“The Land of Oz” – A Review of the Entire Series

The Adventures of Toa Payah, the second book of the Toa Payah Tarot deck, sees Toto returned to the scene of his first mishap, where he attempts to right a wronged relationship. Following a shoot out with bounty hunters, the island of To Bay appears to be in danger of being destroyed once again. It’s then that Weezer arrives to help…

This second installment of the Tobay series finds Toto travelling back to Egypt – where he’s torn between helping the Egyptians to put an end to the power of the Tin Man and leaving to do his own thing. Meanwhile, Dorothy is taken on a dangerous journey to Africa to recover from her wounds. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure makes contact with her and offers to help her. Is this another of Oz’s escape ideas (as in the earlier book) or is there a greater meaning here?

In the second book, we find that Toto has a new partner in mind, a young boy called Nodar. After an initial mis-step (when he blows into Nodar’s ear), Toto and Nodar become fast friends. And when Toto is captured by the wicked Tin Man, he escapes from his clutches only to find himself chained to a tree (and forced to eat his own teeth). Heading further south, Toto meets up with Dorothy, who offers to help him get back to Oz, but first he must cross the Sahara desert. Will they make it to the next stage of the story or was this just a minor diversion to whet the reader’s appetite for more of the outrageous adventures of Dorothy, Glenda, Toto and the Land of Oz?

There are two main characters in this book, and they are both shown to be quite ordinary people. Dorothy is a poor girl who lives on a very tiny farm, and she is shown to be very hard working. Nodar is a young orphan who lives with a family in the Oz woods. We also see that although Toto has magical powers, he is neither super nor intelligent like most humans. He is, however, a very loyal and caring friend.

I enjoyed this book, although it took me a while to get past the fact that Toto was simply an ordinary man in Oz. This is a shame because the world of Oz does not have many ordinary people. Most of the people in this book who were very good at what they do had just plain normal careers. Still, this is not a disadvantage since the book is fun and it kept me reading. I would recommend “The Land of Oz” to people who enjoy fantasy books and those who enjoy the great Jack Malley.

The Land of Oz comes to life on the big screen with the brilliant performances by Robin Williams and John Cleese. Williams plays Toto, who is played by Cleese, and he brings a wonderful vitality and lovable personality to the role. The same can be said for the other characters as well. They are all very unique and you will laugh when you read about them. “The Land of Oz” is a terrific film (although some of the fighting may take a little too long) and it would be a good idea to see the whole series on the big screen if you have not yet.