Tidal Creatures (Alchemical Journeys #3) by Seanan McGuire [Wyrd & Wonder Review]

Summary 💬

All across the world, people look up at the moon and dream of gods. Gods of knowledge and wisdom, gods of tides and longevity. Over time, some of these moon gods incarnated into the human world alongside the other manifest natural concepts. Their job is to cross the sky above the Impossible City―the heart of all creation―to keep it connected to reality.

And someone is killing them.

There are so many of them that it’s easy for a few disappearances to slip through the cracks. But they aren’t limitless.

In the name of the moon, the lunar divinities must uncover the roots of the plot and thwart the true goal of those behind these attacks―control of the Impossible City itself.

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

Reading Tidal Creatures felt like Seanan McGuire answered all the prayers I had after finishing Seasonal Fears. Some background information for those who haven’t read the Alchemical Journeys series (or my reviews of Middlegame and Seasonal Fears): Middlegame is one of my all-time favourite books, primarily due to the two protagonists Roger and Dodger. I never expected it would become a series. When Seasonal Fears was announced, I understood it to be more of a spiritual sucessor set in the same world of Middlegame. I prepared myself for little mention of Roger and Dodger. I was right to do so. Seasonal Fears expands the alchemical worldbuilding a bit further, but the new protagonists meant nothing to me.

So, I went into Tidal Creatures with a well-adjusted mindset, preparing for a book more in the vein of Seasonal Fears than Middlegame. But no! (This is where you should dip out of the review if you want absolutely no information about Tidal Creatures‘ plot and characters.)

Tidal Creatures features new protagonists Judy (who shares her body with an incarnation of the celestial goddess Chang’e) and Kelpie (who begins the story knowing nothing about her past and quickly learns more after she escapes from an alchemist’s lab). Tidal Creatures doesn’t try to recreate the characterization or relationship buidling that were so strongly present in Middlegame and absent (for me) in Seasonal Fears. But at least I found both Judy and Kelpie more interesting characters than Seasonal Fears‘ Melanie or Harry. Certainly it helps, for my personal preferences, that neither are framed primarily by a romantic relationship. But what truly excited me was the shift back to a focus on Roger and Dodger.

I was definitely screaming crying throwing up when Erin and Smita appeared. (Actually, I was clapping like people do on a sitcom when a famous guest start walks in lmao). I highlighted every single little reference to Roger before he’s actually named or appears himself on page. Tidal Creatures begins focused on Judy and Kelpie, but Roger and Dodger (and Erin!) play a much larger role in her story than they did in Melanie and Harry’s. Once they’re introduced, they remain part of the action. We even get a decent number of pages from Dodger’s POV, and learn a lot more about what’s next for her and Roger, and their relatiosnhip with the Impossible City.

I wondered for a minute if the structure of this series will be a bit like Wayward Children – some books focus more on Roger and Dodger, some books less? I can only continue to pray we get more like this. But, we’ve only got two books left in the series after Tidal Creatures: Inkpot Gods in 2026 and Asphodel in 2028 (source). You should have seen the look on my face when I saw the final book is titled Aphodel. I have some working theories about her, one of which is that she’s not actually dead, but I am currently revising that theory based on a few tidbits of info revealed in this book 👀

We’re working through the elements. MIDDLEGAME = Fire SEASONAL FEARS = Earth TIDAL CREATURES = Water INKPOT GODS = Air ASPHODEL = Aether

— Seanan McGuire (@seananmcguire.bsky.social) Mar 31, 2024 at 19:45

In addition to so much Roger and Dodger Erin, we get so much more worldbuilding! Look, if you’re all about the characters, then yes, they’re great, but for me there is no recreating the relationship from Roger and Dodger. So what I’m looking for with each new installment in this series is A) more of Roger/Dodger/Erin and B) more worldbuilding. Tidal Creatures offers a lot more concrete worldbuilding, including where/how Roger and Dodger fit into it all. Excellent, I was quite pleased by this. Also I think now that maybe I should reread Seasonal Fears to see if I pick up more on the worldbuilding in that volume. I do recall that reading Seasonal Fears, even if I didn’t love it, helped me better understand a few things in Middlegame, so perhaps Tidal Creatures will do the same for me and Seasonal Fears.

464 pages zipped by like nothing. I read this book in under 24 hours. I would read more chunksters if they were written like this! I adore the writing style McGuire uses in this series, which I find quite similar to the style of Wayward Children. It’s just so compelling, it never feels like a good place to pause reading so I just keep going. I don’t listen to audiobooks but I imagine the audio versions of this series would be *chef’s kiss*.

Now, I will be a little more critical and admit that yes, the plot structure feels quite familiar. The conclusion was a bit anti-climatic. But I don’t care much about that – I’m all about the characters with a good serving of worldbuilding with this series.

The Bottom Line 💭

If you loved Middlegame, or especially were a fan of Roger, Dodger, or Erin, then you need to pick up Tidal Creatures. If you didn’t care for Seasonal Fears and were thinking of dropping the series, PLEASE RECONSIDER. If you didn’t love Middlegame but you did love Seasonal Fears… 🤔 then I can’t relate and you’ll have to decided for yourself if you should read Tidal Creatures lol.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt (link below book cover)
🍂 Author website
🍂 Reddit AMA from Oct 2023
🍂 Reviews: LA @ Broken Engines
🍂 Related: I’ve reviewed a a good handful of Seanan McGuire’s books on the blog at this point: Middlegame, Seasonal Fears, Over the Woodward Wall, Every Heart a Doorway & Down Among the Sticks and Bones, In an Absent Dream, Come Tumbling Down, Lost in the Moment and Found (buddy read with my sister), and Mislaid in Parts Half-Known.

Which book/series features characters you’re always longing to read more about?
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