--- product_id: 205448146 title: "This Is How You Lose the Time War" price: "Rp435938" currency: IDR in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.id/products/205448146-this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war store_origin: ID region: Indonesia --- # This Is How You Lose the Time War **Price:** Rp435938 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** This Is How You Lose the Time War - **How much does it cost?** Rp435938 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.id](https://www.desertcart.id/products/205448146-this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: This Is How You Lose the Time War: 9781534430990: El-Mohtar, Amal, Gladstone, Max: Books Review: Amazing prose and a beautiful story - A reminder of love's ideation and how it can capture our minds as well as our hearts. Beautiful prose in a unique context, let us hope we are upbraid from Red and Blue's future. Review: Maybe more compelling as literary exercise than story, but still engrossing and worth the time - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's This is How You Lose the Time War boasts a great conceit: a book that's comprised of letters between two soldiers on opposing sides in a war throughout time, as the two soldiers drift throughout the timestream to try to set up future events that will save "their side" in the war. But that conceit is underlined by the way that El-Mohtar and Gladstone approached the book, which is that each would write a chapter and letter, send it to the other one, and the other would respond without pre-planning or coordination, building a world together - and more importantly, building on these characters organically and interestingly as they grew. The result is a surprisingly compelling tale of two people connecting across (literally) time and space, slowly evolving in their understanding of each other as individuals and as "enemies," allowing their relationship to somehow be both specific and universal at the same time. Time War is sometimes more satisfying as a literary exercise than as a pure story; the alternating structure and lack of major plan combine to make the book feel a little shaggy and loose at times, even at its short length, with details that feel relevant being discarded and the plot kind of rushing in all at once. But it doesn't really detract from the richness of Red and Blue as characters, starting their partnership in taunting barbs before connecting through their isolation and loneliness, all while giving hints at an incredible scope to this war that could support a large saga. I never quite unconditionally loved Time War, but I liked it very much; while it occasionally veers into the overly poetic/angsty, it's too interesting and imaginative for me not to find myself drawn in, and the way it brings its characters to life while doing so in a unique form and fashion all makes it a novella whose praise I understand and don't disagree with. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #4,174 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3 in Epistolary Fiction (Books) #6 in Time Travel Fiction #145 in Romantic Fantasy (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (19,347) | | Dimensions | 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.25 inches | | Edition | Reprint | | ISBN-10 | 1534430997 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1534430990 | | Item Weight | 6.4 ounces | | Language | English | | Print length | 224 pages | | Publication date | March 17, 2020 | | Publisher | S&S/Saga Press | ## Images ![This Is How You Lose the Time War - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71w0e6zz+VL.jpg) ![This Is How You Lose the Time War - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JQzHnJg2L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing prose and a beautiful story *by K***L on March 19, 2026* A reminder of love's ideation and how it can capture our minds as well as our hearts. Beautiful prose in a unique context, let us hope we are upbraid from Red and Blue's future. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Maybe more compelling as literary exercise than story, but still engrossing and worth the time *by J***E on June 9, 2024* Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's This is How You Lose the Time War boasts a great conceit: a book that's comprised of letters between two soldiers on opposing sides in a war throughout time, as the two soldiers drift throughout the timestream to try to set up future events that will save "their side" in the war. But that conceit is underlined by the way that El-Mohtar and Gladstone approached the book, which is that each would write a chapter and letter, send it to the other one, and the other would respond without pre-planning or coordination, building a world together - and more importantly, building on these characters organically and interestingly as they grew. The result is a surprisingly compelling tale of two people connecting across (literally) time and space, slowly evolving in their understanding of each other as individuals and as "enemies," allowing their relationship to somehow be both specific and universal at the same time. Time War is sometimes more satisfying as a literary exercise than as a pure story; the alternating structure and lack of major plan combine to make the book feel a little shaggy and loose at times, even at its short length, with details that feel relevant being discarded and the plot kind of rushing in all at once. But it doesn't really detract from the richness of Red and Blue as characters, starting their partnership in taunting barbs before connecting through their isolation and loneliness, all while giving hints at an incredible scope to this war that could support a large saga. I never quite unconditionally loved Time War, but I liked it very much; while it occasionally veers into the overly poetic/angsty, it's too interesting and imaginative for me not to find myself drawn in, and the way it brings its characters to life while doing so in a unique form and fashion all makes it a novella whose praise I understand and don't disagree with. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fantastical sci-fi book with a compelling romance to top it off *by S***H on June 6, 2023* I actually bought this book a few months ago on the recommendation of a reading list, but I never got around to seriously digging into the book. But after getting through another few stories, and after reading about a certain Twitter user whose endorsement went viral, I was intrigued. So I picked it up and almost immediately, I was enthralled. I will say, for a relatively short 200 page novella, this book is remarkably dense and intense. It is a back-and-forth between two warriors of warring factions in a time war. The time war itself is both rather obvious in nature (they travel to different times and places and influence events) and incredibly dense, with interweaving timelines that form and melt based on the actions of the protagonists. I would say that if you are looking for a book that deep dives into finer details of the worldbuilding and time travel system, this isn't the kind of book for you. Instead, the worldbuilding serves as a fascinating tapestry upon which the narrative unfolds. The authors, in my opinion, leave wide room for interpretation, and I found that to be so refreshing for a sci-fi book. I suppose that was a necessity, based on the length of the novella, but it was an excellent one, because it allows so much of the story to revolve around the romance between the characters. And the romance! I can't overstate how great it feels. It's playful, it's teasing, it's as rich as a triple chocolate cookie, and it's thrilling. It felt so lively, I could have seriously guessed that the authors were dating each other (which was not the case, as the afterword mentions, both are married to other people). And the fact that it was a Sapphic romance was perhaps the most delightful part. I'm so used to Sapphic romance being rather plain, or falling into several tropes, but the setting really forced the authors to expand beyond those tropes. And what a delight that was! I would not only recommend this book to lovers of LGBT romances, but to anyone who loves a great romantic tale. It's too good to pass up! ## Frequently Bought Together - This Is How You Lose the Time War - I Who Have Never Known Men - Piranesi --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.id/products/205448146-this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war](https://www.desertcart.id/products/205448146-this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war) --- *Product available on Desertcart Indonesia* *Store origin: ID* *Last updated: 2026-05-09*