Title: Tik-Tok of Oz
Written by: L. Frank Baum
Series: Book 8 in the Oz series
Publisher: Reilly & Britton
Publish Date: 1914
Genre: Middle Grade Classic!
Pages: 258
Source: Received as a Child
Buy the Book: Tik-Tok of Oz
Synopsis: Book 8 in L. Frank Baum’s immortal OZ series, in which Betsy Bobbin and Hank the Mule are shipwrecked on the coast of Oz, meet up with the invading army of Queen Ann of Oogaboo, and help the Shaggy Man rescue his brother from the evil Nome King.
Can the queen of Oogaboo, a small country in an isolated corner of Oz, take over all of Oz? Talking roses, Shaggy Man and Betsy from Oklahoma are but a few of the unusual characters in Tik-Tok of Oz, the eighth Oz novel by L. Frank Baum, and the first to bring a girl other than Dorothy to that enchanted land. (Via Amazon)
Brian’s Review: After the bloated The Patchwork Girl of Oz, I was happily surprised by the lean, fun, mostly successful eighth entry in the Oz series. While not as strong as the best Oz sequels—Ozma of Oz and The Emerald City of Oz—it’s definitely one of the most entertaining. The set-up is simple and, thankfully, not convoluted, as Baum introduces the reader to two different story-lines that quickly merge together. One has to do with a girl and a mule washing up on shore (a plot device Baum used before in at least one of the earlier books), and a queen at the outer reaches of Oz who wants to take over all the land. And then there’s the Shaggy Man, who needs to save his brother from the Nome King! Baum piles on the characters and the drama from the get-go, and mostly keeps Dorothy out this time around. Tik-Tok shows up, of course, and plays a vital role in the proceedings. The book has its exciting and adventurous moments, and, like all the others, wraps up in a pleasing, if bit too simplistic, manner.
Baum seems to be having more fun this time around, and doesn’t have the same sour attitude in his introduction. By book 8, he probably figured he was in the Oz world for the long haul, and needed to finally accept it. One of my favorite parts of reading all these books has been seeing the author’s evolution in his little notes at the beginning of each one. Imagine what J.K. Rowling would have written before the first Harry Potter book, before it became a success, as opposed to her introduction to the seventh one? Thankfully for Rowling, she was able to finish the series when she wanted, and how she wanted. A hundred years ago, Baum had to churn out these Oz books just to live. Tik-Tok of Oz isn’t great, but it does the job fine, and young readers especially will probably enjoy this one, with all its action and large clan of eccentric characters.
With six more books to go, it will be interesting to see if Baum just does more of the same, or surprises me by taking characters we’ve come to know and love into more unexpected places. I’ll be hoping for the latter.
