Order of the Wicked

Dorothy Must Die #0.7

by Danielle Paige

This digital original novella is the seventh installment in the series’ prequel arc, and reveals how some members of the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked came to be.

Dorothy Gale’s armies killed Lanadel’s entire family, and she’s determined to seek revenge. She sets off to find the elusive, secretive group known as the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. They’re rumored to be training their own army to defeat Dorothy. But when she finds them, Lanadel soon learns that she’s seriously underprepared both in fighting skills, as well as magical abilities, and she has to prove herself in order to join the Order and become one of them.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Fiction, Novella, Short Stories, Ebooks

87 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2016

About the author

Danielle lives in NY. Before turning to YA, she worked in television & was nominated for several Daytime Emmy's. Dorothy Must Die is her first novel.

Reviews

[Alex Barndollar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if Lanadel's last name will be Rey.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE REVIEW

Why this book?

I love this series

What I thought

This was the best prequel so far,Makes me wonder if is Lanadel is going to be in next book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave this 5 stars, just because it was 100% Amy and Dorothy free!!!

Order of the Wicked restored my faith in this series. That last book Yellow Brick War(which btw I thought was gonna be the last book in the series... but... NOPE!) was such a fucking letdown. I thought about not finishing the series but I figured I might as well. I did read the other 3 books and 1,0000 novellas so I might as well find out how it ends and read the final 3 novellas.

I'm glad I did too, because my beautiful son Nox was in all his glory. I even liked the Pov character Lanadel (in my head she was Lana del Rey) and I really hope Nox tells Amy to kick rocks and gets back together with Melindra who is his love interest in this novella.

Bottom line read Order of the Wicked. You don't have to have read the rest of the series. Trust me you will enjoy it...PS... That cover is fire!

[Taylor]

This better be about Nox.

[catherine ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was probably the best novella so far; I read it after finishing The End of Oz, and it really added a lot to that story.

[Mackenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I still liked this novella, it's getting to be a bit much. Even as someone who has read every other book and novella in this series, it is starting to get muddled with all the novella prequels. Especially since after three books, these characters haven't reappeared.

It seems like this character Lanadel was created and a novella was written about her to add more substance to the fourth unreleased book. It seems more like a money grabbing scheme instead of a necessary background story. This saddens me since I loved Dorothy Must Die. Oh well. We'll see how the fourth book goes.

[Nancy The book junkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.25/5

Review coming soon!

[Lindsay Bragg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Take a character I don't like (and really wasn't given a chance to know) and then give her a book told from her perspective that still gives no back story and makes her even for angry and whiney. then have her spend most of the story expressing her severe dislike for a character you've spent 4+ books convincing me to like. Then make it totally boring with no real plot. Mostly just an internal narrative. What's not to (dis)like?

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed having the Oz character Mombi in this novella and seeing a different side of her

[Cheyenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW: bullying, mutilation, murder, death of parents

A harsh story for Lanadel.

[Lukyan's Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the easily my least favorite and weakest novella so far.

This focuses a lot on the Order of the Wicked’s inner-workings and plans so this it doesn’t spend a lot of time on anything action-packed.

Lanadel is an interesting character with a layered backstory but I felt like most of the novella was her having conversations and then eavesdropping. There was no real plot to string me along through the story, so I ended up a little bored as I read.

The Order is intriguing, but again, I would’ve appreciated more doing and less planning for this story.

Overall, the writing and world was still interesting, of course, and Lanadel was a good enough character for me to still read this pretty quickly.

[Myndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite of the novellas, it started a bit slow for me, but I think that's because I don't remember who Lanadel is from the main books. Maybe she's someone I will encounter in the fourth book? In any case, once I really got into the story and more and more characters I remembered came into play it got more interesting. When I finished the last line, I literally said "uh oh" out loud! There's also a quote I really liked in this book, "Any tool is a weapon if you hold it right."

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one!! I really like Lanadel. I hope she's in the rest of the series. And omg I read Dorothy Must Die before this and I thought Melindra was a b!tch, but seeing how she was b4 makes me love her and makes me sad.

[Shari Suarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another prequel to the Dorothy Must Die series, this one is the story of the Order in particular, Nox and Melindra. We also get glimpses into Mombi, Gert and Glamora as well. I enjoyed this one since it delved into the mysterious order.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really liked reading Lanadel’s story. It was a real character builder as I wasn’t really a fan of her in the final book but this really worked in her favor!

[Mica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wtf con el final, espero que aparezca en el cuarto libro y sea importante de alguna manera porque me quedé con muchas ganas de saber más de ella.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how this book introduces you to a new character but personally I think this could have been apart of the novels.

[Jessica Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this series. If you love twisted tales this is the series for you. It has one of the best spins on a classic that I have read so far.

[J Jahir · Rating 4 out of 5]

con tristeza por el momento, toca ya despedirnos de esta saga tan magnífica. Y DIGO "POR EL MOMENTO", porque hay dos precuelas más que aún no están traducidas, y por masoquista estuve viendo que hablan sobre Policroma y Ozma, respectivamente. Quizá haga un intento por leer en inglés, pero aún no lo sé, hay tanto en lecturas que tengo ahora mismo.
Esta séptima nos narra la histtoria de Lanadel, conocida como "Langwidere" en el cuarto libro de la saga principal y como empieza su entrenamiento buscando vengarse de Dorothy por el asesinato de su familia. Más que tener acción, es una precuela informativa pero que nos termina de formar el panorama de todo.
La verdad, no he dejado de repetir hasta el cansancio de que esta saga ha sido un retelling espectacular, que sin duda recomiendo ampliamente a aquellos que:
a) se vieron el clásico de mago de oz (película).
b) se leyeron el libro de L. Frank Baum.
y C) a los que les gusta la fantasía en general y quieren algo ligero que puedan leer y que les enganche. es ya más juvenil, con un toque más profundo y en oscuro, y la verdad es que no pierde en absoluto la esencia de los libros originales.
Oz, te llevaré siempre en mi corazón!

