I took over six months reading this book because I didn't want it to end. I would sneak one chapter here and there between everything else I was trying to read, trying to prevent myself from devouring the book in a single sitting. I don't have the words to explain the magic that McGuire has with words - she can make math and language do such incredible things in this book that each chapter blew me away. If you haven't read anything by McGuire, you need to change that, ASAP.

Seanan McGuire has once again written a book that I could not put down! I had only read the Wayward Children series prior to reading Middlegame, so I was really excited to read a longer book by her. Middlegame definitely did not disappoint! I loved Roger and Dodger and the plot was so weird and crazy but also engaging and exciting at the same time. I've seen a lot of hype around this book and I assure you, it is well deserved!

Oh man this book. I really don't know how to put into words what I think. First the characters. Dodger might be one of my favorite characters. She reminded me of me as a young girl (I'm no genius), but I loved that she was a girl who was smart and outgoing and capable of anything. I liked Roger's character as well, but didn't connect with him the same was as Dodger. The plot. Wow this book was wild. I know there are so many things I didn't pick up on, and I will definitely need to reread this book. It is a twisted ride, but I enjoyed every second. The writing. Seanan McGuire has such a unique writing style. This book was written with almost a scientific and external approach, yet it was a character driven story where I actually connected with the characters. Overall, this book was great, and I highly recommend it.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was on the 2020 shortlist. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Wow. I was starting to think I'd never finish this book. But I did! I blasted through the final 30% today and am so glad I'm done!

But first, a HUGE thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book. Secondly, a HUGE apology to the publisher and author for only finishing this book now. 

I started this book at the end of August in 2019, and with a bit of reading in October, November, and now January, I finally made it to the end. It was a rough ride. Reading it in e-format definitely didn't help me, and the fact that STEM is way out of my league was a struggle as well. Both of these things are wholly personal, of course, and I still really enjoyed it!

MIDDLEGAME is a very confusing book. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it is definitely hard to grasp at times. The STEM, the underlying meaning of things... It gets easier for a while, when they're kids, but then doubles down on it. I tried my best to just roll with it, and while I have no idea if I fully got it, it was astonishingly created. I can't even imagine what it must have been like coming up with all of it, and I cannot wait to read Baker's series! It all intertwines, and it is very timey-wimey, so pay attention to the timer headings at the start of each chapter. 

Character wise, this was a blast. Except for the two 'villains', none of the characters were 100% loveable, making them very engaging. I preferred Dodger to Roger, and I think it's because I relate to her more, even though language is way more my thing than math. The way she responds to things, to certain traits of Roger's, I felt that. Doesn't mean that I don't like Roger! The two of them together are the best, which makes perfect sense, of course. Made me feel Erin's loneliness deep in my bones; I wish I had someone I was that close with. Erin herself is a rollercoaster of a character, and I have to admit I quite love her. 

This book doesn't hold back and it hits hard at times, and the emotions are real. Reading this book, especially the final parts, is exhausting because of it. A break and/or palate cleanser afterwards is recommended! I wanted to hug these characters, I wanted to yell at them.. I have them in my heart now and there they shall remain, safe. Seeing this book come to life would be amazing to me, as it would help me for sure to understand some things, as I can't visualize while reading. This entire world, and it's sub-world, so to speak, is so intriguing, and I just know it'll stay with me. 

Would definitely recommend this, with a warning of it not being a quick and simple read. This one will take time, and should take time. It deserves to be savored, as a LOT of work clearly went into this. 

4/5

The author really has a knack for creating interesting worlds or powers and characters. Siblings linked by quantum entanglement? Powers worthy of gods? Powers linked to language and maths? I was really intrigued! 

Having said that, I found myself not caring too much about the direction of this book. The world and goal seemed way too vague to me and I had to push myself to finish it as my interest dwindled the further I got into it. 

I gave the audiobook a try and some of the voices were really not pleasant to listen to. 

Not my favorite by her.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.  Rage, undeniable, overflowing rage!  This book was so amazing!  What McGuire does with characters and their worlds can’t be considered “building”, its f**king art!  And there in lies my reason for my rage...  How on earth have I missed her?  How have I not heard of her greatness before now?  Again, Rage!  This is supposed to be a standalone but this could easily be a duology, at the very least.  We definitely need more!  If the world didn’t unfold before your eyes, if the you didn’t feel like the offense were done to YOU, if you didn’t cry and feel filled with hope simultaneously at various points in this book; check your friggin pulse, you may, in fact, be dead.  McGuire, we flipping need a 2nd book!

I can't even begin to review this book without it making no sense and taking the brilliance away from it. Suffice to say, buckle up because this is going to be one hell of a ride. Pay attention because things get wacky.

This book cemented the absolute, undeniable fact that Seanan McGuire is now one of my all time favorite authors. 

I was intimidated by this book initially because the synopsis seemed a little confusing-and I'm not going to lie, the book does leave you in the dark for a lot of this book. I normally get frustrated when I don't know what's going on in the book, but McGuire gives you just enough details to keep the mystery alive. I am so. glad. I finally picked this book up! 

