Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

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

36 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! 

---

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

strewnsunlight's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Death, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Stalking, Grief, Body horror, and Torture

augustar14's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, War, and Grief

Minor: Stalking, Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Gun violence, Genocide, Colonisation, Abandonment, and Death

pacifickat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

"I want to meet you in every place I have ever loved." -Blue

"What we've done will stand, no matter how they weave the world against us."
-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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Stalking and War

Poisoning, sexual innuendo

sarajuneau's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I truly don’t know how to rate this. I felt quite confused for a majority of the time, and I found myself thinking that I don’t enjoy poetry nor science fiction, and here I am reading it. I found the love story compelling, and it made me think about the nature of love. I also enjoyed the ways in which the letters where exchanged. I would love to see this adapted to either a show or movie. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Stalking, Murder, and Violence

twittysuch's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The story starts a bit confusing, but such is the way when you're working with time travel. Each page is more poetic than the last and it picks up about halfway in. There were moments of incredible suspense and heartbreak, but I finished the last page with my arms covered in goosebumps and my cheeks streaked with tears. As my copy was a library book, I knew I had to get my own copy to read again and again (with lots of notes in the margins).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Body horror, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking

tearoyale's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Suicide attempt, War, Body horror, Blood, Violence, Gore, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Confinement and Grief

rickireadss's review against another edition

4.0

this was a mind trip for sure. in some ways, i feel like i actually kinda understood what was happening, but in other ways, i feel like i was much too stupid for this book haha. i enjoyed listening to this on audio. the gasp i gusped at that ending-- WTF. overall, i had a good time, but i'm still not sure i understood 100% of what happened/was happening/where that ending took us.

representation: Sapphic FMCs

content warnings:

death, violence, war, blood, murder, body horror, gore, injury/injury detail, grief, torture, suicide attempt, genocide, self harm, confinement, stalking, abandonment

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Death, Blood, War, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Stalking, Abandonment, Confinement, Self harm, Genocide, and Suicide attempt

fragrant_stars's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

I started it today and I couldn't put it down!! I finished it this evening.

This book was more challenging than I expected because of how poetic the writing style was-- but I really enjoyed it nonetheless, especially the second half of the book. It's a masterpiece, one that I feel like I'm definitely going to want to re-read again sometime.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Violence, Cursing, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Torture

brynalexa's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

I had been saving this book for a time when I could focus since I’d kept reading reviews that claimed this was confusing. I am so sorry I waited because it was perfectly paced, had perfectly subtle word building, and just enough mystery.  I kept thinking “oh it should have ended there!” And then reading one more section and saying it again. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: War, Self harm, Stalking, Body horror, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts