Going into Middlegame, I don't think I actually considered that I might not like it. It didn't seem possible. I have given five stars to all the four books I've read in McGuire's Wayward Children series, and I just assumed this would be an obvious five-star, love-you-forever kind of read. I actually feel bad saying this, but this was not my kind of book at all.

There was a lot of stopping and starting in my attempts to read this book (which have been going on for weeks). I guess I just don’t enjoy being this confused for so long and receiving so little explanation for anything. The Wayward Children series is exactly my brand of atmospheric fairy tale weirdness, but this was a completely different kind of weird. A dense sci-fi novel that was at least 200 pages too long for me.

I found it frustrating and confusing-- one of those books where I was kept in the dark for so long that my attention was waning. Trying to stay invested when I had no idea where it was going or what questions I needed to be asking was hard work. And so much feels unanswered. While I’m sure this is wholly intentional, it didn’t quite work for me. I was left with the unsatisfying feeling that I never fully "got" it.

There's a lot of repetition, too. Roger and Dodger are "experiment" twins - he a word genius, she a math genius - separated after birth and placed with adoptive parents. They discover each other through a psychic link, lose each other, find each other again. Little is happening during these psychic encounters. Alongside this, we get the perspective of James Reed, an alchemist who wishes to use Roger and Dodger to get to the Impossible City. Unfortunately, I felt zero emotional connection to these characters.

Though this is supposed to be a math and logic based sci-fi, it is strange how very little is explained. The lack of details made it hard to picture and suspend disbelief for. I struggled to understand the motivations of Reed or how he really planned to accomplish his ambitions. The "Impossible City" is just a cool-sounding name being thrown around without explanation.

Probably my favourite parts were the nods to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which I thought were clever. But, overall, this book was for a reader very different from myself. I know McGuire also writes under her Mira Grant pseudonym, but I'm starting to think she might actually be several different people in one, because all her books are so different. I mean it as a compliment. Middlegame wasn't my cup of tea, but it's pretty impressive to have so many different tricks up one's sleeve.

CW: Attempted suicide.

I got to the 33% mark, and having begun this book 2 weeks ago, without the motivation to continue reading, I'm going to call it. It began strong, but just didn't hold my interest. There is A LOT going on, and maybe I just lost the thread. I cared about the relationship between the 'experiment twins' Roger and Dodger, then the book swings back to the 'overlords' in charge of their lives and stuff about alchemy and alludes to an Impossible City ... I just struggled to keep caring about ALL of it, while trying to keep track of the bits I was getting.

A fantastical journey into the relationship between twins, while setting it against the potential of reality-altering magic, Middlegame surprised me in the best way possible. I was blown away by the world-building, and then how these characters inhabit the world. I would like to state, though - that this book takes some time to make sense as to what the magic that inhabits it is (because I couldn't comprehend the sheer power of it in the start), and the canon rules for it, but boy, is it worth the initial confusion! What it basically is about is a power-hungry person, Reed, who is an alchemical creation (more Frankenstein, less homunculus) and he sets out to manifest an alchemical doctrine in the real world in order to manipulate reality itself. He does so by creating sets of alchemically-made twins, one of those sets being Roger and Dodger, and set them out in the world to grow until they manifest the Doctrine, and make him virtually a god.

Roger and Dodger grow up most of their life apart not knowing who they are, what they are capable of together; they don't even know they are the personification of language and math, respectively. For Dodger, it means that she is incredibly good with numbers, and Roger has a 'way with words' and able to influence people. Though they develop a mental link with one another, they are being constantly kept apart, first by the alchemists, then by their own doubts, then by their awesome potential. As much as this is a story involving alchemy and fantastical concepts of an Improbable City, it is also a tale of two people who are the closest in understanding to each other, yet the baggage of what they are and the things that come between them keep pulling them apart but also making them come together. And it is also about what being personifications of universal concepts is doing to them on a personal level, and the loneliness they feel.

