While admittedly I was never a comic book fan, I do like watching the Marvel movies and picked this up because I wanted to see the world Seanan McGuire imagined. What If… Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker Were Siblings? was a fast-paced story with plenty of heart, action and two of my favorite Marvel characters.
by Seanan McGuire
Series: Marvel's What If...? #2
Narrator: Allyson Voller
Length: 12 hours and 5 minutes
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 4.5 cups Speed: 1.45x
Wanda and Peter Parker embrace great responsibility in the next adventure of an epic multiversal series that reimagines iconic Marvel origin stories.
So many worlds, so little time. Infinite possibilities, creating infinite realities. Long have I watched death court the Scarlet Witch. But . . . what if Wanda didn’t have to suffer her grief alone?
All Wanda has ever known is her friendly little neighborhood in Queens. As an infant, after her parents died, she was adopted into a family where her doting Aunt May and Uncle Ben would always be at the breakfast table. One that includes her idiot brother, Peter Parker, who thinks hiding a spider bite, joining a secret fight club, and becoming a super hero are somehow good ideas.
When Wanda’s own powers emerge, blood, chaos, and suspicion follow in their wake. But as she learns to harness her power under the guidance of Doctor Strange, Peter is standing beside her in the Sanctum Sanctorum. And as they try to protect New York City, the Parker siblings learn that with great powers, there must also come great responsibilities—and greater losses.
Reeling from tragedy, Wanda finds herself truly alone for the first time in her life. Peter is lost to his own grief, and so she must forge ahead on her own. But on her first solo outing, she runs into a mysterious speedster—a man named Pietro. And everything she has ever known shatters like glass.
Faced with unbelievable truths, Wanda is forced to choose between the life she knows and the life she could have.
McGuire is an auto-buy for me, as well as her pseudonym, Mira Grant. While I did not read the first What If book, each is a standalone story by a different author. I am glad I grabbed the audio version as Allyson Voller did a wonderful job giving voice to Wanda, Peter, and others.
The story opens with an event in the future that has Wanda on the run and a watcher following her. It sets the tone of the story and doesn’t get closure until the final chapter. We instead travel back and learn about Wanda and Peter’s upbringing and how Wanda learns the truth about her origins.
In McGuire’s reimagined world, the parents of Peter Parker found baby Wanda in her native land of Latveria and adopted her. They brought her back to Brooklyn and raised her as Peter’s sister until their death. Ultimately, the two were raised by their Aunt May and Uncle Ben. We go through their teens as they come into powers, lose Uncle Ben and become superheroes working side by side.
We have the Justice League, Dr. Strange as Wanda’s master, battles with villains and sibling squabbles. It was such a fun read and I imagine if like me you like Peter and Wanda, you’ll enjoy this imaginative twist. Wanda’s powers have always intrigued me and it was fun seeing them develop and watching her harness those skills.
I recommend this to fans of Marvel, McGuire and fast-paced stories of good vs evil, family, and superheroes. The audiobook elevated my enjoyment, and the story worked well in this format.
About Seanan McGuire
Seanan McGuire is a native Californian, which has resulted in her being exceedingly laid-back about venomous wildlife, and terrified of weather. When not writing urban fantasy (as herself) and science fiction thrillers (as Mira Grant), she likes to watch way too many horror movies, wander around in swamps, record albums of original music, and harass her cats. Seanan is the author of the October Daye, InCryptid, and Indexing series of urban fantasies; the Newsflesh trilogy; the Parasitology duology; and the "Velveteen vs." superhero shorts. Her cats, Lilly, Alice, and Thomas, are plotting world domination even as we speak, but are easily distracted by feathers on sticks, so mankind is probably safe. For now.
About Allyson Voller
Allyson Voller is a SAG-AFTRA actor based in Chicago. She's worked professionally for many years, in the Midwest theater, on-camera, improv, and voice-over community. Holding a degree in theater, she also studied improv at The Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago. Allyson's path led her to audiobook narration and she's never looked back. Her audiobook narration work has been recognized with finalist nominations in the Independent Audiobook Awards and the Audiobook Adrenaline Awards. When not recording in her booth, you can find her walking her local hiking trails, rescuing a wandering turtle, creating silly memorable shenanigans with her kids or just simply reading a book.
Stay Caffeinated!
Never miss a post by adding Caffeinated to your Inbox
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
Like you I’m not a comic book reader, but I do enjoy the movies. So this book might be fun for me too! Great review!
Anne - Books of My Heart
Glad you could enjoy this one. I haven’t watched very much Marvel or any tv, so I’m out of the loop.
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
I enjoyed Mira Grant’s zombie series. I think it was called Newsflesh? It’s been a while. I also enjoy Marvel movies, but like you, I’m not much of a comic book person. Happy to hear you enjoyed the story. I would do audio if I pick it up!
Kimberly
Yes. I loved Grant’s Newsflesh series and Parasite series 🙂