The Secret of Kiki Mora
Aug. 9th, 2006 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatSherwood Smith's new book, Trouble Under Oz, was released on Tuesday. That didn't do me a lot of good, though, since I couldn't find it. I checked Borders, but neither that location nor any other in the area stocked it. I should have suspected as much and pre-ordered the book, but I do recall seeing her earlier Oz book, The Emerald Wand of Oz, in actual physical bookstores, so I thought there might be a chance. No such luck. I guess I'll go ahead and order it from Amazon.
My life has not been devoid of new (to me, anyway) Oz reading, however, as I've still been working my way through March Laumer's chronicles. Unfortunately, I think I might have already read his best works. The few I've read most recently seemed a bit lacking. I still have a few more to read, though, so it'll be a little while before I can say which are actually my favorite books in the Laumerian series. Anyway, in this post, I review five books.
The Woozy doesn't do that much in The Woozy of Oz, although we DO learn that his name (at least in the Laumerverse) is Egbert. Along much the same lines, Dr. Pipt's first name is revealed to be Oliver. The story is rather slight, but it's an interesting idea. Enchantments that had been broken are restored, and Ozma herself ends up out of commission for five years. In this story, Laumer takes his tendency to make the characters quote Shakespeare to extremes (or should that be "Aigues Streems"? {g}), in that one chapter takes place in a city of stone Shakespearean characters, and everyone talks in verse. The tale also includes the incorrect statement that young adventurers in Oz are never mentioned as going to school. Actually, Dorothy makes reference to her schoolmistress in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, and Pirates in Oz has Peter Brown tell his companions that he attends the Blaine School in Philadelphia.
Dragons in Oz follows suit in not giving its title characters much to do. Ozma is released from her enchantment in this book, but this isn't the focus of the story. It's just a minor interlude in a tale primarily centered around Dr. Pipt exploring the Wicked Witch of the East's old cave. His most significant discovery is a mysterious film that the Witch had been making, and which is never fully explained. He also finds some poetry she had been writing. Significant portions of the book are made up of the film's script, the poems, and songs from Pipt's living victrola. (I'm somewhat reminded of how Cervantes inserted a totally unrelated story into Don Quixote, giving the excuse that characters other than Quixote himself had found the manuscript at an inn. When I read the book, I skipped this part.) That leaves us with a rather thin plot, and what's there is kind of...well, even weirder than usual. I do like that Kiki Aru reappears in it, though. I'm considering using him myself in a future story.
Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Oz (not to be confused with the remarkably similar Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in Oz) continues with the idea expressed in Dragons that the Witch of the East might not have been as wicked as people supposed. You could say that it was anticipating Wicked, in a way. The basic plot idea is largely the same as that of Uncle Henry, but it also contradicts that book in several ways. I did like the discussions about whether the Witch was actually evil, but the book as a whole wasn't that great.
The Crown of Oz (co-written by Laumer and Michael J. Michanczyk) is a confusing tome, partially because it gives significant roles to characters who aren't particularly well described, so it's difficult to care that much about them. I know Laumer had started writing a book called Fattwiggins and the Caresso-Pigs in Oz, which would presumably have provided some back story for the title characters. All that exists of this story is a brief fragment, however. I've read it, and it isn't very edifying. Anyway, Crown deals with all of Oz becoming purple. Involved in the plot are a Nome invasion, a general strike by troll miners, and Mombi's attempt to do something good for a chance. Promising ideas, certainly, but not that much really comes of them.
Although included in lists of Laumer's books, The Talking City of Oz is actually credited to Ron Baxley, Jr., with Laumer serving as editor. This makes sense, as it isn't really in Laumer's style. It's a rather silly story, full of puns and visits to new Ozian locations, like the Tar Nation and the country of Melodia. The oddest element about it is that the Wizard of Oz gets married, and to a character who (as far as I know, anyway) hadn't been introduced prior to this story. Overall, it was pretty fun.
Oh, and speaking of Oz, the Wonderful Wiki of Oz is now active. I'll have to get some basic things down first, but anyone who wants to should be able to edit it in the near future. I want to make it a fairly broad wiki, so if you have particular knowledge about obscure Oz movies or collectibles, go ahead and add it! I know there are already some Oz Wikipedia entries, especially here, and I'm not sure whether it would make more sense just to link to those, or to come up with new entries. I'm inclined to think the latter would make the most sense, although that wouldn't mean I'd avoid including links to the other articles.
My life has not been devoid of new (to me, anyway) Oz reading, however, as I've still been working my way through March Laumer's chronicles. Unfortunately, I think I might have already read his best works. The few I've read most recently seemed a bit lacking. I still have a few more to read, though, so it'll be a little while before I can say which are actually my favorite books in the Laumerian series. Anyway, in this post, I review five books.
The Woozy doesn't do that much in The Woozy of Oz, although we DO learn that his name (at least in the Laumerverse) is Egbert. Along much the same lines, Dr. Pipt's first name is revealed to be Oliver. The story is rather slight, but it's an interesting idea. Enchantments that had been broken are restored, and Ozma herself ends up out of commission for five years. In this story, Laumer takes his tendency to make the characters quote Shakespeare to extremes (or should that be "Aigues Streems"? {g}), in that one chapter takes place in a city of stone Shakespearean characters, and everyone talks in verse. The tale also includes the incorrect statement that young adventurers in Oz are never mentioned as going to school. Actually, Dorothy makes reference to her schoolmistress in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, and Pirates in Oz has Peter Brown tell his companions that he attends the Blaine School in Philadelphia.
Dragons in Oz follows suit in not giving its title characters much to do. Ozma is released from her enchantment in this book, but this isn't the focus of the story. It's just a minor interlude in a tale primarily centered around Dr. Pipt exploring the Wicked Witch of the East's old cave. His most significant discovery is a mysterious film that the Witch had been making, and which is never fully explained. He also finds some poetry she had been writing. Significant portions of the book are made up of the film's script, the poems, and songs from Pipt's living victrola. (I'm somewhat reminded of how Cervantes inserted a totally unrelated story into Don Quixote, giving the excuse that characters other than Quixote himself had found the manuscript at an inn. When I read the book, I skipped this part.) That leaves us with a rather thin plot, and what's there is kind of...well, even weirder than usual. I do like that Kiki Aru reappears in it, though. I'm considering using him myself in a future story.
Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Oz (not to be confused with the remarkably similar Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in Oz) continues with the idea expressed in Dragons that the Witch of the East might not have been as wicked as people supposed. You could say that it was anticipating Wicked, in a way. The basic plot idea is largely the same as that of Uncle Henry, but it also contradicts that book in several ways. I did like the discussions about whether the Witch was actually evil, but the book as a whole wasn't that great.
The Crown of Oz (co-written by Laumer and Michael J. Michanczyk) is a confusing tome, partially because it gives significant roles to characters who aren't particularly well described, so it's difficult to care that much about them. I know Laumer had started writing a book called Fattwiggins and the Caresso-Pigs in Oz, which would presumably have provided some back story for the title characters. All that exists of this story is a brief fragment, however. I've read it, and it isn't very edifying. Anyway, Crown deals with all of Oz becoming purple. Involved in the plot are a Nome invasion, a general strike by troll miners, and Mombi's attempt to do something good for a chance. Promising ideas, certainly, but not that much really comes of them.
Although included in lists of Laumer's books, The Talking City of Oz is actually credited to Ron Baxley, Jr., with Laumer serving as editor. This makes sense, as it isn't really in Laumer's style. It's a rather silly story, full of puns and visits to new Ozian locations, like the Tar Nation and the country of Melodia. The oddest element about it is that the Wizard of Oz gets married, and to a character who (as far as I know, anyway) hadn't been introduced prior to this story. Overall, it was pretty fun.
Oh, and speaking of Oz, the Wonderful Wiki of Oz is now active. I'll have to get some basic things down first, but anyone who wants to should be able to edit it in the near future. I want to make it a fairly broad wiki, so if you have particular knowledge about obscure Oz movies or collectibles, go ahead and add it! I know there are already some Oz Wikipedia entries, especially here, and I'm not sure whether it would make more sense just to link to those, or to come up with new entries. I'm inclined to think the latter would make the most sense, although that wouldn't mean I'd avoid including links to the other articles.
