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Time Was
A love story stitched across time and war, shaped by the power of books, and ultimately destroyed by it.
In the heart of World War II, Tom and Ben became lovers. Brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar, the two founded a love that could not be revealed. When the project went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished into nothingness, presumed dead. Their bodies were never found.
Now the two are lost in time, hunting each other across decades, leaving clues in books of poetry and trying to make their disparate timelines overlap.
In the heart of World War II, Tom and Ben became lovers. Brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar, the two founded a love that could not be revealed. When the project went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished into nothingness, presumed dead. Their bodies were never found.
Now the two are lost in time, hunting each other across decades, leaving clues in books of poetry and trying to make their disparate timelines overlap.
143 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 2018
132 people are currently reading
2327 people want to read
About the author
Ian McDonald
266 books1,262 followersIan Neil McDonald was born in 1960 in Manchester, England, to an Irish mother and a Scottish father. He moved with his family to Northern Ireland in 1965. He used to live in a house built in the back garden of C. S. Lewis's childhood home but has since moved to central Belfast, where he now lives, exploring interests like cats, contemplative religion, bonsai, bicycles, and comic-book collecting. He debuted in 1982 with the short story "The Island of the Dead" in the short-lived British magazine Extro. His first novel, Desolation Road, was published in 1988. Other works include King of Morning, Queen of Day (winner of the Philip K. Dick Award), River of Gods, The Dervish House (both of which won British Science Fiction Association Awards), the graphic novel Kling Klang Klatch, and many more. His most recent publications are Planesrunner and Be My Enemy, books one and two of the Everness series for younger readers (though older readers will find them a ball of fun, as well). Ian worked in television development for sixteen years, but is glad to be back to writing full-time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 339 reviews
February 19, 2024
2 1/2 stars. This book… is not its blurb, and I am disappointed by that.
[I actually think I understand this blurb more than I understand this book.]
Okay. So Time Was is marketed as a love story across time. It is not. This is a 70-page manifesto of a modern-day historian and a sort of testimonial as to how this character discovered these two lovers were time travelers. Which is fine as a mystery / suspense premise. But as a book marketed as an angsty-in-a-good-way, speculative-fiction-y romance? Really disappointing.
Because, really, I am just disappointed in the idea of this as a romance book. There are short pov chapters from Tom and Ben, but their romance is - don’t kill me - pretty bland. And the ending.... hm. Okay, very real spoilers ahead:
Like... I'm not crazy here, right? This does feel kind of distasteful, right?
Perhaps even more confusing, given this blurb, is half the book being buildup to the reveal that, wow, those two mysterious lovers from World War II were - wait for it - T I M E T R A V E L E R S!
New discourse: maybe the blurb writer didn't do their job.
I don’t know, dudes. I feel bad because I think this is actually a well-written book and I found it somewhat interesting, but I just didn’t feel a single emotion about this whole book the whole time.
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A love story stitched across time and war, shaped by the power of books, and ultimately destroyed by it. In the heart of World War II, Tom and Ben became lovers. Brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar, the two founded a love that could not be revealed. When the project went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished into nothingness, presumed dead. Their bodies were never found. Now the two are lost in time, hunting each other across decades, leaving clues in books of poetry and trying to make their desperate timelines overlap.
[I actually think I understand this blurb more than I understand this book.]
Okay. So Time Was is marketed as a love story across time. It is not. This is a 70-page manifesto of a modern-day historian and a sort of testimonial as to how this character discovered these two lovers were time travelers. Which is fine as a mystery / suspense premise. But as a book marketed as an angsty-in-a-good-way, speculative-fiction-y romance? Really disappointing.
Because, really, I am just disappointed in the idea of this as a romance book. There are short pov chapters from Tom and Ben, but their romance is - don’t kill me - pretty bland. And the ending.... hm. Okay, very real spoilers ahead:
Like... I'm not crazy here, right? This does feel kind of distasteful, right?
Perhaps even more confusing, given this blurb, is half the book being buildup to the reveal that, wow, those two mysterious lovers from World War II were - wait for it - T I M E T R A V E L E R S!
New discourse: maybe the blurb writer didn't do their job.
I don’t know, dudes. I feel bad because I think this is actually a well-written book and I found it somewhat interesting, but I just didn’t feel a single emotion about this whole book the whole time.
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July 27, 2024
I've left one highlight not visible because it's too much of a spoiler.
I liked this story quite a lot. More anon.
***ANON***
Listen to the dissatisfied bleats from MM-romance readers! This is NOT that book!
It is a fun time-travel tale, and the MM couple whose life together is really more of a life-apart treasure hunt for each other after being unhitched from Time's Arrow during a WWII experiment in quantum superposition is the animating spirit. The young straight bookhunter whose obsession with the gay couple leads him into very strange territory is much more present on the page than either man in the couple. That's disappointing on some levels because of what is promised in the marketing push. But adjust your expectations and read the story that's there and the experience is just fine.
Accepting the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is easier for most fictionphiles than is Copenhagen interpretation of it, which requires us to believe in the arrow of time or the eternal and immutable journey of all things from the past to the future. There are some cracks in the immutability of time's forward progress at the quantum level (you can look it up on your own this time) but no one is saying, at this moment in time, that gross assmblages of atoms like human bodies are about to be transportable whole, entire, and functioning in any direction at any speed of more than 60 seconds per minute.
So there's the fiction bit of the tale defined.
The tale itself...lovers separated and striving to get back together despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles...is an evergreen because most of us have experienced it to some degree or another. The separated lovers in the story are both men and that, as I suspect does not need heavy emphasis, would've kept them apart in the world of 1940s England and not to mention the world of the military which both were in.
The tale of an obsessive quest for an elusive object is equally familiar. A man so utterly absorbed in his own world as to not notice the fact that his lover is being openly unfaithful to him is a familiar character, again as most of us have encountered this in real life relationships whether our own or those of the people close to us. (Well, I know *I* have, so everyone I know has as well.)
Weaving the two together in the way McDonald does is involving and interesting. This isn't something I'm surprised about, though, as I've read his excellent novel River of Gods set in a 2047 India that has quantum computing. He's been thinking about these matters for a long time and that makes his world-building dense and fulfilling to read.
Take the journey with him in this short work. If you like it, and I hope you will, move to the massive, excellent River of Gods and immerse yourself in just how weird the world is, and will be; this book will give you the "was."
I liked this story quite a lot. More anon.
***ANON***
Listen to the dissatisfied bleats from MM-romance readers! This is NOT that book!
