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

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Rich in language but also slightly tends to be over the top bloomy or special (I found it hard and utterly abstract, especially as non-native speaker). The letters are often crafted beautifully but the depicted relationship stays without real substance most of the time. It just “sounded” wondrous, splendid and deep. Same for the many places and times visited. This is unfortunately a missed opportunity to bring the richness in language to a richness in plot, mood and environment. I didn’t expect the many fantastic elements and I am not sure if I liked them. Often I wasn’t sure about what or if some is meant to be symbolic. The style of Sci-Fi showed similarities somehow to Aeon Flux (both: the original and the cinematic movie version). For me much was appealing and off-putting in swift changes. I hoped for a little more climax in the ending. Most parts of the story line stayed abstract and almost conceptual, which made it harder for me to follow. For the characters and their relationships I felt almost the same. By closing the book I couldn’t help but wanting “more”, but somehow I still liked the ride (it was quite a ride, tough, right?)
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