Tag: The Road to Oz

The Road to OzYear: 1909Author: L. Frank BaumLength: 261 pages One thing that continues to stand out about the Oz books by L. Frank Baum is how creative he was with the characters he created. Unfortunately, by the fifth book in the series, it's also clear there isn't a lot of creativity left for the plot. Sure, this time it felt like there was a more conscious journey to Oz instead of just magically ending up there, but nothing else about going to Oz felt nearly as unique as the new characters. The first half of the book introduces quite a few new characters, which are usually seen as replacements for the original set of Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man. Baum did this in several other Oz books, so it's only the characteristics of these new individuals that shine through as something new. Of course, with so many new characters, none of them really get enough dedicated time to flesh them out...