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

mysterious slow-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? Yes

3.0

This is a weird one. Everything here is taken to the extreme. The writing style is so exaggerated and pretentious that it comes off as embarrassing. Despite the existence of time travel, most of the references the characters make revolve around the 1900s and recent human history. The main characters themselves are described in such a way that they feel more like concepts than actual people, down to their names of "Red" and "Blue".

Yet, I can't help but respect these authorial decisions even while I'm annoyed by them. They had a vision in mind, and they wrote it exactly as they wanted to without care for the reader's opinion. (Either that, or they genuinely thought this style of writing is enjoyable.) I don't love it, but I respect it.
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