[go: up one dir, main page]
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    This Is How You Lose The Time War
    This Is How You Lose The Time War
    This Is How You Lose The Time War
    Audiobook4 hours

    This Is How You Lose The Time War

    Written by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

    Narrated by Cynthia Farrell and Emily Woo Zeller

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    * 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.

    Editor's Note

    Hugo-winning novella…

    This Hugo Award-winning novella contains the chaos of all of time and space within its beautifully short, never-ending love story. Two women, named Red and Blue, fight for opposite factions in the ceaseless time war, flowing from the past to the future, from timeline to timeline. Through a series of letters sent via tea and lava and other delightful delivery systems, Red and Blue fall for each other, and combine for some of the best purple prose around.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 16, 2019
    ISBN9781508287056
    Author

    Amal El-Mohtar

    Amal El-Mohtar is a Hugo Award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy, poetry and criticism, and the co-author of the New York Times bestseller This is How You Lose the Time War, written with Max Gladstone, which has been translated into over ten languages. Her reviews and articles have appeared in the New York Times and on NPR Books. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.

    Related to This Is How You Lose The Time War

    Related audiobooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related categories

    Reviews for This Is How You Lose The Time War

    4/5

    3,466 ratings195 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a beautifully written and engaging story. The book is praised for its unique concept of two people from warring factions communicating across time and space. The lyrical style and well-developed characters are also appreciated. Some readers found it difficult to follow and felt that the prose was overly flowery at times. However, overall, the book is described as a delightful and inspiring read, with a great romance and a satisfying ending. It is recommended for fans of science fiction and those who enjoy immersive writing.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      It is poetry of love, time, betrayal, and rebirth.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      While it wasn't what I expected it was still an enjoyable and sweet listen with some beautiful writing. There were moments where I teared up more than once. However, I feel like given it's concepts and depths that it is a book that'd benefit from being reread and I plan on doing that in the near future. The performances by the narrators were absolutely wonderful. They really added to the experience which made the characters more real.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Sign me up for all the poetry sci-fi out there, please.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      The language is poetic and rich. A multilayered plot that would reveal new treasures upon re-reading.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      The writing of this book is so poetic that I honestly do not have enough brain cells for this. There were a lot of things that just went over my head that I had to reread some parts in the ebook while I was listening to the audiobook and even then it really didn't sink in that much. BUT! Despite my struggle, the plot and Red and Blue's dynamics really sucked me in that I just wanted to keep going. I wanted to know what would happen to them both and how things would unfold between them.

      The development between Red and Blue and the things they went through was an emotional roller coaster. I wanted things to go positively for both of them but this is war and... this is war. Make of that what you will.

      This is definitely a book I want to reread one of these days, in print preferably, so I can absorb and internalize the words better. I feel like this is a book I would read repeatedly.
      Despite my difficulties with this book, I still found myself loving it and I really can't explain why. Maybe because it's written in letters between them and I'm a sucker for that kind of writing. Whatever it is, I just really love this book.

      P.S. I love Blue's voice in contrast to Red and I really enjoyed how this was narrated.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 2/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      I think I would have enjoyed this more if I had read it instead of listened to it. I couldn’t keep track of which character was narrating

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      you NEED to read this. im serious. read it now you don't need information you need to go in blind and read this.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Nothing special. More a young adult take on science fiction.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Sometimes, there’s a lot of buzz around a book and when you finally read it, you wonder why. And sometimes, you can believe the hype. Everything I heard and read about This Is How You Lose the Time War is true.

      In a kind of Romeo and Juliet retelling, it follows two agents of warring entities – Red of the Agency and Blue of Garden – as they learn to know each other through letters. As the story unfolds, they find endlessly creative ways to get these letters to reach the other through time and space. It begins as some sort of taunt between enemies and ends up being the ultimate love letter.

      I couldn’t be happier that I decided to listen to the audiobook instead of reading. I think it’s the first time a dual narration makes absolute sense, probably because this novella is written partly in epistolary form.

