After reading Wicked, I was so excited to get into this one. Unfortunately, getting into it was a problem. I think it took me 7 months to finish this book, because I kept putting it down for something more interesting. Finally, I really got into the story - only to realize that I had just finished the last page. This was a huge disappointment for me.

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I didn't like this as much as Wicked. I loved Wicked and was very invested in Elphaba. This book follows Liir and I wasn't as interested in his character, probably due to Elphaba's indifference to him in the first book.
I do enjoy the Oz that Maguire has created, and would read another book if he set one there. It has so many neat races of people and political intrigue that could be investigated further.There are also other characters that would be interesting as the main character, like Elphaba's sister or Glinda, for instance.
So, it's not as good as Wicked, but it still set in an interesting world with odd characters. I just wasn't a big fan of Liir.

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I really loved Wicked, and was so excited for the sequel that I bought a hardcover copy (which I hardly ever do). I was disappointed in this book, however. I felt the story of Elphaba's son, Liir, was left twisting in the wind - it was a winding, kind of long-winded story, and I wasn't really engaged in it as much as I could have been. Liir as a character annoyed me. I thought, for most of the book, he was weak and whiny. Maybe that's why I liked it less than I thought I would!

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A very strange coming of age story. I liked the different take on Oz, and I loved the style with which Maguire puts sentences together. Some of the imagery was fabulous. But the story meandered and there was no clear plot or goal, nor was there much accomplished in the end.

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this follow up book To Wicked is not as good and seems to drag in places.

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didnt care for the book at all.

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Not as good as wicked.

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I am a big fan of Wicked and Gregory Maguire. I was totally entrigued by Elphaba and I feared this book would not live up to my expectations of the author. I am pleased to say, while not as unusual as Wicked, Son of a Witch holds its own. For me, it was a much faster read, probably because I am now used to Maquire's style. I love the way the author provides us with interesting and flawed characters to love and/or hate. What I really find delightful is the authors sharp and insightful comments on the nature of policts, religion and ethics. As another reviewer mentioned, I wanted to hear some of this dialogue out loud...so I read it that way. I was planning on passing this on to someone else when I finished but I've decided that I want to read it again, along with a second pass at Wicked. I was going to wait for the latest OZ book, A Lion Among Men, to arrive here but I know I have to buy it....Now.

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Son of a Witch
Oatsie Manglehand, a woman who leads the Grasstrail Train, discovers the body of a young man, badly bruised and near death, by the side of a road in the Vinkus. Oatsie brings the man to the Cloister of Saint Glinda. The Superior Maunt recognizes the young man and identifies him as Liir, the young boy who left the Cloister with Elphaba a decade or so ago.
His care is given to Candle a Quadling girl who plays the, a Quadling guitar-like instrument. This among other things helps guide Liir back to consciousness. When Liir is better he and Candle go to the apple farm and then Liir goes onto the conference of the birds where he is asked to become the human ambassador for the birds.
While in the Emerald City, he sees Trism bon Cavalish, who informs him that the Emperor Apostle, the current ruler of Oz, is none other than a born-again Shell. Trism also reveals the dragons are sent out to terrorize the population of Oz and ensure submission to the Emperor's authority. Liir convinces Trism to help him destroy the dragons, and after poisoning their food, they recover Elphaba's broom and cloak and flee the City. Liir leaves a note saying he has kidnapped Trism, signing himself "Liir, son of Elphaba" this is the first time Liir claims to be Elphabas child.
During their flight, Liir and Trism become lovers. They eventually end up at the Cloister of Saint Glinda. Liir leaves on Elphabas broom returning to the Conference of Birds, Liir flies about Oz, collecting and training a huge flock of Birds, which he leads to the Emerald City. Over the City, they fly in formation as a huge representation of the Witch, with Liir as "the keen black eye of the Witch."
Returning to Apple Press Farm, Liir finds Candle is gone, but he finds wrapped in Elphaba's cloak a newborn baby who he initially thinks is dead but revives under his care. Holding the baby up to the rain to wash away the birth blood, she "cleans up green."
The narrative is not chronological for the first part of the book: in the first two sections but shifts between the time when Liir left Kiamo Ko after the death of Elphaba to the time when Candle and Liir leave the Cloister. The second two sections tell the story chronologically from Candle and Liir's arrival at Apple Press Farm to the end. Maguire clearly feels most comfortable with inventing in this book, most of this novel is set after the original Oz story ends. The little bit we see Dorothy in this story she is a difficult pain and the other characters are equally not as convincing. Overall it is a transition novel as many of the storylines remain unresolved and set the stage for the coming conflict that can be anticipated in Maguire's next book.

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Felt like a preview for the next book in the series. I loved Wicked, but this book wasn't as good. the story dragged and the ending felt empty, like I just read a 300+ page introduction to another story.

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I really enjoyed Wicked, but I just couldn't get into this one. Honestly I didn't even finish it, which is saying something for me. I always finish books, even if I don't really like them.

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I liked it. Definitely shows a different perspective of the Land of OZ. You feel for the wicked witch and her "son". It was easy from the writing to envision the land and details of the adventure of the Son of A Witch.

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Bruised, comatose and left for dead in a gully, Liir is shattered in spirit as well as in form. At the Cloister of Saint Glinda the silent novice Candle tends to him, willing him back to life with her unusual musical gifts. What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape â but what of her powers? Can he find his half-sister, Nor, last seen in the forbidding prisin 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?

This book is the 2nd in a series (Wicked is the first one), telling the "Wizard of Oz" story in a different perspective. Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West, who was killed by Dorothy.

The characters are developed well, the story flows and there are mysteries within mysteries to keep the reader interested.

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very different than what I expected, but being a big fan of Whe Wizard of Oz I will continue to read the series. Definetly not a childrens book.

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