It is a fun time-travel tale, and the MM couple whose life together is really more of a life-apart treasure hunt for each other after being unhitched from Time's Arrow during a WWII experiment in quantum superposition is the animating spirit. The young straight bookhunter whose obsession with the gay couple leads him into very strange territory is much more present on the page than either man in the couple. That's disappointing on some levels because of what is promised in the marketing push. But adjust your expectations and read the story that's there and the experience is just fine.
Accepting the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is easier for most fictionphiles than is Copenhagen interpretation of it, which requires us to believe in the arrow of time or the eternal and immutable journey of all things from the past to the future. There are some cracks in the immutability of time's forward progress at the quantum level (you can look it up on your own this time) but no one is saying, at this moment in time, that gross assmblages of atoms like human bodies are about to be transportable whole, entire, and functioning in any direction at any speed of more than 60 seconds per minute.
So there's the fiction bit of the tale defined.
The tale itself...lovers separated and striving to get back together despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles...is an evergreen because most of us have experienced it to some degree or another. The separated lovers in the story are both men and that, as I suspect does not need heavy emphasis, would've kept them apart in the world of 1940s England and not to mention the world of the military which both were in.
The tale of an obsessive quest for an elusive object is equally familiar. A man so utterly absorbed in his own world as to not notice the fact that his lover is being openly unfaithful to him is a familiar character, again as most of us have encountered this in real life relationships whether our own or those of the people close to us. (Well, I know *I* have, so everyone I know has as well.)
Weaving the two together in the way McDonald does is involving and interesting. This isn't something I'm surprised about, though, as I've read his excellent novel River of Gods set in a 2047 India that has quantum computing. He's been thinking about these matters for a long time and that makes his world-building dense and fulfilling to read.
Take the journey with him in this short work. If you like it, and I hope you will, move to the massive, excellent River of Gods and immerse yourself in just how weird the world is, and will be; this book will give you the "was."
November 24, 2023
3ish stars.
Sweet and subtly romantic. Languidly paced, but ends satisfyingly.
There's a lot I liked about this. I think one of the reasons I haven't rated it higher is because it wasn't what I was expecting. I'd hoped the romance would be a greater focus than it is; I thought it was too subtle, while other parts were a little too busy. Even the time travel aspect gets a little bogged down in its own convolution.
Overall I felt it was much more about tone and atmosphere than plot, which is the source of my disappointment. Not that McDonald doesn't do it well - his prose is unexpectedly lovely - I just thought it would be something else. There's a palpable sense of being lost and lonely and confused, but also hopeful and determined. It will most definitely be exactly what someone else is looking for.
I had only previously read New Moon by the author and this is different in every way. I'm impressed with McDonald's versatility and creativity. I'll read more of him in the future.
Sweet and subtly romantic. Languidly paced, but ends satisfyingly.
There's a lot I liked about this. I think one of the reasons I haven't rated it higher is because it wasn't what I was expecting. I'd hoped the romance would be a greater focus than it is; I thought it was too subtle, while other parts were a little too busy. Even the time travel aspect gets a little bogged down in its own convolution.
Overall I felt it was much more about tone and atmosphere than plot, which is the source of my disappointment. Not that McDonald doesn't do it well - his prose is unexpectedly lovely - I just thought it would be something else. There's a palpable sense of being lost and lonely and confused, but also hopeful and determined. It will most definitely be exactly what someone else is looking for.
“Poems. Poetry. Poets. Books. Words, how strong they are, how agile and easy to escape, how they never quite tell the thing as it is. Language and how close it comes to truth, and how far away it is. What it can say and what it can’t say. Feeling: its irreducibility, how it can’t be broken down into any simpler or more explicable."
I had only previously read New Moon by the author and this is different in every way. I'm impressed with McDonald's versatility and creativity. I'll read more of him in the future.
April 29, 2018
!!!THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE!!! This is not about a gay couple. The book description IS A LIE. Whichever asshole at TOR wrote the cover copy should be fired. They should be on trial for crimes against Story. They may have sold a few extra copies, but they have done a huge disservice to this book, which is a damn fine book in its own right, by ensuring a huge chunk of readers who do pick it up will be very disappointed with the book they actually got.
This is like the canadian bacon of fiction. Ham is fucking delicious. I love ham. If you said, "would you like some ham?" I'd be, "Yes! Thank you!" and be very happy. But if instead you said, "would you like some bacon?" and gave me ham, I'd be, "the fuck is this shit? where's the fucking bacon?" The experience of perfectly delicious ham, ruined, because you're a fucking liar.
I'd love to read the book that copy describes, but this is not that book. This book is not about Tom and Ben, it's about a used book dealer who finds a letter from Tom to Ben tucked inside a book and becomes obsessed. Based on what we're told he's not even gay.
BUT... Now that we've got that out of the way, let me say that this is a a DAMN GOOD book.
Fortunately, I've read Ian McDonald before, and I caught some of the disappointed reviews of the advance readers, so I went into this with an idea what I was really getting, and I LOVED IT.
I wish I could give you a proper description for this book. It's very easy to talk about what it's not, but I feel like saying too much about what it actually is might spoil the pleasure a bit. A lot of the pleasure here is in discovery, learning along with the narrator. But I'll say what I can.
A used book dealer who specializes in World War II books stumbles across a love letter between two men written during the war. He tries to trace the men, and with a little help ends up finding photos of the couple that shouldn't be possible. Given who Ian McDonald you shouldn't be surprised there are scifi elements here. I was going to be more specific about those elements, but I've changed my mind.
Make no mistake, the book dealer is our main character, it's his point of view. The book has romantic elements in the story of Tom and Ben, and our narrator's obsession, but it's more the tragic, sad sort of romantic, and absolutely NOT romance. There's no HEA for Tom and Ben, or our narrator here.
I said sad there, and there is a bit of sad, but overall I didn't find it a sad sort of read for what it's worth. It's poignant, definitely not a cheery uplifting ending, but not a crying, hopeless thing either.
It's just really good.
This is like the canadian bacon of fiction. Ham is fucking delicious. I love ham. If you said, "would you like some ham?" I'd be, "Yes! Thank you!" and be very happy. But if instead you said, "would you like some bacon?" and gave me ham, I'd be, "the fuck is this shit? where's the fucking bacon?" The experience of perfectly delicious ham, ruined, because you're a fucking liar.
