Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.
I have never read a book by Seanan McGuire, but I have read a lot of books by her other pen name, Mira Grant. I wasn’t sure going into this book what to expect. I’ve read some authors with multiple pen names that have a different style with each pen name and with Grant, she’s more horror and McGuire always seemed more fantasy. And I have a tendency to go into books blind. I believe I did read the blurb for this book, but didn’t remember what it was when I finally got around to getting this from the library, so I was doubly not sure what to expect.
So this story revolves around twins Roger and Dodger. They were created by alchemists. Roger is a great linguist, and Dodger gives “math wiz” new meaning. They were separated at birth and raised by adoptive parents on opposite sides of the United States. They aren’t told about each other and how they are different from other children. But they connect anyway in a very unusual way, mind to mind. The story also follows the alchemists who created them. It takes place from before Roger and Dodger are born and goes on throughout their lives with some larger gaps at times.
This is a very weird story, and I’m not gonna lie and tell you that you will love it. I will say, you will probably really enjoy it or not like it. I can’t imagine there will be a lot in between. What I can tell you, is that just like with her Mira Grant books, this story has very well developed characters. Whether writing as Grant or McGuire, it appears she’s able to write characters you’ll love to love and those you’ll love to hate. It seems to be a theme across every story I’ve read from this author, which will keep bringing me back to her work.
I also want to mention my love of Dodger’s love of Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park. She loves Ian Malcom and his love of chaos theory. I just loved that reference in the story. If you followed my reviews, you know how much I love pop culture references. This one is a favorite, which I love Ian Malcom too. This is a quote that I’ve been feeling a lot lately, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Narration (4.5 stars)
This is not my first time listening to Amber Benson. I listened to her perform Head On (Locked In #2) by John Scalzi (which was a weird listening experience because the main character of that series could be either a man or a woman, there is nothing to tell you in the book). I originally listened to Wil Wheaton perform the first book, Lock In. and I had a hard change to the female narration for this character. I could tell she was a great narrator when I listened, but just didn’t vibe with that book because Benson read a woman and Wheaton as a man. Anyway, I had zero issues with her on this book. I would highly recommend her narration for any book (I think I would’ve loved her for the Locked In series if I had started with her, instead of Wheaton).