Rinkitink in OZ

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Baum's best
Review: As much as L. Frank Baum loved Oz, it always frustrated him that none of his other books ever attained the popularity that his Oz books did. He therefore came up with a technique that allowed him to write other books but still give them the exposure that only his Oz books had. He would write the book he wanted to write, have the characters visit Oz at some point (usually at the end) and call it an Oz book. Rinkitink in Oz is a classic example of this. It is the story of a boy prince, a talking goat and the good king Rinkitink, a fat man who enjoys a good laugh and a good meal. Circumstances force them to work as a team when the island that the boy people lives on is raided and all of his people, including his parents, are taken as slaves.

The set-up is great. The plot believable and the action exciting. The only unfortunate element is that Baum felt he had to bring Oz into the story in order to sell copies of this book. It is apparent from reading it that he had conceived the story as a completely independent project, but threw a brief visit to Oz in at the end so that it could be mentioned in the title.

In fact, most of the action is already completed by the time Oz comes up. The islanders have been saved and returned home. The conquerers defeated. The only thing left to do is for the prince to rescue his parents, who had been placed in the custody of the Nome king. Both he and Rinkitink undergo a series of tests in the underground kingdom, which they pass successfully. At this point Baum could have (and probably wanted to) have them rescue the parents and go home heroes. End of story. Unfortunately, however, he needed to work Oz into the story, so after putting his heroes through all the trials and challenges, he deprives them of the ultimate victory. Instead, at the very last second, Dorothy and the Wizard stroll into the cavern and demand that the Nome king release the parents. The book would have been much better off if it were the the prince and King Rinkitink that, after enduring so much, secured their release. But then again, if that had happened, despite it being a much more fitting ending, "in Oz" could not have been added to the title. And in order to make the title complete, the group then goes back to the Emerald City for a banquet on their way home, which also adds nothing to the story.

In short, this is a very good book. It could have been a great book if Baum were allowed to write the story he wanted to write, but demands of the publishing company required that this become an Oz book. It is still a book worth reading, but at the end you are likely to become disappointed either because Oz was brought into the story when there was no need for it, or because this promises to be an Oz book, but there is not enough Oz for your tastes...

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Baum's best
Review: As much as L. Frank Baum loved Oz, it always frustrated him that none of his other books ever attained the popularity that his Oz books did. He therefore came up with a technique that allowed him to write other books but still give them the exposure that only his Oz books had. He would write the book he wanted to write, have the characters visit Oz at some point (usually at the end) and call it an Oz book. Rinkitink in Oz is a classic example of this. It is the story of a boy prince, a talking goat and the good king Rinkitink, a fat man who enjoys a good laugh and a good meal. Circumstances force them to work as a team when the island that the boy people lives on is raided and all of his people, including his parents, are taken as slaves.

The set-up is great. The plot believable and the action exciting. The only unfortunate element is that Baum felt he had to bring Oz into the story in order to sell copies of this book. It is apparent from reading it that he had conceived the story as a completely independent project, but threw a brief visit to Oz in at the end so that it could be mentioned in the title.

In fact, most of the action is already completed by the time Oz comes up. The islanders have been saved and returned home. The conquerers defeated. The only thing left to do is for the prince to rescue his parents, who had been placed in the custody of the Nome king. Both he and Rinkitink undergo a series of tests in the underground kingdom, which they pass successfully. At this point Baum could have (and probably wanted to) have them rescue the parents and go home heroes. End of story. Unfortunately, however, he needed to work Oz into the story, so after putting his heroes through all the trials and challenges, he deprives them of the ultimate victory. Instead, at the very last second, Dorothy and the Wizard stroll into the cavern and demand that the Nome king release the parents. The book would have been much better off if it were the the prince and King Rinkitink that, after enduring so much, secured their release. But then again, if that had happened, despite it being a much more fitting ending, "in Oz" could not have been added to the title. And in order to make the title complete, the group then goes back to the Emerald City for a banquet on their way home, which also adds nothing to the story.

In short, this is a very good book. It could have been a great book if Baum were allowed to write the story he wanted to write, but demands of the publishing company required that this become an Oz book. It is still a book worth reading, but at the end you are likely to become disappointed either because Oz was brought into the story when there was no need for it, or because this promises to be an Oz book, but there is not enough Oz for your tastes...

Rating:
Summary: An exciting adventure with great characters
Review: Books of Wonder has reprinted the original 1916 edition of Rinkitink in Oz with color dust jacket and cover. This is a truly beautiful book with 12 color plates and nearly 100 black-and-white drawings by John R. Neill, the famous illustrator of almost all the Oz books.

Rinkitink is the fat, lazy, and irresponsible king of the small kingdom of Rinkitink which lies on the shore of Baum's imaginary Nonestic Ocean. He is too lazy to walk any great distance and keeps a surly saddled goat named Bilbil near him always to provide him with transportation. His redeeming qualities are his jovial nature, his great love of life, and his ability to burst into spontaneous laughter or song. The story of the book mainly takes place on islands in the Nonestic Ocean and begins when Rinkitink, tired of the responsibilities of ruling, sneaks away without telling anyone where he is going. He visits Pingaree where Prince Inga is a quiet boy who spends much of his time reading books in a tree.

Pingaree is a rich kingdom and is attacked by marauders soon after Rinkitink arrives. They loot and sack the island taking all the islanders back to their own islands of Regos and Coregos as slaves. Prince Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil are overlooked and left stranded on Pingaree. How can a lazy overweight king, a shy boy, and a surly goat rescue the Pingareeans? This is the drama of Rinkitink in Oz.

The characters are among the best developed in any of Baum's work. The plot is tight and exciting. Danger and force are confronted with a charming grace that marks Baum's best works. Also, this is my favorite Oz book to read aloud. Rinkitink's joviality, laughter and songs are great for recitation.

The title of the book may be a bit misleading because Oz is not even mentioned until the last five chapters of this 24 chapter book. According to the Afterword by Peter Glassman, Rinkitink was originally written in 1905, 11 years before it was published. Other commitments and illness prevented Baum from writing a book in 1916. So he took the unpublished Rinkitink and reworked the ending to bring Dorothy and the Wizard, as well as a brief visit to Oz, into the plot. Although this sudden shift is the weakest part of the book, loyal Oz fans will not mind once Ozma throws one of her famous banquets for Rinkitink and Inga. This is also a good book for readers not familiar with the Oz series since it stands on its own more than most of the other books in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Peculiar entry in the Oz canon
Review: Faithful followers of the Oz books will more than likely be disappointed in "Rinkitink in Oz," not because it's a bad read, but because Oz and its characters are almost entirely absent. The story actually concerns Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink of Gilgad on a quest to find and rescue Inga's parents, the King and Queen.

It is obvious reading this book that Baum was growing frustrated with how his Oz books had so greatly overshadowed his other works, and in fact, this would have been a better title without the Oz connection at the end. Instead of allowing his heroes to complete their adventure on their own, Baum turned to the already-tired deus ex machina of the Oz books; Glinda's magic book and Ozma's magic picture. Like in several books before, this allowed the more familiar Oz characters to take note when the heroes of the book were in danger, convieniently wait until 200 or so pages had passed, and then swoop in to save the day.

I bought this book out of a desire to read the entire Oz series, but frankly, I preferred the book before Oz became an issue. I sympathize with Baum's frustration. It's a shame that he felt the need to express it with a weak ending that hurt a good book.

Rating:
Summary: The 9th wonder of the book world
Review: Rinkitink in Oz is one of the most extraordinary books in all the world. In which King Rinkitink travels to his neighboring island. His goat can talk. And kind of is a smart aleic.While he visits the island. The king tells his son of the three magnifcent pearls. They are all different colors. Blue for strength, pink for Guarding & white for guidance. The white one will tell him everything he wants to know. The king shows him where he hides the pearls in case of an emergency. The other two islands neighboring them is there enemy. They are mighty, strong & courageous. Those islands capture all of them except Rinkitink, The prince & the goat. Next they go on a quest to free there people. It is quite an amazing story & i rate it 5 stars.