Customer Reviews

The Silver Princess in Oz

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In Thompson's next-to-last book in the Famous Forty (she later wrote two more Oz books for the International Wizard of Oz Club), she presents us with one last romance between a young prince and princess, one last visit to the realm of the Red Jinn (who would reappear in the IWOC-published "Yankee in Oz"), and one last adventure for Kabumpo the Elegant Elephant. In many ways this is more of a summing-up of Thompson's style and the unique elements she brought to the Oz series than any of her three later Oz books. In fact, like "Captain Salt in Oz", this book features only Thompson's own characters and none of Baum's, although unlike "Captain Salt" parts of the story do take place in the Land of Oz. "Silver Princess" contains many beautiful and highly memorable moments and a unique and fascinating personality in its title character: Planetty, the Princess of Anuther (sic) Planet. Despite a major plot hole at the very end of the story--how do the characters cross the Deadly Desert on their return to Oz?--this book is highly enjoyable.

This is hard to rate. I agree with other reviewers' criticisms: lots of it makes little sense, particularly if you haven't read THE PURPLE PRINCE OF OZ. The author seems to be trying to decide among several possible plots, all of which depend too much on coincidence, and to have gone with the least interesting (We're off to visit the Red Jinn!). The narrative is exceedingly racist even for its time. But. The love itself is somehow specially heady and touching, and Randy the most sympathetic lover in Thompson. The female lead seems at first glance like another of Thompson's empty-headed dancing love objects like Urtha and Marygolden but that's an illusion; Urtha and Marygolden can't set an army to rout or drag an elephant on its back out of a field. This one's a Walkure.

Kabumpo has always been one of my favorite characters (one great thing about Thompson is how different her big animals are from each other in tone; could anyone have any difficulty distinguishing speech by Kabumpo from the Cowardly Lion, or Snufferbux, or Nox, or Chalk, or Highboy from each other?) and here he is at his arrogant but good-hearted best. And Oz animals don't come any cooler (or hotter) than Thun. All the pictures are interesting, particularly the flying heads (my skin crawls when I picture their teeth clamped down on that wire), and Planetty standing on Thun's back brandishing her staff with the paradoxical linked tip at the fleeing "black".

So it's like PARSIFAL: badly flawed, but beautiful like cheesecake in parts.