The Land of Oz
By Various Authors.
By Various Authors.
What happens when you leave the Yellow Brick Road and venture into the darker corners of Oz?
Land of Oz brings together thirteen original stories inspired by L. Frank Baum's world, with Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane gathering an impressive collection of fantasy, science fiction and horror writers to put their own spin on Oz.
I absolutely love an anthology, so the idea of an entire collection based around The Wizard of Oz immediately tempted me. Once I saw names including M. R. Carey, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Christina Henry among the contributors, I was completely sold.
What surprised me was just how varied the interpretations are. Don't let that wonderfully bright green cover fool you because this isn't necessarily the colourful, whimsical Oz you might be expecting. Some stories lean heavily into dark fantasy, while others venture towards horror and dystopian science fiction. There is still plenty of magic and strangeness, but several writers take us well away from the safety of the Yellow Brick Road.
I also really enjoyed how much inspiration the collection takes from the wider mythology of Oz. Most of us immediately think of Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, but Baum created a much larger world across his books. Land of Oz gives its contributors plenty of freedom to explore that world rather than simply retelling Dorothy's familiar journey.
As with any anthology, there were naturally stories I connected with more than others. The Door to Oz by Simon R. Green, The Poor Workman by Louise Carey, Heartless by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Heart's Desire by Robert Shearman and Silver and Gold by Christina Henry were among the stories that particularly caught my attention.
One of my favourite elements, though, was the sense of connection running through the collection. Despite every writer bringing something different to Oz, the stories don't feel like thirteen completely unrelated ideas thrown together. There are threads and references that help create the feeling that we're repeatedly stepping into different corners of the same strange world.
I loved seeing how differently each writer interpreted the brief. Some embrace recognisable elements of Oz while others take those ideas somewhere completely unexpected. You never quite know what kind of story is waiting once you turn the page, which is exactly what I want from an anthology.
Land of Oz takes something wonderfully familiar and asks its writers to wander away from the path we already know. The result is imaginative, frequently dark and sometimes wonderfully strange, proving there are still plenty of unexplored places hiding somewhere over the rainbow.
Thank you to the team at Titan Books for sending out the most glorious green package! The book is out now and available to purchase.
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