What a glorious book: everything it promises to be, whilst being completely different to anything I expected.

This Is How You Lose The Time War is a glorious exercise in unbridled imagination, a song of love and resistance in the face of despair. It’s beautifully told, more poetry than prose, capturing searing moments in time as they are imprinted on our combative lovers.

It had me at hello, and while I occasionally felt I could put it down and come back to it later I never quite could (and I'm glad I didn't; I enjoyed the emotional rollercoaster enormously).

I suspect it won’t be for everyone: those who come seeking harder science fiction, more technical time travel, will be left at a loss (at best). Those who come for the politics of a time war may be just as non-plussed. Even the world-building – of every world – is sketchy: a few poignant details, enough to hint at a bigger picture that your imagination must supply.

But this is assured storytelling from two master craftspeople working in perfect harmony. It entices. It charms. It cheats (of course it cheats, it’s time travel). It evokes. It inspires. It delivers. It charmed the socks off me and I'll be raving about it all summer.

So… no set battles. No gripping accounts of being adrift in unfamiliar time threads with climactic chases between adversaries. This is an essentially epistolary novel where the two protagonists communicate by letters they hide for each other. Expert assassin Blue, for vague reasons she isn’t wholly aware of – reaches out to her opposite number, Red, whose work she knows well and admires. Slightly burnt out with all the violence of her assignments, she wants something… more. And that is how the correspondence starts. I don’t think I’m providing any major spoilers if I disclose the Red doesn’t ignore the letter – or report it to her superiors.

What makes this book an extraordinary read is the poetical beauty of the prose, juxtaposed with some of grim, bloody tasks both Blue and Red are tasked with. And while both are slightly alienated by aspects of their work – there’s no getting away from the fact that they do both revel in their skills, too.

The sheer delicacy of their communication, sharply contrasted by the gory reality of their daily round made this a constantly surprising read – it isn’t often these days that I get absolutely no sense where a book is going. Although, there were a couple of clues – I still wasn’t sure if the authors had seeded a couple of false trails and there would be a different sort of ending. And no… I’m not disclosing anything more – this is one where I think it’s important that the reader fully experiences the story without any spoilery expectations. So kudos to the blurb-writer who respected that imperative – I was pleasantly surprised to be able to include the whole backcover copy without having to edit it.

So did I enjoy it? Oh yes – this is a triumph. Splendidly ambitious and quirky, only exceptionally talented writers could pull this off. This savage, sublimely beautiful book will stay with me for a long, long time as I ponder what it says about our need for connection with someone who can understand. Highly recommended for science fiction fans who enjoy lush poetical prose and flawed desperation. The ebook arc copy of This is How You Lose the Time War was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
10/10

Leider ist mein Englisch dann doch nicht gut genug, um dieses Buch wirklich verstehen und rezensieren zu können. Das ist mir bislang noch nicht passiert. Es ist sicher ein ganz besonderes poetisches und sprachlich wertvolles Buch, dass mit den zeiten spielt und andere Konzepte ersinnt.

I read this book courtesy of the Publisher and NetGalley. Thank you! My opinions are my own.

A beautiful book, a beautiful cover, a beautiful title and a beautiful story: this is a book whose beauty is undeniable, and its own reward. It is truly exquisitely beautifully written, and its imagery is striking. It is a kaleidoscope of beauty and horror, but mostly beauty, and emotions are rendered on the page with attention to detail. There are numerous passages I could see quoted, embroidered, tattooed, read aloud; I sometimes gasped at a particularly well-crafted sentence. It brought to mind some of Jeanette Winterson’s earlier poetic prose, in fact.

At the same time, however, I just couldn’t immerse in it fully. This might be because the falling in love didn’t quite persuade me, and the final plot twist, which relied on a time travel trope I particularly dislike, soured that element of the novel a little. But that doesn’t reflect on the book; it was just a matter of preference.

A novel(la) well-worth a read for the beauty of language, and I’m sure others will love the romance aspects of the book much more than I did.

