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Polychrome
When two old enemies of Oz returned, more powerful than before, only Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, escaped, to bring her father an enigmatic prophecy. The only hope for the heart of Faerie is a lone traveler from the mortal world, who must become a weapon such as Faerie has never seen -- and whose victory may cost more than defeat.
- GenresFantasy
ebook
First published March 20, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 8, 2015
Three words: buy this book. (I already have.)
Now, here’s why:
There are a bunch of new Oz-related novels out right now. But Polychrome is that rarity among homages to the classics, a novel that’s both wholly faithful to the spirit of its source material and striking in its willingness to look beyond that canon. It isn’t satire or allegory or re-imagining or reboot, nor is it even simply a sequel. It’s a straight-ahead, freshly conceived extrapolation from L. Frank Baum’s original series, possibly even a book Baum might have written were he reincarnated into the 21st century.
It’s a book both for devoted Oz enthusiasts and newcomers to Oz. Detail-minded fans will find Spoor’s scholarship impeccable, with characters and settings drawn from bone-deep knowledge of the source material. Yet even those who’ve never read the original series can easily follow alongside mortal hero Erik Medon, who finds himself unexpectedly drafted by the titular Rainbow’s Daughter to save not just Oz, but all of fairyland from a genuinely cataclysmic threat.
Spoor’s prose style is modern, displaying deft genre awareness and deviously clever plotting. In some respects, Polychrome is as much a descendant of The Princess Bride as it is of the Baum canon. But above all, it’s an utterly engaging read. It’s a very rare novel that can make me laugh aloud, shiver, and go all misty-eyed in the space of a few chapters, but Polychrome did and does. There is a new Royal Historian of Oz in town, and his name is Ryk E. Spoor.
Now, here’s why:
There are a bunch of new Oz-related novels out right now. But Polychrome is that rarity among homages to the classics, a novel that’s both wholly faithful to the spirit of its source material and striking in its willingness to look beyond that canon. It isn’t satire or allegory or re-imagining or reboot, nor is it even simply a sequel. It’s a straight-ahead, freshly conceived extrapolation from L. Frank Baum’s original series, possibly even a book Baum might have written were he reincarnated into the 21st century.
It’s a book both for devoted Oz enthusiasts and newcomers to Oz. Detail-minded fans will find Spoor’s scholarship impeccable, with characters and settings drawn from bone-deep knowledge of the source material. Yet even those who’ve never read the original series can easily follow alongside mortal hero Erik Medon, who finds himself unexpectedly drafted by the titular Rainbow’s Daughter to save not just Oz, but all of fairyland from a genuinely cataclysmic threat.
Spoor’s prose style is modern, displaying deft genre awareness and deviously clever plotting. In some respects, Polychrome is as much a descendant of The Princess Bride as it is of the Baum canon. But above all, it’s an utterly engaging read. It’s a very rare novel that can make me laugh aloud, shiver, and go all misty-eyed in the space of a few chapters, but Polychrome did and does. There is a new Royal Historian of Oz in town, and his name is Ryk E. Spoor.
April 14, 2015
Every once in a while, there will be an attempt at a more adult Oz story, addressing topics that L. Frank Baum and his successors would not have incorporated into children's books. While this is often done by totally transforming Oz into a totally different and often dark place with some similarities to the fairyland we know, Spoor manages to avoid this for the most part, instead remaining quite true to what Baum had written. Well, this isn't entirely true, as he claimed that Baum censored some things and changed others to make them sillier. For instance, Spoor changes King Rinkitink and Lord Pinkerbloo's names to the somewhat less goofy Rin Ki-Tin and Inkerbleu. And the Lavender Bear said specifically in The Lost Princess of Oz that the Little Pink Bear couldn't tell the future, while here he's used as an oracle. Still, we see the conclusions to a lot of loose ends from the series, like the fates of Ugu the Shoemaker, Mrs. Yoop, and Ruggedo. The plot involves Ugu and Mrs. Yoop conquering Oz, and Polychrome seeking help from a mortal to restore it. The chosen one turns out to be Erik Medon, an asthmatic American adult who has read the Oz books, and not surprisingly develops feelings for Polychrome. He spends some time in the sky training to become a warrior, and his mortal status is actually an asset because it means his physical substance is somewhat different from that of fairy beings. Sort of a Matrix kind of thing, I suppose. While it doesn't entirely fit in with my unified vision of Oz, there's quite a lot to like here. The illustrations are too sparse for an Oz book (I'm not sure if there are more in the print edition; I read the PDF version), but the ones that are there are excellent.
