This Is How You Lose The Time War

By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller

* 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.

Not for me

It took me a long time to get into the story, by the time I was getting hooked it was over. The first half I didn't know what was going on other than the time war. The whos and whys are vague until the end, but by then I was just listening to get through it. I preferred the parts that weren't letters to Blue or Red, that's why I found the second half more appealing. It ends with another letter and that was it for me. The story is far more romantic than I anticipated, but I couldn't figure out why they were in love. I was distracted when I listened to this, but it seemed like they were enemy penpals who decide they love each other. I think I missed something, but their love is apparent in the end. This book wasn't for me - I needed something more from it, but it was never offered. I like the idea of the premise.

Top 5 favorite books

Holy mother loving shyt! This book was so good. And the performance was phenomenal. I didn’t know how much I needed this book until I read it!

it was gay ans great

it was a little slow to start for me but I really couldnt put it down

Beautiful and heartbreaking

This book broke me in the best way.

It’s hard to put into words how deeply it moved me. It has a science fiction backdrop but it is above all a love story. The words are beautiful, lyrical. There’s beauty and tragedy and points where you don’t know where one ends and the other begins. It fosters a sense of deep longing. It cracked open my chest and crawled inside, it lives there now. I think this is one of those rare stories that I’m going to find myself coming back to over and over again.

So good I listened twice!

This is a well-crafted story of love in the midst of war. Cliche-sounding? Yes, but oh-so good and oh-so delightfully written!