Team Blue, by the way. (Even though I am always Red.)

https://lynns-books.com/2019/07/18/this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war-by-amal-el-mohtar-max-gladstone-timewar/
4.5 of 5 stars
TIHYLTTW is such an unusual book, quite extraordinary really. Thought provoking, clever and the type of read that will appeal on multiple levels. I loved it.

Here we have a most unlikely love story, told primarily in epistolary format, this is a tale that spans the ages and cunningly side steps some of the issues that can sometimes accompany time travel and science fiction.

On the face of it this is a story of two agents, both jumping back and forth through time in order to manipulate the timeline. Both pitched against each other and yet eventually, through loneliness, finding a place in each other’s affection that could prove deadly should that affection become known to their commanders.

I’m not going to enter into details of the plot to be honest. I think each reader will have a different experience when reading this and so to try and sum it up in a nutshell is not something I’m keen to do – plus at just over 200 pages I really believe this will be best discovered with no prior knowledge going into the read.

So, what else can I tell you.

This works quite simply as a story of two people, adversaries to begin with, who slowly become enamoured with each other. The writing is beautiful, flowery maybe but also with so many unique concepts that it is simply fascinating.

This brings me to the sci-fi elements. This is the type of science fiction that doesn’t over elaborate – which means I love it. It also means that it doesn’t become convoluted with over ambitious explanations. The time travel element simply ‘is’. I don’t know how it works, I don’t really know what missions both of these agents are undertaking, I don’t know what the objectives are – I just know that things happen and taken on face value like this there’s a sort of easy acceptance to it all. Time travel can be another very complicated thread with all the paradoxes and getting turned around in circles but the simplicity here means no headaches for me – and no doubt no headaches for you too. Now you might be thinking that you want all those explanations and details – and maybe I would have liked some hints – but, at the same time I found I really didn’t miss them. It’s incredibly odd – they simply weren’t necessary to the story. In fact, given that the two characters are so firmly rooted in this future world why would they need to explain anything to each other. They wouldn’t – and so any such detail would only end up feeling forced.

The writing is really rather lovely. There’s a sparsity to it where nothing at all is wasted, everything has a meaning here and it’s the sort of writing that makes you want to stop and reflect. Don’t be too keen to gobble up these pages in a rush, you will be missing out if you do.

I may have mentioned that I love letter writing in my stories and this is no exception. The letters here are sprinkled in the most unlikely places, scattered amongst seeds and other unexpected items. I loved reading them. The thoughts and desires but more than that the way the letters change over the course of time becoming something that both correspondents are desperately waiting for and have in fact become dependent upon. On top of this there is the almost poetic style which when coupled with the unlikely romance between the two main characters gives it an uptodate Shakespearean feel.

I loved all the references, the ones I picked up on anyway, I’m sure I missed a good few or they were simply above my head as this is a clever little nugget. And this brings me to my final thoughts, which I’m still dwelling on. This is a story that I felt had a subtle underlying message. The two central characters are fundamentally opposed in the first instance purely as a result of their own make-up. This is set in a far future that has seen advances not only in technology but also in nature and yet the two don’t sit well together – in fact they’re at war with each other – right up until they discover they can get along.

Anyway, this book is very different, very unusual in fact, and, very good, it might not be for everyone but I would say give it a try..

I received a copy courtesy of the publisher, through Netgalley, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

This book just wasn't for me. I wanted to understand the ins and outs of the time war and they were never explained. Instead the story focuses on two opposing agents as they write letters to each other. The language was clearly replicating that of love letters but just felt too flowery and I found it rather boring.

This was quite a challenging read, however worth it for the beautiful relationship between two women that develops. It is written in a lyrical style and although I felt it disjointing at first, I let myself not overthink about what I was reading and instead allow the story to wash over me and be transported to the times, places and feelings. This novella was well worth the read and such a beautiful love story.

My thanks to Quercus/Jo Fletcher Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘This is How You Lose the Time War’ by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone in exchange for an honest review.

