Paradox in Oz [Hardcover]

Edward Einhorn (Author), Eric Shanower (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-Ozma, beloved ruler of Oz, has her hands full in this spin-off from two confirmed Oz aficionados. Trouble starts right away when Omby Amby notices a gray hair in his green beard. When he complains to Ozma, he discovers that everyone else seems to be aging as well. Before long, their ruler consults with Glinda, who offers more pieces of the puzzle, including a baby named Zoey, who is also the Man Who Lives Backwards. The rest of Ozma's adventures rest on the broad shoulders of Tempus, a Parrot-Ox that appears whenever one begins to imagine the impossible. Ozma's flying time machine and companion, he is a wonderful creature, chock-full of personality, and the other characters are all fairly true incarnations of Oz inhabitants. The writing is crisp and moves the episodic story along effortlessly. This is a handsome book, with plenty of white space and charming full- and half-page black-and-white cartoons. The nodding reference to M. C. Escher in the depiction of Absurd City and the attractive endpapers featuring tessellating black-and-white parrots are a lovely touch. The tone of the text and sophisticated wordplay suggest that the book would be a better read for adult Oz fans, since children may become lost in the muddle of paradoxes and overly clever double talk that leave the plot sounding more like Piers Anthony than L. Frank Baum. Still, if your readers can't get enough of Oz, this should be on the shelves.
Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The writing is crisp and moves the episodic story along effortlessly. This is a handsome book. . . . -- School Library Journal, August 2000

What truly takes Paradox out of the ordinary . . . is Einhorn's wonderfully inventive narrative. . . . the results should be thoroughly pleasurable. . . . -- The Baum Bugle, A Journal of Oz, Spring 2000

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: Hungry Tiger Pr; 1 edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929527012
• ISBN-13: 978-1929527014
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,272,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Edward Einhorn is the author of the modern Oz novels "Paradox in Oz" and "The Living House of Oz" (Hungry Tiger Press); "A Very Improbable Story" (Charlesbridge), a picture book on probability; "The Golem, Methuselah, and Shylock" (Theater 61 Press), plays about Jewish legends; and "Lysistrata", a new adaptation of Aristophanes. He is also the Artistic Director of Untitled Theater Company #61, with whom he curated the Vaclav Havel Festival, the NEUROfest, and the Ionesco Festival. He is the author of a a number of critically acclaimed plays, including "Fairy Tales of the Absurd," "Strangers," Linguish", and stage adaptations adaptation of Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" and Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." His newest book, "Fractions in Disguise," will be released in 2012.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart Books Are Good Books, January 1, 2000

By 

Douglass Barre (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paradox in Oz (Hardcover)

One of the joys of Paradox in Oz is that, unlike so many books that revisit childhood realms, this one doesn't embarrass you or make you feel "dumbed down." No, Einhorn's Oz is one that retains all the wonder and magic I remember while simultaneously finding a way to entrance and amaze my adult mind. The central conceit of the book, a time-travel paradox, is impeccably structured and cunningly revealed layer by layer so that everyone experiences the wonderful "Aha!" moment when the solution (and the problem too!) finally become clear. Like any good fantasy, it interweaves wonder and drama in perfect proportion. Is it too dark? Of course not. Any child knows that a fantasy with no edge isn't captivating. Even Baum's Oz books had a sense of danger to them. Einhorn's book actually does a very fine job of capturing the walking-the-line quality of my favorite parts of Baum's tales. Shanower's illustrations add dimensions to this experience as well. I highly recommend this to any Oz fan, and especially those who haven't revisited that old friend, because Paradox in Oz shows us that the best memories don't have to remain simply in our childhood.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect book to start the second century of Oz., January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Paradox in Oz (Hardcover)

Since this year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", what better way to mark the occasion than with "Paradox in Oz", which expands upon Baum's magical world, while celebrating the continuing power of Baum's vision.

Einhorn manages to balance the innocence of Baum's creation with a new complexity of ideas involving time travel and alternate realities. There are some darker points to the story, indeed, but they serve the purpose of testing and reaffirming the essential goodness of the classic characters; more importantly, Einhorn's Oz never becomes the bleak nightmare world of the "Dark Oz" comics. The Dark Oz presented here is clearly the Oz which is not meant to be.

As a bonus we are introduced to delightful new characters, the best being Temporus, the time-traveling Parrot-Ox, a worthy addition to the Oz bestiary.

Eric Shanower's illustrations, as always, are a treasure; while matching the whimsical nature of John R. Neill's work, his originality and attention to detail often surpass Neill's. The wraparound cover illustration is classic Oz.

As the Oz centennial year progresses, there will doubtless be other books begging our attention, but this, so far, is the one to own.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" for all Frank Baum & Oz fans., February 14, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paradox in Oz (Hardcover)

In celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Frank L. Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" which launched the highly successful Oz books which would entertaining generation of young readers and be adapted to radio, film, and television, Hungry Tiger Press is published the newest contribution to the Oz legacy, Edward Einhorn's Paradox In Oz. Suddenly, in the Land of Oz where no one grows older, everyone begins to age. Ozma (the lovely ruler of Oz) must save her people and restore the enchantment that keeps them young and vibrant. Ozma travels backward in time to meet the fabled Wizard of Oz. Logic puzzles and paradoxes abound. Before Ozma can unravel the perplexing complexities, she visits a marvelous city in the clouds. Such beloved characters as the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and Glinda the Good Witch make appearances throughout the story. Paradox In Oz does full justice to the legacy of the Oz series and will be read and re-read by children (and their parents!).