I want to preface this review by stating that I love Roger and Dodger so much. I would DIE for these kids. Months ago, when Middlegame had just come out, I saw someone describe this as a story about two superheroes who screw up a whole lot (paraphrased because I don’t remember who said this or even what platform I came across this description on.) That description is absolutely perfect for this boo. Even though there is a LOT of stuff-bigger than both the MCs- going on, at its heart, Middlegame is 1000% a coming of age story. It follows these kids from childhood well into adulthood as the navigate all the pains of growing up.

My love for the main characters unfortunately did not help the plot or the world this book is set in, make sense. It also didn’t make the book 200 pages shorter. I finished Middlegame happy and satisfied but discussing it with friends made me realize I didn’t know half of the things that were happening. I could not tell you what the impossible city was or what the improbable road is even though the existence of these kiddos is tied directly to those things. The vagueness felt intentional at times but the degree of it didn’t really work for me and took away from my enjoyment of the story.

The book is also, simply put, too long. A weird thing to say given that I enjoyed almost every minute I spent reading this book but so many things felt unnecessary. As much as I enjoyed being able to dwell in the characters’ journeys through time and space, some plot points felt unnecessary?

I don’t know if anyone else would have the same issues I did because so many people seemed to have loved the book. Maybe I was just not smart enough to appreciate the geniusness of this world but I definitely appreciated the amount of work Seanan McGuire put into developing Roger and Dodger and characters. I also appreciated the secondary characters we caught glimpses of throughout the story (Erin in particular.) The villains on the other hand??? I didn’t think they were truly developed because I never understood their intentions for anything they were doing, except to be the BAD guys.

Generally speaking though, if you are a fan of character driven books, Middlegame will absolutely be your thing. While I did struggle with world building aspects, I could also appreciate weird time stuff that was going on and the general unreliability of time itself within this book. I am actually kind of sad this is a standalone because I love Roger and Dodger so much and wish I had more time with them.

I'm still a little confused, but damn this was good! You have to work for it, though. Sometimes I didn't always want to work for this. And I'm gonna have to read some reviews from smarter readers who actually understand it all.

But upon discussing with a friend after I thought about it, I realize that there was too much vagueness sometimes and I didn't truly love this book. Objectively, it's good and the characters are really what make it what it is. But it meandered SO MUCH, and there were moments where it should have just been less open-ended. I'm glad I gave it a chance, though.

What an INTERESTING book! Holy cow. First, I have to admit that it's been a long time since I read adult fantasy/sci-fi. I'm usually a YA reader, so I forgot how different "adult" books can be. This one is hard to describe. There is so much happening that you certainly shouldn't read this one while trying to multitask. You need all eyes and brain cells working to fully give this book the attention it deserves. Seanan McGuire is a genius of proportions that I can't even describe. Basically, if you like SFF or anything that Seanan McGuire has written before, go read this one, you won't regret it.

It's my first Seanan McGuire novel and I was told this was her first try in this weird all genre stuff?

I couldn't get started at first and then couldn't get hold of what's happening. The pacing was terrible for me to follow.

But I'm sure this book is not meant for me.

I'm blown away, which comes as no surprise when reading McGuire. She's created this dark, sinister, murky, world of magical realism and I thoroughly enjoyed the rollercoaster of weird that was this book. It's a little slow to get started, but boy, howdy, Where does she get these ideas? All hail Seanan McGuire!

I came to Seanan McGuire through her urban-fantasy, October Daye series and she has become one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors by virtue of the Wayward Children series. Middlegame is very different than both of those. That is not a bad thing but it is a thing that made this a tough read for me. I just didn't connect with it or with these characters. I think this book needs a very specific audience and while I'm not certain who that it, I know that it isn't me.

I'm always nervous when one of my favourite authors comes out with a novel that seems to be very different from anything they've ever done before. In the case of Middlegame, Seanan McGuire has given us a book that is unlike most things I've read before. As usual she stands in a class all her own and screams "look at me"! And while I really enjoyed this unique science fiction, dystopian, magical realism (add other genres here) story; it wasn't up to the 'snuff' I expect from Seanan. It felt a little drawn out and perhaps needed one more round of solid editing to be more concise.

