This was my first Seanan McGuire book, which is a little unbelievable, both because she writes in genres I love, and because she writes so very prolifically. And I started with a really good one.
I’m not against spoilers and frequently spoil myself for things, but I went into this book almost completely unspoiled, even for the premise, and I think that’s the way to go. The book is so weird it’s almost impossible to really sum up in a blurb anyway.
So, how to review without spoiling much of anything? No idea, which is why I’ve put this review off for three weeks.
Bare bones, this is a book about Roger and Dodger, two siblings (twins, separated at birth and adopted by different families) who we follow from about the age of six through adulthood, and the who and what and why of them is revealed slowly across the book. The book is a genre mish-mash that I am hesitant to even try to put into categories, so let’s just call it ‘speculative,’ but it’s got elements of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mystery, and suspense, and the way that we watch Roger and Dodger grow up has a bit of a Dickensian element to it, except our Oliver Twist is twins, and their benefactors are a lot more sinister than Abel Magwitch. Wow, I did not anticipate a Great Expectations reference when I started this review.
My only true criticism of the book is that I think the antagonists could have been fleshed out more. But the rest of it was so engaging, it almost doesn’t matter, but this is why it’s technically a 4.5 star book and not a full five for me.
Starting the companion sequel tomorrow. I somehow know even less about it than I did about this one!
[4.5 stars]