Winding through this beautifully developed sibling relationship is a plot that relies on a set of characters fighting against invisible odds. Reed and his people have been shaping their very lives, going so far as to choose their parents, choose some people in their lives, and yet they continue to defy him in small ways. The secondary set of characters is an interesting one - there is a personification of Order, Erin, who gets involved in their lives, whose creator Leigh is a regular bloodthirsty villain working under Reed; they themselves form an intriguing dynamic among themselves. Aside from that, expect reality-bending, multi-timeline mystery in this plot that keeps you on your toes waiting to see how the Doctrine manifests, and if Roger and Dodger will win out in the end.

Finally, the writing is clever and tight as always, setting up a magnificent adventure of a book with high stakes, characters you root for, and endless potential in the world.

“Timeline: five minutes too late, thirty seconds from the end of the world.”

The Alchemical Congress has no room to speak. No one crosses Asphodel Baker, the creator of the careful design spanning different dimensions.

A Doctrine of Ethos has been placed inside the mind of a handful of children. They come in pairs. The problem is, the doctrine is too large and does not leave space for humanity, so it is split into component parts – mathematics and language. The Up-and-Under also called the light and brightness of the modern world is housing the project, an alchemical APEX. Reed is the apprentice alchemist and an invisible eye to see it all unfold in hopes to reach The Imperial City with the aid of the created pair.

Some of the pairs have not made it to maturity, but the one that did is separated and placed into civilian family homes on opposite sides of the United States. Meet Dodger, a red-haired girl, great in math and chess, and Roger, a color-blind boy, the one that loves words, writing, and language. The two of them are gifted but don’t know this. They also don’t know that they have a twin. They live their lives, going to school just like all the other kids.…until one day a telepathic connection is made. It creeps in slowly and what turns out as voices in the head, becomes a trove of conversations.

In altered pov’s and timelines, the reader becomes witness to the growing bond of the pair, the advantage points of helping each other, the altercations and their silent times. Each of them faces some struggles at difficult times in their lives and one day, by chance, they actually meet.
Here lies the problem. They are watched. They are followed. They are toyed with.

Roger and Dodger are destined for something. They have powers but they have to figure it out. Not easy as memories are being erased, places and times are altered and friends and families are dying around them. A journey that takes them all the way into their late twenties and will culminate in the ultimate trial of their bond.

What will become of civility and the drive to the Imperial City? What is it they have to figure out and how will they be played like pawns in a game they never chose to play?

Best to take the journey with them and find out!

Happy Reading!


***

Fans of McGuire's voice in writing will find it here true and beautiful. Her strong suit lies in the characterization of the pair, intuitive, intricate and emotional. Based upon the connectivity of twins, the novel furthers a very unique fantastical premise that is explored from its infancy in stages of tenderness and accelerates into a captivating, racing plot with twists, kicks, and punches!

This concept may not be for everyone and admittedly, the time jumps and the tie-ins with alchemy and its history requires a more careful read to not miss anything or get confused. Most of the needed information is established at the beginning of the novel but does not make as much sense until it all begins to tie together further in the story. This can be off-putting perhaps to some, but the rewards are coming as the plot unfolds.

If you have the itch for something new and different, this book is absolutely unique and should be given a try. A definite must for McGuire fans.

Enjoy!

Holy Smokes, where do I start?! Part science fiction, part alchemy, part siblings coming of age, part ode to language and math, part rebellion, with a dash of horror, this book has so many components that come together in the seamless, chaotically beautiful way that belongs only to Seanan McGuire's writing.

Roger & Dodger are twins growing up in their respective adoptive homes on opposite coasts of the US. They are constructs created for a singular purpose by an alchemist, but they don't know this yet. They are also human, relatable, and intent on choosing their own way. They are terrific characters who are readable and yet clearly something new & powerful.

The roles that Roger & Dodger serve is partially explained with the fictional book series, the Up and Under. This embedded fiction was one aspect of this read that I particularly enjoyed. Its a story within a story, with enough passages shared & examined to be a tantalizing mystery, and to help contextualize the events of Middlegame. But it also serves to remind us how vital storytelling is to the fabric of our own world, and to help in understanding those things that are seemingly unexplainable.

