A review by chloeeereads
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

adventurous challenging dark 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

This book has easily made its way into my all time favourites list. I was so hooked right from the first sentence - this book intrigued me, confused me, made me laugh, made me sad, made me think, and I loved every second.

The premise of this book is confusing but so cool and I will try and explain as best I can without giving anything away. Rodger and Dodger are twins (one set of many) engineered by alchemists and separated at birth, destined to grow and live a life apart before coming together when their maker deems fit. Roger is incredibly skilled in language and words, and Dodger in mathematics and numbers, but neither of them realise just how important or dangerous their abilities are. Together, they are the physical embodiment of The Doctrine, an ancient conception which allows its wielder to control time and the universe. 

We follow Roger and Dodger throughout their childhoods and into adulthood, as they begin to learn more about themselves, each other, and the world around them. The writing in this book was stunning, and McGuire had such a way of taking something inherently weird and dark and twisted and confusing and weaving it into a story about friendship, family, heartbreak and sacrifice. The relationship between Roger and Dodger was raw and tender and so wonderfully built as the story progressed. There were characters that you couldn’t help but just hate, and so many twists and turns. It was so fun trying to figure out what was going on as Roger and Dodger were doing the same, and we deal with multiple timelines, time warping, telepathy and more. It’s definitely a confusing book and one that will make you verbally say “uh what the fuck” more than once, but it was so intriguing and wonderfully executed. I have been thinking about these characters and this story since I closed this book, and I will probably never stop thinking about it.

If you’ve been seeing this book around or meaning to read it, this is your sign to pick it up. 
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