Date, Time & Place
As someone who reads a lot of historical and science fiction I'm familiar with the usual date, time, place information at the beginning of a chapter. Generally I find myself flipping back (or in the case of a book on my eReader cursing) to remember what the last date, time, place I was given was. McGuire solves this issue sooo elegantly. I want this to become a new standard for date, time, place monikers. We get in brackets, at the beginning of (most) chapters, notes about if it's: later the same day, a different day, a few hours later, a month later, years later, etc. Or in the case of some fun time warping a note about how skewed time has become. It may seem like a small this but this little detail was critical to my enjoyment of Middlegame as I wasn't constantly flipping back and forth to orient myself.

More like Mira Grant
For those not familiar with McGuire's work she also publishes horror books under a pseudonym Mira Grant. I wish this was a Seanan McGuire meets Mira Grant novel. There are moments during it when the depth, detail and goriness (to be frank) of Grant's books would have been better suited here. Now you may think to yourself; they are the same person! But I honestly believe that a good writer (and McGuire is amazing) puts on a different 'hat' to write in certain genres or under different names. What I wanted here was a little more Grant with my McGuire. While Middlegame feels more like a Blake Crouch book than anything else I can think of in recent years; it still has the strong relationships and magical allure of most of McGuire's writing.
Our Hand of Glory is described as a melting gruesome thing and so I have to say my second disappointment with the gore factor in Middlegame was the very underwhelming cover. Where's the melting? Where's the burning flesh? Where's the horror that the hand used to belong to a real person?

Mixing Religion, Magic, Science & Alchemy
A really good science fiction or fantasy book (in my mind) will take different aspects of real-life knowledge and blend them with ones you might not expect. While the study of alchemy has long been the disproved sibling of science; there is no doubt that they have roots that come from the same place. McGuire takes the alchemy concepts, today's science and mixes it all around. Adding a healthy dose of religion, superstition and magic into the pot. By the time you come out of Middlegame you won't be sure what might have been rooted in science or math and what wasn't. I liked this treatment of the technical aspects of this book as it left more up to the imagination and it didn't let doubts seep in the way a book that is very science based might have. A clever way to deal with a magical realism story that people can believe and connect with.

Lost in Time & Space
There are few writers that can twist a timeline around on a reader and keep their attention and the order of events in order. Some of those writers include Blake Crouch, Stephen King, Brandon Sanderson and (now) Seanan McGuire. The veteran writing style and touch of McGuire kept me not only entertained; but also oriented in the every fluctuating timeline of Middlegame. This is not a single timeline story and part of it's allure and magic is that time twists around in places and creates opportunities for things to happen in a magical way.

Why Only Four Stars
By now you may be wondering why I only gave this four stars. There are points during the story where the plot is bogged down by mini-info dumps. The first time it happens I figured McGuire was just ensuring we caught some nuances. But by the last 100 pages there were STILL large amounts of text that just explained away happenings. Certainly for the average writer this would be expected; but McGuire is anything but an average novelist. So it was disappointing to see a poorly used tactic come out of the writing on more than one occasion. Additionally I found that at times the dialogue between characters was a bit stilted and ridiculous. As though it was only there to ensure the reader that our characters were still pinged into the intricacies of the story.

Overall
I think Middlegame might have benefited from more smooth proofing or an editor that would recommend cuts in some of the denser parts of the novel. If you have enjoyed Mira Grant before then definitely read this. If you're more into the Heart of the Doorway or the Incryptid series this may be a little too complex to your taste. Although, ironically, if all these books existed in one multiverse it could potentially explain a lot of things. And maybe they do all exist in the same place and time; without every encompassing the same time and place. Middlegame will keep your brain moving, engaged and a good dose of McGuire's imagination at it's best.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

This review will post on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at the VBPL Recommends blog.

Trigger warning: attempted suicide

Middlegame is what happens when Seanan McGuire dissects The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, mashes it up with Frankenstein, and transforms it with her own brand of alchemy into a creation full of alchemists, man-made monsters, experiments gone awry, twins, chess themes, alternate dimensions, and time travel (kind of).

