Bloodstained Oz [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Christopher Golden (Author), James A. Moore (Author), Glenn Chadbourne (Illustrator), Ray Garton (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2006

Something’s gone wrong over the rainbow...

1933. The winds of the Dust Bowl have reduced what had been the nation’s breadbasket to a desert full of broken dreams and desperate prayers. The water is gone, the crops are ruined and, for the people of Hawley, Kansas, there’s little left to struggle for except the chance for another day in hell.

There’s a storm coming, one that will rip the roofs from farms and scatter the wretched crops far and wide. One little girl will find a treasure trove in a ruined field and converse with a nightmare. One man will find salvation in the dirt and damnation close on its heels. One woman will suffer the sins of her husband and seek hope in the actions of her only child.

Dying faith will be tested, because that isn’t rain wetting the crops; it’s blood. Those aren’t trinkets and toys that are lying hidden in the fields; they’re nightmares wrapped in false promises. And while the darkest storms bring the brightest rainbows, that isn’t a pot of gold waiting at the far end; it’s an emerald that gleams and flickers with its own infernal light.

Join bestselling authors Christopher Golden and James A. Moore as they show you there’s no hell like home...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the unsubtle title of this deliciously gruesome novella suggests, Golden (The Myth Hunters) and Moore (Writ in Blood) have turned L. Frank Baum's concept of a wonderland "solely to pleasure children" into a nightmare intended to frighten adults. A storm propels much of arid Depression-era Kansas to an Oz inhabited by horrifying, vampiric simulacra of Dorothy's beloved companions, as shown in Glenn Chadbourne's lurid jacket art and interior drawings. Chunks of shattered bones, mounds of consumed flesh and worse litter this Oz. Many readers will agree with Ray Garton, who in his introduction claims he can never watch the Wizard of Oz film in the same innocent way again. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Fast-paced, wonderfully warped and twisted. You’ll never look at life over the rainbow quite the same way again." -- Monsters and Critics

"One of the best pieces of short horror fiction I've read to date." -- Insidious Reflections

"Plain and simple a really good horror story. Highly recommended." -- The Horror Channel

If you like violence and gore and are a fan of The Wizard of Oz, you’ll like this book. -- Green Man Review

This puppy is a quick and sick, non-stop thrill ride of blood, carnage, and pure excitement. -- The Horror Fiction Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 114 pages
• Publisher: Earthling; 1st,Limited edition (May 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976633965
• ISBN-13: 978-0976633969
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,669,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wizard of Oz thrill ride like no other!, September 6, 2007

By 

Antmusic Fan "Antmusic Fan" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloodstained Oz (Hardcover)

Bloodstained Oz has an awesome and very fun story. I don't want to give it away at all, and there is more then enough on here describing it already. It is also a very well put together limited edition book by Earthling Press.

Chadbourne's drawings are the kind that you can get lost in for hours. You keep finding new details in them that draw you into them more. He is becoming extremely popular because of his work on Cemetery Dance's "The Secretary of Dreams: Volume 1" with Stephen King.

James A. Moore and Christopher Golden outdid themselves with the gore and there is more excitment then you have ever seen in Oz.

This book came in two editions:

500 numbered ("3/500") hardcovers, signed by Christopher Golden and James A. Moore.

26 lettered ("F/26") traycased with an original piece of Glenn Chadbourne art, and signed by Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Ray Garton, and Glenn Chadbourne.

Ray Garton signed the lettered edition because he wrote the introduction to the book.

This book has no plans for reprinting, and is totally sold out from Earthling. The 26 high quality lettered editions are going for over $1,000-$3,000+ depending on condition, and the numbered editions are going for $300-$700 on average. The prices keep going up because of the Wizard of Oz connection, and because it is a damn good book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, September 13, 2006

By 

L. Oliver (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloodstained Oz (Hardcover)

I must first say that I originally picked up this book with the expectation of it just being an entertaining and gruesome version of 'The Wizard Of Oz'. I was decieved. It ended up being much "moore" than that. Ha!
The best thing about 'Oz' is the way the authors balanced the level of description, shock value and simplicity, where others would have gone too far in fear of not impressing their "intellectual" cronies. This is the type of rare read that leaves you feeling that you've just watched a cool movie, rather than read a book. (SCREENPLAY, SCREENPLAY, SCREENPLAY).
I'd have to say that the only thing I found dissapointing about this story what the fact that it ended quite like this senten ...
A little resolution would have been nice but I still can't wait for a sequel, as well as more works from Golden and Moore.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Follow the emerald..., April 22, 2007

By 

IbeforeJ "Comic Book Nerd" (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloodstained Oz (Hardcover)

After reading Stephen King books for 17 years, I was finding it was time to branch out a bit and try out some other horror writers. The concept of a "Bloodstained Oz" sounded interesting to me, so I picked up this novella on a whim. I was not disappointed.

"Bloodstained Oz" starts off with a bang and is action from beginning to end. I had a page left to the book and I thought for sure it must be a mistake, 'cause how could they resolve this situation in 10 paragraphs? Although, the book does leave you wanting for a sequel, I think Golden and Moore did a great job of bringing the perspective to a close.

The book brings in some of your more favorite Oz characters, such as the Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Munchkins, and whom I believe to be The Wizard, but most of them are acting a bit, well, out of character.

The heroes and heroines of Kansas are well-developed and give a great multi-faceted view of the "invasion".

So, pick this book up (if you can find a copy) and watch out- no matter how old you are, this story may actually give you nightmares.