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A review by moth_meg
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
5.0
A completely unique and beautiful book!
I started this book knowing that it was very well-reviewed, but I can't even begin to describe how much it exceeded my every expectation. [b:This Is How You Lose the Time War|43352954|This Is How You Lose the Time War|Amal El-Mohtar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545755487l/43352954._SX50_.jpg|58237743] is exciting, surprising, and romantic.
Red and Blue are enemy agents in a war that is being fought through time travel. They have never met face to face, but they glimpse each other across battlefields and recognize each other's handiwork in carefully calculated sabotage. Their millennia-spanning feud begins to transform into something else after Blue leaves Red a taunting letter, sparking a correspondence that endangers them both.
[a:Amal El-Mohtar|4175512|Amal El-Mohtar|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1299879154p2/4175512.jpg] delivers the story as a series of vignettes, following Red and Blue through different missions in different timelines, paired with the letters they exchange. I love love love letters. I love reading letters, I love writing letters, and this book captures everything that I love about them- the formality, the anticipation, the ~drama~ of it all.
This is a philosophical love story set on a backdrop of science fiction and magic. At its core, this is a character study of the two leading women. El-Mohtar creates a great balance between including enough detail to provide context and interest, but not so much as to distract from the relationship between Red and Blue. The time war itself is minimized in favor of the interactions between Red and Blue, mirroring how they feel. Their communication with each other is their rebellion and individualism in a world where their every other action and thought belongs to their commanding officers. They challenge and inspire each other in ways that even their lives as time-traveling super soldiers cannot.
The sprinkles of world-building that El-Mohtar provides are rich with imagery and intrigue. Her minimalist approach still manages to paint a complex and adventure-filled picture of the universe and cultures in which her characters exist.
This story has no clear antagonist. Just two opposing sides, both committing acts of good and evil in order to shape the future in a way that they believe is better. Are any of the characters "good"? Probably not. But there's something so exciting about reading characters who would burn the world to save each other.
I started this book knowing that it was very well-reviewed, but I can't even begin to describe how much it exceeded my every expectation. [b:This Is How You Lose the Time War|43352954|This Is How You Lose the Time War|Amal El-Mohtar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545755487l/43352954._SX50_.jpg|58237743] is exciting, surprising, and romantic.
Red and Blue are enemy agents in a war that is being fought through time travel. They have never met face to face, but they glimpse each other across battlefields and recognize each other's handiwork in carefully calculated sabotage. Their millennia-spanning feud begins to transform into something else after Blue leaves Red a taunting letter, sparking a correspondence that endangers them both.
[a:Amal El-Mohtar|4175512|Amal El-Mohtar|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1299879154p2/4175512.jpg] delivers the story as a series of vignettes, following Red and Blue through different missions in different timelines, paired with the letters they exchange. I love love love letters. I love reading letters, I love writing letters, and this book captures everything that I love about them- the formality, the anticipation, the ~drama~ of it all.
This is a philosophical love story set on a backdrop of science fiction and magic. At its core, this is a character study of the two leading women. El-Mohtar creates a great balance between including enough detail to provide context and interest, but not so much as to distract from the relationship between Red and Blue. The time war itself is minimized in favor of the interactions between Red and Blue, mirroring how they feel. Their communication with each other is their rebellion and individualism in a world where their every other action and thought belongs to their commanding officers. They challenge and inspire each other in ways that even their lives as time-traveling super soldiers cannot.
The sprinkles of world-building that El-Mohtar provides are rich with imagery and intrigue. Her minimalist approach still manages to paint a complex and adventure-filled picture of the universe and cultures in which her characters exist.
This story has no clear antagonist. Just two opposing sides, both committing acts of good and evil in order to shape the future in a way that they believe is better. Are any of the characters "good"? Probably not. But there's something so exciting about reading characters who would burn the world to save each other.