In Middlegame, alchemy is this secret study of knowledge somewhere between science and magic. There is a revolutionary mastermind and alchemist named Reed who wishes to embody the laws of nature into human bodies that he can control and thus attain godlike powers. He has created many sets of cuckoos, pairs of children that possess half of a doctrine (such as chaos and order). One of his sets embodies the Doctrine of Ethos, named Dodger and Roger. Yup, twin names at their worst. Part of his experiment is to have them raised separately with adoptive families until they are old enough for their powers to manifest. Dodger is a math genius and understands the world through math, which makes her a pro at chess. Roger possesses the power of words and story, and language fascinates him, and, when he comes into his power, he can use his words to command reality. Together, they can bend reality and reset their timelines. As a set and half of each other, they keep trying to connect despite living on opposite sides of the country, and Reed and his people continue to observe their progress and interfere to keep things on track. This standalone novel tracks Dodger and Roger’s story from the beginning when they start trying to connecting and each genius is developing to when they learn about their reality-bending powers, realize they are pawns in an experiment, and it becomes a showdown between them and Reed.

Middlegame reads like alchemy, a story somewhere between fantasy’s magic and science fiction’s science. The world-building and structure makes a solid basis for the story’s alchemy and makes for fun thoughts about meta in stories and the nature of reality. McGuire also incorporates The Over and Under, her own Oz or Harry Potter variant as a story-within-a-story and a sort-of guide, and with that and the chess references each add layers to the story. The characters are well-developed and unique. McGuire plays against stereotypes all over: Dodger is a girl who likes and excels at math, Roger is better socially adapted than his counterpart and sometimes the one who needs protecting, Leigh is the scariest and least-maternal mother figure, and Erin is deadly, smart, and scheming behind her pretty face.

Look for Middlegame in the VBPL catalog. Try other books by Seanan McGuire and her alter ego, Mira Grant. Her Wayward Children novellas feature similar meta-heavy fantasy with children who do not fit in. For another female math genius in the lead, try S.L Huang’s Zero Sum Game (see review) and Yoon Ha Lee’s Ninefox Gambit (see review). For more mad scientists trying to take over the world, try The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination. There are references to L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, so this story and its iterations and sequels would be fun to visit (or re-visit). If the chess themes intrigue you, there are plenty of titles about chess and learning to play chess.

Reviewed by Tracy

Middlegame is a story about two children who grow up in normal neighborhoods with normal parents but learn that they are far from “the norm”.
This book takes far to long to get to the point and the point isn’t even reached in the end. The reader is kept in the dark so long you start not to care about the story line anymore.
It was way to long to have had as little growth as it did and I felt at the end it was a waste of my time invested. So little happened I was left wondering if this was the first book in a series.

I could not put this book down. It was beautifully written and the story itself was amazing. It started off a bit confusing but, once you get it, you get it. 3 sets of 2 children were created by alchemists to find a way to control the world. This book concentrated on 1 set of the 2 kids who were adopted by different families. It was great from beginning to end. Definitely something I haven’t read before. You won’t regret reading it.

i think i have a bit of a problem with Seanan McGuire. Her writing is confusing, a bit overwhelming but she has great ideas. She just messes things up. She adds too many layers when it's not necessary.
I tried to stay invested in the story but it kept pulling me off, i was kept for too long in the dark and didn't get fully into the story. But it was good! The idea was good! her way to express emotions is amazing... so focus on that! i feel so frustrated.

Seanan McGuire es una autora muy prolífica, tanto que publica tanto con su nombre como con seudónimo. Middlegame explora el mundo de la alquimia como si fuera real y aplicable, a través de las vidas de dos gemelos creados específicamente para recibir un poder maravilloso.

