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    Son of a Witch
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    Son of a Witch
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    Son of a Witch
    Audiobook14 hours

    Son of a Witch

    Written by Gregory Maguire

    Narrated by Gregory Maguire

    3.5/5

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    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    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 Emerald City, lately abandoned by the Wizard, and into the jaws of dragons. At once a grim fairy tale and an uplifting adventure, Son of a Witch is a true wonder.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateSep 27, 2005
    ISBN9780061124891
    Unavailable
    Son of a Witch
    Author

    Gregory Maguire

    Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked—the beloved classic that is the basis for the blockbuster Tony Award–winning Broadway musical of the same name and the major motion picture—Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. His series Another Day continues the story of Oz with The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, and The Witch of Maracoor, and his other novels include A Wild Winter Swan, Hiddensee, After Alice, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. He lives in New England and France.

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    Reviews for Son of a Witch

    3.5/5

    98 ratings54 reviews

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    • 1/5
      I only made it to chapter 60. The style of writing just didn't keep my attention
    • 2/5
      This sequel to the highly amusing novel Wicked is one vast stretch of drudgery after another. The entire book is a plateau with a slight blip of energy towards the end. There is little or no resolution of plot lines, and this is certain proof that it's all set-up for a sequel. Or so one hopes, given the dismal effort Maguire displays here.
    • 5/5
      I read some reviews on Amazon and was leery of reading this. However, I disagree with people who felt it was not necessary or happening at the same time as Wicked. I tried to read it before I read Wicked and didn't get it, so I stopped and read Wicked first. I think that is definitely necessary because then you completely know what's going on. This was a book I couldn't put down. I actually enjoyed it much more than Wicked. I felt it was more fast paced and had lots of action compared to Wicked. And the ending is a killer because it definitely makes you hope for a third installment in this story. It drove me crazy and I was hungry for more when I read the ending.
    • 3/5
      A year or so ago I read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and found it pretty enjoyable and thought provoking. Enough so that I picked up the follow-up book, Son of a Witch. It took a while to finally getting around to reading the second book...and by now I've seen the musical and forgotten elements of the first book (which are definitely radically changed for the musical). My overall feeling is that Son of a Witch has way too much going on and isn't terribly focused. While Wicked had a moderately clear message it was trying to convey, I often felt lost as to the direction Son of Witch was going. Perhaps it was done intentionally by Maguire to help us feel just as uneasy and confused as Liir. If so, I think it went a little overboard. It also felt like many aspects of the text were there for shock value rather than substance since many of the actions and themes were just dropped in the reader's lap without any further discussion or contemplation by the narrative.The narrative style was a bit confusing at first, transitioning between current action and dream/coma flashbacks. I got used to that style fairly quickly, but then the coma ended...apparently before Maguire was done with the backstory, because the next many chapters continued the flashback tale even though Liir was no longer in his coma. It wasn't awful, just a little unsettling and felt like bad planning from the author. Once the backstory has finalized, Liir just seems to wander idly around Oz, picking up quest after quest, but not really focusing whole heartedly on any one task. He constantly behaves like a victim of circumstance, all the while bemoaning his fate and his lack of action.The main storyline, once extracted from all the extraneous threads in the book, was actually fairly interesting. Over the course of Liir's young life, Oz is transitioning between one political faction after another. While the changes of power are relatively free of violence, each new ruler brings new trials, disasters, repressions and violence. The flashback history while Liir's in a coma takes us through a couple of puppet governments (one almost literally with the Scarecrow...though "not Dorothy's Scarecrow") and finally leaving us with the Emperor. Liir becomes aware of the vile machinations of the Emperor and disagrees with the actions of the government. He helps uncover a mystery plaguing many travelers around Oz (a violent and tragic "face scraping" of travelers...which threatens to throw rival groups into war, or at least keep them from any form of peace). Liir even leads a small rebellion against the Emperor, but he really isn't motivated in this and just sort of wanders off.Generally, this book felt like it was trying to make a number of political and social statements but in the end it just felt like a statement about inaction, complacency and finding your own purpose. Any statement was muddled amid too many distractions. There were many great paragraphs and "sound bites" that would make for cool one-off quotes, but the ideas weren't lasting enough to help pull the book off.All of that said, I am still interested enough in the vivid and intriguing Oz that Maguire has crafted, such that I will likely seek out the third book (A Lion Among Men) to see what happens next. But sadly, my expectations have fallen a bit.***2.5 stars (out of 5)
