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maxierosalee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Hovering around a 3.75-4 stars for me.
I listened to the entirety of this audiobook while driving for work. This was another one I went into without reading anything about it except for the blurb. I am stealing and reusing one of my own descriptors that I made in my review of The Last Days of New Paris, but I feel like it describes what I felt when listening to this book as well. I felt this story wasn't as much of a narrative as much as it was an experience.
Going into the book, here is what I knew: two time-traveling agents working for different organizations wage war on each other throughout time. Though the two are enemies, they eventually fall in love. That's all the context I had, and it colored what I was expecting. I thought it would be a more traditional plot-driven book since that tends to be the trend with science fiction books. This wasn't it at all. In fact, it even led me to be a little disappointed at first.
It took me a while to get into the feel of the book. I feel like the main focus of it is the language. The letters written by Red and Blue (and even the prose itself to an extent) are filled with some of the most lyrical, abstract, and poetic writing I've ever heard. Metaphors, similies and craftsmanship with the English language fill their letters, like they are both composing music or sonnets. After getting used to this playing and building of language, I started to click with the book and immerse myself in it more. I believe listening to the book versus reading it might have helped with that. It helped the flow of the words feel more natural. It's very unique in that I can't think of another novel I've read that has this same kind of priority on language. There have been others that I've read that felt more like experiences, perhaps in the setting or by just exploring something, but this is the first I've read where the prose itself is what the reader is meant to immerse themselves the most in.
The setting also takes a setting seen in many different media--time traveling--and gives it a unique spin. In fact, I'd say this story is almost borderline weird fiction with how surreal it can get. The main characters are humans, but they stretch the definition of it by all of their enhancements, all to help them better fight their time-traveling war. The way they pass letters onto each other is... unconventional, to say the least. I don't want to say more because I think reading about them is part of the experience of reading this.
It's hard to talk about the characters because their development is not focused on very much. I can't really criticize the relationship not feeling like a natural progression or the two having chemistry because it's hard to quantify those things when all of their interactions are done through these letters filled to the brim with purple prose. But I was surprised, at the end, to find myself invested in their relationship and hoping that everything worked out. Maybe it was the dramatic, creative ways they communicated with one another? While I didn't feel there was much under the surface (even with the backstories they revealed about themselves, I'm the kind of person who feels more impacted when the characters have things happen to them as opposed to them talking of things that have happened to them in the past and seeing the aftermath), this isn't the kind of story that comes across as having that be a priority. I think when an author (or authors) write stories a certain way to make it clear what purpose they have in writing it, it's easier for me to not be so bothered by the lackluster aspects of it.
My biggest complaint? I've already gone over how beautiful and poetic the writing can be, especially in the letters that Blue and Red write to one another. I think sometimes it gets to be a bit too...much. Obviously, this isn't a case where you expect their letters to sound natural and like something most people would write. It's part of the experience, like I said above. But, in all honesty? Even with that in mind, sometimes it gets to be a little ridiculous at points. I guess it's a lucky thing that I listened to this through an audiobook because it means I can't reference it to paste quotes. Otherwise, this review would be filled with the most ridiculous ones. Holding coins under your tongue? An entire paragraph describing eating blueberry pancakes and honey in the most flowery, purple prose imaginable? A dramatic description of a character being locked in a glass coffin with no "necrophilic prince?" I'll be honest, I think even the most delicate and beautiful writing can't really cover up the silliness of such things, and only works to highlight it even more. That's the main reason why I hesitate to give it a full four stars so readily.
But despite the initially bumpy ride, things smoothed out as time went on, and I found myself enjoying it. If you're looking for a traditional story, I don't think this will do it for you. If you're okay with experiencing a story through its writing and take joy just in the act of listening to poetic prose, you will enjoy this. I recommend the audiobook. The narrators do a great job with their respective parts, and it helps better to let the words flow over you.
I listened to the entirety of this audiobook while driving for work. This was another one I went into without reading anything about it except for the blurb. I am stealing and reusing one of my own descriptors that I made in my review of The Last Days of New Paris, but I feel like it describes what I felt when listening to this book as well. I felt this story wasn't as much of a narrative as much as it was an experience.
Going into the book, here is what I knew: two time-traveling agents working for different organizations wage war on each other throughout time. Though the two are enemies, they eventually fall in love. That's all the context I had, and it colored what I was expecting. I thought it would be a more traditional plot-driven book since that tends to be the trend with science fiction books. This wasn't it at all. In fact, it even led me to be a little disappointed at first.
It took me a while to get into the feel of the book. I feel like the main focus of it is the language. The letters written by Red and Blue (and even the prose itself to an extent) are filled with some of the most lyrical, abstract, and poetic writing I've ever heard. Metaphors, similies and craftsmanship with the English language fill their letters, like they are both composing music or sonnets. After getting used to this playing and building of language, I started to click with the book and immerse myself in it more. I believe listening to the book versus reading it might have helped with that. It helped the flow of the words feel more natural. It's very unique in that I can't think of another novel I've read that has this same kind of priority on language. There have been others that I've read that felt more like experiences, perhaps in the setting or by just exploring something, but this is the first I've read where the prose itself is what the reader is meant to immerse themselves the most in.
The setting also takes a setting seen in many different media--time traveling--and gives it a unique spin. In fact, I'd say this story is almost borderline weird fiction with how surreal it can get. The main characters are humans, but they stretch the definition of it by all of their enhancements, all to help them better fight their time-traveling war. The way they pass letters onto each other is... unconventional, to say the least. I don't want to say more because I think reading about them is part of the experience of reading this.
