Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

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

23 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

nimeneth's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a second attempt with this one. I picked this up the first time about a year ago, but it was the wrong time for it and I didn't make it far. This time was apparently just right, so thank you book club for dropping this back on my radar.

This little book was WEIRD, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was sometimes a little hard to keep track of what was going on, but I think in a way that makes the book better? It definitely didn't take anything away from the experience of reading it. Trying to track some of the terminology in the context was challenging at first but considering the book is a multi-verse time-travel long-con of a heist, it also adds a bit to the charm. It was also very melancholy in the second half, until that twist at the very end where it turns around and winds up reframing some of the bits woven throughout. Very skillful planning and execution for the tale, and I think the twist is my favorite part.

Part of me would love to see a sequel, but another part of me wants this to stand alone with the ending open to possibility and interpretation, because it's just that interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, and War

Moderate: Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

kajoreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It took me a while to get emotionally invested, which isn’t ideal when the book is only 200 pages long.

The last third was worth the wait though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, and War

Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Pandemic/Epidemic

clovetra's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

never have i had so many yet so little thoughts on a book.
the writing at times was incredible - the style had almost a lyrical and floaty feeling, which perfectly suited the setting(s) and the story of this book. however, sometimes it felt overly wordy for the sake of being wordy. the unnecessary use of overly complicated words to achieve this was frustrating at times, and i felt like i was straining to read this. i did at times enjoy the layers on layers of descriptions of something as simple as a seed, but other times i was exhausted
i will say i also don't.... buy the relationship between red & blue? like i feel like it came out of nowhere and it didn't get proper set up. like at one moment they're just chatting about annihilating each other and then like 30 pages later they're madly in love.
i also did not get the ending and many other thing! like i get what happened in an abstract sense, but if you asked me to give you a play-by-play of what happened in this book i don't think i could. sure i have grasped the general ideas but my god so much jargon was going on, most of the actual plot was lost on me.
i understand why this book is adored and twitter user bigdickolas, but for me.... idk it was good! i can admit that; im not blind. it was a beautiful book. it just felt like it was trying too hard to be artsy for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, and Death

Minor: Colonisation and Fire/Fire injury

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

rwsmith's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

i read this book after seeing a friend highly recommend it. i didnt realize how short it was. i listened to the audiobook - HIGHLY recommend - but this is one ill need to get a hard copy of for my shelf. the two readers of the audiobook were amazing and gave such interesting personalities to the main characters. im interested to see how differently ill perceive them when i read a physical copy. 
the story is told almost entirely through letters that two time traveling agents write each other. they start as rivals, and slowly lower their guards and begin to fall for each other, trying to keep their relationship a secret. 
i love the implications given when the story is told through their letters this way. the letters are at once straightforward and poetic. the writing of the whole novel is beautiful - tactile and soft and pointed and mysterious at the same time.
i'll definitely be reading this again.  5/5. its only a 4-hour audiobook, only a couple hundred pages. if you have an afternoon, there's no reason not to pick it up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Medical content, Grief, Genocide, Suicide, and Colonisation

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

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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

pandemonicbaby's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Suicide attempt, Gore, Grief, War, and Torture

Minor: Colonisation

the_true_monroe's review

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I read this for a queer book club and I was very hesitant at first as the writing style was beautiful yet so difficult for me to understand. 

Despite how confused I was throughout the book, I think I was able to follow along well enough to at least very much understand and LOVE the ending. 

Also, the cover is beautiful!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Body horror and Blood

Minor: Confinement, Genocide, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Torture, and Suicide

theirgracegrace's review

adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

In the endless battle between the dystopian Agency and the utopian Garden, agents battle across time. Travelling up and down the threads of time, Red and Blue come across one another by pure chance...or is it? Red belongs to the Agency and Blue is part of the Garden, but through a series of letters, their relationship turns from rivals, to friends, to something more. I adored the settings of their letters and the ending completely blew me away. I will definitely recommend it to my friends!

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Cursing

Minor: Colonisation, Genocide, and Pandemic/Epidemic