This one is better than the previous two books, mainly because it actually has a plot. But the plot -- the Nome King plans to conquer Oz by digging a tunnel all the way to the Emerald City -- is barely there. There's a bit of a subplot about how Uncle Henry and Aunt Em move to Oz because the bank is going to foreclose on their farm, but they make the move in the first few chapters. After that, most of the book is about Dorothy taking her Aunt and Uncle (and a handful of other previously-introduced characters) on a tour of Oz and meeting its weirdest people. Each chapter or two consists of yet another crazy town in Oz, inhabited by anthropomorphized bunnies or sentient bakery products or paper dolls or animated kitchen utensils.At the same time, one of the Nome King's generals is doing the same thing, touring Oz in an attempt to recruit more evil creatures for the coming battle, and so we are introduced to Oz's evil side, including people with tiny heads who wear large fake heads.So the book really could have been called "The Encyclopedia of Strange and Unusual Oz-Dwellers" and it would have been fitting and wouldn't have needed that tacked on plot after all.I'm not kidding about the sentient bakery products. It's pretty weird when Dorothy, finding herself a bit hungry, asks if she might eat some of them.After touring Oz, Dorothy and her friends return to the Emerald City, where Ozma reveals that the Nome King and his allies are about to break through to the surface and conquer and enslave them all.The weird thing is that Ozma reveals herself to be completely pacifist, and won't even call on her own army to fight her enemies or save her people. (Yes, this pacifist has an army. Don't think about it.) And the other weird thing is that after the initial surprise of Ozma's pacifist approach, everyone just accepts it. Hi ho, we're about to die. Let's have lunch.As expected, there's an amazingly magical coincidence that saves Oz at the last minute.In the end, it's obvious that Baum wanted to wrap this series up. The final pages make this perfectly clear. He all but announces "Look, kids. There will not be another. Stop asking. This is the Last! Ever! Oz! Book! And if you've been reading this far in the series (and retained your sanity) you kind of hope it happens, too.Of course, it didn't. The Marvelous Land of Oz (#2 in the series) is still the best.
I liked The Emerald City of Oz a bit better than the last two. There was still an element of characters taking a trip just so Mr. Baum can show off all the other ideas he has for interesting creatures (Look! These ones are living jigsaw puzzles! And over here we have animated flatware! And these people can't stop talking!) but on the whole there was more plot than we've seen for a few books.First of all, there was some actual evil in the form of the Nome King and his General Guph. And there was a genuine problem to overcome (i.e., the impending destruction of Oz by the Nomes and their allies). Not that Ozma seemed to care much. Drove me nuts that she "really hadn't given it much thought" that creatures who hated her and everything she and her people stood for were about to ravage her land and enslave her people! Really? I wonder if Mr. Baum was a pacifist or, alternately, if he thought pacifists were ridiculous. Ozma's "I-won't-fight-even-to-save-my-people-from-a-fate-worse-than-death" approach kind of left that up to interpretation. Some isolationism shows through, too. Interesting in light of the time in which it was written (early 20th century, prior to World War I).Anyway, I think Mr. Baum put a bit more in to this book because he planned for it to be the last. He seemed almost gleeful to include Dorothy's little letter in the last chapter. It's definitely an improvement over the last few. And my boys are still loving the series. :)For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
What do You think about The Emerald City Of Oz (2003)?
Charming and quaint read as always, but I'm still frustrated by the lack of depth that has characterized the past two or three books in the Oz series. As the series progresses, more and more page time is spent explaining background events and who all the characters are, which I suppose makes it easy to jump right in wherever you please. However, as I'm reading the series in order right now, the constant repetition just feels unnecessary to me.The plot of this sixth installment of the Oz series was rather weak--the Nome King, frustrated with Ozma's possession of his magic belt, hatches a plan to invade Oz and destroy everyone's happiness. His preparations for this invasion are interspersed with extensive descriptions of the travels of Dorothy and co. I frankly enjoyed reading more about the creative and unique Oz creatures Dorothy met than about the Nome King's evil plot. For that matter, the end of that plot was also rather anticlimactic. (view spoiler)[The Nome King and his evil allies invade, but they drink from the Fountain of Forgetfulness and just turn around and return to their homes. I know this is fantasy, but still…come on, really? Perhaps I've just been spoiled by all the epic battle scenes I've lately encountered in other books. (hide spoiler)]
—Jessica
The Emerald City of Oz is L. Frank Baum’s sixth OZ book. Here we find Dorothy Gale back at home in Kansas. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are about to lose their farm and they despair of what will happen to their niece Dorothy since they can no longer support her. The three decide that Dorothy should go live in Oz with her friend Princess Ozma who has often tried to get Dorothy to move there. But sweet little Dorothy can’t leave Uncle Henry and Aunt Em living lives of hard labor back in Kansas, so she gets permission to bring them to Oz, too.Thus, Dorothy gets to give her aunt and uncle a tour of Oz (oh no!) and introduce them to all her friends — Cowardly Lion, Hungry Tiger, Billina, Sawhorse, Wizard, Pumpkinhead, Scarecrow, Woggle Bug, etc, etc, etc. On her tour she also run... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
—Fantasy Literature
I thought this was a really good Oz story, a little bit darker than previous affairs, but well balanced and well written. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of Dorothy and her friends travelling to different lands alongside the Nome soldier doing the same, except his purpose was to recruit an army to invade Oz.I also thought it was about time Dorothy's aunt and uncle arrived in Oz, because through all their previous struggles it didn't make sense that they had so little while Oz had so much. It was fascinating to ponder their adjustment to this fairy land, however. Kids are so much more open to that kind of thing than older folk.It's also interesting to read the end, where it clearly ties the story up in a neat little bow so that there should be no more correspondence from the world of Oz. And yet, being only partway through my compendium of Oz stories, I know that is not the case!
—Christine Blachford
