Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Wishing Horse of Oz [Book Review]

[Spoilers for a old book nobody reads anymore.]

"The Wishing Horse of Oz" is the twenty-ninth book in the L. Frank Baum Oz series. It was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson and published in 1935. To add a little more perspective to where I am in the series, Baum wrote the first Oz book in the year 1900. He wrote fourteen of them, and this is the fifteenth by Ruth. Yes, I read all of them up to this point.

"The Wishing Horse of Oz" continues the surprisingly strong writing of Ruth Plumly Thompson which seemed to begin with the previous book called "Speedy in Oz." There are a lot of notable moments happening in this one. For one, Oz is having a huge celebration pertaining to the discovery of Oz by mortals. The Wizard of Oz (whose real name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs) was the first to arrive. He was followed by Dorothy and then many others after her.

Dorothy was the main protagonist of this one for the first time in quite some time. This was a breath of fresh air for me. I like her! I've always liked her. She is a wonderful character, and I really did miss her. By this time, Dorothy and her folks actually live in Oz and shall remain ageless for as long as they do. This has been the case since the very early books.

Now, as to the plot, something really strange and surreal happens to Oz during this monumental celebration. Suddenly, Ozma and all the other rulers of Oz poof out of existence, and the throne is taken over by Emperor Skamperoo and his white steed Chalk. Nobody but Dorothy notices the change. It was like the minds of everyone was spontaneously corrected to change with the event. As I read this, I was reminded of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Ship in a Bottle," where a very similar thing happens to Doctor Crusher.

The incident was surreal and genuinely scary. Dorothy was driven to tears and almost madness as she tries desperately to find someone who knew about what had been happening for the last 20 years. Everyone just acted like she was delirious and claimed that Emperor Skamperoo had been the ruler of Oz for all of history. Can you even imagine what that would be like? Ruth did... because she shows Dorothy having a stark mental break down as this strange thing happens.

Dorothy ends up partnering with another reoccurring character named Pigasus. Yes, he is a flying pig. Pigasus is actually telepathic. He can read the thoughts and mind of anyone who sits on his back. Once Dorothy did so, he suddenly realized what she was going through. For this reason, he was the only citizen of Oz to bother helping her.

The book, although still representing the whimsical nature of Oz, remains a far more personal and serious telling of the horrible thing that was happening to both Dorothy and Oz. In her effort to find someone else in Oz that knows the true history of the country, she finds out that everyone in the entire land seems to also only be aware of the alternate history. The exception lies with a hidden witch named Gloma living in the north.

Gloma is actually a second witch living north of where Glinda lived, but she enchanted her realm to be completely black to avoid being noticed. She did this because she heard of a little girl who had successfully murdered two other witches. Once confronted with that same little girl, Gloma tried to murder Dorothy first. I'm not joking. She tries to do it three times, no less.

Dorothy also has a rather brief meeting with the current Gnome King. This isn't the original Gnome King (Ruggedo), who has been known for being the arch villain of the series. This is Kalico, the king who succeeded Ruggedo. He's still a selfish jerk, but he is a lot more manageable politically.

A new character named Bitty Bit, who is a flamboyant Seer. He was able to unravel the entire plot, and I actually enjoyed the way he did it with such pride. He is the sort of psychic that, as soon as he meets you, will touch his head and tell you your names, where you came from, what you're going to do, and so forth. His weakness is that, although he can figure out what's going on, he has trouble deciding on what should be done about it. But in conjunction with other wise folk of Oz, he is actually a very useful person.

I'll not spoil the ending. In fact, I am going to leave it here. I highly recommend "The Wishing Horse of Oz." It continues the fabulous writing of Ruth Plumly Thompson which is most certainly picking up at this point. The books are also becoming novel length. I totally look forward to the next one!

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