The Wicked Years continue in Gregory Maguire’s Son of a Witch—the heroic saga of the hapless yet determined young man who may or may not be the offspring of the fabled Wicked Witch of the West. A New York Times bestseller like its predecessor, the remarkable Wicked, Son of a Witch follows the boy Liir on his dark odyssey across an ingeniously re-imagined and nearly unrecognizable Land of Oz—a journey that will take him deep into the bowels of the
Son of a Witch
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The death of Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West, brings about spectacular changes in this masterfully imaginative sequel to Maguire's 1995 blockbuster Wicked—most notably, the startling possibility that Elphaba had a son. Scattered among the ruins of great portions of Emerald City, many residents have been skinned and bloodied, supposedly by the barbaric Yunamatas. Travel caravan leader Oatsie Manglehand stumbles upon the body of an unknown young man, badly beaten but still alive. She presents him to the wise Superior Maunt, who recognizes the hurt boy as Liir, rumored to be the dead Witch's secreted son. A mute waif named Candle revives him with her haunting, ethereal music and hidden affections. Meanwhile, Maguire supplies alternating chapters of extensive, mesmerizing backstory of Liir's boyhood, from the witch's watery demise, to the trek to the Wizard's Castle with Dorothy and company, his search for the imprisoned princess Nor, and a long stint in the Munchkinland Army, all while donning his mother's black cape and clutching her magic broom handle. Along the way, a headspinning cast of vividly described, eccentric characters emerges, but nothing prepares Liir for Candle's shocking surprise announcement. Tucked into Maguire's enchanting fable are carefully calibrated object lessons in forgiveness, retribution, love, loss and the art of moving on despite tragic circumstances. Ten years after Wicked (which is still on Broadway), fans will once again be clicking their heels with wonderment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Son picks up where Maguires highly successful Wicked (HarperCollins, 1995) left off, with the death of Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West. She left behind a daughter, Nor, and Liir, who may or may not be her son. After her death, he enters into a decade of listless soul searching. He travels for a time and then joins the military, enjoying the structure it provides his life. But eventually his rearing by the Witch as well as his possible heritage catch up to him and he finds himself in demand to start a new revolution against the tyranny of Emerald City. An odd series of disfiguring murders starts occurring all across Oz. Liir discovers that the new Emperor sits behind the machinations and uses the strange killings to spread distrust among the various races of the land. Wielding Elphabas flying broom and donning her magical cape, Liir makes some small but bold gestures that help the populace of Oz and replants the seeds of hope that Elphaba spread a generation before. Son is a tighter work than Wicked, making deft use of flashbacks and varying viewpoints to create a quicker pace. And Liirs quest–both to find himself and to save the people of Oz–is easier to believe than the motivations that drove the bitter yet heroic Elphaba. A well-written, well-crafted fantasy that can stand on its own.–Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
SO THE TALK OF RANDOM BRUTALITY wasn't just talk. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
SO THE TALK OF RANDOM BRUTALITY wasn't just talk. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This book is very dark and very entertaining. I would definately reccomend it to anyone who read the wicked and loved the backstory and the whole political underbelly part of it. If you've just seen the musical, and never read novel i would reccomend not reading this one until you have, or else you'll have absolutely no idea whats going or who any of the characters are. The only familiar characters represented from the show are Glinda & Dorothy's crew (and just in small cameos). But Overall I thought it was a great sequal and as usual Gregory Mcguire went into great detail about the world of oz, constantly giving new information about the places and peoples involved in the story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I really enjoyed reading the first book in the series "Wicked" and seeing the live production show. I was very excited to read "Son of a Witch." I finished the book and was disappointed. I do not plan to read the third book. I thought "Wicked" was very innovative to tell the story of Oz from a different view point. I had no interest in reading about the wicked witch's supposed son, and the story did not hold my interest. I finished the book not satisfied and I have no plans to keep it in my book collection, I gave it away to my sister-in-law. Disappointing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By D. McIntosh
Format:Hardcover
Love the title----and the book! This is the continuing story of WICKED which, unless you've been living under a rock, you know about. I didn't really feel that it dragged at all. I read it from cover to cover in one evening. I think the fact that it deals more with Liir's character growing and developing more than actual "action" probably puts some people off. I get very caught up in this version of Oz, however, so I like to read these things. I thought it did a great job following in the footsteps of Wicked. Must also recommend the books: KATZENJAMMER by Jackson McCrae, and the novel CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 343 reviews
3.4 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
Macguire's wicked series is ammmaazzing! could not put 'Son of a Witch' down. When I first bought the series I thought it was more for youth, but definitely a more adult read. Read more
Published 21 months ago by reader
3.0 out of 5 stars
Son of a Witch
I do not often read a sequel that is better than the original but I felt that this was the case with Son of a Witch. If you loved Wicked then this is a must read. Read more
Published on Sep 13 2010 by Young Guns
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must read!
I am in awe of Maguire's in depth details about the land of Oz and all its minute inner workings. He has created another book as rich and complicated as Wicked and even when you... Read more
Published on Sep 26 2009 by Marcy
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
