This is How You Lose the Time War
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-02 10:54:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amal El-Mohtar
- ISBN：1529405238
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Among the ashes of a dying world， an agent of the Commandant finds a letter。 It reads: Burn before reading。
Red and Blue， two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions， strike up an unlikely correspondence。 But what started as a taunt， a battlefield boast， grows into something more: something epic and romantic。 Something that could change the past and the future。
The discovery of their bond will mean their deaths。 There’s still a war going on， and someone has to win that war。 That’s how wars work。 Right？
Co-written by two award-winning writers， This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space。
Red and Blue， two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions， strike up an unlikely correspondence。 But what started as a taunt， a battlefield boast， grows into something more: something epic and romantic。 Something that could change the past and the future。
The discovery of their bond will mean their deaths。 There’s still a war going on， and someone has to win that war。 That’s how wars work。 Right？
Co-written by two award-winning writers， This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space。
Reviews
Charlotte
，
3。5 - ok the writing was absolutely gorgeous， but i have no idea wtf this book was actually about sooo
Lindsay
，
I’ve got a lot of feelings
Madison
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Lots of little puns and references in this one， and one very ambitious， very inventive concept。 I much preferred the epistolary bits to the third-person POV interludes stitching them together， and the prose sometimes felt a little heavy-handed to me， but overall I found this to be really imaginative and well-executed。
Elicia Allen
，
the present is wherever your crush is。
Abi Gutiérrez Schulz
，
I look forward to re-reading this。
Katie Stahl
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Okay。。。 Great premise and interesting format but I wanted more from it。
Emma Berger
，
Do not assume that the quality was bad because I am reading it so low， actually that was the redeeming factor。 The writing style was beautiful but it just felt more like poetry than a story and half the time I couldn’t even pay attention to what was actually going on。 It’s probably a fine book but just wasn’t meant to be audiobook or at least not for me （though that was also good quality）。 I’m sure if I read this physically I’d like it a lot more。
Sarah Wilson
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3。5 stars
Alexa
，
I think this book is beautifully written， however it was just too outside my personal preferences for me to fully enjoy。 The writing style is incredibly poetic and takes place through secret letters written between the protagonists。 I’m not an avid poetry reader， nor do I like the epistolary structure， so it wasn’t my favorite book。 I think this is a well-written， creative book， just not one for me。
Max D'onofrio
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Really interesting narrative structure。 A bit confusing at times， but ultimately rewarding。 A nice short sci-fi love story。
Kate
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（3。5 rounded up）This was a very beautiful love story with some incredible prose。 Once the love story bloomed though， I struggled to maintain interest。 The Prose was， dare I say， a bit too purple for me （which I never thought would be the case）。 But it was such an interesting concept， and I loved the characters so much。
Margarida Rodrigues
，
"At the end as at the start， and through all the in-betweens， I love you"。 This book is a very creative and overwhelming journey regarding the blossoming of love， and the fate of two people， intertwined through space-time and yet so distant。 I truly enjoyed reading this and couldn't think of a better book to start pride month :） "At the end as at the start， and through all the in-betweens， I love you"。 This book is a very creative and overwhelming journey regarding the blossoming of love， and the fate of two people， intertwined through space-time and yet so distant。 I truly enjoyed reading this and couldn't think of a better book to start pride month :） 。。。more
Amy Humphries
，
