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A review by fallingletters
Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire
4.0
Review originally published 27 April 2022 at Falling Letters. I received a free digital copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
I’m going to compare Seasonal Fears to [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]– my darling, a top five all-time favourite of mine. It can’t be helped. Readers do not experience books in a vacuum. Especially not sequels, even sequels positioned as more spiritual successors than direct follow ups.
I did not expect Seasonal Fears to hold a candle to Middlegame. That would have been an impossible task for any novel. That impossibility stems from the fact that two of my favourite aspects of Middlegame cannot be recreated. Once they had been done, they were done. If you’ve read and loved Middlegame, you might guess what those aspects are.
The first aspect was the slow build and gradual reveal of the alchemical world and what the heck was actually going on. That was one part of Middlegame that I found delightful – learning about alchemy and the Doctrine and how Rodger and Dodger have truly been affecting the world. The awe factor I got form the unfolding worldbuilding in Middlegame is absent from Seasonal Fears simply because it’s already been done.
The second aspect may be more personal. I found Rodger and Doger to be vividly realized characters who both undergo striking development arcs. I also connected with both of them on a deeply personal level. Seasonal Fears wouldn’t be able to present two characters that I would fall in love with the same way. Even still, I found Henry and Melanie to be the least compelling protagonists of any Seanan McGuire work I’ve read.
Neither had anything that drew to me to them. They felt thinly drawn, more actors in a plot than people in their own right. I certainly never felt the commitment they had to each other another, not like I did with Rodger and Dodger. I suppose one could argue that connects well to the theme of personal choice vs destiny and would they still love each other if they weren’t Summer and Winter people? Suffice to say those two just didn’t do anything fo rme.
Without those two appeal factors (worldbuilding and character), what DOES Seasonal Fears have to offer? An action-adventure plot that takes the form of a deadly road trip race to a labyrinth and claim the crowns of the seasons. Further illumination on how embodiment works (ie how the seasons become ‘people’ and an expanding of the alchemical world. And McGuire’s ever-compelling, observant prose. Just because its missing the shining diamonds of Middlegame, doesn’t mean it’s not still a good read!
I’ve still got more to say about the relationship between Seasonal Fears and Middlegame… Seasonal Fears also ties more closely to Middlegame than I expected! To my delight, Rodger and Doger make more than a cameo appearance. I won’t give much away. Suffice to say they occupy more than the two pages glanced-from-a-distance than I expected. And we hear from Erin and Smita as well.
“It is later than it has ever been before in the life of the universe. The clock has started running again, and the future is here.” (7%)
The story takes place shortly after the events of Middlegame. Rodger and Doger are no longer resetting the universe. Reed’s death and the embodiment of the Doctrine echoes throughout the story, with characters knowledgeable of the alchemical world recognizing that both of those events have a notable impact on their world, if not as immediately on Melanie and Henry’s story. For example, Melanie’s father was a colleague of Reed’s. I actually found some of the descriptions and commentary in Seasonal Fears helped me better understand the events of Middlegame.
“She’s not acting superior because she’s older. She’s doing it because she’s Mathematical Function Incarnate, fully manifest, and she could edit us out of existence if she wanted to.” (50%)
Also! Did I catch some hints that Asphodel may not be dead as you and I would know it?! Or is that just my overactive wishful thinking? Please do let me know if you caught that impression as well.
The Bottom Line
I’m going to compare Seasonal Fears to [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]– my darling, a top five all-time favourite of mine. It can’t be helped. Readers do not experience books in a vacuum. Especially not sequels, even sequels positioned as more spiritual successors than direct follow ups.
I did not expect Seasonal Fears to hold a candle to Middlegame. That would have been an impossible task for any novel. That impossibility stems from the fact that two of my favourite aspects of Middlegame cannot be recreated. Once they had been done, they were done. If you’ve read and loved Middlegame, you might guess what those aspects are.
The first aspect was the slow build and gradual reveal of the alchemical world and what the heck was actually going on. That was one part of Middlegame that I found delightful – learning about alchemy and the Doctrine and how Rodger and Dodger have truly been affecting the world. The awe factor I got form the unfolding worldbuilding in Middlegame is absent from Seasonal Fears simply because it’s already been done.
The second aspect may be more personal. I found Rodger and Doger to be vividly realized characters who both undergo striking development arcs. I also connected with both of them on a deeply personal level. Seasonal Fears wouldn’t be able to present two characters that I would fall in love with the same way. Even still, I found Henry and Melanie to be the least compelling protagonists of any Seanan McGuire work I’ve read.
Neither had anything that drew to me to them. They felt thinly drawn, more actors in a plot than people in their own right. I certainly never felt the commitment they had to each other another, not like I did with Rodger and Dodger. I suppose one could argue that connects well to the theme of personal choice vs destiny and would they still love each other if they weren’t Summer and Winter people? Suffice to say those two just didn’t do anything fo rme.
Without those two appeal factors (worldbuilding and character), what DOES Seasonal Fears have to offer? An action-adventure plot that takes the form of a deadly road trip race to a labyrinth and claim the crowns of the seasons. Further illumination on how embodiment works (ie how the seasons become ‘people’ and an expanding of the alchemical world. And McGuire’s ever-compelling, observant prose. Just because its missing the shining diamonds of Middlegame, doesn’t mean it’s not still a good read!
I’ve still got more to say about the relationship between Seasonal Fears and Middlegame… Seasonal Fears also ties more closely to Middlegame than I expected! To my delight, Rodger and Doger make more than a cameo appearance. I won’t give much away. Suffice to say they occupy more than the two pages glanced-from-a-distance than I expected. And we hear from Erin and Smita as well.
“It is later than it has ever been before in the life of the universe. The clock has started running again, and the future is here.” (7%)
The story takes place shortly after the events of Middlegame. Rodger and Doger are no longer resetting the universe. Reed’s death and the embodiment of the Doctrine echoes throughout the story, with characters knowledgeable of the alchemical world recognizing that both of those events have a notable impact on their world, if not as immediately on Melanie and Henry’s story. For example, Melanie’s father was a colleague of Reed’s. I actually found some of the descriptions and commentary in Seasonal Fears helped me better understand the events of Middlegame.
“She’s not acting superior because she’s older. She’s doing it because she’s Mathematical Function Incarnate, fully manifest, and she could edit us out of existence if she wanted to.” (50%)
Also! Did I catch some hints that Asphodel may not be dead as you and I would know it?! Or is that just my overactive wishful thinking? Please do let me know if you caught that impression as well.
The Bottom Line