I'd love to read the book that copy describes, but this is not that book. This book is not about Tom and Ben, it's about a used book dealer who finds a letter from Tom to Ben tucked inside a book and becomes obsessed. Based on what we're told he's not even gay.
BUT... Now that we've got that out of the way, let me say that this is a a DAMN GOOD book.
Fortunately, I've read Ian McDonald before, and I caught some of the disappointed reviews of the advance readers, so I went into this with an idea what I was really getting, and I LOVED IT.
I wish I could give you a proper description for this book. It's very easy to talk about what it's not, but I feel like saying too much about what it actually is might spoil the pleasure a bit. A lot of the pleasure here is in discovery, learning along with the narrator. But I'll say what I can.
A used book dealer who specializes in World War II books stumbles across a love letter between two men written during the war. He tries to trace the men, and with a little help ends up finding photos of the couple that shouldn't be possible. Given who Ian McDonald you shouldn't be surprised there are scifi elements here. I was going to be more specific about those elements, but I've changed my mind.
Make no mistake, the book dealer is our main character, it's his point of view. The book has romantic elements in the story of Tom and Ben, and our narrator's obsession, but it's more the tragic, sad sort of romantic, and absolutely NOT romance. There's no HEA for Tom and Ben, or our narrator here.
I said sad there, and there is a bit of sad, but overall I didn't find it a sad sort of read for what it's worth. It's poignant, definitely not a cheery uplifting ending, but not a crying, hopeless thing either.
It's just really good.
April 17, 2018
Time to manage our expectations here.
I'm a fan of Ian's work and I'm generally amazed by the amount of research he puts into his novels, twisting strange stories into very creative manifestos, and there's a bit of that coming through the pages here, too, but it begs the question:
What is this?
It is a love story only if you see it through the lens of a mystery fan first, a time-paradox sleuth second, and if you like a REALLY slow burn through a deep focus on poetry and old personal notebooks from the PoV of a bibliophile in hunt of the central mystery.
It's not bad and the questions raised do drag us to the inevitable end, but this is a very niche piece.
History buffs, bibliophiles, and SF mystery fans who don't mind a slow burn that leads to a somewhat odd end in this thankfully short work will probably get a lot out of this.
But for me? It was fine. Okay. But not my favorite of his by a long shot.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
I'm a fan of Ian's work and I'm generally amazed by the amount of research he puts into his novels, twisting strange stories into very creative manifestos, and there's a bit of that coming through the pages here, too, but it begs the question:
What is this?
It is a love story only if you see it through the lens of a mystery fan first, a time-paradox sleuth second, and if you like a REALLY slow burn through a deep focus on poetry and old personal notebooks from the PoV of a bibliophile in hunt of the central mystery.
It's not bad and the questions raised do drag us to the inevitable end, but this is a very niche piece.
History buffs, bibliophiles, and SF mystery fans who don't mind a slow burn that leads to a somewhat odd end in this thankfully short work will probably get a lot out of this.
But for me? It was fine. Okay. But not my favorite of his by a long shot.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
September 17, 2023
Me ha encantado esta novela corta, lo bien escrita que está, lo atmosférica que es y lo que me ha sorprendido.
Que no os engañen, no va de una pareja durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, va del típico friki de los libros que se mueve en un ambiente de bibliófilos excéntricos, entre librerías de segunda mano y archivos obsoletos, que se encuentra con una fotografía que llama su atención. Esto lo llevará a tratar de dar con esta pareja de dos hombres enamorados que aparecen sospechosamente en diferentes fotografías o cartas a través del tiempo.
Tenemos un misterio en el tiempo, capítulos cortos (algunos desde diferentes puntos de vista, epistolares...), una historia de amor *prohibido* entre guerras, una cantidad de personajes realmente carismáticos y una ambientación maravillosa.
Es una historia breve pero que a mi me ha dejado huella porque he conectado muchísimo con el narrador y esa ambientación de librerías de viejo, de crónica del pasado y personajes peculiares ♥︎
***Por alguna razón nunca me había interesado mucho este autor pero ahora voy a ir de cabeza a por sus novelas anteriores
Que no os engañen, no va de una pareja durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, va del típico friki de los libros que se mueve en un ambiente de bibliófilos excéntricos, entre librerías de segunda mano y archivos obsoletos, que se encuentra con una fotografía que llama su atención. Esto lo llevará a tratar de dar con esta pareja de dos hombres enamorados que aparecen sospechosamente en diferentes fotografías o cartas a través del tiempo.
Tenemos un misterio en el tiempo, capítulos cortos (algunos desde diferentes puntos de vista, epistolares...), una historia de amor *prohibido* entre guerras, una cantidad de personajes realmente carismáticos y una ambientación maravillosa.
Es una historia breve pero que a mi me ha dejado huella porque he conectado muchísimo con el narrador y esa ambientación de librerías de viejo, de crónica del pasado y personajes peculiares ♥︎
***Por alguna razón nunca me había interesado mucho este autor pero ahora voy a ir de cabeza a por sus novelas anteriores
April 24, 2018
When I was sent an ARC of this novella by the publisher, I had never heard of the book (or author) before, but was incredibly eager to check it out once I learned it was being marketed as a hist-fic/sci-fi mashup with a sweet m/m romance! I honestly had no doubts that I would enjoy this novella, and if I were to base it just upon the writing itself - which is rather lovely - this rating would certainly be higher!
Unfortunately, I had two major problems with this novella:
1) I felt so incredibly lost while reading it. I honestly worried at one point that it was just me, but after looking at other reviews of this book, I feel confident when I say that this is a surprisingly difficult story to follow. It feels disjointed and non-linear in a disconcerting manner, which made it a bit of a chore to trudge through, despite having an interest foundation.
2) Perhaps the blurb on this book is misleading, or maybe it's my fault for having unfair expectations, but I was anticipating a story of two time traveling lovers trying to find one another through notes left in poetry books - not the recounting of a book-loving historian who keeps finding pieces of their letters and tries to connect the dots through those correspondences. While it's an interesting way to tell the story, I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been what I expected, as it probably would've allowed me to emotionally connect to the characters and story more.
All in all, it's a unique book, and if it sounds like something you're interested in, I would definitely give it a try, but I don't think I was exactly the right audience for this novella.
Thank you to Tor.com for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!
Unfortunately, I had two major problems with this novella:
1) I felt so incredibly lost while reading it. I honestly worried at one point that it was just me, but after looking at other reviews of this book, I feel confident when I say that this is a surprisingly difficult story to follow. It feels disjointed and non-linear in a disconcerting manner, which made it a bit of a chore to trudge through, despite having an interest foundation.
2) Perhaps the blurb on this book is misleading, or maybe it's my fault for having unfair expectations, but I was anticipating a story of two time traveling lovers trying to find one another through notes left in poetry books - not the recounting of a book-loving historian who keeps finding pieces of their letters and tries to connect the dots through those correspondences. While it's an interesting way to tell the story, I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been what I expected, as it probably would've allowed me to emotionally connect to the characters and story more.
All in all, it's a unique book, and if it sounds like something you're interested in, I would definitely give it a try, but I don't think I was exactly the right audience for this novella.
Thank you to Tor.com for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!
June 11, 2018
I would have liked this book more if it had actually been the book described in the blurb, and also if it had been rather queerer, in all meanings of the word.
The prose is beautiful, if occasionally a bit overdone, and unlike other reviewers I had no problem following the narrative; it’s a time travel story, I expect it to feel disjointed and disorienting. And the idea of the story is great. My problem is that McDonald approaches it from what is, to me, the least interesting possible angle.
I want to know about Ben and Tom, a scientist and a poet, time-tossed queer lovers, torn from WWII England, perpetually missing each other in history, leaving love letters in the pages of poetry.
McDonald wants to tell me about Emmett, straight, modern bookseller, chasing down a mystery he’s become obsessed with, falling in and out of a relationship with a woman he never seems to really care about, but that the writer nevertheless takes the time to casually slut-shame when they break up.
I’m not interested in a story about a random, kind of jerkish and decidedly self-centred straight boy! There are already too many books about that guy. I want the less-told story, the queer love story I was promised.
But we never really get to know Ben and Tom. They’re a plot point, a mcguffin to drive the plot. At the end of the book I know next to nothing about them, their personalities or their relationship. They’re ciphers, nonentities. Even in their own love story, the gays are only there to advance the straight protagonist’s character arc. Oh, and so
I’m pretty sure this book is supposed to be poignant and bittersweet, but mostly it just pissed me off.
The prose is beautiful, if occasionally a bit overdone, and unlike other reviewers I had no problem following the narrative; it’s a time travel story, I expect it to feel disjointed and disorienting. And the idea of the story is great. My problem is that McDonald approaches it from what is, to me, the least interesting possible angle.
I want to know about Ben and Tom, a scientist and a poet, time-tossed queer lovers, torn from WWII England, perpetually missing each other in history, leaving love letters in the pages of poetry.
McDonald wants to tell me about Emmett, straight, modern bookseller, chasing down a mystery he’s become obsessed with, falling in and out of a relationship with a woman he never seems to really care about, but that the writer nevertheless takes the time to casually slut-shame when they break up.
I’m not interested in a story about a random, kind of jerkish and decidedly self-centred straight boy! There are already too many books about that guy. I want the less-told story, the queer love story I was promised.
But we never really get to know Ben and Tom. They’re a plot point, a mcguffin to drive the plot. At the end of the book I know next to nothing about them, their personalities or their relationship. They’re ciphers, nonentities. Even in their own love story, the gays are only there to advance the straight protagonist’s character arc. Oh, and so
I’m pretty sure this book is supposed to be poignant and bittersweet, but mostly it just pissed me off.
June 9, 2018
Wonderfully crafted novella, pulling together real historical events and spinning a tale. McDonald is definitely one of my favourite authors at this point.
June 24, 2018
The actual story is quite different from the publisher's description, which is odd. I happened to really enjoy what it turned out to be though, which is roughly a modern-day book dealer stumbling across an anonymous book of poetry with a letter inside between two WWII soldiers in love. After some digging, the book dealer realizes he's come across correspondence between time travelers who are unmoored in time, looking for each other and communicating with letters in copies of the poetry book. Can he find out who they are, where they're from, and what's happened to them?
I loved it. It would have gotten 5 stars rather than a 4.5 except for one detail relating to the LGBTQ romance:
I loved it. It would have gotten 5 stars rather than a 4.5 except for one detail relating to the LGBTQ romance:
June 11, 2018
3.5 stars
Beautifully written with many poetic phrases that caught my eye. This is an example of someone who is very comfortable as a writer. I loved the various ideas and threads interwoven into the story. My own taste would have liked the story to be just slightly less convoluted and a bit more straightforward in parts.
Beautifully written with many poetic phrases that caught my eye. This is an example of someone who is very comfortable as a writer. I loved the various ideas and threads interwoven into the story. My own taste would have liked the story to be just slightly less convoluted and a bit more straightforward in parts.
June 11, 2018
What I thought I was getting: gay time travelers!
What I got: a story vaguely about gay time travelers, told almost entirely from the point of view of a deeply obnoxious heterosexual narrator who flirts by mansplaining; some slut shaming; Bury Your Gays.
Ugh. At least it was short.
What I got: a story vaguely about gay time travelers, told almost entirely from the point of view of a deeply obnoxious heterosexual narrator who flirts by mansplaining; some slut shaming; Bury Your Gays.
Ugh. At least it was short.
June 26, 2018
A story of two men in love with each other who are lost during World War II. Moving around time, searching for each other, they leave messages in books for the other. A bookseller finds a message and becomes obsessed with the two men.
A little confusing at times, but beautiful and poetic.
A little confusing at times, but beautiful and poetic.
May 10, 2019
Time Was is a quick little novella. I feel that the blurb is really misleading though, and the actual blurb on GoodReads contains a spoiler, so avoid it if you can. While this is in part Tom and Ben’s story, it’s actually more about a bookseller, Emmett, who stumbles onto their secret and becomes obsessed with finding them.
Much less exciting right? The buddies I was reading this with all agreed- we wanted more about Tom and Ben! The romance was lovely, but it was maybe 25% of the whole book.
The writing was sharp, concise, and atmospheric, as is typical of McDonald. He’s very good at forcing you to read between the lines, so at times I became a little lost. Especially the opening, which talks about digging around in a dumpster in LeBoutins for books, because I was still under the impression we were in WWII (thank you misleading blurb) and some of the POV/setting shifts weren’t incredibly obvious to me in those first couple chapters.
Some of the buddies I read with guessed the ending (I did not) and were disappointed with that. There’s also the time travel aspect, which was not explained at all, highly unscientific, and left us confused.
In the end, the writing was great, and romance was wonderful, but I was left wanting more. I had questions I wanted answered, () and was sometimes bored with the main narrative. If you’re interested in reading McDonald, while this won’t take too much of your time, I’d still recommend starting with New Moon. I appreciate McDonald’s versatility, but this didn’t feel like a great representation of his ability.
Much less exciting right? The buddies I was reading this with all agreed- we wanted more about Tom and Ben! The romance was lovely, but it was maybe 25% of the whole book.
The writing was sharp, concise, and atmospheric, as is typical of McDonald. He’s very good at forcing you to read between the lines, so at times I became a little lost. Especially the opening, which talks about digging around in a dumpster in LeBoutins for books, because I was still under the impression we were in WWII (thank you misleading blurb) and some of the POV/setting shifts weren’t incredibly obvious to me in those first couple chapters.
Some of the buddies I read with guessed the ending (I did not) and were disappointed with that. There’s also the time travel aspect, which was not explained at all, highly unscientific, and left us confused.
In the end, the writing was great, and romance was wonderful, but I was left wanting more. I had questions I wanted answered, () and was sometimes bored with the main narrative. If you’re interested in reading McDonald, while this won’t take too much of your time, I’d still recommend starting with New Moon. I appreciate McDonald’s versatility, but this didn’t feel like a great representation of his ability.
October 9, 2023
Los viajes en el tiempo o el multiverso son uno de mis temas favoritos, como el de muchos aficionados, en la ciencia ficción. En los últimos tiempos he leído un par de ejemplos que me han enamorado por completo, como El mar de la tranquilidad y Así se pierde la guerra del tiempo. Probablemente a este dúo deba sumar Tiempo que fue, una breve historia de amor entrelazada entre el tiempo y la guerra escrita por Ian McDonald que por fin, tras haber sido publicada en 2018 en inglés, ha llegado a nuestro país. Un romance realmente trágico sobre dos hombres que se vieron obligados a descubrir un medio de comunicación a través de tiempo. Realmente, estamos de enhorabuena los lectores en español si el nacimiento de freder, una nueva colección en Plan B dedicada a la ciencia ficción en todas sus variantes, nos traen obras tan conmovedoras y arrolladoras como es Tiempo que fue.
Entre cartas anda el juego
Al cerrar una librería, Emmet encuentra una curiosa copia de una libro de poesía anónimo titulado Tiempo que fue. Dentro, localiza lo que parece una carta de amor. El misterio y la rareza intrigan tanto a Emmett que inicia una búsqueda del autor de la carta. Una publicación en Facebook, una respuesta de una chica de Lincolnshire, y los puntos empiezan a unirse. Resulta que Thorn Hildreth, quién le ha respondido, reconoce los nombres de la carta por los recuerdos archivados de la Segunda Guerra Mundial que conserva su abuelo. Sin embargo, el misterio se vuelve mayor cuando Emmett y Thorn visitan a un miembro del Museo Imperial de Guerra con memoria fotográfica y desvela que existen otras fotografías de ellos. ¿Son inmortales o viajeros del tiempo? ¿Podrá Emmett llegar al fondo de la cuestión o será uno de esos misterios que nos dejan las casualidades inexplicables de la vida?
La lírica en prosa
Uno de los aspectos más fascinantes de Tiempo que fue es el de como está escrito. La narrativa, que alterna entre la investigación de Emmett y los encuentros de los amantes, se va forjando de forma gradual para el lector. Mientras Emmet investiga y lo conocemos mejor a través de sus avances, vamos descubriendo quienes eran Tom y Ben, cómo se conocieron y comunicaban entre ellos. McDonald lo ejecuta todo de una forma concisa, atmosférica y dando una inquietante sensación de pérdida, sobre todo al principio, que invita a releer y estar atento. En cierta manera, el estilo me recuerda a su relato publicado en Cuentos para Algernon titulado Botanica Veneris: Trece recortados de Ida, condesa de Rathangan que recomiendo mucho leer. El peso de la emoción permanece invisible entre las líneas para el lector, pero McDonald tiene esa particular habilidad para que a través de las cartas, fotografías ocasionales y fragmentos nos invada finalmente por completo.
Romance y naturalidad
Y es que más allá de la ciencia ficción o el contexto de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el principal tema y atractivo de Tiempo que fue es el romance. El rompecabezas de McDonald se ajusta a la perfección y con sencillez, utilizando el tiempo y el espacio para que el golpe emocional final retumbe a eones de distancia. No hay nada sorprendentemente original en las ideas de ciencia ficción que McDonald presenta aquí, pero su forma de abordar, describir y respetar con tanta naturalidad el romance entre los dos personajes sin hacer alarde de ello, es al final, uno de los aspectos más importantes de la novela. El mecanismo mediante el cual estos dos amantes planean mantenerse en contacto es ingenioso y romántico a su manera, pero lo es más como Tom y Ben se escriben y reconocen el uno al otro. Al final, Tiempo que fue, es una de esas novelas que invitan a volver a leer. Retroceder y ver todo ordenado, captando detalles y matices que como buena historia de viajes en el tiempo, se esconden durante toda la novela. Y descubrirlos, forma parte de su magia.
Reseña en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
Entre cartas anda el juego
Al cerrar una librería, Emmet encuentra una curiosa copia de una libro de poesía anónimo titulado Tiempo que fue. Dentro, localiza lo que parece una carta de amor. El misterio y la rareza intrigan tanto a Emmett que inicia una búsqueda del autor de la carta. Una publicación en Facebook, una respuesta de una chica de Lincolnshire, y los puntos empiezan a unirse. Resulta que Thorn Hildreth, quién le ha respondido, reconoce los nombres de la carta por los recuerdos archivados de la Segunda Guerra Mundial que conserva su abuelo. Sin embargo, el misterio se vuelve mayor cuando Emmett y Thorn visitan a un miembro del Museo Imperial de Guerra con memoria fotográfica y desvela que existen otras fotografías de ellos. ¿Son inmortales o viajeros del tiempo? ¿Podrá Emmett llegar al fondo de la cuestión o será uno de esos misterios que nos dejan las casualidades inexplicables de la vida?
La lírica en prosa
Uno de los aspectos más fascinantes de Tiempo que fue es el de como está escrito. La narrativa, que alterna entre la investigación de Emmett y los encuentros de los amantes, se va forjando de forma gradual para el lector. Mientras Emmet investiga y lo conocemos mejor a través de sus avances, vamos descubriendo quienes eran Tom y Ben, cómo se conocieron y comunicaban entre ellos. McDonald lo ejecuta todo de una forma concisa, atmosférica y dando una inquietante sensación de pérdida, sobre todo al principio, que invita a releer y estar atento. En cierta manera, el estilo me recuerda a su relato publicado en Cuentos para Algernon titulado Botanica Veneris: Trece recortados de Ida, condesa de Rathangan que recomiendo mucho leer. El peso de la emoción permanece invisible entre las líneas para el lector, pero McDonald tiene esa particular habilidad para que a través de las cartas, fotografías ocasionales y fragmentos nos invada finalmente por completo.
