Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

Actual rating: 4.5 Stars

One Word Kill is the perfect combination of sci-fi, unpredictable & humour. I love books involving time travel so this is already a win for me. It was also amazingly written and I love the idea of trying to keep everything the same rather than trying to change time to fix someones mistake. We all know that never goes well. So this take on time travel is refreshing.

This one is full of twists and turns. While obviously it was a reread, it has been a while, so there were still many things that shocked me. It definitely kept me on my toes & left me wanting more. So I’m glad book 2 & 3 are now out so I can binge them all!

I also love that while there were plenty of references to science, mathematics & dungeons and dragons, that I personally have no prior knowledge of, I was never left confused. Everything was explained in a way that it was enough to understand but never info dumping. Which is especially important in such a short read.

All the characters were extremely fleshed out which can be difficult in such a short book. I also really enjoyed the humour and banter between the characters. Also simply the friendship between them. I love a good friend group and this one delivered.

Just quickly thought I would also mention that I really enjoyed the audiobook. Originally I read the book on eBook but this time I decided seen as all 3 books are available on Scribd I’d pick up the audiobook. The narration by Matthew Frow is really well done and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for other books he narrates.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was quick, fun and engaging. Everything you want in a sci-fi with a hint of mystery! I’m very keen to start listening to Limited Wish and finish off this series. If there are any other Mark Lawerence books I should check out, let me know!

Unfortunately this book just didn't do it for me. I have read several of Mark Lawrence's books in the past and I was very excited to read this one, especially because of the references to D&D. However, I found the pacing to be very slow and it was hard to keep myself interested in what was going on. I didn't really connect with the characters, except for Simon.
I will absolutely read more Mark Lawrence books in the future, but I think I'll be skipping the rest of this series.

I have no idea what happened in this book. I didn't really care for it and found it confusing. Not my cup of tea.

Unfortunately, I did not get. the chance to read this ARC prior to its release--I'm hoping to work through my backlist now that we're home for the coming weeks!--but we did end up buying this book for the library collection.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book calls up echoes of Stranger Things quite clearly, with the Dungeons and Dragons angle, and the quest that Nick embarks upon. Lawrence’s writing is solid, with a few sentences that really struck me to the quick. Nick’s illness is brutal and undeniable, but Lawrence handles it gracefully. The unraveling of what’s going on is gradual but well-managed. The characterization shines – all the teenagers really seem like teenagers, and their varied relationships, between themselves and the parents, seem real and believable. I did get a bit tired as the story seemed to wind quite a bit before reaching the inevitable climax, but I really enjoyed elements of this story. The ending was satisfying enough that I’m not going to rush out for the next book in the series, but I do wonder how the author is going to continue Nick’s tale in the next volume.

Just when you thought, this genius couldn't surprise you anymore [ after that YA-fantasy done so right, with the Book of Ancestor that ended last month, with Holy Sister topping things off on a delirious high!] in a move that departs from his earlier works, Mark Lawrence [ Book# 10, hats off to you sir. You remain my highest read author, only after Stephen King in terms of the total number of books read!] gives us One Word Kill, an absolutely wonderful nostalgia trip to the 80's complete with D&D board games and nerd-gangs with disco nights and a sweet soaring romance that doesn't actually irk.

For all the right reasons, this one has been compared to Stranger Things, the Netflix blockbuster [ that was one of my favorite watches as well] But all that notwithstanding, this is Mark Lawrence guys, I kept thinking to myself as I tore through the story. Waiting to see if he would stick the landing with this departure of sorts, from his usual "grim-dark" fantasy stories. And hell yes! I loved this book to bits. It is an easy one to get to; the premise being fairly straight forward and a narrative that runs straight through [ barring those seemingly impossible paradoxes that are, in a way, explained away by Mark ] to a satisfying ending that ties up the narratives presented in book-I.