Among the ashes of a dying world Red, an Agent of the Commandant, finds a letter that reads: ‘Burn before reading’. This heralds the beginning of an unusual correspondence between two rival time agents each committed to ensuring the best possible future for their factions through manipulation of the past.

Blue, who works for the Garden, describes the difference in their missions “My viny-hivey elfworld, as you say, versus your techy-mechy dystopia. We both know it’s nothing so simple, any more than a letter’s reply is its opposite.”

Over time their relationship grows into something epic and eventually romantic; though they are aware that if their bond is discovered it would mean death for them both.

I was blown away by this short novel and found myself so impressed by its lyrical style and surrealist dreamlike imagery. When I realised about halfway through that its audiobook edition was available, I bought it and returned to the beginning to immerse myself in a read/listen experience.

In short, this was perfection. The kind of book that will likely be winning awards in the SF/F community and quickly be heralded as a modern classic.

In the Acknowledgments and in various interviews the authors reveal the unusual way in which they wrote it. This is ranking very highly in my best books of 2019. Very highly recommended.

On the day of its paperback publication I purchased a hard copy as well as I know that I will want to revisit it time and again.

So most of this went over my head, but somehow I still enjoyed it. Especially the letters Red and Blue exchange. I really enjoyed seeing their romance develop through them.

This novel was not what I thought it would be.

I was expecting a historical time travel concept. This it wasn't.

Sci-Fi idea that just did not engage me. I was glad it was short as I did read it. Just sorry that I did not engage with it.

I find hard to express how much I loved this ARC. It's full of emotions and it's a sci-fi at the same time.
There's love, war, different emotions and an amazing style of writing.
I can only say that I hope that a lot of people will read it and enjoy its beauty.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36516585-this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war

I love collections of queer correspondences; relationships between women in love with each other, carried on through letters over decades. And I love cold war stories, where opposing agents find they have more in common with each other than their faraway masters. And I love time travel stories, complex games of "Oh, no you didn't! / Oh, yes I did!" played over changing histories. This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is all of those, and poetry as well.

Red and Blue are agents for factions with opposing views of how humanity should live, who are fighting for control of the future by changing the past. They begin by leaving letters taunting one another. As their correspondence continues they each gain regard for the other, and become friends, and fall in love. This is a long-distance relationship and then some; the story is one of intimacy through communication - one of the turning points is when Blue writes to Red, "Tell me something true or tell me nothing at all."

This is a human story; the opposing factions, the Agency and the Garden, are absolutist models of post-human existence with no room for individuals, or really for love. The one seems Matrix-like while the other, although it's biological, is just as authoritarian and possibly hive-like. It's about vulnerability as well - the intimacy of a confidence shared, a risk taken. At several points in the story Red and Blue take risks with their own lives and then later with the other's as they share deeper truths.

The story is beautifully written. The authors in interviews say that they each took one of the characters to write, and this comes across clearly in their voices in the letters and their point so view as they find each other's messages. There's an interesting dynamic of opposites being played in the voices of the characters as well - Red, from the Agency and written by Amal, has a very lyrical, poetic voice. Blue on the other hand, written by Max, has a more direct, incisive voice which belies the dreamy-seeming outlook of her faction.

And finally, this is a gorgeous queer love story between two women. Red and Blue may take different genders as they occupy bodies up and down the time stream but they think of themselves and of each other as 'she'. I was drawn completely into the way that the relationship between Red and Blue deepens through their letters and challenges to one another until the ending, which is quite unexpected and also inevitable.

https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2019/7/16/this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war-by-amal-el-mohtar-and-max-gladstone

To you, my favourite

I suspect dear reader that you and I both think the written word is the finest way to communicate. Body language is too basic; verbal is often careless but a beautifully crafted page of prose – well now you’re really talking to me. A love of words, themes and motifs is the bond we share and as reader and writer that unusual osmosis of turning written words in ink coming from one brain turn into pictures within your brain the bond deepens – now that’s my kind of language. Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone have used the idea of a duet of written correspondence set within a unique science fiction universe of multiple timelines, changing histories a to create an absolutely stunning work of beauty and forbidden love.