So I'm wondering if I missed something with this book cause so many people rate it highly。 But honestly it was a bit of a chore to get through and at 200 pages that's saying a lot。 I LOVED the concept， kind of reminded me of Dr Who and the Master but a romance。 The execution of it just wasn't my thing。 The language feels so over the top at times I found myself re-reading sentences over and over just to work out what was going on。 It's beautifully written but more like a "I'd decipher this for an So I'm wondering if I missed something with this book cause so many people rate it highly。 But honestly it was a bit of a chore to get through and at 200 pages that's saying a lot。 I LOVED the concept， kind of reminded me of Dr Who and the Master but a romance。 The execution of it just wasn't my thing。 The language feels so over the top at times I found myself re-reading sentences over and over just to work out what was going on。 It's beautifully written but more like a "I'd decipher this for an English Lit exam" than enjoying it for entertainment。 I felt more invested as the letters continued， probably cause the language in those were simplified somewhat， but I was still lost most of the time。 Maybe I'm a cynic but I felt more needed to happen for real love to develop than just a handful of letters。 Occasionally there was a historical reference I enjoyed but I still didn't get the characters at all。 I'm probably alone with this one but if it was less about poetic writing and more about the story/characters I think I'd have loved it。 。。。more
LiseReader
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Twice is coincidence。 Three times is enemy action。Red likes to feel。 It is a fetish。 Now she feels fear。 And eagerness。Red wrote too much too fast。 Her pen had a heart inside， and the nib was a wound in a vein。 She stained the page with herself。 She sometimes forgets what she wrote， save that it was true， and the writing hurt。 But butterfly wings break when touched。 Red knows her own weaknesses as well as anyone。 She presses too hard， breaks what she would embrace， tears what she would touch to Twice is coincidence。 Three times is enemy action。Red likes to feel。 It is a fetish。 Now she feels fear。 And eagerness。Red wrote too much too fast。 Her pen had a heart inside， and the nib was a wound in a vein。 She stained the page with herself。 She sometimes forgets what she wrote， save that it was true， and the writing hurt。 But butterfly wings break when touched。 Red knows her own weaknesses as well as anyone。 She presses too hard， breaks what she would embrace， tears what she would touch to her teeth。Blue loves cities—their anonymity， their smells and sounds—but she loves forests， too， places other people call quiet that are anything but。 Blue listens to jays， woodpeckers， grackles， laughs at hummingbirds jousting on the wing。 She holds out her hands for nuthatches and chickadees， black-and-white warblers， and they flit to her， make branches of her fingers。 She strokes sapsuckers’ crests without naming the colour， makes a needle and a thread of the thrill she feels in touching it， then stitches it into the joy Garden expects her to feel in the woods。An event—an invasion or a spasm or a sigh—is like a hammer: one side blunt and perfect for driving nails， the other clawed to pry them free。 And， like hammers， you store Atlantises out of sight when not in use: stick ’em in a drawer somewhere safe till the next need comes around。Humans need marks to strive for—but imperfect systems decay。 So we build them ideals。It feels harder to write than it should。 It feels easier to write than it should， as well。 I’m contradicting myself。 The geometers would be ashamed。I have observed friendship as one observes high holy days: breathtakingly short， whirlwinds of intimate endeavour， frenzied carousing， the sharing of food， of wine， of honey。 Compressed， always， and gone as soon as they come。 It is difficult—it is very difficult， to befriend where you wish to consume， to find those who， when they ask Do I have you still， when they end a letter with Yours， mean it in any substantive way。I love cities。 To be alone in a crowd， apart and belonging， to have distance between what I see and what I am。And this letter is a knife at my neck， if cutting’s what you want。Words can wound—but they’re bridges， too。 （Like the bridges that are all that Genghis left behind。） Though maybe a bridge can also be a wound？ To paraphrase a prophet: Letters are structures， not events。 Yours give me a place to live inside。My memories of you spread through millennia， and each highlights you in motion。 This picture of you at home， with husband， with rose-hip tea， with sunset and river， swells my heart。Funny how we always think of knights as fighting dragons， when in fact they work for them。Her hands tremble as she opens the pouch。 Six seeds lie inside， tiny crimson teardrops with tinier numbers scratched into their surface， one through six。 