I have to confess, I didn't love Wicked but I at least thought it was clever. Son of a Witch however, wow - just useless. It was like Maguire didn't even know what it was about. There were several throw away conflicts that were not the least bit engaging and characters that he put no time into at all. I doubt he cares however, since everyone that loved Wicked went out and bought the book. This was just a cash out and the reader feels it from page one.