Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Middlegame

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

cheyennamarshall's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I'm actually in awe of how this book made me feel. It took me a second to get into the world in the beginning, but after that the pace just never let me feel okay with the fact that I had to put it down. There wasn't a single dry period. Every plot twist or show of the author's hand through the length of the book make me feel almost too overwhelmed to keep reading, but in the exact way I would want. This book is absolutely rock solid and definitely in the top three books I've ever read. It almost makes me ill. I will have to start the Wayward Children series...

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.25

For a limited time, Tordotcom made Middlegame downloadable for free, which was nice. I admit I have a tendency to jump at any opportunity to get a free book, even if I don’t know the premise of it. It was absolutely the case with this book, ahaha.

That said, I think I enjoyed this book? It’s hard to tell because, admittedly, I didn’t fully follow what was happening at times. I think there were two reasons for this. One is that there’s a lot of fascinating worldbuilding, but there was a little too much happening. The other related reason is because of the point-of-view that McGuire decided to write in, which was limited third-person primarily from the perspectives of Roger and Dodger. I don’t mind reading books that don’t have an omniscient perspective, but I think it would have helped for this book because, goodness, Roger and Dodger simply have no idea what’s happening for most this book. In other words, the reader has to deal with this as well, and that can get really frustrating. As a result, the story got messier.

On a more positive note, though, I was fascinated by this idea of math and language being the foundation of the world (in a way). I also really enjoyed how McGuire explored the relationship between Roger and Dodger. It was such a unique dynamic that felt very real. Lastly, McGuire writes beautifully with multisensory descriptions that added so much to the book.

I could have missed something that resulted in my confusion, but I may look into the sequel. I’m admittedly curious to know what more McGuire can do with the worldbuilding she has done. Plus, it might make more sense since I have some footing from this book.

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booksteastories's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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ziote's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Middlegame came highly recommended by a friend of mine. If not for this recommendation then I would have DNF'd this book. Honestly, I still can't figure out if I enjoyed this book or not.

Seanen McGquire has a talent to write prose as if it were read like poetry. The writing is unconventional and dense, which is both a good thing (because this is a unique book and has some beautiful lines in it) but also a bad thing (it's a difficult and rather slow read). Seanen McGuire takes great care in interweaving plot lines with varying timelines. It's complex and impressive, but I think it can also be very hard to follow. I had to marathon read this book because I knew if I put it down for even more than a day or two, then I'd forget important details. And I wouldn't feel right talking about the writing without talking about the quotes and passages inserted in the beginning of some chapters that referenced Over the Wayward Wall by A. Deborah Baker. Deborah Baker is apparently a pen name of Seanan McGuire (which I only found out afterwards). I think it is a little odd to reference Over the Wayward Wall as this "great piece of literature that has been overshadowed by the likes of The Wizard of Oz, etc." when the author wrote both Middlegame and Over the Wayward Wall. Perhaps I found this egotistical, or perhaps I didn't like these quotes/passages from Over the Wayward Wall because I have never read that novel and felt as if I were missing something.

The characters also fell flat to me. We spend quite a great deal of time with Rodger and Dodger, and neither of them charmed me.

They spent more time at odds with each other and separated than they did together and getting along. This separation is the crux of their relationship. I understand that it is important on a narrative standpoint; Rodger/Dodger need to mature and become their own person, unless they want the alchemists to get involved and separate them by force.
When together, Rodger and Dodger were fun and completed each, which is probably the point. However, by the 3rd messy separation (and I can't believe this plot device happened multiple times), I just did not care. I was tired and always waiting for the other shoe to drop and for them to spend another large amount of time not talking with one another. Separated or together again; either way I found that by the end of it, I could not give a damn.

This book is interesting and compelling and Seanen McGuire put a lot of thought into this ... but I really don't know if it's an enjoyable read

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rebeccaxpaige's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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boneloose's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

new all-time favorite. holy shit. definitely a book i can see myself rereading over and over to catch every bit of foreshadowing i can find. holy shit i haven't read a book so good it leaves me in a daze upon finishing it in ages. (similar to vicious by v.e. schwab in vibes)

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