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roadtripreader 's review for:
This is How You Lose the Time War
by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I too would like a futuristic, bionic, part human, assassin-mercenary penpal. Exactly whom do I petition? Can't be Mobius or Loki, they're not running a tight ship over there.
Sometimes I wonder if Temporal warfare is possible in more than a speculative hard science fiction way. Probably not. But humans are wily creatures very likely to will time-travel into existence just to spite the linear construct of this intangible thing. So yeah give it about 5 centuries (if WW3 doesn't happen this year)and the Blue/Red wargames will probably be in full swing.
Plot/Storyline/Themes
This book is about time and communication. Something shifts when Blue and Red begin the tentative task of human/humanlike communication. Their written word, correspondence shifts something in both of them. Makes sense, their whole purpose is extermination, erasure, editing, putting things into play. They hardly connect with others of their kind.
Characters: Politeness never dies, I mean not if it can help it. Blue and Red engage in sweeping long letters in a predator vs predator or at least sociopath vs sociopath hunt. Like an affair or secret rendezvous, the threat of being found out does something to these far-future hybrid-humanlike entities. A thrill and fear mixed in with a little foreign feeling called self-doubt.
♡Did her adversary—did Blue—ever read her letter? Red liked writing it— winning tastes sweet, but sweeter still to triumph and tease. (Red, the one possibly being "ghosted" by blue).
♡I ought to begin with an apology. This is not, I’m afraid, the omen you were anticipating (Blue, on why she left Red on read).
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
Blue in the Temple of the Pilgrim. That's definitely an effective and clinical method for mass murder - which is horrifying.
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●When Red wins, she stands alone (Red on being a solitary being)
●When Blue wins - which is always - she moves on to the next thing (Blue on arrogance and ambition).
●Red has her excuses ready: Since her disobediance, she's been a better agent, more meticulous. (Red on willingly engaging in correspondence with Blue).
●Never let facts break a good joke. (Red on her "Green Thumb" or lack thereof)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
■Mackintosh and Siri hehe, I cackled.
■Time warriors manipulating time threads and laughing at the dead scientist who theorized that time is linear.
■One group of TimeWarriors plant seeds whilst the other group rip things out of the ground - bones, har, skin, nails - that kind of thing.
■Oh and lest I forget - those stealthy shadowy seekers trailing Blue and Red.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Science Fiction books by 2025
Sometimes I wonder if Temporal warfare is possible in more than a speculative hard science fiction way. Probably not. But humans are wily creatures very likely to will time-travel into existence just to spite the linear construct of this intangible thing. So yeah give it about 5 centuries (if WW3 doesn't happen this year)and the Blue/Red wargames will probably be in full swing.
Plot/Storyline/Themes
This book is about time and communication. Something shifts when Blue and Red begin the tentative task of human/humanlike communication. Their written word, correspondence shifts something in both of them. Makes sense, their whole purpose is extermination, erasure, editing, putting things into play. They hardly connect with others of their kind.
Characters: Politeness never dies, I mean not if it can help it. Blue and Red engage in sweeping long letters in a predator vs predator or at least sociopath vs sociopath hunt. Like an affair or secret rendezvous, the threat of being found out does something to these far-future hybrid-humanlike entities. A thrill and fear mixed in with a little foreign feeling called self-doubt.
♡Did her adversary—did Blue—ever read her letter? Red liked writing it— winning tastes sweet, but sweeter still to triumph and tease. (Red, the one possibly being "ghosted" by blue).
♡I ought to begin with an apology. This is not, I’m afraid, the omen you were anticipating (Blue, on why she left Red on read).
Favorite/Curious/Unique Scene::
Blue in the Temple of the Pilgrim. That's definitely an effective and clinical method for mass murder - which is horrifying.
Favorite/Curious/Unique Quotes:
●When Red wins, she stands alone (Red on being a solitary being)
●When Blue wins - which is always - she moves on to the next thing (Blue on arrogance and ambition).
●Red has her excuses ready: Since her disobediance, she's been a better agent, more meticulous. (Red on willingly engaging in correspondence with Blue).
●Never let facts break a good joke. (Red on her "Green Thumb" or lack thereof)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
■Mackintosh and Siri hehe, I cackled.
■Time warriors manipulating time threads and laughing at the dead scientist who theorized that time is linear.
■One group of TimeWarriors plant seeds whilst the other group rip things out of the ground - bones, har, skin, nails - that kind of thing.
■Oh and lest I forget - those stealthy shadowy seekers trailing Blue and Red.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Science Fiction books by 2025