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A review by soupstix
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
though i have been peripherally aware of this is how you lose the time war for a while now, i have been pushed to read it at — you guessed it — bigolas dickolas wolfwood’s acclaim. i did exactly as instructed: i did not look up anything about it before i read it, i simply read it.
honest review? i’m not a fan of epistolary novels in general, so this novella already had the odds stacked against it. when i realized that was what i was getting into…well. suffice to say i am less-than-enthused about the entire novella. apologies to bigolas dickolas.
time war has an ambitious premise to fit in such a compact package. as it says on the tin, it takes place during a time war, and as a result it jumps through time and space in a pretty incomprehensible manner. despite its prominence in the title, there isn’t much, if any, explanation about the war going in the backdrop. for that exact reason, the war merely serves as a backdrop. the main thread throughout the novella is the letter correspondence between two characters: red and blue. while there were very many bits of pretty prose that jumped out at me, i struggled to find these characters’ romance at all compelling. the main question that followed me throughout this book was: why? why are they fighting in this war? why are these two characters drawn to each other? why should i care about these characters at all? why should i care about the outcome of this war? why, why, why, why…
to me, this is how you lose the time war is a pretty rendition of a tired regurgitation of tropes. this book is pretty, that’s the only way i can describe it. pretty prose with pretty set pieces. but there isn’t enough substance for me to dig my teeth into. i see why some people have found value in it, but it’s just not for me!
honest review? i’m not a fan of epistolary novels in general, so this novella already had the odds stacked against it. when i realized that was what i was getting into…well. suffice to say i am less-than-enthused about the entire novella. apologies to bigolas dickolas.
time war has an ambitious premise to fit in such a compact package. as it says on the tin, it takes place during a time war, and as a result it jumps through time and space in a pretty incomprehensible manner. despite its prominence in the title, there isn’t much, if any, explanation about the war going in the backdrop. for that exact reason, the war merely serves as a backdrop. the main thread throughout the novella is the letter correspondence between two characters: red and blue. while there were very many bits of pretty prose that jumped out at me, i struggled to find these characters’ romance at all compelling. the main question that followed me throughout this book was: why? why are they fighting in this war? why are these two characters drawn to each other? why should i care about these characters at all? why should i care about the outcome of this war? why, why, why, why…
to me, this is how you lose the time war is a pretty rendition of a tired regurgitation of tropes. this book is pretty, that’s the only way i can describe it. pretty prose with pretty set pieces. but there isn’t enough substance for me to dig my teeth into. i see why some people have found value in it, but it’s just not for me!