Romance y naturalidad
Y es que más allá de la ciencia ficción o el contexto de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el principal tema y atractivo de Tiempo que fue es el romance. El rompecabezas de McDonald se ajusta a la perfección y con sencillez, utilizando el tiempo y el espacio para que el golpe emocional final retumbe a eones de distancia. No hay nada sorprendentemente original en las ideas de ciencia ficción que McDonald presenta aquí, pero su forma de abordar, describir y respetar con tanta naturalidad el romance entre los dos personajes sin hacer alarde de ello, es al final, uno de los aspectos más importantes de la novela. El mecanismo mediante el cual estos dos amantes planean mantenerse en contacto es ingenioso y romántico a su manera, pero lo es más como Tom y Ben se escriben y reconocen el uno al otro. Al final, Tiempo que fue, es una de esas novelas que invitan a volver a leer. Retroceder y ver todo ordenado, captando detalles y matices que como buena historia de viajes en el tiempo, se esconden durante toda la novela. Y descubrirlos, forma parte de su magia.
Reseña en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
May 4, 2019
Beautiful and poetic. Even though if won the British SF Award recently, it does not have lots of SF in it. Yet, it does not really matter. I actually wanted more romance and less research story since it gave me that The English Patient and Atonement vibes, you know.
I would have rated it higher if I was not able to guess the ending. *shrugs*
I would have rated it higher if I was not able to guess the ending. *shrugs*
March 1, 2022
Good, interesting story, if only barely and belatedly swerving into Tor's sci-fi wheelhouse. Like any good time travel tale, it involves a last minute twist that was almost predictable…I'd probably give it a well-deserved if mainstream 3.5 (it's overall rating is 3.52), but am rounding up based largely on Daniel's hilarious 5-star review/rant, which you can read here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
August 23, 2023
Tiempo que Fue es una novela corta que nos relata la historia de amor entre dos hombres a través del tiempo.
A partir de esa premisa, Ian McDonald nos sumerge en una historia que, al principio, resulta desconcertante, pero conforme avanzas unas páginas empiezas a entender que está sucediendo y las piezas empiezan a encajar. También es un libro de esos que mejor empezar a leer sin saber demasiado de que va y dejarse llevar por la historia.
Tiempo que Fue es un libro escrito con mucha sensibilidad que nos habla de distintos tipos de amor: del amor romántico, del platónico, por los libros, por la poesía, por la física... Si os gustan las historias que tratan sobre el amor y los viajes en el tiempo, os animo a aventuraros a conocer la Historia de Tom y Ben.
Como apunte final, me ha recordado un poco a "Así se Pierde la Guerra del Tiempo".
A partir de esa premisa, Ian McDonald nos sumerge en una historia que, al principio, resulta desconcertante, pero conforme avanzas unas páginas empiezas a entender que está sucediendo y las piezas empiezan a encajar. También es un libro de esos que mejor empezar a leer sin saber demasiado de que va y dejarse llevar por la historia.
Tiempo que Fue es un libro escrito con mucha sensibilidad que nos habla de distintos tipos de amor: del amor romántico, del platónico, por los libros, por la poesía, por la física... Si os gustan las historias que tratan sobre el amor y los viajes en el tiempo, os animo a aventuraros a conocer la Historia de Tom y Ben.
Como apunte final, me ha recordado un poco a "Así se Pierde la Guerra del Tiempo".
April 28, 2018
Time Was is a haunting, lovely story of love and loss, war and suffering. It's also a bookish mystery of sorts, all served up in a compact 176 pages.
The framing of the device revolves around a man named Emmett, a book dealer who surrounds himself with stacks of archaic volumes and keeps himself housed and fed through his EBay sales. When he's sorting through the book-filled dumpster outside yet another failed rare book store, he comes across what he thinks may be a valuable find -- an odd little book of poetry, with an "inclusion" -- a letter tucked inside. Both are clearly old, and could be worth quite a lot to a collector.
But as Emmett reads the letter, he realizes there's more to the story. The letter is between two WWII soldiers, Tom and Ben, and it's clearly a love letter. But there's something strange about it too, and Emmett decides to try to find out more. He tracks down another person with artifacts related to Tom and Ben, but these are from World War I. And photos show young men who don't appear to have aged. Are they some sort of immortals? Is it all a joke? How can this be?
Emmett becomes obsessed with finding out more about Tom and Ben, and meanwhile, we see bits and pieces narrated by them as well, as we learn of their meeting during World War II and the top-secret experiment that Ben is involved in. As Emmett discovers, it would appear that something -- something inexplicable -- happened, and the two have become unmoored in time, using notes tucked into copies of this unusual poetry book, to find one another again and again and again.
At first, it's hard to see how it all fits together, and yet it works. The writing builds a sense of wonder, informed by a deep, passionate love that keeps Tom and Ben forever seeking and sometimes finding one another, no matter where in time they end up. It's lovely and mysterious, and unlike anything I've read lately. I do love a good time travel story, when done well, and Time Was is done very well indeed.
The best types of time travel books make me feel like starting over again once I've reached the last page, so I can go back and see the chronological displacements and events out of order for what they truly are, catching the hints and clues I missed the first time around. Time Was is one of those books.
Highly recommended. It's a fast, absorbing, and deeply touching story. I only wish we could have spent more time with Tom and Ben. There's a tragic undertone to every moment they're together, and I'd like to think they had plenty of happiness along the way as well. If you measure the success of a story by how much the reader comes to care about the characters, then I'd say this one is absolutely a success.
Note: Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley. This review also appears at Bookshelf Fantasies.
The framing of the device revolves around a man named Emmett, a book dealer who surrounds himself with stacks of archaic volumes and keeps himself housed and fed through his EBay sales. When he's sorting through the book-filled dumpster outside yet another failed rare book store, he comes across what he thinks may be a valuable find -- an odd little book of poetry, with an "inclusion" -- a letter tucked inside. Both are clearly old, and could be worth quite a lot to a collector.
