The Latest Oz Short Story

With the appropriately named "Concluding King Rinkitink" by Maggie Lockets, we've reached the end of the 2016 edition of Oziana. These chapters are really short, so I think I see why it was not given serious consideration to win the contest, but there are some good ideas that other entries never approached. After not being able to rescue his parents, Inga decides to leave the Nome Kingdom and find Gos and Cor and make them release them. This makes sense, as it's Roquat's promise to them that is still keeping his parents prisoner. Following the advice of the White Pearl, they find themselves in the country of the Wheelers. The Wheelers have captured King Gos and Queen Cor! A few head butts from Bilbil scares off the Wheelers, and Inga and Rinkitink take the royal prisoners back to Roquat. The royal family of Pingaree is reunited, and they all go back to Pingaree — including Gos and Cor, who are forced to live there so as to not cause any more mischief! With this punishment, Rinkitink declares that Inga will be a wise king. I like this ending a lot, and it could have been expanded to make a fitting conclusion to King Rinkitink.

And with that, I am all caught up with reading and blogging about Oziana at last. I've reread every story, poem, playlet, and puzle from every issue from 1971 to 2022. I have a few other sources of Oz short stories I want to blog about as well, but I also have some other business I want to take care of on this blog first.

But the 2023 edition of Oziana is probably also coming out soon...

The Latest Oz Short Story

Hang on, folks, we're almost done with the 2016 issue of Oziana and all the alternate endings to King Rinkitink. This week it's "Ending Chapters of King Rinkitink" by Mariah B'Forre, wherein the White Pearl advises Inga to acquire some eggs. They find a hidden passage in their new room which leads to the top of a mountain and a jacdaw's nest! Gathering some eggs, Inga also comes across two golden elephant ornaments. Back in Roquat's throne room, Inga decides to offer the Nome King the elephants as an exchange for his parents. Roquat agrees, and bring Kitticut and Garre to the rescuers, but before they can actually leave Roquat pulls one last stunt and drops the floor down into a new chamber where they re confronted by six doors. The White Pearl confirms that the doors lead into a dangerous maze, so Inga decides not to have any of that! Instead, he uses the power of the pearls to get himself and the others back up to the original room. They use the hidden passage to get to the jackdaw's nest and freedom. Descending the mountain, they find they are near Gilgad, so Rinkitink and Bilbil stay there, and Inga rows his parents back to a rebuilt Pingaree. I liked this one, and how it uses eggs and other Baum lore such as the jackdaws. But the pearl's advice and the hidden passage to the surface seem just a little too convenient. Were I judging this contest, this may have gotten to the final rounds, but I probably would have given it an honorable mention.

The Latest Oz Short Story

I am nearing the end of the 2016 issue of Ozinana and all these new endings for King Rinkitink. This week it's "King Rinkitink Conclusion" by Sarah Hadley, which sees Rinkitink accidentally reveal the existence and powers of the pearls to Roquat! (He got carried away singing one of his impromptu songs at a banquet.) Roquat makes it clear that he's going to try to acquire the pearls, so he's not letting our party go. But Bilbil, sensing that Roquat is a tyrant and the rest of the Nomes don't like him much, befriends Kaliko and enlists his aid in helping them to escape. Kaliko shows Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil where King Kitticut and Queen Garee are to be found. Unfortunately, it's in Roquat's palace, and if you remember the events of Ozma of Oz, you know that means the King and Queen of Pingaree have been enchanted into ornaments! Fortunately, the enchantment proves to be much easire to break—literally!—than touching an ornament and saying "Ev". Dozens of ornaments prove to be victims of Roquat's wrath, and join their liberators in a ragtag army. But Roquat, upon finally appearing on the scene, has a business proposition: Kittikut and Garee in exchange for the pearls. Inga appears to give in, but in the process Bilbil chomps down on and breaks the blue and pink pearls. This disenchants the King and Queen of Pingaree! But in exchange for the white pearl (which is a lot less helpful to Roquat that it is to Inga), the Nome King agrees to abdicate, and Kaliko becomes the new Nome King. There are a lot of good ideas in this telling, and I like incorporating the ornaments of Ozma of Oz into the story. But I have to wonder how Kitticut and Garee could have been the pearls all this time. It just does not add up. So I can certainly understand why this one did not win the contest.

