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This Is How You Lose the Time War cover art

This Is How You Lose the Time War

By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the Reddit Stabby Award for Best Novella AND The British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novella

Two time-travelling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters - and fall in love in this thrilling and romantic book from award-winning authors Amal-El Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.
Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That's how war works. Right?

©2019 Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about This Is How You Lose the Time War

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Incredible story read by incredible actors

The narrators bring new life to the characters, I've listened to this audiobook more times than I've ever read the book, because it's amazing

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Writing to die for

Superbly written. The literary fiction end of sci fi.
Poetic. Luscious emotional tones. Yet sitting squarely in the genre.
Deserved winner of awards.
I will read anything i now find by them.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I keep going back for more...

I have listened to this book at least three times and am now into my fourth! It is beautiful, brutal, abstract and delicious.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Dr
  • 23-08-2021

Too much of a good thing?

I prefer poetry as a garnish to good prose, rather than as the main course. This novella feels like a labour of love on the authors' part (excuse the pun), but the constant torrent of concocted images and literary devices becomes mind numbing.
The last quarter of the book, where the sci-fi theme becomes more than a romantic back-drop, pushes this book from a miss to an almost thumbs-up.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Weird but good

A bit strange to get into but intriguing once you get started and I had to know how it ended

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic

Compelling, poetic and exciting. A great concept executed beautifully. Also, not overly long. Not just for scifi fans either.

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  • Overall
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Truly Divine

The writing, the story, the interaction. I can't wait to relisten. One of my favourite audio books!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I'm still torn about how I feel with this one

I found myself lost a lot, I also felt no connection to the characters. I can't tell if that's because the story just wasn't for me, or the performance just lacked the emotion it definitely seemed to require. Overall, so glad it was this short otherwise I would have given up on it much sooner.

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

A book genuinely engaged by the audio format

The plot is window dressing. Once you let go of that element and just too with the flow of it, the book is excellent. Plus the narrators bring so much to the back and forth nature of it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely enthralling

Utterly fantastic from start to finish. A great premise and the voice acting is superb. Would recommend it to anyone.

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