I have built a you within me, or you have. I wonder what of me there is in you.
This Is How You Lose the Time War
written by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Red has won another battle for her side in the time war, but her pride is cut short when she finds a letter on the battlefield where a letter should not be. The letter has instructions to burn before reading. Which she does. Blue, an agent from the other side of the war has left her a teasing promise that ultimately, her side will win the time war. Later, after Blue has completed a mission she finds a message from Red that she must read by bubbling. And thus, foes become pen pals.
Each chapter begins with Red or Blue on a mission somewhere and somewhen where they find the other’s disguised letter, and what started as jeering turns into something significant, until they find they are sharing their lives together. And they don't want to stop.
This is a novella that a person could read in an afternoon, yet I found it a challenge to read all at once. I struggle with books that are written in letters or diary entries. It makes it easier for me to put down. Letters, unlike texts or spoken dialogue, don’t expect an immediate response, so I didn’t feel any urgency to see what the next letter would bring. I ended up reading this book in spurts over a span of weeks, but that worked because I had unintentionally replicated the experience of waiting for mail.
I hate to say it, but this book bored me. There wasn’t much explanation of the war and Red and Blue had similar enough lives and personalities that I struggled to keep them strait. There were moments where I was impressed by the poetic writing, but it was only when a conflict arose at the end that gave me enough momentum to finish the book.
I appreciate the uniqueness of the story, but I wish it had that secret sauce that kept me wanting more.
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