Bloodstained Oz
Growing up, I must have been a glutton for punishment, because I watched THE WIZARD OF OZ every year it came on TV, even though it traumatized me. From those damned flying monkeys to the withering legs under the house to that shrill melting witch, that movie scared the crap out of me.
BLOODSTAINED OZ, a hardback novella by Christopher Golden and James A. Moore, recognizes the inherent horror of the film – as well as the subversive L. Frank Baum source material – and plays it to the hilt. The authors take the general concept behind OZ, borrow some character archetypes, and turn it all on its chopped-off head.
Just like the movie, it’s set in 1930s Kansas, but don’t go looking for Dorothy or Toto. Instead, there’s Gayle, a poor farm girl whose yard is rained with porcelain dolls after a ferocious twister sweeps through, narrowly missing her own home and impaling a scarecrow with a chunk of wood. To her horror, the scarecrow bleeds and cries, and the dolls come to life.
Then there’s Hank, a convict whose chain gang is attacked by vampiric monkeys in flight. These winged creatures also attack new mom Elisa, her elixir-hawking hubby and their infant son.
Not all these characters will survive for the second half, but those who do converge for an exodus from all the bloodletting madness. Even long after the tornado has passed, strange things keep happening, like the appearance of a talking lion and a robotic tin man with a demon for its innards.
At just under 200 pages, BLOODSTAINED OZ is an epic tale of horror told on an economic scale, and frankly, that’s just the right amount. At novel-length, this ingenious concept would wear out its welcome; as it is, it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do and bows out when it should, ending on a chilling line.
Golden and Moore’s scenarios are horrific in their own right, but made even more gruesome by the occasional full-page illustrations provided by artist Glenn Chadbourne. This book was put out in a limited edition by the small-press Earthling Publications, so it’s hard to find and a little pricey, but also worth the search and every pretty penny paid, not to mention exposure to a wider audience. –Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• FOUR DARK NIGHTS by Bentley Little, Douglas Clegg, Christopher Golden and Tom Piccirilli
• THE MYTH HUNTERS: BOOK ONE OF THE VEIL by Christopher Golden
• THE PACK: SERENITY FALLS, BOOK II by James A. Moore
• WRIT IN BLOOD: SERENITY FALLS, BOOK I by James A. Moore
This looks like must-read for me! Thanks for calling it to my attention!
I think if you liked this book you should buy and a review a copy of Lost In Oz by Joshua Patrick Dudley. It’s not nearly as gross as this book, not gross at all in fact, but the storyline is driven much better and the characters actually have something to do.
Boo to this book, hoorah for Lost In Oz!!
—-Eric—–
Actually, judging from this picture of the author…
http://www.geocities.com/lostinozbook/lulupic.jpg
…that book’s aiming for an entirely different target market. And I think I’d hate it.
that’s because you didn’t read it. How the author looks in a photo should hold no judgement on whether or not the book is good. It’s not nearly as lame as the other one and has an actual story line, with twist and turns and is not aimed for a childrens audience. i’ve seen about 100 different press photos of the author and all have some weird ozzy theme to them, all much more mature looking than this.
I based my decision on more than just the photo, believe me. But I still contend that the two books are for entirely different audiences. I never said it was aimed for children.
This is a very strange comments thread.
Eric, based on the website, I would wager good money that you do NOT want Rod to review LOST IN OZ.
I would LOVE to read his review of it, though!
[...] In Cemetery Dance’s THE SECRETARY OF DREAMS: VOLUME ONE, illustrator Glenn Chadbourne (BLOODSTAINED OZ) supplements King’s chilling text with gruesomely detailed, black-and-white ink drawings. [...]