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This Is How You Lose the Time War
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
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Publisher's Summary
HUGO AWARD WINNER: BEST NOVELLA
WINNER OF THE NEBULA AND LOCUS AWARDS: BEST NOVELLA
“[An] exquisitely crafted tale...Part epistolary romance, part mind-blowing science fiction adventure, this dazzling story unfolds bit by bit, revealing layers of meaning as it plays with cause and effect, wildly imaginative technologies, and increasingly intricate wordplay...This short novel warrants multiple readings to fully unlock its complexities.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
From award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone comes an enthralling, romantic novel spanning time and space about two time-traveling rivals who fall in love and must change the past to ensure their future.
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment 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, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.
Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?
Cowritten by two beloved and award-winning sci-fi writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.
What the critics say
"Emily Woo Zeller and Cynthia Farrell's dual narrations emphasize the divergent personalities of two time-traveling protagonists.... Listen, then listen again to unravel this intricate story, beautifully narrated." (AudioFile Magazine)
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What listeners say about This Is How You Lose the Time War
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anna F.
- 2023-05-11
A masterpiece!
The writing is superb and so is the narration. This book is enthralling. A treat!
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- Shannon Graham
- 2022-12-11
Lovely writing, but heavy and hard to follow
It's a very beautifully written book, but it would have been good to have 2 distinct voices for Red and Blue, to make it easier to follow. It's pretty heavy and wordy, demanding attention to listen to every bit, so not great to listen to when working, but it's nice and short anyway.
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- Crustbuckette
- 2023-06-16
Amazing Science Fiction Novella
Loved the book and the concept. A LGBTQ+ time travelling romance you must read! Written with beautiful language and prose, wonderful to listen to. My only critique of the audiobook is that the voices for each of the two characters is very similar and it was difficult to know who was speaking at times.
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- Hammy
- 2020-04-19
Amazing. Stunning. Vibrant.
I've never listened to story quite like this before. It was happy and sad, funny and tragic, science fiction and fantasy, love and war. Romance and comedy. All wrapped neatly in a time loop, a dance of paradoxes that promises to please anyone that reads it. Do yourself a favor and get it. Witty, short, and sweet.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lydia Goodman
- 2020-11-28
very captivating
both ladies were great to listen to. really adds to the already very interesting storyline
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jess T
- 2021-07-15
hated it until I loved it? still not sure.
very abstract, not sure if reading it would have been different. I was was on the fence about this book and didn't understand why this book got such a great review. in the end I think I was surprised at the fact that I think I loved it?
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- Mikhaila
- 2022-07-17
Excellent!
Absolutely wonderful story. Romeo and Juliet turned on its dystopian multiversal head. It's the lit and history nerd's playground. Fun, sexy, smart and romantic. I loved it.
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- Anonymous User
- 2024-01-09
Makes any love letter I’ve written feel inadequate
A wonderful listen, handles the complexity that come with the time travel territory expertly. The story is held up by its engaging romance and clever writing.
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- Odessa
- 2021-01-08
Compelling
I really enjoyed the premise, the world, the characters and the relationships. Very lyrical at times, but by no means light.
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1 person found this helpful
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- JR
- 2021-05-07
Not bad but not great
I was left feeling... unsatisfied? Somehow the idea of letters being the centre for their entire love in a world that really doesn’t make any sense (which was the point I think) just didn’t seem big enough. They started out as enemies then so quickly get over it after a few corespondents.... didn’t seem to click.
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