One of McGuire's strengths is her characters. We follow Roger and Dodger through their entire lives, and so we really get to know them so very well, and I loved them so very deeply after just a few chapters. I really enjoyed Leigh and Reed as well-I almost wish we had gotten more of them! Leigh was such a fantastically creepy character, I found myself shivering whenever she was on page. McGuire's characters just feel so. real. Even though the majority of the characters in this novel weren't 100% human. 

My favorite thing about this novel, and every Seanan McGuire novel, is her writing. She just has the most perfect style of writing for me, and for some reason I can't ever adequately explain why. Her writing is just the perfect blend of descriptive and blunt, and I love it so dearly. 

Overall, I adored this book. I saw that McGuire is writing "Over the Woodward Wall" into a full length novel next year, and I am so excited for that!

I just...I...I don't know what went wrong but I did not this. I was expecting so much from this book but for some reason I did not click with this at all. So many of my friends and reviews I trust have adored this book. So why didn't I? I found the characters to be boring. Uninteresting and stagnant and the plot to be a disheveled mess. I genuinely cannot tell you a single thing that happened because I was that uninvested in this read. This was a huge bummer...the writing was good but everything else just was not it for me unfortunately.

I read this book awhile ago but I absolutely loved it. Yes it was special snowflake territory but it skirts the general tropes that usually bother me. You could feel the emotions and watch the characters grow. Some of the bad guys were not bad but had depth. The character had depth. They carried their scars. I would full heartedly recommend this book. Interesting plot, not perfect characters with depth, and beautiful writing.

Three and a half stars: An addictive and imaginative sci-fi novel that loses steam due to the convoluted and somewhat confusing storyline. 

Roger and Dodger are twins who aren’t exactly human. The pair was cooked up in a lab by Reed, a skilled alchemist, who is trying to play god. The twins were born and then separated at birth. Roger goes to live with a family in Massachusetts, while Dodger, his sister, is sent to California. Roger is skilled in language, while Dodger has an affinity for math. Then one day, Dodger figures out that she is able to communicate with Roger, whom she doesn’t remember, by talking to him in his mind. The two start chatting daily, helping one another with homework and everything else, until Roger is told he must stop. What follows are years of the two coming together and separating until they figure out that someone is pulling their strings. If they don’t act, the world that they know might end, unless they can figure out a way to rewrite it. Can the twins achieve the impossible? 
What I Like:
*Ms. McGuire is an author who always manages to impress with her far out, eccentric and complicated stories. This book is part of her Wayward Children Series, but it is far more complex. Prepare for mind twisting entertainment. 
*I loved Roger and Dodger, the genetically engineered twins separated at birth, who can do extraordinary things. Roger is brilliant in languages, while Dodger is a math prodigy. The two compliment each other. Neither knows the other exists until Dodger figures out how to pop into Roger’s head for a chat. I loved seeing them interact and help one another. Of course, there are plenty of complications and the two are torn apart time and time again, only to find their way back to one another. McGuire takes the whole idea of the twin bond and ratchets it up to a whole other level. It was brilliant. 
*Talk about a complex plot. You have the dark alchemist, Reed, trying to control the world and change what his predecessor did. Think maniacal powers trying to manipulate the world and bend it to their will. That is exactly what these alchemists do in order to achieve their aims. They take no prisoners, murdering and conniving to try and ascend to godhood. Then you have Roger and Dodger, just trying to get through life, not understanding their key roles in the evil plot. The story moves back and forth through time, even going so far as to having Dodger converse with her future self. It is mind blowing and dizzying sometimes. What a ride. 
*I loved the nods to Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz. What seems like an imaginative tale has far deeper meaning in McGuire’s world. The book has an important role, one that helps to rewrite the world. It was a complex and intriguing idea. 
*The story builds and builds to a thrilling climax, basically it is a race to save the world from evil forces. Then the dust settles and the ending brings closure and some more thought provoking ideas. This one made me think!
And The Not So Much:
*I adore McGuire’s Wayward Children Series, and I was excited to slip into this novel. I was disappointed that the whimsical and fantastical world building wasn’t present in this one. Instead it has a much darker tone. 
*The story line felt jumbled and confusing at times. The plot jumps around in time. You get snippets in the past with the alchemists and then it jumped around. It was difficult to follow, especially in the audiobook format. 
*I felt this one got a bit repetitive at times. Roger and Dodger would have an issue and they would stop communicating and then reconnect: repeat. It got a little old. I didn’t like all the starts and stops, and it made the novel lengthy. 
*I listened to the audiobook version. While I had no qualms with the narrator, she did a brilliant job, I think that this is one perhaps better to read. The constant movement back and forth in time and point of view shifts made the story difficult to follow. I would have done better if I had read this. If you are one that struggles with keeping things straight while listening, this is one I would recommend reading. 
Middlegame is a complex and brilliant novel that exposes the reader to some fantastical characters and mind bending ideas. Unfortunately, I thought this one got a bit muddled with the confusing story line and it was repetitive and lengthy. Still I appreciate the creativity and the imaginative story. If you have yet to experience the genius of Ms. McGuire, you need to check out her work. 

I borrowed a copy of this book from the library. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review. 
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

I absolutely love Seanan McGuire and I couldn't put this book down, I was even reading it in a gig instead of paying attention to the music. Great characters, compelling plot, amazing setting. Will definitely recommend this book. Can't wait for the public to discover it!

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 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.