A review by applesaucecreachur
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-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

4.5

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book before I began reading it, and became even less sure as the plot progressed. It read like a science fiction novel for a good 60% of the scenes, but its basis in alchemy made it technically fantasy. I loved it. 
Seanan McGuire ropes readers in with two tenacious and brilliant main characters whose unique bond nearly forces the audience to root for them. Sure, sure, it felt a bit “not like other girls” at times, but what MC isn’t meant to be at least a little bit exceptional? Roger’s love for language was a great selling point for the audience (likely avid readers themselves), and provided an easy-to-identify-with character despite his flaws. Dodger’s raging passion for math had a less personal hold on me as I am no math whiz, but her journey with mental illness and loneliness made her character the most human and three-dimensional of the cast. Her insistence on never truly straying from herself even while wearing a mask of sociability was both inspiring and disturbing. 
As for the plot itself, my experience with alchemical fiction is not extensive, and this is by far the most complex one I’ve read. But for my own shortcomings that kept me from following everything perfectly, I held on to see the characters through their journey. I even found myself engrossed by all the extra-scientific stuff that I could not understand.
There’s a general rule against info-dumping among writers, but the scene in the last quarter of the book where Erin shamelessly exposits at R&D had me clinging to every last word; I was so curious by this point that this technical breach of the rules was quite welcome.
 
It is also worth noting that I read this on audiobook, and Amber Benson is probably the best reader I’ve heard thus far. She managed to invent a distinct voice for each primary and secondary character without making any of them cheesy or offensively accented. Her take on the story only added to it. 
I’ve never read anything quite like Middlegame before. Rodger and Dodger’s bond was the kind of non-romantic love story I’ve been craving in my books, and the plot felt fresh and bold. This novel teased at the lines drawn within speculative fiction in a way that I now desperately need more of. Middlegame will absolutely be a reread. 
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