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A review by alibrareads
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
I think this is an “it’s not you, it’s me” situation. I can see how people who like very descriptive and dramatic writing could love this… I am not one of them. I saw another reader describe it as “over metaphor-ed and overworked”, and that is 100% accurate. This was a complete SLOG to get through, and I very nearly DNF’d it a third of the way through.
The concept is cool: the idea that math and language together are driving forces of the world and that controlling them will give you godlike powers. The way it is presented in the book is very esoteric and loose (not my favorite). Roger and Dodger are interesting characters and I appreciate that the book is so strongly focused on sibling love and bonds rather than romantic ones. This book is mostly watching these siblings grow up and struggle to find their place in the world, with some alchemical magic and time travel thrown in that all comes together at the end (not because it “makes sense”, but because the author just makes things happen; it’s not meant to be a hard magic system).
And it was SLOW and LONG and the author just goes on and on and on and on beating her own writing to death. I don’t think I connect very well to Seanan McGuire’s writing. I wouldn’t say this was a bad book, but it was SO not my speed or style. It was at least 200 pages too long.
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/51WOlK8jIxk
The concept is cool: the idea that math and language together are driving forces of the world and that controlling them will give you godlike powers. The way it is presented in the book is very esoteric and loose (not my favorite). Roger and Dodger are interesting characters and I appreciate that the book is so strongly focused on sibling love and bonds rather than romantic ones. This book is mostly watching these siblings grow up and struggle to find their place in the world, with some alchemical magic and time travel thrown in that all comes together at the end (not because it “makes sense”, but because the author just makes things happen; it’s not meant to be a hard magic system).
And it was SLOW and LONG and the author just goes on and on and on and on beating her own writing to death. I don’t think I connect very well to Seanan McGuire’s writing. I wouldn’t say this was a bad book, but it was SO not my speed or style. It was at least 200 pages too long.
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/51WOlK8jIxk