So we follow the story through the eyes of fifteen year old Nick - a mathematical genius, who gets that from his Dad, something of a genius in his academic circles - and also recently diagnosed with a rare cancer, that might not see him last more than a month or so. Nick takes the news of his impending death from the Big C calmly enough and with his limited number of days ahead, vows to live his 'life' fuller. That meant, ganging up with his nerd-gang every Saturday to shut themselves out from the rest of the world, to be immersed in hours of playing D&D! But strange things keep happening to Nick. Like a sense of deja-vu, where Nick realizes that by some freak of nature, he is reliving a past week. Some of the real life events mirror the twisty turns of his D&D game. And to top it all off, Nick realizes that he has got a stalker, who may or may not be a friend.

The stranger convinces Nick that Mia, a new addition to their D&D circle, [Who in addition to the strange fact that she is a girl interested in D&D is also rapidly becoming the "cool" one who's got the boys intrigued and impressed ] needs to be saved from a massive disaster about to befall her. And the only person who can save her is Nick. Despite how ridiculous everything sounds, Nick is forced to believe the stranger because of the stuff he apparently knows and which turns out to be true enough to convince Nick that there might an element of truth in what this stranger is claiming. It's a race against time as Nick and his friends troop out - to pull off a top secret heist mission that could turn dangerous with lives at stake.

You can see the parallels to Strange Things of course. And bringing in time-travel along with concepts of quantum mechanics can literally throws things into a crazy spin. But trust Mark to guide us through the storm. In fact, without getting too technical, Mark wades into certain "untouchable" territories of physics and time-travel touching out alternate time lines and multi-verses and he does a truly bang-up job of explaining it, weaving this into the clever narrative, without every losing the chutzpah of a super smooth narrative at breakneck pacing. There's something adorable about kids [ Also reminded me of Stephen King's favorite novel called IT] and the magic of 80's that is so deftly brought out by Mark in this short racy novella that tugs at your heart strings. I grew up in the 80's and 90's and give this guy full credit for indulging in the nostalgia factor but also, focusing on building up a wonderfully warm narrative headlined by a set of absolutely endearing kids and also ratcheting up the tension with the introduction of a crazed out bully psycho, out for Mia.

Nick is undoubtedly the star-act of the group. The first person narrative pitches us straight into his mad genius head, uncomplicated and perfectly logical about everything. He carries the story on his able shoulders, big C or not. There's something comforting in his approach to life, where he rationally weights the consequences of his action. Not particularly brave, Nick nevertheless sticks up for his friends. Against bullies, against anything unfair and by that count, stands up against life itself. His hesitant teenage feelings that blossoms out for Mia, the new girl in the group are naturally brought out without seeming awkward in Mark's deft prose. There are bitter truths about life, that Nick learns along the way [ One of the gems that I usually look out for in Mark's books are these axioms of life presented in his unflinching and yet beautiful prose!]

The others in the D&D group are Elton, the story-teller who sets up the D&D game rules and set up. An upright boy who again would risk everything for his friends or family. There's Simon, a socially reticent boy who sometimes gets his pent-up emotions run away or get the better of him. Totally adorable and so relatable. Then there's the cool and handsome John, who ideally doesn't belong in this group and maybe socially adept in a lot ways than the nerdy bunch but he's got his heart in his right place and is definitely one of those "want-to-do-right-by-my-friends" bunch. Mia, the new girl is total badass and the absolute opposite of what someone like Nick should fall for, but there's one whole chapter of interaction between these two where they discuss the consequences of time-travel and it sort of blew my mind. Mia, despite her troubled background, sticks through thick and thin for her gang and is one of the first to accept Nick's "condition".

