This Is How You Lose the Time War

This novella is greatly-informed by Fritz Leiber's Change War series and its descendents: two factions, each working continuously to change elements of history to achieve a more favorable outcome for their side. Instead of Spiders and Snakes, this story features Red and Blue, two time-traveling agents from opposing groups who develop a correspondence through messages left for each other in strange, arcane ways such as bones and lava flow patterns.

The prose is absolutely poetic and lovely, but the worldbuilding and plot are almost non-existent, and what there is of it is not really believable. This story is the literary equivalent of angel-food cake: beautiful and sweet, but with no actual substance to it. However, those who appreciate lavish prose, such as in Catherynne M. Valente's works, will likely enjoy this book as well.