The novella “This is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal-El Mohtar and Max Gladstone was published for the first time in 2019. It won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and BSFA Awards as the best novella of the year.
When Red, an agent of the Commandant’s team, finds a message from Blue, a rival in the Time War, she gets intrigued despite knowing that it might be hiding a trap. She decides to respond and this leads to an exchange of messages that begins with mutual teasing and challenges and becomes something else.
Red and Blue find a mutual understanding that deepens their bond even though the Agency and the Garden are enemies. This prevents them from meeting in person and actually makes even exchanging messages dangerous, yet this doesn’t stop their feelings.
Amal-El Mohtar and Max Gladstone wrote a story that uses some very classic elements, including the epistolary novel which far precedes the birth of modern science fiction in the part made up of the messages that Red and Blue exchange. The protagonists are two agents of enemy factions in a time war who carry out missions in different timelines.
If you prefer stories that offer explanations regarding the context in which the characters move, “This is How You Lose the Time War” is not for you. The Agency and the Garden are described in very generic terms, starting with their names. However, it’s precisely this characteristic that makes the situation of the two protagonists a sort of mirror dance, placing them at the center of the plot. Any in-depth description would have been a digression that would have shifted the focus to something else not directly related to Red and Blue.
Romantic stories are really not my thing and yet I appreciated the way in which the authors developed the relationship between Red and Blue. In these cases, the danger is to become sappy and in those cases, my level of interest falls at the speed of light. In my opinion, the authors managed to maintain a balance in the exchange of messages between the protagonists which always includes references to their missions and the dangers they face. For this reason, it’s an exchange that explores their emotional bond while avoiding plaguing it with too much saccharine.
The result is a story of love and war centered on a personal relationship. Going forward with the exchange, Red and Blue’s search for this relationship despite everything that happens around them also leads to wondering what the meaning of war is. The lack of a real explanation for that war also gives the idea that the authors wanted to show a pointless conflict. In that situation, two enemies find an understanding with each other that they can’t find with their commanding officers.
In the end, in my opinion, the beauty of “This is How You Lose the Time War” lies in the way in which Red and Blue establish their relationship while somehow chasing each other in a colossal space-time frame. Again, if you like stories in which everything is explained, this one is not for you but if you can let yourself be transported here and there in the timelines together with the protagonists, you will be able to appreciate their story. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
