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A review by lejoy
The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
4.0
I feel like Baum was responding to what the fans want with this one, because he certainly addresses some of the things I have been asking for (a hundred years later). Firstly the story is genuinely set in Oz and is about established Oz characters, so this really is a proper sequel again. Secondly we have some actual peril in the story, huzzah! Ozma has gone missing. Since Baum always avoids peril I was afraid that there would be some cutesy explanation, but no, we have a real bad guy again. Thirdly, Glinda, the Wizard and Ozma have had their magical powers and artefacts stolen so no cheating their way out of this one! All right! I think the real aim of this story was to show Dorothy hanging out with Betsy and Trot (and Scraps), the characters who were introduced in the latter books. However, since Betsy and Trot add absolutely nothing to the story, they might as well not be in it.
This is where Baum goes and Baums it all up again. Despite the fact that there is a genuine mystery and real peril to be faced, the story is yet another 'travel from A to B and discover funny towns of weirdos along the way'. As usual I have no idea why he has selected this random bunch of characters to be the focus of the story. All the Oz regulars have gone out in search of Ozma, but we focus on Dorothy's group which consists of: Toto, the Cowardly Lion, the Wizard (who since Book 4 is basically Dorothy's guardian... despite her actual guardians living in Oz), the Sawhorse, Button Bright, Scraps, the Woozy, Betsy and her mule Hank and Trot. I guess logically the idea here is the little kids, their steeds and one adult to look after them, but as a ragtag team, it could have been a lot more interesting. They don't even call in reinforcements when they figure out what is going on, despite the Wizard inventing the mobile phone in an earlier book (maybe it has been stolen along with all their magic supplies, but what about all the talking birds in Oz, couldn't they be used to send messages between the expeditions?). While there is a villain, they are not established or set up early on, so the revelation to the mystery is pretty random. And while Glinda might have lost her magic and so has her student, the Wizard, the team still manage to meet a magical bear and Dorothy still has her magic belt from Book 3 (I forget the continuity of this thing) so... yeah they solve their problems with magic despite the book setting up that they can't solve their problems with magic. BAUMMMMM!
Oh well, at least he tried.
This is where Baum goes and Baums it all up again. Despite the fact that there is a genuine mystery and real peril to be faced, the story is yet another 'travel from A to B and discover funny towns of weirdos along the way'. As usual I have no idea why he has selected this random bunch of characters to be the focus of the story. All the Oz regulars have gone out in search of Ozma, but we focus on Dorothy's group which consists of: Toto, the Cowardly Lion, the Wizard (who since Book 4 is basically Dorothy's guardian... despite her actual guardians living in Oz), the Sawhorse, Button Bright, Scraps, the Woozy, Betsy and her mule Hank and Trot. I guess logically the idea here is the little kids, their steeds and one adult to look after them, but as a ragtag team, it could have been a lot more interesting. They don't even call in reinforcements when they figure out what is going on, despite the Wizard inventing the mobile phone in an earlier book (maybe it has been stolen along with all their magic supplies, but what about all the talking birds in Oz, couldn't they be used to send messages between the expeditions?). While there is a villain, they are not established or set up early on, so the revelation to the mystery is pretty random. And while Glinda might have lost her magic and so has her student, the Wizard, the team still manage to meet a magical bear and Dorothy still has her magic belt from Book 3 (I forget the continuity of this thing) so... yeah they solve their problems with magic despite the book setting up that they can't solve their problems with magic. BAUMMMMM!
Oh well, at least he tried.