    • 3/5
      I thought Wicked was an awesome book, an astounding epic book with a different look at Oz. I had a hard time getting through this sequel. Was it the slowness? Or maybe I felt no sympathy for the protagonist. He seemed clueless. Or maybe that was just me. He is bicurious, which seemed to come out of nowhere. I wondered if that and other themes were part of Maguire's political agenda. So many things didn't make sense to me. This one is so obviously set up for the next one with all the unanswered questions left hanging. Annoying.
    • 4/5
      Son of a Witch tell the story of Liir, who may or may not be the son of Elphaba, the wicked witch of the West. After Elphaba's murder, Liir is left as a child with no purpose and no direction, but in possession of Elphaba's broom and cape. He is let down by the murderer, Dorothy, and the Scarecrow, who has his own ambitions. The story follows Liir's attempt to trace his stolen possible half-sister Nor, and in so doing, his involvement in the political scene in Oz following the defection of the Wizard and the rise to power of the Apostle. I actually enjoyed this book more than Wicked. I thought it was well written with good characters and a good story line.
    • 2/5
      The long-awaited sequel to Wicked is, like the rest of Maguire's books, a major disappointment. Wicked was clever and mischievous and very funny; this book is scattered, random, and hard to follow. It's also oddly homo-erotic in ways that are just plain odd.
    • 1/5
      Now I wasn't a massive fan of Wicked, although a few of the ideas were worth mulling over. But this book I couldn't even get through. I'm sure the story isn't that bad, but the writing is shocking. Give it to someone else to write and we might have a decent book.Sorry, I'm not normally so harsh, but I can't even describe what it's about.
    • 2/5
      Meh. The easiest way to retain a reader is to set your story in an already rich, beloved, and iconic world. Maguire's Wicked Years books are most interesting in that they re-imagine Oz from the perspective of an adult who understands politics. I enjoy going back to a world that I loved as child and being reminded that there must have been some nastiness going on below the surface, so I read this and Wicked. I think I'm done now.Plot-wise and character-wise Son of a Witch does absolutely nothing of real value. All the characters feel stock, even though only a small handfull appeared in L. Frank Baum's novels. The plot was meandering and largely pointless, each event acting to drive a dull protagonist with an overly fractured personality. It feels like Liir is the center of the universe, though the universe can't seem to flow around him in any one direction for long. The sequence in the Emerald City prison would have made a hell of a short story, but the rest is largely fluff. I get that teenagers feel buffeted about and without direction, but Maguire overdoes it by miles.
    • 3/5
      Son of a Witch is the story of Liir, who may or may not be Elphaba's son, and what he does following her death. The answer to that is 'not a heckuva lot.' He wanders around, joins the army, meets with some birds... This is a profoundly boring book. It picks up at about the halfway point, but doesn't come to any sort of thrilling conclusion. In fact, this book seems like a bridge. As to what, I do not know. Apparently, there's a third book featuring a lion.
    • 3/5
      Follow Liir, a young man who doesn't know for sure who is parents are as he tries to find some connection to the world around him. Some may find his life similar to someone they know who lets life lead them rather than taking the reins and making something of life. As a young boy Liir used to follow the soldiers around, now he has become one of them. He learns that he too has become a pawn in the Emperor's game of sowing mistrust among the various tribes of Oz. After following orders that awakens his indignation at what he has done, he finally breaks out of the stupor that he has fallen into as a soldier and flies.It is only after a young girl named Candle brings him back from death's door that he starts to really come around and make his life worth living. Imaginative and filled with unusual characters, "Son of a Witch" will lead you through a coming of age story unlike others.
    • 4/5
      Carrying passengers as quickly and as safely across the the Thousand Year Grasslands and the Disappointments, dreading every turn which might bring them closer to the warring tribes, Oatsie Manglehand and her Grassland Train come across the body of a young man, severely bruised and beaten but barely breathing. Oatsie forces her passengers to take a side trip from their trek to the Emerald City, to stop at the Cloister of Saint Glinda and hopefully offer shelter and aide to the man. Recognizing who he is, the Sisters agree to tend to his wounds, with the Mother Maunt placing the novice Candle -- a soft-spoken musician -- in charge of his needs. Candle's music has a healing effect on the young man, the soft melodies helping his broken mind and body work through the mysteries of his past to possibly help him with his future."Son of a Witch" is Gregory Maguire's second foray into his re-imagining of Frank L. Baum's classic stories, focusing the story on a young man named Liir, who may or may not be the son of the Wicked Witch of the West, but whose actions will ultimately effect the changing political landscape of Oz. Maguire's Oz is much darker than the fantasy almost everyone grew up seeing on the screen, but he manages