I was browsing the shelves at a local bookstore when I saw the title and was instantly intrigued. I quickly realized that This is How You Lose the Time War has nothing to do with the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords in Doctor Who, but when I opened to a page randomly and saw a reference to the starship Gallumfry -- startlingly close to Gallifrey, the homeworld of the Time Lords -- I knew I had to read it.

My interest was piqued further when I learned that the book won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards for best novella of 2019. I might be late to the party, but I can already tell it's a very good event.

The story begins on a battlefield, where we meet Red, the only surviving soldier who stands triumphant over fallen foes on a distant planet. Among the carnage she finds a letter, an incongruous discovery considering the setting, and it contains only one line -- Burn before reading. She does, and we meet its writer, Blue, who is Red's opposite, an agent for the other side of their very long war. Her letter is taunting, affectionate, and it reveals that Red has, in fact, lost this battle after all.

And so begins an ongoing battle of words that becomes a lifeline to both lonely warriors.

The rules of their game are difficult to decipher for readers unfamiliar with the wibbly-wobbly perambulations of time travel. But for Red and Blue, who navigate time, space and alternate realities to manipulate the outcomes of their never-ending war, it all makes perfect sense. And, although the two time warriors are on opposing sides of the conflict, they find a certain degree of camaraderie in their schemes to foil each other's plans. Along the way, they begin an introspective, somewhat flirtatious correspondence that defies logic, good sense and the rules of engagement. A kinship develops between them, and something more.

Red, we learn, comes from a "techy-mechy dystopia," working for the Agency in what the authors describe as a "post-singularity technotopia." Blue is from a "viny-hivey elfworld," a servant of the Garden, which is a "single vast consciousness embedded in all organic matter." Both are female, if that matters, although the distinction appears somewhat mutable. Both are sent on missions in Earth's past and on distant planets, where they tweak the details of history in order to effect favorable outcomes.

And then there's the mysterious seeker, a barely there third character who appears in their wake, gathering remnants of their correspondence for reasons largely unclear.

Lose the Time War is more literary -- perhaps poetic is the better word -- than it is science-fiction adventure. The setting is a space- and time-spanning war, yes, but the book is not filled with action sequences or battlefield gore. There are, in Red's and Blue's letters, enough vague and esoteric literary and cultural references to sate the most avid bibliophile. Fortunately, the authors don't stoop to explain them; you either get them or you don't.

Red and Blue find unusual, surprisingly complex methods of correspondence, with deeply revealing letters that lay bare their souls. Is it friendship that is growing between them? Love? Or simply empathy coupled with loneliness? Of course, if either of them is careless and their correspondence is discovered, their lives would immediately be forfeit to their unforgiving superiors.

I'll leave you to discover how it ends. And I certainly urge you to do so. This is How You Lose the Time War is emotionally charged and beautifully crafted. It will leave you with unanswered questions, but at the same time you can expect a thorough sense of satisfaction and the realization that you experienced something artistically unique.