The Tin Woodman Of OZ!

The Tin Woodman of OZ: A Faithful Story of the Astonishing Adventure Undertaken by the Tin Woodman, Assisted by Woot the Wanderer, the Scarecrow of OZ, and Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter by L. Frank Baum is the twelfth main novel in the series and was first published in 1918. As usual the novel features illustrations by John R. Neill. The OZ books had been declining in sales but this one changed the trajectory of the series. 

Woot the Wanderer is a youngster who wanders into the Winkie kingdom ruled by the Tin Woodman. He and the Scarecrow are reminiscing, and the Woodman is reminded of Nimme Aimee,a long-lost love before he was transformed. He wants to make her his queen and to that end, the trio strike out for the land of the Munchkins. As you might suspect they run into some trouble. 

After getting away from some pernicious balloon people called the Loonies, the trio fall into the clutches of a giantess who uses magic to turn the Woodman into a tin owl, the Scarecrow into a stuffed bear, and Woot into a green monkey. They also find Polychrome already a captive having been changed into canary. The transformed quartet eventually escape and find their way eventually to the home of Jinjur in an earlier story had led a revolt against OZ. She, having reformed, raises caramels now and greets them warmly once their identities are known. 

The scene then switches to OZ where we discover that Ozma has been keeping an eye on our group and she and Dorothy come to the rescue and quickly the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and Polychrome are themselves again. Woot proves to be a bit more difficult but at last it is accomplished. They then head off to complete the quest and run into Captain Fyter the Tin Soldier, another being who has suffered the fate of the Woodman. They then encounter Ku-Klip who made both the Woodman and the Soldier and learn that their parts that had been replaced were fitted together to make a whole other composite being named Chopfyt. After some more difficulties they at last find Mount Munch and Nimme Aimme who is happy with her husband, the aforementioned Chopfyt. It's an abrupt end to their quest but that's what they find and so they head home. 

This adventure was a better read than the last simply because the cast was smaller. We had four main protagonists and not a mob headed out to search for the goal. We never lose track of any of them, and each is given a chance to shine and contribute to the quest. We do learn that OZ was once a more normal land until in its far past the fairy Queen Lurline made it so that no one ever aged. I expected to find out more about Woot the Wanderer, but in this story he's pretty much a cypher. The interplay between the Woodman and the Scarecrow was excellent. 

Next up is The Magic of OZ, the last OZ story written by Baum published in his lifetime. 

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