Despite being a YA story, there are shockingly pallid moments in the story that are heavy and unflinching. The hospital scenes are grim and laced with pain and self realization. But I thought it set the tone for what comes later - an absolutely no-holds barred screaming inferno of a story that will knock the socks off you, keeping you invested page after page in the future of fifteen-year old Nick Hayes and his best friends. I totally loved this installment with it's cheerful vibes and zany plot, characters you absolutely will adore, all of which packs an emotional wallop! I cannot wait to get started on book-II, The Last Wish out now. Do yourself a favor, get this one. You will not be disappointed for sure.

Fast-paced, engaging and well written story that combines Ready Player One, Stranger Things and Back to the Future into one intriguing story about four teens who play D&D together. Mark Lawrence proves that he is capable of dominating any genre (be it fantasy or science fiction) with his relatable characters and action packed plot.

Manly but Sweet
"Of all the worlds, in all the universe, he walks into mine.’ Mia wrapped the Casablanca quote around Everett’s many worlds interpretation and gained another level in my esteem."
Absolutely brilliant quote! A super sweet moment between our main guy and his possible love interest that shows the depth of Lawrence's story. He gives us well rounded out characters that have fears, loves and react in a way most humans (especially teenage boys) are likely to given the (extreme) situations portrayed in One Word Kill.

Dungeons & Dragons
It's far from new to integrate a D&D campaign into a story. Most of the first Dragonlance novel were based off actually played out D&D campaigns of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (near death rolls and all). It's nice to see the comeback that board gaming has made with shows like The Big Bang Theory and Stranger Things highlight the fun (low tech) activity it can be. One Word Kill is a great addition to this group of media. There's a camaraderie that anyone whose played a campaign of D&D with friends can appreciate and I think Lawrence captures this very accurately here.

Plot, Magic and Story
I don't want to say too much about any of these three elements as I would never be able to describe or give justice to the imagination and writing style of Mark Lawrence. I also don't want to give away any juicy surprises!
This is my first time reading a full novel of Lawrence's and there is no doubt that all his novels on my shelf have just vaulted up in reading priority. With an elegance and excitement that is hard to parallel, Lawrence draws us into his world and ensures we must play by the rules.

Overall
Few would dispute that Lawrence isn't one of today's top fantasy writers leading into the release of this series. I suspect many will now put him in the science fiction category as well. Overall I'd be surprised to learn that any fantasy/science fiction reader completely hated this book. Some may not be an enamored as others (there are a lot of geek references); but there is a lot to like here. This is a series worth getting into and a strong start in sci-fi for Lawrence.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Lawrence has taken the characters he's written and turned them into something outstanding. The story is primarily about Nick, a 15year old boy who's been delivered a possible death sentence in the form of leukemia, and the strange events that happen to him during the time span of his first round of chemo.

What I loved is that the cancer diagnosis wasn't over or underplayed - the world didn't stop turning for Nick while at the same time the author does describe the side effects of the chemo and the psychological aspects of what's going on, for both Nick and his closest friends. It is what it is, no more and no less.

The characterisation of Nick and his friends is out of this world, they're all totally distinct from one another and you get a real feel for them as people and the adults that they'll grow up to be. They all face different challenges, some of the universal teenage angst as well as some more specific issues.

It's the plot itself that I can't find the words to describe - all I can say is that it appealed to my nerdy little heart and this is a book that's earnt itself a print copy on my overstuffed bookshelf!

When I was a child, my dad made me watch maybe a trillion times the Back to the Future (BTTF) trilogy. Those were among his fav movies ever, and I still love them too.
So maybe it was the BTTF vibe of this book and the consequent dive into the past (also of mine) that immediately made my interest spark.
The time-travelling elements intertwined with D&D (that gives a nod to my nerdish, fantasy-lover self) were probably enough to make a big score.
But One Word Kill spiced things up adding an unforgettable (and sweet) main character (I have a soft spot for Nick), his exquisitely adorable bunch of geeky friends, and a narration that combines fast action, hilarious moments and an emotional punch.
I loved it, and I have already bought my ticket for the second ride.

In One Word (Kill): let's read it!!!

DNF.

The pervasive fatshaming of the protagonist's friend read as both unnecessary and lazy character development

Between the fatphobic language directed at a character who seems to be written on the autistic spectrum (so lazy, so offensive), and stereotypical portrayal of the token female character, i was done with this story at 100 pgs.

I think in the year 2019 we can do better.

I appreciate the ARC, but I have to be honest about my thoughts.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and 47North!

One of the best books I’ve read last year was Red Sister by Mark Lawrence so when I got the opportunity to review his sci-fi book set in the 1980s, I jumped on the chance. Now, I’ve only watched the first episode of Stranger Things but I can see why One Word Kill gets compared and I imagine fans of the series would like this book.

First, the writing. I loved Mark Lawrence’s prose in Red Sister but the writing style there differs from the one here and I think it works very well. One Word Kill is written in a more contemporary, modern style and it’s very fast-paced and readable. The writing wasn’t flowery but it was perfect for this kind of setting. It’s a short book so you could finish it in one sitting and you might as the pacing it so fast-paced it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.

The characters are all rich and well-characterized and honestly, I just love this friend group. I like how they act like teens, react to their friend’s illness like teens, and plan things like teens. I feel like a lot of teens in YA don’t really act like teenagers do, so I’m really happy to find that teens are portrayed realistically in this book. I also like how this group of friends stick together and I enjoyed their dynamic a lot. It actually made me wish me and my group of friends know how to play D&D.

The plot involves time-travel, saving a girl in danger, and also quite possibly saving Nick’s own life. It’s very interesting and it goes in directions I did not expect it to go, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I don’t want to spoil too much but the plot about making sure things happen so that the future doesn’t go awry is a compelling one.

Overall, I can recommend One Word Kill to fans of Science Fiction, Mark Lawrence, and/or Stranger Things. It’s a novella so it won’t take you long to read but packs quite a punch and is very worth it.

An amazing roller coaster ride of emotions. I have have already bought my ticket for the second trip to amusement park.

One Word Kill (2019) is a tale of 1980s British teenagers, time travel (bonus: with branching universes), Dungeons & Dragons, and cancer. As the first book in Mark Lawrence’s IMPOSSIBLE TIMES trilogy, it sets things up nicely, and we’re all three looking forward to the next two novellas.

We know that the first-person narrator of the story has cancer ― leukaemia, to be precise ― from the very first paragraph of the story. Fifteen-year-old Nick is something of a genius, though his smarts don’t show much yet except in his choice of reading material during chemotherapy sessions. He has a group of close friends with whom he plays Dungeons & Dragons every Saturday, which group has recently been augmented by the addition of ― gasps of astonishment, everyone! ― a girl, Mia, to whom Nick is immediately drawn. He also has a couple of enemies, like Ian Rust, who is at least viciously cruel and at most seriously mentally disturbed, and Michael Devis, who is simply a garden-variety bully. He also has a devoted mother; his father, a brilliant mathematician, died some years before the book begins.

One Word Kill gets off to a slow start, and it isn’t until about page 50 that we officially meet Demus, a bald man who appears out of nowhere to slug Michael Devis in the mouth just as Devis is about to empty Nick’s backpack into a pool of vomit. Demus looks troublingly familiar to Nick, and the reader figures out why pretty quickly (the clues aren’t exactly subtle). Soon Demus is explaining time travel to Nick, setting out a rationale for it in quantum mechanics, and giving Nick puzzles to solve to make his future ― and, significantly, Mia’s ― possible.

Things grow ominous when Ian Rust is expelled from school and takes up with a local drug dealer to whom Mia owes a debt. Demus makes things even more difficult by asking for a piece of technology that doesn’t exist except as a prototype in Nick’s time.

