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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
It is interesting to note that in both the Oz series and Sherlock Holmes, written around the same time, the authors made it as clear as they could that they really wanted nothing to do with their most popular franchises, but their fans wouldn't leave them alone. Arthur Conan Doyle, though, managed to keep up the quality in the later works, while 'phoning it in' is probably too generous a term for Baum.
While the last quarter of the book is just a mess of nonsense that isn't even worth criticizing, the rest of it was mostly ok; the new characters were interesting and memorable (though I can't believe that, even given how long ago it was written, people didn't have some terrible suspicions about the motives of the Shaggy Man) and the adventures were in the typical Oz style, but not particularly good examples of it.
While the last quarter of the book is just a mess of nonsense that isn't even worth criticizing, the rest of it was mostly ok; the new characters were interesting and memorable (though I can't believe that, even given how long ago it was written, people didn't have some terrible suspicions about the motives of the Shaggy Man) and the adventures were in the typical Oz style, but not particularly good examples of it.
Baum's fifth Oz book is packed with more weird creatures and surreal adventures, but it is structurally weak and the characters are more or less non-entities. None of them have an arc (or even, in Button-Bright's case, a personality), and they just kind of wander from encounter to encounter, pulling deus ex machinae out of their pockets whenever they seem to be in trouble. It's wild and woolly but alsobland.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolute treacle.
I know this is an Edwardian child's book. I shouldn't be so outraged to discover this book is about a journey begun by blithely walking away from one's house with a shaggy man fondling, he assures you, the love magnet in his pocket. He has kind eyes, sure, but he should keep his hands where Dorothy can see them.
This journey is then revealed to have been orchestrated, of course, for an event that is little more than an excuse to parade every single character we've met before in Oz, with a few from Baum's failures, who are given just enough time to spit out a catch phrase and fade into the background. But hey, it fills out some pages.
I read this months ago and I'm still peeved.
Oz
Next: 'The Emerald City of Oz'
Previous: 'Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz'
I know this is an Edwardian child's book. I shouldn't be so outraged to discover this book is about a journey begun by blithely walking away from one's house with a shaggy man fondling, he assures you, the love magnet in his pocket. He has kind eyes, sure, but he should keep his hands where Dorothy can see them.
This journey is then revealed to have been orchestrated, of course, for an event that is little more than an excuse to parade every single character we've met before in Oz, with a few from Baum's failures, who are given just enough time to spit out a catch phrase and fade into the background. But hey, it fills out some pages.
I read this months ago and I'm still peeved.
Oz
Next: 'The Emerald City of Oz'
Previous: 'Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz'
L. Frank Baum is an author I have read many times since I first discovered him in second grade. I find that his books stand up to the test of time and they are books that I enjoy re-reading. Some of them are stronger than others but as a whole I quite enjoy both the stories and characters.
The Road to Oz is a pretty fun read. This is actually the most fun that I have had since the original. We get a reunion of all of our favorite characters, including one that makes an Oz debut that will make your children's eyes light up. This was some excellent turn-of-the-century fan service. Anyone who loves Oz adventures, would end up loving this one as much as my kids did, simply because it feels like a "Greatest Hits" album. It was simple story telling, that perhaps felt like a little too much fan service, but it didn't pretend to be anything else.
At this point, Baum has worked through his demons about writing more Oz adventures and embraced the delightful oddities. Yes, this volume pulls heavily from the formula of the first two books --a road trip to the Emerald City, picking up more friends along the way -- but it's a formula that works for this series. This time we don't get the anthropological gawking at other cultures or the genocide of the wooden gargoyles; instead it's a journey full of comical misunderstandings and adventures.
This probably won't be my favorite, but after the last two I was ready to go back to the formula that worked.
This probably won't be my favorite, but after the last two I was ready to go back to the formula that worked.
Always feels like a fun adventure in Oz and this book is just that. It's better than the last book and adds some new characters whilst letting us see some old friends too.
Good light read.
Great for bed time stories for children.
Loved his subtle humor he added in places.
Great for bed time stories for children.
Loved his subtle humor he added in places.
Dorothy, not planning to go on another trip has ended up forced to take one. As she at no point considers the Shaggy Man or any of the other individuals they meet along the way, equals, she is traveling as an orphan (lone traveler). She is also a literal orphan. By crossing through the "ten acre lot", aka a cornfield, she has invoked her orphan magic. The road whether she wants it to or not is taking her to Oz.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comments_04/road_to_oz.html
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comments_04/road_to_oz.html