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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
150 reviews
angelofthetardis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I have to say that this is a beautifully written piece; the imagery it invokes is wonderfully powerful, and the feelings of the characters as they develop soar from the page. You are immediately pulled into the story and kept there, and while you might try to anticipate the story as it progresses, the authors have done a fab job at keeping the reader guessing. For such a short book, it packs a powerful punch!
However, while this has lots of elements that should make it slot perfectly into my wheelhouse (time travel, enemies-to-lovers etc etc), I'm finding it very difficult to place, I think because the writing style is so very different to what I would usually enjoy. There is practically no context to the wider events, and little in the way of worldbuilding to allow you to understand the mechanics of the roles the characters are playing and the sides they are on. As a result, it reads more like a series of vignettes than a strong 'linear' narrative, with the authors describing how the characters receive each letter (in various weird and wonderful ways) before revealling the content. But it feels like there are just too many unknowns or unanswered questions about who they are, what they're doing and how they got there.
I will admit that a very small part of me sees the characters as The Doctor and The Master - hey, if you mention the Time War, my brain is on a one way trip to Doctor Who land! But in an odd way this helped me grasp the basis of Red and Blue's story better, I suppose because I could then contextualise the characters and their relationship. It's by no means a perfect fit, but enough seemed to resonate that it helped. Again, there are so many unknowns about the characters for me.
I could see this making a beautiful one-off TV series, or even an anime series, as the visuals from the page scream to be brought to life. I definitely enjoyed reading it, but not quite as much as I'd hoped.
Moderate: Murder, Suicide attempt, War, and Death
Minor: Animal death
torismazarine's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Blood, Death, Genocide, War, and Vomit
strewnsunlight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Stalking, Grief, Body horror, and Torture
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Death, War, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Torture and Blood
guessgreenleaf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, War, Animal death, and Suicide
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Death
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Minor: Dysphoria, Gore, Confinement, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and War
violerwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, War, Blood, Death, Murder, Genocide, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal death, Child death, Torture, and Grief
chris_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, War, and Death
Moderate: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Suicide attempt, Torture, Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, and Murder
aryelee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because this is more sci-fi than suits my tastes, which is expected because I am not a huge fan of sci-fi and pretty much never read this genre. Parts were a little confusing or slow enough to be dull so I struggled to get through. But that ending! That entire closing section of the story! Well worth pushing through slower parts to reach.
Honestly, this was a fast read despite how slow it felt at times and how I had to drag myself through a few chapters. Knowing the story fully now, I can see myself going back to reread it. Just, maybe not for a while.
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Death, War, and Violence
pacifickat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
-Red
This book is well crafted, brutal, and poetic. It also, for the most part, is not what I would have considered my kind of book, and I struggled to read past the first confusing chapters. I was not expecting the literary density and convoluted phrasing of the letters between the two main characters. It felt like work to focus and hold on to the plot. Epistolary works often require a bit of patience. But boy am I glad I stuck with it! This story has a great payoff, even if it leaves a lot unexplained in the worldbuilding and open for the reader to interpret and imagine.
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Stalking and War
Poisoning, sexual innuendo