The Emerald Burrito of Oz, By John Skipp & Marc Levinthal

If you ever loved The Wizard of Oz and all the other 28 books of that series as a child.  You will definitely love this book as an adult.  The only problem I can see with this book is if you haven't read any of the books and have only seen the movie, you might be a little lost.  This book makes several references to people and places from several of the books that take place after the original book which the movie was based on.  Thankfully I had bought and read The Wizard of Oz Complete Collection last summer.  So everything was still relatively fresh with me.  Don't let this stop you from reading this book though.  I think they give you enough information to keep the story going without being too confusing.

The book is written as if two friends are keeping journals to what happens to them while they are in Oz.  So each chapter is constantly switching back and forth between the two of them.  But I've let something slip, Oz is real!  Magic is real!  Short happy dancing munchkins are real? Well maybe that last part isn't entirely true.  L. Frank Baum had never been to Oz and just added to stories that others had told him about Oz.  But one of the most amazing things is now happening.  Americans are finally letting the rest of the world become tourist in Oz, through the portal in Kansas.

One of the two friends, Gene of Los Angeles, has decided to spend his summer visiting his friend Aurora Quixote Jones In the Emerald City.  She happens to work at a Mexican restaurant named The Emerald Burrito.  Something Gene doesn't know though is that Oz has a new villain, this one makes the Wicked Witch of the West look harmless.  He doesn't know that he's decided to vacation in Oz just as a war is breaking out.  It's up to him, Aurora, Glinda the Good Witch, Princess Ozma, The Tin Man, The Scarecrow, The Lion, The Tiger, Dorothy,  Toto and a few new friends to hopefully save the day.  Kick some serious ass, the way none of the children's books have described before.  Hopefully when it's all over go back to the drunken orgies that made Oz fantastic.  I did mention this wasn't a kid's book right?

"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience; this is the ideal life."

-- Mark Twain