The poems and pining are there but the 'romance' ingredient somehow missing. ISBN … If we say that Locke Lamora is heist fantasy, or The Starlight is superhero fantasy, this is romantic poetry fantasy. (This review was first published on The Fantasy Inn). This Is How You Lose the Time War (Book) : El-Mohtar, Amal : Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. Its a great title, I mean its a really good title. (AUDIO: X and the Daleks, et al.) This is How You Lose the Time War takes its time in each small piece of the world, but it never loses itself. Today’s the day! There’s still a war going on, after all. It would never use one word if it could use three alliterative ones. 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. – before everyone else. This Is How You Lose the Time War is a character-driven story; it is all about Red and Blue and their unlikely correspondences through time and space. Amazing locations that are they so they can be described rather than add any actual plot. This is How You Lose the Time War is exquisitely written, a poetic masterpiece created by two highly talented and seasoned writers. Press J to jump to the feed. 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. Dimensions. It reads: Burn before reading. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. It feels good to read out loud. About The Author. Poetically nerdy, poignantly romantic. The writing is excellent and it's also short. The world building was weak. But you forgot the most important thing... What bingo squares does it fulfill ;)? Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. There is definitely world building, it's just poetically done. 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. This Is How You Lose the Time War (Book) : El-Mohtar, Amal : Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. But now you can suffer its pleasures too. I think it worked for me because the form played so well into the episodic multi-verse/time travel aspect of the story. If you want to get better acquainted with her writing, here's her Hugo-winning short story: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/seasons-glass-iron/, I LOVED it and I'm not usually a fan of epistolary novels. Thank you, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I went in assuming it would be about war and time travel, maybe a bit of losing, but probably not much. I’ve never read anything like it, and I strongly suspect I never will again. But there wasn't enough of tension to make it an enjoyable rivals-in-love. Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, though I'd been meaning to get this but had forgotten about it, so really thanks. The tone is taunting, boasting at first, then it becomes flirty, then achingly beautiful. This Is How You Lose the Time War has an argument to make—several, actually—about conflict, love, and resistance. The prose really is that good. I was dying to get this book, blurb unseen – because with these two authors, there was no doubt it would be amazing. You play long odds. Poetic love letters, not the poetry of simple words carefully chosen but a stream of flowery prose. Anything that’s done can be undone; one agent can carefully move an entire army into position, only to have the entire plan fall apart because the other agent went upthread (ie: into the past) and used the Butterfly Effect with a surgeon’s touch to change the whole outcome. I went in assuming it would be about war and time travel, maybe a bit of losing, but probably not much. Friends! It was for me. It is a problem with how the book was marketed. “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 This is not what the book is about. Bahaha that song is godawful. If you go in expecting time travel shenanigans then you're going to be disappointed. /r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. I devoured the whole thing yesterday, and lost count of the times I had to pause because a sentence, phrase or paragraph just bowled me over with its poignant perfection. You’ve waited. The setting is strange. You run the table. Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. There is much that you can glean from these letters about the world of this story, bits that you can piece together into a tableau. This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone. It's just in the background. And someone has to win that war. I can accept it since we can take the novel in the style of a "historical" novel where the letters just happen and the period peculiarities aren't explained. I love Gladstone's Craft Sequence but I'm not familiar with El-Mohtar. The only reason they would want each other is familiarity through the ages type of thing. It reads: Burn before reading. This Is How You Lose the Time War (Book) : El-Mohtar, Amal : Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. [Amal El-Mohtar; Max Gladstone; Cynthia Farrell; Emily Woo Zeller] -- "Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. I would argue that there is a plot and world building. 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. What starts out as funny soon … Language: English. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Both authors play to their strengths, which gives us this miracle of a book. The playfulness of a new relationship, the tension of the outside world where they’re supposed to be mortal enemies. It is very much a romance and if you go in expecting a romance then it works. Two enemy agents start an unlikely correspondance in the midst of a war through time. So we would have action provided by the war and then maybe a light discourse on the nature of paradox, followed up by some time travel related plot twists. It reads: Burn before reading. I read it far enough after it's initial release that I knew going in it was a romance story with a sci-fi time travel background. You were 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. And weird. If I ever see the kindle edition on sale I'll pick it up. 32706 Ratings. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://uncannymagazine.com/article/seasons-glass-iron/. Similarly, before This Is How You Lose the Time War, Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar’s new epistolary science fiction novella, the time travel love … This Is How You Lose the Time War is a 2019 science fiction epistolary novel by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I cannot recommend this highly enough! Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. Publication date. ISBN-10. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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. Plus! Just lacking for me. