Dorothy Must Die: Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle PaigeMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This compilation was really dark. They fit in nicely with the story line and kind of answer the how did they get this way question that I've been asking myself since I started the series. The personalities of the beloved characters from my childhood make so much more sense in the retelling of Amy's story after reading these.
The first story is about the Tin Woodman and his love for Dorothy. It isn't a normal, romantic, sweet love. It is a toxic, creepy, stalker love. He is consumed by his love for her. Upon her return to Oz, he is overwhelmed by her presence and will do anything to be near her and make her happy. When she is displeased with him or his actions which happens frequently, he is devastated. He teams up with the Scarecrow to create an army of experiments to protect her an her new kingdom. Glinda also plays a part in helping him show Dorothy that he will do her bidding to make her happy and show his love. This was dark and disturbing.
The second story follows the Scarecrow's short reign as King of Oz. He is quickly usurped by a girl named Ginger and her girl army. Ginger doesn't believe he should be king, and attacks the palace. The Scarecrow and the Lion escape and team up with the beasts and the monkeys, but they prove match for Ginger and her army. Enter Glinda, again with a sinister plot, to help Scare win the day. She suggests placing Ozma on the throne, as she is the true ruler of Oz anyway. The people of Oz seem pretty happy with Ozma, however Ozma is not very happy about taking orders and suggestions from Glinda and the Scarecrow all the time. She's the queen afterall, she shouldn't be taking orders from anyone. Clearly this doesn't make Glinda or the Scarecrow happy as they felt they could rule from behind the scenes. This story was very insightful, and while it didn't really add much to what I already knew, it helped fill in some gaps.
The final story is about the no longer cowardly Lion. This one was my favorite of the 6 short stories. I also felt like this one filled in the most gaps for me other than story 1, which is about Dorothy and actually takes place after story 6. The Lion, who is no longer scare of anything these days, and much more lion-like is finding himself pretty bored as king of the beasts. Other than taking pleasure in eating, there isn't much more for him to do. Glinda appears and suggests he go to the city and spend some time with Ozma, but also take on a quest to find a ruby necklace as an undercover quest. The Lion jumps at the opportunity to have something to do and goes. Glinda has told him to be suspicious of Ozma, but he finds himself becoming friends with the girl. Ozma has a quest of her own and invites him along with her to the kingdom of Ev, where the Gnome King resides. This part is very interesting and we learn alot about Ozma that we haven't seen before and get quite a bit of information about the Gnome King and Ev. Upon their return from Ev, Ozma must face Glinda as she knows she is up to no good and has been for some time. Sinister forces are at play and the Lion has to choose a side.
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