Los dos hermanos, Roger y Dodger son la representación pura del lenguaje y de las matemáticas, una especia de ying y yang condenados a encontrarse y «trascender». Como fueron separados al nacer, el comienzo de su relación es casi mágico, ya que comienzan a hablar el uno en la mente del otro, a través de las distancias (ella vive en California y él en Massachusetts).
McGuire vuelve a sus temas recurrentes, como la idea del suicidio y los problemas de relaciones personales de los adolescentes. Esta parte está tratada con tacto y delicadeza, casi lo mejor del libro. Me gustan también los toques alquímicos que le dan más sabor a la historia como la Manos de Gloria y el Disolvente Universal.
Sin embargo, la trama brilla por su ausencia. Ciertas capacidades que van desarrollando los mellizos permite a la autora hacer un uso constante del deus ex machina que acaba resultando cansino. Los villanos de opereta a los que se enfrentan, a pesar de su crueldad innata, no generan temor. Y el libro se va haciendo largo, en ocasiones incluso algo pesado.
No le puedo negar el oficio a la autora, que consigue hacer casi siempre entretenida un relato que por otra parte hace aguas. Pero prefiero leer una nueva entrega de The Wayward Children que otra de Middlegame (que parece que está en preparación).

Just when I feel like I've gotten Seanan McGuire's worked pegged, she comes at us with something like <em>Middlegame</em> - something so different and so complex, that while it changes the way I think about her work, it also elevates her status (to me) as a writer capable of expanding her talents and willing to try new things.

This book is essentially about Roger and Dodger (a female). 'Essentially' because like most of McGuire's work, it's character driven. But here the story is also concept-driven (which is a little different).

Roger and Dodger are twins who have been separated since birth. And though they haven't met or even know that they have a twin sibling, Roger and Dodger have been able to communicate to one another, mentally. What they don't know, until much later is that Roger and Dodger were lab-created by James Reed, a mad alchemist who has been doing human experiments for years, trying to develop magical powers - making them almost super-human - in order to embody 'The Doctrine of Ethos.'

Reed discovered, through trial and error, that the values of the Doctrine are too much for one human and split the two components - math and language - into two individuals. Roger and Dodger are the first to survive Reed's manipulation and they are being carefully monitored even though they, and their adoptive parents, don't necessarily know it.

Roger has the gift of language and Dodger is the mathematician. In the early chapters we meet Dodger, a young girl - a math 'prodigy' - who solves a mathematical problem that has stumped the brightest minds for centuries. Where do you go from there?

When Roger and Dodger get together and the Doctrine of Ethos is merged the result is dynamic and will have ramifications far beyond what Reed might have expected.

Wow. This is an intense book. McGuire has woven together a story whose fabric is so tight, so interwoven, that I don't think many of us will catch all the intricacies on one reading.

One of the beautiful things about McGuire's writing is that she respects the intelligence of the reader and she doesn't tell us everything - she lets the story unfold at her own pace. In this book in particular it can be a challenge as we're given a lot of information but we don't know what to do with it or why it's important. But it's always best to trust an author such as Seanan McGuire will bring a story together and reveal why early information is important.

The story takes a few strange jumps, but for me this was equal parts frustrating and exciting. Frustrating because I'd feel compelled to go back and make sure I didn't miss something and exciting because I would look forward to learning more about it.

I tend to think of the author, as Seanan McGuire, writing urban fantasy and, as Mira Grant, writing fantastic, science horror. <em>Middlegame</em> is a dark combination as well as new territory for her.

There is a lot going on here and it will require an extremely careful reading, or multiple readings to really catch and appreciate what McGuire has written.

Looking for a good book? <em>Middlegame</em> by Seanan McGuire is a complicated mystery, thriller, fantasy that isn't easy reading but <em>is</em> well-worth the experience.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sitting here the day after finishing Middlegame and still wondering to myself what I just read. Not in a ‘what did I just read, please give me back the past 8 hours’ kind of way; more a ‘should I read it again because I think I MUST have missed something’ wondering. It is so full of twists, turns and manipulations of the world that I found myself simply sitting in silence thinking for a good half hour after I was done.

For those not in the know, the middlegame is a chess term that refers all the play in the middle which gets the players to where they need to be but is not the final moves nor those in the opening. Basically its all the important moves that culminate in whether someone will win or lose in their quest for supremacy. And that is essentially what this novel is to be honest - its all those middle bits between the inception of a demigod and the end of the world...

Roger and Dodger are twins who were created by alchemists in a lab and given the power to change the universe. But they didn’t know it. Nor were they taught how to wield their power. Two halves of a single whole called The Doctrine, the twins have been pulled apart and forced back together by fate for the entirety of their short lives. Their creator, Reed, is also the product of alchemy and he is determined to force their hand to get to the mecca he believes he deserves.

