"This Is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

“Words can wound—but they’re bridges, too. (Like the bridges that are all that Genghis left behind.) Though maybe a bridge can also be a wound? To paraphrase a prophet: Letters are structures, not events. Yours give me a place to live inside.”

Themes: Longing; Uncertainty; Competition; Romance; Nature; Technology 

Discussion Questions:

1. Why don't we learn Red’s real name? How does Blue know it?

2. Do their chosen colors “fit” these characters? Why or why not?

3. Based on the descriptions of Red and Blue, how do you envision them? Are they human beings, or something else? At what point would their form differ so greatly from humans that they would be another species? Does it matter?

4. Why do you think the authors chose to describe Red and Blue as women/use ‘she/her’ pronouns as opposed to others? Similarly, what is the significance (if any) of the feminization of the Commandment and Garden? 

5. Do you believe the futures discussed in this novel are derived from our current reality, or new worlds entirely? 

6. What did you think about the opposing factions? Why were they fighting—and does that “why” seem to matter to the book?

7. Did you sympathize with one character or cause more than the other? Why or why not? 

8. What do Red and Blue’s allusions to art and culture tell you about their world(s)? 

9. Did Red and Blue's romance feel genuine? Why or why not? How would you describe their relationship? 

10. What do you think about the semi-epistolary structure? How does that affect the world-building and/or the characterization of Red and Blue? Do you find it easy or difficult to follow? How does it enrich the story?

11. How would the book be different if it were written by only one author?