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

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A novella told through purple prose and letters— extremely difficult to follow, but comes together by the end. Athough I assume it was intentional, there were still too many questions left unanswered to allow me to fully enjoy this book. How did agents time travel? How was this technology invented? Did the rival companies create time travel separately or did they diverge from one entity? I wish it leaned more into the sci-fi and less into the literary. Another issue is that both Red and Blue felt like they had the same speaking voice, which made it difficult to discern their distinct personalities. I think this is best read by a special kind of reader, who enjoys reflecting on characters and projecting their experiences onto them (eg. sapphic yearning) rather than enjoying a coherent plot or substantive world building.