This Is How You Lose the Time War
"I have observed friendships as one observes high holy days: breathtakingly short, whirlwinds of intimate behavior, frenzied carousing, the sharing of food, of wine, of honey. Compressed, always, and gone as soon as they come."
Author: Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Genre: Science Fiction
Publication Date: July 2019
Number of Pages: 198
Geographical Setting: All of Time & Space
Time Period: Outside of time and space.
Series: Stand-Alone
Plot Summary:
Red and Blue are both operatives working for their team's version of the future. Blue leaves a letter on the battlefield for Red to find and it triggers a chain of events that will send both hurdlings towards a new future that neither they themselves could dream up nor their respective teams.
Subject Headings:
Time Travel; Space and Time; High Technology
Appeal:
Storyline: This story unfolds over snippets in time and letters between Red and Blue. Red works for the Agency which works to undo the knots that Blue's faction, Garden, works to create. Beyond that, the goal intricacies of the time war are largely ambiguous. Despite finding out about various time postings for Red and Blue, what their goal is in each of their multiversal postings is not very clear.
Setting: There is not clear setting for this novel. At times it seems to be set out time and place or in years that have not yet happened or alternate pasts. Both Red and Blue are time travellers who are easily able to climb up and down times braid in order to create the most favorable outcome for their faction.
Tone: The first half of the book has a taunting tone as both Red and Blue exchange taunts in their actions and their letters. This changes as their relations sip blooms and their words become more flowery, descriptive, and guarded as they try to shield their relationship from their respective factions.
Characterization: Red and Bleu are given just enough character traits to distinguish each as a unique creation. There is not much known about either outside of their interactions with each other and through their letters.
Pacing: Since this book clocks in at 198 pages, it goes without saying that the pace is pretty quick. There is not a focus on world-building so the readers are able to jump right into the plot.
3 terms that best describe this book:
Lyrical; Romantic; Moving
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works
Time Travel: A History by James Gleick : Details the evolution of time travel across science and literature.
Time travel and warp drives: a scientific guide to shortcuts through time and space by Allen Everett: Dives into how science fiction and time travel are becoming less fictional every day.
The art of time travel by Tom Griffiths: In his novel, Griffiths attempts tp detail how looking back in time is both a work of imagination and of art.
3 Relevant Fiction Works
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel: The story of interconnected anomalies being studied by a time-traveling Moonman.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: Claire finds herself inexplicably drawn to time-traveling Henry. A story of love and loss in 518 pages.
Crossings by Alex Landragin: Much like the This Is How You Lose the Time War, this novel also spans decades and follows the connection of two characters.
Hi Danyelle,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such an intriguing story with an incredibly unique concept. I think this is about the most original take on the time-travel motif I’ve heard of in a long time. Did you enjoy the work?
I did enjoy the novel. I was so intrigued in how the story was going to play out that I finished the book in two days.
DeleteWhen I saw that you had chosen this book for your annotation, I knew I had to read it; I read this book a few years ago and loved it, but would have struggled trying to summarize it and parse it down into an annotation for sure! That being said, I think you did a really solid job highlighting the compelling elements of this indescribable novel. It feels strange to have to try to determine setting in a book where locations alternate so notably between familiar and impossibly foreign. I also appreciate that you address the ambiguity in a few ways, noting that their respective teams' goals aren't ever specified, their characters (while distinct) are only known to us through their epistolary interactions, etc.
ReplyDeleteI was initially nervous about reading this novel because I don't read much sci-fi, but the length, pacing, and limited focus on worldbuilding appealed to me. I didn't expect the developing relationship to be the central focus, assuming the Time War itself would be the star, but the romance being the heart of the story was ideal for me. Are you a sci-fi reader? If so, how did this one compare to others that you've read?
Typically I don't read scifi, but have started to read a bit more of it as of late. This last December, I read "Sea of Tranquility" and I have likened it to being a large oval in terms of structure. I very much felt the same way about this novel. Both books have this plot that you aren't really sure where it is heading until you've arrived there.
DeleteHi Danyelle,
ReplyDeleteI feel like this book would give me a headache. lol I have read Time Traveler's Wife and was not fan. We actually did a "Books We Hated" display at my library in January, just to mix it up and have a little fun. One of my choices was Time Travelers Wife. :)
That is a pretty fun idea for a display!
DeleteHi Danyelle, I don’t usually read science fiction, but this book has intrigued me. The idea of there being some gaps that readers need to fill in on their own sounds interesting. I also see that it’s not that long, which appeals to me since I am not well versed in sci-fi novels.
ReplyDeleteIt is a really quick read! It is definitely a good way to test out the waters of sci-fi!
DeleteDanyelle,
ReplyDeleteI was so confused when I read the title of this book because I was sure I'd seen it before. A fan of the book titled their Harry Potter fanfiction with that same name! I'm a sucker for time travel, even though it kinda hurts my head and time loops confuse me a bit.
Anyway, your short and sweet descriptions of related works/readalikes were perfect. I don't necessarily need to know a ton about a book in this case, because you've already curated it by appeal!
This sounds like a hard book to summarize - but you did a great job - especially with your appeals. Full points!
ReplyDelete