Among those unexplainable things we have to weave into our stories are the monsters hidden in plain sight. McGuire is so incredibly good at these, and Middlegame is no exception. In this book, some are born and others created, some are pitiable and others easy to hate, and one is simply chillingly terrifying. While they may be evil, they are detailed & dimensional. And just like with our protagonists, show off some great character writing on the part of the author.

The one downside I experienced was that when I started reading I was a little squicked out by some of the initial bloodiness & general weirdness of the alchemy that I had to push through. (Fans of the Mira Grant books should be fine, but if all you've read of Seanan's stuff is published under 'Seanan McGuire,' know that this is akin to Down Among the Sticks and Bones - and then some - as far as monsters, body parts, and general creepy factors.) It never feels gratuitous, and always serves a purpose in storytelling, but had I not been reading an ARC for review, I might have put it down or really taken my time with it. I am soo glad I finished the book, so I would encourage readers who may experience a similar 'ick' response to stick with it a bit longer. Its worth it.

All in all, I felt this was a masterful piece of science fiction from a much beloved author. As an admitted fan of hers, I still felt she outdid herself with Middlegame, and give it a glowing 5 stars.

I received an ARC of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to the publisher for this e-ARC ! Hoping my thought aren't too honest !

This book starts with a super exciting chapter that shows this book is going to be the real deal : a glimpse of the bloody end of it all. You're full of anticipation, and so is the book it seems. And here you go.

It was a disappointment to see that no action of that sort was going to happen in the first 400 pages... We kept going back and forth between the twins and Reed. But nothing really happened. It was all forshadowing... I wouldn't have care really, but that first chapter just got me so hyped!

I really didn't like that book (even though the writing was really amazing!). The characters are typical and bland. The story had a lot of potential but it's all talk, no show. Why is Reed so much better than the other ? What kind of math is Dodger really working on ? What kind of writing does Roger liked to get lost into? How do they feel different after manifesting ? The characters should at some point have taken the matters into their own hands and take a different path than the one we all know they're on from the beginning. It left no surprise. And the rare occasions they do something sticking are after a never ending arguing "because it's their nature" to do so.

Finally, this book is a change from the typical magic books, it is about alchemy. I loved the real legends that were found into this book and think it could have been explored so much more. Nothing was explained at all, which is usually okay for me, but here, without any rule or explanation (or clear definition of what they are talking about) it just didn't make sense and it was hard to care.

Thank you for the opportunity of reading that book nonetheless and I hope I'll be able to review other Tor books in a positive way !

Dodger and Roger are perfectly normal American children. Well, except that they can talk to each other from across the continent. And Dodger can make maths sit up and dance, while Roger has never met a word he didn't like. But apart from those things, they're normal. Aren't they?

I feel like Seanan McGuire had some really important ideas she wanted to work out on paper, and this is the way she chose to do it, by presenting it as a story. Sadly, it didn't really click for me. I ploughed through it all - and it's long, longer than most YA novels - and it just never really gelled. We seemed to cover the same ground over and over - one twin abandoned the other, other twin abandoned the one, one twin abandoned the other - and the time travel stuff was confusing to me, and I can usually follow that kind of thing quite well. As we neared the end, when things should have been gearing up for a climax, I was getting more and more bored.

Look. I can appreciate that someone on a genius level with maths could throw an item at a wall and have it rebound to hit something in exactly the spot they want. Snooker players basically do that now. But being so good at maths that you just have to look at an electric lock and it opens for you? That needs a little bit more selling for me, and I just didn't get that from this book. And I was never quite clear whether Roger can command everyone or just Dodger, and whether he can speak anything into existence, or just real things, or whether he's actually doing something else entirely...

I hope this book does well. If nothing else, it's a real labour of love. It just didn't do it for me.