      I got lost in the time travel, all the civilizations and threads, but I have no regrets. I’m not sure the reader is supposed to follow anyway. This is more than a story, it’s an experience. Let yourself get carried away by the music of the words, the poetry, the longing, the beauty of it all.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Everything about this book is pure magic. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Just wow. This is the story Isaac Asimov would race to write after he finished reading Song of Achilles. What else could transcend time and space and infinite possibility but hate… and love. Powerful prose, intimate and raw, an incredible amount of story in an economy of words. Just enough, and so, so, so much.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      So. Good. Read. This. Now six more words, to finish.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      It was beautiful, poetic and heart wrenching and a great read.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Amazing! I loved the cultural references throughout the novel and the story is so unique! I devoured the audiobook asap. 10/10 recommend!! ?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      This was quite a good read, and the ending was lovely.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Holy fuck. ❤️ this was so beautifully written. Loved every word.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      This is the strangest, most romantic book I've ever read, and I loved every aching moment of it.

      P.S. The narration is superb.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5

      Mar 8, 2025

      Loved the concept, but didn't find it terribly engaging. I liked the episodic feel, though I never really got the sense that things tied together in the end - some things left me quite confused.
      Maybe it wasn't the right time for me to truly appreciate it, but it's definitely unique and I encourage anyone to give it a try if "sapphic time travel agents enemies-to-lovers" sounds interesting.
    • 5/5

      Feb 5, 2025

      I absolutely loved this book 10/10 will read again! Amazing!
    • 2/5

      Feb 3, 2025

      This is an implausible love story between two implausible people behaving implausibly in an implausible situation. It’s quite elegantly written, and I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t become engaged in it, because I couldn’t believe in any of it.

      The two protagonists fight on opposite sides of a seemingly endless and ruthless time war; they come from very different societies. They begin a sort of correspondence, very much at arm’s length and without meeting each other, and despite their differences and their remoteness from each other, they somehow fall in love with each other. Could this really happen? Maybe, but I’m sceptical; and the authors failed to convince me.
    • 2/5

      Feb 3, 2025

      Ralph guinea-pigged it for me, as it's short and on audio. He says confusing, pay attention, but worth the time and effort.
      ---
      on hold ebook cuz it looks to win poll for TT group August 2021
      ---
      It did win the poll. More discussion there.

      I'm disappointed. Difficult to parse the writing style, the 'poetry' took a long time to read - all for what felt to me like an ending that was a foregone conclusion.
    • 5/5

      Dec 29, 2024

      This was truly an imaginative, creative, unique endeavor that totally paid off. Both authors brought such distinct personalities and characteristics to Red and Blue that were crystal clear in the way each crafted their letters, joked, flirted, and philosophized. What a way to explore how two different individuals on opposite sides can fall in love.
    • 4/5

      Dec 8, 2024

      Once I got an understanding of how the time travel systems were happening, I enjoyed the book more. I really loved the letters of communication between Red & Blue. The way they described words by taste & touch... beautiful.
    • 4/5

      Oct 31, 2024

      This was great! Very engaging. I really loved the character dynamic.
    • 5/5

      Sep 9, 2024

      So poetic and imaginative! The audiobook is especially well done and I recommend highly reading AND listening to this.
    • 5/5

      Jul 7, 2024

      A book that must be read/listened to twice, for more reasons than I had expected. The style is breathtaking.
    • 4/5

      Jun 26, 2024

      My head is spinning a little. Absolutely beautiful. Loved the writing style & following the narrative through love letters. So sharp & poetic. I was sucked in immediately. It was a little difficult to tell exactly what was happening during some of the action parts but I am not a seasoned sci-fi reader so it makes sense that events transcending time & space would be confusing to follow along with
    • 5/5

      Jun 23, 2024

      Wow. This one really messed me up in the best kinda way. Incredible in scope, far reaching in feel. Would recommend. :)
    • 4/5

      Jun 11, 2024

      Fantastic text! a
      potpurri of images from beginning to end.