The Powder of Life

Okay, well, I got the sequel to Silver Shoes. I hadn't read (or bought) either of Paul Miles Schneider's Oz books before The Powder of Life was released. Of course, anyone familiar with the first few Oz books will see that the first book is named after an important item from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz while the second book is named after an important item from The Marvelous Land of Oz.

I reviewed the first book not too long ago in August, and much of my remarks about the author's style are again relevant. Paul writes with an exciting style, making the story fun to read (and considering I wasn't on a bus with nothing to do this time, the times I had to stop were awful because I wanted to know what happened next!), and though there's no pictures, the descriptions are vivid enough so you can use your imagination.

Now, as this is a sequel that picks up right after the first book, there are going to be some spoilers if you've yet to read Silver Shoes.

Donald Gardner and his parents are taken to see the FBI's collection of evidences of other worlds and fairy tales and folklore being true. To a virtual recreation of Oz, to Paul Bunyan's boot, to Cinderella's glass slipper, to the White Rabbit's pocket watch.

The White Rabbit himself has popped up and told Donald he needs the watch back, but Donny can't just take it. Right? And what about Donald's friends Chris and Jon who were among the few who knew about the Silver Shoes?

And in Germany, at an old tavern, an ancient sorcerer from Oz is busy at work making batches of the Powder of Life to create an army to conquer this world. Can his scheme be discovered and stopped in time?

And what about the fact that Oz is real? Are the people in Oz aware of what's been occurring in Donald's world? And if they are, is there any way they could help out?

There are many twists and new developments along the way. Since I already view this as a completely separate continuity from the original Oz books, I have no problem with seeing this story develop independent of Baum's books, but there are a number of chapters that are basically a long love letter to the Oz books, and those really made me practically beam out some smiles!

I said that this picks up right after the first book, so you won't really enjoy this book if you haven't read the first one. But I really recommend them both!

Buy your copy on Amazon.com.