Across space and time within the multiverse two all-powerful sides are vying for control of history. The technology originated Agency and the more diffuse organic hive mind of the Garden find themselves in strands of time manipulating events to make the history meet their future needs at the expense of the other side. To achieve this each side has agents working hard to undermine the other manipulating key or sometimes fairly innocuous events in history. Into this comes two particularly notorious agents Red of the Agency and Blue of the Garden who have been thorns in each other’s side for many many occasions. Known for their dedication and unusual grasp of tactics to unsettle the other the two women have been circling each other in various guises, periods and forms ranging from alternate Mongol empires to becoming alien creatures that aren’t even human anymore.

But Red at the scene of one her hardest won triumphs receives a note from Blue, gently pointing out that Blue herself has taken some measures to instead win this battle for a strand of time from beneath her nose. There follows an escalation between the two who in alternating sequences find their schemes thwarted by the other and each time a note to explain themselves is found. Both Red and Blue are intelligent professional women focused on their goals with a sense of humour and yet probably never quite feel comfortable in their own headquarters hence that desire to travel and explore the universe on missions. Red and Blue start to realise that across all of time and space they finally have someone who understands them.

While two people writing letters to each other can sound fairly simple this is an absolute triumph of writing. I think key to this are three elements. Firstly, the letter format. Slowly the letters reveal each has a mutual respect for the other (neither of the agents are viewed by their own side as typical of their species); they start sharing life experiences; their thoughts and the letters evolve into something deeper and more personal Hence the letters are sparky, sarcastic and then allow the agents to finally express themselves (including their secret inner thoughts). They capture that feeling when you start talking to someone and after the initial jokes and sharing of a few views swapping recipes and locations to visit that you realise you’ve found someone who finally understands you at such a deeper level than you thought possible. The letters are flirting, sorrowful, full of subtext and creative themes often based around the particular battle the agents are in; ultimately, they are love letters by two people who circle around each other but cannot meet. Each builds upon the other and the back and forth interplay is just beautiful to read. Two smaller parts to each letter I also loved – how each found another colour based term of affection for the other and that as each agent are highly trained and see and hear in so many different ways that the letters take different forms such as knots in string to even words appearing in a cup of tea – each becomes a unique gift to the other – who needs a bunch of flowers when you have this level of thoughtfulness in a letter to you!

The framing device for each letter being read is also full of inventive ideas. These aren’t two warriors stuck in a ship or on one planet. These are time agents who roam the universe and alternate histories so we have scenes on dying worlds, one of the many doomed Atlantises that can be found, 19th century coffee shops and beaches. Watching each Agent play a long game against the other itself is just impressively in a novella allowing you a huge sense of the scale of this conflict. At the same time, you realise the Garden and the Agency don’t seem to have any major plus points for allowing the other to win – a form of ultra-organic life and technology focused life suggest they would both be as bad as the other in victory. That allows for the final element the growing dread that Red and Blue are increasingly running the risk of discovery and when your army is nearly omnipotent that can have fatal consequences. There is a growing feeling of joy at the love these two can finally express to the other but also fear that someone has certainly realised what is going on and is now on their trail.

This has been a brilliant reading experience. This is for the science fiction fan that wants a tale of language and emotion. It mixes the epic with the personal to a level that just sings with a lot of joy and more than a tinge of sadness. I really cannot stress how much hard work in what seems a wonderful easy flowing dialogue between two characters is so technically well done and that back and forth of ideas, emotions and expressions really builds up character and a sense of an epic battle for the universe. For something different and beautiful this is exactly the kind of story you’ve been waiting for. I suspect this is easily going on 2019’s best of lists so go and pick this up now

Yours sincerely

A book tempter

This novella comes in the form of letters written from two opposing forces, that run through time and space. Each has an agency behind them, each is out in the field, operating what needs operated, adjusting timelines and trying to win the time war. And then there is the moment when a letter is written and sent, then read and answered, and in the end you, as reader, have this book in hand. It is dedicated to you, the reader. And I think, it is worthwhile to pick this book up. Not just because it has a beautiful cover, but also because of its content.