3.5 stars -- It's difficult for me to quantify how I feel about this book. On paper, there are a lot of things in this that I love. Meta-ness, unusual fantasy setting in a world recognizably our own, family dynamics, etc. Also, alchemy. But the voice, though. I theoretically liked its knowingness and meta quality, but I ultimately found it rather grating. It made it difficult for me to read for more than a few chapters at a time, which is unusual for me, and the use of future tense I think was purposefully meant to be disorienting... but I found myself resenting the disorientation rather than enjoying it. Which was sad, because usually that's something I really enjoy in a book,

All that to say, I found this engaging enough to keep reading and I think that it is an unusual fantasy novel, so recommend giving it a try. If you're intrigued at all by this, by all means make sure you read THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR by Scott Hawkins.

This is definitely one of those books that I want to experience with the book in my hands. I had to put it down and make myself wait. I also feel like the formatting for this title will be best experienced as a printed book. What I did read of the ARC was absolutely wonderful!

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire told from multiple perspectives but mostly those of twins Roger and Dodger blew my mind. Take McGuire's hand as she takes us to the Impossible City.

Fans of MGuire's Wayward Children series will love this darker tale that explores, twins, balance, chaos, order, the power of words, math, time and alchemy. While the Wayward series had a young adult feel, this does not despite some whimsical imagery.

A full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer on May 8, 2019. Link below. It will be shared on all social media, Goodreads and Amazon.

Admittedly, I would read a shopping list and declare it great art if Seanan McGuire wrote it, so I am definitely coming at this from the perspective of being a fan. That said <i>Middlegame</i> is one of the most ambitious and accomplished speculative fiction novels I've ever read. I can see why McGuire has explained that while she had the idea for this years ago, she knew at the time that she didn't have the skill to write it at that point. She seems to have found the Goldilocks moment to have advanced the project - neither tackling it before she was ready nor leaving it until the idea had lost its freshness for her.

<i>Middlegame</i> is a story about family and siblings, about creation and destruction, about maths and linguistics. Most of all, it's a story about power, and who can be trusted with it. Nine year old Roger Middleton, linguistic prodigy, was adopted and he's always had the vague sense that something was missing in his life. Enter Dodger Cheswich, a girl his age - born on the same day, in fact - a mathematical genius, who somehow fits and fills the part of him that has always felt an absence. Dodger is talking to him and seeing through his eyes, but Dodger lives in another time zone. They've never actually met. They're on an improbable road to do impossible things because while maths describes the universe and underpins all creation, language creates reality.

In the shadows of a secret lab/lair, an alchemist watches his experiment reach maturation. James Reed is not like other men. He had no birth and he fully intends to live forever. Once he has the fully manifest Doctrine of Ethos in his control, he'll be able to do anything. Alchemy is, after all, the bridge between magic and science. The power to unmake the world rests in unknowing hands, and Reed intends to make them his instruments.

As much as loved this book, it may not be for everyone. You have to pay attention. You need to be engaging with the story intelligently or it's just not going to make sense to you. If, like me, you are a closet science nerd (especially maths and physics) then you're going to have lots of 'aha!' moments and really love this. It's told in a non-linear fashion from multiple points of view - this is another thing that will annoy some people because while I felt that McGuire moved smoothly from third person omniscient to close third person, and from character to character, you do jump between characters in a scene or chapter. It's done with too much skill to be head hopping, but if you prefer undemanding books that let you know exactly where you are at all times, it might not be for you. That said, this isn't all science maths science. Or even language linguistics language. It's clever and intricate, but the characters are engaging and disturbing. The story is gripping, with plenty of action. I discovered McGuire's alter ego 'Mira Grant' first, and I loved her 'Newsflesh' series. This reads as similar in style - at least more so than say the 'October Daye' series.

And then there are the themes. McGuire comes back to the importance of family and friendship a lot in her work, and I always enjoy her take. In fact we're given some stark contrasts between good and bad family dynamics, and the cost of the latter. A subtler theme is that of parents and children. I've always maintained that anything you create that is possessed of its own sentience, belongs always and only to itself. You don't own your children. You don't own your 'creations'. McGuire follows this theme in a similar vein - what happens when your 'children' reach maturity? And then there's power. While McGuire does the 'mad scientist/ evil genius' trope exceptionally well - seriously, I love her mad scientists! - the moral is always that power should have limits. Just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should.

I'll stop there because I really can't do this book justice in a mere review. This is The Wizard of Oz and Frankenstein and The Island of Dr Moreau. This is every dark fairy-tale about children being lost in the wood, or about innocents being manipulated by evil sorcerers. This is megalomaniacal alchemists and folding space and time. It's siblings and mind games and maths and language. It's describing a universe and making it less scary and unknown by describing it in words and numbers, putting limits on the infinite if only to allow us to look at it without losing ourselves.

I adore Seanan McGuire, but was unable to figure out why I did not like this book at all. I read my usual 100-150 pages and just could not feel anything for the characters. I will continue reading the Toby Daye series, I love those. And I am well aware I am in the minority.

I want to thank NetGalley and Tor.com for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review

OMG, this book is really FANTASTIC, I can’t stop thinking about it. A while since I didn’t come across a book as original and unique as this one, especially because it’s a plot that never ceases to surprise and I was hooked from the first page, it’s a bit slow but worth every moment. I loved it!. This book involves alchemy, and multiple temporal lines, in addition to a unique relationship between twins.


I realized that, although I usually mention the sensitive topics that we can find in the book, I’ve never included Trigger Warning in my reviews, as such, and after seeing on Twitter a long discussion about it, and seeing how important this is for readers, then I’ll begin to include them from now on …

⚠️TW: Suicide Attempt, Depression & Gore/Violence Content

This is probably the most complicated book to explain, but I’ll try my best. This book is about twins, called Dodge and Roger, who have been created scientifically by an Alchemist named James Reed, who has been trying for about a hundred years to follow the directions of his own creator, the powerful alchemist, Asphodel Baker, trying to embody a universal concept called Doctrine of Ethos in the human body by dividing it in equal parts, within the twins bodies. In the case of Dodge and Roger, one of them is mathematics, while the other is language. Reed decides to deliver all these pairs of twins individually to couples to them to grow up in a natural way and see how they evolve. After a few years, the twins will begin to find each other and they’ll realize that they’re entangled in ways they still can’t understand and that they handle a very dangerous power. Reed’s real intentions behind the creation of these kids are darker than anyone imagined and plans to use them, once they’re ready, to master an unimaginable power.

I know the first thing you’ll think is that it sounds confusing, and maybe it is!. At first when I was reading it I didn’t know what to expect and I was really confused with all that alchemist vocabulary and scientific things that I didn’t understand, but then, when the story is developing everything begins to be clearer and I’ve really found it fascinating, it’s an idea that could only occur to a mind as brilliant as the author’s, plus it shows that she has had to research a lot to write this book and that’s something that’s always appreciated

The plot, in general, is really fascinating, I felt hooked by the concept from the beginning, that first chapter is VERY well done to catch your attention, and you really don’t want to stop reading until you find out what’s happening. The book begins with the ending, and then we go back to the beginning to know the creation of the main twins and also to know a little more about alchemy, how it works and what are its foundations, plus we also know a little more about the goal that moves a woman as Asphodel and who moves now in the present to her creation, and apprentice, Reed. We’ll also begin to meet the main characters, Dodge and Roger, since they’re only children until their adult years, which I loved, I love following the characters for a large part of their lives, I think you get to know them more and create a much deeper connection with them. The book is very complex and it’s cleverly told, jumps in time and plays a lot with temporal lines, which I LOVE. Every time I was reading I thought, how did I not write this myself? lol, because it has EVERYTHING I love in a book, from the brotherhood connection to crazy things happening with time and temporal lines. It’s a book with a fairly hard content due to the number of murders and deaths that occur in the course of the story, so if bloody things impress you then I don’t know if it’s the book for you. But beyond that, I think it’s amazing and it was very close to being a 5 star.


