Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond

Written by John Joseph Adams (Editor), Douglas Cohen (Editor) and Galen Dara

Narrated by Nick Podehl and Tanya Eby

FOREWORD BY GREGORY MAGUIRE, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WICKED.

When L. Frank Baum introduced Dorothy and friends to the American public in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became an instant, bestselling hit. Today the whimsical tale remains a cultural phenomenon that continues to spawn wildly popular books, movies, and musicals. Now, editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen have brought together leading fantasy writers such as Orson Scott Card and Seanan McGuire to create the ultimate anthology for Oz fans—and, really, any reader with an appetite for richly imagined worlds. Stories include:

• Frank Baum’s son has the real experiences that his father later fictionalized in Orson Scott Card’s “Off to See the Emperor.”
• Seanan McGuire’s “Emeralds to Emeralds, Dust to Dust” finds Dorothy grown up, bitter, and still living in Oz. And she has a murder to solve—assuming Ozma will stop interfering with her life long enough to let her do her job.
• In “Blown Away,” Jane Yolen asks: What if Toto was dead and stuffed, Ozma was a circus freak, and everything you thought you knew as Oz was really right here in Kansas?
• “The Cobbler of Oz” by Jonathan Maberry explores a Winged Monkey with wings too small to let her fly. Her only chance to change that rests with the Silver Slippers.
• In Tad Williams’s futuristic “The Boy Detective of Oz,” Orlando investigates the corrupt Oz simulation of the Otherland network.
• And more…

Some stories are dystopian…Some are dreamlike…All are undeniably Oz.

Includes stories by these authors: Dale Bailey, Orson Scott Card, Rae Carson, David Farland, C.C. Finlay, Jeffrey Ford, Theodora Goss, Simon R. Green, Kat Howard, Ken Liu, Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, Rachel Swirsky, Robin Wasserman, Tad Williams, Jane Yolen

A note on suggested reading age: L. Frank Baum’s original Oz books were works of children’s fiction—albeit ones that have been known and loved by “children of all ages” throughout their existence. Though many of the stories contained in this anthology are also suitable for the aforementioned children of all ages, Oz Reimagined is intended for ages 13 and up, and as such, some of the stories deal with mature themes, so parental guidance is suggested.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Feb 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781469291222

John Joseph Adams (Editor)

Editor John Joseph Adams (www.johnjosephadams.com) - called "the reigning king of the anthology world" by Barnes & Noble.com - is the bestselling editor of many anthologies such as Epic: Legends of Fantasy, Wastelands, The Living Dead, By Blood We Live, Oz Reimagined, Federations, and The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He the editor of Fantasy Magazine and Lightspeed Magazine, which published two Nebula Award finalists and a Hugo Award finalist in its first year. John co-hosts Wired.com's The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast.

Reviews for Oz Reimagined

[john devine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow.. very entertaining would like to hear more from this genre

[nelispelusa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was cute! I fell in love with Sawyer and Clover. Sawyer needed a buffer to save him from his matchmaking mama. So his crazy brother, sends an add for someone, to come to his rescue. Enter Clover, she needs a temporary position so that she can save money to go to Australia. Sawyer is about to send all the buffers in his office away, since he thinks it ridiculous and that he does not need one, but when his mother enters with two candidates, Clover gets up and sends his mother away. Sawyer is shocked and hires her on the spot. The banter between these two was funny, and their chemistry was awesome. Enjoy!

[muddyboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The immediate plot is the unsolved mystery of the death of a high school girl who is found dead in a locked closet. Decades have passed and Mona (central character) takes it upon herself to see that justice is done. Other subplots include her getting in touch with her Native American roots by spending the Summer with her grandfather, expressing her love for music by singing and playing her guitar and two boys who are competing for her affections. I would assume the book is geared toward young adults but my copy doesn't indicate that. A promising start to a new trilogy.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The book begins with a shot that misses the target and plummets into a story of similes. The comparison starts as entertaining and quickly fall into a haze deeper than noire fiction. I enjoyed, for a while, the resemblance to the writing of Raymond Chandler, but the English setting hindered this reproduction. Frank Bale, like a battered Don Quixote, goes in search of truth and justice, but instead finds walls and detours. Not every hero rides a magnificent stead and win every battle, but this antihero needs more character.

