Skip to main content

This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

"Red, an operative of The Agency and Blue, an operative of Garden are able to travel through time and space, making corrections, deletions, all manner of alterations that will affect time in past, present and future. When Red stumbles upon a letter in the aftermath of a battle that says, "Burn before Reading" she rises to the bait and that's when she "meets" Blue and their correspondence will be the thing that changes everything." 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: It was definitely an interesting read, told mostly through correspondence between two enemy agents in the Time War/Red and Blue's differences in beliefs first made them enemies but as time progressed and their letters, first taunts and jeers changed to friendship and love, they too, changed as people. 

Cons: The times between the letters, when Red and Blue complete assignments and try to keep their correspondence a secret, could be a little confusing/Since they could travel back and forth through different "strands" of time, I eventually gave up trying to figure out where or when they were. 

Full Review: 

Red is part of the Agency. A technotopia that is ruled by Commandant. They're raised in vats, carefully monitored, enhanced as weapons and sent off into the Time War. 

Blue is part of Garden. An organic, living, growing community of agents that are raised from the Earth, enhanced as weapons and sent off into the Time War. 

Red and Blue first meet in a distant star battle in some vast strand of time. And when Red sees a letter in the aftermath of the grand battle that says "Burn after reading" she finds a letter from Blue, her enemy, basically taunting her and inviting her to give chase. 

Red decides to follow Blue's jeers and see where they lead. And of course, their correspondence through vast reaches of time and space grows from somewhat snarky and condescending into an exploration of themselves, curiosity about their different worlds and soon, they form a friendship. And even more, they realize that they love one another. 

It's betrayal of the highest sort and they both know that if they're caught, it will mean certain death. So, they do what they can to protect one another, even if it costs them their lives. 

This was definitely an interesting, engrossing and quick read. I liked how Red and Blue's letters were at first slightly mocking, jeering, a challenge. But as they learn more about one another, they realize that they care for each other and as time progresses, they also realize that, this war isn't what matters. Red and Blue, one to the other, is what really matters. It was a story about loyalty, beliefs, progress, change and of course, love. And it was told mostly through letters that they wrote to one another. This was definitely one of the more unique books I've read in awhile but unique is simply different and in this case, it's a good thing. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

"Obviously targeted to writers but honestly, anyone could benefit from Bradbury's practical yet poetic advice, this was a collection of esasys by Bradbury about his writing process and reflections on some of his greatest works."   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Bradbury, duh, though I'm biased, to me, the man's prose is pure poetry, every word beautiful/Since writing is not my career, it was an interesting way to view Bradbury's life. Writing was his job and he was the only income. If he did not produce material, he would not get paid. It help put things into perspective.  Cons: The man can go on for a bit 😂/Bradbury's insane work ethic and endless endurance to just produce story after story seems insane and overwhelming but then again, this was his livelihood, so I'm sure it was insane and overwhelming. If he didn't write and get paid, they'd starve, so, it was a life or death situation. Full Review:  This was essentially a collection of essays written by Bra...

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

​“The tale of Andy Dufresne and how he served his time at Shawshank prison, as told through the eyes of his friend and fellow inmate, Red. Dark and disturbing but also compulsively readbale. I finished it in 2 days. Also enjoyable is Frank Darabont's 1994 film adaptation, "The Shawshank Redemption." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros : Red has a soothing, drawl, making the reading easy and flowing/Since I saw the film first, I couldn't help but compare the book though I was pleased to find that the two were very similar.  Cons : Things got a bit rambling a bit at the beginning/Since I saw the film first I couldn't help but compare the book but this ended up not being a con.  Full Review: The state of Maine has a prison. Shawshank Redemption. And Red is the guy that can get you things. He also happens to be the only guilty man in Shawshank but that's netiher here nor there. He meets Andy Dufresne for business purposes at first and he finds him to be a calm, cool man and Red likes him i...

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end."    ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific.  Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd.  Full Review:  Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...