The characters are beautifully created, each of them contributes and is the protagonist of this story, they’re very real and the depth of their development is great. I think all the main characters of the book are created through alchemy so they’re not actually humans, which is very interesting, we read about their ambitions and desires and how their purpose influence their personality and behavior. Several of them are experiments created for a certain purpose but that doesn’t stop them from feeling their own emotions and move according to their principles and needs. We’ll talk a little about each of them, I’ll try to be brief because with this book it’s very difficult not to do spoilers lol

We’ll start with Roger and Dodger because they’re our main characters, and I want to start by saying that I LOVE the wonderful connection between them, they were made to stay together to make strong together, and yet they were separated at birth. After a few years, they’ll establish a mental connection unique and different, which makes them realize that they’re connected in ways that still can not understand being so young. Both live in very stable homes with people who love them, and both know they’re adopted but live far away from each other.

Roger is language, he can handle any tongue and has an extraordinary ability to learn any kind of language and words from a very young age, he feels that letters are his thing and he loves to spend all day writing, reading and learning new things. He was lonely as a kid, but when his story unfolds we can see how he’s creating connections and friendships with other people, although he has never really felt as connected to someone as he’s with Dodge, with whom he can communicate in a telepathic way, which they call “quantum entanglement”. From my point of view, I think Roger is the sweet and supportive one. This character is colorblindness, and I think it’s interesting to mention it since it’s the first time I’ve crossed paths with a character with this peculiarity. I really love him.

Then we have Dodge, she moves like a fish in the water when it comes to math, she lives and breathes numbers, and doesn’t see herself capable of doing anything else other than filling her room with mathematical problems, in fact, was able to solve one of the most difficult mathematical problems in the world since a very young age, which’s impressive. She’s the boldest, but at the same time, she’s fragile although she never shows it. And although it’s not easy for her to talk with others, because she doesn’t have a facility with words, everything changes when she meets Roger and they begin a beautiful friendship. Dodger’s mind is really brilliant and I love to follow her through time, I like how she thinks things always so fast, she’s always one step ahead of others and I love that.


Reed is a smart and ruthless character, I think his ambition for power devoured everything else, I think it was a moment that maybe he thought that as, Asphodel, could improve the world with The Doctrine, but then the hunger of power changed his course. He’ll never hesitate to eliminate whoever gets in his way, he has almost no emotion, very antipathetic, and the way he treats children as if they were objects or things, gives me chills, it’s really spooky and it breaks my heart.

Leigh, I think it’s by far, the most ruthless character in the book, she’s Reed’s creation and it’s very scary, you guys. You really wouldn’t want to be in her way, she has been the protagonist of the bloodiest scenes of the book. She’s a very intelligent woman too, but her ideas are different from Reed’s, although they want the same, I think Leigh would do anything and cross any limit to get it. She’s a deadly machine, she reminds me of Terminator, I swear. She’s working on her own children’s creation, and that’s how she creates Erin

Erin’s an extraordinary character, I like her a lot because she starts out being very calculating, lying and lethal, in fact, she’s something like Leigh’s right hand, to end up transforming herself in something more. It’s very interesting to follow her steps and see the world through her eyes since she’s the one who has all the truth because unlike the twins, she does know what she really is, and what she was created for. There are many things that I would like to say about her but I can’t because spoilers, but it’ a surprising character, at first I didn’t expect so much from her, but then her progress and development is magnificent

The writing style is very good, but the paced of the book is VERY slow, I spent more than a week reading this book, and I don’t say it wasn’t worth it, because it was. But I think it’s something you should know. The fact that it’s so complex makes you don’t want to miss anything, so I re-read several parts to make sure I understood everything correctly, but I can’t complain, was a lot of fun. It’s a unique story like none I’ve read before, It’s very deep, meaningful and incredible. The book is told on dates which makes it too interesting but also jumps from the future to the past and present so you have to be very careful not to miss anything.