On the leather， in an ink too blue for this continent or strand， handwriting she knows well， though she’s only seen it once， traces Do you trust me？She sits in the woods， alone。She does。Red trusts her so far down in the bone she has to ponder a long while to realize what distrust might imply—what these seeds might be， what they might do to her if she’s wrong。You wrote of being in a village upthread together， living as friends and neighbours do， and I could have swallowed this valley whole and still not have sated my hunger for the thought。 Instead I wick the longing into thread， pass it through your needle eye， and sew it into hiding somewhere beneath my skin， embroider my next letter to you one stitch at a time。But if you hunger， I swell。 You have me watching birds， and though I don’t know their names like you know them， I have seen small bright singers puff before they trill。 That’s how I feel。 I sing myself out to you， and my talons clutch the branch， and I am wrung out until your next letter gives me breath， fills me to bursting。Only in this nonexistent place our letters weave do I feel weak。How I love to have no armor here。I dream of you。 I keep more of you inside my mind， my physical， personal， squishy mind， than I keep of any other world or time。 I dream myself a seed between your teeth， or a tree tapped by your reed。 I dream of thorns and gardens， and I dream of tea。Summer settles like a bee on clover—golden， busy， here then gone。 There’s so much to do。 I love this part of being embedded， love feeling thoroughly wrung out at day’s end: no recuperation ponds， no healing sap， no quiet green murmuring in my marrow—just sweat and salt and sun on my back， everyone loving their bodies while knowing their bodies， this beautiful dance。You say my letter found you in a moment of hunger。 How to say what it means to me， that I might have taught you this—shared it， somehow， infected you with it。 I hope it isn’t a burden at the same time that I want you seared by it。 I want to sharpen your hungers fully as much as I long to satisfy them， one letter-seed at a time。Myth and legend give way to history， which gives way again to myth， like curtains parting and meeting again on either side of a performance。 Dear Raspberry，It’s not that I never noticed before how many red things there are in the world。 It’s that they were never any more relevant to me than green or white or gold。 Now it’s as if the whole world sings to me in petals， feathers， pebbles， blood。 Not that it didn’t before—Garden loves music with a depth impossible to sound—but now its song’s for me alone。I want to be a body for you。I want to chase you， find you， I want to be eluded and teased and adored; I want to be defeated and victorious—I want you to cut me， sharpen me。 I want to drink tea beside you in ten years or a thousand。 Flowers grow far away on a planet they’ll call Cephalus， and these flowers bloom once a century， when the living star and its black-hole binary enter conjunction。 I want to fix you a bouquet of them， gathered across eight hundred thousand years， so you can draw our whole engagement in a single breath， all the ages we’ve shaped together。I sought loneliness when I was young。 You’ve seen me there: on my promontory， patient and unaware。But when I think of you， I want to be alone together。 I want to strive against and for。 I want to live in contact。 I want to be a context for you， and you for me。I love you， and I love you， and I want to find out what that means together。Love，RedRed， I love you。 Red， I will send you letters from everywhen telling you so， letters of only one word， letters that will brush your cheek and grip your hair， letters that will bite you， letters that will mark you。 I’ll write you by bullet ant and spider wasp; I’ll write you by shark’s tooth and scallop shell; I’ll write you by virus and the salt of a ninth wave flooding your lungs; I’ll—stop， here， I’ll stop。 This is probably not how this is done。 I want flowers from Cephalus and diamonds from Neptune， and I want to scorch the thousand earths between us to see what blooms from the ash， so we can discover it hand in hand， content in context， intelligible only to each other。 I want to meet you in every place I have loved。I don’t know how it’s done between such as us， Red。 But I can’t wait to find out together。Love，BluePS。 I write to you in stings， Red， but this is me， the truth of me， as I do so: broken open by the act， in the palm of your hand， dying。I love you。 I love you。 I love you。 I’ll write it in waves。 In skies。 In my heart。 You’ll never see， but you will know。 I’ll be all the poets， I’ll kill them all and take each one’s place in turn， and every time love’s written in all the strands it will be to you。Love is what we have， against time and death， against all the powers ranged to crush us down。 Perhaps survival is its own form of torture。Hope may be a dream。 But she will fight to make it real。Beautiful starts of letters : Dear Red， in Tooth， in Claw，My perfect Red，My Dear Mood Indigo，Dear Red Sky at Morning，Dearest Lapis，Dear Price Greater Than Rubies，Dear Strawberry，My Heart’s Own Blood，。。。 and the numerous Dear Blue， 。。。more
