Customer Reviews

Yellow Knight of Oz (Wonderful Oz Book, No 24)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like so many others, I was captivated as a child by the OZ series of L. Frank Baum. I had all of his books and knew that others had been written after his death because they were always listed on the end leaves. Unfortunately, they were out of print. No longer.

As a general rule, Ruth Plumly Thompson's Oz books are nowhere near as good as Baums. This volume is no exception but is her best work so far. She does a good job of evoking the magic of Oz in her books but, too often, the stories are rather simplistic and fraught with coincidence. They are enjoyable but pale in comparison to the original. This work, "The Yellow Knight of Oz", is good enough to be ranked with Baum's books.

Thompson frequently alludes to many of Baum's characters and they often appear in her works but she has created some new characters of her own as well. Judging by how often Sir Hokes of Pokes appears, he must have been one of her favorites. In this volume he takes center stage. In fact, all of the Baum characters are just peripherals. It may be that working entirely with her own creations has improved the quality of her work. This story is certainly the best of hers so far.

Sir Hokus goes off on a quest. He is joined by an American boy. After a number of adventures, he clears up some early history of Oz and restores 2 kingdoms. He finds a nice wife for himself along the way.

Like all of Thompson's books, this one satisfies a need for more things Ozzian. In this case, it does so with a refreshing flair and is an ejoyable read.

I loved it! Thompson mixes traditional epic fantasy with Ozzy silliness to create another glorious Oz book. Good for reading to your kids, if you have any. If you don't, it,s still a good choice. That's all-I wouldn't want to give away the plot.

This book was a Christmas gift for my daughter who collects OZ everything. It arrived in great condition and on time.