as it had probably been 4pm a few times during the journey. So either Dorothy only remembered she needed to make the signal once they had reached the dead end in the cave (given that Ozma checks on her at the same time every day, this doesn't seem plausible), or Ozma is just a shit friend, as Dorothy et al were in strife pretty much the whole time in the story.... Do you really need to give a signal for help when you're being attacked by wooden Gargoyles and everyone around you is fighting for their lives?
I did like the introduction to new friends to have an adventure with though, and the lands they travelled through were as imaginative and bizarre as you'd expect. Hoping the next book will be better.