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A review by asterope
Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire
Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.
Oh, this was a disappointing sequel. I got 26% in, but I don’t think it’s worth me finishing it. Although Middlegame had its issues, I enjoyed the characters and the unique ideas. This sequel really watered both of those aspects down.
The lore explanation was weak. Jack (the exposition character) constantly going “yeah I know it's mad but that's just how the lore works” grated on me. Maybe write some lore that actually does make sense then? There's all these weird fairytale-esque rules that aren’t nearly as intriguing as the Doctrine from Middlegame.
Funnily enough, it reminded of the Homestuck Sburb lore, except not nearly as cool (yes Homestuck was cool, I’ll die on this hill). I did appreciate that aspect. I wouldn't be surprised if Seanan McGuire was also a fan, considering how I seem to gravitate towards these authors.
The pacing starts off slow, but not in a way that we can get to know the characters. There’s a big timeskip from them being 7 to 17, so we miss out on the same level of development that Roger and Dodger had. Melanie and Harry are not nearly as interesting, complex or likeable. They’re winter and summer, a teen couple who are of course beautiful and perfect for each other. So cliché.
The writing was engaging as ever, but I just couldn't care enough about both the story and characters, so I knew finishing this would feel like a waste of time for me. I'm sure someone else would like this, but that won't be me unfortunately.
The lore explanation was weak. Jack (the exposition character) constantly going “yeah I know it's mad but that's just how the lore works” grated on me. Maybe write some lore that actually does make sense then? There's all these weird fairytale-esque rules that aren’t nearly as intriguing as the Doctrine from Middlegame.
Funnily enough, it reminded of the Homestuck Sburb lore, except not nearly as cool (yes Homestuck was cool, I’ll die on this hill). I did appreciate that aspect. I wouldn't be surprised if Seanan McGuire was also a fan, considering how I seem to gravitate towards these authors.
The pacing starts off slow, but not in a way that we can get to know the characters. There’s a big timeskip from them being 7 to 17, so we miss out on the same level of development that Roger and Dodger had. Melanie and Harry are not nearly as interesting, complex or likeable. They’re winter and summer, a teen couple who are of course beautiful and perfect for each other. So cliché.
The writing was engaging as ever, but I just couldn't care enough about both the story and characters, so I knew finishing this would feel like a waste of time for me. I'm sure someone else would like this, but that won't be me unfortunately.