Roger, the male twin, embodies the half of The Doctrine which involves Language; he is so well versed in the English language he can think of the precise word for anything at the drop of a hat, present him with a new language and he will learn within a remarkably short period of time. Without spoiling the whole damn thing, just know that he knows words have power, whether you want them to or not. He is strong and charismatic, the dominant twin in the universes quest to be whole.

Dodger, the female twin, embodies the Mathematics half of The Doctrine, capable of understanding any equation presented her with relative ease. This includes the equations that underpin the world, allowing her to manipulate not only her surroundings but also time itself. She is the trigger to Roger’s gun, smart beyond comprehension but fairly shy about her accomplishments. And let me just say here, never have I seen a smart girl portrayed with such reverence as I have in Middlegame. Kudos to McGuire for sticking it to the norm and making Dodger the ultimate pinup girl for STEM.

Now as I said before, these pair are meant to be two halves of a single whole and the key to unlocking the Impossible City, a mecca for alchemists initially posited by Asphodel Baker, the best alchemist the world has ever known and children's book author. Although having very few pages when she was a living being, the reader gains a sense of the importance of Baker in the grand scheme of everything; she is after all, essentially the mother and grandmother of the majority of Middlegame’s characters. Throughout the novel are excerpts of Baker’s Up and Under books, seemingly pointless initially but making so much sense by the end I was kicking myself for not paying particularly great attention. Despite her absence for the majority of Middlegame, I feel like Asphodel was a main character in herself, her exploits shaping the entire reality of the novel.

Yes, there are also villains within this novel. Quite expertly written ones at that. But I feel that discussing them will give away a large chunk of the story and we all know how I feel about spoilers. All you really need to know is they are nasty and manipulative and they made my cold dead heart flutter with excitement every time they did something unnecessarily cruel.

Usually I would mention the cover much earlier in the piece. If it was beautiful and shiny and just generally reminded me of Mardi Gras in the middle of Sydney (looking at you Reverie). Here the cover is simply a hand on a black background with some writing. It is simplistic and beautiful in a plain sort of way – I would probably never have bought this as a cover buy is what I am trying to say. It was a tad ‘eh’ when I requested it, still seeming to be pointless when I started. But then I hit a point in the novel where I audibly swore and my partner looked at me as I yelled ‘oh my god. That cover is actual brilliance’ because honestly its one of the most understated covers I have seen. What is the significance you ask? I actually cant say why its brilliant because that explanation alone would give away a massive plot device…

Here is where I have to disclose, I have never read a Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant novel/novella/short story (pretty much any creative writing and this woman has published it). I always thought they were high fantasy judging by her demeanour and the fact that she is a filker (it’s a fantasy thing, just google it). I was expecting Narnia and The Magicians with some Pratchett and Brookes thrown in. I will willingly put up my hand and say this was nothing like any of them and I am ashamed of myself. It felt more VE Schwab or Neil Gaiman than anything else. I am not sure whether all her stories take the same structure and tone but this one was freaking marvellous.

I have already showered her with praise for the her characters. But right here and now, her storytelling is better. How? I don’t know, it just is. Although the story takes place over 30(ish) years, the transitions are almost seamless. It starts after the world falls apart and then goes back to the twins growing up and maturing into their powers. But interspersed in between the individual ‘books’ is the final book VII which takes place in the present (if you have read Schwab’s Villains novels, you will know exactly what I am talking about at this point). Some other authors have attempted to take this form and failed, in Middlegame McGuire shines.

Which brings me to the story as a whole. It’s a mindtrip. I got confused (still am a little). There’s time travel and magic and mud people (stay with me) and a whole heap of shit that goes wrong but it all makes sense(ish) by the end. Its haunting and will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions before finally spitting you out at the end broken and confused. But its amazing and I am holding out hope that maybe, there will be another one some time in the future.

“You can't skip to the end of the story just because you're tired of being in the middle. You'd never survive.”

