This novel leaves me a bit ambivalent. On one hand, its language is of outstanding beauty, though a little hard to read; you should have a thesaurus at hand. The text also has an enormous information density, so it’s important to read it very thoroughly. It is elaborately constructed like a good detective story, and from a purely aesthetic point of view, it’s a great piece of art. On the other hand I found the two time traveling agents quite unendearing, and their conniving attitude didn’t help to conjure up the romantic feelings advertised in the blurb. The killing of a pinniped (which is used as a pun and/or metaphor for “breaking the seal”) and other grim deeds made it difficult for me to find a connection to them. I don’t think a protagonist has to be likable, there are lots of counterexamples throughout literature, but I’m not sure if the authors did this intentionally here. The book is entertaining and well composed, but it didn’t evoke any compassion. Despite all criticism, I can still recommend „This Is How You Lose the Time War“, because the story is brilliantly told and excellently crafted.

(written without AI by a non-native speaker, any awkward formulations are all mine)