This Is How You Lose the Time War

This is one of those books that's tough to describe but impossible to forget. It’s a sci-fi, time-traveling, spy-vs-spy love story told in a way that feels more like a narrative poem than a straightforward novel. Let me be clear: this isn't a book for a drifting mind. You have to pay close attention, but the payoff is a story that really sticks with you.

The story follows two rival agents, Red and Blue, who are on opposite sides of a vast temporal war. Red is part of a tech-heavy, machine-like society, while Blue serves a nature-based, garden-like consciousness. They weave through history to alter events and secure victory for their respective futures. But one day, on a bloody battlefield, Red finds a letter from Blue, and so begins a correspondence that spans millennia. The amorphous, shape-shifting nature of these two characters is fascinating; one moment they're human, the next they're part of a hive mind, or even living water. They leave messages for each other in the rings of a tree, the ingredients of a tea, or the seeds of a fruit, risking everything for a connection with their sworn enemy.

What starts as professional taunting and clever barbs slowly, beautifully, blossoms into something much deeper. You get to watch as these two powerful beings, who have only known war and duty, begin to admire and then truly fall for one another through their letters. It’s a classic Romeo and Juliet tale, but instead of feuding families in Verona, you have god-like entities battling across all of space and time. The risk they take with every exchanged word is immense, and you can feel the tension build as their secret connection becomes the most dangerous game of all.

While I loved this book, I won't pretend it was an easy read. The language is dense and packed with figurative language, so you have to work for the story. But that’s also its greatest strength. It’s a book that forces you to slow down, to think, and to appreciate the artistry of every single sentence. It’s not the kind of story you like in the same way you like a fast-paced thriller; it's one you admire for its cleverness and its heart. For making me think and forcing me to pay attention, this one is a solid four stars.

This is the best book I’ve read all year. I’m absolutely bowled over by how incredibly captivating it was. Almost unputdownable other than by sheer force, which is why I didn't finish it in a day

This was enjoyable overall. A love story unfolds amongst two rivals who are trying to destroy and revive the world respectively. It starts with little taunts left in unusual letters and blossoms into more as the story progresses. I found myself genuinely entranced with the characters and caring about their outcomes. The ending was not exactly expected so it took me by surprise a little.

The main reason I can't rate it higher is because of the world-building. There was both too much and not enough world-building going on. Too often I found myself confused and unable to track what was going on in the background. Once the story ramped up, it didn't matter as much because the information wasn't being handed out as much unless it directly affected the characters. I feel like if the world had been hashed out a little more, or even a little less, I would have found it a lot more enjoyable.

Admittedly, it might also just not be a good one to listen to on audiobook, which is what I did. I found it enjoyable enough that I might see about revisiting it in the future and reading a physical copy to see if it's easier to track what's going on and understand it better.

An interesting story of a two characters on opposite sides of a war fought through time. It begins with Red finding a letter with the words, "Burn before reading," which turns out to be from her adversary, Blue, who teases and challenges her before their next encounter. This time war is fought between two forces, Agency and Garden, who move agents (like Red and Blue) through time to tease and alter events so that, far in the future, victory is theirs.

Each chapter features an event as seen by Red or Blue, in alternate, with a hidden letter discovered by one or the other once victory (or defeat) is tasted by one or the other. But after a few rounds, the tone of the story changes, as both Red and Blue start to talk about their past, and their lives during the war. Then, events happen that show that at some time in the past, their lives have intersected with each other, thought they may not be aware of it at the time. It is then that romance and love being to blossom between the adversaries, an affair that both have to keep hidden from their masters.

At the end, as adversaries, one is given the task of killing the other, with not way out without betraying the other. Yet, there may be a way, and it may involve a shadowy character that has been following their steps, but not revealed until the end of the book.

3.25 ⭐ Update: After finishing, everything in my early review still stands; the writing did get a little easier to read/ understand as things ramped up to the climax, but there was still so much left unexplained and just left open. A nice little love story, but if you don't understand something don't even worry about it 'cause it doesn't really matter, mostly only the letters and the events of the ending do.

- original review _
I started this and will try to get through it, but it seems like this book's biggest uniqueness is also its downfall - the poetic writing. I will not lie that the deeply floral, expressive, and comparison language is wonderful to see/listen to; but when trying to describe ever quickly changing settings, premises, and other details in a sci-fi timeline hopping environment it just as quickly causes confusion, and kills the pacing, as I find myself re-reading paragraphs multiple times just to understand exactly what something meant or what happened. And this is a very short book too so it is not as bad but still, it's discouraging to find myself taking forever to finish a quick chapter (and I read high fantasy).

Without spoilers, this book is written in alternating characters voices, different settings, and letters back and forth between them. There is a premise but it just kind of throws you into it without explanation (yet as of where I am at). So trying to track what's going on, whose turn it is, and immerse myself into the newest timeline setting and figure out what they are trying to accomplish amid over the top and flowery language, in the span of <10mins before it changes all over again, is daunting

Very enjoyable, quite romantic (even if I'm not that big of a fan of the enemies to lovers trope) and tells us a very important lesson: you win the time war by not writing about paradoxes, meeting your grandparents or much of the details of time travel in general.

Amal El-Mothar and Max Gladsonte's "This is How You Lose the Time War" follows two agents, Red and Blue, on opposite sides of a war that spans all of time and (some of?) space across multiple universes.

Each chapter starts with a snapshot of what each agent is doing to advance their side's cause, whether that's taking part in major historical events or planting the seeds for 'coincidences' in the future, and ends with the discovery of a letter from their counterpart. What begins as acknowledgements of respect, nods across the battlefield, gradually grow into something more.

Fans of science fiction may be disappointed by the lack of focus on the time-traveling, universe-hopping backdrop to this story of star-crossing lovers. Details are sparse, and little is disclosed about the factions or why they are at war other than hints and impressions throughout the book.

The gradual, tip-toeing romance between Red and Blue via their elegantly composed letters is the strength of this book. There is a sweetness as the characters, hovering just beyond what one might call "human", discover that they are capable of such love, and for who should be their mortal enemy, no less. Readers who never tire of "Romeo and Juliette" will find much to love in "This is How You Lose the Time War".

Quirky and unexpected, the things I appreciate most in a book. Also, not that long, which means it can't get too lost in it's unique abstractions. Loved it, will read it again.

Once into the flow of the correspondence, I knew I wanted to take it slow, only read on my commute, which is ideal given that the chapters are short and I could change trains or transports and divide the chapter into action and letter. I really loved the tone, story, the arch it builds, everything... This is certainly one I will revisit.. it's so imaginative and at the same time relatable.

If you like books where you don't get all the answers, that aren't necessarily linear, and are more about prose and gut-wrenching heartache, you'll enjoy this book. It's art. If you don't like artsy books, you probably should pick something else to read.

I loved it.

I can't decide if this would have worked better (for me) as a short story, or a full length book. If it was longer, it could have expanded on it's ideas. If it had been shorter, it wouldn't have felt so repetetive.

There is some good ideas here, but they deserve better than being hand waved away. How do Red and Blue target their letters to each other across strands of time? If there are certain contested junctures in time, shouldn't they be swarmed with agents, and multiple aspects of the same agents? If the protagonists are just cogs in two massive opposing machines battling for supremacy over all time - why does it seems like they are the only two operators in the field?

I'm not saying this is a bad book, there is a lot good writing here. But it didn't work for me. Two highly subjective stars. (I'm going to hold of actually rating as there are so few reviews here yet)