I wanted to like this so much more! The premise is amazing and some parts of the books were riveting, plus I REALLY liked Roger and Dodger as characters, but wow was this long winded. It lacked a sense of place and feeling for me and I had a hard time picturing it. I thought it would be more stylistic, fantastical, and action-filled, but it was more of a long character (or sibling, rather) study with lots of math and language references. I don’t mind books that are focused on relationships and conversation and internal narration, but this particular book didn’t click with me like I wanted it to. And trust me, I was SO excited and pumped for a new favorite. This will still be one of my favorite book covers of the year.

I loved the ideas behind the book, and I found many parts and chapters exciting. I think the world-building was slightly confusing for me but it's VERY cool nonetheless. Seanan McGuire has amazing ideas.

One of the most frustrating parts of it is how the villains are... mostly absent? It’s like watching an old episode of Power Rangers where the “big bad” villains are perched far, far away from the heroes, laughing and scheming and rubbing their hands together thinking they’re so smart while never actually doing anything evil. I just wanted more, dammit! I wanted them to be more fully fleshed out. And speaking of things not being fleshed out, a lot of the details about how ANY of this works isn’t explained. It’s like hinted at that we’ll get answers that never really come? Some may be okay with that, but I didn’t enjoy it.

A plot about alchemy and long lost siblings finding each other and discovering who they really are is enough to excite me, but I found myself getting bored and feeling annoyed by the repetition. I wish I didn’t feel this way, truly.

Now, take this review with a grain of salt because most reviewers have rated this book 4+ stars, and many of my mutuals 5 stars. I don’t fault the book or the author, obviously Seanan McGuire is a brilliant writer and I will keep reading her work, but this one wasn’t a favorite unfortunately.

This is a pretty cool story. It's unique and a little strange (in a completely positive way). I love the use of twins and balance, the magic, and the Impossible City aspect. It's an engrossing book that had me eagerly flipping the pages.

“For a man on a mission, a hundred years can pass in the blink of an eye.”

Middlegame is my first ever Seanan McGuire book and I can easily say now: I am obsessed! This book is EVERYTHING and I love it so much; from the writing, to the characters, to the plot as a whole — every moment was perfection and I’m just in awe with Seanan as an author, because I can’t even grasp how a book like this could be written.

Okay, I think I should tell you a bit more about the story first, because otherwise this review just doesn’t make any sense 😂 Middlegame is set in our world, but there’s a significant difference: alchemy is real. And, of course, that means that there are people, who want to use the power of alchemy for their own selfish ends. One such person is Reed; Reed himself was created by an alchemist and his only goal in life is to realise the dream his creator had before she died: to incarnate the Doctrine of Ethos, the most dangerous and desirable of alchemical incarnation. And so, two children are created: Roger, who has an affinity for language and words; and Dodger, who is obsessed with math and numbers. Reed wants to use their skills to obtain unimaginable power, a state not unlike godhood. But before that’s possible, Roger and Dodger need to grow up and come into their powers — and along the way, a lot goes wrong.

“We’ve been here before, he thinks, almost deliriously, and then: We got it wrong.”

In short: Middlgame is a story about alchemy and time travel (or rather, different timelines), about siblings and their dynamics, about language and math, about the choices we make — and if we could make them all over again, what would we do differently?

Let’s get to the characters: they were so complex, they seemed so real! The two protagonists, Roger and Dodger, are twins, but they don’t know that yet. Throughout the story, their paths cross again and again and soon they realise that something ties them together. Roger‘s power is language: he speaks multiple languages, even as a child, and he can bend people’s will with his words. As skilled as Roger is with language, Dodger is with numbers. She can solve even the most difficult mathematical equations and she sees the world in a different way. Both of them feel utterly alone and then they find each other; and it’s beautiful, for a moment, and then it’s disastrous and heartbreaking and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. Together, they walk the improbable road and hope to reach The Impossible City — and they haven’t yet realised the consequences their actions might have.

“He could destroy the world, and she’d love him on the other side of the rubble. That’s what it means to be entangled like they are. That’s what it means to be family.”

All the characters have their own motives, their specific traits that make them feel so incredibly human. I felt deeply for Roger and Dodger, especially since we basically know them from when they were children until they reach adulthood. And the side characters, too, are filled with desires of their own, with goals they want to reach — whatever the cost.

