by Rae Carson
First published 2013
The Wizard sets foot in Oz with calculated plans to bend this strange new world to his will. He surveys the Emerald City and its surroundings, plotting how to establish his dominance over the magical realm. The familiar characters Dorothy once encountered now face a manipulator who understands that true power comes from controlling the game itself. The Wizard works methodically to arrange circumstances in his favor, but Oz proves more complex than any ordinary land he might have conquered before. Carson and Finlay place readers inside a world where the beloved yellow brick road leads to darker possibilities, and where the man behind the curtain refuses to remain hidden. This story transforms Baum's whimsical creation into something more sinister, exploring what happens when someone arrives in a magical place not seeking help or friendship, but control.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, fantasy, alternate-history
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Emerald City, Oz
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
29 pages · Kindle Edition · 47North