A review by wanderonwards
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

WOW. I loved the concept of this novella, especially the thought of two sides of a war deliberately targeting sections of different time strands to help their side (or hinder their enemy). At times it’s a bit confusing (the plot is focused on Blue and Red, after all, not the war), so I imagine this is a story I will enjoy more the more times I read it. There are some truly beautiful sections of prose throughout this novella. One of my favorite sections was: 
 
“She climbs upthread and down; she braids and unbraids history’s hair. Red rarely sleeps, but when she does, she lies still, eyes closed in the dark, and lets herself see lapis, taste iris petals and ice, hear a blue jay’s shriek. She collects blues and keeps them.” (Page 91 of 213 on my ebook app) 
 
I did feel like there was something missing between the transitions of the letters and the narrative, but I did enjoy both for different reasons. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings