Son of a Witch

I really liked Wicked and have been anxious to read this since it came out. However, listening to it is not the way to go. I had read the other reviews that warned of the horrid job the author did reading his own book, but thought I'd give it a shot anyway. Big mistake! Yes, it is as awful as they all say! I only made it to disc 2 and simply couldn't handle it anymore. He made parts of the story that I think I would find interesting on the page, sound laughably ridiculous. I'm going to try reading it. It was not until this book that I appreciated how much a REALLY bad reader can affect the story itself.

Huge dissapointment after the first book. Started off slow and went nowhere in a hurry. Actually had to force myself to finish it. Really had hoped for better.

I loved this book. First book in a long time that I hated to see it end...I wanted it to just go on and on. I enjoyed it much more than Wicked.

This book needs to be read and not listened to. I normally prefer the author to read a novel, but in this case, he should have let someone else read it. Very hard to follow. Great story, not a great audio book.

The story may be good. I'm not done with it yet. But the author reads this book and it was a HUGE mistake. His breathy droning was nearly torture. Once in a while he seems to try to put an accent on some characters but not others???? He usually sounds like he's reading a book, not telling a story. His pacing and inflection come off like you can hear him reading each word without knowing the sentiment of the sentence in advance, which is odd. Hes' the author. You'd think he'd know the proper presentation of each sentence. He ruined his own book with his sleep-inducing performance. Let the writers write and the performers perform.

Couldn't wait to get in my car and drive the 2.5 hours to work. Wanted to listen to this book more than once.

I liked the story but the author should have let someone else read it. He was very stilted and doesn't do voices well. Worth a listen.

I enjoyed listening to this book on tape. It was read by the author who did an excellent job. There is an interview with him at the end of the book which was very helpful with some of the problems I had with "Wicked" and "Son of a Witch", which is he leaves so many loose ends and questions. If you enjoyed "Wicked", you will enjoy "Son of a Witch". It answers some questions (yet leaving some unanswered) from "Wicked" and leaves a lot of questions unanswered on its own. I would highly recommend this book.

This was a big disappointment after Wicked. I am not sure what I expected but as others have said, it just kind of rambles around. The person who said we didn't find out if Liir was Elphaba's son or not should re-read the end; I think the answer is there. It also leaves the groundwork for a third book, which I hope there will be. I love the book Wicked and have seen the play twice, and will soon see it a third time. It is the most captivating story and I feel the best musical ever produced.

It was alright not my favorite of his work.

and I will be listening to the audiobook with the Gregory macguire audiobook with the audiobook interested in the more I think about this and how

So, I am generally a great fan of when authors read their own books because they know what everyone is supposed to sound like and they are, generally, more passionate about the story than anyone else could be. However, the narration was a little bad. Some people just aren't great at speaking and are just wonderful at writing...I will say, though, the story wasn't a letdown at all.

Didn't love Wicked but really wanted to because I love the idea and so many other seem to be so captivated. Maguire has a fragmented writing style that leaves lots of ends untied, and while he claims this is what he is going for, it's just not for me. I struggled through reading Wicked myself and struggled through the slow pace at which Maguire reads Son of a Witch, in which nothing really happens except die the main character being continuously confused about who he is... What's the message? If you liked Wicked and Maguire style in general though, you may like this one. This is just one person's take.

I had high hopes for this book because I love wicked. The ending was great, but the rest of the book was disappointing. Good, not great.

Great story......love it!!! narrating of characters voices not so great

I enjoyed the story but listening to the author narrate the book was painful. I agree with the other reviewers that this book would have been much more enjoyable to read.

The story is great. I liked it better than it's prequel, Wicked. However, the narrator was monotone and his inflection and voice were grating to the ears. I would have enjoyed the story better had he not read it. Gregory- a word of advice- hire someone to tell this story!

Ugh... the auther needs to stick to writing. I rely on my books to help keep me awake on my long commute, and this one put me to sleep. Even though I only managed to reach the 2nd disc, even that seemed interminable.

I didn't like the story line. Dull and seemed to never end.

I did try to listen to this book but found it just way to hard. I drive an hour each way to and from work and found myself almost falling asleep while listening to this book. The whole going back in forth in years within the story started to get confusing. Needless to say I didn't finish the book.

I read Wicked and was hoping to have the story continued or to have a glimpse into life after Oz as we know it... I should have known that renting a book titled after my least favorite character in the novel would have been a bad choice. I did not even make it to the second CD before I returned this one, so I can't tell you if it ever got better... Sorry!

I don't know if it was vanity or penny-pinching that caused the author to choose to read his own book in this one, but it was not a wise choice. His voice is not good for reading a book of this sort with so many different characters to be acted out. Having already listened to Wicked (his other book) and loving it, I can honestly say that this is not a good one to rent or buy.

What a letdown. I was so disappointed that I actually listened to the whole thing. I kept thinking to myself that at any moment it will get better. Well, it didn't! What was the point of this book? Was he her son or not?

I was a little discouraged by some of the other reviews, but I enjoyed this book a great deal. If you loved Wicked as I did, you should at least like this book, if not love it too. Give it a shot, I thought it was good.

Well written and read. I hope that Mr. Maguire continues with his OZ saga which so deftly addresses topics concerns of the present.

This story is not as good as Wicked but it's still worth renting. The plot meanders a bit but in the end, it's satisfying to know how the futures of many characters in Wicked turned out.

I read (in print) Wicked after seeing the stage play. Those responsible for the stage play did an excellent job of condensing. I found large parts of Wicked eminently boring and forgettable, and hoped for better from Son of a Witch. I didn't get it. The book is dull in the extreme, and the reader does nothing to help it. I finally gave up half way through, as I found I was tuning out so much I wasn't getting anything.

This book wasn't very exciting in the first place, but the readers BORING voice made it even worse. Now, I haven't listend to the first book yet, so I was a little lost at times, I better "read" books in the right order, that helps. But I was sent the second book before the first and I didn't want to waste my rental totally.

Not too often is a sequel better than the first book, but it is in this case. The narration was excellent, by the author himself, and the story and characters and their motives were painted and described better. I am a dedicated fan of the 'wicked' land of Oz, partially because a lot of the political climate so much resembles our current one here in the US. Interesting to see the parellels. I was however a bit disappointed by the end. It is abrupt and leaves a lot of strings open. But obviously this was the intention of the author, according to the interview at the end of disc 12. I am only hoping that there will be a book three to the Wicked Cycle in the not too far future. It is definitely a book for adults and not children!

This book was a bitter disapointment. While Wicked bore the inherent weight of "retelling" a classic, Son of a Witch falls flat on it's face. Problems: the book rambles and we don't care about the characters. Part of the allure of Wicked was telling a story of Oz with flawed characters; this book has characters with few if any redeeming characteristics and all the sexual restraint of two dogs in the park. The story isn't gripping, and it is filled with characters that, by the end of the book, made me glad to return to my world because they were so unconvincingly flawed and portrayed. Stop at Wicked, don't read this book.

I gave also gave Wicked five stars and felt like I had to give this one that as well because I listened to them as a set. The story does a great job of continuing the story and following this weird world's descent into evil. I have never read two books so wonderfully bizarre and fascinating.