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Title: Road to Oz, The by L. Frank Baum, John R. Neill ISBN: 0-688-09997-1 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 24 April, 1991 Format: School & Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (8 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Bit Light On Plot....
Comment: ...but it's an Oz book so in comparision to other children's novels that aren't from the Oz series it still gets a 4 out of 5. Worth reading, but don't expect the excitement of some of the earlier and later works by Baum and Thompson.
Rating: 3
Summary: Weakest of the series, but still enjoyable
Comment: Everyone has their favorite Oz novel, but of the 14 which Baum wrote, this one is, in my opinion, the weakest. Unlike other Oz books there is little in the way of plot. This makes reading it uncomfortable as the reader spends most of the book waiting for somehting to happen, only to realize at the end that nothing happened. Also, I loved the tense yet humorus situations Baum masterfully set up in the other books. I rorared with laughter in the second book when Jelia Jamb "translated" for the scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead. The trial from book four and Dorothy's capture by the people of Utensia in book six also made me laugh while also clutching the book with fascination. There are no comperable scenes in "Road to Oz" and this is sorely missed.
However, the book is still worth reading. For one thing it introduces the Shaggy Man, who proves to be a most enjoyable character. The Shaggy Man carries a device called the love magnet, which causes people who see it to love him. This subplot introduces a very mature and though-provoking conflict. Is it right to enchant people into loving? Is this a power that one person, even a well-intentioned one, can hold alone? What are the drawbacks of being loved by everyone? This subplot held my interest and made the story readable.
Finally, there are cameo appearances in the end from many of Baum's non-Oz books. Clearly these appearances are a plug for his other works. One cannot fault him too much for doing this though. Baum wrote many fine books which had nothing to do with Oz, and this needs to be remembered.
Despite this book's weakness, it did not signal the decline of the series. Most of the later books were quite good, and I found "The Tin Woodsman of Oz" (number 12) to be one of the best. Keep reading, as altogether there is nothing like the Oz series.
Rating: 2
Summary: The fifth Oz book... by no means the best
Comment: "The Road to Oz" is the fifth book in what is perhaps the greatest fantasy series of all time.. however, it's not really a book I'd recommend to show people how wonderful the series really is. At this point it seems that Baum was getting a little weary, and it shows, as this book has almost no discernable plot or conflict at all. Dorothy, again, gets lost in a fairyland, and again makes her way to the Emerald City, assembling a small band of strange and endearing characters along the way -- the same as she'd done three times before. What made this a weak entry is that there was no sense of urgency here. Dorothy was never worried, she knew as soon as she found Ozma she'd have a way home, there was no villain... by the time she made it to the Emerald City the book had been liberally dotted with references to how everyone in Oz loved one another and nobody was ever mean -- unless, of course, you're a wicked witch, but they had both long been vanquished at this point.
The land of Oz is built on strange situations and characters, but also on story. In the original "Wizard of Oz," Dorothy and her friends faced the witch, hoping to send her home. In "The Land of Oz," Pip had to deal with an entire invasion of the Emerald City. In "Ozma of Oz" there was the wonderful story of the rescue of the Royal Family of Ev.
By book four, "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz," Baum seemed to have run out of plots and contented himself, in these few volumes, with just bringing in new characters and not bothering to craft a story around them. In book six, "The Emerald City of Oz," he took the step of placing Dorothy in Oz permanently, which was probably the best thing he'd ever done, because later volumes no longer needed to concern themselves with finding ways to get to Oz and just told really wonderful fantasy stories. ("Tik-Tok of Oz" is still my favorite in the series.")
The Oz books, in toto (no pun intended), are wonderful for people of any age, but this installment is really for completists only.
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Title: The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum, John R. Neill ISBN: 0688133541 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 15 March, 1995 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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Title: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum, John R. Neill ISBN: 068813355X Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 26 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $25.99 |
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Title: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum, John R. Neill ISBN: 0688066321 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 24 May, 1989 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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Title: The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum, John R. Neill ISBN: 0688147194 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 25 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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Title: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum, John R. Neill ISBN: 0688149758 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 28 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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