Middlegame
Tags
Summary
As their power grows day by day, an alchemist lurking in the shadows steps forward, unveiling a startling conspiracy a century in the making: by stripping away and grafting the universal laws onto the two of them, he can usurp the authority of the world.
The threat of death closes in relentlessly, and everything that happens feels eerily familiar. Roger and Dodge seem to have fled countless times already, died miserably countless times. This time, can they still not escape the killing trap? The astrolabe begins to turn in reverse, the laws are about to return to their places—this is their last chance…
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy hard science fiction settings combined with a humanistic core
- Fans interested in science fiction created through cross-cultural collaboration
- Readers who appreciate character-driven narratives and value emotional depth in characters
- Thinkers who ponder humanity's situation and ethical dilemmas in an age of technological explosion
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking fast-paced, action-dense interstellar warfare
- Readers who want a single clear ending and dislike open-ended speculation
Reading tips
- Try first focusing on the multiple metaphorical layers of the core concept "middle game"—it is both a plot engine and a philosophical vehicle
- Pay attention to the interactions and cognitive differences between characters from different cultural backgrounds—this is the book's unique charm
- The twists in the second half require connecting with the foreshadowing details in the first half; maintaining reading continuity is recommended
About the publisher
Sichuan Science and Technology Press features science and technology, popular science, and science fiction publishing, while also covering agricultural technology and medical and health books. In science fiction, the press has continued to release works by Liu Cixin, including The Wandering Earth: Selected Short Stories of Liu Cixin, boxed sets of Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction classics, and masterworks such as Ringworld, Snow Crash, and Minus Zero, organized into series including the Chinese Science Fiction Cornerstone Series and the World Science Fiction Masters Series. In popular science, classics such as George Gamow's One Two Three... Infinity reflect its orientation toward public science communication. Its author resources in the library include Liu Cixin, Yao Haijun, and Cheng Xi, among other science fiction and popular science editors and translators; the library contains 190 titles, classified mainly as popular science, science fiction, quality fiction, and foreign literature. Public information is limited, and the above is summarized only from the library's titles and existing profile.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 卷七结局
- 失败
- 卷零缘起
- 创世
- 卷一第二阶段
- 百年之后
- 不可能之路
- 不可能之城
- 星盘
- 卷二原理成熟
- 人物登场
- 加法
- 紫色星辰
- 隔绝
- 电话线
- 拒绝
- 将军
- 卷七终结
- 契约
- 卷二重启
- 将军
- 校准
- 崩溃
- 完美
- 救援
- 卷三毕业
- 家属探访
- 入学
- 重逢
- 实验
- 报告
- 田园
- 回家
- 卷四复杂化
- 镇定
- 偏差
- 生物学
- 后果
- 责备
- 报告
- 卷七一切的终点
- 代价
- 卷五余震
- 今日
- 飞行风险
- 伽利略
- 长途
- 轨道
- 荣耀
- 战争
- 科学
- 卷六上下奇境
- 煤尘
- 彻夜未眠
- 火腿与鸡蛋
- 水
- 火
- 现形
- 摊牌
- 卷七万物终结
- 结果
- 浪花
- 卷七终结之后
- 成本与后果
- 幽灵
- 天赋之权
- 裤子
FAQ
What type of science fiction setting does this book belong to?
How do the two authors' writing styles merge?
Is the ending open-ended?
Comments
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About the author
Seanan McGuire is an author about whom limited public information is available. The database currently holds one work by this author, the science fiction novel Midgame. Based on the available information, the author's writing is classified as science fiction, and Midgame serves as the main entry point for understanding this author's work. Because basic details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and the English name remain unconfirmed, it is difficult to sketch a complete biography or creative trajectory, and it would be inappropriate to make excessive inferences about the author's experiences, honors, or influence. As for Midgame, readers may approach it as a science fiction work and focus on the settings and narrative interests it presents within the genre framework. Overall, Seanan McGuire is currently known to Chinese readers through a single work, and further information awaits additional public sources; assessments of the author should remain cautious and grounded primarily in the work itself.
Chen Jie is an author whose works span a notably wide range of subjects. Public information about his life is limited, and his nationality, birth and death years cannot currently be confirmed. Seven of his works are held in the collection, revealing broad interests: works with a science-fiction and narrative flavor such as *Flames Across the Vast Sky* and *Middlegame*, alongside the multi-volume *Classical Architecture and Sculptural Ornament*, which covers architecture, sculpture and design. This movement between fiction and specialized art writing makes his profile diverse and difficult to classify simply. On the available evidence, his work leans toward exploring subjects and organizing knowledge, combining narrative imagination with close attention to the traditions of ornamental art. The successive volumes of *Classical Architecture and Sculptural Ornament* show sustained commitment in this direction, while books such as *Flames Across the Vast Sky* reveal another side of his literary expression.
