A Barnstormer in Oz

by Philip José Farmer

When a green cloud forces the son of Dorothy to land his airplane in a strange field, he finds himself trapped in the land of Oz

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Novels

294 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1982

About the author

Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, but spent much of his life in Peoria, Illinois.

Farmer is best known for his Riverworld series and the earlier World of Tiers series. He is noted for his use of sexual and religious themes in his work, his fascination for and reworking of the lore of legendary pulp heroes, and occasional tongue-in-cheek pseudonymous works written as if by fictional characters.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

People who are fans of the Oz series will very probably be disappointed. Farmer fans should be satisfied, as I was. Hank Stover, daring barnstorming pilot, disappears in a green cloud over Kansas-and arrives in Oz .There, he gets involved in a war -it seems to be the usual Farmer situation... I enjoyed PJF's playing around with the Oz mythology.

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the world of Oz with real Oz with all missing persons that never made the move .I love 1930s musical but it is ghastly to the book as Dorothy was only little girl & not 26y Julie Garland made to be 14 which half again as old as Dorothy.
This now her son who gets all his wishes rolled into one when his rust bucket plane ends up in Oz .This 2nd read I as read this back in 1985.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Barnstormer in Oz seems to me to be an exercise in explaining the wonders of Oz in scientific terms. Or, at least as close to scientific as you can get in a world of magical events that defy explanation. Farmer has done an excellent job of that. His narrative also includes action sequences which serve to enliven the tale and create suspense, so that it’s not just one long treatise. The dual purpose of the text therefore feels a little disjointed, as though explanations must be interrupted for something interesting to happen, and vice versa. I enjoyed Farmer’s perspective, but was not much caught up in the action. The subplot of what would happen if Americans invaded Oz was much more fascinating to me than the eventual defeat of the evil Erakna. Both sets of invaders were dispatched without much in the way of fanfare, and the final battle between Glinda and Erakna was rather confusing to read. I found I was spending more time trying to picture what Farmer was describing, than feeling the suspense and excitement of the altercation. This is an interesting book, but recommended only for hardcore fans of the Land of Oz.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess it's tempting to reconcile and connect your disparate hobbies and interests. If you like heavy metal music and watching wrestling, then you're predisposed to enjoy a band like Fozzy (with Chris Jericho).

And Philip Jose Farmer loved science fiction and Oz books, but they were only very tenuously linked, if at all. Hence this project: a revision of the Oz universe to make it more "science fictiony".

Unfortunately it also sucked any life out of the narrative. This book is made uneven because it has far too many dull and tedious digressions about what Baum "got wrong".

That's right, Baum was merely writing what was reported to him by Dorothy, and he got many things wrong. In fact, only the first book was based on Dorothy's experience, and the remaining sequels were invented by Baum's imagination.

Besides being a lousy way to keep the reader enthralled (this book is dull, dull, dull), it also speaks volumes about the original concept of modernizing Oz to reconcile it with science fiction: Farmer only bothered with the first book.

Why not limit himself to modernizing perhaps only the first chapter, toss out the rest, and make it easier to write a gripping adventure story?

Farmer's project (I am reluctant to call it a novel) is jumpy and uneven, and unsatisfying on multiple levels. The best parts of this book occur when Farmer allows the action to speak for itself.

[Christopher Schmehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I missed this book when it came out, and I've been trying to find a copy since 1986. Now I have read it. It was totally worth the wait! Fantastic read!
It's an alternative Oz book that combines science fiction and fantasy to tell the story of Dorothy's son Hank Stover. Philip Jose Farmer tells an incredible tale about the "real" Oz that inspired Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He bases his story solely on that first book and dismisses the rest of the Oz books as made-up tales with one or two true things that didn't fit into the first book.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very strange book; it tries to develop a coherent science fiction basis for the magic in "The Wizard of Oz", but along the way becomes tedious and just strange. Oz fans may well be disappointed; Oz completists may find it intriguing though defiantly non-canon.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an odd little sci-fi book I picked up on a whim at the local used bookstore. I'm a fan of Baum's the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and love the idea of other authors taking adventures there, especially since the world is now part of the public domain and a symbol of a previous generation. However, this exploration was uneven and strangely dark in tone.

The main character is Hank, the adult son of Dorothy who seems to have done well for herself after returning to America from Oz and offering her story to writer L. Frank Baum. Hank, a pilot, has lucked into flying though a breach into Oz himself and he manages to meet all of the main characters of the original children's story. But this time the lands around Oz are preparing for war with Glinda the Good taking on a new witchy foe.

Farmer's interpretation contains a great bit of malice, violence and political intrigue. Also, the author tries hard to make some sort of scientific sense of the land of Oz through Hank. Except for Glinda the Good, Hank is constantly annoyed by the way things are in Oz rather than being filled with the wonder of such a strange world. He travels and meets many characters, but they are treated as scientific curiosities rather than important players in a journey or a war drama. And yet he never questions the bizarre luck that brings him there.

There are interesting ideas brought up about how Oz relates to our own world and what would happen if those worlds collided. And it takes a more adult view of what Oz would be like. But there is little plot and next to no character development. I found myself pushing to get through it.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, there is sex in Oz. There is also death.

Philip Jose Farmer's take on the Oz tales is a decidedly adult interpretation yet it is his attempt to give a natural explanation to the oddities of Ozland that makes A Barnstormer in Oz so interesting. In this tale, that is more science-fiction than fantasy, the son of Dorothy enters Oz through a green fog while flying his bi-plane, What entails is a story of warfare and intrigue between the witches of the north and south and a threatening invasion by the United States. This seems a lot more violent and thought-provoking than the original Oz stories by Baum but I never was a fan of the original books by Baum even in my youth. But I enjoyed this, not least because Philip Jose Farmer's immense talent in making the illogical logical is rampant in these pages.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dorothy's adult son helps the Good Witch of the North stave off an invasion of Oz by the American military.

Meh.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly out of print, a brilliant alternative take on the Oz myth. Highly enjoyable for Oz-heads.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on Baum's OZ books. Purists beware, though, this novel is from the POV of Dorothy's son, who states that Baum interviewed his mother after her return but frequently changed things since he ended up writing a children's book. Although there are flying monkeys, witches, talking scarecrows, intelligent animals, and the like, Farmer writes this as a science fiction interpretation of the Land of Oz, taking a stab at explaining even the weirdest things "scientifically." Also, this is a more violent and morally ambiguous story than the original books, including the slaughter of a US Expeditionary Force by Quadlings and Glida the Good assassinating President Harding. I would in no way describe this book as "whimsical." 3 stars.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Takes the strange tack of explaining the wonders of Oz with earth science. It's hard to imagine someone making a book about war in Oz boring, but Farmer has done it here. It's a snooze of a 270 page build up to a fairly exciting 15 page battle between witches. I would avoid this, were I you.

[Jameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six stars! (The 6th star operates on the lower Ozian plane so you can only see it when the veil between worlds is lifted.)

Aside from having read at least The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and having some passing familiarity with 1920s America and knowing what a barnstormer is, I think it would probably be best to go into this one blind. Because it’s incredibly fun, and every reader should make his own discoveries.

Of all the non-Baum/adult-oriented stuff I’ve read, Farmer nails the balance between:

1) “revealing” what really happened to Dorothy in Oz and afterward

2) explaining Oz and magic and speculating on its origins, mixing fantasy and SF

3) giving us something completely new and different in story and character

4) and telling a story of fairyland for adults with sex and violence without it feeling cheap or gimmicky.

Barnstormer in Oz had been on my radar for a long time but I could never find it for a good price—though I hadn’t really looked that hard. And now that I have read it, price would have been no object. A hundred years ago I couldn’t find it on Amazon and just added it to my list. Well, occasionally when I come down with my intermittent Ozmania I like to try something new so I thought I’d finally give this one a shot. First I found a digital copy but after a few pages I was like “holy hell, I need this paperback.” It was hard waiting for it to be delivered, actually—I can’t remember the last time I got so hooked on a book so fast. I never wanted it to end. I loved all of Farmer’s speculations and explanations, especially the one that explains the America-ness of Oz.

Alas, this journey to Oz did end and as far as I can see Farmer never returned (though he did write two or three short essays and stories.) What a bummer because this was truly fantastic in every sense of the word and I’d love to have seen what he’d done with Hank and Lamblo and Glinda and Jenny and Sharts and all the rest. I’d loved to have seen more of Erakna the Uneatable and learned more about the Long-Gone Ones (very Lovecraftian, that.)

I’m surprised the rating on GR isn’t higher, though I suppose some readers don’t like the PG-13 aspects or the science fiction stuff. Farmer does offer some SF rationalizations to the Fantasy elements, sure, but after all the subtitle is A Rationalization and Extrapolation of the Split-Level Continuum.

I believe it was Papa Smurf who said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” and Farmer simply has fun with that idea. Anyway, I found the rationalizations and extrapolations creative and interesting and thoughtful.

I’m hoping the cut chapter about Hank finding Oz the Great and Powerful himself is findable. (I love how Farmer cut a scene out for length but then in his notes he goes on for two pages about language trivia.) In the very least, I hope there’s a bunch of Barnstormer fan art out there. Really, this would make an awesome comic or cartoon or anime or film. Maybe someday we’ll get an extended edition with all the cut material and some Ozian illustrations….?!

Not since I was a wee lad have I had this happy-sad, bittersweet, wistful feeling after finishing a book. Happy to have shared the adventure; sad there will never be another. Thank God I have a shitty memory because in a few short years this will all feel new to me!

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of a weird book, certainly not a traditional Oz work, but rather an attempt to explain the Land of Oz through the means of science fiction. Of course, L. Frank Baum himself would often work in sort-of-scientific explanations for the magical elements in his books, but he still left a lot of whimsy, while Farmer's take is rather duller. The basic idea is that Dorothy did indeed visit Oz and tell Baum about it, but while he kept the main plot intact, he also simplified things to make it work as a children's story. For instance, rather than everyone in Oz speaking English, Dorothy had to take some time to learn the native language, which is derived from old Gothic. The other Oz books are entirely Baum's invention, although he used some names and concepts Dorothy had told him about. This tale starts with Dorothy's son, Hank Stover, flying into Oz through a green cloud in his biplane, and getting caught up aiding Glinda in a two-front war against a Gillikin witch named Erakna and other Americans who have found the way there in a secret army experiment and want to exploit it. The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman show up, and Hank supposes that they were brought to life by energy beings called firefoxes. One of them ends up possessing his plane, which he calls Jenny because it's a Curtiss JN-4H. Hank insists on referring to the Scarecrow as "it," but refers to Jenny with female pronouns, which hardly seems fair. I have to say that I found the style a bit dry. Hank isn't all that interesting of a character, although he has his moments when he criticizes his own country, and it's hard to ignore his horny moments. Early on in the story, he thinks he's in love with Glinda because he sees her naked. That's kind of the tone of the whole thing, mostly just a lot of exposition until Farmer decides to throw in a "what the hell?" moment. And some of the rationalizations, while they work within the context of the book, are rather bland. For instance, the talking animals all speak like Victrola recordings, I guess because they don't have the right parts to make all the necessary sounds. On the other hand, Farmer does get into what a society where animals are on the same level as people might be like, which Baum never fully committed to. At one point, Hank teams up with two characters who don't have much to do with the story or the setting, a Very Rare Beast who's afraid of his own reflection and a parody of Doc Savage called Sharts the Shirtless. I haven't read any Doc Savage stories, so I probably missed most of the jokes there. And at the end, Glinda assassinates President Harding to stop the American invasion of Oz, another one of the those "what the hell?" moments. As I wrote before, this book was very controversial among Oz fans, with some hating the entire premise. Of course, Barnstormer's existence doesn't do away with the other Oz books, but I do get seeing Oz as kind of a sacred thing.

[mkfs · Rating 2 out of 5]

An idea, the science-fiction-ication of the setting of the Oz books, that should have been left on the whiteboard.

Philip Jose Farmer tries very hard to sell you on the idea, of course. There's even a collection of endnotes (well, *points* really, as they are not referenced in the text) anticipating the sort of nitpicking criticism you would now find on a Reddit threat.

