From the Stacks: A quest to control the world

In "The Middlegame" by Seanan McGuire, three sets of twins - Dodger and Roger, Erin and Darren, and Beth and Seth - are created in a lab; they are almost human but possess incredible powers.

Their creator, Reed, also created in the lab, intends to use them to harness their alchemical powers and control the world, as well as prove to the other alchemists, who dismissed him, how great he is. Each twin set is raised apart, but they desperately crave connection with their other twin, their other half. Reed intends to use their drive for connection to control the pairs. If just one of the pairs fully develops their incredible combined powers, Reed can gain control of the universe.

At a young age, Roger and Dodger communicate via a form of telepathy, where they close their eyes but speak aloud to the other. Dodger embodies mathematics, seeing, understanding, and is capable of influencing the world through mathematics. In a similar vein, Roger embodies language. They learn to help each other, balancing their strengths and weaknesses.

But Reed doesn't want them to connect too early. He wants to leverage their need for each other to gain power over them. Thus, he has them monitored and separates them.

I really liked this novel. Author Seanan McGuire has a talent for dealing with gender issues, assigning language (a more stereotypically feminine interest) to the boy. I liked that the secondary characters were fleshed out as well.

I also found the emotional development of the characters believable. For example, as a child, Roger is told his mental connection to Dodger is a delusion, and if he doesn't quit talking to himself, he will be taken from his parents and put into an institution. You want Roger to choose to stay connected with Dodger, but at that age, connection to one's parents is a more likely path.

I liked that the reality of their world of their situation is revealed slowly.

Qhyrrae Michaelieu is the adult services manager for the Missouri River Regional Library.