Authors Amar El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone bring us a unique time travel novel entitled This is How You Lose the Time War. The novel is told from the point-of-view of two protagonists. Nearly all chapters end with one of them reading a letter. An unconventional choice.
This reviewer loves the risks the authors take. A rich, science-fiction word encapsulated in under 200 pages? Check. Two different points-of-view? Check. A complex time traveling system never fully explained? Check. A rich vocabulary filled with references most readers will have to look up? Check. I’m amazed any publisher sanctioned bringing this book to market. But the basic theme propels it forward between what starts as a cat-and-mouse game between two agents, Red and Blue, fighting a war against each other. At first, they are out to thwart each other’s plans. Quickly, the sentiment of the letters start to change.
Each chapter is concise, rarely ending on a cliffhanger. The reader knows what to expect next. Red has a chapter, then Blue, then Red. At first, the novel reads like a chess match. Then, the letters explore questions on how the other side deals with certain elements of the war, or life, or letter-writing. Soon, the letters become more conversational, less taunting. While at the start it may be easy to put the book down, near the end the plot becomes compelling.
Most choices work in the authors’ favor. The terse chapters, the mysterious person following Red and Blue, and the creative ways the letters are written grip the reader up front. The novel never slows down, but the changing attitudes of the protagonists seems rushed. At the halfway point, the shift of viewpoint is not sublime but jarring. Could it have benefited from a few more chapters? I don’t think so. It lacks an inciting event that changes the sentiments of Red and Blue. One comes for them around page 75 but too soon. Both characters appear to change at the same time. Becoming aligned simultaneously is difficult to believe.
This novel has a modern ending as well. While satisfying, I’m always a little disappointed with the “go bigger” endings in current novels. But in reviewing a book, one must deal with the ending that is written, not that might have been. And this ending completes the narrative, bringing the plot to a decent stopping point.
This is How You Lose the Time War. The title is excellent, the format is exquisite, the writing is admirable, and the ideas are creative. A worthy read with minor issues, this novel should be on any science fiction reader’s list.