Science fiction is booming, but diving into a new series can feel like a marathon. Many of the genre's most celebrated works are sprawling doorstoppers, but some of the best stories are compact and punchy. The standout example is This Is How You Lose the Time War, co-written by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Published in 2019, this novel can be devoured in a single afternoon, yet it delivers an epic narrative that stretches across centuries and dimensions.
The book is an epistolary novel, told through letters exchanged between two characters known only as Agent Red and Agent Blue. They are time-traveling operatives on opposing sides of a conflict so vast it defies comprehension. Despite being enemies, they fall in love against all odds, trapped in a war that seems endless. It's a heartwarming tale at any length, but cramming it into one slim volume makes it even more impressive.
Grand Scale, Minimal Words
Sci-fi fans often think big—space operas spanning galaxies, cyberpunk cities teeming with life, cosmic horrors beyond human perception. This Is How You Lose the Time War matches that scale without wasting a single word. There are no info dumps or jargon, yet you instantly grasp that these are advanced, non-human beings hopping through time to fight for interdimensional territory.
Red and Blue work for rival empires existing in separate timelines, each determined to wipe out the other. To achieve this, they alter historical events to their advantage, inevitably crossing paths. Instead of clashing, they begin leaving each other cryptic messages, forging a bond that evolves into genuine love by the book's end.
There's nothing wrong with thousand-page epics—many of my favorites are—but there's something special about fitting such a grand story into a compact package. This Is How You Lose the Time War runs about 200 pages, depending on the edition. The audiobook, narrated by Cynthia Farrell and Emily Woo, clocks in at just over four hours. Whether you're a Dune veteran or intimidated by massive sci-fi tomes, this is a must-read for any genre fan.
The Viral Phenomenon
If you've heard of this book, you might have a random Twitter user to thank. In 2023, the novel shot up bestseller lists thanks to @maskofbun, who went by the display name "bigolas dickolas wolfwood." Their tweet read: "Read this. DO NOT look up anything about it. just read it. It's only like 200 pages u can download it on Audible it's only like four hours. Do it right now I'm very extremely serious."
The emphatic recommendation, paired with that unforgettable handle, went viral. The account was primarily a Trigun fan page, not a book reviewer. The user stayed anonymous after the tweet exploded and even declined a Hugo Award nomination for Best Related Work. Their post inspired thousands to read and share the book, so whether you discovered it through a friend or this article, you have Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood to thank.
For more compact sci-fi gems, check out our list of short western TV series or explore District 9, now free on Pluto TV. And if you're new to the genre, our guide to Stephen King's must-reads is a great starting point.