The ending of One Word Kill is left open. Though it could be a stand-alone novella, most readers will want to know what happens to these characters in the future and we’re glad that the story continues in Limited Wish.Impossible Times (3 book series) Kindle Edition

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence science fiction and fantasy book and audiobook reviewsIn Terry’s opinion, there is quite a lot of blood and vomit and death in One Word Kill, but a strange lack of urgency. It was decidedly not a page-turner for her, and surprisingly so, given the conflicts Lawrence has set up for his characters. But she finds Nick and Mia to be compelling characters, enough to make her want to keep reading the trilogy.

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence science fiction and fantasy book and audiobook reviewsKat listened to Brilliance Audio’s edition which was nicely read by British narrator Matthew Frow. She liked One Word Kill better than Terry did. Quite a bit of this is probably due to nostalgia: she is only two years younger than the author and exactly the right age to relate to Nick and his friends as teenagers in the 1980’s. For that reason, One Word Kill felt more cozy than slow.

She also liked the characters, the way that Nick tried to process his diagnosis and treatment, the way his friends had trouble dealing emotionally with it, and the way that Nick interacted with a girl in the chemotherapy ward at the hospital.

Kat loves time-travel /possible-future themed-stories and, though there are a couple of plot details in One Word Kill that feel a bit shaky at this moment, she is trusting Mark Lawrence (who has a degree in math and a PhD in physics) to bring it to a tight conclusion.

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence science fiction and fantasy book and audiobook reviewsTadiana’s rating lands at 3.5 stars, right between Kat’s and Terry’s. She found the plot intriguing (like Kat, Tadiana is a fan of time travel tales and strongly predisposed to approve of them). Mark Lawrence’s writing style is also a noticeable step up from the usual:

"A decade seemed like forever, and it would take three of them just to reach the age my mother was right now. Cancer had closed that down. Like the big C, curling in on itself, my view of the future had narrowed to tunnel vision, aimed squarely at the next week, next month … would I have a next year? I was carrying not only the burden of my sickness but the pressure of making something worthwhile of each day now that my towering stack of them had fallen into ruin and left me clutching at each hour as it slipped between my fingers."

The characters also appealed to Tadiana (well, except for the psychopathic Rust, with the “hole in his mind that needed to be filled with other people’s pain”) and the plot kept her engaged and interested. When all was said and done, though, the motivation for Demus’ trip to the past seems clearly insufficient, given the high price that Demus knows it will cost. To say more would get us into spoiler territory, but perhaps the next book will clarify why it was so vitally necessary. As it currently stands, it was a big enough plot hole for Tadiana to knock down her rating by a star, especially when combined with too many logical questions being sidestepped with the rationale that Demus has to take certain actions simply because that’s the way it happened before.

Lawrence’s choice of “One Word Kill” as the title of this novel plays out in at least a couple of ways. A key point in a couple of the characters’ D&D games is a spell named “Power Word Kill”; Nick points out how “lame” he thinks this spell is because with every other bad thing that happens, there’s some chance, however small, that you can escape. But with Power Word Kill, there’s no chance at all to escape the spell if it’s cast at you. That same sense of inexorable death looms over Nick personally because of that “one word” every human dreads to hear: “Cancer.” But perhaps there’s a narrow way out for Nick after all…

The next book, Limited Wish, has just been released and we expect that the final book, Dispel Illusion, will be out later this year. We’ll let you know how they go.

Great story about a group of kids from the 80's playing D&D and learning the meaning of friendship when their new friend Mia's life is in danger. This was a fast read and I liked that there isn't a cliffhanger in the end. There are some questions unanswered but as this is a trilogy it's expected.

One Word Kill (2019) is a tale of 1980s British teenagers, time travel (bonus: with branching universes), Dungeons & Dragons, and cancer. As the first book in Mark Lawrence’s IMPOSSIBLE TIMES trilogy, it sets things up nicely, and we’re all three looking forward to the next two novellas.

