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Title: A 600 Page Novella
Review: This book would be twice as good if it were half as long. Three times as good if it were a third as long. Some characters we can care about, some compelling conflicts and situations, some moments of lovely writing: all of these were ground to dust under the enormous tedium of words, words, words.My best guess is that this novel won major awards based on its brilliant perspective on the time paradox. Trying not to give too much away here - but by the end of the novel we see that Kivrin has spent her entire adventure working well within the strictures of the time paradox. In one brief moment, Kivrin even sees the paradox as a form of fate and even perhaps as a form of a benevolent god. And Ms Willis makes this point in ways that are smart, devastating, and deeply humane. But, good lord (pardon the pun), she took the long way around getting there. It wasn't worth the effort. This book is boring.
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