Additionally, Seanan McGuire’s writing is incredible; it’s beautiful in such an effortless way, a blend of prose and poetry, and I loved every word! It was also so, so captivating and I flew through the pages, but simultaneously never wanted it to end — I think a lot of that is due to the different timelines and time skips (and time rewinds!) through which this story is told. Seanan McGuire created an incredible story in Middlegame, and I truly believe that no other author could’ve dreamt up a world like this, characters like these.

“You can’t skip to the end of the story just because you’re tired of being in the middle. You’d never survive.”

Middlegame has certainly become a new favourite book of mine and I basically want to buy all of Seanan McGuire’s books now! I know that this is a book that will only get better the more often you read it, and I’m already looking forward to the next time I’m going to pick it up 🥰

I’m still digesting this one, quite honestly. Let’s see if writing it down helps me figure out what I think! Middlegame is a novel in which time is mutable: the two main characters are living out their lives time and time again, and when they fail, time is reset back to a crucial decision point and try again and again to get the right outcome. This isn’t a spoiler — it’s apparent from the start, because the story begins at the end and jumps back.

Roger and Dodger are twins. Roger has command over language, while Dodger is a math prodigy. They were created by an alchemist desperate to prove the theories of his creator and mentor, and their whole lives have been manipulated by him to try and achieve both power and control. The question is really how exactly the twins will achieve their power and not be under his control.

Over and over again their lives touch just a little, and they speak to each other through some kind of link. Over and over again they are separated — sometimes by meddling, sometimes by being human and flawed and not good at their strange relationship. Their relationship is the center of the book, and you can’t help but root for them as they get it right and wrong and right again. I found the timeline a little difficult to follow, because I’m so bad at remembering any kind of numbers (I’m the Roger half of some equation, clearly), and that kind of impacted how I felt about the book — I found it a little frustrating that I kept losing my bearings. It’s cleverly done, though, and the full extent of what Roger and Dodger are takes some time to unfold and really become obvious; the broad strokes are fairly obvious from the beginning, but there’s still a sense of revelation as the book unwinds.

I think, in the end, I’m not head over heels in love with the story, but I think it’s well done and enjoyable. There are some gruesome bits and gore — touches of McGuire’s Mira Grant persona, in some ways — and the complex timeline combined with those is probably what brings down the rating a bit for me. I’m really looking forward to seeing what other readers I know make of it.

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire is a stand alone, separate from her series. Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realize it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet. Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own. Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.

Middlegame was a harder start for me than most of McGuire's book, I think it was just the amount of information necessary to set up the characters and the story. However, once I got past the first couple chapters I was hooked and I was immersed in McGuire's imagination once again. The world and character building is wonderful, and the story id complex with lots of nuisance. I thought the relationship between Roger and Dodger was fascinating, and while there were times I did not agree with their choices, I could always understand the reasoning behind it. There were so many different ways the story could have gone at every turn, and sometimes they do go multiple ways. I would hate to ruin any of the surprises the book holds for new readers so I will refrain for going into details about the action and important plot points. Just know that I found this to be darker and more dense than I was really prepared for- and had I picked it up at a different time it might have been exactly what I was looking for. It was extremely well written, and the mythos built for the story was absolutely amazing, I just had trouble connecting with the characters and enjoying the read as much as I had expected. I honestly think the issue was more with me than the book, and I will continue to read everything I can from McGuire.

As an aside, since I had trouble getting into the book the first time I started reading it, I got it via Audible and listened to it. Amber Benson is the narration- and she does some amazing voices which helped me keep track of who was talking and a better understanding of their characters. Regardless of how you read this, do not skip the chapter intros- which I admit to having done with other books, they are important and will help with the greater understanding of the story.

Middlegame has exceptional world and mythos building with complex characters and plot line. Something did not grab me as much as I had expected, which I think has more to do with my mood than the book, but it was not my favorite of McGuire's. I will still keep on reading all of their urban fantasy.

I received this via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved it guys. This book was just what I wanted It to be. The world building was fun and enticing. The characters were very well flushed out. I loved the plot of this. I can not wait to read more by this author. I highly recommend this book.