Middlegame

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Amber Benson

Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A Locus Award Finalist!

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 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.

©2019 Seanan McGuire (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2019 NPR Best Book of the Year
2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
2020 Hugo Award Nominee
2020 Locus Awards Nominee

Such an Imaginative Ride

What a bizarre read, and one that I don't think I can properly summarize without some level of confusion either by me or for you. However, I do think this will be a book that on some level is going to be a hard sell for most. It's not a bad read, it's just...confusing in an odd way that makes sense once you understand the shape of it but it's hard to really see that shape until you've made your way into the meat of the story itself. It reads a bit like a children's fable, fittingly like a slightly more logical Wizard of Oz and Wonderland, and like those stories, there is an edge to it that makes it something else entirely.
I seriously love the ideas that were at play here, and I love the complicated way that McGuire chose to express those ideas. It does make it hard to approach, hard to sink into, but the end result is something that stands out as completely unique. The only book I can think of that has some grain of similarity in terms of actual storyline and scope is The Library at Mount Char.

I'm definitely curious to see where this story leads us, and what more McGuire has to share about this version of our world she has given us.

Notes on the audiobook: Overall I wasn't entirely fond of Benson's choices in terms of individual voices, especially when it came to Reed and Leigh. Even at the speeds I normally listen to 2.5x or 3x, those two voices were still incredibly odd on the ears. Other that than I found the narration decent, with good pacing.

​Well Played for 17 Hours

​I started "Middlegame" on Thursday evening, before going to bed and finished it just before Sunday supper (meatloaf tonight). I bought this book by accident because of the cover. There are a few reasons why I like this story so much. The plot isn't so much outer space science fiction and there wasn't any butterfly fantasy either. There was enough balance from the twin siblings and their gifts for the concept to work. The characters were well groom and believable for 17 hours and 30 minutes.

Intriguing Story. DNF Due to Narrator

The premise of the story is pretty interesting, and after I got used to it, I was intrigued. I “bonded” with the kid characters and wanted to know more about their story. However, as others have mentioned, the narrator was too much for me to deal with. I really did try to give her time and adjust to her style, but she’s just bad, particularly voicing the villains. She reminded me of the yes-man from the Simpsons, or Aidy Bryant doing a comedic caricature of a villain on an SNL skit. I’ll buy it when it comes out in paperback.

review

I thought the book was interesting, layered and impressively different from anything I've read. I hate to echo other reviews however I feel it is imperative to mention the profound annoyance I had with the narrators vocal depiction of Lee and Reed. It was so irritating and grating to listen to these 2 characters. I can't imagine the author would have wanted these 2 individuals to sound like failed evil constructs of a child's cartoon. Please consider re- narrating the book

Wonderfully different

While this book draws on old themes I found it quite different from most in the genre. There is something captivating about SM’s writing. The story is a bit abstract while the characters are real and relatable. Loved it

Seanan Mcguire is a genius!

I loved reading this book! It is a beautifully written story of how words and mathematics can create magic. There is drama and action, deception and betrayal, bonding and love. Definitely, one of the best recommendations I have had for a book!!! There is so much I liked in this book, that I cannot describe with words…

Couldn't stop listening

Not sure why so many reviewers dislike the narrator so much. I thought she did a good job. I wasn't thrilled with the "Boston" accent she gave Roger, but didn't find it all that annoying either. I would have happily strangled the character of Reed for his voice, but I kind of felt like that was okay, since he was supposed to be very unlikable anyway.
The premise of the story is unusual, and the author does an excellent job of pulling quotes from all the other works to drive this story forward. When this was written, it was apparently intended to be a stand-alone novel, but I see that there is a second book in the series. I will be purchasing it immediately!

above and beyond.

I don't remember the last time a book made me bark with laughter, and curl up crying within chapters of one another.
this one definitely did that and more.
Roger and Dodger are the siblings we all have. the children we grew out of. some of the best characters I've had the pleasure of joining on a long road to a shining city in the distance.
I will be reading everything else this author has published. as soon as I get paid again.

Exceptional

Seanen never lets you down. This is unique, fascinating and beautifully written and read. 15th word.

Needs another narrator.

Great story and much of the narration was okay or good but some of it was so awful it took me right out of the story. She was trying too hard when voicing the antagonists. Considering the number of great narrators out there somebody didn't do their homework.