This book holds an intricately woven, intense, at moments very poetic text. At moments it felt like it was on the breaking point of over doing, but, in the end it did not. It kept to its form as novella and told an amazing story, full of twists and turns, stories within stories within stories. At moments I wished, the authors would have even dared more, with regards to the places they took me as reader, but all in all the story in itself is very neatly told.

The ending? It left me with a smile and light heart.

I loved the change in metaphors through the book, the change of pace and intensity, the references to the human timeline in books, historic events and fairy tales to name only but a few. And it leaves me to explore further, if I so wish, as I am sure there are layers to this book, that I have not yet discovered.

I already look forward to read it now in printed form, as I received an eARC from the publisher, Jo Fletcher Books here in the UK, in return for an honest review.

I don't know about the time war, but this is how you win a bunch of awards, or it ought to be.

Red and Blue are time agents, on opposite sides of a war to manipulate events towards their respective futures. That's not an original premise, but what these two authors do with it is.

I'm not familiar with much of Amar El-Mohtar's work, but I've read enough Max Gladstone to know that for me, he can be hit and miss. "A Kiss, With Teeth" is one of the best stories I've ever read; parts of his Craft Sequence, the series with the lawyer/sorcerers, are excellent, but parts, for me, were deeply disappointing (not least because the other parts were so good). I also knew he didn't shy away from the dark and gruesome, so I went into this book with trepidation.

There is dark, and there is gruesome; there is a lot of death, and the cotagonists are usually its instigators, which doesn't help me to identify with them. But the only slight disappointment in terms of writing craft, for me, was perhaps an inevitable one: even though these agents range across multiple timelines and planets in the course of the book, all of the references they use are to our particular timeline (just as, in Gladstone's Craft Sequence, he occasionally drops an undigested piece of this world into his very different setting, and it jars me).

Apart from that, it's frankly amazing. I stopped about halfway through and went and read some other things, mainly because I was afraid it had got as good as it was going to, and the last half was going to just fall apart. But no. It got better.

Red and Blue begin as enemies, but they become first rivals, then friends, of a sort, and then.... it just keeps getting more intense. They write to each other secretly, using their considerable powers and ingenuity to encode messages in everyday objects that fall into the other's hands. If either of their factions finds out, they're both dead. But their lives are inextricably entangled, and perhaps nobody else in all of time and space can understand them except each other.

The prose is beautiful, and well edited; it's powerfully poetic, full of heavily weighted imagery. The plot is complex (as time travel plots tend to be) and compelling. The characters themselves - I wouldn't want to meet them; I wouldn't want to be them; but their intensity and passion drew me in regardless.

This is, in short, a very fine book that richly deserves the many accolades that will be heaped upon it. It's something quite unusual in the realm of speculative fiction, something that very few authors could pull off anything like this well. As a reviewer, I read a lot of mediocre or by-the-numbers books; this is not, by any stretch, one of them. It's excellent.

I received a review copy via Netgalley.

What can I say when Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone join forces and publish a four-hand written book? They are both well recognized as some of the best writers of the new generation of fantasy and science fiction and This is how you lose the time war helps everyone to understand why.

Amal does not have a wide production so far. However, she has already won the three major awards – Hugo, Nebula and Locus, thanks to Seasons of Glass and Iron, published on 2016 as part of The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales anthology. Her relation with the genre goes far from that as she also reviews science fiction and fantasy books for the New York Times Book Review weekly magazine. Max is very well known thanks to The Craft Sequence series, which has seen six books published for now in addition to many short fiction published in various anthologies.

This is how you lose the time war has a really powerful plot which attracted my attention since the first time I read it. The book tells us the story of Blue and Red. Both are special agents in charge of changing some bits in the history of humanity. The objective is to make each of her organisations the dominant in the world. We will follow their journeys along the history amending these bits. To do so they will sometimes need to spend a whole period of time in a specific period while some other actions will only take a few instants to be completed.

They will travel back and forward at the same time they start writing letters one to each other. In some of these words they will explain the actions they are completing. Some others will be more focused on the relationship with their respective responsible. However, their superior will began to suspect that something is going on and will take actions to confirm their suspicions.

The novel is basically the letters they send one to each other. These messages, written in any surface of format depending on the period of time they are based, evolves since the some basic content at the beginning to a much more intimate wording when the relation progresses. It is also very interesting to see how they manage to hide or keep their messages so the other agent can find it. And how sometimes they really struggle to find them!

The book is written in a very poetic language. Therefore this is a novel to read bit by bit, word by word, tasting every sentence and trying not to jump over any of them. A second read where you will realise the amount of detail including in the book is also helpful to understand the whole plot. I can confirm I will go back to This is how you lose the time war at some point not far on the future. I have really enjoyed it every time I had the chance to sit for a half an hour time reading. A slow burning read for people searching for something different.

Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone have shown with This is how you lose the time war such great things they can write both together. If you are looking for a fast paced tale, this might not be a book for you, to be honest. This is a novel highly recommended for people who like joining pieces along the reading not having a clear path since the beginning. Readers who prefer an emotional and slow paced book rather than action from the very first sentence. If such, This is how you lose the time war is a no longer than two hundred pages book which well deserves every second you dedicate to it.

This is equal parts beautiful and mind bending. For a novella, it manages to capture the feelings of love, admiration, war, hatred and desire all wrapped up into letters told between Red and Blue. Two agents, designed to hate and destroy each other, yet grow to respect and love instead.

It’s purposely vague in its presentation of the characters. We’re never really sure of the factions Red and Blue work for, and descriptions are few and far between. All that becomes apparent is that both sides are cruel and manipulative, not bothered about the lives of their enemies, and Red is more technologically minded and Blue is more environmentally based. But what’s built instead is this wonderful, organic relationship that feels natural and imaginative. Told mostly in letter between the two, each must become more creative in the way they send the letters to avoid detection by their warring sides - whether that be a flammable note on a battlefield or running through poison. At all times you can feel the passion and fire between the pair as their love grows, and it was lovely to see it unfold so beautifully and in such an unforced way. I’ve read many a novel, many times the length of this one, where the fundamental love interests just don’t have this kind of chemistry. It just shows that the quality of the words are often better than the length.

I admit, sometimes I did struggle with the writing style for this - especially in the beginning as it is quite flowery at times. However, as the story progresses and titbits of information are leaked from the pages, I came to find that the words matched the personalities of Red and Blue well and it flowed well. The short length also keeps this from getting bogged down in too many descriptions and world building. It simply doesn’t need it, and keeps the focus firmly on Red and Blue.

Widely unique science fiction novella that resonates with passion and fire.

It begins at the end of a battle. Our two main characters are the top agents for rival sides in the war.

Red - she is from a future with enhanced technology. She works for The Agency.
Blue - she is from a future that is more environmental. She can shapshift too which was a nice touch to add in. She works for The Garden. 

They leave messages to each other that begins with a taunt and ends with them falling in love. I would say this book is more of a love story than a sci-fi story but there are sci-fi elements involved in the story. 

I really enjoyed the romance as it wasn’t rushed and it was written really well.
What I Liked?
The Romance - this is the type of romance I enjoy as it is written really well. The romance in this is f/f which I also liked as we need more diverse romances. It is also a slow moving romance as it is mainly through letters and they slowly get to know each other. 
I loved the letters, the way they write letters is unique, they can be written in tea leaves or lava. I thought this idea was great and it adds to the sci-fi elements in the book.
 I enjoyed the sci-fi elements, there is time travel and there are different strands of time that are weaved liked braids. Some things happen in a different timeline and some strands of time they sabotage so that the future they know can happen.
 The writing is poetic and lovely. It was such a nice thing to read and although not my normal style I did enjoy it. I will admit it might not be for some people. 
I would have liked to no more about the futures and I wanted to know more about The Agency and The Garden. 
Slightly confusing - it has some science language in it and there's also poetry. The time travel can also be hard to wrap your head around. 
Overall I greatly enjoyed this book, I may not have understood everything and I know that it won't be for everyone but I would recommend to give it a try if you think it is your thing. 

This review will be posted on my blog as part of the blog tour.

[ note, review will go live on my blog at the provided link tomorrow ]

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is a short novel about two time-travelling agents who start corresponding with each other. It's written in a poetic style and is half-epistolary, half-prose.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.

And thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more.

Except discovery of their bond would be death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That’s how war works. Right?

This is a remarkable book, told in a very poetic style, with chapters alternating between snippets of our characters’ lives and the letters they send each other. Although it is written as prose, one feels as though one is reading poetry. The use of imagery and metaphor is strong and frequent and the relationship between the characters shifts as they become more obsessed with each other as they learn more about the other.

At first I had difficulty keeping the characters straight in my mind — Red and Blue, from futures Garden and Agency, wait, which was which again? — but then it became clearer as they obtained more identifying characteristics. There was [the one that had happened to] and [the one that did this thing], to keep it spoiler-free. I started reading this book while travelling and I don’t recommend reading it in a noisy environment. It was easier to enjoy at home, calmly. Or at least with noise-cancelling headphones on. It is the kind of book that demands your full attention to properly take in its words and worlds.

I don't generally like spending too much time comparing books to other things, but it feels particularly topical in this case. This Is How You Lose the Time War is a book that pushes many if the same buttons as Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman or Killing Eve but with a more poetic writing style than Good Omens and more emphasis on the relationship between enemy agents than Killing Eve. (I speak of the TV show Killing Eve, here — the books it’s based on look dreadful.) Also, in the struggle for a better future, no one side is clearly better than the other, which is not how most oppositional relationships are portrayed. In Killing Eve, Villanelle is the assassin so MI6 agent Eve clearly has the moral high ground. And things are both more and less ambiguous in Good Omens, where the two sides are literally heaven and hell. But if you liked either of those stories for their protagonist relationships, this is the book for you. Especially if you wished there was more time travel in them.

Actually, before I wrap up, I will say a few words on the time travel aspect. It's both integral to the story and sort of minimally done. No mechanics are explained, which makes sense for the style of the book, and all the time travel feats are basically magic, as far as we mere time-bound mortals are concerned. Sometimes that sort of thing bothers me, but in this case it fits in perfectly with the style of the book. The time travel is absolutely not the point, the letters between Blue and Red are, and doing it any other way would have been bizarre. For all that I've said the prose is very poetic, it's also very sparse (in the way of poetry, now that I think about it). For this reason, it took me a little while at the start of the book to feel grounded in the story (or as grounded as one can be in such a story) but, again, it makes perfect sense for what it is.

I really liked this book. I highly recommend it to fans of doomed and/or oppositional romance (is that the right term?), poetic letters and magical time travel. It's a quick read but a powerful one. If you're not sure whether the style is right for you, I think it's something you could quickly determine by reading the sample chapters on your favourite ebook store. In any case, I highly recommend This Is How You Lose the Time War.

5 / 5 stars

First published: July 2019, Jo Fletcher Books
Series: No, I don't think so
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Glorious and heartbreaking.

Told in unusual correspondence this story is an epic war time romance and impossible to put down.

I absorbed the words and emotions more than read each individual word. Landscapes are created, timelines altered in the blink of an eye and what existed no longer does, or did, or will. What acted a certain way now is entirely different. Changes are wrought where only the time warriors involved will remember them… or will they?

Not only is it fraught communication between sides, where trust may be fleeting or forever, but when each side realizes they are compromised… how do you survive let alone save each other?

This is a complex story, mindbending and detailed. A unique concept brilliantly put down onto the page – and yet I am still thinking, what of the words were real…? Have they changed? Would I know? A terrific story.

Get it when it comes out.