to throw enough characters and scenes that we recognize to keep the work familiar but at the same time filling in gaps. For example, at the beginning of Liir's "rehabilitation" with Candle, his memory flashes back to the castle where Dorothy melted the Wicked Witch. He leaves the castle with Dorothy and her traveling companions, helping her to return to the Wizard with the trophy of the burned broom. (And it doesn't necessarily paint a rosy portrait of the Dorothy that we all know.)Much of the book deals with Liir trying to find out about his past -- is he the son of the Witch or not? Will his be able to find his supposed half-sister Nor who may be rotting in a prison city with the Animals beneath the Emerald City? For the most part, this search tries to show a positive light on Liir maturing from the young adolescent to an army veteran to somewhat understanding that he does have magic abilities. But the let down is his constant whining about not knowing who his parents are. In fact, that becomes his mantra, and I wanted to throttle him not quite as much as the Cliff Eagle at the Conference of Birds wanted to peck his eyes out.Despite that, I enjoyed reading about the politics and the realistic side to Oz. The Animals being forced into labor or winding up in the underground prison. Glinda's cleansing of the riffraff and poor from the city streets to make it seem like a nicer, cleaner place. The now intelligent Scarecrow goes into hiding because he won't become a puppet politician; he's instead replaced with a drunken, easily managed lookalike. Not everything matches the technicolor façade, nothing is really ever as good as it seems.But hope can still manage to thrive, even in such a terrible environment. Whether it's from a boy flying on a broom, with an enormous flock of birds filling the sky, or a few simple words scribbled on a poster, that little bit can help bring about big change.So if you haven't figured it out by now, I did enjoy reading the book and am eager to read the third installment, "A Lion Among Men".
    • 4/5
      While there were bits of Wicked I liked quite a lot (I wished the political stuff would have had more conclusion than it did), I actually liked Son of a Witch better. I see most reviews disagree with me. The story does wander around quite a bit, but Liir, who was a pudgy and pale child that got less respect than Dangerfield in Wicked, was all over the land of Oz in this story, learning who he was and trying to do the right thing with nobody much to guide him. I actually came looking for yet another sequel when I finished it because I want to know more at this point. I didn't really feel that way at the end of Wicked. (But already had the sequel when I read it...) I'm now wondering if Mirror, Mirror is worth reading. I've got it, but is it worth it?
    • 5/5
      Great sequel to Wicked! I didn't plan on liking either book..I was wrong!
    • 4/5
      This is the sequel to Wicked written (I believe) ten years later, and the first of what is apparently being called "The Wicked Years" series. The premise is (roughly) to take the world from the Wizard of Oz and present it as a more realistic, though magical, place, instead of a fairyland, and more specifically, from the Wicked Witch's point of view. I quite liked Wicked, but with some reservations.Son of a Witch is about Elphaba (the Witch)'s probable son, Liir- who is, I think, a problematic character. The book was an enjoyable foray back into Maguire's Oz, and elaborated on some of the themes and questions left unanswered in Wicked, but didn't really add much, IMO. If you liked Wicked, Son of a Witch is about what you should expect from a sequel set after Elphaba's death: the world is emptier without her, and that's part of the point. I'm still not really sure what I thought of Son of a Witch, but I did enjoy it, and I think I plan on reading the next one, so I guess that passes for a recommendation.
    • 4/5
      In "Son of Witch" we follow the story of Liir, the boy who is probably Elphaba's (The Wicked Witch of the West) son. Nobody really knows for sure though, and he really struggles with his identity as a result. In fact, he usually just avoids all questions that are family related!After the death of Elphaba, Liir strikes out on his own, looking for his missing friend, and trying to figure out who he is in the process. Along the way he meets Princess Nastoya, Glinda, and even the Scarecrow! He also enrolls in the army for awhile, where he learns a lot, but eventually grows disgusted and leaves.Thing are developing politically in Oz during this book. They go through succession of leaders after the Wizard leaves, and the consequences to the people aren't always good. Liir becomes more a more integral part of this than he wants or would expect.I think I actually liked this book more than I did the first one. That could simply be because Maquire had more room to play here considering Liir is a new character to the Oz stories! It was interesting to see his nods to the original books though. I'm glad that I'm rereading the original series right now too :D
    • 4/5
      My first thought after reaching the end of Son Of A Witch was "wait...that's really the end?" I flipped forward a few pages, sure there had to be more. It took about 15 minutes of reflection to realize that it's actually the perfect ending. As much as I don't like loose ends and always want to see everything resolved, the truth is the only important loose end was the one that WAS tied up. Everything else was circumstantial. I'm not to proud to say I'm biased. Maguire is one of my favorite authors and has been since I first picked up Wicked. That was nearly eight years ago (and I haven't actually returned to it since). I could probably cast a positive light on anything he writes. Except for maybe Lost.
