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

a bit too long

I loved the other books in the Wicked series, however this one felt out of place and a bit too long. At times it felt a bit too wordy and descriptive.
But I stuck it out since I wanted to know how the story ended. The ending was lack luster and ultimately I could have done without this installment.
If you really want to know how the Wicked series ends read it. However its not really exciting.

The narration itself was great though.

Wonderful

I was amazed to see this book out this month. I caught it just a few days after it was released. I am in awe of Mr. Maguires writing. The depth and intensity of the language he uses and invents is simply amazing to hear. Mr. McDonough's narration is so extraordinary, it's as if he was born to read these pages and bring them to life. The whole series has been a joy to listen to. There is so much to these stories and this book, it's hard to sum up in a few sentences. You simply have to listen and believe.
Thank you so much for taking a simple guideline and making it so enjoyable without hurting the original story of "The Wizard of Oz".
You are a true Master of Words.
Thank you very much for all your books and this series.

Beautifully written and performed

Out of Oz is definitely a commitment to get through and intake all the nuance and intricacies of the interweaving storylines, but it is well thought out, well edited, and beautifully performed. It is worth your time! John McDonough gives yet another brilliant slate of character voices, and gives life to the entertaining and creative way Mr. Maguire has chosen to wrap up his series. Bravo, gentlemen!

Didn't see this coming!

I liked it. quite a strange and abrupt ending, but this is a new telling of the Land of Oz.

How how's it Rain

What a life! I laughed and I was saddened, I knew what was next & then I didn't.... I loved the play on words and the meaning behind them. This was a very good story to get "OUT OF OZ"! Mr. Maguire your imagination is truly a gift. Thank you for sharing your talent with us. Mr. McDonough thank you again for the narration of this volume. Listening to your voice and how you made each character so different made this audible awesome.

The best in the series of Wicked!

I loved this one more than any of the others! I would love to read more and hope there will be adventures with Rain.

Such an Amazing Journey!!!

Loved It!! Great to hear about all the characters! Could not stop Listening to it!

Great book

love the series. Listen to it over and over :-) I'm sad it's over though

A Great Conclusion

A beautiful conclusion to an amazing series, the characters and dialog are all spot on, there's genius in the writings of Gregory Maguire, I'm so happy that I experienced it, and the narrator reads it all spot on, this is literally the best one in the series, its hilarious, epic, and a dash of suspense, a perfect treasure, I recommend this to all fantasy fans of both fantasy in literature and fans of Oz in general, thank you for this masterpiece.

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.