4 ms·
"This is how you lose the time war". It's by two authors. Light read. I bought it because it was inexpensive and I the title was a "me-shaped" hook. :) I ch
by loxias 3y ago
"This is how you lose the time war". It's by two authors. Light read.
I bought it because it was inexpensive and I the title was a "me-shaped" hook. :)
I chuckled after a few pages, after about 1/3rd I couldn't put it down, or read it fast enough. Challenging, as it started to rain during my walk to work (as evidenced by the dozen wrinkly pages towards the end).
The next day as I read, I was pacing around my apartment, alone, gesticulating, with a VERY SPECIFIC flavor of happy that, gosh, I hadn't felt since well before she left me so... 4 years? Longer? A flavor of happy I had almost forgotten existed.
The only bad part is the book was finished the next day. :(
If your brain has a certain shape and polarization it's likely to bring great joy. (tho I have no idea how rare we are)
I also finished reading Annihilation by VanderMeer, what a friend insisted in exchange for him reading TIHYLTTW.
It was .... good, I guess? I donno. Solid B-. I mean, I enjoyed it I think. Very simple, straightforward read. Some of the characters didn't feel ... relatable?
But wow, TIHYLTTW... felt like the authors had root on my brain or something. At numerous times I joked to myself that I must have been compromised. Hidden cameras.
If you're going to read it, don't google or read any commentary or anything :) I did not, and, looking at the commentary and comments, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I did otherwise.
The other two people I convinced to read the book did not have nearly as strong a response as I. I think it requires a certain brain polarization. Or brokenness. :)
- dsr_ 3y agoIt went up for a number of awards, and won three majors including a Hugo and a Nebula, so obviously lots of people like it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_How_You_Lose_the_Time_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_How_You_Lose_the_Time_...
- harshreality 3y agoI read that after reading Gladstone's scifi book[1]. I liked the poetic and emotional nature of it, but I thought it tried too hard to be both that and a science fiction story. When I tried to grasp at the scifi aspect, it felt like I was grasping at air. [1] _Empress of Forever_, while not poetic, I thought had interesting ideas that were more fleshed out. A lack of focus kept it out of top-tier scifi like Simmons' Hyperion for me, but it's worth a read if you like high-concept scifi like that.
- loxias 3y agoOh, that's interesting!! I completely "agree" with your perception of the "air", though!! I think we differ in that, to me, I immediately and completely interpreted that as intentional. Not attempting for something and failing, but a faint, and a clever one at that. A "trick". We were "tricked". :) I distinctly remember I wasn't even half through, and I broke out laughing, raising a fist in mock-anger. And to me, that's part of the awesomeness. (For instance, I also enjoy magic shows, and standup, surprise parties, and love a trick or witticism. So of course I would process "you tricked me, authors!!" with a smile.) yay brains/diversity of perception/etc :)
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoI just read the synopsys, I love the summary - even though time travel stories are paradoxical in nature. Love seeing how some authors try and resolve them though.
- FumblingBear 3y agoProbably my favorite novella of all time! I especially appreciated how the revelations near the end kind of re-contextualized the entire thing :)
- jlokier 3y agoUpvoted just because your way of writing about joy is infectious!
- Jemaclus 3y agoThe funniest story about TIHYLTTW is the story if Bigolas Dickolas on Twitter, who hyped up the book and it went viral years after it was released. Here's a blog post on Tor.com about it: https://www.tor.com/2023/05/11/this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war-bestseller-thanks-to-bigolas-dickolas-wolfwood-viral-twitter/ https://www.tor.com/2023/05/11/this-is-how-you-lose-the-time...