Middlegame

 Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, 492 pages.

Rodger and Dodger have had the ability to communicate psychically and see through each other's eyes since they were both seven-year-old geniuses on opposite sides of the country (in language and mathematics, respectively).  This is because they are in fact twins created by an evil alchemist as part of an attempt to take control of the natural laws of the universe. Over the course of their lives Rodger and Dodger are repeatedly pushed together and torn apart throughout their lives both by the machinations of others and their own (extremely fragile) hearts. 

McGuire's work is excellent as usual, although this book had less of an impact on me than many of her others. The prose is stunning and Rodger and Dodger are both very engaging, but some of the rules of this setting get more then a little complex. I'm also not the biggest fan of time loop stories, which put me at a bit of a disadvantage.

Fun Fact: The Up and Under books, which McGuire is writing under the pen name A. Deborah Baker, are a major plot point in this book. A. Deborah Baker herself is also a character, which I find delightfully immersive.