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Jun 18, 2020samesfoley rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This is going to be one of those books you're SO lost reading when it comes to plot, but it's okay because Seanan will take your hand and guide you to an ending that will make about as much sense as it can be expected to. I had been intending to read something by Seanan McGuire (or Mira Grant, another pen name of hers) for a while now and while Middlegame wasn't what I expected my first book of hers to be, I'm so glad I picked it up! While it's impossible to get into the plot while still remaining sensical and avoiding spoilers, let's just say this book will reel you in. It struck the perfect balance of maintaining a complexity that required me to follow things closely while also giving me enough information to keep me completely interested. At no point did I feel like things were lagging or forced; this book was perfectly set-up and perfectly paced and I'm so impressed by it. In order to balance out a largely confusing plot, the characters and their relationship were so, so endearing. We start off during Roger and Dodger's childhood and I was impressed to find that Seanan was able to write them in a way that felt realistic without feeling immature or irritating, which I often find to be the case with younger POVs. They both felt like such truly real people and it was wonderful watching their growth. Overall, I just found this to be such a satisfying read and wouldn't be surprised if my 4.5 tips over to a 5, depending on how well it sticks to me. I'd definitely recommend this to lovers of sf/f. content warnings: attempted suicide, graphic descriptions of blood/gore/death