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mmirjamm's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 ⭐ CW: Violence, sexual content, torture, sexual assault, animal cruelty
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire is book two in the Wicked Years series, set after the events in Wicked. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book. This was really slow and plodding with an unengaging MC.
We follow Liir, the alleged son of the Wicked Witch of the West. Liir is basically useless and one dimensional the whole book. He doesn't really start to have any growth until like 75% through the book. What I did enjoy were the themes around the sociopolitical climate of Oz, and the criticism of different forms of government and their grasp for power and control.
Liir walks all over Oz, alone searching for any clue to his maybe half sister Nor. He becomes a soldier and defects, and finally decides to grow a personality and do something that the Witch probably would have approved of.
It was an interesting read if you're into politics and such, but I probably won't read the next two books in the series.
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire is book two in the Wicked Years series, set after the events in Wicked. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book. This was really slow and plodding with an unengaging MC.
We follow Liir, the alleged son of the Wicked Witch of the West. Liir is basically useless and one dimensional the whole book. He doesn't really start to have any growth until like 75% through the book. What I did enjoy were the themes around the sociopolitical climate of Oz, and the criticism of different forms of government and their grasp for power and control.
Liir walks all over Oz, alone searching for any clue to his maybe half sister Nor. He becomes a soldier and defects, and finally decides to grow a personality and do something that the Witch probably would have approved of.
It was an interesting read if you're into politics and such, but I probably won't read the next two books in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
jourdanicus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Wicked turned me into a huge fan of Gregory Maguire, and this sequel has solidified that. His writing style and tone certainly had to grow on me over time but when it did, it REALLY did. I found this book to be thoughtful, intelligent, and even funny at times. Maguire has such a unique writing style, with some obscure vocabulary, but I like a book that makes me have to look up some words here and there.
Liir's development was the central focus of this story. The plot mostly existed to further his development, but I love character-driven writing so that works for me.
I also wanna say this series so far kinda gives off Chronicles of Narnia vibes but like if the characters never had innocence in the first place, and for readers who don't mind blasphemy lol.
A possibly niche (or if not niche, at least backlist) classic that I'd recommend to fans of alternative fantasy and fairytale retellings. I can't wait to read the next books.
Liir's development was the central focus of this story. The plot mostly existed to further his development, but I love character-driven writing so that works for me.
I also wanna say this series so far kinda gives off Chronicles of Narnia vibes but like if the characters never had innocence in the first place, and for readers who don't mind blasphemy lol.
A possibly niche (or if not niche, at least backlist) classic that I'd recommend to fans of alternative fantasy and fairytale retellings. I can't wait to read the next books.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Classism
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Rape, and Blood
Minor: Dementia