We know that the first-person narrator of the story has cancer ― leukaemia, to be precise ― from the very first paragraph of the story. Fifteen-year-old Nick is something of a genius, though his smarts don’t show much yet except in his choice of reading material during chemotherapy sessions. He has a group of close friends with whom he plays Dungeons & Dragons every Saturday, which group has recently been augmented by the addition of ― gasps of astonishment, everyone! ― a girl, Mia, to whom Nick is immediately drawn. He also has a couple of enemies, like Ian Rust, who is at least viciously cruel and at most seriously mentally disturbed, and Michael Devis, who is simply a garden-variety bully. He also has a devoted mother; his father, a brilliant mathematician, died some years before the book begins.

One Word Kill gets off to a slow start, and it isn’t until about page 50 that we officially meet Demus, a bald man who appears out of nowhere to slug Michael Devis in the mouth just as Devis is about to empty Nick’s backpack into a pool of vomit. Demus looks troublingly familiar to Nick, and the reader figures out why pretty quickly (the clues aren’t exactly subtle). Soon Demus is explaining time travel to Nick, setting out a rationale for it in quantum mechanics, and giving Nick puzzles to solve to make his future ― and, significantly, Mia’s ― possible.

Things grow ominous when Ian Rust is expelled from school and takes up with a local drug dealer to whom Mia owes a debt. Demus makes things even more difficult by asking for a piece of technology that doesn’t exist except as a prototype in Nick’s time.

The ending of One Word Kill is left open. Though it could be a stand-alone novella, most readers will want to know what happens to these characters in the future and we’re glad that the story continues in Limited Wish.Impossible Times (3 book series) Kindle Edition

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence science fiction and fantasy book and audiobook reviewsIn Terry’s opinion, there is quite a lot of blood and vomit and death in One Word Kill, but a strange lack of urgency. It was decidedly not a page-turner for her, and surprisingly so, given the conflicts Lawrence has set up for his characters. But she finds Nick and Mia to be compelling characters, enough to make her want to keep reading the trilogy.

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence science fiction and fantasy book and audiobook reviewsKat listened to Brilliance Audio’s edition which was nicely read by British narrator Matthew Frow. She liked One Word Kill better than Terry did. Quite a bit of this is probably due to nostalgia: she is only two years younger than the author and exactly the right age to relate to Nick and his friends as teenagers in the 1980’s. For that reason, One Word Kill felt more cozy than slow.

She also liked the characters, the way that Nick tried to process his diagnosis and treatment, the way his friends had trouble dealing emotionally with it, and the way that Nick interacted with a girl in the chemotherapy ward at the hospital.

Kat loves time-travel /possible-future themed-stories and, though there are a couple of plot details in One Word Kill that feel a bit shaky at this moment, she is trusting Mark Lawrence (who has a degree in math and a PhD in physics) to bring it to a tight conclusion.

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence science fiction and fantasy book and audiobook reviewsTadiana’s rating lands at 3.5 stars, right between Kat’s and Terry’s. She found the plot intriguing (like Kat, Tadiana is a fan of time travel tales and strongly predisposed to approve of them). Mark Lawrence’s writing style is also a noticeable step up from the usual:

A decade seemed like forever, and it would take three of them just to reach the age my mother was right now. Cancer had closed that down. Like the big C, curling in on itself, my view of the future had narrowed to tunnel vision, aimed squarely at the next week, next month … would I have a next year? I was carrying not only the burden of my sickness but the pressure of making something worthwhile of each day now that my towering stack of them had fallen into ruin and left me clutching at each hour as it slipped between my fingers.

The characters also appealed to Tadiana (well, except for the psychopathic Rust, with the “hole in his mind that needed to be filled with other people’s pain”) and the plot kept her engaged and interested. When all was said and done, though, the motivation for Demus’ trip to the past seems clearly insufficient, given the high price that Demus knows it will cost. To say more would get us into spoiler territory, but perhaps the next book will clarify why it was so vitally necessary. As it currently stands, it was a big enough plot hole for Tadiana to knock down her rating by a star, especially when combined with too many logical questions being sidestepped with the rationale that Demus has to take certain actions simply because that’s the way it happened before.

