This Is How You Lose the Time War

by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

Paperback, 224 pages

Published March 17, 2020 by Gallery / Saga Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-5344-3099-0

(266 reviews)

Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters—and fall in love in this thrilling and romantic book from award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

In the ashes of a dying world, Red finds a letter marked “Burn before reading. Signed, Blue.”

So begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents in a war that stretches through the vast reaches of time and space.

Red belongs to the Agency, a post-singularity technotopia. Blue belongs to Garden, a single vast consciousness embedded in all organic matter. Their pasts are bloody and their futures mutually exclusive. They have nothing in common—save that they’re the best, and they’re alone.

Now what began as a battlefield boast grows into a dangerous game, one both Red and Blue are determined to win. Because winning’s what you do in war. Isn’t it?

A tour de force collaboration from …

In the ashes of a dying world, Red finds a letter marked “Burn before reading. Signed, Blue.”

So begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents in a war that stretches through the vast reaches of time and space.

Now what began as a battlefield boast grows into a dangerous game, one both Red and Blue are determined to win. Because winning’s what you do in war. Isn’t it?

A tour de force collaboration from two powerhouse writers that spans the whole of time and space.

5 editions

m9p909 reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Very neat book, beautiful writing

David Clubb reviewed This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Beautifully written and inventive; but not my cuppa

3 stars

For all this book's beautiful, poetic narrative, and hugely imaginative premise, I couldn't engage with it fully. I was too impatient for the plot, and I had to make myself read it rather than jump eagerly in for the next installment.

Chad Nelson reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Lyrical and engrossing

5 stars

On one level, a lyrical and ethereal time travel romance that feels fresh. On another, a metaphysical work about the power of words to transform our selves and our world. Absolute stunner.

Erin reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I think I’d give this like 3.5 stars. I chose this book as my reintroduction to audiobooks after many years not using them, and I did NOT pick the right book for it.

Pretense reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This novella follows two agents of rival factions in what is essentially a time traveling, world-interfering war. Unlike the classic rule of time travel, here, interference and changing the narrative is the name of the game. Red and Blue somehow manage to get tangled into each others maneuvers, and though they belong to opposing groups, they manage to start a lengthy correspondence that takes them beyond where either could have imagined. I was excited to read this from the start, with its beautiful cover and raving reviews—and of course, the sci-fi premise of ‘time travel wars’. Yet, this novella is not really about the sci-fi mechanisms of time travel or wars or any of that—it’s about the relationship between the characters, extensive poetry, and meta musings on the nature of letters, time, war, love, etc.

This book was more difficult to get into that I anticipated. For starters, the language is as purple as you can get—the start drops you into Red and Blue’s world without any lifesavers, so it’s sink or swim while you attempt to understand what is going on. I am no stranger to elevated literary fiction, but the writing here seemed purple for the sake of being purple and poetic—it obfuscated this reader’s attempts to understand what was actually going on. As a rule, I generally enjoy following the plot rather than gazing deeply into the characters’ drama, and perhaps that is why I found this as hard as I did. There is a slight semblance, a shadow if you will, of plot, but the main focus here is the relationship—and the correspondence.

I did enjoy the correspondence between Red and Blue; lyrical quality aside, when I did understand what was going on, their exchanges were well-crafted, interesting, and even humorous at times. There were moments of clever wordplay, anticipated questions and answers, and some sprinkled bits of foreshadowing. Still, the plot was fairly simple and easy enough to predict. For the rest of it—there are some things about the world that I still don’t understand because of how it was written. Many of the sci-fi elements in the narrative are presented without comment or explanation, and I do like having some way of contextualizing those sorts of things. That the letters are constructed as an owl pellet or flayed into seal skin is fine, but I need to know how that is possible in this world. Metaphors and abstract language abound—if that’s your thing, you will adore this novella. I can appreciate them so long as there is a structure, a reason to the rhyme—here, it is like floating untethered in the zero gravity of space.

I also struggled to connect with either Red or Blue at first; though by the end, I began to understand them a little better. I wonder if this would be improved through a reread, knowing what I do now of how it all ends, but I do not want to subject myself to this prose more than I have to. The relationship between the two develops slowly but at times rushes off at a breakneck pace—I had to stop and wonder how all of the pieces fell into place. It is a sweet and endearing kind of love, but I am still not sure how all the early moments lead us to where we find ourselves at the end.

While I wandered aimlessly, grasping at straws, for most of the novella, the ending definitely brought things to a very satisfying conclusion. I reiterate that this might be a great one for rereading, but as I rarely reread things, I am perhaps lacking some of the appreciation I could have had for this. I do wish the presentation were focused a bit on some of the other elements of the narrative I mentioned above, instead of trying to present a purple prose of lyricism and poetry in lieu of a concrete narrative. That is why this book fell short of my expectations—but on the other hand, this may be a wonderful book for someone else for those very same reasons.

P.S. I also recommend reading Philip’s review, as it manages to encapsulate some of my thoughts in a much more comprehensive fashion.

marksutherland reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The most literary sci-fi I've read in a long time, this definitely deserves the praise it has received.
While the core of this story is based around two star crossed time warriors who start a correspondence and inevitably fall in love, it leaps through time and space with each chapter, giving the authors plenty of spectacle and action to describe. The language is rich and poetic and provides an impressionistic picture of what it must be like to fight the time war. Definitely worth a read, a refreshing break from overly serious hard sci-fi and pulpy space operas.

flashy_dragon reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Red and Blue are enemy agents that, over time and space, conduct their relationship through letters. Love blossoms. Hearts are changed. Someone loses the time war.

Excellent book.

Sean Gursky reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

It wasn't yet time, she thought; a year is nothing, a year is no time at all to wait for a letter rescinding the letter, a letter contradicting the contradiction of this letter. The deadline for reply is written in the plant's own mortality.

It's rare to find a novella that has packed so much in to it. Science fiction, time travel and a love story that crosses those genres. The concept and story telling were beautifully unique and immediately captivating. I wanted more out of the story but the brevity helped avoid being bogged down in details and world building.

For the praise I give the story I'm not sure how to rate this. The story is ambitious and an enjoyable read, but my cold robot heart may not have had the emotional connection others remarked on so I feel liked it is fair.

I would not hesitate to …

V171 reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Simply beautiful. Convoluted prose, but beautiful.

James reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'GoodReads'

3 stars

The writing was beautiful, unfortunately it didn’t quite make up for the story being a little lacklustre in the second half. Short read though so can’t complain much!

James reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The writing was beautiful, unfortunately it didn’t quite make up for the story being a little lacklustre in the second half. Short read though so can’t complain much!

deer witch (audiobook & comics version) reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I feel this is my new favorite book; I wish I could go back to read it again, for the first time, at an infinitesimal pace. Savoring every word for days, and doing nothing else to distract from the reading. I was trying, though. I read the book over the course of a few days instead of devouring it as quickly as it was delicious. I took intentional pauses, telling myself I wasn’t ready for the experience to be over. I turned off the kindle %/minute bar so I wouldn’t know how little or much time was left. I saw things in the world, I saw things in myself, and I saw things I longed to be true. It is proving so hard for me to not fill this with thousands of hidden references, to bask in the book’s countless opportunities to play off of, so I’ll stop for now. …

Antolius reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The most beautiful niche.

Good:
Letters & their poetic style are the most beautiful thing I've read in a while
High concept sfi-fi vignettes are interesting and imaginative
Red's & Blue's worlds feel distinct, not just from each other but in sfi-fi generally

Bad:
If you prefer ab ovo storytelling, in depth world building or dislike epistolary novels in general this might not be for you

John reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Griffin and Sabine, but with time travel and murder.

Mollarom reviewed This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Romeo and Juliet, only as time traveling super agents. This book has a narrative gimmick that propels the reader from chapter to chapter, eager to see what our protagonists say next in their correspondence via the most unusual mediums. If you've ever written a tender love letter or swooned at having received one, you'll find much to love in this book.