[GRIS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me he quedado con la duda de si Lanadel me cae bien o mal. Definitivamente sus decisiones y su manera de pensar son un tanto infantiles y egoístas en ciertos momentos. Supongo que aparecerá más adelante así que ya veremos como va la cosa.

“She was burning alive with power; she could feel it roaring around her, crackling from her fingers and hissing through her hair. There was nothing she couldn’t do”

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 stars. This novella ended very abruptly and left me wanting more. This was an interesting interpretation of what it feels like to come to terms with your sexuality. The main character, Lanadel, is very obviously a lesbian or at the very least bisexual. While she doesn't outright struggle with her own sexuality in the book, there is a lot of talk about her hiding her own true self, not only from herself, but from everyone else. She doesn't really realize that she has feelings for Melindra until the end of the book. I really felt for Lanadel and her inability to accurately put into words what she was feeling. Deeper than that, the other themes were knowing that anyone can be corrupted, and even after "being healed", you still might have to deal with the aftermath and constant reminder of what happened to you. Danielle Paige did it again, and once again I find myself wishing this series was around when I was younger.

[Amanda P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book about the Order of the Wicked. I wish I was able to read it before reading all the other books, but I didn't get that chance. This story was about Lanadel who went out seeking the order after her family and village was all killed. While being here she encounters Nox, the trainer who teaches her how to fight and shows no emotions. Then she meets Melindra, and instantly feels a connection with her. And unfortunately she also meets Holly and Larkin and they are not so nice to her. Lanadel starts to learn how to use magic and fight to help the order, but didn't like being left out. And felt that if she was putting her life on the line she should know what is going on. This book explains how Annabel came back from her mission and found out that the rumors were true about Dorothy making half human and half ozian or for example winkie soldiers. And the Order is planning to start to go to battle. And Lanadel does not trust the Order. She can only trust herself.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another novella from Danielle Paige about one of her minor characters, this time an Ozian named Lanadel who trains with the wicked witches.

There isn't anything wrong with this story, but there isn't much about it either that's right--or necessary. Amy Gumm isn't even mentioned in this book and she's the big star of the "Dorothy Must Die" series. Those books are worth reading. This one...meh.

[Beckie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another prequel to the Dorothy Must Die series. I liked that we finally got a back story for Melindra and Annabel along with a deeper insight in to Nox's mind. With the introduction of Lanadel, I'm hoping she is in Book 4. I like her character and am interested in where they are taking her story. If you have read Dorothy Must Die, you've gotta read the rest of the series and these prequels!

[Critter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like many of the other novellas, it felt underdeveloped. It provides no new information or insights into the series. There doesn’t seem to be a point to this novella. The character development was very much lacking. The Order of the Wicked is also not shown any differently than it has in previous appearances.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella and really loved the characters, I just feel like they aren’t all necessary. This one follows Lanadel and her training in the Order of the Wicked. She sought out the order after her family were killed by Dorothy’s army and she wants to avenge their deaths. I loved her character and would like to see more of Lanadel in the main books when I get round to reading them.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these prequels. This whole series has been absolutely amazing. Ms.Paige is a writing God.

[Rosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, didn’t round it up just because I didn’t really enjoy reading this.
Same story as always, same script, Dorothy bad, a war is coming, blah blah blaaaaah

[Josiane Claremont · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, let's comment about how much the cover art looks like the old Throne of Glass covers.

Second of all, they're still using Nox as the hot unapproachable coach, and like maybe he and Melindra were actually a sorta item before Amy Gunn came around. I feel betrayed by Nox, I thought that maybe Amy was the only one he'd shown emotion like that for, but I guess you only know you've fallen after you've tried hard to fall for someone else and it doesn't work out. Anyway, Melindra's not a bitch. Melindra's the cool older sister, and we get to see a little bit of her and Annabel's personality before they got tinned.

Third of all, I am so willing to bet Lanadel is actually just a prototype Amy Gunn. Lanadel's lost everything when Dorothy's experimented army (most likely the Winkies!) burns down her village and she walks all the way to the Order for training. The time skips are supremely liberal in this book, because we meet Lanadel has a decent fighter just barely graduating to move onto group training. She has just discovered sparks of magic, when she's told she's being assigned on a mission in the mythical land of Ev. Is she even trained for this?!

Of note, Lanadel is probably the best character in the entire series because it's just a tad bit more difficult to hate her for her thinking, her motives, her writing and everything.

[maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was honestly going to get a solid four stars except for one thing:
there is no point to this novella

None. Zero. The purpose of novellas is to give insight to the world that the author created. Unless these characters are mentioned in the books, there is no need for Lanadel and Miranda to exist. Or perhaps Paige did foresee that her novellas would become less popular. In that case, I wished she gave us more insight of the Order besides the rehashed 'Order can not be trusted because they don't reveal all their cards' because that had already been established in the first book. Perhaps the most significant idea (which might be a spoiler but honestly I don't think it is), is when we realize that the Ozians themselves are fighting with each other. An interesting point, except we have no idea how the Ozians acted before Dorothy's rule besides the novellas and people saying how nice it was. Poor worldbuilding overall.

Besides that, the plot? solid if not stereotypical. The character? Despite being a stereotype of every person fighting for the Order, she was still likeable. I wish Paige would have done more with her sexuality; it was a good take in the beginning but it didn't go anywhere, which describes the novella as a whole honestly.