The problem is that it's just not that interesting an idea, and there is very little in the way of story or character development to make up for it.

Granted, there are a few bright moments, such as the escapades of the hero and a couple of outlaws when they run out of fuel and are forced to land in the mountains, but for the most part it's just made-up facts proving that Baum's made-up facts were wrong, or conjecture about one or both set of made-up facts in an attempt to find a scientific explanation.

There's so much of this, coupled with statements like "so that explains why miracles can happen" or "so astrology isn't total hokum", that it becomes clear that author is an I Want To Believe type trying to convince himself and the world that a place like Oz is possible.

[Corvid · Rating 3 out of 5]

You've heard of "the author's barely disguised fetish" (and this includes bits of that) but this is "the author's deep and abiding need to correct worldbuilding errors." I'm not calling it a bad thing, but good lord does this man love worldbuilding. I wouldn't say that the storyline suffers for it, but the plot feels secondary to the construction of the alternate world, and I really wish that he'd just kept going with the history, geography, and philosophy set out here instead of focusing on the plot even as much as he did.

This is also another lovely example of things that fanfic authors can aspire to. You too may one day professionally publish fanfiction of someone else's work in a way that gets called "revision to the point of debasement!"

[Pananda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dorothy's grown son Hank goes to Oz and has sex with characters from my innocent childhood, including a tiny fairy-sized Glinda the Good. Eww. I felt so crushed and betrayed that I have tried to block this book from my mind. Please do not give this book to anyone who thoroughly enjoyed the innocence of Oz.

[Sunday Hollis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any interesting adult story of Oz. Dorothy Gale's son, ex WWI flyer, now barnstormer finds himself in the story land of Oz, determined to defend this confusing land from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Interesting story, I just couldn't relate to Hank enough to really enjoy this. But it is well developed, at times a bit pedantic concerning all his theories about various Oz curiousities.

[Carolyn Tuttle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. It was written well, but the story dragged. We didn't learn much about the protagonist, Hank, but he constantly reminded the reader of how much he wanted to boink Glenda.

This was one of those books where I wanted to know the ending, but not have to read to get to it. Maybe I don't jive with the author's writing style?

[Fozzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way Farmer creates his own very Farmeresque lore for the world of Oz. He pays so much attention to detail without getting bogged down by it. The blending of original Oz canon, new lore and the historical context of 1920s US is seamless and artful. I thoroughly enjoyed every word.

[Tammy Buchli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when it first came out and have reread it several times thereafter. I was always so sorry Farmer never wrote a sequel.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was in the third grade I was nearly held back a year. Although I had tested into the advanced track, I wasn't a very motivated student. My third grade teacher gave my parents an ultimatum. I had to learn my multiplication tables and I had to improve my reading. Multiplication was tedious but doable; it was just memorization.

Reading though, that sounded like torture. But being held back a year sounded even worse. So I agreed to read. I can remember sitting on my brother's floor and reading him all of the Golden Books on his shelf (probably a hundred of them). I can remember digging out my old copy The Hobbit (with the awesome illustrations from the 1977 animated film) and reading it for myself. Before my mother had always read it to me.

My mother of course got books for me to read too, based on suggestions from the teacher. I started to notice something about reading. The assigned stuff was frustrating and and the stuff I read for fun, was well fun. So for every assigned book I read, I also read something I wanted to.

Still feeling unsure of reading, I stuck with stories I knew. I went with books where I had seen the movie: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The Baum books were something else. They sparked something in me I didn't know was possible. Each book made me want more. I loved the stories. I loved the illustrations. I had a total crush on Ozma (I still sort of do).

Along the way I began to realized I liked fantasy and science fiction. Also along the way I noticed in the adult section of science fiction, some covers sporting characters I knew like Alice. These characters were on books by Philip José Farmer.

The first book of Farmer's that I ever tried was A Barnstormer in Oz. I had run out of Oz books and I knew about barnstorming from the stories my grandmother had told of her old barnstorming friend. So over the summer before 4th grade (yes, I passed!) I made my first attempt at A Barnstormer in Oz.

