Middlegame

Publisher's Summary

This program is read by Amber Benson.

New York Times best-selling and Alex, Nebula, and Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire introduces listeners to a world of amoral alchemy, shadowy organizations, and impossible cities in the stand-alone fantasy Middlegame. 

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 realise 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.

©2019 Seanan McGuire (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Knocked it out of the park!

Simply amazing! I took a chance on this book and loved every minute. The story was excellent and the narration matched it. My only regret is that i finished it and don't have more to immediately jump into! Time for a second listen, I suppose.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Beautiful Sci-fi fairy tale

I'm a fan of the writer, and this is up there with her very best work. So unique and lovely, so enthralling. Not for you if you need every single thing to make sense, this book will take you down the improbable road to the impossible city, and if you go with child-like wonder, you will not be sorry.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

fun and very seanan

not seanan's best for me but that only makes it leagues above most others. definitely worth it

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

It's almost perfect...

I enjoyed this book at least as much as any of Maguire's other books, if not more. And that is saying something as she is my favorite author.

However, Amber Benson was a terrible choice for narrator. She is a marginally passable actress and acting is an important skill for a narrator. Some of her voice characterizations were annoying, bordering on ridiculous.

Sometimes good books are re-recorded with different narrators. Maybe this one will be.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Mind melting goodness

20 minutes in I was ready to turn it off and sigh for the loss of a credit. I persevered because I'm a huge fan of Seanan McGuire's other books and really wanted to give this a chance. I'm so GLAD I kept listening.
The story is complex and tightly woven. This isn't brain candy...you must pay attention to the details. No zoning out and hoping to jump back in at any point and be able to follow along. There were a couple times I thought it might actually be better on paper due to the complexity of the story and the large number of quotes the author utilized. However once you get used to the format it's easy to get.
The story is unique and interesting, the characters are real and flawed and perfect.
I was hesitant of Amber Benson as narrator...I love her, but I was worried I would only hear Tara (her Buffy the Vampire Slayer role.) I needn't have worried, she narrates this story beautifully, her characters all have strong easily differentiated voices and agree captured all the emotions and nuances flawlessly. I am hugely impressed with her range!
This wasn't quite a 5 star story for me only because I love the authors other works so much and this story didn't quite hit their level of awesome...but came very close!

Middlegame is magic

This is an astonishing book, told with consummate skill through twists and turns that left me gasping. The language is lyrical and dagger sharp by turns, and the narration is unsettlingly spot on in creating voices for the characters.

Surprisingly Amazing.

I didn’t think I would like this book. It was different than my usual but I continued to read and was taken on a fantastic journey. I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who wants an adventure, a change in their ‘reading life’ or just loves a good book. The narration was excellent, a master at weaving the words perfectly giving each character the depth and personality the author intended. I am so happy to have this in my library, I will read this again. Thank you McGuire or Grant, again, you have taken me on a great adventure. 5 Stars!!!

Awesome as always

Seanan McGuire continues to be a wonderful storyteller, and now I think I want to learn more about alchemy. The time line numbers were a little confusing at first, but then I realised they weren’t actually that important and stopped trying to keep track of them, and the story worked just fine. My only complaint is that Over the Woodward Wall isn’t a real book, because I think I’d enjoy it very much too.

Couldn't Finish

I was really excited about this book. I didn't read reviews or play the sample, I was that sure I would love it.
I love Seanan McGuire's work. "Every Heart A Doorway" may be in my top 10 Best Ever.
The story seems like it will be good and I will definitely pick up a copy of the book or e-book. I just couldn't get past the narrator. I appreciate an effort to make each character sound different, but this was over the top. It was the kind of voices you would use when reading to a child. And weird accent choices, too. A character from Cambridge, Mass sounded like he'd been hanging out on the Jersey Shore most of his life.
I can see how some people may like this style, but it wasn't for me. If you prefer a subtler narrator, avoid this book.

Wow

Great read, great listen. At first I wasn’t enamored with the quotes that started each chapter, but then I began to understand their purpose and the pieces clicked together. The story totally captivated me. There were a few slow moments, but overall things moved at a good pace and kept me very engaged. Interesting concepts, math and word fun - quite excellent and surprising. Thanks for such an interesting story.

Seanan McGuire doesn't disappoint

A bit slow to start, and I had to listen to the first bit twice as my mind kept wandering, but once I got past that, and we got to meet Doger and Roger as kids, I was hooked.

I wish we had got to see more of them being happy together though. I realize conflict was needed to set the plot in motion, but still. I really loved how they interacted, and loved seeing them together, propping each other up, supporting each other and behaving like the siblings they didn't know they were. I hope they got to enjoy more of that, after the book finished.

It's not my favourite Seanan McGuire, but I did end up loving it. And it's a stand-alone novel, which is rare.

I mostly enjoyed the narrator. She made some weird choices when voicing Lee and James, but it was fine, once I got used to it.