Lawrence’s choice of “One Word Kill” as the title of this novel plays out in at least a couple of ways. A key point in a couple of the characters’ D&D games is a spell named “Power Word Kill”; Nick points out how “lame” he thinks this spell is because with every other bad thing that happens, there’s some chance, however small, that you can escape. But with Power Word Kill, there’s no chance at all to escape the spell if it’s cast at you. That same sense of inexorable death looms over Nick personally because of that “one word” every human dreads to hear: “Cancer.” But perhaps there’s a narrow way out for Nick after all…

The next book, Limited Wish, has just been released and we expect that the final book, Dispel Illusion, will be out later this year. We’ll let you know how they go.

Originally published at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/one-word-kill/

Adventurous, unique, and brilliant in its execution. One Word Kill is a riveting page turner that I struggled to put down. Excellent characterisation along with thrilling concepts propelled the story along at a ferocious pace, and the conclusion left me hanging out for more. Highly recommended.

I’ve been familiar with Mark Lawrence‘s work for quite a few years now. I think I’ve first read Prince of Thorns sometime in 2014, then read the whole trilogy in 2015. Then some years later I’ve read Prince of Fools. Not that any of those previous books could be compared to One Word Kill. Lawrence took a step away from grimdark fantasy and inched closer to sience-fiction. Not that he completely left behind the darker elements. Oh no, rest assured, One Word Kill is not a fluffy kind of read. But it shows off what Lawrence is best at: characterisation.

Nick Hayes is a typical fifteen year old teenager: he is awkward, balances somewhere between childhood and adulthood, has friends and hobbies. Although how typical can a genius kid be? I mean he loves mathematics and quantum physics and things I can’t even start to understand. On the other hand, he loves playing D&D with his friends. These sessions are their escape from a world which mostly gives them mysery. There is overweight, introvert Simon who is a genius in his own right, who gets bullied at school; Elton who has 2 brothers and is good at martial arts; John the wealthy and popular kid and Nick the young mathematical genius who just learned that he has leukemia. These boys have a tight circle and always get each others’ back. But then everything changes when Mia and a mysterious guy named Demus appear in their life and make them question everything they believed in until then.

I always think back to the ’80s with nostalgia. Even though I’m technically an ’80s kid, I don’t have much recollections of those couple of years I was already born. And then, I’m pretty sure the ’80s my country experienced is slightly different from the one the western world did. But putting all that aside, I still have a fondness for that decade. After reading One Word Kill I had a craving for ’80s music… and for that kind of „simpler” life, where we had cable phones, no internet or social media. But I went off topic, what I want to say is, Lawrence created an atmosphere in this book which threw my right back into my childhood. Except, I didn’t have such a close group of friends and never played D&D, which I wish was a thing for me back in my own teens.

I loved the parts where Nick and the others played, and how fantasy and real life mixed with each other through the book – partly because of the similar events, and partly because their life just turns into sci-fi novel when they learn that time travel will become possible in the future. But as in the game, they have to make decisions and bear the consequences.

As in terms of writing, I didn’t really know what to expect. As I said, I’m familiar with some of Mark Lawrence’s other books, but they are all grimdark fantasy, which requires a different tone and style, than a YA fiction novel. I was really pleased to find that Lawrence has absolutely no problem stepping out of the genre that is most associated with him. That’s not saying that it doesn’t have a darker tone – it has, especially when it comes to the villains, Ian Rust in particular. He is a nasty piece. And let’s not forget about the fact that the main character is a kid battling with leukemia. That hardly makes One Word Kill a light read. Add some mathematics into the mix – which was surprisingly easy to understand, mostly, even for me who is a total analfabeta when it comes to numbers – and you’ll get an interesting result.

