Wicked.

I started reading Gregory Maguire's Wicked a few days ago. This is actually the second time I picked it up. The first time, I think I was expecting a Terry Pratchett novel set in Oz instead of Discworld. So I didn't get very far. But after hearing it recommended over and over, I decided to give it another go. Wow, is it worth it. [Word of caution: you cannot go into it thinking "comic fantasy novel," although on some level it is. But it is more "comic" in the sense that Michael Chabon or Tom Robbins is comic. Not "comic" in the Douglas Adams or Jasper Fforde sense.]

I am only halfway through, and it is already easily one of my favorite novels. And this from someone who thought Baum's Oz was a confused mess without significant purpose or developed narrative. Maguire can write, which is probably the most important quality in a writer. Maguire has ideas, which is perhaps the second most important quality in a writer. And Maguire has wit, which is almost certainly the third most important quality in a writer.