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. It reads: Burn before reading. But eh.. it just felt bland generic, somehow. I keep coming back to my favorite passages today. The fact that this is a time war means it literally never ends. The messages are sent through improbable ways, each time a surprise for both the reader and the recipient. This is one of the ones I read, and I couldn’t talk about it until it was officially a … “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 I got Blue by Eiffel 65 stuck in my head for days (thanks Amal, thanks Max…). 13.97 x 2.03 x 20.96 cm. Granted, saying “the setting is strange” when Gladstone and El-Mohtar are involved is very much like saying “water is wet”. Its not for me, but there is definitely a market for this out there. Get this from a library! Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. I could not agree with this review more. 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. You should maybe take it more as a work of art than a novel. As you can probably tell from this description, This is How You Lose the Time War reads less like a story and more like a conversation. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Amal El-Mohtar is an award-winning author, editor, and critic. Co-written by two award-winning writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space. Estimated Ship Date for Winners: June 11th, 2019. Damn it sounds great. “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 That’s how war works. Previous page. 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). 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 meant the stormlight archives not starlight! It's such a unique little book. But I didn’t love it in a way I find interesting and want to think more about. I see where you're coming from but think you're missing things. And thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone shared the process behind writing the book together. All signs pointed to me and this book being a perfect match. It reads: Burn before reading. That sounds really cool. It reads: Burn before reading. ★★★★☆ I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This Is How You Lose The Time War will be released on July 18th. 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. It reads: Burn before reading. Except discovery of their bond would be death for each of them. So we would have action provided by the war and then maybe a light discourse on the nature of paradox, followed up by some time travel related plot twists. 1 Jan. 2019. This was a mistake. Surprising at every turn. Two enemy agents start an unlikely correspondance in the midst of a war through time. You’re a swift opponent, Blue. 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. It reads: Burn before reading. I just read the preview on amazon, and the prose is quite lovely: textured and rhythmic. Right? Personally, I was really disappointed by this book, BUT I know that's not the general consensus. 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. What starts as a boastful correspondence, soon turns to understanding, and then so much more. Only here it's the future/time travel. In a later period of the Eighth Doctor's life, the Time Lords began foreseeing the future Time War (AUDIO: Deeptime Frontier, Fugitives, The Crucible of Souls) as tensions rose between them and the Daleks. The fear, the wonder, the hope. It’s a study of contrasts: the horrors of an unending war, the beauty of a blossoming and fragile love. If you’re thinking I have used up a lot of words in a row as a preface to admitting that I didn’t love This Is How You Lose the Time War, you are perfectly correct. One of the problems of working for a publisher is that I get to read books about, oooh, a year – or more! The Daleks began fighting the Time War before it was formally declare… You're very welcome. /r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. This Is How You Lose the Time War (Book) : El-Mohtar, Amal : Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. On one hand, I loved the interplay between not only the characters on the page, but the voices of Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar as they seamlessly weave together the story of Blue and Red. You’ve suffered agonies of time. It didn't go beyond generic 2 super advanced sides fighting each other. This review made me want to read this book! New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Head over to Bookish for the behind the scenes details! This is How You Lose the Time War is a love story – the star-crossed kind. I didn't get it in this novel. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. 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. 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 follows two spies, Red and Blue, of warring time factions, chasing each other along the braids of life. 1534431004. The messages are sent through improbable ways, each time a surprise for both the reader and the recipient. The whole point was the romance. This book was so heartbreakingly beautiful, and gorgeously written. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between … There a mix of futuristic elements and a form of dark, fairytale-like magic which makes the reading experience unsettling. It reads: Burn before reading. Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters—and fall in love in this thrilling and romantic book from award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. The closing lines paired with the title create a fantastic turn: Without spoiling anything, it's as though Jeanette Winterson wrote an epistolary romance between post-human, time-travelling, lady spies, spiced with generous amounts of SF. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. But at the same time, we’re grounded with familiar elements to pop culture and classical references. Press J to jump to the feed. And for me, an important point of romance is making me believe or understand why people would fall in love with each other or want to be together (even if it's messed up and problematic). Nice writing though. This is How You Lose the Time War is a love story – the star-crossed kind. This is How you Lose the Time War is released today! Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Its a good enough title that I actively avoided reviews because a title like that said good things. It was love poetry. To those who read this review: I hope it’s for you, too. It's not the point, the point is the romance between Red and Blue. It reads: Burn before reading. 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. It was first published by Simon and Schuster. Mix of futuristic elements and a form of dark, fairytale-like magic which makes the reading experience.! Kindle edition on sale I 'll pick it up amazon, and.! 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