Paradox in Oz

By: Edward Einhorn

Narrated by: Maxwell Zener

Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Oz is aging! Ozma, the lovely girl ruler of Oz, must find a way to restore the enchantment that keeps her people young and vibrant. A lovable but puzzling Parrot-Ox named Tempus carries Ozma back through time to seek the source of the aging enchantment. Ozma meets strange versions of her closest friends in an alternate timestream: Glinda, the Wizard, the Cowardly Lion, even Ozma herself! Along the way Ozma gains new allies in her quest: the irrepressible Dr. Majestico, the sympathetic Brussle, and the lovely Princess Ayala. Come journey with Ozma on her greatest adventure as she discovers the final amazing secret that involves the old witch Mombi, a city where nothing is what it seems, and the paradoxical future-history of The Man Who Lives Backwards.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©1999, 2000 Edward Einhorn (P)2017 Edward Einhorn

Critic reviews

"Released to celebrate the 100th anniversary of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this new Oz adventure is true in its narrative style to the spirit of the beloved Oz books...both the action and the humor quotient are high, and Oz fans will read to the expected happy ending." ( Booklist)

"The writing is crisp and moves the episodic story along effortlessly. This is a handsome book...if your readers can't get enough of Oz, this should be on the shelves." ( School Library Journal)

"Edward Einhorn has captured the real spirit of the Emerald City in his Paradox in Oz. This gorgeous book, with a wealth of witty and archetypically Ozian illustrations by Eric Shaower, opens when a plague of aging descends on Princess Ozma's realm, forcing her to take action to save her citizens...This stefnal material is incorporated brilliantly into the Baumian weltanschauung, and Einhorn's new characters harmonize perfectly with the famous ones...This book insures that Oz will enter the new millenium in style." ( Asimov's)

Great!

Loved this children's book! Both my son and I really enjoyed this audio. The narration was fantastic and it was a great story!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it

Classic, Timeless Writing Style

Conundrums ....
Parrot-Ox or paradox?
Endless riddles with creative solutions
A man who lives backwards
Obsidian City vs Emerald City
King Oz or Wizard of Oz?
A girl in a room of hundreds of mirrors -trying to find the real girl
Historical time, physical time, Oz time, Ozma time
A clock that doesn’t move and a clock in which the minute hand is moved back a tick once a day....
talking to yourself - erm yourselves in different times

Although a somewhat light, lyrical read, Paradox of Oz is full of puzzles, riddles and sensible-nonsensical questions and philosophies!
To find the magic of Oz, Ozma must use her head by losing her mind to understand how to fix it.
Continuous play on words, this can be slightly frustrating -yet rewarding - to follow.
I have read the original Wizard of Oz, but not the rest of the series. I’m very interested in finding those books on librivox because I feel like I missed out on so much!
Mr Einhorn captured the originality of the book and effectively created this addition.
Mr Zener made the confusion less muddy and more enjoyable. Kudos!

Beyond 5 stars

Oh my heart how I loved this book. Reminded me of when I was younger reading the oz books every summer and now how I want to read them again because of this book. Ozma is dealing with all her people starting to age after for some reason the spell that was used to keep people from aging no longer works. She goes on these adventures trying to fix this and help her people.

Paradox in Oz

Anytime time travel is a part of a story things can get a bit confusing. Edward Einhorn did a great job of keeping things clear for me. A very interesting listen!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Oz at its best

This one of the best post-Baum Oz books I’ve ever read, and I’ve read most of them.

Works VERY Well as an Oz Story

The story isn't totally perfect, but it is fun and works well. The narrator is unobtrusive and pretty fun in parts. Dorothy, Ozma, Glenda, the Sawhorse, the Scarecrow, etc. are all in here. I haven't read PARADOX IN OZ before (or Edward Einhorn's other Oz book, THE LIVING HOUSE OF OZ), so it was nice to listen to. A fun diversion for an adult. Not too long, and not too "young." Some of it even felt like a Piers Anthony Xanth book with its puns (the titular Paradox... could be the Parrot-Ox, as seen on the cover, but there are other paradox-like things in the book). There is some time-event sections (a man who lives backwards, time-loops, etc...) that are fun, but could be confusing (and you may hurt your head trying to figure out if the author did it right). At least he isn't unstuck in time. Oz + Sci-fi = fun.

The accompanying PDF is an incomplete set of 7 black-and-white pictures by Eric Shanower from the 1999 book. I love the M.C. Escher-reference one. At the end of the 7-page PDF, it says to check out the original printed edition of the book if you want to see more. This is kind of frustrating. I love Shanower's Oz-related artworks, and I was hoping for more. Looking through the sample book ("Look inside") on Amazon, it looks like there might be 40+ illustrations in the hardcover.

Possible Spoiler, so I am adding it here, but mostly because it is just awesome. The ultimate "cool"-factor for me in this book is the Obsidian City. It is the polar opposite of the Emerald City, including its inhabitants! SO COOL. I was given audiobook as a free review copy, at my request, and I have voluntarily left this review.

A Magical Mystical Journey

Paradox in Oz is a wild journey and a “punny” story. The paradox refers to time: backwards, forwards, and a kaleidoscope between. Einhorn takes the Oz story we are familiar with and gives it a spin. Of course, there are numerous Oz adventures in Baum’s original collection, so some readers may be familiar with more aspects and characters. However, this background is not necessary to enjoy Paradox in Oz.

There was an earthquake and then things began to change in Oz. Some society members were distraught with the changes and brought their concerns forward to Osma, the ruler of this Oz. She is a good leader and is determined to find out what is happening to her world, to her people. Join Osma on her adventure; it truly is a “magical mystical” jaunt.

I received this book, at my request, from the author, inviting me to leave an honest review.