This Is How You Lose the Time War
* HUGO AWARD WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * NEBULA AND LOCUS AWARDS WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * "[An] exquisitely crafted tale...Part epistolary romance, part mind-blowing science fiction adventure, this dazzling story unfolds bit by bit, revealing layers of meaning as it plays with cause and effect, wildly imaginative technologies, and increasingly intricate wordplay...This short novel warrants multiple readings to fully unlock its complexities." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) From award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone comes an enthralling, romantic novel spanning time and space about two time-traveling rivals who fall in love and must change the past to ensure their future. 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? Cowritten by two beloved and award-winning sci-fi writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
I went into this book with a lot of people telling me it was confusing, or I shouldn't expect a discernible plot. They weren't wrong. That said, I also heard a podcast snippet part way through reading that reminded me not every book has to revolutionize your mind or be an immediate classic beloved by everyone. Yes, I did get a little lost along the way, but I can appreciate that was the point. Time wars would understandably be hard to follow chronologically. But I loved the frescoes each chapter painted of sepia toned cities burning to the ground, ancient temples of giant bones, what Atlantis 'would' have been, the moments before the Ides of March being a gossip session. My writer's mind adored that, and even if I wish there was a little more explanation and a little less 'full circle just because of time travel,' I'm glad I picked it up.
This sort of like.. vague poetic writing and storytelling isn't my favorite, but I know it hits the spot for many people. For me, I found myself skimming a lot to get to the important bits. An interesting concept. I liked it overall.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.