Just when I think I’ve read the best thing she has ever written. Being such a huge fan of McGuire’s, you would think I would learn my lesson and stop finding myself surprised after each book. There is just so much within! More than you could ever imagine. Seanan McGuire’s stories are like the Tardis. I just don’t recommend this particular title.“Words can be whispered bullet-quick when no one’s looking, and words don’t leave blood or bruises behind. And the conclusion was basically what you’d expect, defeating the bad guy.Ī basic story can be good if the ending is surprising yet inevitable. The bad guy was so bad, he should have curled his mustache. Important characters appeared essentially for the first time in the last chapter. The beginning and middle of the story was basically the same thing repeating itself. Only problem is that the character building was kind of the same thing over and over. I felt like the story had limited world building with lots of character building. I’m sure they feel the same way I did, probably more so. If your character says something like this, then imagine how the readers feel. You’re the one who knows the rules to this bullshit game. Here is a quote from the bookĭodger: It’s like playing D & D with an unprepared dungeon master. How they needed to become it was equally vague. Problem is, the world wasn’t richly developed. When they start to actually become the Doctrine, they become more aware, and rebel against the bad guy, who then decides he needs to eliminate them (because he has other creations in the pipeline in case these two come out of the oven burnt). That’s because the big bad guy wants to use them to control the universe. The alchemists have separated them at birth (manufacturing?) because that will somehow force them to transform into The Doctrine, or the embodiment of the power of creation in the universe. Their names are Roger and Dodger, boy and girl, who are quantum entangled and can speak to each other like talking on cell phones in their heads. They are constructed beings, created by alchemists. Still, this is my review, so I’ll explain my reasons, and you can decide for yourself.īriefly, the story is about two children, who grow to adulthood. The novel was an award nominee and winner. Now that I’ve built her up, I have to be honest about Middlegame.

I wish I could claim to be her best friend, but I don’t even live on the same continent, truth be told. Otherwise I wouldn’t have dropped that name. And that the name is Seanan McGuire, and that her fame is well deserved, so I have huge respect for her and her body of work. And in that anthology is a story by Seanan McGuire. I once wrote a story that was published in an anthology.

Middlegame review