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oliverreeds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
meliroo's review
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
kmtd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Also: tw suicide attempt, suicidal ideation/mentions, murders (including children), and a POC character gets murdered in specific, lots of talk about dismembered body parts
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
perditorian's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Gore, Suicide, and Torture
rorikae's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
One of my favorite things about this novel is how Seanan McGuire uses a fictional text within the book to help illuminate and obscure what is really happening. She does this masterfully and I am excited that she had the opportunity to write and publish this book within a book as its own text so that we can read more about it and use it to better understand Middlegame.
It's hard to describe this book without spoilers but I will say, if you are looking for something a little spooky that includes alchemy, coming of age stories, and books within books, Middlegame just might scratch your itch.
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicide, and Blood
Moderate: Torture and Violence
sheerpoetry's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was amazing. I was thoroughly stressed out for most of it, but was so glad I kept going and finished it. It was definitely an experience and not just a book. I have no idea what we can expect from the sequel, but I am both terrified and excited.
I will also say I was (pleasantly) surprised that it didn't just end with "and they lived."
It was absolutely a wild ride and I was stressed beyond belief reading it, but I'm so glad I did. It was worth it, in the end. (Not that I doubted it!) And, as always, Seanan keeps you guessing. Just when you think you may have figured out something, it takes a turn. Like I said, a WILD, emotional, beautiful ride.
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture
Minor: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Finishing this book feels like waking up from a dream, I read it in sections, and loved every minute of it but now I'm struggling to say all the wonderful things it led me through. Every time I finished another section I was torn between a desperate desire to know what happened next, and the existential terror of a precious resource dwindling; not wanting this book to ever end. All the characters are complex and vivid; the villains are horrendously dark and terribly evil but also completely understandable, with simple motivations pulling them along twisted paths full of malice, greed, and efficient brutality. Roger and Dodger (named by people who should never be around children) begin as lonely child geniuses and become so much more.
It's a story of time loops, paradoxes, trying over and over to get everything just right. I love time loop stories, but this one stands out because it's unafraid to let things go. It's surprisingly linear, reserving temporal mischief for where it's most needed, where change will be poignant and weighty. We hear whispers, catch glimpses of how-it-might-have-been-but-is-not. This book is rich with metaphors, practically dripping with them when Roger is involved. Dodger's sections are more brusque, creating a distinct feel when the perspective switches between them. I won't spoil the other perspectives we get, but the narrators have enough presence to affect the tone of their various sections and it works really well (both in each section and coming together to create the narrative).
Book CWs for bullying, parental gaslighting and emotional abuse, murder, major character death, arson, graphic depiction of suicide attempt.
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Child death, and Torture
CW for bullying, parental gaslighting and emotional abuse, murder, major character death, arson, graphic depiction of suicide attempt, parental death.