It's hard to talk about the characters because their development is not focused on very much. I can't really criticize the relationship not feeling like a natural progression or the two having chemistry because it's hard to quantify those things when all of their interactions are done through these letters filled to the brim with purple prose. But I was surprised, at the end, to find myself invested in their relationship and hoping that everything worked out. Maybe it was the dramatic, creative ways they communicated with one another? While I didn't feel there was much under the surface (even with the backstories they revealed about themselves, I'm the kind of person who feels more impacted when the characters have things happen to them as opposed to them talking of things that have happened to them in the past and seeing the aftermath), this isn't the kind of story that comes across as having that be a priority. I think when an author (or authors) write stories a certain way to make it clear what purpose they have in writing it, it's easier for me to not be so bothered by the lackluster aspects of it.
My biggest complaint? I've already gone over how beautiful and poetic the writing can be, especially in the letters that Blue and Red write to one another. I think sometimes it gets to be a bit too...much. Obviously, this isn't a case where you expect their letters to sound natural and like something most people would write. It's part of the experience, like I said above. But, in all honesty? Even with that in mind, sometimes it gets to be a little ridiculous at points. I guess it's a lucky thing that I listened to this through an audiobook because it means I can't reference it to paste quotes. Otherwise, this review would be filled with the most ridiculous ones. Holding coins under your tongue? An entire paragraph describing eating blueberry pancakes and honey in the most flowery, purple prose imaginable? A dramatic description of a character being locked in a glass coffin with no "necrophilic prince?" I'll be honest, I think even the most delicate and beautiful writing can't really cover up the silliness of such things, and only works to highlight it even more. That's the main reason why I hesitate to give it a full four stars so readily.
But despite the initially bumpy ride, things smoothed out as time went on, and I found myself enjoying it. If you're looking for a traditional story, I don't think this will do it for you. If you're okay with experiencing a story through its writing and take joy just in the act of listening to poetic prose, you will enjoy this. I recommend the audiobook. The narrators do a great job with their respective parts, and it helps better to let the words flow over you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Colonisation
Body horror - I consider some of the physical descriptions of Red and Blue to be body horror. Colonization - Alluded to in certain passes when they discuss some of the alternate histories regarding indigenous people and colonizerssarahb919's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I thought I wouldn’t like this book but I ended up loving it. This is the type of love I yearn for. This is the type of partnership I want. The language in this book is beautiful and organic. Also kind of reminds me of the language used in NBC Hannibal. And the memes! I wasn’t expecting memes! Nobody expects The Memes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I’m sorry. I know from all the reviews this is a much beloved book but it just wasn’t for me. I had high expectations: initially when I saw this book floating around I thought it was nonfiction due to the title and cover. After realizing it’s fiction and about time travelers falling in love, I was excited! Unfortunately, the writing was too sparse and I did not feel much for the characters, making it made it a very difficult read.
I think my biggest issue might be my disinterest in science fiction. I am always trying to reach outside my comfort zone and read genres I may not consider. In this case, the characters were so science fiction they didn’t feel human, although I think that was the point? I think? I genuinely don’t know if they were supposed to be nonhuman or just futuristic humans.
I really struggled with the writing. There were some very beautiful sentences but it was not cohesive and felt confusing. This also made me sad because normally I love wordy books and reading between the lines, but here I just felt frustrated because I didn’t feel any sense of a plot. Again, maybe it’s just not my cup of tea, but the fact that there was so much time jumping between letters and points in their lives didn’t help me see how their relationship developed over time (this is ironic for a time traveler story, I know).
Overall, I would recommend this to fans of science fiction and queer literature. Maybe only people I am acquainted with, though, I don’t think I could ever recommend this to a friend.
I think my biggest issue might be my disinterest in science fiction. I am always trying to reach outside my comfort zone and read genres I may not consider. In this case, the characters were so science fiction they didn’t feel human, although I think that was the point? I think? I genuinely don’t know if they were supposed to be nonhuman or just futuristic humans.
I really struggled with the writing. There were some very beautiful sentences but it was not cohesive and felt confusing. This also made me sad because normally I love wordy books and reading between the lines, but here I just felt frustrated because I didn’t feel any sense of a plot. Again, maybe it’s just not my cup of tea, but the fact that there was so much time jumping between letters and points in their lives didn’t help me see how their relationship developed over time (this is ironic for a time traveler story, I know).
Overall, I would recommend this to fans of science fiction and queer literature. Maybe only people I am acquainted with, though, I don’t think I could ever recommend this to a friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Colonisation
ebp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide attempt, and War
Moderate: Torture, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Confinement
mangofraiche's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Torture, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and War
cicizzy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
„I can hide in words so long as I scatter them through my body; to read your letters is to gather flowers from within myself, pluck a blossom here, a fern there, arrange and rearrange them in ways to suit a sunny room.“
This book just feels like pure art. I loved reading the story even though the writing style could also be challenging at times. The story itself is very mysterious and doesn’t really answer any questions. You just have to go with the flow. But it didn’t bother me at all, it just created a mysterious atmosphere that gave the words even more opportunity to shine.
This will be a story I can reread and always find discover new with each read.
This book just feels like pure art. I loved reading the story even though the writing style could also be challenging at times. The story itself is very mysterious and doesn’t really answer any questions. You just have to go with the flow. But it didn’t bother me at all, it just created a mysterious atmosphere that gave the words even more opportunity to shine.
This will be a story I can reread and always find discover new with each read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and War
Minor: Confinement, Death, Torture, and Stalking
gotnoculture's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Blood, and War
Minor: Gore, Murder, and Pregnancy
ye_li's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement
yilliun's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Confinement
miguelito_juanito's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Confinement, Torture, and Vomit