“The thing about cancer, and I guess any disaster, is that it doesn’t just go away, you don’t wake up; and in the end, you just have to get on with things exactly like everyone else does.”

Scenes filled with a rush of adrenaline and fear are being followed with bittersweet moments of experiencing first love and heartwrenching reality of leukemia. But amidst all of this, there is laughter too, because Lawrence is able to feed this all to us by sprinkling some humor on it that makes the characters so much more alive. These humorous moments either come from the characters personalities – Simon’s mom for example, when she sees John’s home she tries to encourage Sam to marry him, or Simon himself who lacks every social skills – and sometimes from the fact that at one point you just have to handle things with humor otherwise you’ll break under the weight.

“And yes, it was also true that some fraction of it was also down to the fact that although John Featherstonhaugh might have music at his fingertips, when it came to Motown, the rest of him jerked about with about as much sense of rythym as an epileptic cow.”

One thing that makes me stop giving a full 5 stars is that some things bothered me. Some characters conveniently pop up at the right time in the right place out of the blue which is too convenient to be believable. It doesn’t really affects the enjoyment of the book though or makes the twists any less surprising.

Mark Lawrence squeezed a lot of emotions, an interesting plot, and great characters into 200 pages. Which just makes One Word Kill a perfect one setting read. Or two if you need to sleep like I did. It’s full of heart, adventure, music, friendship and just has this charm that you can’t shake off. It’s going to sneak under your skin and will make you root for Nick to come over everything that life had thrown at him, and to find his happiness.

The first book in the Impossible Times is great. Who can argue with high praise from George R R Martin, who claimed to love it?! No one, that's who.

I enjoyed this a lot, the fast paced action was compelling. It's a fantastic read, one I devoured as quickly as I could. Even though this book is technically about young adults, it doesn't read like a YA book. Compared to other YA novels of the genre, it seems to take on a more mature angle, diving into tough and serious topics, no holes barred.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

“The magical power of D&D to draw together people who knew things. Who cared about questions that didn’t seem to matter.”


RATING: 4.75/5

I received a free review copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback some time ago and I am just upset I didn’t read it sooner. I am one of the rare readers of fantasy who has managed to not read any book by Mark Lawrence till now. It was only last year that I bought #3 in the Broken Empire trilogy followed by #2 this year. I still have to get #1, which I now plan on doing without any delay, and then it's officially binge time. Getting back on track, I had been hearing good things about his new sci-fi trilogy so when I finally joined NetGalley last month and saw the opportunity to request the first two books, I immediately jumped at it. I then put off actually reading the books for about a week after getting them. That was an error in hindsight.

The start to One Word Kill was slow but when things actually started getting serious, it was a hella entertaining explosive ride to the finish. The pacing in the second half especially was killer. It’s the perfect little book, with just the right amount of pages. And this is coming from a person who firmly believes in the awesomeness of huge doorstopper tomes. First of all, the book manages to use the nostalgia for the 80s without overwhelming the narrative with gratuitous callbacks, unlike Ready Player One. But that’s just a very small aspect of it. I love time travel as a trope and Lawrence employs it brilliantly without burdening the reader with overlong explanations of the science behind it. The Many Worlds Interpretation is a huge obsession with me so I guess that’s a plus point too.

I have got to talk about the characters! They are all so amazing. I did not think that Lawrence would be able to develop them well over the course of such a short novel, but he again proved me wrong. While you must certainly not expect them to be fully fleshed out, they still have a lot of complexity. Apart from Nick and Mia, Simon was my favourite followed by John. A big shoutout to Elton too. I found that particular bit, you will know which one once you read the book, a tad gimmicky but I was still happy it was included, especially John’s reaction to it. I also loved the fact that the end, I sort of saw it coming, was complete in itself and there was no frustrating cliffhanger. I will recommend the book to anyone who is looking for a short, utterly engaging and well-written soft sci-fi novel.