Kiki
，
dnf
Eloise
，
Interesting premise but too much purple prose， and I saw the plot twist from a mile away。
Tia
，
this book just wasn’t for me and i’m really sad to say that
Artù
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 "Cosa farò， cielo？ Lago， cosa？ Azzurrina， iris， oltremare， come potrà esserci altro quando questo sarà finito？Carissima， profondissima Blu。。。 Alla fine， come all'inizio， e in tutto il tempo intermedio， ti amo。" "Cosa farò， cielo？ Lago， cosa？ Azzurrina， iris， oltremare， come potrà esserci altro quando questo sarà finito？Carissima， profondissima Blu。。。 Alla fine， come all'inizio， e in tutto il tempo intermedio， ti amo。" 。。。more
Brittany
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Interesting！ I don't know what else to say about this one since it's relatively short。 Characters 3。5/5The characters were cool， but it took a while to feel like they were distinct entities。 Add that into the fact that the book is pretty short， then it made it feel like it took entirely too long to get a feel for each character。Plot 3。5/5I'm still not entirely sure the plot of the story really latched on to me。 I'm not sure what I expected from the story， but I don't think what I got was it。 I'm Interesting！ I don't know what else to say about this one since it's relatively short。 Characters 3。5/5The characters were cool， but it took a while to feel like they were distinct entities。 Add that into the fact that the book is pretty short， then it made it feel like it took entirely too long to get a feel for each character。Plot 3。5/5I'm still not entirely sure the plot of the story really latched on to me。 I'm not sure what I expected from the story， but I don't think what I got was it。 I'm intrigued though。 If this were a series， I'd be looking forward to the next one。 As a standalone， I'm not sure that's a good thing。Storytelling/Writing 3。5/5This writing style will not be for everyone。 That said， I enjoyed it for the most part。 The interlacing pieces and letters were fun。Enjoyment 4/5This was an interesting one。 I don't know if this is a story that would have been better served in a longer format or if I would have enjoyed it more in a graphic novel/visual format。 It just needed。。。 something？Atmosphere 3。5/5There was so much that just hinted at something I would have loved。 As a sucker for world-building， every time some description of the world was mentioned， I paid extra attention for something that just never seemed to come。 The pieces I got were cool， but it left me wanting more。 （Odd because if this were a movie， I probably would have loved it。） 。。。more
Olivia
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Red and Blue are agents on two sides of a deadly war that weaves in and out of time。 Red works for the Agency， a “post-singularity technotopia”， and Blue for the Garden， a “single vast consciousness embedded in all organic matter。” As their paths cross， they begin a correspondence。 What begins as enemies taunting each other grows into something deeper -and more dangerous- than either had anticipated。Pros:•This books is unlike anything I’ve ever read。 The world is unique and fascinating。 While th Red and Blue are agents on two sides of a deadly war that weaves in and out of time。 Red works for the Agency， a “post-singularity technotopia”， and Blue for the Garden， a “single vast consciousness embedded in all organic matter。” As their paths cross， they begin a correspondence。 What begins as enemies taunting each other grows into something deeper -and more dangerous- than either had anticipated。Pros:•This books is unlike anything I’ve ever read。 The world is unique and fascinating。 While the overarching concept of the storyline is typical， its execution is so unique and I really had no idea what was going to happen。 Also the writing！！ Is so beautiful！•The authors take some big risks and they really pay off。 I loved the way the book built and the stakes got higher and I was really invested in the end•This book totally subverted my expectations of what scific/fantasy is， and perhaps gives us a nice demonstration of what the genre should be- using the world as a backdrop to tell a larger story。 