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Title: This Is How You Lose the Time War
Author: Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press
Publish date: July 16th, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Time Travel Romance
Synopsis:
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.
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, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.
Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?
My Rating: 3 Stars
I expected a bit more from This Is How You Lose the Time War than what I got. To say I was disappointed would be… well, apt, in some ways.
To preface, I’m not a big reader of sci-fi anyway. However, this work was recommended to me by a friend, and I eagerly dove in.
The concept sounded so beautiful to me— the exchange of letters, thoughts, feelings,… all passing through the barriers of time. My inner romantic was intrigued from the get-go.
In no way am I saying I didn’t enjoy the book. On the contrary, I certainly did enjoy it. However, I didn’t love it, and I struggled to keep up with what was going on beyond the literal reading of Red and Blue’s letters.
I would still always encourage you to give anything a try that interests you— it is my belief that no one person’s review should dissuade you from trying something out.
Pick up a copy and let me know what your opinion of it is!
The Pros:
- As a hopeless romantic, the exchange of letters tugs at my heartstrings. The ways in which Red and Blue express themselves, and explain their truths and realities are incredibly touching.
- The concept is exceptionally unique (although I’ll remind you once more that I’m not sci-fi buff). I hadn’t heard of a concept quite like this before, where the story weaves through the fabrics of time and space in quite the same way as seen in This Is How You Lose the Time War.
- Right up until the end of the story, you’re left wondering what is going to happen at the end. I’m a sucker for a happy ending, and I was on the edge of my seat trying to fathom how one could be possible, and if it would happen. (You’ll of course have to find out for yourself whether it does).
The Cons:
- The setting was never clear. This was the most jarring part for me. The time and place jumps so much that I was wishing that the chapters would at least be labelled with the time/place.
- I wanted the ending to not actually be the ending. There are many questions that I won’t explicitly point out so as to avoid spoilers.
- I found the story to be pretty much all style, with little substance. It’s beautiful written, and the prose is poetic, but there isn’t a lot of depth.
Overall:
Would I recommend This Is How You Lose the Time War? Yes, as previously mentioned I’d recommend you form your own opinions. However, there’s no reason those opinions can’t be informed!
Not every book is going to be everyone’s cup of tea— this one just wasn’t mine, despite the beautiful prose, and the romantic premise.
I’m not sure if I’d read another one of these authors’ works. Maybe later down the line, if I want to step back into sci-fi, but I think for now I’ll stick to contemporary fiction, YA, and classics.
Let me know what you thought of This Is How We Lose the Time War in the comments below!
Check out more of my book reviews for more recommendations!