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Son of a Witch: A Novel (The Wicked Years) | 
 enlarge | Author: Gregory Maguire
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $2.17
You Save: $13.83 (86%)
New (56) Used (82) Collectible (3) from $2.17
Avg. Customer Rating:  221 reviews
Sales Rank: 44305
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0060747226
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060747220
ASIN: 0060747226
Publication Date: October 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Ten years after the publication of Wicked, beloved novelist Gregory Maguire returns at last to the land of Oz. There he introduces us to Liir, an adolescent boy last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Bruised, comatose, and left for dead in a gully, Liir is shattered in spirit as well as in form. But he is tended to at the Cloister of Saint Glinda by the silent novice called Candle, who wills him back to life with her musical gifts. What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape—but what of her powers? Can he find his supposed half-sister, Nor, last seen in the forbidding prison, Southstairs? Can he fulfill the last wishes of a dying princess? In an Oz that, since the Wizard's departure, is under new and dangerous management, can Liir keep his head down long enough to grow up? For the countless fans who have been dazzled and entranced by Maguire's Oz, Son of a Witch is the rich reward they have awaited so long.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 216 more reviews...
Definitely needs some follow-up... January 4, 2009
Possible Spoilers:
I think that too much of the book was spent on Liir's adolescent years, which were slow moving and not that interesting. It isn't until the last 3rd of the novel that it starts to get really good, and by that time you get into the story, it ends quite abruptly. A good sequel can really make up for this book's early short-comings, but without a decent follow-up, then it's quite disappointing. I felt like a lot of the early stuff could've been shortened or skipped over, and instead the story should've continued further down Liir's life instead of ending when he is only 23 years-old. In "Wicked", the book was barely half way through when Elphaba was that age. Not to mention, the whole point of his journey was to find Nor, yet we really aren't given any answers about her other than the fact that she is alive somewhere.
Also, the relationship between Liir and Candle was never fully fleshed out. A potential follow-up to this book would have to give some explanation as to what happened to Candle. She gives birth to his baby, and we see that they have feelings for each other but it's never exactly expressed clearly. They actually never consummate their relationship with consent. Candle is a character with a lot of potential, kind of an opposite female character of Elphaba, who could've used more fleshing out. It also seemed quite strange and sudden that Liir would have a relationship with Trism when he was seemingly read to devote himself to Candle until then. Perhaps he was so deprived as a child that he's willing to fall in love with anyone that's nice to him, but I could never clearly see what was going on there.
If a good sequel can be written, this book could be a great middle volume, but it doesn't really stand alone. There is simply too much that is left open, and the characters just don't seem finished yet, perhaps because the main character is still so young when the story ends.
 Still good December 28, 2008
Do you really want to read a book that is better than Wicked? If anybody expects any of the next wicked years to be better than the first they are in for a let down. Son of a Witch is an awesome book but it is a sequel to an amazing book. I think Maguire did the best he could without topping Wicked. Why try to top Wicked when everyone loves it so much? Son of a Witch is a great book with an ending that makes you love Elphaba and her story even more.
 Wicked sequel December 15, 2008
This book was good, but not as good as Wicked, of course. I still enjoyed it very much. It is very dark in parts and exciting. I think I did not like it as much as Wicked because I do not find Liir to be a very likeable character, still it was wonderful to be in Oz again and this book left me eager to read "A Lion Among Men".
Wonderful continuation... December 2, 2008
I truly enjoyed Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" and I was thrilled to find out that he had continued on the story of Oz. Son of a Witch was even more exciting to me, because I felt like the action had been tripled, the suspense intensified, and you honestly felt an attachment to the people of Oz.
Some people think it is crazy to get caught up in a fantasy world, but it is hard not to when you read stories like this one. Oz isn't just some fanciful world of lollipop guild children and dancing scarecrows that you remember. Gregory Maguire created a very real, very dark, very honest world that reflects the world that we live in today...
A Good, if not Great Sequel November 24, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The one thing that really disappointed me in this sequel to Wicked is that the one question we all want to know, "Is Liir Elphaba's son?" is never blatanly answered. (Although you can infer the answer from the last line of the novel.) Other than that this book is pretty good. Very Gregory Maguire. It kept me anxiously reading from the very beginning.
One note. One of the reviewers says that Nor is Elphaba's daughter. This is not true. Nor is the daughter of Fiyero and Sarima. She is their only daughter. Just wanted to clear that up.
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