I think the book explores identity, family and who you really are and what you would do for power. In addition, the main characters have to deal with problems of normal life too, and that makes it feel very real even though the base of the book is 100% fantasy. I loved exploring the relationship of the twins and how was evolving as the years go by, this kind of relationship I like much more than romance, so if you feel the same you should give this book a chance as it almost doesn’t have romance or at least doesn’t touch it in a deep way.


There are a couple of scenes at the end that I think are quite long and unnecessary, and also kind of weird, and that’s why my rating hasn’t been higher, but it’s not very serious really everything I remember from the book is wonderful so I can’t complain. I highly recommend the book if you want to read something different, full of suspense, tension, and unique relationships. Also if you like science and how it can be used to create life and all those types of concepts, you’ll love this one too. Another thing is that if like me, you love “Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey” things, it’s one of my favorite aspects. And, If you like the author, you can’t miss this book is WONDERFUL and deserves great recognition and a lot of love because it’s not an easy book to write and is perfectly executed

I requested Middlegame by Seanan McGuire through Netgalley when I saw it being offered to review. I received an e-book version. I read Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire and liked it and enjoyed her idea and writing style so I was interested in Middlegame after reading the synopsis. Middlegame is an urban fantasy mixed with science fiction.

Okay, I'm trying to determine how to review this book without giving away spoilers. I was trying to explain this book to a friend of mine and said that it was amazing and she asked me what else can you tell me about it and I said I don't know what to tell you beside the fact that you MUST read it and if I tell you anything else it could be a spoiler. No joke you guys.  Side note - We came to a conclusion that this book is as awesome as The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins in the fact that it's hard to explain to people the details of the story because it's so weirdly different and wonderful that in order to really grasp it all they would just have to read it themselves.

But I'm going to try to touch on a few basics.

Get used to Roger and Dodger because they are the main focus or the focus of the whole story. The story switches from both of their perspectives and then sometimes to Reed and a little bit of Leah, his alchemist creator of a sort. Erin is also another character that becomes a lot more prominent in the second half of the book but I don't think the perspective shifts to hers, if it does it's very little. Although I would've like to have seen more from Erin's perspective. She was a very interesting side character.

Confused by their names? Again, you'll have to read the book in order to find out why they are named the way they are. Or is it another author ploy to get you to remember another weirdly unique book character name? Who's to say? I liked Dodger more than Roger. Roger could be frustrating and though I liked him at times I was often more annoyed with him and with some of the choices he made. Dodger was feisty and didn't shy away from anything thrown at her. Together though, together they are better.

While Roger has a way with words, Dodger is a master of math. I LOVED the concept of this - them being twins while each mastering two subjects that determined the laws of the universe. It was SO COOL how McGuire executed this whole idea.

Middlegame was a fun and dark read. I felt like I had to slow down my reading pace to make sure I understood and remember certain parts. I wouldn't say it's a super easy read but not a difficult one either. It's definitely a lot of fun and very unique. I enjoyed the writing style quite a lot.

One might believe this book has some magic to it and maybe it does but it's mostly based on alchemy. What is alchemy you ask?

Alchemy - a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life. (Dictionary.com)

This is important to understand from Reed's perspective, he always has an ulterior motive for Roger and Dodger - they aren't human - they are an experiment, his experiment. That's the part that trips me up, they are basically human but they've been created for greater things - they just don't know it yet.

I think this is my favourite part of the story. The whole progression of Dodger and Roger being children when the story starts and reading different stages of their life throughout the book and them ultimately finding out what they are and what they can do as they grow and mature. This added so much more background detail to the twins characters and their decisions and I enjoyed watching them as they grew, fumbling over mistakes, triumphing when they could and always interconnected with one another. I don't think this story would have been as powerful if it was written any other way.

If you were like me, what's middlegame mean?

The middlegame in chess refers to the portion of the game in between the opening and the endgame. There is no clear line between the opening and middlegame, and between the middlegame and endgame. In modern chess, the moves that make up an opening blend into the middlegame, so there is no sharp divide.