Cons:•the world is VERY confusing， and I had to use quotes in my synopsis because I don’t fully understand the Agency or the Garden enough to describe them in my own words。 You catch on a bit， but I was really confused at the beginning and probably missed parts of the book I was supposed to appreciate while adjusting to the confusion•Red and Blue felt kind of the same to me。。。I couldn’t distinguish their characters super well （maybe I could if I read it again？） and I would have liked to feel that they were not interchangeableRecommendation: I recommend if you’re looking for something different， especially if you like scifi （or the IDEA of scifi）。 This book is really short， but beautifully written， and so， so unique。 Bonus points for casual LGBTQ representation。 Avoid if you don’t want to think hard to learn a new world or want something brainless or with really developed individual characters。 。。。more
maddy （mardhiahreads）
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1。25 star ⭐️wtf did i just read？？？ I listened to the audiobook， and it made my reading experience better， because if i were to read the ebook， i would've dnf-ed it already。I was so disappointed because the premise was very interesting and promising， and personally， the story was not even boring （*cough* like chain of gold *cough*） but i cannot give it a higher rating because of its shitty worldbuilding 😩i'm not even gonna elaborate further because you can just scroll through other 1-2 stars rati 1。25 star ⭐️wtf did i just read？？？ I listened to the audiobook， and it made my reading experience better， because if i were to read the ebook， i would've dnf-ed it already。I was so disappointed because the premise was very interesting and promising， and personally， the story was not even boring （*cough* like chain of gold *cough*） but i cannot give it a higher rating because of its shitty worldbuilding 😩i'm not even gonna elaborate further because you can just scroll through other 1-2 stars ratings here。 on a side note， i started this book without having any expectation or context and ngl， i'm glad i didn't because the rating would've gone lower if i did 🤠 ps: i can see myself picking up this book again one day on a slow reading day， because like i said， THE PREMISE WAS GOOD， AND IT WAS NOT A BORING STORY， but i don't see myself doing this anytime soon， not with a worldbuilding as shitty as this one。 pps: i still can't distinguish red and blue by the end of the book without the letters telling me who wrote them， not even after one of them died （or was she still alive？ IDK！） 😐 thank god the audiobooks were narrated by two different narrators！ 。。。more
Jordan Bires
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Gorgeous writing and a lovely story。
Erik Engelstad
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Didn't quite love it as much as others。 Was well written and liked the ideas a lot。 Didn't quite love it as much as others。 Was well written and liked the ideas a lot。 。。。more
Susan
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A completely fascinating story。。。 Thanks to the recommendation of Hannah McGregor （of Witch Please and Secret Feminist Agenda fame）， I picked up this read and not only enjoyed it， I found the whole concept fascinating。 I would love to hear the authors talk about their process in writing this。。。so many questions！！ I highly recommend！！
Christine （TheOtherChristineThatReads） McMillan
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3。5 ⭐️At some point I gave up trying to follow it really closely and just let myself bask in the beautiful prose。
Catherine
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Abstract， creative， and beautiful。 At parts， I felt like it struggled with style over substance （sorry I've been watching way too much GBBO lately） but I was still enchanted through the whole tale。 Abstract， creative， and beautiful。 At parts， I felt like it struggled with style over substance （sorry I've been watching way too much GBBO lately） but I was still enchanted through the whole tale。 。。。more
hattie
，
no comment loooool
Aleena （sanktaleena）
，
This book is so beautifully written。 I’m already ready to reread this。。。。
Melinda
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I think I maybe understood 70% of what was happening at any given time （which I kinda liked in hindsight since it was set so far in the future that imagination is really needed to grasp what life will be like then） but I know I enjoyed it a full 100%。Final consesus: grateful this strand had Atlantis
Dawn Stoecker
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