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A review by markguitar
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
First, I hate the AI generated description and topic list that is listed in Storygraph. It gives away too much. I'd have rather said that two adversaries from rival factions are fighting a time war in which each must go back in time to undo the advances of their rivals. That's the basic plot. To say that they fall in love is to say too much, I think...even though that's really what the book is about. Also, to say that it is LGBTQ themed is really misleading. Yes, the main characters are women who fall in love, which makes it "LGBTQ friendly," but gender is pretty much irrelevant in this book. These characters don't even take on the same physical form from one assignment to the next. This book is romantic, but not in the least bit steamy, sexual, or physical in the least. It is gory and violent, though.
I wasn't sure how to rate this book. 3? 4? Beautifully written. If you like poetry, it's great. I do, but in this book, sometimes the language interferes with the story. It's sometimes hard to figure out what's going on and why. It requires some thought and concentration, which I usually appreciate. In this case, I felt like I had to interpret the poetry as I was reading the story just to understand what some of the imagery was telling me about the characters and the plot. If I'm into poetry, I'll seek it out. When I'm reading sci-fi, I'm looking for something different and this wasn't really it for me. I'm not much into love stories and this is more love story than sci-fi, even though it's loaded with more sci-fi elements than nearly any sci-fi book you'll ever read. To me, the love letters were a bit long and indulgent, which caused an otherwise very short book to drag. However, the end of the book nearly brought me to tears with a real emotional payoff. Thus, I didn't really enjoy the journey, but I appreciated it when I reached the destination.
I wasn't sure how to rate this book. 3? 4? Beautifully written. If you like poetry, it's great. I do, but in this book, sometimes the language interferes with the story. It's sometimes hard to figure out what's going on and why. It requires some thought and concentration, which I usually appreciate. In this case, I felt like I had to interpret the poetry as I was reading the story just to understand what some of the imagery was telling me about the characters and the plot. If I'm into poetry, I'll seek it out. When I'm reading sci-fi, I'm looking for something different and this wasn't really it for me. I'm not much into love stories and this is more love story than sci-fi, even though it's loaded with more sci-fi elements than nearly any sci-fi book you'll ever read. To me, the love letters were a bit long and indulgent, which caused an otherwise very short book to drag. However, the end of the book nearly brought me to tears with a real emotional payoff. Thus, I didn't really enjoy the journey, but I appreciated it when I reached the destination.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Gore