In the twenty-seven years since first reading it (and probably not understanding much beyond Dorothy's son flying an airplane through a green cloud to Oz and meeting Glinda) I forgot the plot and decided to re-read it last year when Farmer passed away at age 91. All the time I read the book I had nagging feelings of deja vu as bits and pieces flashed into my memory.

This time around I couldn't help but compare Farmer's book to two other Oz inspired stories: Tin Man (a three part miniseries) and Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Farmer's version of Oz feels more closely tied to the Baum books than Maguire's version. In fact Farmer through Hank Stover's observations while in Oz makes it clear what details from Oz he is working from and which ones he has tossed aside.

If you've read the Oz series you know the series changed over time. As Dorothy's popularity with fans increased Baum gave her a permanent home in Oz (along with her aunt, uncle and of course Toto) and she was elevated to being a "Princess of Oz." Baum also provided more and more fan service, working in suggestions from the fan mail he received. The final Oz books weren't even written by Baum but by then Oz was basically an early 20th century franchise. So Farmer in his book drew a line in the sand with the first book on one side and all of the others except for a few tidbits on the other.

A Barnstormer in Oz though isn't just Farmer having a sentimental romp through Baum's creation. Farmer takes the time to think about how Oz and the other kingdoms work, what their language might be like and the ethical issues of inanimate objects gaining sentiency.

There is also a discussion of war and weaponry. First there is a war between the witches of the south and north. This though is only a precursor to a larger planned invasion from Earth. Here is where the book lost me, and I suppose it did the last time as well. The method of making the invasion possible and motivation behind the invasion seemed forced to me. It felt like filler when Farmer ran out of ideas for his social discourse.

[B. Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great follow up to the Wicked series! Taking place about 30 years after the events of the Wizard of Oz, PJ Farmer sends Dorothy's son into Oz to discover the "truths" of this alternate plane of existence. Leave it to Farmer to pick apart the holes in the Oz myth- how did the scarecrow grow sentient? The tin man's origin doesn't hold water! Only Farmer could take these stories for kids, designed with no thought to logic, and apply logical explanations to them.
It was very interesting to note the similarities and differences to Maguire's Oz revisions. There are some definate contridictions and reasonable ommissions, but I'll be generous and say that they are very similar in their overall approach of presenting a grown-up "real" Oz. War, religion and sexual tension figure prominantly in both re-tellings.
Do I recommend this book to everyone? No. Although it is an enjoyable and action filled story, I can only recommend it to hardcore Oz (and maybe Wicked) fans, and those who enjoy PJ Farmer's groundbreaking work in cross-continuity fiction.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, but not entirely successful attempt to create a version of Oz where the 'rules' (talking animals, magic etc) would make sense.
Farmer does some clever things, like mixing the real history of the USA at the time the Oz books were published, and creates some interesting versions of the Oz characters we know, but like Tolkien, he gets a bit bogged down in explaining the language and historical roots of the fantasy characters.
He also tries so hard to set up rules for Oz that he sucks out a lot of the fun.

It would have been interesting to see him do a sequel, where he'd have set everything up and could just use his version of Oz to tell a fantasy adventure story.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally silly, but I read it as a teen and loved it. I had really enjoyed some of the other Oz books. As i got older I wanted to hold on to fantasy but wanted something more gritty. Philip Jose Farmer gave me that in this book. It was evident that Farmer loved the Oz universe. He treated Oz seriously. I am not enough of an Oz fan to know if or how this violates Oz continuity, but if you want a different slant on Oz, Farmer delivers.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely on the high end of my three-star rating. Farmer has lots of fun ideas, though his execution of these ideas isn't on the same level. Still, it's a fun read, and one I'll read again.

[Durval Menezes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, with a very imaginative, adult take on the original Wizard of Oz stories. The characters and the story is memorable, I still remember it vividly even after ~17 years from the time I read it.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oz for adults. SERIOUSLY for adults-Farmer's Barnstormer sleeps his way across Oz, more or less! Still a good read though, even if Baum would never have approved it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story gives one an adult look at OZ and Glinda. Definitely not for young children.

[Genna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a clever re-imagining of the Oz mythos from the point of view of Dorothy's grown son. Gives it a science fictiony slant, which is always fun.