Every reader has a book that reminds them reading isn’t a race. For me, This Is How You Lose the Time War became exactly that. It’s barely 200 pages long, yet it contains enough ideas, metaphors, and emotional breadcrumbs to occupy far longer books. I finished it quickly, but almost immediately wanted to begin again, not because I’d missed the ending, but because I suspected the story had been quietly speaking to me long before I understood what it was saying.

If you enjoy books that ask for your attention instead of your speed, this one deserves a place on your shelf.

*Spoilers will be hidden and labelled so you can choose to read or skip.

Two segmented birds reflect across some invisible line; the imagery catches my eye. This is How You Lose the Time War, an interesting title, deepens my interest.

While I don’t love the cover, I cannot deny that it did its job-caught my attention and kept it long enough for me to pick up the book to buy it on a whim. Now, after the fact, I have seen the hardcover version and prefer it (maybe I’ll upgrade).

Unusual as it is, I didn’t know what to expect from This is How You Lose the Time War

Color Story

A red bird and a blue bird take center stage on the cover of This Is How You Lose the Time War. Two primary colors, different but not opposite on the color wheel. Will the colors prove significant in the story?

Typography Notes

The type is a loosely kerned, italic serif with very thick/thin elements. It is a classy, old-school font that is treated unusually. Absolutely not what you might expect for a science fiction novel. Odder still, it interacts with the other visual elements in a weird way. It’s in front at some points and behind in others, but not in a way that appears natural at all.

The interior of This Is How You Lose the Time War is set in New Caledonia typeface. (Love these tidbits, thank you, frontmatter).

Genre Signals

The only signal that tells me This Is How You Lose the Time War is science fiction is the spliced-together images of the birds. It has a kind of tech vibe.

Hidden Details

The Red and Blue colors are significant (the back cover tells us that these are the main characters’ names.

Mood Check

The unusual imagery and strange font treatment of This Is How You Lose the Time War lead me to believe it might be more mental than emotional.

Beyond the Dust Jacket

This Is How You Lose the Time War has extra-wide margins, perfect for annotations (which you will want to make as you piece together this time- and space-bending story).

Did the design affect whether I bought the book?

Perhaps. It grabbed my attention; the back cover did the rest.

Red, an operative for the Agency, attempts to adjust history to create outcomes decided by technology. She is opposed by Blue, an operative for the Garden attempting to make corrections for an ecological outcome. They are on opposite sides of an ongoing war that spans time and space, but a mutual respect for the other’s skills begins an exchange that changes each of them forever.

The writing is poetic; the words have clearly been carefully chosen for meaning and impact. This book may be short, but there is a lot to unpack. Foreshadowing is skillfully done, and the resolution urges you to read it again to see if you get even more from it.

That is not to imply that This is How You Lose the Time War is dense. Jest, puns, and wordplay pepper the correspondence between Red and Blue. This epistolary exchange is as emotional as it is cryptic.

Technology versus nature, a tale as old as time, is given a fresh face.

Forbidden love, opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers–all the makings of a fine romance

What Worked:

• Clear and compelling voices of the main characters
• Yearning, effort, and the slowest of burns
• Unique storytelling style
• Interesting premise, settings, and time travel system

What Didn’t Fully Click:

• Somewhat difficult to parse through the language to tell what exactly is happening (this is for slow and careful readers)
• The plot is thin and mostly inferred

Overall:

Worth the read (and probably a re-read)

While I had other options to read when I pulled the time travel card, this one was calling to me from the shelf. I had picked it up some time ago and felt like it might be time to give it a try.

I zipped through This is How You Lose the Time War in two days. But I think that I will want to revisit it again when I am in a more reflective mood. This is a book to pour over and savour.

I often feel pressure to move on to the next book waiting on my shelf. This Is How You Lose the Time War reminded me that intentional reading isn’t always about choosing something new. Sometimes it’s about giving a remarkable story enough space to reveal itself. This is one I’ll happily return to when I want to be reminded that slowing down can be part of the pleasure.

Read if you like:

• Time-twisting sagas
• Tales pieced together from snapshots of time, letters, and fragments
• Romantic entanglement that is all yearning and no spice
• Two smart people trying to outwit each other while falling in love

Skip if you dislike:

• Complexity – this one has it in spades!
• Lyrical prose and/or epistolary exchange (letters)
• Unclear resolutions

This is How You Lose the Time War skews multiversal (think two warring factions of the TVA from Marvel’s Loki)

I read This is How You Lose the Time War to fulfill the Playing Card Reading Challenge prompt:

Read a time travel story.

This is How You Lose the Time War could also fulfill the prompts:

Read a book with LGBTQ+ representation.

Read an award-winning book.

Read a book under 200 pages.

Have you ever had a long-term exchange of letters with someone? Tell me about it in the comments!

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.

Happy Reading!