Back in the land of Oz, the adolescent boy Liir was last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Bruised, comatose, and left for dead, Liir is tended to at the Cloister of Saint Glinda by a silent novice called Candle, who wills him back to life with her musical gifts. What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape - but what of her powers? In an Oz that, since the Wizard's departure, is under new and dangerous management, can Liir keep his head down long enought to grow up?
This story is mainly a lesson in learning from the past and living in the now. The future cannot be told and therefore we shouldn’t worry ourselves with it because what will will be. In Wicked we learn that the Wicked Witch of the West didn’t start out wicked just misunderstood. Oh and a political advocate. Well, Liir ends up taking her place sort of. He’s a lost boy and no one can tell him for a fact if the Witch was his mother or not because no one really knows. Even though he has no proof of her being his birth mother he eventually accepts her as such. He takes her broom and cape and goes on his own adventure with every step defining him more and more.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Witch was “melted” he follows Dorothy to the Emerald City. Once there he is not allowed to follow her to see the Wizard. To give himself a purpose he decides to look for his half-sister Nor. His first attempt fails and then once again to give himself a purpose or meaning he joins the army. He ends up making it far in military life and then they ask him to do something terrible. He does it because he’s been trained to take orders and that night, after the deed was done, he leaves on the broom. He then visits the castle where he lived with the witch. Not really knowing what he’s looking for. A Bird gets wounded and lands at the castle it tells Liir that the skies have become tainted and it was on it’s way to a Conference of Birds. The Bird dies and Liir decides to deliver the message himself on the way there he is attacked by dragons. The dragons are being used as weapons, trained by the government to basically make Oz a police state. It’s there where the story really starts. Liir know has a purpose.
You need to read Wicked before attempting this book. Maguire has really looked in the inner workings of Oz and made it his own. Also there is a lot of political stuff and it shows that the people can be mislead when it comes to decisions made by the government. It also shows that one person can make a difference by just caring enough about a cause.