Son of a Witch

By: Gregory Maguire

Narrated by: Gregory Maguire

Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Ten years after the publication of Wicked, beloved novelist Gregory Maguire returns at last to the land of Oz. There he introduces us to Liir, an adolescent boy last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Bruised, comatose, and left for dead in a gully, Liir is shattered in spirit as well as in form. But he is tended at the Cloister of Saint Glinda by the silent novice called Candle, who wills him back to life with her musical gifts.

What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape, but what of her powers? Can he find his supposed half-sister, Nor, last seen in the forbidding prison, 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?

For the countless fans who have been dazzled and entranced by Maguire's Oz, Son of a Witch is the rich reward they have awaited so long.

Listen to an interview with author Gregory Maguire.

©2005 Gregory Maguire (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Masterfully imaginative....Ten years after Wicked (which is still on Broadway), fans will once again be clicking their heels with wonderment." (Publishers Weekly)
"A tale that adroitly mixes drama, humor, and political satire into a well-knit examination of good and evil." (Library Journal)

A wonderful return to Oz

It was so interesting to hear the story as read by the author, and fascinating to see what happened to Oz after "the witch". Lots of parallels to our world today, and deep thoughts explored through the minds of the characters. A must read or listen.

Listening to it made it come alive

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I had a hard time reading this book myself. I stopped and started it 3-4 times and sort of gave up. Listening to it got me back into the series as a whole. I finished up the entire series and was very happy I did.

Characters with depth with a well rounded tale

I love books like this. I love even more that Maguire narrated the story. I didn't realize it until the end when he was being interviewed. The imagination in this series is profound. The characters have depth and challenge the preconceived ideas we've always had for the witch and her family.

A provoking story of commitment and failure

Son of a Witch takes a bounding leap into the story of Liir, and how, under the shadow of his former caretaker Elphaba, he struggles to find a purpose and drive to his existence among the dire needs of his world around him. Love, loss, abandonment, family, and death are explored in a deeply fleshed-out world that Gregory Maguire paints so beautifully.

Son of a Book

Would you listen to Son of a Witch again? Why?

If or when I listen to a sequel or prequel of this series, I would most likely listen to this again. To reacquaint myself with all of this Author's many charterers.

What did you like best about this story?

It answers the question as to what happen to Lear, the son of the witch. In Wicked, Lear had such a sad story. His story was almost sadder than the witch's story. He was raised with no praise or love, yet he is able to care (love) so much of others and be more empathetic. This books tale is more enjoyable, because unlike the witch's, Lear over comes his past and flaws.

Have you listened to any of Gregory Maguire’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I think he does a great job, and he is one of the few Authors who can.

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

"A Tale With a Wicked Beginning"

Good but the voices

no consistency in the voices used for each character. One minute Candle sounds like shes Irish and by the end who knows what that is....

Great book... Very badly performed & read

There are portions of this narrative that are painful to sit through, and the remaining portions leave you fiddling with the speed options. Simply unbearable. It’s the narrator himself.

How he paces certain characters with exaggerated pauses, it nearly feels like a computer voice at certain points. I had to force myself to sit through any of the parts with the “Monts” as his interpretation of what their voices would be was critically flawed and destroyed the whole experience.

It felt as though he recorded certain sections and then pasted them together sloppily in an audio editor program. This lead to the feeling that he was reading to a metronome and you could nearly feel the impact of the words being belted out to different rhythms as they were poorly glued together.

I can’t stress this enough. I never write reviews. This was so disconcerting I had to write a review.
Normally if something is bad ... I just delete it and call it a day. But this needed to be stated so that if the reader reads the reviews he understands to stop it! Stop doing whatever that two bit drama school “the lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue” warm up pacing is. Ruined it. Ruined the whole book. Shame on you. This should be removed. It’s that terrible.

I listen to books while I work ... multi tasking sort of thing. This was like being forced to watch an offbeat dancing person... or clapping person. It was so distracting I couldn’t functionally do two things at once. One couldn’t chew gum and listen to this. Arg!!!!!!!!!! It’s very “Lucy and the football” frustrating.

I love this author and this series. But to be hone

The narrator was very boring in the beginning. May as well have been reading Shakespeare. I almost didnt get past chapter 2. Good thing I have already read the book because KNOWING I like it already helped me to push forward. And, being honest, the narration got better as he got going.

Amazing!!

Such a great book and I love that he’s reading it himself!! Adds a nice touch to the story!!!

Absolutely love this story

Love the voice. Love the story. Love it all. Have listened to this novel at least 10 times.