This romance sci-fi novella from 2019, told almost entirely through letters between the protagonists, follows rival time travel soldiers Red and Blue as they go on missions across different timelines for their respective factions in the titular Time War, the Agency and the Garden.
However, it is much more than that. When Blue first leaves a message for Red marked “Burn before reading” in the ashes of a dead world, it sets off a chain of events that ripple through time and space. This love story, often described as sapphic (both Red and Blue are referred to as “she” though neither is fully human), reminds us that being on opposite sides doesn’t always mean that we’re different, and hope and love are strong enough to persevere across different timelines and locations.
Amal El-Mohtar (who exclusively wrote Blue’s chapters) and Max Gladstone (who exclusively wrote Red’s chapters) simultaneously construct a rich sci-fi story set in an intricate world and a romance elegantly written in innovative and touching prose. Since I first read it in 2023, I’ve considered it one of my favorite books and perhaps one of the best I’ve ever read. Concise, beautiful, heartwarming, tension-filled, and unable to be put down, This Is How You Lose the Time War is a modern masterpiece of genre-mixing that seamlessly incorporates science fiction and romance into an uncommon format to create what will surely be considered a classic of 21st-century literature.
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