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A review by ladybugwrites
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a hard book to review, mostly because I spent the first half of it not really caring what happened. My mind was preoccupied and I think I've read enough books I don't like lately to the point that I almost wrote this off before I even started reading it (maybe I'm in some kind of slump, I don't know).
I don't have any clear thoughts as of right now. This is somehow a tragedy and a comedy at the same time (Ancient Greek terms of classying works), something the book itself references. And I think that's the think. This book is littered with clever references ranging from classics to pop culture, to the extent that I think it's one of those books that need to be read multiple times, that will be better with the second read and the third. Which means I'll be reading this book again (it is definitely short enough and I enjoyed it enough to do this), because I think these refrences are things to catch better on the second read.
I will take my due time to do this, possibly having forgotten much of the book by the time I do, but I know my memory well enough to know that it won't become a problem, but I absolutely think this is a modern book meant for multiple reads (something I find rare outside of classics, where the author purposfully makes reading the book multiple times part of the books journey [I sideeye Goethe as I write this]).
Until I read this the next time, I'm unsure if it deserves all the hype I have seen online considering the fact that I think it's not that good, but I am hoping that second read will show me exactly how deep this book grows - the seeds of which was sowed during the last quarter of the book.
I don't have any clear thoughts as of right now. This is somehow a tragedy and a comedy at the same time (Ancient Greek terms of classying works), something the book itself references. And I think that's the think. This book is littered with clever references ranging from classics to pop culture, to the extent that I think it's one of those books that need to be read multiple times, that will be better with the second read and the third. Which means I'll be reading this book again (it is definitely short enough and I enjoyed it enough to do this), because I think these refrences are things to catch better on the second read.
I will take my due time to do this, possibly having forgotten much of the book by the time I do, but I know my memory well enough to know that it won't become a problem, but I absolutely think this is a modern book meant for multiple reads (something I find rare outside of classics, where the author purposfully makes reading the book multiple times part of the books journey [I sideeye Goethe as I write this]).
Until I read this the next time, I'm unsure if it deserves all the hype I have seen online considering the fact that I think it's not that good, but I am hoping that second read will show me exactly how deep this book grows - the seeds of which was sowed during the last quarter of the book.