News For 2010-09-09

What The Hell Is John Reading Now?

This one's a two-fer. First, a one word review of "The Tin Woodsman of Oz": MEH. To elaborate a bit more: *shrug*. To elaborate still further: this story goes nowhere. The Woodsman and his posse wander around aimlessly for a while before the limp-wristed, single-chapter climax, then wander back home. This is arguably the most pointless and dull book in the Oz canon.

It does, however, have one of the single greatest moments in the Oz canon as well, when the Tin Woodsman meets and has a bizarre chat with his old severed head. It's simultaneously awesome and creepy. Sadly, the severed human head of Nick Chopper locked in a cabinet can't save an otherwise boring waste of time.

In contrast, the next book - "The Magic of Oz" - is stellar; one of the best in the canon. It has three different plot threads which eventually come together halfway through, and every thread gets resolved to the reader's satisfaction. It has a adventure, comedy, and - occassionally - a genuine sense of danger, which is something the Oz books frequently struggle with. Though it's a bit on the short side, and the villains get dispatched a little too quickly for my tastes, "Magic" is a ridiculous improvement over the book preceding it.

It also stars Trot and Capn' Bill in one of the subplots, that's pretty much shooting fish in a barrel with me.