Middlegame by Seanan McGuire is a stand alone, separate from her series. Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realize it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet. Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own. Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.
Middlegame was a harder start for me than most of McGuire's book, I think it was just the amount of information necessary to set up the characters and the story. However, once I got past the first couple chapters I was hooked and I was immersed in McGuire's imagination once again. The world and character building is wonderful, and the story id complex with lots of nuisance. I thought the relationship between Roger and Dodger was fascinating, and while there were times I did not agree with their choices, I could always understand the reasoning behind it. There were so many different ways the story could have gone at every turn, and sometimes they do go multiple ways. I would hate to ruin any of the surprises the book holds for new readers so I will refrain for going into details about the action and important plot points. Just know that I found this to be darker and more dense than I was really prepared for- and had I picked it up at a different time it might have been exactly what I was looking for. It was extremely well written, and the mythos built for the story was absolutely amazing, I just had trouble connecting with the characters and enjoying the read as much as I had expected. I honestly think the issue was more with me than the book, and I will continue to read everything I can from McGuire.
As an aside, since I had trouble getting into the book the first time I started reading it, I got it via Audible and listened to it. Amber Benson is the narration- and she does some amazing voices which helped me keep track of who was talking and a better understanding of their characters. Regardless of how you read this, do not skip the chapter intros- which I admit to having done with other books, they are important and will help with the greater understanding of the story.
Middlegame has exceptional world and mythos building with complex characters and plot line. Something did not grab me as much as I had expected, which I think has more to do with my mood than the book, but it was not my favorite of McGuire's. I will still keep on reading all of their urban fantasy.
