If you go in expecting time travel shenanigans then you're going to be disappointed. This Is How You Lose the Time War is my novella collaboration with Max Gladstone, and it launches in North America today (UK folks get it on the 18th, though there as here some copies have skillfully wiggled out of their temporal constraints). I hope so, its not for me, but if you're looking for romantic poetry fantasy, I don't think it gets better than this. And the thrill of This Is How You Lose The Time War suddenly becomes not the time travel, not the war, not any of those things that no one could ever describe anyway, but just the connection between two lonely professional killers with the ability to inscribe letters on lava. It reads: Burn before reading. I keep coming back to my favorite passages today. This is one of the ones I read, and I couldn’t talk about it until it was officially a … New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Press J to jump to the feed. You run the table. 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. Get this from a library! The whole point was the romance. It reads: Burn before reading. It didn't go beyond generic 2 super advanced sides fighting each other. Its not for me, but there is definitely a market for this out there. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between … This is How you Lose the Time War is released today! I’ve never read anything like it, and I strongly suspect I never will again. It was for me. Press J to jump to the feed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Only here it's the future/time travel. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. But I didn’t love it in a way I find interesting and want to think more about. The writing is excellent and it's also short. There a mix of futuristic elements and a form of dark, fairytale-like magic which makes the reading experience unsettling. Estimated Ship Date for Winners: June 11th, 2019. I love Gladstone's Craft Sequence but I'm not familiar with El-Mohtar. There was no build up for me, only love letters to two characters that are remote and unrelatable (for me), to the point they might as well be sociopaths. I think it worked for me because the form played so well into the episodic multi-verse/time travel aspect of the story. 32706 Ratings. I cannot recommend this highly enough! Previous page. I got Blue by Eiffel 65 stuck in my head for days (thanks Amal, thanks Max…). 1 Jan. 2019. “Seditious and seductive, lush and lustrous, allusive and elusive, THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR is one of those rare stories where one struggles to decide whether to heap more praise upon its clever structure and prose or its brilliant ideas and characters.” —Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings and The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Today’s the day! Its a good enough title that I actively avoided reviews because a title like that said good things. This is How You Lose the Time War is exquisitely written, a poetic masterpiece created by two highly talented and seasoned writers. (This review was first published on The Fantasy Inn). Nice writing though. “Seditious and seductive, lush and lustrous, allusive and elusive, THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR is one of those rare stories where one struggles to decide whether to heap more praise upon its clever structure and prose or its brilliant ideas and characters.” —Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings and The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Poetic love letters, not the poetry of simple words carefully chosen but a stream of flowery prose. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. From the moment Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone announced they were co-writing a novella, it immediately became one of my most anticipated SFF releases. ★★★★☆ I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. ISBN-10. What starts out as funny soon … “Seditious and seductive, lush and lustrous, allusive and elusive, THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR is one of those rare stories where one struggles to decide whether to heap more praise upon its clever structure and prose or its brilliant ideas and characters.” —Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings and The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories The only reason they would want each other is familiarity through the ages type of thing. It won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction, the Nebula Award for Best Novella of 2019 and the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novella. I see where you're coming from but think you're missing things. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. If you take away the amazing descriptions and the poetic prose there is not much left, its not about character or world building or plot, but the words really are incredibly beautiful. One of the problems of working for a publisher is that I get to read books about, oooh, a year – or more! It is very much a romance and if you go in expecting a romance then it works. It reads: Burn before reading. If I ever see the kindle edition on sale I'll pick it up. This is How You Lose the Time War is a love story – the star-crossed kind. Damn it sounds great. 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. But there wasn't enough of tension to make it an enjoyable rivals-in-love. If we’re to be at war, we might as well entertain one another.” This Is How You Lose the Time War is the kind of novel that dips in and out of minds, catches the sharp sun of memory and gleams, leaves its scent on its readers, like perfume transferred between lovers. It’s a study of contrasts: the horrors of an unending war, the beauty of a blossoming and fragile love. It reads: Burn before reading. And someone has to win that war. This Is How You Lose the Time War is a 2019 science fiction epistolary novel by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. (AUDIO: X and the Daleks, et al.) Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. This Is How You Lose the Time War has an argument to make—several, actually—about conflict, love, and resistance. To those who read this review: I hope it’s for you, too. 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