But as Emmett reads the letter, he realizes there's more to the story. The letter is between two WWII soldiers, Tom and Ben, and it's clearly a love letter. But there's something strange about it too, and Emmett decides to try to find out more. He tracks down another person with artifacts related to Tom and Ben, but these are from World War I. And photos show young men who don't appear to have aged. Are they some sort of immortals? Is it all a joke? How can this be?
Emmett becomes obsessed with finding out more about Tom and Ben, and meanwhile, we see bits and pieces narrated by them as well, as we learn of their meeting during World War II and the top-secret experiment that Ben is involved in. As Emmett discovers, it would appear that something -- something inexplicable -- happened, and the two have become unmoored in time, using notes tucked into copies of this unusual poetry book, to find one another again and again and again.
At first, it's hard to see how it all fits together, and yet it works. The writing builds a sense of wonder, informed by a deep, passionate love that keeps Tom and Ben forever seeking and sometimes finding one another, no matter where in time they end up. It's lovely and mysterious, and unlike anything I've read lately. I do love a good time travel story, when done well, and Time Was is done very well indeed.
The best types of time travel books make me feel like starting over again once I've reached the last page, so I can go back and see the chronological displacements and events out of order for what they truly are, catching the hints and clues I missed the first time around. Time Was is one of those books.
Highly recommended. It's a fast, absorbing, and deeply touching story. I only wish we could have spent more time with Tom and Ben. There's a tragic undertone to every moment they're together, and I'd like to think they had plenty of happiness along the way as well. If you measure the success of a story by how much the reader comes to care about the characters, then I'd say this one is absolutely a success.
Note: Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley. This review also appears at Bookshelf Fantasies.
April 21, 2018
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
During World War II, Tom and Ben were brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar. The two had to kept their growing love for one another secret. When the project they were assigned to went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished and were never seen again, presumed to be dead. Now they are lost in time, searching for one another by leaving clues in books - hoping to make their timelines overlap in order to be together again.
I'm a sucker for a good time travel story and Time Was by Ian McDonald sounded exactly like the novella for me. Unfortunately, after I completed the story I felt like I'd been duped because the story is described as a WWII time travel love story, but really it's about pretentious book-loving historian who happens to find some of Ben and Tom's correspondences and begins to put their story together. We do get a handful of short POV chapters from our time travelers perspectives but not nearly enough to really care about their story at all, no matter how much I wanted to become hooked. Plus, I hate to say it, but Tom and Ben were actually on the dull side.
Overall, I love the idea of Time Was, but I was underwhelmed by the execution. The storytelling begins to get more disjointed and disconnected the further you go along and we don't get nearly enough time with the cast to become invested in their stories. I think I would have preferred to have followed Ben and Tom's storylines directly without the historian framing their tale. Unfortunately, Ian McDonald's newest release just wasn't for me although there's plenty of potential.
Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
During World War II, Tom and Ben were brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar. The two had to kept their growing love for one another secret. When the project they were assigned to went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished and were never seen again, presumed to be dead. Now they are lost in time, searching for one another by leaving clues in books - hoping to make their timelines overlap in order to be together again.
I'm a sucker for a good time travel story and Time Was by Ian McDonald sounded exactly like the novella for me. Unfortunately, after I completed the story I felt like I'd been duped because the story is described as a WWII time travel love story, but really it's about pretentious book-loving historian who happens to find some of Ben and Tom's correspondences and begins to put their story together. We do get a handful of short POV chapters from our time travelers perspectives but not nearly enough to really care about their story at all, no matter how much I wanted to become hooked. Plus, I hate to say it, but Tom and Ben were actually on the dull side.
Overall, I love the idea of Time Was, but I was underwhelmed by the execution. The storytelling begins to get more disjointed and disconnected the further you go along and we don't get nearly enough time with the cast to become invested in their stories. I think I would have preferred to have followed Ben and Tom's storylines directly without the historian framing their tale. Unfortunately, Ian McDonald's newest release just wasn't for me although there's plenty of potential.
Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
January 17, 2019
Finally! A book where I have tears in my eyes after finishing it.
Beautiful, poetic, quiet. I was longing for something like this to get swept away.
It was the first I read from this author, I will have to read more!
Note: since I don't look at blurbs before reading (they are often too spoilery for my taste), I didn't go into the novella with wrong expectations. The blurb definitely does not fit the story. The main arc is about the librarian, not about a gay relationship. The relationship is background story.
Beautiful, poetic, quiet. I was longing for something like this to get swept away.
It was the first I read from this author, I will have to read more!
Note: since I don't look at blurbs before reading (they are often too spoilery for my taste), I didn't go into the novella with wrong expectations. The blurb definitely does not fit the story. The main arc is about the librarian, not about a gay relationship. The relationship is background story.
May 16, 2018
This beautifully poetic novella wasn't quite what I was expecting but it certainly resonates and it most definitely haunts. I also thought it ended perfectly. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
April 6, 2018
Review also on my blog • Twitter • Bookstagram
Rep: m/m romance
Content warnings: war
Arc sent to me by publisher in exchange for a free and honest review
This was is... complicated, that's one way to put it.
Here's my main problem with the book, it somehow made this incredibly gay premise far less gay. If the premise is a perfect 10, then this was a 3 at best. If you've read The Great Gatsby you'd know one of the worst parts of it was that it was told from the pov of some random dude who didn't experience, he just observed. That was this book. And it was also really goddamn confusing. I can't say for sure if this was told in multiple perspectives because not even the book really makes that clear, because it's told in first person. I don't like the kind of books that makes perspectives so confusing it doesn't make sense until you're like half way through the book.
And again, I can't even say for sure it was multiple perspectives, it not being that wouldn't make much sense though. So I was left in utter confusion for most of the book.
The writing I can say was strong. I did like it for the most part, and maybe I'll reread the book and it'll make more sense to me. The plot was just executed strangely, partially because of a misleading premise and partially because of how it's written. If you're a big fan of surrealism, I'd suggest picking it up if you're okay with outside perspective books.
May 13, 2018
This was quite an extraordinary distillation of all the elements that make Ian McDonald such a great genre writer: pushing the boundaries of hard SF, in this case quantum mechanics; a masterful sense of place, which makes his take on the historical novel such a natural and seamless fit; pitch-perfect prose that makes you want to read entire chunks out loud to savour his rhythms; and then that unique combination of grandiloquence, langour, and searing, overblown passion that, paradoxically, turns many people off his writing. Magnificent, and unforgettable.
August 22, 2018
This is just so lovely, such a wonderful novella about love and time travel. I usually am not a huge fan of time travel stories, which tend to spend excessive amounts of time on their own cleverness. This is a different beast, beautifully written and poignant.