April 18, 2015
In a lot of ways this book is an homage to the old Oz books by Baum. While you may enjoy the references more if your knowledge of Oz extends beyond the old movie, there is plenty to enjoy even if your Oz knowledge is only superficial. Within the Oz setting, this is the story of a middle aged geek who is swept up in an adventure to save the world if Faerie from two powerful tyrants. While he trains to fight, he wins his battle more through cleverness and imagination than martial prowess. In the end, this is a fun story that should appeal to anyone who ever dreamed of magic and other worlds.
May 4, 2020
Baum's Oz used as the setting for a D&D campaign... with a little Norse mythology mixed in. It's probably more D&D than Oz, although seeing Ruggedo running around did make me happy.
October 27, 2023
I had thought I would enjoy a more adult take on Oz, but it seems that I was wrong. I much prefer a fairyland where the fiercest weapon is General Jinjur's knitting needles.
February 29, 2016
I never read any of the Oz books (I'm one of those the author disdainfully dismisses as only having seen the movie) but I was vaguely aware that there was a larger mythology surrounding the whole thing. I was a bit nervous starting out for that reason.
Mr. Spoor's books always seem to be missing something for me. They're good, fun reads but they seem to lack some sort of extra "oomph" to really push them over into being great. In this case, he seemed hesitant to pull the trigger on making it an adult novel, despite his stated intention in the prologue.
I got really worried in the beginning because painting the main character as a Mary Sue is really easy and to begin with the book started out feeling like a published Oz fan-fiction where Erik will just go on a tour of Oz, but he starts to acquire some purpose and agency of his own pretty quickly. The beginning is also rough because despite the author's best efforts I still felt like I was missing a lot of subtext when Oz characters, locations, and events were missing.
It smoothed out through the whole middle though. Erik got his feet under him and some other well-developed and interesting characters started to show up. The villains were also deep and well crafted. Obviously a lot of the material was borrowed from existing works but based on who was left out I feel like Spoor intentionally sidelined most if not all of the significant Oz personas. This was probably good because it gave him more ability to develop them in his own way without trampling on history.
The end kind of fell flat for me, but I understood it since he was trying to remain faithful to the original stories in tone as well as subject matter. Unfortunately after things were said and done, the epilogue-ish portion started delving into subjects and areas where a lot seemed to be dependent on legacy Oz knowledge.
The ending is left open for a sequel, and even though there isn't a series tag on this book's Goodreads entry yet, I wouldn't be surprised if one shows up soon, and I would pick it iup if it did.
Mr. Spoor's books always seem to be missing something for me. They're good, fun reads but they seem to lack some sort of extra "oomph" to really push them over into being great. In this case, he seemed hesitant to pull the trigger on making it an adult novel, despite his stated intention in the prologue.
I got really worried in the beginning because painting the main character as a Mary Sue is really easy and to begin with the book started out feeling like a published Oz fan-fiction where Erik will just go on a tour of Oz, but he starts to acquire some purpose and agency of his own pretty quickly. The beginning is also rough because despite the author's best efforts I still felt like I was missing a lot of subtext when Oz characters, locations, and events were missing.
It smoothed out through the whole middle though. Erik got his feet under him and some other well-developed and interesting characters started to show up. The villains were also deep and well crafted. Obviously a lot of the material was borrowed from existing works but based on who was left out I feel like Spoor intentionally sidelined most if not all of the significant Oz personas. This was probably good because it gave him more ability to develop them in his own way without trampling on history.
The end kind of fell flat for me, but I understood it since he was trying to remain faithful to the original stories in tone as well as subject matter. Unfortunately after things were said and done, the epilogue-ish portion started delving into subjects and areas where a lot seemed to be dependent on legacy Oz knowledge.
The ending is left open for a sequel, and even though there isn't a series tag on this book's Goodreads entry yet, I wouldn't be surprised if one shows up soon, and I would pick it iup if it did.
May 5, 2015
Based on the Books not Movie
Classic tale of a unfilled older son, who feels like a failure Who finds a path that matches his desires and thoughts. He grows through trials and tribulations to be become what he was met to be.
Classic tale of a unfilled older son, who feels like a failure Who finds a path that matches his desires and thoughts. He grows through trials and tribulations to be become what he was met to be.
June 29, 2015
An enjoyable light tale. Ryk's love of Oz clearly forms the foundation of the novel. I admit to some surprise in the identity of the Penitent but that section was cleverly done. There was a little too much name-checking but that may be excused as a fundamental characteristic of the Oz books.
June 27, 2015
Very solid and entertaining PG-rated Oz book.
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January 12, 2017Fantastic!
Favourite book of 2016!
Favourite book of 2016!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews