After abandoning McGuire’s Wayward Children series for its lack of depth (the mythos was undoubtedly deep, but the stories flirted and skipped along the surface for too long without delving into the depths of their potential darkness) I was wary about entering another of her novels, even after having enjoyed the intricacies of Middlegame. Written with a more adult audience in mind, this sequel promised a return to intellectual worldbuilding, but would it get similarly mired in the math/language paradox of its predecessor or tread new ground with expanded themes? I read Middlegame a few years back (picked up on a whim of cover-art inspired intrigue) during a phase where I kept reading even through a bout of intellectual forgetfulness, so it was a bit of a challenge to recall the intricate details of Roger and Doger’s rebellion against their alchemist makers. Thankfully, this sequel sets its own stage with a seasonal contest and a new duo of protagonists primed to embody two different conceptual incarnations: the Winter and the Summer. As the title suggests, the themes centre around the turning of the seasons, as we meet Mel and Harry at the brink of Spring dawning and at the moments of their deaths as the contest begins. These childhood sweethearts have been chosen (and in Mel’s case, alchemically made) to take part in a contest to potentially hold the crowns of their respective seasons as their living North American incarnations, and the novel follows a pretty typical hero-quest as they discover the rules of the game they have been thrust into, find allies, and challenge opponents on their way to eventually claiming the titles of Winter Queen and Summer King. Even though the story ostensibly could have seen either party rejected or defeated along the way, McGuire’s tone throughout makes it seem almost inevitable that these two will emerge victorious. The Spring (and other seasons in turn) will come whether humanity wills it or not, and Mel and Harry have a similarly mirrored inevitability in their actions along the Scarecrow Road to the Labyrinth of the contest. It’s hard not to like them, even in their moments of gullibility or ruthlessness, even if we aren’t made to particularly feel like “cheering” for them since they’re the clear favourites of the author and the world she’s built. Yet, McGuire’s poetic language and delicate storytelling kept me rapt to the narrative, as she spun soft truths, explored themes of liminality, and put her characters through their adventurous paces. If I had been reading this book at any other time of year I might have found it a touch underwhelming for its predictable ending, but being surrounded by a similarly waning Winter with just a hint of the coming Spring made the story perfectly (seasonally) appropriate, as I was inevitably already contemplating the turning of the world into a new place.

“You can’t dance with the seasons and come away unscathed.” ( )

This is a sequel of sorts but for once you don’t need to read the first book to understand what is going on. The main characters are not even in the first book. So don’t worry that you will miss anything. The only thing is that it will spoil what happened in book one. Melanie and Harry have been best friends since they first met. Melanie has a heart condition but that hasn’t stopped Harry from being her friend even when some of the other kids have hung back. But everything changes one day in high school when they both drop dead at the same time and yet rise as if nothing happened to them. Going to the Homecoming dance plans go out the window when a very young Jack Frost comes to Melanie to tell her she is a potential Queen of Winter, and she needs to leave now to head to the coronation. Harry picks her up for the dance and finds out he is a potential King of Summer, but no Corn Jenny has come to tell him this. Melanie finds out that her dad has been killing the Jack Frosts that have come in the past to try and teach her to be Queen and no one can figure out why Harry’s Corn Jenny has never met him but the two are on the run now and heading to the coronation. It seems the seasons need people to be personification of them and there are always lots of candidates to take the job but due to the wrong person having the job as King of Winter he stayed in his position for three hundred years. Now the two are on the run meeting other contenders for the crown and hopefully a few allies to get them where they are going.
I really liked the story and this universe, and I want to see more. It is nice to know that I’m not sure what I will see next in this story universe. The audio version of the book was great and I’m happy I listened to it as well as read it.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGally
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i would have happily read another 200 pages of this. ( )

I went into Middlegame thinking it was a standalone novel, so when I discovered that the Alchemical Journeys was going to be a series I was very excited.

While Middlegame felt more grounded in sci-fi, Seasonal Fears is purely fantasical. Middlegame dealt with space and time, while Seasonal Fears is engaged with the Summer King and the Winter Queen, and the Jacks and Jennys that make up their court. Despite the differences, these two novels work brilliantly as companions together.

Seanan Maguire does some of the best character work in fiction today, and this was no different. I am continually impressed with the way she writes (across multiple series) protagonists that are young people without turning the books into YA. It's such a talent, and I love the way her characters worm into your heart.

Cannot wait for the next installment in this fantastic series! ( )

Love McGuire’s eye for a story, hate her verbal tics. This sequel follows potential incarnations of Summer and Winter as they try to survive teenagerhood, starting with an alchemist father who wants to control both seasons through his heart-damaged daughter (and her not-actually-stillborn, serial-killer twin). ( )