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Reviews tagging 'Torture'
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
214 reviews
tlindhorst's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
This book will reward re-reading, mulling over & reading outside reviews. It is complex, romantic, full of hope & despair all at the same time. Is the conclusion that we must break away from more collective identities correct ?
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Torture, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Blood, Confinement, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt
trying_ceratops's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
Wow oh wow did I love this. I didn’t understand what I was reading all the time (hence the .5 taken off) but the romance, the intrigue, the writing, the detail was all so beautiful.
I would recommend this to most people, but would avoid suggesting it to anyone who isn’t a fan of abstract stories. There’s lots of time travel and while that’s not the plot of the book, as many time traveling books tend to be, I would describe it as the setting of the book.
I felt very moved by this book and tabbed many lines that made my heart twist or sing. It’s just beautiful.
I would recommend this to most people, but would avoid suggesting it to anyone who isn’t a fan of abstract stories. There’s lots of time travel and while that’s not the plot of the book, as many time traveling books tend to be, I would describe it as the setting of the book.
I felt very moved by this book and tabbed many lines that made my heart twist or sing. It’s just beautiful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Violence, and War
Minor: Gore and Blood
grace33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Torture, and Body horror
snipinfool's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? Yes
4.25
Enemy forces battled for the control of a world. Both sides had operatives with the ability to travel through time to change events, which could lead to success for their side. Two of these warriors, Red and Blue, had crossed paths many times working to get events in their favor. Each knew the pattern and style of the other when they came across their work. One day, Red found a hidden letter written to her by Blue. Blue wanted to congratulate her on the changes she made in the twists of time. Blue enjoyed her work more knowing she had a worthy rival. Red left her own message for Blue to find in the threads of time. The letters continued. Eventually, they revealed more and more about themselves and started to feel differently about their enemy. Unfortunately, they were still fighting in a war. Their relationship was forbidden and discovery would mean the end for either of them.
This was such an interesting story. Each of the two authors wrote a character. They made a general outline of how they wanted the storyline to flow. One wrote their character’s part and then passed it to the other for them to respond. I loved the creativity of the world the writers created. Red’s world was one of machines and was dark. Blue’s world was full of nature and light. Red and Blue found ingenious ways to hide their missives from others. Their letters showed the progression from taunts and admiration of skills to an eventual declaration of feeling. Their writings to each other were poetic and engaging. I enjoyed following them on their journey. It was an entertaining novel.
This was such an interesting story. Each of the two authors wrote a character. They made a general outline of how they wanted the storyline to flow. One wrote their character’s part and then passed it to the other for them to respond. I loved the creativity of the world the writers created. Red’s world was one of machines and was dark. Blue’s world was full of nature and light. Red and Blue found ingenious ways to hide their missives from others. Their letters showed the progression from taunts and admiration of skills to an eventual declaration of feeling. Their writings to each other were poetic and engaging. I enjoyed following them on their journey. It was an entertaining novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Torture
violerwolf's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
This book wasn’t for me. The prose can be so purposefully opaque that it renders parts of the book barely understandable. And while I’m sure that some people enjoy that, personally I think that no matter how cerebral a book is, you should be able to imagine what the characters are doing when the author describes simple actions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, War, Blood, Death, Murder, Genocide, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal death, Child death, Torture, and Grief
taryn_g's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Gore
Moderate: Body horror and Suicide
Minor: Torture
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
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
ladythana's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
Minor: Confinement and Torture
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
-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 innuendosoftgalaxy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. I’ve never read a book like this before. I heard good things beforehand, and I was pleased that I enjoyed it as much as I did.
The writing is decadent and poetic. I’m not going to lie and say that I completely understood the sci-fi elements, but it didn’t matter to be honest.
This book had me silently screaming. Sapphic enemies to lovers plus time-travel is just *chef’s kiss*.
I want to read this again and again. Highly recommend.
The writing is decadent and poetic. I’m not going to lie and say that I completely understood the sci-fi elements, but it didn’t matter to be honest.
This book had me silently screaming. Sapphic enemies to lovers plus time-travel is just *chef’s kiss*.
I want to read this again and again. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: War, Murder, and Torture