I had high hopes for the books and I can't say I was entirely disappointed, but I could not sympathize with any of the characters in the book. Perhaps I am not supposed to. In exploring the nature of evil, Maguire has gone almost a bit too fantastical. He has created a fictional world on top of an existing fictional world that is, of course, itself fictional. Fictional squared! This new world is angular, sharp, and as devastatingly caustic and bizarre as its inhabitants. Despite all this, I'm still left wondering, a little bit, just...why. The Wizard is a horrible man, but he's just playing the system. The Witch, despite getting the best of the alliterative resources out of all the cardinal direction witches, is a righteous being but one with such a narrow focus that her ultimate defeat smacks not so much of tragedy as silly impracticality.

What impresses me most about the book is how it leaves me with an uncertain impression of it. How odd. Perhaps 7/10. Recommended for people who know the Oz world but wish a bit more politics upon it.