After rereading [b:The Road to Oz|179639|The Road to Oz (Oz, #5)|L. Frank Baum|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1172470719s/179639.jpg|1038552], I was tempted to assume that readers in 1909 were less demanding than readers today. I also assumed that there must have been any number of worthier books to purchase in 1909; but 1909 seems to have been a rather low year in publishing. Young readers looking for a continuing series would have done better to try [a:L.M. Montgomery|5350|L.M. Montgomery|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1188896723p2/5350.jpg]'s sequel [b:Anne of Avonlea|77390|Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, #2)|L.M. Montgomery|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1305545757s/77390.jpg|63845], or [b:Harding's Luck|176413|Harding's Luck (Fabian Time Fantasies, #2)|E. Nesbit|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348919997s/176413.jpg|2512739] by [a:E. Nesbit|6468260|E. Nesbit|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1349932723p2/6468260.jpg]; otherwise there were only a couple of stories by [a:Beatrix Potter|11593|Beatrix Potter|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1201022492p2/11593.jpg] published that year, and no other enduring classics. So maybe people weren't disappointed by Oz.

What disappoints me in the fifth volume of [a:L. Frank Baum|3242|L. Frank Baum|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1383720421p2/3242.jpg]'s Oz series is not so much the lack of conflict or coherent plot (though I am disappointed by those) as the continuing watering down and dumbing down of the Oz mythology in general. The first three books in the series make a fantastic trilogy and set up a compelling world--a uniquely American mythology. Along with the classic fairy elements and the humor and friendship, there is danger, there are lots of things in Oz that aren't as they should be, and there are hints of a disturbing historical backstory. This begins to change in [b:book four|179596|Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz A Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventures in an Underground World And How With the Aid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson,|L. Frank Baum|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1379331591s/179596.jpg|173513], when the Wizard--who up to that point had been a sinister figure (a shameless shyster who arrives in Oz and manipulates the situation to his own benefit; conscripts Oz residents into slave labor to construct the Emerald City, "just to keep them occupied"; abducts the infant heir to the throne of Oz, has her transformed into a boy and hidden away in a remote corner of the north country under the care of a malicious witch; spends decades living in secluded comfort in the palace while continuing to dupe everyone around him; passively allows the outright enslavement of half of the Oz population; and sends a Kansas girl and her friends to what he assumes will be their certain demise)--reappears as a cuddly, friendly old man whom everyone loves. No apologies, no explanations, no reason for the change. Ozma has every reason to abhor this man, but instead he's given a fine apartment in the palace and (along with the nine tiny white piglets--his shtick) becomes a great favorite of all. Book four thus makes it clear that Baum doesn't have the heart to see anything bad happen to anyone (except certain people, for no logical reason; more on that later). The revelation slipped into this book is that there is no natural death in Oz:

   "But I thought nobody ever died in Oz," [Dorothy] said.

   "Nor do they; although if one is bad, he may be condemned and killed by the good citizens," [the Tin Woodman] answered.

What??

Even if other dangers could still be imagined by Baum's "little correspondents," they can rest assured that any injustice that goes unnoticed by Glinda in her magic book of records will surely be caught by Ozma in her magic picture, which she can then right by means of her magic belt.

Another disappointment in The Road to Oz is the shabby way the main characters treat others. The Tin Woodman has already become a vain, self-centered character, but now all the rest of the characters join him. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the company's treatment of the poor musicker. This man has done nothing wrong, other than annoy some of the characters with his constant music-breathing. And yet for this he is mocked and permanently ostracized, even by the charming girlish ruler, Ozma herself. Other characters, on the other hand, have turned our heroes' heads into fox or donkey heads, yet they are quickly forgiven, invited to Ozma's party, and so take their place in the Emerald City inner circle. I'm also disturbed by the horrible defeat of the Scoodlers, who are never given a chance to explain their underlying motivations before our heroes toss the Scoodlers' heads into a deep chasm. Sorry, Scoodlers.

There's never any conflict in this story (and we learn later that even if we'd thought there was confict, no one was ever in any danger whatsoever), but the final chapters are as unconflicted as a book could possibly be. They become a litany of the histories of the characters we've already met before, and the introductions to characters we've never heard of before (and Santa Claus), all of whom are borrowed from Baum's non-Oz "Nonestica" stories. [b:The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus|715058|The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus|L. Frank Baum|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1387732742s/715058.jpg|701311] gives us Santa, the Knooks, and the Ryls. [b:Queen Zixi of Ix|109505|Queen Zixi of Ix|L. Frank Baum|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348037645s/109505.jpg|105529] features the Queen herself, along with Bud and Fluff. Dot and Tot in Merryland brings us Queen Dolly and the Candy Man. And John Dough, though a generic nickname for any gingerbread man, is borrowed from Baum's [b:John Dough and the Cherub|1099578|John Dough and the Cherub|L. Frank Baum|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348730810s/1099578.jpg|1086456]. None of these borrowed characters is interesting or useful in the present story. But that might imply that any of the original characters introduced first in The Road to Oz are. Unfortunately, none of the new characters has any sort of payoff for his or her distinctive character traits. It doesn't matter at all that Polychrome is the Rainbow's Daughter. Button-Bright's innocence doesn't help or hinder the travelers in any way. The Shaggy Man comes the closest to having some kind of character arc, but even he fails to intrigue, after the initial chapters (which I found quite amusing, actually, featuring some of Baum's classic wordplay and oddities).

It's a disappointing book in so many ways, but as I read it aloud to the family for bedtimes, we enjoyed laughing at it; and when I finished, the kids asked me to start the next Oz book right away. Go figure.