Yookoohoos of Oz by Paul Dana

 Two reviews in one day?

Look, I had a really good weekend.

Yookoohoos of Oz is the third Oz book by Paul Dana, who's now kind of up there as a good friend. That might make me biased, but for what it's worth, I don't read poorly written books very quickly.

Paul's Oz books tend to focus around Ojo and Button-Bright, who L. Frank Baum established as friends in The Lost Princess of Oz. His books have some major developments for the pair, so it's kind of hard to talk about one of the ones after the first without touching on spoilers. The series also builds on the lore of Yookoohoos, the transformation practitioners we first met in The Tin Woodman of Oz and again in Glinda of Oz.

Just to catch up, the first two books are The Law of Oz and Other Stories and The Magic Umbrella of Oz.

Let's try a spoiler-free review: a gathering of Yookoohoos goes completely awry when a surprising new Yookoohoo arrives with a special present. It's up to Ojo, Button-Bright, Grandma Natch and some of their new friends in a mysterious magical adventure.

There really isn't a major villain in the book, and major Oz characters like just about the entire cast of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz don't even appear. Still, Paul writes the story at a good pace and clearly isn't tired of the characters he's invested in during his previous stories. Far more interesting is that the book is written from the first person view of Ojo, instead of from the third person as most Oz books are. While it's a change, it's not unwelcome.

The book is illustrated by Vincent Myrand, who does some dynamic yet somehow also dream-like illustrations that suit Oz so well.

There's a few ways to get a copy. There's a deluxe hardcover edition with some color illustrations, a standard hardcover without color illustrations and also a paperback.

In addition, you can pick up a copy at OzCon International and have Paul sign it right there. Or you can buy a copy ahead of time and he'll happily sign it. He'll also lead a bit of programming discussing Yookoohoos. So, you could just get a book online and read it, or you can come to OzCon, get an autographed copy and the whole Paul Dana experience (patent pending).

The Magic Umbrella of Oz

Hardcover edition

 This year at Winkies, I worked with Paul Dana at his table in the dealer's room. We were also sharing it with Karyl Carlson, who had copies of Queen Ann in Oz for sale. He was selling paperback copies of The Law of Oz and Other Stories and its sequel The Magic Umbrella of Oz. Of course I bought copies of both of the new books.

As I said, this is a sequel to The Law of Oz and follows up from it. If you haven't read that one, it's a little difficult to discuss this one without revealing some of the revelations from that book, so if you don't want any spoilers, stop reading now and come back for the next blog.

... So, you're one of the people who's read The Law of Oz?

... Or you don't care about spoilers?

Well, I'll be starting the review in a sec.

Okay?

I warned you.

Paperback edition

Okay. Review starts now. Button-Bright and Ojo have been working with their powers they discovered and acquired in the previous book, working on transformations and how to help people with them.

However, part of the climax of the previous tale has unleashed a wicked spirit called the Piper in Oz. Unable to find any children it can lure (all of the children in Oz are actually decades old), it seeks to leave Oz, finding an ally in a green monkey named Moyna Yoop... They just need two things: the Magic Umbrella to find the Ring of Time so they can get an important item from the past of Oz: the Silver Shoes!

There's a daring adventure, some twists, some new revelations about the past of Oz and Button-Bright, and the secret of the Magic Umbrella is finally revealed.

Paul weaves a great tale, and it's illustrated beautifully by Jaun Raza. Many of the pictures are available in color in the hardcover edition (hence its higher price), but they are reproduced in halftones and greyscale in the paperback edition, so you get lovely art either way. Definitely recommended.

But make sure you read The Law of Oz first.

The Law of Oz and Other Stories

I had heard Paul Dana's first print Oz book would be available at this year's Winkie Convention, so I made a point to pick up a copy in person. Paul mentioned that the copies he had weren't exactly perfect and that the print on demand versions would be corrected. A few odd formatting errors aside, there wasn't anything really wrong enough to prevent an enjoyable reading experience.

The first two stories in Paul's book were available in a slightly different form online on Joe Bongiorno's Royal Timeline of Oz website. People suggested I check them out, but I have low patience for reading long fiction from a computer screen. As such, I was glad to hear they'd be coming to a print version.

I read Paul's book on the way home from Winkies, and really enjoyed it. The first story, "Time Travelers of Oz," finds Ojo and Button-Bright meeting Ugu the gray dove and discovering the ring of time which sends them back to when Lurline enchanted Oz.  However, they get split up, Ojo and Ugu traveling with Lurline and her band, Button-Bright winding up in the middle of a Yookoohoo wedding, specifically that of Mr. and Mrs. Yoop. There's some strange developments and an exciting standoff in the city of Herku before Button-Bright, Ojo and Ugu return to the present.

The second story, "The Lost Boy of Oz," finds Button-Bright revisiting his past and discovering that it's far more complicated than he originally thought. From Philadelphia back to the Land of Oz, Button-Bright searches for his long-lost mother and discovers things about himself that he never knew before.

Story three, "The Mothers of Oz," is the shortest, flashing back to a long time ago in the Land of Oz.

The fourth and final is the titular tale "The Law of Oz," which takes all the loose ends from the previous three stories and wraps them up at last as Ozma attempts a serious measure to rid Oz of Yookoohoo magic, and as Tititi Hoochoo realizes that some wrongs have been committed.

Paul takes some unexpected twists with the Oz characters, mainly the more obscure ones, but he does it in such a way that it doesn't feel unfaithful to Baum's text. The writing style is quite enjoyable as well.

The book is illustrated by three illustrators: the first by Patricio Carbahal, the second by Gabhor Utomo, and the last two by Teresa Jenellen. There's also some samples of John R. Neill's art and a table of contents picture by Howard Pyle. The artwork is great, though Gabhor Utomo's style reminded me a bit of Stephen Gammel's illustrations for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. (Just, not as dark and creepy.)

Overall, I would find this a recommendable book, but I must warn that's it's only available in hardcover from Lulu. Paul happened to be able to offer a discount on the copies he had for sale at Winkies, but online, the price is $32.78.

Get The Law of Oz on Lulu.

Oziana 2012 is out!

After a long wait, Oziana 2012 is finally here!

Normally, Oziana consists of short pieces of work by members of the International Wizard of Oz Club. This year, editor Marcus Mebes decided to do something a little different: do an issue-length Oz story, Round Robin style. Appropriately enough, the person starting the story would be none other than L. Frank Baum himself!

You remember the unfinished Oz story fragment (which might not be by Baum) that features Ozma ice-skating? That was the launching point. And to further help, Robert Baum supplied an introduction and afterword, in which he supplies all the information he knows about the fragment.

Several Oz fans wrote fourteen new chapters including Marcus Mebes, S.P. Maldonado, Jared Davis (yours truly), Kim McFarland, Sam Milazzo, Chris Dulabone, Jeff Rester, Dennis Anfuso, Mycroft Mason, Nathan DeHoff, Paul Ritz, Mike Conway, Paul Dana, and Atticus Gannaway. In addition, S.P. Maldonado, Dennis Anfuso and Kim McFarland all provided artwork to illustrate the story.

Ozma's outing to go ice-skating is interrupted by the appearance of two visitors from Hiland and the Nome Kingdom, who tell her how their respective kings have been acting strangely. Glinda soon discovers that a cruel and powerful witch is at work, making people all over Oz do and believe peculiar things. Can our friends in Oz (including the Wizard, Scraps, Percy, Kabumpo, Jinnicky, the Scarecrow, and of course Dorothy) discover the witch's plot and stop her, or has she sunk her claws into Oz too deeply?

I was one of the early writers who helped the story get rolling by setting up the villain, allowing the remaining writers to work with and deal with her. (My chapter is also the shortest.) While the story didn't reach its fullest possible potential, the story does not disappoint in the least! And also, almost everyone in the blog team contributed to it as well.

One might think the nature of the story's writing might lead to an uneven pace and jarring writing styles, but while some writers can't help but put on their little flourishes, the editors made sure the narrative flowed very well.

This one's an exciting story with some great twists and turns and quite a formidable new foe! Add it to your collection!

Your traditional-style Oziana will resume in 2013.