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meliroo's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Torture, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
booksandtea997's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood
kmtd's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
librarianmage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence
Minor: Child death
lilifane's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was love at first page. The writing is soooo beautiful from the very first few words tbh and these first 3 pages left such a deep impact on me that they carried my interest for the rest of the book. I cannot tell you how often I reread that first chapter. Also the amount of quotes I wrote down is ... worrysome. Then the structure is soooo satifying. I live for these kind of books.
And then there are the characters. I fell in love with them, hard. I didn't know this was even possible. The way you get to know the two protagonists in such an intimate way, I felt all the feels. Especially because they are siblings with such a deep connection and you basically spend most of the plot in their heads. Uff, I cried SO SO SO SO much because of the things they went through, physically and mentally. There is this main plot that is epic and kind of... hard to grasp. It's very abstract and sciency and phantastical. But since I genuinely like these kind of elements in books, I enjoyed that, too. Although I had to just accept some things that clearly went over my head or were too vague. But the majority of the plot is just about (found) family and friendship and love (mainly the love between siblings) and loneliness and trust/loss of trust and longing. It just broke my heart and healed it over and over again.
I know this sounds very wholesome but this book is actually quite.... brutal. So tw/cw for suicide attempt, violence, murder, blood (SO much blood), natural disaster/catastrophe.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
ashleycmms's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Also: tw suicide attempt, suicidal ideation/mentions, murders (including children), and a POC character gets murdered in specific, lots of talk about dismembered body parts
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
deedireads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
TL;DR REVIEW:
Middlegame is an incredibly creative novel with great plot and character. I really liked it a lot and I’ll definitely be reading more of Seanan McGuire’s work.
For you if: You like fantasy novels that have sci-fi-like elements and a super creative premise.
FULL REVIEW:
“For a man on a mission, a hundred years can pass in the blinking of an eye. Oh, it helps to have access to the philosopher’s stone, to have the fruits of a thousand years of alchemical progress at one’s fingertips, but really, it was always the mission that mattered. James Reed was born knowing his purpose, left his master in a shallow grave knowing his purpose, and fully intends to ascend to the heights of human knowledge with the fruits of his labors clutched firmly in hand. Damn anyone who dares to get in his way.”
Chances are if you’ve been in a bookstore over the last couple years, you’ve seen the cover of Middlegame. It’s hard to miss that hand of glory! (And yet, my brain kept mixing it up with Middlemarch, which is just…so not the same, lol.) So I’d been intrigued for a while, and when it was nominated for the Hugo Award, I knew it was only a matter of time before I picked it up. And I was NOT disappointed.
Middlegame is about a set of twins, Roger and Dodger, who were born to embody the Doctrine of Ethos, an alchemical principle that would allow the one controlling it to alter time … and the universe overall. Roger has the language part, and Dodger has math. Two halves of one whole, separated at birth, under the watch of one who would seek to use their abilities — we see the two of them grow up, learn who they are, and strive to save the world.
This book is just so incredibly creative. You can tell from the first few chapters that you’re in for something that feels really different from pretty much anything else. It’s also just really well written, with dynamic and vivid characters and a really exciting plot.
I will say that this is probably not a novel for SFF beginners. The structure and storytelling will feel accessible to those who are used to world-building and wrapping their minds around alternate rules of the universe, but it could be a little hard to follow if you aren’t used to books like that.
If you are a fan of fantasy with a feeling of sci-fi mixed in, pick this up!
Graphic: Suicide, Gore, and Blood
whatellisreadnext's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Roger and Dodger meet as children, but not in an ordinary way. They speak to each other through their minds, but live hundreds of miles away from one another. They're both blissfully unaware, that their lives were being written even before they were born.
Well guess who found a new favourite book? Middlegame is bat shit crazy and I loved every second of it. It's not a small book, coming in at just over 500 pages, and it took me about a week to read, but only because I was enjoying it so much, that I didn't want it to end.
Time travel in books is so hard to get right, but Seanan McGuire absolutely nailed it. The hints at alternate timelines, and the countdown like structure, showing us failed attempts at saving the world, was done so so well.
I loved Rodger and Dodger so much, finally a believable and platonic relationship at the centre of a narrative. Their ups and downs felt so real, and I was rooting for them the whole way through. I read Over The Woodward Wall late last year, which is the fictional children's book featured throughout Middlegame, and I also loved seeing the parallels of Zib and Avery to Rodger and Dodger. It was really clever, and just added another layer to my love for this story.
If you love character driven, timey wimey sci-fi that is super weird, you need this book. I honestly can't pick one fault with it and I'm already looking forward to reading it again 😁
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
helmituuli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Mental illness
abitsybat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Self harm, Medical content, and Stalking
Minor: Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism