Son Of A Witch: A Novel: 2 (The Wicked Years, 2) Paperback – 26 Sept. 2006

Elphaba lives! An enigmatic scrawl that is appearing on walls across the Emerald City defies the received wisdom that the Wicked Witch of the West has been vanquished by Dorothy Gale. Certainly across London it would seem that our green-skinned heroine has survived. Her enigmatic smile peers from a thousand poster sites, grinning enigmatically at whatever is whispered from her white-clad friend Glinda. With the success of the musical Wicked it was perhaps inevitable that a follow up book would arrive. But is it any good?Firstly this is a review for those who enjoyed the first book. If you didn't enjoy Maguire's original subversion of the classic tale of Oz then it is unlikely that this book is going to do much for you. However, if the concept of the retelling of such a familiar tale and the creation of a whole new world of Oz left you wanting more, then this book is no disappointment.In this book one of the survivors from the incursion into Kimano Ko is Liir. It was never made clear throughout Wicked who this child was. Bullied by his siblings, and clutching desperately to Elphaba despite her indifference he is now left with nothing. As a result this book is the story of him growing up in the face of a harsh and unforgiving post-Wizard Oz.At first the socialite and philanthropist Glinda has filled the vacuum of power in the Emerald City, and is then succeeded by the Scarecrow before an all powerful Emperor assumes the throne in the name of the Unnamed God. Religion is perverted to serve power, and the whole of Oz faces the forced conversion to the Unitarianism. In the face of this power is there anyone who is willing to take up the Witch's mantle and defend the defenceless of Oz?The book is considerably tighter than the original, focused solely on Liir, and only dwelling on others as they come into his life. It is surprising - Liir's personal life does not follow the Technicolor simplicity of the original Wizard of Oz series. This is Oz grown up, gritty and real.As with Wicked the descriptive talent and storytelling mastery of Maguire is apparent. The man can weave a delicious narrative, and produce something that is a gripping, page turning treat. I think the book serves the reader better than its predecessor in filling in many of the gaps left by Wicked. It is a complete story in itself, perfectly intelligible and enjoyable without the background story of Wicked. But read in tandem it produces a powerful follow up, and one which gives firmer foundations for a trilogy or series of books based on this alternate Oz.Perhaps most importantly for a book that is fantasy and escapism it is a cracking read, vividly painting the darker side to Oz whilst still producing the characters and storylines that are interesting and indulging.

I have read this more then once and it’s a page turner and I love the wicked series just wish there was more

Didn't lie it as much as the first book, there's a lot going on in this one that will set the scene for the next book I think. Would have had three stars but was saved by the last quarter of the book, particularly the very last four words...

Extremely good quality, very good value for money and very fast delivery, I will most definitely be buying from this seller again.

love this book and the story of Elphaba, would totally recommend it

I will read the whole trilogy because I find the mythology brilliant however this instalment was a little disappointing. It felt more like a 'filler' getting ready for the final book I guess. It introduced other characters which I'm hoping will have more to do in the final book. The son in questions, Liir, is not a good person but then arguable, neither was his mother.

Wife, Brother in law and Mother in Law all went to see Wicked in London and loved it.Brother in Law wanted the books and is loving them..Nice price too

beautiful book, came in great condition and can't wait to have the other 2

I read this book and thought it was an excellent read.

Excelente libro, aunque no lo he acabado ya empieza a aclarar muchas de las dudas que quedaron pendientes en Wicked. Muy recomendable para los seguidores de la saga y también para los que están empezando a interesarse

Esperava pelo exemplar original, mas este parece ter sido uma cópia. Não é da editora oficial, não possui as ilustrações da maneira padrão desta série e se parece muito com o formato do ebook. Pra alguém que pagou 60 reais e recebeu a cópia, haja motivos de indignação. :/

At the beginning of the book, Liir is found unconscious by stagecoach driver Oatsie Manglehand and is brought to the nunnery to recuperate. The head nun recognized Liir as being the same boy that had gone off with Elphaba many years before. While at the convent, Liir was cared for by Candle, who played a string instrument that caused memories of the past to surface. Thus, we find out much of what happened to Liir from the time he left the convent, as a boy, and the time he returned unconscious. From the first book, we know that Liir had remained with Elphaba at Kiamo Ko, the home of her lover, Fiyero, with Fiyero's family; they remain after the family is kidnapped. At the end of the first book, Elphaba has been killed inadvertently by Dorothy. This leaves Liir to fend for himself and to try and discover who he is, since Elphaba has not told him anything, because she, herself, is unaware of all the circumstances of Liir's birth. Interwoven with Liir's own story are the politics and religions of Oz. There has been much fighting among the different groups of Oz, because the Wizard has instigated suspicions between the groups, so he could go in and acquire the resources of those areas. The book is a page turner because you want to find out what has happened to Liir and how the politics of Oz affects the trajectory of Liir's life after he leaves the convent upon his recovery. Throughout his various wanderings and work situations, Liir looks for Nor, one of Fiyero's daughters, whom he bonded with at Kiamo Ko. If she were still alive, she could be in the Southstairs prison, a horrible place from which very few escaped, and many were never seen again. This creates suspense as to if Nor is still alive and where she is. Many characters come and go throughout the book, each filling in a part of Liir's background and leading him to his eventual path in life.

Ayant lue le premier en version volume parut cet été et ayant reçut un mail de l'éditeur disant qu'il n'était pas prévu de traduire les suites, je me suis jeté sur l'édition originale avec appréhension (Étant en 2nde) et finalement pour les non anglophone c'est assez simple à lire (A condition d'avoir un dictionnaire pour certains passages) et avec une histoire toujours aussi intéressante que le premier, et comme le dit le commentaire précédent : Liir est le personnage qui manquait à la littérature. Je compte maintenant commandé les suites car c'est vraiment une bonne saga. Seul bémol de l'édition de poche (en dehors de la petitesse des caractère) la tranche se plie vraiment facilement mais a pars ça la mise en page est soignée tout comme les quelques dessins et une couverture vraiment belle et en relief (pour le titre) avec notamment une tranche des pages rouge. Voilà, donc un livre que je recommande à tous (même les non-anglophone).