Scan barcode
rorikae's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Seanan McGuire does an incredible job of mixing the fantastical and the alchemical with real life settings in 'Middlegame.' One of my favorite genres is fantasy that takes the real world and makes it that much more fascinating or disturbing through the use of fantastical elements. Seanan McGuire does that to a near perfect degree in 'Middlegame.' I think it helps to go into this book without knowing too much about it but from a very basic point, this is a story about two people, Rodger and Dodger, who discover a connection between them and unravel what this connection means. It's a very dark book with bright spots of hope and it deserves to be discovered in the reading process.
One of my favorite things about this novel is how Seanan McGuire uses a fictional text within the book to help illuminate and obscure what is really happening. She does this masterfully and I am excited that she had the opportunity to write and publish this book within a book as its own text so that we can read more about it and use it to better understand Middlegame.
It's hard to describe this book without spoilers but I will say, if you are looking for something a little spooky that includes alchemy, coming of age stories, and books within books, Middlegame just might scratch your itch.
One of my favorite things about this novel is how Seanan McGuire uses a fictional text within the book to help illuminate and obscure what is really happening. She does this masterfully and I am excited that she had the opportunity to write and publish this book within a book as its own text so that we can read more about it and use it to better understand Middlegame.
It's hard to describe this book without spoilers but I will say, if you are looking for something a little spooky that includes alchemy, coming of age stories, and books within books, Middlegame just might scratch your itch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Blood, and Self harm
Moderate: Torture and Violence
tqlikesbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“They were supposed to grow up with their hands in each other’s pockets, compensating for one another’s weaknesses, encouraging one another’s strengths.”
Having only read one other book by McGuire, the first book in her Wayward Children Series, I was not sure what to expect from Middlegame. I have also seen very mixed reviews; generally people who adored her other books seem not to enjoy Middlegame, and those who did not seem to like Wayward Children seem to love this. As I loved listening to the audiobook of Every Heart a Doorway, I was not if I would 'get' this book. However I truly enjoyed this.
Essentially, Middlegame follows a set of twins, created to embody a mysterious doctrine by a man who seems to be modelled on both Victor Frankenstein and his creation. The twins are split up shortly after their creation and sent off to different families, though as they grow, they find a way to communicate with each other and fate seems to bring them together.
What gripped me most about Middlegame was the writing itself. It was otherworldly, creative and clever while still being accessible. The story was so unique and imaginative; I loved the nods to the Wizard of Oz and various bits of folklore and fairy tales, and how McGuire blended these elements with lots of high-logic based mathematics and science. Although I can see why this certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea as it was confusing at times and there are many questions left unanswered by the end.
I found I particularly loved the story of Roger and Dodger, their connection and how they complemented each other and seemed to find their missing halves in each other.
Dark, timeline-twisty and magical- for me Middlegame encompasses all the best elements of sci-fi and fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Suicide, Gore, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Drug use
natural disaster (earthquake)sheerpoetry's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book destroyed me. I put off reading it for a good while because of the size. And then it took me so long (well, for one of Seanan's books, at least) because I had to keep stopping and do breathing exercises and recover enough to keep going.
It was amazing. I was thoroughly stressed out for most of it, but was so glad I kept going and finished it. It was definitely an experience and not just a book. I have no idea what we can expect from the sequel, but I am both terrified and excited.
[I will say, as a person with depression, that this book hurt at times. And I personally found Dodger's suicide attempt fairly graphic, even though it didn't depict the actual act from her point of view. But the descriptions of her feelings and reactions to being tired and left and lonely are so incredibly real and accurate. I cried. A lot.
I will also say I was (pleasantly) surprised that it didn't just end with "and they lived."
It was absolutely a wild ride and I was stressed beyond belief reading it, but I'm so glad I did. It was worth it, in the end. (Not that I doubted it!) And, as always, Seanan keeps you guessing. Just when you think you may have figured out something, it takes a turn. Like I said, a WILD, emotional, beautiful ride.
It was amazing. I was thoroughly stressed out for most of it, but was so glad I kept going and finished it. It was definitely an experience and not just a book. I have no idea what we can expect from the sequel, but I am both terrified and excited.
I will also say I was (pleasantly) surprised that it didn't just end with "and they lived."
It was absolutely a wild ride and I was stressed beyond belief reading it, but I'm so glad I did. It was worth it, in the end. (Not that I doubted it!) And, as always, Seanan keeps you guessing. Just when you think you may have figured out something, it takes a turn. Like I said, a WILD, emotional, beautiful ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
spoth's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Self harm, and Violence
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Middlegame is fervent and beautiful; words feel inadequate but maybe numbers can do. I read this in two days because I wanted to read it forever. A book about time and distance, words and numbers; the culmination of the universe is calling and you should answer.
Finishing this book feels like waking up from a dream, I read it in sections, and loved every minute of it but now I'm struggling to say all the wonderful things it led me through. Every time I finished another section I was torn between a desperate desire to know what happened next, and the existential terror of a precious resource dwindling; not wanting this book to ever end. All the characters are complex and vivid; the villains are horrendously dark and terribly evil but also completely understandable, with simple motivations pulling them along twisted paths full of malice, greed, and efficient brutality. Roger and Dodger (named by people who should never be around children) begin as lonely child geniuses and become so much more.
It's a story of time loops, paradoxes, trying over and over to get everything just right. I love time loop stories, but this one stands out because it's unafraid to let things go. It's surprisingly linear, reserving temporal mischief for where it's most needed, where change will be poignant and weighty. We hear whispers, catch glimpses of how-it-might-have-been-but-is-not. This book is rich with metaphors, practically dripping with them when Roger is involved. Dodger's sections are more brusque, creating a distinct feel when the perspective switches between them. I won't spoil the other perspectives we get, but the narrators have enough presence to affect the tone of their various sections and it works really well (both in each section and coming together to create the narrative).
Book CWs for bullying, parental gaslighting and emotional abuse, murder, major character death, arson, graphic depiction of suicide attempt.
Finishing this book feels like waking up from a dream, I read it in sections, and loved every minute of it but now I'm struggling to say all the wonderful things it led me through. Every time I finished another section I was torn between a desperate desire to know what happened next, and the existential terror of a precious resource dwindling; not wanting this book to ever end. All the characters are complex and vivid; the villains are horrendously dark and terribly evil but also completely understandable, with simple motivations pulling them along twisted paths full of malice, greed, and efficient brutality. Roger and Dodger (named by people who should never be around children) begin as lonely child geniuses and become so much more.
It's a story of time loops, paradoxes, trying over and over to get everything just right. I love time loop stories, but this one stands out because it's unafraid to let things go. It's surprisingly linear, reserving temporal mischief for where it's most needed, where change will be poignant and weighty. We hear whispers, catch glimpses of how-it-might-have-been-but-is-not. This book is rich with metaphors, practically dripping with them when Roger is involved. Dodger's sections are more brusque, creating a distinct feel when the perspective switches between them. I won't spoil the other perspectives we get, but the narrators have enough presence to affect the tone of their various sections and it works really well (both in each section and coming together to create the narrative).
Book CWs for bullying, parental gaslighting and emotional abuse, murder, major character death, arson, graphic depiction of suicide attempt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Death, Bullying, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Ableism, Torture, and Child death
CW for bullying, parental gaslighting and emotional abuse, murder, major character death, arson, graphic depiction of suicide attempt, parental death.
More...