Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

5 reviews

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Characters: 10/10
Relationships: 10/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 9.5/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 9.5/10
Internal Logic: 10/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Overall: 68/70, 5*

I love epistolary novels, quantum time travel plots, and messy star crossed sapphic romances, so I figured from the get that I'd be really into this. and I was! I especially loved the ways the characters spoke with one another across timelines, and gave context for themselves as individuals, within their respective collective experiences, and within their shared relationship over time(s). the writing about writing was also really fun! there are definitely moments that delve into disturbing themes and events, but for the most part I found the tone stayed hopeful in belief for better circumstances. 

it's definitely something I need to relisten to (I feel like I missed a lot in my first run thru due to the narrative bouncing around quite a lot), but I'm so excited to revisit it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Torture, Abandonment, Colonisation, Animal death, Child abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Stalking

Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Cursing

Graphic: spiders

_natalie_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Suicide, War, Suicide attempt, and Death

Minor: Mental illness and Child death

dannothedino's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Violence, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Moderate: Vomit, Murder, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Animal death, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture

Minor: Abandonment and Cannibalism

gothnailcare's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Violence, War, and Body horror

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Vomit, Stalking, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

brnineworms's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

If you like this book (and I know a lot of people really do), don’t take my disappointment as an indication that you’re wrong to feel the way you do. I’m glad you enjoyed it, but I just didn’t.

Red and Blue make purple, and this prose sure is purple. Every. Single. Sentence. Is trying so hard to be poetic and deep. Metaphors are great and all but this is just too saturated with them to make any real sense. The characters and their relationship didn't feel especially substantive to me. I like the combination of spirituality and science fiction and there’s some neat imagery here and there, but for the most part I found This Is How You Lose the Time War to be a confusing mess and nothing more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Self harm

Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Murder, Suicide, War, Animal death, and Violence

Minor: Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Stalking, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit