A review by rolandsaintlaurent
The Surprising Adventures of the Magical Monarch of Mo and His People by L. Frank Baum

4.0

Baum's first book of fairy tales. It's ridiculous shit, with popcorn snow and rootbeer rivers, but there's some good stuff in it. In particular I liked the story about the prince who gets cut to pieces and has to reassemble himself, at one point being nothing more than a head and two legs. The stories are too fantastical for my liking, and I can't stand his reassurances that the good characters will never die. I mean, I get it, this shit's for kids, but way to suck out any possible drama from the book. If we're constantly reassured that no harm will ever ever ever ever ever come to the good characters, then every battle with evil, ferocious monsters has no stakes and just feels "meh."