Sunday, August 06, 2017

Sky Pyrates Over Oz

Sky Pyrates Over Oz by Sherwood Smith

Sky Pyrates Over Oz (2013) is the third in a trilogy of novels including The Emerald Wand of Oz (2005) and Trouble Under Oz (2006) that are "founded on and continuing the famous Oz stories by L. Frank Baum." This three book series was originally arranged by Byron Preiss with HarperCollins and the L. Frank Baum Family Trust. While the first two books were published as planned by HarperCollins and illustrated by William Stout, this third book is published by Pumpernickel Pickle and illustrated by Kim McFarland after a hiatus of 7 years. It is good to finally see Smith's trilogy completed and in print.

These three books tell of the adventures in Oz of Dori and Em, two sisters who believe themselves to be great-nieces to Dorothy Gale of the original L. Frank Baum Oz series. In Sky Pyrates Over Oz Dori and Em are magically transported with their father to a sky island by two mischievous princesses. L. Frank Baum first wrote about the floating islands in the sky in his 1912 book Sky Island. Sherwood Smith builds on this by creating a world of sky islands populated, like Oz, with magical and unusual characters like the six Snub-Nosed Princesses, Lanendir the Librarian, tiny butterfly people called Neeper-Geeps, the Nightmare Sorcerer, and, of course, the Sky Pyrates. Into this aerial world land Dori and Em and their dad who is promptly turned into a dog by a magic spell. An adventure in the sky filled with excitement and many new and old Oz friends that completes the the series and adds a new chapter to the history of Oz that will be a great treat for long-time fans of Oz.

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