A Man With An Agenda

Life is hard when you're a writer chock-full of creative ideas but the whiny jerks whose parents buy your books only want more of the same. 'Scarecrow of Oz' starts off with a jolt with main characters Trot and Cap'n Bill just existing with barely a sketch of an introduction - Betsy Bobbin at least gave her mule some exposition about their homeless plight in 'Tik-Tok of Oz' - but there is a sense that Baum expected readers to know who these two were, especially when it turns out they'd had adventures with Button Bright in the past. Of course they did. Another review points out that those books are 'The Sea Fairies' and 'Sky Island'.

Much like 'The Road to Oz' this book was supposed to lure children into reading Baum's non-Oz books, but this time he spent a little more effort on the plot. Cap'n Bill and Trot are drawn into a whirlpool and trapped underground, only the appearance of a Ork allows them to escape the caverns. They don't come out in the mundane world, however.

It turns out that to the South and a turn from Quadling Country is a great mountain range that cuts off one of Ozma's client-states from the rest of Oz. This isolation has allowed that kingdom to continue in a state of disharmony that makes a story interesting. A wicked king rules the land, he had taken the throne from a mean king who had taken the throne from a nice king. His niece, daughter of nice king, has fallen in love with the gardener's boy, son of mean king, and refuses to marry a rich courtier. The wicked king resorts to wicked magic to get his way - inspiring Trot and Cap'n Bill to help out in any way they can. Can they help the lovers and defeat the wicked king?

Already a lot more is going on then in several of the previous books, and though the inevitable help from the Scarecrow arrives, a great deal of the resolution comes from Trot, Cap'n Bill and the Ork's relationship and actions. If only they didn't have to go back to Oz to stay at the end. Trot and Cap'n Bill don't appear to worry about Trot's mother. And Button Bright's parents are...?

Oz

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