The End of Oz: 12/20/19

The End of Oz by Danielle Paige is a literal title but not in the way one might expect. The novel is set (for the most part) in Ev, which does sit at one end of Oz on the other side of the deadly desert that surrounds Oz.

Amy and Madison, the bully from the first novel, end up recapitulating the first meeting of Dorothy and Ozma. Their adventure, though, is a means to save both Dorothy and Ozma and set the magic imbalance in Oz to rights.

The problem with introducing Ev as the endgame for the series is that Ev has always been the post-apocalyptic neighbor. The royal family is missing — trapped by the Nome King, minus the king who drowned himself. The kingdom lies in ruins, with only one of their many mechanical creations still functioning (Tik-Tok). Ozma of Oz is essentially the early 20th century version of Wall-E.

I suppose that Dorothy's vamp look in Paige's series also comes from Ozma of Oz, as the original edition shows a scarlet clad Ozma in red stilettos bursting through a green curtain, ready to seduce someone.

As with the previous books in this series, The End of Oz sits on the road narrative spectrum.

With Amy and Madison traveling together, we're presented with a scarecrow and minotaur pairing (99). Amy, who is there to save Oz, is the scarecrow.

The route they take to Ev mimics the Road to Oz, meaning that a well defined road is used is akin to a Blue Highway. (33).

The destination is uhoria (CC) because the journey undoes the damage done by Dorothy's decades long reign of terror. It is essentially a giant re-set switch and a return to where Oz was around the time that Ruth Plumly Thompson took over writing the Oz books. Dorothy's redemption is also laid out through some POV chapters.

Put all together, it's the journey of a scarecrow and minotaur to uhoria via a Blue Highway.

There are also two collections of short stories which I have on hand (as they are part of my husband's collection of books). At this time, I have no immediate plans to read them for this project.

Two stars

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