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A review by ellasbookishwonderland
Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire
3.0
3.5*
[b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946] is one of my all time favorite books, and, although it pains me to say, Seasonal Fears was a disappointment.
To start out with the positives, I had forgotten how utterly obsessed I am with Seanan McGuire's writing. It's so beautiful, and so unique, an absolute pleasure to read. Just like in [b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946] I feel like the writing adds a whole new level to the story. Part of that is how interesting the narration is, specifically the use of parenthesis to add in little sections that tell the story in an almost fourth wall breaking kind of way, it adds so much to the vibe. Also, first person present will never cease to amaze me. I don't know what it is about it.
The characters are also great. McGuire writes friendships and relationships so well, we saw it with Rodger and Dodger in [b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946], and she's done it again with the main characters of Seasonal Fears, Harry and Melanie. Their all-encompassing, teenage relationship, with how much they love and care about each other, was one of my favorite aspects of the book. The antagonists are all wonderfully twisted, and contrast to the protagonists in an interesting way. Jack was one of my favorite characters, she added a bit of comedic relief, and I really enjoyed the discussion on gender and gender expression she was involved in. We have her, a girl named Jack, and man named Jenny, for example, and I found it really interesting how one of those things seems more reasonable than the other, something that's also talked about in the book. Why are masculine names unisex, when men having feminine names is weird?
As for the plot, it was dry, and it was boring. The concept, with people embodying seasons and having to compete with each other to be the one season incarnate, complete with a good dose of alchemy, is fascinating, but the execution doesn't go all the way. When I was 300 pages into the book, nothing had happened, aside from various people explaining every aspect of the premise to me seven or so times in a row. The first time around I found the scientific aspect interesting, because [b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946] was more on the whimsical, confusing side, but after a while I got quite sick of characters saying words instead of, you know, doing something. It's like the author really wants to make sure you understand how good the idea is, while forgetting to actually execute it. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, and probably would have been more interesting had there been more build up. It left me feeling like I had just read a bunch of words and not really gotten anything out of the book. Where was the story? I didn't find it.
All in all, I don't think Seasonal Fears lived up to the expectations I had after Middlegame. I am disappointed, but I hope to get more books in the series that are more similar to the first one.
[b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946] is one of my all time favorite books, and, although it pains me to say, Seasonal Fears was a disappointment.
To start out with the positives, I had forgotten how utterly obsessed I am with Seanan McGuire's writing. It's so beautiful, and so unique, an absolute pleasure to read. Just like in [b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946] I feel like the writing adds a whole new level to the story. Part of that is how interesting the narration is, specifically the use of parenthesis to add in little sections that tell the story in an almost fourth wall breaking kind of way, it adds so much to the vibe. Also, first person present will never cease to amaze me. I don't know what it is about it.
The characters are also great. McGuire writes friendships and relationships so well, we saw it with Rodger and Dodger in [b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946], and she's done it again with the main characters of Seasonal Fears, Harry and Melanie. Their all-encompassing, teenage relationship, with how much they love and care about each other, was one of my favorite aspects of the book. The antagonists are all wonderfully twisted, and contrast to the protagonists in an interesting way. Jack was one of my favorite characters, she added a bit of comedic relief, and I really enjoyed the discussion on gender and gender expression she was involved in. We have her, a girl named Jack, and man named Jenny, for example, and I found it really interesting how one of those things seems more reasonable than the other, something that's also talked about in the book. Why are masculine names unisex, when men having feminine names is weird?
As for the plot, it was dry, and it was boring. The concept, with people embodying seasons and having to compete with each other to be the one season incarnate, complete with a good dose of alchemy, is fascinating, but the execution doesn't go all the way. When I was 300 pages into the book, nothing had happened, aside from various people explaining every aspect of the premise to me seven or so times in a row. The first time around I found the scientific aspect interesting, because [b:Middlegame|35965482|Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537297437l/35965482._SX50_.jpg|57524946] was more on the whimsical, confusing side, but after a while I got quite sick of characters saying words instead of, you know, doing something. It's like the author really wants to make sure you understand how good the idea is, while forgetting to actually execute it. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, and probably would have been more interesting had there been more build up. It left me feeling like I had just read a bunch of words and not really gotten anything out of the book. Where was the story? I didn't find it.
All in all, I don't think Seasonal Fears lived up to the expectations I had after Middlegame. I am disappointed, but I hope to get more books in the series that are more similar to the first one.