The novel is a typical Baum fantasy, that is, carelessly plotted, but filled with wonderful creations (there is more invention in one Baum novel than in a basket of trilogies by any current fantasy writer), and often amusing (the reformation of the thieves is hilarious). As for this particular edition: No one can fault the publisher for being stingy with George O'Connor's illustrations--there are approximately fifty--but that is not necessarily a good thing. O'Connor's work seems crude to me, and he has an annoying tendency to stray from the text--for example, the hero, Prince Marvel, is repeatedly described as "small" and "slight," yet O'Connor consistently depicts someone who could wrestle Superman.