This Is How You Lose the Time War

a friend recommended it to me and if it is as good as they say i can’t wait to read it ♥️♥️

You like sci-fi right? If you also like overly flamboyant gushing love letters between two strangers you're never given any reason to care for, then have at it. Otherwise win the time war for yourself by doing something else. Written as an exchange between two time-traveling agents, Red and Blue, on two opposing sides of a war that spans eternity, in prose that is fittingly Purple. Highly abstract and open ended, this will be an enjoyable diversion for people with the time to dedicate to less conventional science fiction.

I genuinely don’t have words for this book, in the best way possible. I’ll say it right away: this is the best book I’ve read this year. I picked it up after reading The River Has Roots, thinking that had been my favorite book of the year, but this somehow managed to surpass it. It feels almost impossible that anything will top it. That said, this is not an easy read, at least not at the beginning. For a good portion of the book I felt like I didn’t fully understand what was happening, but it quickly became clear that the focus isn’t so much on the details of the events, but on the relationship between the two protagonists (and other themes). Because I wanted to understand the story more deeply, I decided to slow down and really analyse the first part of the book, chapter by chapter, and once everything started to click (around chapter 10), the reading experience became much smoother and incredibly immersive. I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting, in a little over three hours, completely absorbed. This story could have been told in a much more linear, straightforward sci-fi way, but it would have lost so much of its impact. The way it is written is not just a stylistic choice, it’s what makes the story so powerful and emotional Without going into spoilers, I absolutely loved the ending. I genuinely can’t imagine a more fitting conclusion to this story. I understand why some readers might find it confusing, and I would recommend either taking your time with it or even rereading it to fully grasp everything. This book completely stunned me. It’s emotional, original, and beautifully written, an unforgettable experience.

Op tijd geleverd en in goede staat, dankjewel.

Reading this book, sometimes I didn't know what was happening, sometimes I laughed and smiled, but I also sobbed a lot. This book is so beautiful, I have no words. I'll read it again for sure!

Like many people, I first heard about this book when legitimate and professional news readers had to repeatedly say the username "Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood" on TV and over radio. I remember finding the whole thing utterly hilarious back then, and mentally added the book to my 'to read' list. It was actually much later that a close friend mentioned the book again as something she thought I would like that I actually went out and bought a copy to read. I wish I hadn't waited so long honestly, because I think this might now be one of my absolute favourite books. The story is a scifi, written in the epistolary style between two agents of rival factions in a time war. It starts with them taunting one another, then the language begins to soften, and it's done so artfully that sometimes you don't notice and have to go back a letter and read it again to see the subtle changes in language. It's so poetically written as well, truly lyrical by the end, and the idea and themes are so clever and well executed throughout, I feel like I'm going to re-read this book hundreds of times and still fall in love with it all over again. I've got to admit, usually when I write book reviews I tend not to worry too much about spoilers, simply because I tend to read books that have been out for a few years already. This time I'm being deliberately vague though, because I really think this book is better if you go into it with no expectations. It takes so many twists and turns in the narrative and the ending honestly broke me - I genuinely sobbed all through the last forty pages, I'm not kidding. It's a true enemies to lovers sapphic romance, written in the most dazzling way, with so much poignant yearning dripping from the pages that it destroyed me and healed me over and over again as I read it. It's not a big book, by the way. I think it took me four or so hours to read? I would recommend this book to anyone really, but especially people who enjoy clever narration and beautiful wordplay. I'm excited to read it again!