Once you get an Oz fan writing, they don't really stop, and Marcus Mebes is no exception. And no, he didn't stick to 50-page books.
At hand, I have Shipwrecked of Oz, a delightful tale of how Jinnicky the Red Jinn of Ev decides to take a cruise. However, his yacht is wrecked in a storm, and he sinks to the bottom of the ocean in his jar, which he makes water-tight. The crew is rescued by Captain Salt in The Crescent Moon, which has been joined by Trot & Cap'n Bill. However, when a rescue mission is thwarted by an eel man and his eels who have been disrupting the peace of the nearby merfolk, it turns out rescuing Jinnicky is just the beginning of their troubles.
While Shipwrecked maintains the fresh writing approach evident in The Bashful Baker of Oz, Marcus properly makes use of the classic characters, thus giving the story a classic feel. And it's an exciting story, too! It was one where I wanted to get back to the story and finish it when I was forced to take a break.
So, yes, definitely a recommended Oz book!
Thanks. I took what some consider one of the worst Oz books (and wait 'til you read it... Captain Salt in Oz... it'll give you fits!) and made it what I hoped it COULD have been. CSIO is more about conquering and the "Borg Mentality", and that just didn't sit right with me. A redeeming quality of that book is Neill's art.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing about SHIPWRECKED is Luciano Vecchio's amazing art!