Entries Categorized as 'Fantasy'

The Tin Woodman of Oz

Our rating: ****

Woot the Wanderer arrives at the Tin Woodman’s tin castle in Oz. After dinner, the Tin Man, or Nick Chopper, tells Woot about how he became a tin man, and how he was once in love with a Munchkin girl named Nimmie Amee. Woot asks why Nick hasn’t gone to find her after all his adventures with Dorothy were over. So begins another Oz book, in which the Tin Man, Woot and the Scarecrow go to find Nimmie Amee and make her the Empress of the Winkies. You will encounter the Loons and the evil Yookoohoo, Mrs. Yoop.

This is a very funny one. Starting with the deliberate disobedience of the sign to beware the Loons, the whole book is filled with silly adventures that would only happen in Oz.

The Book of Dragons

Our rating: *****

A book of dragon stories by Edith Nesbit.

An enjoyable book! Also on this site we have Five Children and It, also reviewed by me and written by E. Nesbit. The Dragon Tamers is among my favorite stories in The Book of Dragons.

The Wizard of Oz

Our rating: *****

Dorothy lives on a gray prairie in Kansas. When a cyclone hits, she and her little dog, Toto, are whirled into the air and eventually come down in the Land of Oz, where the good Witch of the North advises Dorothy to go the City of Emeralds and ask the great Wizard, Oz, to send her home again. On the dangerous journey there, Dorothy is joined by the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion.

I like this book a lot. The Wizard of Oz was made into a movie starring Judy Garland. It’s not very close to the book, but it’s still pretty good. It was nice going back and reading this book again.

Beyond the Summerland

Our rating: ****½

Joraiem Andira, a young man skilled with the bow, is preparing to leave his home in Dal Harat and journey to Sulare where his training as one of the Novaana will begin. He will join with others like him in the battle against Malek, the greatest of the Titans whose betrayal brought death to his Titan brothers and destruction to Kirthanin. With memorable characters such as Valzaan the blind prophet, Wylla, Caan and Aljeron and his battle brother, Koshti, Joraiem strives to fulfill his destiny.

A truly remarkable book. L. B. Graham’s vivid imagination, woven together with adventure, suspense, and tragedy, makes an amazing story. It’s written in a style similar to Tolkien and I found it to be every bit as enjoyable. I must say that the ending was rather disappointing, but I don’t want to give anything away, so that’s all I’ll say about that. Reading it was quite an experience and by the time I finished it I was emotionally exhausted, but it was definitely worth the read.

Journey to Freedom

Our rating: ****

Chip, the youngest in a family of white-feet, is told by Silver the prophet that he will be a great soldier. Eventually, Chip commands a part of soldiers called the Rag-Tags. The Rag-Tags are Ben, Singer, Budger, Trooper (a short-tailed shrew), Peedee and, of course, Chip. Join the white-feet as they fight against the brown rats and the Dread Deliverer, and as eventually most of them sail West.

This is a sort of allegory. I’d probably suggest it for 7 or 8 and up. Half of the Rag-Tags eventually die, but it’s still a pretty good book. This is the only book by Gilbert Morris I’ve read yet.