April 20, 2018
Me ha gustado más de lo que esperaba al principio después de los primeros capítulos, pero no ofrece lo que promete en la sinopsis.
May 18, 2020
3,5/5.
Tout d’abord une petite note sur les éditions Bélial que je découvre avec ce livre. Je commente rarement les éditeurs, mais ici je me le permets, car il s’agit d’une jeune maison d’édition de science-fiction francophone. Ce qui est assez rare et ce dont nous avons grandement besoin. De plus, en plus d’une sélection d’auteurs bien intéressants, leurs livres, en tant qu’objet, sont magnifiques et offre ne qualité de papier et de reliure supérieure à la moyenne. Je vous encourage donc à y jeter un œil.
Revenons au livre maintenant. Une bonne histoire. Autant d’amour que de science-fiction selon moi, mais tout de même bien intéressante. La partie romance est intéressante, car elle présente une relation homosexuelle, entre deux hommes, ce qui, soyons francs, est loin de mon centre d’intérêt, mais qui est parfaite. Parfaite, car elle ne force par l’homosexualité dans le livre, elle présente simplement, naturellement, comme ce devrait l’être, une histoire de deux hommes qui sont amoureux.
L’auteur, dans son intrigue, s’intéresse au voyage dans le temps et propose une «twist» finale bien amenée, à défaut d’offrir une prise de vue très originale sur le concept. Je ne veux rien divulgacher, mais disons qu’on s’attarde sur le concept/paradoxe de la boucle. L’œuf ou la poule.
Un auteur que je découvre pour la première fois et que je relierai certainement au cours de l’année. Je ne suis pas certain qu’un livre e moins de 150 pages, puisse démontrer tout l’étendu de son potentiel et je suis donc curieux de lire un roman, une histoire, développé plus en profondeur de sa part.
Tout d’abord une petite note sur les éditions Bélial que je découvre avec ce livre. Je commente rarement les éditeurs, mais ici je me le permets, car il s’agit d’une jeune maison d’édition de science-fiction francophone. Ce qui est assez rare et ce dont nous avons grandement besoin. De plus, en plus d’une sélection d’auteurs bien intéressants, leurs livres, en tant qu’objet, sont magnifiques et offre ne qualité de papier et de reliure supérieure à la moyenne. Je vous encourage donc à y jeter un œil.
Revenons au livre maintenant. Une bonne histoire. Autant d’amour que de science-fiction selon moi, mais tout de même bien intéressante. La partie romance est intéressante, car elle présente une relation homosexuelle, entre deux hommes, ce qui, soyons francs, est loin de mon centre d’intérêt, mais qui est parfaite. Parfaite, car elle ne force par l’homosexualité dans le livre, elle présente simplement, naturellement, comme ce devrait l’être, une histoire de deux hommes qui sont amoureux.
L’auteur, dans son intrigue, s’intéresse au voyage dans le temps et propose une «twist» finale bien amenée, à défaut d’offrir une prise de vue très originale sur le concept. Je ne veux rien divulgacher, mais disons qu’on s’attarde sur le concept/paradoxe de la boucle. L’œuf ou la poule.
Un auteur que je découvre pour la première fois et que je relierai certainement au cours de l’année. Je ne suis pas certain qu’un livre e moins de 150 pages, puisse démontrer tout l’étendu de son potentiel et je suis donc curieux de lire un roman, une histoire, développé plus en profondeur de sa part.
August 21, 2020
The story's concept is interesting, and I appreciated gay representation that was treated without the typically trophe-ish taboo and shock. There are passages that are written with almost haunting prose and vivid imagery. On the other hand, for me, some of the cultural references were confusing because there was little to no context provided from which I could gather meaning. There were large parts of the story that seemed to languish and be present for no reason other than to show the passage of time. I figured out early on who E.L. was, so while I think that fact was supposed to be a big reveal, for me it was more like "finally, that's out in the open." In contrast, one other plot point was revealed late in the book with nonchalance as of we all should have picked up on it pages before, but I sure didn't and was left scratching my head!
In a nutshell - the story had so much potential but failed for me due to an overabundance of seemingly unneeded content and overblown text. However, the genre that this author usually writes is appealing to me (postcyberpunk; alternate history; and science fiction as well as exploring LGBTQ themes), and he has been awarded and nominated for many prestigious awards. So I will give his works another try.
If anyone has a recommend for one of his other books, please share it!
In a nutshell - the story had so much potential but failed for me due to an overabundance of seemingly unneeded content and overblown text. However, the genre that this author usually writes is appealing to me (postcyberpunk; alternate history; and science fiction as well as exploring LGBTQ themes), and he has been awarded and nominated for many prestigious awards. So I will give his works another try.
If anyone has a recommend for one of his other books, please share it!
July 14, 2019
2.5/5.0
January 20, 2023
"Emotions have no definition other than themselves. They are irreducible, the atoms of sensation. All written art is an attempt to communicate what it is to feel, to ask the terrifying question: Is what I experience in my head the same as what you experience? Terrifying because we can never know for certain. We hope; we risk.”
I must admit I wasn’t enjoying this novella at the very beginning. McDonald opts for a style of prose that felt ‘overwritten’, and yet, other passages were beautifully crafted, as the one above. Then, I was expecting the promised story, and again the author went in another direction, a frustrating one. And yet... Once you get to the end, it all does make sense, and you get the irresistible compulsion to go back to page 1 and start again. I dipped here and there, re-visiting some sections, but I can see I shall re-read this soon in its entirety.
I’m still in a quandary. There is a lot to like, such as the use of real historical events and places, the characters, the ‘reveal’ (which I did have an inkling), but also a lot that frustrated the hell out of me! I’m still thinking about it, so I guess that is a plus :O)
I must admit I wasn’t enjoying this novella at the very beginning. McDonald opts for a style of prose that felt ‘overwritten’, and yet, other passages were beautifully crafted, as the one above. Then, I was expecting the promised story, and again the author went in another direction, a frustrating one. And yet... Once you get to the end, it all does make sense, and you get the irresistible compulsion to go back to page 1 and start again. I dipped here and there, re-visiting some sections, but I can see I shall re-read this soon in its entirety.
I’m still in a quandary. There is a lot to like, such as the use of real historical events and places, the characters, the ‘reveal’ (which I did have an inkling), but also a lot that frustrated the hell out of me! I’m still thinking about it, so I guess that is a plus :O)
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