Seanan McGuire: "Inkpot Gods"

Title: Inkpot Gods [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Alchemical Journeys (4th of 5 books)
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural
Year: 2026
Age: 16+ (the book is geared towards adults, but can be read by mature teens)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Fascinating concept. Rich mythology. Characters who transcend the page.
Cons: The dual timeline with a foot in the 19th century may not sit well with everyone. In the "present" timeline there's a lot of exposition/recapitulation (though it's required in order to bring a new character up to speed).
WARNING! Death in childbirth, dismemberment, body horror/flensing, self-harm, stabbing, near-drowning, animal death, misogyny/sexism, suicidal thoughts.
Will appeal to: Fans of the series who loved Book 3 more than Book 2. Readers who enjoy a creative, exciting twist on concepts made flesh, gods incarnate and the heart of creation. 

Blurb: More than a century has passed since Asphodel Baker refined the process allowing her to imbue alchemically created life with power More than a century since she built the Impossible City on the ruins of Olympus. And now, so long after her exit from the world, the descendants of her dark alchemy - who exist in a reality that inches ever closer to the hellscape of her imagination - step into a place of birth, of discovery, of horror, to make amends for the sins of the past. Can the gods of today defeat the evils of their maker, or will the legacy of the most powerful alchemist the world has ever known prove to be their undoing?(Amazon excerpt)

Review: This series is FABULOUS (except for Book 2 LOL), and I'd be happy to read it for the rest of my life, but alas...we're approaching the ending. Only one book to go! Catch up while you can (the final installment will only come out in 2028...). Thank me later 😉.

DOUBLE ANGLE

While Book 4 in the Alchemical Journeys series is a direct sequel to Book 3, and at the same time draws on the events of Book 1 (the second installment was, for all purposes, a "sidequel"), it also broadens the scope of the story in two different ways. In the past, we're treated to an insight into the life of Asphodel Baker, the first female alchemist, to whom a number of our protagonists owe their non-human existence; in the present, we're introduced to Lilianne, a trans woman and a budding alchemist herself, whose life becomes entwined with the rest of the cast's due to a...meet-cute with one of them 😁, and who's in for a shock or two (more like a dozen) and a lot of reckoning to be done.

Asphodel's villain origin story was a blast to read (and a real eye-opener). Leave it to McGuire to write a despicable character in a way that makes you almost sympathise with them, all while you never forget how monstrous they are (in this particular case, the period-accurate misogyny helps a great deal with the sympathising part). Asphodel is a complex villain, and if her transition from innocent, wronged little girl to evil schemer is a bit abrupt, it's not like this impacts the story as a whole. Lilianne counterbalances the "villainous alchemist" trope and adds her own coming-of-age arc to the mix, one in which her identity and her pursue of alchemy are cleverly connected. (Before you ask: she has a supportive - and incidentally, magical-adjacent - family, so hers is mostly a story of trans joy, though McGuire doesn't shy from mentioning the trials that come with reinventing yourself on a physical level in a very vocally hostile society. Then again, the story is set in 2018, prior to the horrendous backlash the US trans community has experienced in the last couple of years). [...]

TALKING HEADS

If you aren't a fan of exposition/recapitulation, that will maybe tarn your enjoyment of this one a bit. Then again, with a new character being introduced to our old found family of cuckoos and lunar gods, it couldn't be avoided. On the other hand, all that dialogue helps us get more insight into Roger and Dodger and their tribe - not to mention, being reminded of how many times the twins rewound the world and learning more about that is always a treat...if one can use that word for a process that involved a number of chilling twists and turns and ended up psychologically scarring certain characters for life. Granted, the Berkeley found family is messy and not always kind, but at the end of the day, sometimes that's the only way it can help its members survive (also, there's humour and levity as well in their household, and some entertaining banter). If I have a qualm regarding the "present day" chapters, it's that we are in Lilianne's head most of the time until we aren't - in the end she remains on the backdrop (so to speak) while the events unfold, and other characters (mainly Artemis) take on the narration. I understand that there are valid reasons for that, but I wish McGuire would have found a way to stay in her perspective a bit more, for the sake of continuity. Then again, I can't complain much - the ending is appropriately gruesome and shocking and a game-changer (I mean, the second-to-last twist was more or less foreseeable, but its consequences? Yikes), and did I mention the book ends on a cliffhanger? which is only understandable, given the scope of the story, so now I'm itching to see how it all will play out and if there are going to be casualties...

Note: there are a couple of references in the latest chapters, one to Avery and another one to Jack (both from the companion Up-and-Under series)...I'm not sure I understood them, and in particular, I'm not sure if the mention of Avery is a typo (and it should have been Jack), or we're supposed to realise that he was a real character all along in the Alchemical Journeys world, not just a made-up one in the Up-and-Under series...that would be super-intriguing, but right now I'm confused...

For my "Middlegame" review (first installment in the series) click here.

For my "Seasonal Fears" review (second installment in the series) click here.

For my "Tidal Creatures" review (third installment in the series) click here.

For more Adult books click here.
For more Supernatural books click here.