Out of Oz

The Wicked Years, Volume 4

By: Gregory Maguire

Narrated by: John McDonough

Length: 28 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The stunning conclusion to the smash New York Times best-selling series the Wicked Years

Gregory Maguire's Wicked Years series became national best sellers and the basis for a hit Tony-winning Broadway musical. Now, Maguire returns with the final installment in his transformative work, a thrilling and compulsively readable saga in which the fate of Oz is decided at last.

Once peaceful and prosperous, the spectacular Land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who's knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes. That Dorothy.

Yet amid all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now it is up to Rain to take up her broom - and her legacy - in an Oz wracked by war.

The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the best-selling series that began with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises - the hallmarks of the unique imagination of Gregory Maguire.

Return to Oz: listen to another title in the Wicked Years series.; Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 Gregory Maguire (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

Out of Oz

I liked how Dorothy was defined to Oz in a cage type elevator. The rest got me lost. I will listen again

excellent

this has an excellent conclusion to an enlongated story... i was glued to this book most of all in the 4 book series

Nice Wrap Up

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not on it's own, no. I think this is a nice wrap up to the wicked series, though I can't help but feel sad at the end, because Rain's life was so lonely and depressing, and then just when it looks like she might have a chance at happiness it gets taken away from her.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The long journeys got a little boring, and I pretty much hate Dorothy the whole time. The very VERY vague allusion that Elphaba returned was the most interesting thing to me.

I mostly listened to this book because I had read the 3 previous books.

What three words best describe John McDonough’s voice?

Grizzly by comparison to the people.

Did Out of Oz inspire you to do anything?

no

Not What I Was Expecting

What did you like best about Out of Oz? What did you like least?

I feel like an awful traitor but I didn't really enjoy this. I loved Wicked so much and this series has spanned a big chunk of my life. Enjoyed Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men much less than Wicked, then this even less. I enjoy Maguire's writing (enjoyed his others like Mirror Mirror, etc) and the overall arc Of the series but I felt like I would have been just as well ending it at Wicked and not reading anything else - as far as resolution goess in the storylines I care about. After waiting for the end of the series for so long I had many expectations, and in fact I waited more than a year after publication to read this because I didn't want it to end/was dreading it would end unsatisfactorily. There are many beautiful reviews of this book but I was disappointed. After so many hours of listening to the seemingly endless travels across Oz and war strategy... And Dorothy (oh how I hate Dorothy)... so many hours that were just not interesting but I was holding out to hear how it ends. Don't want to get into spoilers but I also was disappointed in the resolution of some characters.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I can't listen to one more minute of the dwarf and his wife.

Any additional comments?

Again, I feel like a traitor for not liking this.

I absolutely LOVE everything about this series!

Would you listen to Out of Oz again? Why?

I've read the books already and would love it if I could afford to listen to them all as well. Gregory Maguire is an amazingly creative author and Jack McDonough couldn't be a better storyteller.

What other book might you compare Out of Oz to and why?

No comparison, really. Except for the other books in the series.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really liked the scene where Lady Glinda and Rain cast the 'Winter Upon Water' spell on Cherrystone's and his Dragons.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The land of make believe becomes a reality.

Any additional comments?

Keep 'em coming Mr. Maguire! I've already read 'Lost', 'Mirror Mirror', 'Confessions ..' and the whole 'Wicked' series. I'd love to see 'Wicked' on the big screen ...!!

Tied up in typical Maguire fashion!

If you could sum up Out of Oz in three words, what would they be?

War Rain Peace

What did you like best about this story?

The bringing together of all the characters from the four books for a satisfying conclusion.

Which scene was your favorite?

Bringing Liir back from the dead.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Would have loved to, but too long to do it! However, I did stay up quite late on the last night. Had to see how it ended!

Any additional comments?

The author wants his readers to draw their own conclusions, like always. At first I was unsure of the ending, but thinking it over now I love it. (The last sentence in the book is eerily similar to the first sentence in Wicked).

Readers should look for sly references to the musical, Judy Garland, The Wiz and of course the previous books. There are also some fun asides to Gone With The Wind which was also produced in 1939.

Just plain Odd and anticlamatic.

What did you like best about Out of Oz? What did you like least?

I have enjoyed all the other books in the

Which character ??? as performed by John McDonough ??? was your favorite?

He is good at all of them

Was Out of Oz worth the listening time?

It was better to listen to than read, at least the reader is entertaining.

Takes so long to get out

This novel requires no grasp of the plot; drop the needle on any track and listen for a few hours. Repeat randomly. Enjoy. The adult zany silliness built on Oz trivia (books and movie mingled) would entertain the Oz-Savy Tween, were it not for the challenging parlance, the opacious plot and the plethora of ribaldity. Well, maybe such readers would actually go for the latter, and it would be an excuse for binge listening. But 28 hours are a bit much; the cure is to listen at 2.5 speed: the narrator was clear and entertaining even at that speed.


Accolades aside, I may be a minority on this but it saddens me to see Baum’s concept of a de-fanged fairy world (in which a brave little girl of 1900 can have adventure) refashioned by this cynical revisionism. I shudder to think what will be done some day, once unprotected by copyright, to Sheeta, Mei, Satsuki, Kiki, Mononoke, Ponyo, Arrietty, Shizuku, Marnie, Kaguya, etc of the Ghibli universe (perhaps presented as a mono-gender cartel running a ponsi scheme defrauding gullible and greedy villagers); or Hermione Granger (Euro-centric, upwardly mobile, category-hopping, privileged & gifted causcasian).

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Where does Out of Oz rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Out of Oz ranks with the rest of the Wicked series as like #5.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Out of Oz?

When Rayne is really revealed in all of her green glory as Elphaba's Grand-daughter.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Rayne figures out that magic is just magic, but love and life are far greater!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Out of Oz...where do the possibilities end?

Any additional comments?

Mr. McDonough is the most execptional narrator! I love hearing his voice lend it's talent to such a wonderful work.

Great story

As with all the Wicked series books, this was a wonderful story and ended the series very well.