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A review by deckled_edges
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
I took a few days to think about this review and my rating for it. I ADORE this book. I love it so so much and I love the characters and I'm so glad I own it, I know I will be rereading it. Blue and Red had me hooked almost instantly.
The only reason it didn't get a full 5 stars is because there were times the prose really kind of struggled under the weight of its own pretenses. It was trying too hard. Not often, but there were definitely a few times where a sentence was gorgeously structured if you weren't trying to glean any immediate meaning from it. There were many instances I had to reread something to figure out what it was trying to say and more times than I would've liked I just opted to give up and keep going because I wanted to know what happened next. Which is a shame because there are so many lines that when they hit, they hit.
Finally, very very ending spoilersI wanted to see them together. I'm not saying sipping tea in their little house with a dog, I know they've got a loooong road ahead of them before they get anywhere near that. But man, after everything they'd been through I really wanted to see them at least run off together. I AM glad that it has a happy ending though. I got really worried for a while towards the end lol .
Still, I loved watching these two fall for each other and fall hard. All the different kinds of letters they sent, and the ways they allowed more and more of themselves to show. We get just enough worldbuilding to understand the environments & situations they're in, no more, and honestly I think it works!
One of my favorite lines that had me fanning myself:
The only reason it didn't get a full 5 stars is because there were times the prose really kind of struggled under the weight of its own pretenses. It was trying too hard. Not often, but there were definitely a few times where a sentence was gorgeously structured if you weren't trying to glean any immediate meaning from it. There were many instances I had to reread something to figure out what it was trying to say and more times than I would've liked I just opted to give up and keep going because I wanted to know what happened next. Which is a shame because there are so many lines that when they hit, they hit.
Finally, very very ending spoilers
Still, I loved watching these two fall for each other and fall hard. All the different kinds of letters they sent, and the ways they allowed more and more of themselves to show. We get just enough worldbuilding to understand the environments & situations they're in, no more, and honestly I think it works!
One of my favorite lines that had me fanning myself:
I like you to know, with my words in your mouth, the places and ways in which I think of you.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely ✅
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, and War
Moderate: Torture and Blood