Out of Oz: The Final Volume in the Wicked Years

Gregory Maguire

Nov 2011 · Wicked Years Book 4 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

“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.

Ratings and reviews

I've seen a lot of people complaining about these books, mostly because they are used to the musical, but also because of Maguire's writing style, which of course is very meandering and not meant for everyone. But I think Out of Oz did a good job of demonstrating that each odd story in the series branches together in a meaningful way eventually, if you have the patience to see it through. Unlike the two novels before it, I felt like this one was definitely more action-packed and based on events, you could see the history of Oz unfolding right as Rain was experiencing it. The story left just enough loose ends open to be interesting, while providing the closure I was longing for in some of the more important character's stories. I'll admit, coming out of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, this series was definitely more dark than I had originally expected, and I struggled through parts of it that seemed too dull, but in the end it was an extremely rewarding experience.

I read all four books and I enjoyed them very much, but this last one leaves a lot of unanswered questions. A bit disappointed at the ending. But, like I said definitely enjoyed it and recommend it.

This book was a good ending to the series. Left a few questions unanswered but that's the authors choice of course, let us figure it out for ourselves.

About the author

Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked—the beloved classic that is the basis for the blockbuster Tony Award–winning Broadway musical of the same name and the major motion picture—Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. His series Another Day continues the story of Oz with The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, and The Witch of Maracoor, and his other novels include A Wild Winter Swan, Hiddensee, After Alice, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. He lives in New England and France.