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whatellisreadnext's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘳. 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴'𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘭. 𝘐𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.
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 😁
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 😁
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
abitsybat's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
kendallreadsbooks's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Death of parent
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.
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