    • 4/5
      I think Son of A Witch was every bit as good as Wicked. Son of A Witch is the story of Liir, a young man who was raised by the Wicked Witch, but may or may not be her son. Liir's near dead body is found by travelers and brought to the mauntery for the maunts to try to heal. It just happens to be the Cloister where Elphaba once resided. It was from that same place that Elpahaba left years later with young Liir in tow. With the help of a young lady named Candle, Liir begins to heal. The thoughts running through his subconsious as he is healing tells his story starting at the point of the Witch's demise, when Liir left the castle with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man. We follow Liir as he seperates from his companions and lives a solitary life, for the most part. He joins the military and much happens to him there that shapes the remainder of his life. We see glimpses of other characters we met in Wicked. It is easy to see Liir as human, and making of human mistakes, some grave, but still a decent man who wants good. He desperately wants to be Elphaba's son, despite his insistance otherwise, even to himself. I believe that Son of a Witch, despite an ending that leaves some things hanging, is the more thought out of the two books. It seems to have a clear path, telling the story of this boy who later becomes a man. I found it a very quick, and satisfing read and I hope to read any future books in this series that Maguire releases.
    • 3/5
      The story follows Lir, the abandoned son of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Interesting in the way all Maguire novels are, vaguely political and bizarrely sexual. Contains sexuality.
    • 2/5
      Son of a Witch fell flat for me. My expectations were incredibly high after a second read of Life and Times of the Wicked Witch. But so many chapters dragged that I found myself not even caring who's son he was or if he even woke up.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book, I liked it more than Wicked, possibly because I was well into the story line and was able to pick it up and get engrossed in the book immediately.
    • 4/5
      I'm not usually a fan of sequels, but found myself absorbed in this one. Maguire's prose is always impeccable and, this is no exception. Through the lense of OZ, he explores the horrors of soldiers being forced to obey orders and the subsequent fallout, the coming of age of Liir, and a host of other social and ethical issues. Definately engaging and true to the characters of Wicked.
    • 4/5
      Not as good as Wicked. Too may smaller "stories" inside. I just wanted to read about Liir, Candle, and Trism. Would have been an awesome love triangle..but too much of everything else was going on. Too descriptive for me too.
    • 4/5
      This one just didn't have the magic for me that Wicked did. Which isn't to say this isn't a good story in it's own right - just not what I was expecting.
    • 4/5
      A decade after the Wicked Witch dies, a young man is found barely alive in a gully. No one can figure out how he got there. He is taken to a mauntery and tended by Candle, silent but with a gift for music. She brings him back to life.The young man is Liir, he had been with the Witch when she died, he had been living with her for years. Believed to be her son but never proved. Through Liir’s memories we go back in time, to cover the years in between and how he came to be broken and comatose, tossed away like yesterday’s trash.Liir is looking for Nor, at the same time, due to the fact that many believe he is Elphaba’s son he is asked to help the oppressed. Liir does not have the confidence in himself that other’s do. Yet when he decides to do something, he sticks to it.This sequel introduces us to new characters while expanding on the old ones carried over. There are still questions, What happened to Dorothy?, The Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion. And what is going to happen to Oz with the land in turmoil and looking to boil over at any time?Gregory Maguire keeps the story going. I could only see one thing that differed from Wicked, so pretty good. The characters remained consistent to what we learned previously. This consistency lends credence to this account and makes it easy to pick up the story and keep going.
    • 2/5
      Not as captivating as Wicked. I had a hard time getting past the first 20 pages and still have yet to finish the book. Probably not one I would recommend.
    • 5/5
      Some say that Son of a Witch does not live up to the high standards set by Wicked. I would have to disagree. I found the book enjoyable with plenty of intrigue. Though obviously setting up the sequel, the book manages to tell a good story with humor, interesting characters, and a smidge of homoerotic subtext thrown in for good measure.
    • 1/5
      Son of a Witch was a painful read. It is an entire book dedicated to Liir, a throwaway character from Wicked, and his life after his mother's death. Maguire is unable to envoke any passion, sympathy, excitement or emotion towards his main character. Despite his plights, there is no yearning for anything for Liir but only for the book to be over.
    • 4/5
      I was dissapointed with the ending, excpected something more interseting and intreguing. Overall a good read though.
    • 4/5
      While this one wasn't quite as good as WIcked, it was still enchanting. despite the slow start, the story really picked up towards the end with lots of politics, interesting twists and great characters. Liir is questionably the son of the wicked witch of the west. He is a tortured soul and on a mission. When the politics of Oz get in the way his life takes a few unexpected turns and the reader is taken on a great adventure in the process.