Out of Oz

September 5, 2011
The final volume of Maguire’s Wicked Years series finds Oz torn by war, and Shell Thropp, Elphaba’s brother, as emperor. Munchkinland has seceded, and the Emerald City invades with the Ozian army to get it back. Glinda, former Throne Minister, is held under house arrest by General Cherrystone, who takes an interest in Rain, Glinda’s broom girl, teaching her to read. He doesn’t know that Rain is actually Liir’s daughter and Elphaba’s granddaughter, and the only one who can understand the infamous Grimmerie, supposedly a volume of magical lore, coveted by Oz. A troupe of traveling players arrive and secretly give the Grimmerie to Glinda, who distracts the soldiers long enough to send Rain off with Brrr (aka the Cowardly Lion). So begins a quest for Rain to discover her true identity and unravel the layers of political and personal secrets that have caused strife and division in Oz. Maguire’s take on the trouble-prone Dorothy Gale is refreshing, and his Oz far darker, sadder, harsher, more complex, and convoluted than Baum’s (which will make this hard to follow for readers unfamiliar with the series). The language and imagery are rich, and the sense of love, loss, and regret palpable. For fans, this will be a revealing and satisfying end to the layered tale begun in Wicked.

February 27, 2012
In the conclusion to Maguire’s Wicked Years series, Glinda is put under house arrest, the Emerald City prepares to invade Munchkinland, and Elphaba’s little granddaughter, Rain (not knowing her heritage and working as a lowly maid in Glinda’s house) is just beginning to discover her powers. Meanwhile, back in Kansas, Dorothy is considered eccentric for insisting she visited Oz, and her aunt and uncle take her on a trip to distract her—that is until she finds her way back to that faraway magical land. John McDonough—who has narrated all of the audiobooks in the series—offers up a nuanced performance that showcases a deep understanding of Maguire’s fantasy world and its inhabitants. He creates distinctive voices for each character and capably conveys the ironic spirit of the novel. And while listeners may find an adult male voicing the dialogue of a little girl somewhat jarring at first, McDonough performance is a natural, engaging one that makes the Land of Oz come to life. A Morrow hardcover.

June 15, 2011

Back in 1995, Maguire kicked off a whole series (and a Tony Award-winning musical) with Wicked, the story of Oz told from an entirely new perspective. Now he's bringing the series to a close. With the Emerald City preparing to conquer Munchkinland, Oz isn't exactly showing its rainbow colors. Don't miss; with a one-day laydown on 11/1/11, a 400,000-copy first printing, and a six-city tour.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2011

In the midst of Oz's civil war, Rain, granddaughter of the infamous Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West, is coming of age with a ramshackle band of friends. Adding to the chaos, Dorothy is back, destructive and irritatingly chipper as always, and events spiral into an ever-expanding web of betrayals, friendships, secrets, and unexpected returns. Maguire excels at creating multidimensional characters that rise above their many flaws. Readers will delight in the lyrical writing and many thinly veiled references to other Ozian works (Wicked, the Broadway musical; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) found throughout this gritty conclusion to Maguire's popular "Wicked Years" series (Wicked; Son of a Witch; A Lion Among Men). The provided map, summaries of previous books, and family trees and time lines prove helpful in recalling characters and situations introduced earlier in the series. VERDICT This engrossing, complex novel continues to flip the world of Oz on its head while answering new and old questions about Oz and its denizens. Highly recommended for fans of the series. [Six-city tour; see Prepub Alert, 5/16/11.]--Katie Lawrence, Chicago

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2011
Maguire, reimaginer of Oz, completes his series The Wicked Years, which bowed in with the exuberantly zeitgeisty Wicked (1995), with this pensive but action-filled capstone. The truest gauge of whether a fantasy series is any good, apart from the ordinary tests of writing and storytelling, is whether the world the writer imagines is complete--and whether it's interesting enough for a reader to be bothered to go there. In the made-up–world department, Maguire is a signal success, and a captivating storyteller to boot. This concluding volume finds Dorothy Gale back in Kansas--for a time, anyway, for 16-year-old Dorothy isn't so keen on following Aunt Em's dictum, "We aren't going to live forever, and you must learn to manage in the real world." Better flying monkeys than Topeka, one supposes. Up in Oz (or down, or sideways; the directions to the place are provisional, depending on which path the twister takes), the lines of genealogy and elective affinity alike are beginning to tauten as it's revealed just whose blood the Emperor shares. Some of his kin, however, are hanging out with Glinda and her kind. Even after fate has made done with the unpleasant witchy-poos of east and west, things aren't all skittles and beer up in the Emerald City. Indeed, as one short fellow remarks, "The Munchkinlanders discovered that liberation from sniffy Nessarose didn't provoke them into wanting a return to domination by the EC. Can you blame them?" Can you indeed? While the Lollipop Guild is busy transforming itself into a cadre of freedom fighters, the rest of the Emerald City girds up for war within and war without, for there's nothing that the Emperor likes more than a good dust-up. All is chaos, swerve and swirl: the once cowardly lion now has moments where he sounds like Sean Connery, people fire up cigarettes and mount grim battles of resistance and Maguire pays subtle homage to Tolkien and Rowling and even Frank Baum while having a grand old time in the fantastically complicated world he has crafted. Is a neat ending possible? Not likely. There's even room in this deliciously fun novel for a trap-door sequel. Stay tuned.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011
After the slightly disappointing Son of a Witch (2005) and A Lion among Men (2008), Maguire recaptures his mystical mojo in the fourth and final installment of the Wicked Years series. Although it still falls a bit short of the startling dark artistry that defined Wicked, rapidly catapulting it to the top of the best-seller list and spawning a major Broadway musical, this twisted fairy tale is a worthy conclusion to an imaginative and emotionally searing cultural phenomenon. With the fate of Oz hanging in the balance, the Emerald City is preparing to invade Munchkinland. Although the Matter of Dorothy seemed settled some time ago, Miss Gale is caught in the epicenter of another natural disaster, hurling her straight back into the heart of Oz. As an incarcerated Glinda whiles away the days waiting for the long-overdue arrival of an old friend, Elphaba's granddaughter, Rain, unable to escape heredity and fate, takes center stage. Everyone who has ever known, loved, or even been a bit frustrated by Maguire's creative, myth-bending reworking of the Oz saga will eagerly hop onboard to find out exactly how the journey ends, because nobody does fractured fairy tales better than Maguire.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)