Book One - Wicked

Well now that I have finished 2 books comes the daunting task of writing something about them.

Wicked originally caught my eye in Chapters due to the interesting visual design on the cover as well as the unique touch of having green dye on the sides of the pages to create a green look on the outer side of all the pages. I was intrigued after reading the blurb and reccomendations, so I thought I would give it a go.

This was back in the summertime and I was looking to do some more reading so I bought 2 books with the hope of having them both finished by summer's end. The first book I read rather quickly (Just After Sunset, Stephen King - I am a King junkie) but Wicked failed to capture my interest enough for me to make much headway.

When I decided to join the Read, I picked it up again with the intention of finishing it before the official start date so that I could have a review right out of the gate. That may be cheating, and if so I will change it to book zero, but as I have already finished book 2 I am not too concerned. As I said previous, my main concern at this point is writing the reviews. See how I have not said much about the actual book in all this rambling.

Ok, on to the actual book. I have mixed feelings about it overall. I found it dull at times, but I did get invested in the characters and story.

The character Elphaba (Wicked Witch of the West) was well written. To take an antagonist and change the perspective was quite intriguing. I found myself great empathy for a misunderstood character, and I found the inevitable ending quite sad. The book also discusses the true nature of evil, and wether it exists at all.

The author managed to bring the novel to a conclusion in a satisfying manner, although he spent much of the novel dwelling on characters unknown to myself (though having not read any Oz books they may be familiar to some, I am not aware) and the familiar elements were just touched on in the brief final section.

The best thing I can say is that I am happy that I am finished reading it, and happier still that I am almost done writing my first review. I hope they will get easier as I go along.