I thought this was a cool title and reflected how the story was much like a game of chess and from the beginning till the end - it was all just the middlegame. Fun fact - Dodger is also a successful chess player!

A thousand times yes, I recommend! Middlegame is a very unique story and I think anyone who wants to give this epic novel a chance - should! Seanan McGuire is a wonderful writer and always seems to have a trick up her sleeve. This is a story that really makes you appreciate good writers and how they weave their words. I don't know what else to say other than you MUST read this book, it's so epic!!

Yet again I am impressed by Seanan McGuire. This one is definitely different, and more in line with her Mira Grant pieces, but I still loved it. The world building was fantastic, and I am left thinking about the story and the world after finishing it days ago. I know I can always trust McGuire to deliver an intelligent, well paced, and inventive plot.

A wonderfully creative, imaginative story that was a total pleasure to read from start to finish. This HAS to be a series!

Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire, is one of those reads that stays with you.

McGuire has created an extraordinarily complex world here, but as you read, it all falls into place.

I loved the characters – especially one who was sort of a villain and sort of…not.

The book is epic. Be prepared to be thoroughly enmeshed in a world that you really don’t want to live in.

Five stars.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

This book had everything from great writing, to a compelling plot, and intriguing characters. Not once did I find myself bored. Roger and Dodger have a deep, familial connection. And while it's not directly asked, there seems to be an underlying question of, "What makes someone human?" The trials and tribulations the two protagonists go through are immense yet wonderful to read about. And parts even had me nearly in tears. In the end, this lived up to the hype and surpassed it. Full/longer review to be posted at thefantasyinn.com ~30 days prior to the book's publication.

Middlegame, I think, will be a book that divides readers.A few weeks after reading and I'm still unsure of how I feel about it - there are definitely significant parts of the story that really, really appealed to me as  a reader, and others that almost had me putting it down for good.The basic premise (if there's even such a thing for a book this complex) is an experiment in genetic engineering that sees pairs of twins being tested for their potential to achieve godhood over the course of their life. Rodger and Dodger, twins separated in their infancy and raised in different circumstances, are children of a sort of the alchemist Reed who wants to use them to harness a higher power that he cannot claim on his own. We follow the twins over the course of their lives, from childhood to adulthood, as their paths cross and diverge and change as they begin to realise their potential.I want to say, upfront, that I went into Middlegame knowing nothing except that I'm a huge fan of McGuire's Wayward Children novella series and I was very interested to read a full-length novel by her to see if her writing style transfers well across both formats for me personally.The answer to that is yes... and no.Middlegame is an intensely interesting story, but I really struggled with the pacing. A lot of it, I believe, is intentional, because we need to build up a relationship with the protagonists and see how they develop their relationship with each other. There are a lot of cool things that happen, but there's also a lot of downtime in between which had me wondering when the next major event would occur. That downtime is what I really struggled with.That said, the entire concept is very intriguing - it's like Frankenstein's monster started running the laboratory and is powerful enough that no-one is going to get in his way. The story itself is a fantasy (but not), set in our world (but not) and entirely normal except for the alchemists living in the shadows and secretly controlling things. There's time travel, magic, paranormal-aspects and a whole host of things I love. I love it when books involve jumping around in timelines and this had some awesome moments.I also really loved Erin, who was one of the side characters who ends up in an almost guide-like role, but who is entirely her own person with her own motivations.So, I'm still conflicted, but it's definitely worth a read to see where your opinions fall.

I'm a longtime fan of McGuire's work, which is how I know that my not loving MIDDLEGAME is less a problem with the book and more a matter of personal preference. The slightly disjointed storytelling style is a bit like the FEED trilogy (written under her Mira Grant penname) on steroids, I've always jived more with the more straightforward style of the Toby Daye series. MIDDLEGAME is an ambitious book and one I'm thrilled that TOR is putting support behind an aggressively weird project like this.