Out of Oz

Volume Four in the Wicked Years

By: Gregory Maguire

Narrated by: John McDonough

“Maguire’s work is melodic, symphonic, and beautiful; it is dejected and biting and brave. How great that people flock to these magical novels.”
—Los Angeles Times Book Review

Bestselling author Gregory Maguire’s remarkable series, The Wicked Years, comes full circle with this, his fourth and final excursion across a darker, richer, more complex landscape of “the magical land of Oz.” Out of Oz brilliantly reimagines L. Frank Baum’s world over the rainbow as wracked with social unrest—placing Glinda the good witch under house arrest and having the cowardly Lion on the lam from the law as the Emerald City prepares to make war on Munchkinland. Even Dorothy makes a triumphant return in Maguire’s magnificent Oz finale—tying up every loose green end of the series he began with his classic Wicked, the basis for the smash hit Broadway musical.

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.

Amazing Story, Slow Reader

LOVED this book. It takes me a while to get through any book, but this one took a bit longer than i expected. I found myself having to sit and digest what happened after a chapter or two, partially due to Maguire’s constant need to explain things in great detail. I admire it, as it helps paint a better picture of scenes, but some segments felt a touch bloated

John McDonough knocked it out of the park with his characterization of everyone, though i found myself constantly listening at 1.5-1.75x speed due to his slow-paced narration. It will be weird hearing someone else continue Rain’s story in the “Another Day” trilogy, as I’ve grown fond of his style, but that’s for… another day

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!

Couldn’t stop listening!

Characters are so endearing and will be missed. Voice actor is superb and made the story come to life!