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pbraue13's review against another edition
4.0
A satisfying and beautifully written conclusion to the wicked years! Loved it
flawedamythyst's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sraev19's review against another edition
1.0
How much worse can it get?
I’d posed this question to conclude my review of [b:A Lion Among Men|3124249|A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years, #3)|Gregory Maguire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370992593l/3124249._SY75_.jpg|3155594], and much to my chagrin, the snarky challenge became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The fourth and final installment in the Wicked Years series is one giant slog.
Like in previous books, Maguire jumps around his wide cast of characters and, because this is the grand finale, attempts to provide closure to the various storylines and give readers that big payoff they’ve been waiting for. However, there are two problems with this. One, none of the characters outside Elphaba and Rain are interesting, and after all this time I still couldn’t bring myself to care one fig about them. Two, in classic Maguire style, his form of closure is vague, open-ended, and disappointing.
Throughout the series I’ve been pulled along by many alluring mysteries that captured my curiosity more than anything else in the books. From the Clock of the Time Dragon to Liir’s and Rain’s latent magical capabilities to to the Grimmerie’s earthshaking powers and more, I wanted to see these mysteries unravelled. But Maguire is a giant tease.
He builds and builds on these threads, continuously alluding to them and their importance and foreshadowing climactic moments to come, only to then abandon them in the end, frayed, frizzy, and forgotten. And if that’s not enough, Maguire introduces yet another cliffhanger ending that could easily lead into book number five. He doesn’t know how to wrap up the story and provide his readers with the satisfying payoff they’ve been waiting four overly long books for.
Maguire would have done well to start and end the Wicked Years series with [b:Wicked|37442|Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)|Gregory Maguire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437733293l/37442._SY75_.jpg|1479280]. He sets high expectations that he does not meet and drags readers far beyond his original, and interesting, premise with no clear intention or conclusion. He should have let Elphaba lie.
I’d posed this question to conclude my review of [b:A Lion Among Men|3124249|A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years, #3)|Gregory Maguire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370992593l/3124249._SY75_.jpg|3155594], and much to my chagrin, the snarky challenge became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The fourth and final installment in the Wicked Years series is one giant slog.
Like in previous books, Maguire jumps around his wide cast of characters and, because this is the grand finale, attempts to provide closure to the various storylines and give readers that big payoff they’ve been waiting for. However, there are two problems with this. One, none of the characters outside Elphaba and Rain are interesting, and after all this time I still couldn’t bring myself to care one fig about them. Two, in classic Maguire style, his form of closure is vague, open-ended, and disappointing.
Throughout the series I’ve been pulled along by many alluring mysteries that captured my curiosity more than anything else in the books. From the Clock of the Time Dragon to Liir’s and Rain’s latent magical capabilities to
Spoiler
Elphaba’s survivalHe builds and builds on these threads, continuously alluding to them and their importance and foreshadowing climactic moments to come, only to then abandon them in the end, frayed, frizzy, and forgotten. And if that’s not enough, Maguire introduces yet another cliffhanger ending that could easily lead into book number five. He doesn’t know how to wrap up the story and provide his readers with the satisfying payoff they’ve been waiting four overly long books for.
Maguire would have done well to start and end the Wicked Years series with [b:Wicked|37442|Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)|Gregory Maguire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437733293l/37442._SY75_.jpg|1479280]. He sets high expectations that he does not meet and drags readers far beyond his original, and interesting, premise with no clear intention or conclusion. He should have let Elphaba lie.
barbaraaford's review against another edition
3.0
Finally got through this. Not sure what the block was, but it picked up about half way through.
shysmiler91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
augustlight's review against another edition
5.0
The best in the series IMO. Maguire had the chance to really hone his craft by the time he got to this one, and he delivers a plot that feels well put together and a cast that I care about more than pretty much any other cast in the series. Plus it's probably the gayest (and [not spoilers if you read the original books] ) one.
Spoiler
definitely the transest!katieschramp's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled with whether I thought this should be a 2, 3, or even a 4. I eventually went middle-ground with a thing...but I think that pretty well Sims up how I felt about this book...and really the series overall. I was so in love with the story and learning about all of these incredibly unique and dynamic characters. However the pacing, and limited POV eventually wore on me. I refused to stop reading, but there are times I sourly considered it...and for me even considering putting a book down before I finish it is pretty major. I'll leave it at this: I loved the overall story and the decelerate of the characters. The pacing and random "history learns" throughout the series were borderline painful at times. It's definitely worth reading... but I think it's fair to say most readers should prepare to be extremely frustrated on more than one occasion while reading.
mnmeg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I don't want it to end. I am definitely going to start back at the beginning of this series and read them again. Well written, fun to listen to, it's a great invitation to another land.
agentpoptart's review against another edition
5.0
Though a bit long winded at points, Out of OZ is a worthy and satisfying conclusion to the series.