Rinkitink in Oz: 09/02/24

Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum and John R. Neill (1916) is the tenth Oz book. It primarily takes place among a string of islands beyond the Nome Kingdom and is a departure from the more typical of the Oz books. The book though is a reflection of Baum's life, something I didn't appreciate the first two attempts I made at reading it.

Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink and his service goat are the only three remaining after Inga's island is invaded. The King and Queen of a pair of islands usually at war have come together to conquer Pingaree.

At it's most basic, Rinkitink is an exploration of leadership. We have the young Crown Prince who must step up to free his parents and their subjects. He has three magic objects which he needs to use ethically to make his rescue. There is King Rinkitink who is burned out from years of being King and has literally run away. There are the waring King and Queen who seek power through enslavement and conquest. There is the new Nome King who has been installed after Oz defeated the last one and is naturally wary but is still compelled to align himself with the conquers. And finally there is Ozma who ends up taking sides not because any of the events are an immediate threat to Oz, but because she will force peace on her neighbors by any means necessary.

The inclusion of Ozma, Glinda, and Dorothy was a means to and end. Baum at that time had a yearly obligation with his publisher and hadn't produced an Oz book for 1916. He reworked an older manuscript to shoehorn it into the Oz universe. Had it been a stand alone, Inga and Rinkitink would have eventually beat the Nome King at his games. Sending in Dorothy to stop the Nome King, though, is a fascinating show of power from a nation that prides itself on being a peaceful utopia. Of course, the nine books that come before show that Ozma's utopia isn't as perfect as her PR would have you believe. It's also the first time that Ozma as a scary leader (from an outside perspective) is first mentioned, though it appears again in later books, such as Speedy in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson (1934)

Like all the previous Oz books, Rinkitink sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. As all the travelers are royalty, they are privileged travelers (00). Their destination is ultimately home (66) to their respective kingdoms. Their route there is and offroad one (66) via water and other magical travel.

The next book is The Lost Princess of Oz (1917).

Four stars

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