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A review by jillselwyn
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
reflective
sad
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? No
5.0
TL; DR: very sapphic, very twisty, very lyrical, very human condition.
I need more stories told like this. Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's writing style clearly work together brilliantly, beautifully. It is one that only becomes more poetic as Red and Blue write to one another. And not <i> just </i> in the letters, but also in the third person narrative. As their story proceeds, they both begin to observe and think about the world in love and wonder - seeming to seep into their experiences of the world around them - both of them.
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This is How You Lose the Time War is one of the most uniquely told stories I've ever read - and not just in the writing style, but also simply the plot revolving around a sapphic romance developing between people who should be enemies, as they travel through time and write to one another. While there were a couple of plot points or events that I predicted, and went "oh dang saw that one coming," it never stayed that way for long, as by the end of the scene, the result was shocking and unexpected enough that I was still excited and eager to flip through the book.
This is yet another short (under 300 pages) novel(la) that explores humanity through a very different lens. Questions of wonder and love and awe, the feeling of falling in love, the urge to protect each other even if it meant tearing themselves apart (for one of them nearly literally) through the braids of time to do so. This book is absolutely heartbreaking. Even the "addressing" to one another alters - and in fun and unique ways.
Despite the twist in the last twenty-ish pages - I still sobbed when I finished this book. I loved it and I'm so glad I finally picked it up.
I need more stories told like this. Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's writing style clearly work together brilliantly, beautifully. It is one that only becomes more poetic as Red and Blue write to one another. And not <i> just </i> in the letters, but also in the third person narrative. As their story proceeds, they both begin to observe and think about the world in love and wonder - seeming to seep into their experiences of the world around them - both of them.
-----
This is How You Lose the Time War is one of the most uniquely told stories I've ever read - and not just in the writing style, but also simply the plot revolving around a sapphic romance developing between people who should be enemies, as they travel through time and write to one another. While there were a couple of plot points or events that I predicted, and went "oh dang saw that one coming," it never stayed that way for long, as by the end of the scene, the result was shocking and unexpected enough that I was still excited and eager to flip through the book.
This is yet another short (under 300 pages) novel(la) that explores humanity through a very different lens. Questions of wonder and love and awe, the feeling of falling in love, the urge to protect each other even if it meant tearing themselves apart (for one of them nearly literally) through the braids of time to do so. This book is absolutely heartbreaking. Even the "addressing" to one another alters - and in fun and unique ways.
Despite the twist in the last twenty-ish pages - I still sobbed when I finished this book. I loved it and I'm so glad I finally picked it up.