Magic Land
#1034.25 adjusted 4.23 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 6 books Status Complete 1939–1976 Reading commitment Medium Alexander Volkov Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
Magic Land is a six-book series by the Soviet writer Alexander Volkov, published from 1939 to 1982. The first book, The Wizard of the Emerald City (1939), is a loose adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Elli and her dog Totoshka are carried by a hurricane to a magical land and travel to the Emerald City with a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman and a Cowardly Lion. The five sequels (1963 to 1976) are Volkov's own stories, with only slight borrowings from Baum. They follow the carpenter Urfin Jus and other threats to the land, and Elli's younger sister Annie takes over as the main child hero from the fourth book. The sixth book appeared in 1982, after Volkov's death in 1977.
Portal fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (6 works) counts toward ranking
Magic Land Alexander Volkov
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Волшебник Изумрудного города; A loose adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; revised in 1959. | 1939 | 1 | core | 4.31 (7,558 ratings) | |
| Урфин Джюс и его деревянные солдаты | 1963 | 2 | core | 4.24 (2,124 ratings) | |
| Семь подземных королей; First printed in 1964 in the magazine Nauka i zhizn. | 1964 | 3 | core | 4.22 (1,436 ratings) | |
| Огненный бог Марранов; First printed in 1968 as an abridged serial in the magazine Nauka i zhizn; first book edition in 1971. | 1968 | 4 | core | 3.57 (21 ratings) | |
| Жёлтый туман; First printed in 1970 in an abridged form in the magazine Nauka i zhizn. | 1970 | 5 | core | 4.18 (1,183 ratings) | |
| Тайна заброшенного замка; First printed in 1976 in abridged form in the magazine Druzhnye rebyata; first book edition in 1982, after the author's death. | 1976 | 6 | core | 3.84 (797 ratings) |
Six children's fantasy novels set in Magic Land, beginning with an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Magic Land? Magic Land's Core Canon is 6 books.
- What is the reading order for Magic Land? Publication order, starting with Волшебник Изумрудного города. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Magic Land finished? Complete (1939–1976).
- How much reading does Magic Land take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 6 Core Canon books).
- How is Magic Land ranked? #103 in this site's official ranking, based on 13,119 reader ratings across 6 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #103?
Ranked #103 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.25 across 6 core books.
- A smaller readership (13,119 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.57 to 4.31.
- Less than 0.01 behind #102, Cemetery Boys (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 6 books · Complete · 13k ratings · Ranks #103 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (6 Core Canon books)
- Волшебник Изумрудного города (1939)
- Урфин Джюс и его деревянные солдаты (1963)
- Семь подземных королей (1964)
- Огненный бог Марранов (1968)
- Жёлтый туман (1970)
- Тайна заброшенного замка (1976)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Magic Land and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Nevermoor Portal fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.39
- The Faraway Tree Portal fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.28
- Beyonders Portal fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.24
- Impossible Creatures Portal fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.13
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.25 across 13,119 ratings on 6 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 29 universes; Inda widened to Sartorias-deles; 5 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia - The Wizard of the Emerald City Tier 2
- Russian Wikipedia - Волшебник Изумрудного города Tier 2
- Publisher AST - cycle page Tier 2
- Wikipedia - Alexander Volkov (writer) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = the six Volkov novels, The Wizard of the Emerald City (1939) to The Mystery of the Abandoned Castle (1976).