The Pure

The Oz Chronicles #3

by R.W. Ridley

In this terrifying installment of the Oz Chronicles, Oz awakes in a mental institution. He spends his days trying to come to terms with the murders he's committed and his nights hiding from the dead who watch him. Just as he is about to give up hope, Oz is befriended by a faceless man who holds the key to his sanity.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Supernatural, Dark Fantasy

238 pages, Paperback

Published January 16, 2008

About the author

R.W. Ridley is the author of the IPPY award winning novels The Takers: Book One of the Oz Chronicles, and Delon City: Book Two of the Oz Chronicles. His titles also include The Pure: Book Three of the Oz Chronicles, The Land of the Dead: Book Four of the Oz Chronicles, Lost Days, and The Man Who Saved Two Notch. The Takers is the winner of The Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Award in the Middle Grade/Young Adult Category. He lives with his beautiful wife, a hyperactive dog, an arrogant cat, and one ugly mortgage.

Reviews

[R.W. Ridley]

I am the author

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one totally confused me but I still really liked it. You really learn a lot of plot information in this one.

[JC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a bit of a dropoff in the story here. Things slowed down a bit. Still a fun series, and interested to see where it goes next.

[Marissa Pedroza · Rating 4 out of 5]

RW Ridley’s character, Oz, is so compelling and relatable that he is the main reason that I picked up The Pure. Although this is categorized as YA, the plot line is incredibly complex, convoluted and sometimes difficult to understand; I don’t know if most YA would have the patience to continue reading.

I get that Ridley wanted the reader to be baffled. Is Oz really dead, is this all a dream or an hallucination concocted by the Dèlons? Could the first two novels have been the insane rants of someone imprisoned in a psych ward? While you’re reading The Pure you’re asking yourself, did the world really end or what? But most important, there are huge chunks of the novel where you get so confused, you stopped caring. Most of the novel is from the viewpoint of Archie “Scoopface”, a new character – someone we didn’t even know existed in the first two novels. You won’t even see the main characters from the first two novels until halfway through the novel.

Having read the entire novel, I still recommend The Pure. You’ve got to read it all the way through, don’t give up on it. The story is good enough that you won’t be disappointed in the end, but you may find yourself swimming in the sea of disillusionment somewhere in the middle until the fork in the road takes you back to the initial premise this series started out with. However, The Pure ended in such a way that I immediately downloaded The Land of the Dead (book 4). ‘Nuff said.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pure is much more complex than the prior two books of this series. You really don't know what is reality until you are almost done the book. A new character introduced is Archie/Scoop-face. He is also in the asylum. Through hypnosis, Oz is able to go back to the Delon world as though he never left it. He then begins to listen in on sessions when Archie is under hypnosis going back to the same world but with his own group. Most of this story follows them.

It was still a really good story but not quite as captivating as Delon City. I really wanted to see the warriors accomplish something to get themselves closer to home but really not a lot happened here. Archie's group joined Oz's group and a new monster was introduced. I'm hoping the story evolves a bit more in the next one.

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again a great storyteller does it again. You can't jump books in this series. Read them in order. This one has the action and humor. I enjoyed the witty dialogue between the characters. Parts were a bit more confusing but still a good story. That was Books 1-3 in just a week' s time. I wish more diligent editing was done, but still a good read.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of the series so far but still enjoyable. My favorites were on the back burner again and I just couldnt relate to Scoopface / Archie. Also at some points it just didnt make sense to me, not sure why but it was confusing.

[John B Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good series

Good series. The book does stand alone but good as a series. You will never connect all the dots in the storyline. Just enjoy for what it is...a neat story. There are a number of editing issues.

[Tami Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

just gets better