tl;dr: 'One Day All This Will Be Yours' is a wickedly funny and inventive look at time travel.
The novella's protagonist is the sole survivor of The War to End All Wars. That epithet seems unlikely given how many wars the world has seen, with each conflict being named so. But in this case, it might actually be true, since the weapons used are time travel devices. Imagine what could be done if one of the sides in the conflict could go back and change time so that their opponent never existed. What if their ideology could be rewritten or that the reason for the war is not valid anymore? Now, imagine what would be the consequences if all the sides in the conflict had access to time travel, and used them indiscriminately. The sole survivor is the only person who has lived through this type of war and remembers what has happened. And he is determined never to let this kind of war happen again.
Of course, I am just glossing over the surface of the story. Even though 'One Day All This Will Be Yours' is only a novella, there is just so much happening in this short length. Adrian Tchaikovsky explores various ideas and concepts here - time travel paradoxes with a twist, the effect of wars on the human psyche, the inevitability of conflicts, a love story, and so much more. I am a huge fan of the author. I consider his 'Shadows of the Apt' decalogy to be one of the best science fiction/ fantasy series ever. So I jumped at the chance to read this novella, especially once I found out it involved time travel.
'One Day All This Will Be Yours' has everything going for it. It is a perfect 10 in every sense. The characters are brilliant, and there is plenty of dark humour. It is fast-paced and has so much contained into a small package. Tropes are turned on their head. The author's trademark existential questions lurk underneath the humour and science fiction. Is conflict inevitable? Are human beings doomed to repeat the cycle of destruction and creation? What is utopia? Adrian Tchaikovsky has explored a few of themes in other books but not with such cynical and black humour. This book is worth reading for that alone.
In conclusion, I loved 'One Day All This Will Be Yours'. It is a must-read.
If you liked this review, please support me on
Patreon