Monday, December 10, 2012

The Fairy Circle in Oz

And next up in the Oz reading is the follow up to Wooglet in Oz by Hugh Pendexter III. Except this is by Chris Dulabone himself.

It also follows up on the "Egor's Funhouse" series of books by Chris, but I've yet to read any of those yet.

The Fairy Circle in Oz finds Wooglet returning to Oz years after her last visit, and she joins Jellia Jamb on a mission to help the Love Fairy Amouretto recover the magic mirror from Egor's Funhouse that served as a portal from Egor's dimension to Oz.

They discover the mirror was taken by a slug-monster from the Sluggarden, an anti-magical place. The effect this could have if it is not recovered right away could destroy the entire earth.

After a ride in a hot air balloon (which involves a humorous tipsy scene), they must take Egor's rocket ship, which sends them to a planet inhabited by birds with surfboard-shaped bodies. Can anyone help Jellia, Wooglet, the Love Fairy and Egor off this planet? Ozma? Egor's friends at the fun house?

The story is a wild and rollicking fantasy by Chris and a lot of fun, though I would suggest that one familiarize themselves with some Chris' other work first. The illustrations by Anon E. Mouse (Marcus Mebes) are some of his better work. He manages to pull off elegant human forms and remarkably funny humanoid forms.

Something I found surprising was that there's what could be considered a gay couple in this story, though I'm not sure that's correct. King Genovarma was made a very handsome man due to a gift from the Love Fairy herself. He became vain and jailed a man he thought was handsomer named Xwingline, as he wanted no competition in selecting a bride. However, due to his overwhelming envy, he decided to marry Xwingline instead. The two admired each other until one day they were transformed into the slug monster in the Sluggarden. It is written in a way that depicts an unhealthy obsession with physical beauty rather than an actual love.

I find the Fun House to be quite a fun idea indeed and look forward to reading about it in some of Chris' other books.

Get your copy of The Fairy Circle in Oz here.

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