The Latest Oz Short Story

I have been very busy lately, and thus haven't had much chance to write about the latest ending new ending from King Rinkitink, as published in the 2016 edition of Oziana. But I will remedy that right now by talking about "King Rinkitink Restor'd" by John W. Kennedy and Elaine M. Kennedy. Inga decides to bribe the Nome King with a kind of jewel that he doesn't have, pearls. He shows the white pearl, but Roquat thinks it's an egg! Of course he fears eggs so much that he decides to break his promise to Gos and Cor and gives Inga a chance to find the prisoners. In another complicated game, Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil are allowed to each pick onee door each, out of a hundred, behind one of which is King Kittikut and Queen Garee. The humans fail, but Bilbil's sense of smell finds the royal couple. After leaving the Nome Kingdom, Bilbil gets hungry and eats How to Be Good, which then changes him back to Prince Bobo! Upon reaching the Nonestic Ocean, they decide to go to Regos and Coregos and stop the terror of King Gos and Queen Cor forever, but the Great Mermaid (a character that does not appear in The Sea Fairies) knows all that's been happening through communication via the pearls. Gos and Cor are now permanent guests of the mermaids and will no longer bother anyone on the surface. Unlike most of these other entries, the Kennedys then tell where Baum's original picks up again. I think there are some good ideas here, but were I judging this contest I would have liked to see them expanded, as this is a little short. Still, it was a worthy effort.

The Latest Oz Short Story

Another new ending for King Rinkitink from the 2016 issue of Oziana is titled simply "Rinkitink" by Karen Diket. It starts with a flashback to the last time someone survived the three trick caverns, the wizard Zenoro. Before leaving, Zenoro left behind a trinket for the next person to get through them. Sure enough, Inga finds that he has new powers, as his spoken wishes come true so long as he is in the Nome Kingdom. His first wish is that Rinkitink, Bilbil, and he would be in Gilgad, so he can't do much else with them until they return to Roquat with some of Rinkitink's guards and enough treasure to outbid what Gos and Coregos presented to Roquat before. While surprised, Roquat considers the proposition while Inga just wishes to see his parents again. Suddenly, he is with them in the Metal Forest, where Kittikut and Garee treat him to a meal of the three-course nuts. Inga returns to his friends, and uses his new knowledge of the three-course nuts to free his parents. (Thanks to the white pearl, he also learns about Zenoro and his gift to those others who survived Roquat's trap. Why Inga didn't just wish his parents away before joining them is beyond me!) During the course of events, Bilbil reveals that it was Zenoro who also transformed Prince Bobo into his current form of a goat, so Inga also wishes Bobo to resume his natural form right before they leave the Nome Kingdom—all without Roquat ever knowing about Zenoro's gift. That pretty much wraps things up, the final resolutions are tied up pretty quickly, and Bobo decides to stay in Rinkitink instead of returning to Boboland. Were I a judge, I would probably put this one in the pile for further consideration, but the convenience of a new wishing power, a couple of logic breaks, and the rapid resolution would probably knock it out of consideration for the final prize.

The Latest Oz Short Story

Yet another attempt to complete King Rinkitink from the 2016 issue of Oziana, this time "The Adventures of King Rinkitink" by Robin Hess. Here, Inga may take the most direct action he could possibly take: He asks the whiet pearl to guide him to where his parents are, then smashes through the wall to retrieve them. The Nomes pretty much leave them alone as they leave the Nome Kingdom, and they make their way to Evna where they seek refuge from King Evardo XV. But by this point they discover that Bilbil is the enchanted Prince Bobo, so they go off on another adventure to call on Lionel the Loneliest Wizard, the only one who can disenchant him, who lives in the far north of Ev. Lionel succeeds, and that's the end! Lionel then sends everyone back to where they belong, and the story ends. I could see this one getting through the first round of judging, but the ease at which they find Kittikut and Garee and make it out just doesn't feel right, and I doubt I would have recommended it for the final judging.

The Latest Oz Short Story

This week's entry from the "Complete King Rinkitink" contest and the 2016 issue of Oziana is "Wrapping Up Rinkitink" by Christopher M. Diket. After a few events, Roquat finally decides to take Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil to the King and Queen of Pingaree—onry to take them instead to a room that cancels out magic, including the powers of the pearls. But Inga, having wandered around the Nome Kingdom and discovered the room earlier, added an escape hatch. And it turns out that Rinkitink had a magical aide of his own: A pop-up book that showed future events. This book also shows them where Kitticut and Garee are hidden, so they find them and escape. Of course their flight involves an underground lake hiding a monster and a swarm of bees, but naturally they get out and back to Pingaree just fine. I probably would have passed this one along to the second round, but in the end I doubt I would have considered it for the finals. Too many coincidences (why didn't we know about Rinkitink's book earlier?) and a rushed ending make it feel not quite right.

The Latest Oz Short Story

The next alternate ending for Rinkitink in Oz from the 2016 edition of Oziana is "A New Ending for King Rinkitink" by Nicholas M. Campbell. This one was surprisingly long and involved, and included the loss of two of the pearls! The white pearl sacrifices itself to Roquat to procure the release of King Kitticut and Queen Garee, only to then trick Roquat into falling into a chasm. That could have been it, but then Bilbil enlists the aid of his family to help escape the Nomes, because it turns out he's really Prince Bobo of the mountain goats who inhabit the mountains over the Nome Kingdom. They head to Gilgad so that Inga can keep his promise to free the people of Regos and Coregos, only to discover that Rinkitink has been deposed! They then make their way back to Regos and, with the power of the two remaining pearls, free the slaves and stop the overseers from doing any more harm. But in the course of fleeing to Coregos, Rinkitink drops the pink pearl and falls into the sea, only to be saved by Queen Aquarine of the Sea Fairies! Well, there wasn't much else this story could do, so they finally make it bark to Pingaree and wrap things up. But wow, what a whirlwind, with everything being thrown into the kitchen sink. Were I judging this contest, I might have moved this one along to the second round, but I don't think I would have given it serious consideration for the top prize.

This Week's Oz Short Story

Another alternate ending for Rinkitink in Oz from the 2016 issue of Oziana is "King Rinkitink in Oz: An Ending and a Beginninc" by George van Buren and transcribed by C. J. Hinke (van Buren writes everything he does in Latin, so Hinke is the translator). This ending tries to stick as close to what was in the published version, but without Dorothy and the Wizard appearing at all. This is also the second story that involves Bilbil holding onto the white pearl and gaining from its words of wisdom. In this case, it advises Bilbil on how to trick Roquat into transforming him back into Prince Bobo. Since Bobo had a dozen eggs with him when he was enchanted, he's able to use them to secure the release of King Kitticut and Queen Garee as well. With no trip to Oz, they then head straight back to Pingaree, but discover the fate of Gos and Cor along the way. (Fortunately, their oarsmen escape their fate.) It's brief, ticks all the right boxes, but ultimately it's not terribly satisfying, and I can see why it did not win the contest.

This Week's Oz Short Story

Next up from the 2016 issue of Oziana was "The Rinkitink Conspiracy in Oz" by Baruch Adelman. This one misses the mark, in that it's more of an appendix to Rinkitink in Oz instead of an extrapolated new ending, so I can see why it didn't win. There are four chapters, and each one is how the story ended told from the point of view of four different characters: Rinkitink, Roquat, Dorothy, and Bilbil. Dixie Dingus is a reporter for The Emerald Examiner (apparently one of the less well-read newspapers in Oz) and has been tasked with getting the scoop on the real events. Rinkitink and Roquat give wildly diverging tales that make them look good. Dorothy maintains the published version is the correct one, but Dixie pokes enough holes in it that she, the reader, and even Dorothy have doubts. Bilbil's account is probably the most accurate, but it's also the shortest and least exciting, which is probably the point. I think this would have worked fine as a standalone story, but not as part of the book itself.

The next item in that issue is "The Adventures of King Rinkitink" by Andrew J. Heller, which was the winner and published as part of the published edition of King Rinkitink, so I can skip that. I'm going to be out of town next weekend, so I don't know if I'll get a chance to discuss the next one then, but it's short so I will try.

The Latest Oz Short Story

Continuing with the new endings for King Rinkitink from the 2016 edition of Oziana, Dennis Anfuso gives us "A New Ending for Rinkitink in Oz", and it certainly is! Bilbil decides that he, too, needs a pearl, so the white pearl is placed in one of the gold ballss on its horns. The horn conducts the white pearl's words to Bilbil, so the goat is able to relay information to Inga and Rinkitink in real time! This proves to be very helpful when Roquat comes up with his next test: The three of them must fight two nome warriors to the death. But this doesn't make much sense, as Inga's strength and Rinkitink's invulnerbility pretty much means those nomes will lose. Even without the white pearl, Inga is puzzled by this, but it is Bilbil and the white pearl that ultimately save the day and see through Roquat's ruse. I won't spoil it here, but it is a very clever twist. It's short, but satisfying, and I suspect this one would have made it far into the judging before ultimately not winning.

The Latest Oz Short Story

The second entry in the Finish King Rinkitink contest, from the 2016 edition of Oziana, is "An Epilogue to Rinkitink in Oz" by Aaron Solomon Adelman. It doesn't follow the brief, in that it's actually a few more pages tacked onto the end of the published version of Rinkitink in Oz. A reporter from The Ozmapalitan has buttonholed Prince Inga and is trying to get to the bottom of his story, but Inga maintains that Dorothy came in and saved his parents with a basket of eggs. Then a few other strange events happen, and Zella swoops in and saves the day. This proves to be the final piece of the puzzle, and the reporter figures the whole thing out. I don't want to say anymore, as it will give things away, but there are hints of other events that happened offstage, and a couple of incidents didn't quite transpire as they did in the book. It's short, it's fun, it introduces some interesting new elements into Oz, but I suspect this one got put on the "This one isn't going to win" pile pretty quickly.

The Latest Oz Short Story

If you remember my massive reread of every issue of Oziana, I managed to get through all of them—with one exception. But now that I've reached Rinkitink in Oz/King Rinkitink in my current reading, I can finally fill that gap. Because the 2016 issue of Oziana contains all of the entries for the Oz Club's contest to complete King Rinkitink. It even includes the winning entry by Andrew Heller If the cost of buying the actual published book version of King Rinkitink is dounting, this is a more affordable way to get it, with the bonus of also getting a few other versions. There are fifteen endings in this issue, including Heller's, so this may take a few weeks. (I can't guarantee one write-up a week, but I will try to do so.)

First up is "Suggested Ending to Rinkitink in Oz" by Susan Johnson, and this one, at least, seems plausible. Taking the advice of the white pearl, Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil decide to leave the Nome Kingdom and see what alies they can find elsewhere. Their travels take them to Boboland, where the King and Queen have been away for several years looking for their missing son, Prince Bobo. In their absence, robber barons have divided the country and taken many of the products grown there. But the King of Boboland is also a powerful magician who discovers that his son has arrived at the palace, so they return to put things back to right. (If you know Rinkitink in Oz, you'll know where Prince Bobo has been all this time.) Inga then returns to the Nome Kingdom with allies from Boboland, and with the backing of a powerful ally and the news that Gos and Cor have drowned, Roquat reluctantly grants King Kitticut and Queen Garee of Pingaree their freedom. From this point, Johnson's version ends pretty much as Rinkitink in Oz does, and all ends well for just about everyone. I like that this version ties into Prince Bobo, and that we get to see a lot of Boboland, which Baum never visited in the books. (Its inclusion on the map endpapers of Tik-Tok of Oz makes me suspect that the characters actually do visit Boboland in the original King Rinkitink.) I suspect this ending nearly made the cut.

The Latest Oz Reading

Actually, I have a lot of Oz reading, some that I've read over a year ago now, to catch up on. I hope to do a lot of it before I head to California in a couple of weeks for OzCon International (my forty-third consecutive time at that convention!), but this one is especially important because of some other entries I'll be posting on this blog soon. Don't worry, all will become clear in time.

As you may be aware, I started rereading the Oz books as a regular part of my reading some time ago. The plan was to go in order, but when I chaired the 2016 edition of OzCon, I broke that and read Rinkitink in Oz as we were celebrating that book's centennial, and I wanted to give a few comments on it. Those of you who know your Oz history probably also know that Rinkitink was originaly written as a non-Oz book around 1905. (My suspicion is that he wrote it in the hopes of it being a follow-up to Queen Zixi of Ix and it would also be serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine. I wonder if anyone has checked the files of St. Nicholas, if they're still around, for any correspondence with Baum? But I digress…) At that point, I had only read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz anyway, so I said to myself, "Well, if King Rinkitink had been published as a stand alone book, it would likely have come out between Land and Ozma of Oz anyway. So this is a good insight into Baum's writing of that time." All well and good—until I got through The Scarecrow of Oz. What to read next? After all, I'd already reread Rinkitink in Oz.

For those who may not know, Rinkitink in Oz is an exciting adventure story about Prince Inga of Pingaree whose home is conquered and destroyed, and his only aides in rescuing his family and people are the visiting King Rinkitink from the kingdom of the same name, Rinkitink's surly talking goat Bilbil, and the three magic pearls, which King Kitticut had only recently revealed to his son. Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil make it to the twin islands of Regos and Coregos, which they eventually conquer, but King Gos and Queen Cor flee with Inga's parents to the Nome Kingdom, where the Nome King promises to hold the King and Queen of Pingaree. In the published book, Dorothy discovers what's going on and swoops in to save everyone with a basket of eggs, which is not a terribly satisfying conclusion, and Inga doesn't get to save his parents at all. I've often said that my favorite Oz book is the first eighty percent of Rinkitink in Oz, because it just kind of falls apart when the old familiar Oz characters are introduced. Oz fans have long wanted to know how the story originally ended, but no manuscript has ever been found.

Enter the International Wizard of Oz Club and the Royal Publishers of Oz! They collaborated on a contest to complete King Rinkitink! They chalenged writers to take over the book from a new chapter 20 (where Oz characters first appear in the published version) and write a new ending. King Rinkitink, as a standalone book, was finally published in 2017, with a new prize-winning ending by Andrew J. Heller and new illustrations by Javi Laparra. I'm not sure this is exactly how Baum might have ended the book, but it is at least a satisfying conclusion, and it comes about through the efforts of Inga and Rinkitink, not someone else swooping in and taking over. The one change made to the earlier part of the book is that the name of the Nome King is changed from Kaliko to Roquat. That makes sense, as Roquat would have been the king in 1905. (He ended up changing his name to Ruggedo, but he was deposed and replaced by Kaliko in Tik-Tok of Oz. Despite the name, he is quite clearly Roquat in Rinkitink in Oz. In fact, the Nomes as they first appeared in the Oz books probably originated in King Rinkitink.) There were some references to Oz that, while I was reading it, I was surprised were left in, until I got to Helller's conclusion. Although nobody goes to Oz, nor do any characters from Oz appear, it's clear that this version of King Rinkitink takes place between Ozma of Oz and The Emerald City of Oz, as the NOme King has already had his first encounter with Ozma and Dorothy.

Heller does bring Inga's adventure to a satisfactory conclusion, but it does get a little silly at the end when we find out the final fate of Rinkitink (much as Baum wrote it in Rinkitink in Oz) and Bilbil. Things start to spiral out of control for a bit. However, the characters recognize this and comment on it.

Okay, that's it for now. Like I said, I will tell you why I needed to write this up very soon. And I hope to have some entries about other things I've read soon as well.