[bezoar44 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So in theory, asking a bunch of talented authors to take Frank Baum's wondrous world of Oz and write their own stories connected to it should yield a trove of good stories. Unfortunately, too many of the results in this collection fall into a couple categories: retellings that translate the main characters of the original Wizard of Oz into a new setting, but offer nothing new; or dystopian fantasies whose twist on the original is that the trademark characters are corrupt, selfish, and/or cynical. Both approaches are boring. That said, I did like Tad William's 'The Boy Detective of Oz' (which suffers from the inherent aesthetic problems of the Otherland universe, of which it is a part, but is a decent story on those terms); and Jane Yolen's 'Blown Away' (which reads like a cross between Baum and Flannery O'Connor). The only story to capture a bit of Baum's own magic is the last, Jonathan Maberry's 'The Cobbler of Oz'. I thought it by far the best in the collection; it echoes Baum's tone with perfect pitch, slides into the canon smoothly, and tells an original story that both invokes wonder and imparts a moral lesson with a wry edge, just as the original books do.

[annesteph · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book reminded me of the other book that Beverly and her husband wrote together. I believe the man in that book also worked in flying. The tone of both books is pleasant and has that healing aspect that all of Beverly's books impart. However, while I enjoyed the book, I didn't find the characters as absorbing as they are normally in her novels. Somehow they were a bit flat--they lacked something. I didn't feel, as I usually do, that I was in it with them, struggling alongside them through everything. It felt like the novel had no real center, but that it was split between Jack and Kelly. That said, I still enjoyed the story. I like the way she completes stories--in a way that gives satisfaction and hope. She reminds me very much of Janette Oke in this. Just as in life there are ups and downs and her characters weather everything, trudging through no matter what--running the race. I admire this and it gives the reader hope, peace, and encouragement.

[jsabrina-219220 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the Oz books when I was growing up, but it's been a long time since I'd sojourned there. I don't like Gregory McGuire's novels, but his insightful and passionate Introduction was like a tornado, bearing me back over the rainbow.

Overall, this anthology is delightful, and the most fascinating aspect is the kaleidoscope of Dorothys - although she and her famous companions are absent from the most beautiful and poignant story, The Cobbler of Oz.

I wish that there had been at least one story focusing on Ozma and casting new light on her - but perhaps that will come in a future volume.

[glennis.leblanc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had heard about this collection from a writer I like and I knew I was going to have to track down a copy and read it. The stories in here are really well crafted and for the most part they stand on their own since as far as I could tell only one writer worked the Oz setting into one of their story universes. The stories go for a wide range of emotions and at least one brought tears to my eye. If you are a fan of the stories then go and grab a copy of this book when it hits the shelves. There are a few nods to the movie in the collection but this is certainly for the fans of the books.

Digital review copy provided by NetGalley

[revslick_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Everything that Wicked could have been and yet so much more. If you've read the original Oz books then don't miss this collection of short, imaginative vignettes. If for nothing else, read it for Cobbler of Oz - Baum would have wept for joy and delight.

[srearley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was reading this when I dropped my iPad, so it took awhile to get back to it, after I replaced said iPad.

Anthologies are always such a mixed bag: there was some really good, some really strange, and some that I kind of wished I hadn't bothered. I like reading reimagined kinds of things, and if you are in to Oz at all, you'll want to check this one out.

[capiam1234 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The monkeys and the munchkins finally get their 30 seconds of fame

Such great fun to rediscover our favorite characters and the land they live in. Once again Oz is back in our lives like never before. Find out how the munchkins are an oppressed race, the wicked witch finally gets what she wanted, and yes this possibly could have been brought to us from those in the mental ward. Too much fun that you have to hope a second set may be possible in the future.

[smcamp1234 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The monkeys and the munchkins finally get their 30 seconds of fame

Such great fun to rediscover our favorite characters and the land they live in. Once again Oz is back in our lives like never before. Find out how the munchkins are an oppressed race, the wicked witch finally gets what she wanted, and yes this possibly could have been brought to us from those in the mental ward. Too much fun that you have to hope a second set may be possible in the future.

[silvernfire · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't usually have much patience with anthologies—I like to immerse myself in novel-length stories rather than the stop-and-go feeling of several short stories back-to-back. So I was surprised that I liked this anthology as much as I did. No, it wasn't perfect and I didn't care for some of the stories, but all of them were readable enough. Overall, the book was a welcome return to Oz.Favorite: "The Cobbler of Oz" by Jonathan MaberryLeast favorite: "A Meeting in Oz" by Jeffrey FordStory that will stick with me the longest: "One Flew Over the Rainbow" by Robin WassermanStory that left me wanting to read more set in its world: "Emeralds to Emeralds, Dust to Dust" by Seanan McGuire