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gamma_rae 's review for:
This Is How You Lose the Time War
by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is not a traditional book. It's definitely not what you expect from the sci-fi genre. I found it an enjoyable read anyway, but I think this is the sort of book that simply isn't for everyone.
The writing is very lyrical, convoluted, and dramatic. This isn't really a novel, it's prose poetry, and as such the writing is definitely something that many people would find "overwrought" and "pretentious". If you don't like poetry a lot, you should probably read something else. I read it via audiobook, but I think I would encourage anyone interested in reading it towards the paperback instead. The narrator does a fantastic job, but its still hard to parse due to the nature of the text.
You won't find an interesting, developed sci-fi setting here - those elements are just backdrop and set pieces for the relationship between Red and Blue. It's all left confusingly vague, but this seems intentional because it's largely unimportant. You begin the story knowing nothing about the titular Time War, and you leave it without knowing much more. Most of the actual action centers around the convoluted ways the characters leave letters to each other, and those sections felt pointless enough I caught myself tuning those sections out.
The letters themselves however? Wonderfully written. The characters are interesting, and I found the way the tone shifts throughout the story from flippant and taunting, to restrained yearning, then to earnest and heartfelt love to be very charming. They discover some poignant truths about each other and themselves, and those revelations are very well written.
In summary. It's solid, but it's an acquired taste for certain. You shouldn't go into it expecting a sci-fi adventure, you should go into it expecting a long love poem.
The writing is very lyrical, convoluted, and dramatic. This isn't really a novel, it's prose poetry, and as such the writing is definitely something that many people would find "overwrought" and "pretentious". If you don't like poetry a lot, you should probably read something else. I read it via audiobook, but I think I would encourage anyone interested in reading it towards the paperback instead. The narrator does a fantastic job, but its still hard to parse due to the nature of the text.
You won't find an interesting, developed sci-fi setting here - those elements are just backdrop and set pieces for the relationship between Red and Blue. It's all left confusingly vague, but this seems intentional because it's largely unimportant. You begin the story knowing nothing about the titular Time War, and you leave it without knowing much more. Most of the actual action centers around the convoluted ways the characters leave letters to each other, and those sections felt pointless enough I caught myself tuning those sections out.
The letters themselves however? Wonderfully written. The characters are interesting, and I found the way the tone shifts throughout the story from flippant and taunting, to restrained yearning, then to earnest and heartfelt love to be very charming. They discover some poignant truths about each other and themselves, and those revelations are very well written.
In summary. It's solid, but it's an acquired taste for certain. You shouldn't go into it expecting a sci-fi adventure, you should go into it expecting a long love poem.