I though One Work Kill was in for a shout as my book of the year, yer only a few weeks later Limited WIsh has managed to trump that. This is one hell of a good book. In an age where our fantasy and sci-fi quite often comes in 300k work tomes, (dont get me wrong, i love a huge epic fantasy) Mark Lawrence has managed to produce a masterpiece in under 100k.

This is a powerful book. Its deep, dealing with death and disease, loss and heartbreak, fatherhood and love. Several times i found myself welling up. Yet its funny and lighthearted, with genuine laugh out loud moments. More than all of this, its clever. So damned clever. The plot is intricate, and relies on the reader keeping up. Lawrence respects his readers intelligence, without ever asking too much of them.

I could spend all morning gushing about this book, so ill end by saying read book 1, read this, and clear you schedule in November for book 3.

"Limited Wish" is the second installment in the "Impossible Times" series and is set a few months after the events of "One Word Kill".

I read the first book in order to understand this second book (you really need to read this series in order for it to make any sense!) and enjoyed it. This book felt a little more rushed and I found parts of the story slightly confusing at times, specifically the ending. I think this book could have been expanded to add more information and clearer plot points to make it more understandable.

However, it was a compelling read and I will gladly finish this trilogy. I found myself enjoying the characters and the story very much.

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

This is the sequel to One Word Kill, which I read immediately before reading this one. It starts out with a recap of major events in the first book. They're still fresh in my mind as I read this one, but someone who had more time between might benefit from the recap.

Several familiar characters return a few years later, most notably Nick. The story got off to a slow start for me and I'm still not a fan of multiple universe theory, but as that's at the heart of the plot, I let myself enjoy it on a fantasy level (yes, I believe in possible real time travel).

Much of the story this time was about Nick's need to discover time travel so that he could fill the role his future self already came back to do in the first book (everybody follow that?) There is also his confused love life when a significant new female character, Helen, enters his life causing 'ghosting' of potential future events.

Overall I found this story slower than the first one, though anyone invested in the characters from One Word Kill will be interested in how things progress in Nick's life.

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What a ride! Limited Wish was a very good sequel to One Word Kill and I really enjoyed it. It took me a long time to pick it back up once I had put it down, but as soon as I was hooked by all the adventures and mystery, I finished it in one go.

Limited Wish start after the end of One Word Kill. I didn't read the synopsis before diving into it so I was a little surprised to see that Mia and Nick had broken up. Knowing what the future might hold for them was perhaps too difficult to handle. But, don't worry. It doesn't mean their romance is over...

She reached for me. And, following the advice I had once left for myself on a note six months and half a lifetime ago, I kissed the girl.

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In Limited Wish, we get to reconnect with these characters but also, D&D! To be honest, the games weren't my favorite parts in the story and sometimes, I found myself wanting to skim and go to the 'actual' story/action. However, it was still enjoyable to read and as Nick put it:

"It's not an all-or-nothing game like those board games our parents made us play. Win or lose. It's more like life. Mixed. You can't have it all, but sometimes you can have what you need."

Something else is back in this sequel and that's... cancer. Thankfully, it didn't make me cry as much as the first book but it was still emotional.

I had actually seen worry behind those brisk professional smiles. Doubt behind usually calm eyes. As if for the first time they saw their enemy staring right back at them. Cancer. No longer lurking but laughing, its teeth deep in me, daring them to do their worst, or their best - it didn't matter.

As for the plot, this quote will probably do a better job than I could:

"Has it occurred to you, Demus, that here we are running from Rust again, a Rust at least, ready to break into a technical facility again there's a party to go to where I'm hoping to kiss the girl, again, and oh yes, I'm in chemo again?"

Overall, I really liked this book and obviously you have to read the first book in the series but I hope you'll enjoy it as much (or even more) than I did. I'm excited to see what the author has in store for us in Dispel Illusion!

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(Thank you to the publisher for letting me read and review an e-ARC via Netgalley)

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis

One choice. Two possible timelines. And a world hanging in the balance.

It’s the summer of 1986 and reluctant prodigy Nick Hayes is a student at Cambridge University, working with world-renowned mathematician Professor Halligan. He just wants to be a regular student, but regular isn’t really an option for a boy-genius cancer survivor who’s already dabbled in time travel.

When he crosses paths with a mysterious yet curiously familiar girl, Nick discovers that creases have appeared in the fabric of time, and that he is at the centre of the disruption. Only Nick can resolve this time paradox before the damage becomes catastrophic for both him and the future of the world. Time is running out—literally.

Wrapped up with him in this potentially apocalyptic scenario are his ex-girlfriend, Mia, and fellow student Helen. Facing the world-ending chaos of a split in time, Nick must act fast and make the choice of a lifetime—or lifetimes.

Game on.

Review

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advanced reading copy of Limited Wish (Impossible Times #2) in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this eARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.

If anyone could make math sexy again (or probably for the first time ever), Mark Lawrence has done it. I’m also pretty sure he has invented time travel and not a single person is filling out a ballot for him to win a Nobel Prize. Do those things have ballots? I’m too lazy to Wiki it.

Oh Nicky Hayes. Wicked smart, sick as a dog, and completely oblivious to the way women work. Besides the cancer part and the fact that he is a boy genius, he sounds like any other rando dude on the street. Oh, but did I mention that his future self has visited him on a couple of occasions?

While Limited Wish has similar fundamentals to its predecessor, One Word Kill, Lawrence ramps up all the science, D&D goodness, and love interests to the power of 2 (probably more, but it makes sense because it is the sequel?). I know Mark is a smart cookie, and I don’t/probably shouldn’t need to know a lot of the maths jargon, but he makes it feel mystical in a way, like it is some kind of world-building he is introducing us to. On to of that, it really makes me want to play Dungeons & Dragons, if I had any friends (sigh) or at least re-watch Stranger Things a couple of times.

I’ve been a fan of Lawrence for a couple of years now, and while I am still amazed that he can write science fiction just as well as he can fantasy, this shouldn’t be a revelation. Mark has the chops to match or top anyone in the publishing industry and since we are still awaiting books from the Martin’s and Rothfuss’s of the world, he is steadily gaining more and more of a spotlight. I don’t think it’ll be too long before everyone starts picking his books up and fully realize just how good this dood is.

“It’s easy to come up with conspiracy theories if you only look at the evidence that supports your idea.” 

RATING: 4.5/5

I received a free review copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I was so happy I already had a copy of this on my phone’s Kindle app and I picked it up immediately as soon as I finished One Word Kill. I can definitely say I did not like it as much as the first book. I would chalk it up to the fact that the novelty of the whole time travel schtick had worn off. There was also the fact that Lawrence was juggling too many things in the second book which made for a slightly messier narrative. As with the first one, the start was slow but it quickly hit its stride and then went on smoothly from there. A couple of things I was curious about after the end of One Word Kill were explained here. While the previous novel dealt with a closed off time loop, this one had a paradox as the temporal centre of attraction. I was fascinated by how Lawrence developed this plot idea in the narrative.

There was an honest-to-god love triangle, although not properly developed, that was slightly jarring. Suffice is to say, I am not a big fan of that particular trope. The characters from the last book get more defined. I forgot to mention this in my review of the previous book - I love Nick’s snarky first-person narration. Talking of characters, I felt the way Piers and Sam were metaphorically removed from the equation to pave the way for Nick to have the choice to “decide between” Mia and Helen, which completely removed their agency by the way, slightly problematic. It played a little too close to stereotype. Apart from that, I liked Charles Rust as a villain more compared to Ian in the last one as the former is more crafty and manipulative, not to mention plain creepy, while the latter had no time for nuance or subtlety. To end, Limited Wish was a pretty good sequel to a pretty good book. I cannot wait for Dispel Illusion to release in November.

This is a quick read and a clever tale of multiple universes and time travel and a brilliant young man that gets pulled in to changing his own timeline while facing an illness. Lawrence does a wonderful job handling the complications of time travel, as well as creating the dread of the illness and it's treatment.

Limited Wish builds on builds the first book, so I would recommend reading that one first. The first one is equally quick and equally clever. In fact, many of the story elements from the first book are mirrored in this installment and this is explicitly brought up by the main character. I'll be curious to see if this is done again in the third book and if the mirroring of events plays a part in explaining why some of the things have happened.

Really enjoyed this one! It’s a a mad sprint from start to finish and such an interesting adventure. The times-wimey stuff is well done and as usual, the characters, the dialog and the story are top notch. Pretty sure Mark can write anything and write it well! I know the third part is out at some point this year and I’m eagerly waiting it now — one complete trilogy and the final book in the Book of the Ancestor series all in one year, while maintaining such incredible quality is simply amazing.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2768724777

Limited Wish picks up just after One Word Kill ended. Nick’s at Cambridge now, and there are finally more girls around! But besides that, there’s not a lot to say about Limited Wish that I haven’t already said about One Word Kill. Again, Nick really wants to play some D&D and do some math but time travelers, sworn enemies and cancer keep throwing him off. Again, his friendships with John and Simon are the warm heart of the story, and there’s another teamwork heist.

This time, he’s got Demos, a future self from a timeline when he marries Mia, as well as Eva, his future daughter from a timeline when he marries Helen. He’s coming up on the May Ball when he goes home with one of the two girls, and he knows he needs to make the right choice, but he just doesn’t know who he, uh, will have married. Time travel makes strange grammar. There may be two alternate worlds or a rip in time or just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly disaster, and the universe is desperately trying to right itself by offing Nick. Even regular parts of the regular world can be pretty strange when Nick’s around....

I might like this one even more than One Word Kill. Did I mention there are more girls this time? In college, I did my study abroad reading classics at Cambridge, a wonderful time and an extreme contrast with my other semesters at a state college, and I always love novels set in Cambridge. (Note: I did not marry either of the boys I went to end-of-term parties with.)

I’m looking forward to the final book after reading Limited Wish.

This review has also been posted on Goodreads.

In this second chapter to the Impossible Times trilogy, we follow the characters of the previous book going through more math, more paradoxes and more nerdiness. The plot unfolds from where the first one had stopped, answering many questions but also asking for more...

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and by this whole series in general. Although I don't necessary like new young adult books, I love a good sci-fi trilogy, especially when it has a good amount of scientific lingo. The d&d part is just a bonus 😉

I don't want to give up too much about this one, as it would spoil the first book; but I love the writing style and the story line, even though I still think there is some potential that has not been completely developed in this series. I wonder how is the third book going to continue the story, since this one seemed pretty much the ending 🤣🤣

Overall, a very enjoyable read. I went through both book one and two in three days! Defensively not easy to put down.

Limited Wish is the second instalment in the Impossible Times series. The first - One Word Kill was a completely addictive story and I couldn't put it down. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of Limited Wish and I picked it up straight away. After just a few pages I was completely sucked in again and this time the stakes are even higher.

Limited Wish picks up not long after the events of One Word Kill and drops us right into the action of Nick at Cambridge University. The story follows Nick as he attempts to figure out what's causing the time echoes that are happening around him, and solve the problem of a paradox. The story is full to the brim with action, adventure and excitement.

Mark Lawrence has yet to write a book I haven't completely loved and Limited Wish is definitely one of my favourites. I loved returning to the characters we met in the first book - Nick and his gang as they attempt to stop the bad guys, both in real life and in Dungeons and Dragons. There's all brilliant characters but I particularly love Simon and Mia. It's fascinating to see the characters grow, particularly after the events of the first book in the series.

The story is full of science, time travel and mathematics. It's incredibly well plotted and feels realistic whilst also featuring future selves, time travel and a whizz kid mathematician. I loved the mix of science fiction with teenagers just trying to make it through a party and talk to girls. It was such an enjoyable read and I definitely didn't want it to end.

Limited Wish is full of heart and you'll definitely grow attached to the wonderful characters. The fast paced plot also kept me guessing and there were quite a few twists that I definitely wasn't expecting. This is absolutely a new favourite and if you haven't had the chance to pick the series up yet, now is the perfect time. Book three in the series Dispel Illusion is coming in November so you'll definitely want to be all caught up by then - this series is one you don't want to miss.

A super second installment to this trilogy - and, for a potentially challenging topic, Mark Lawrence pulls off Book 2 even better than Book 1!

Nick Hayes has managed to bluff his way into Cambridge, where he can continue his father's work on the mathematical proof for time travel that will enable his future self (Demus) to return to Nick's own past (just go with it). But, aside from run-ins with the élite*, things won't be so straight-forward. He appears to see a double of a girl he has met, running round the university and chased by ghosts. His own relationship with Mia has been crushed under feelings of inevitability and, after finding out that he is now caught in a double paradox, it seems like no decision that Nick makes will be the right way out.

The adventure and confusion that follows feels much like the first book, although smoother, slicker and better explained. And as it's time travel I can completely forgive events repeating themselves - especially when the characters recognise this too!

I also love the role that D&D plays in these books - it's a clear analogy for the events happening to Nick, but it never feels laboured. Instead, it just shows how exciting and imaginative a well-played campaign can be - particularly when you are surrounded by a great group of friends.

Loved the story, loved the writing, makes me a very happy nerd.

*As an Oxbridge alumni I'm willing to forgive these, as it didn't feel like they were representing us all... plus I can happily pretend that this is limited to the 1980s ...

I requested and received a copy for honest review, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher. This review contains non-detailed spoilers for One Word Kill,

If you've ever seen or read any time travel story ever, you know the thing you must avoid at all costs is a time paradox. However, Nick Hayes following his full on Beautiful mind performance regarding his father's work now a student at Cambridge, has seemingly found his way through just such a scenario, and no worse for wear... That is until he begins seeing time echos, reflecting the many timelines of the multiverse theory touched on in the previous book. What if you could see the paths before you, but more than one future was pulling you along?

For me the book still has a heavy character focus, but unlike the first which made that the priority, here we dive right into the action. We follow Nick newly at university and delving further into the math and science, the newfound investigation and wonder (along with the effects of) time travel. At the same time we find his struggle with becoming caught up in prodigy status with his professor/project that places significant weight on his shoulders, the fallout with his friends from the story so far, and navigating what it means to be in remission.

This strongly picked up the pacing and plotting, it gripped me from start to finish. Mark Lawrence tends to be known for the impact in moments of violence in his fantasy works, but here he shows impacting the reader is a skill he wields deftly with or without graphic content, instead twisting the blade by tackling difficult topics and emotional scenes. I'll be quite surprised if he doesn't stick the landing on this series with book 3.

In Limited Wish, Mark is a busy sixteen-year-old. He is still playing Dungeons & Dragons with his high school buddies. However, now he is a freshman at Cambridge University. He is getting over a breakup and finding a new love. He is battling cancer. All while dealing with time travel, paradoxes, and, of course, saving the universe.

This book is set six months following its predecessor in the Impossible Times trilogy, One Word Kill. The author provides an in depth spoiler-filled synopsis of the prior book in this book’s prologue but the series is best read in order, if possible. If you read the prologue in this book, you will ruin all the surprises in the first book.

Admittedly, math is not my favorite subject despite having taken it through calculus in college. I also never took a physics class anywhere due to my previously mentioned aversion to math. I do like string theory, in theory at least, so the time traveling multiple universe plot was fine. However, the parallel universes did get a bit confusing as the plot was much more complex than One Word Kill. However, there is still some human emotion and humor on hand here too. Overall, Limited Wish is highly recommended for science, math and science fiction fans. For all of us just regular thriller readers, I give it 4 stars and again recommend reading One Word Kill first. Still, I can’t wait for the final book in this series, Dispel Illusion, out in November 2019!

Thanks to 47North and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

"The dice were rolling. We just had to wait and see how they fell."

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4 / 5

In my humble opinion, Limited Wish was a much better book than One Word Kill. It benefits massively from a more interesting setting, a more comfortable relationship with the book's already-known characters, and a more complex and less predictable time  travel conundrum. 

"Mathematics is its own language. The language of everything. It doesn't need someone to explain it. It explains itself and leaves almost no room for ambiguity."

Picking up a little while after the end of One Word Kill, Nick Hayes is a mathematics undergraduate at Cambridge University. I loved this as a setting - I'm a mathematics student myself (though not in Quantum Mechanics!) and I thought this was very nicely incorporated into the plot. He's broken up with Mia, she's got a new boyfriend, and Nick runs into a curious new woman called Helen who seems to have something to do with some mysterious ripples in time. There's also Eva, a new time traveller. 

I really liked the new characters - primarily Helen and Eva - and most of the old ones. Limited Wish didn't do much to improve my view of Mia, however. I also really liked how this book ramped up the plot and the stakes: instead of being followed, Nick is experiencing strange aberrations in time. He's sees people who don't remember meeting him. There's a book that he can't seem to touch. Books throw themselves off shelves. It's puzzling and curious. 

"Time would eventually dance to our tune rather than we to its."

To me, Limited Wish felt like a more mature version of One Word Kill. The D&D campaign is still present and I found it more interesting this time around, and the way it related to the plot was more subtle. I wasn't a huge fan of the love triangle (I never am...) and I wasn't fond of the way the book resolved the "issue" of Helen and Mia's boyfriends - it felt like a cheap get-out rather than a well thought out twist or proper representation. 

All in all, I loved Limited Wish. It felt strange and whimsical and fascinating. I enjoyed the change in setting and the faster pace, and I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of Limited Wish.

Love love this book! The characters, the writing, and the nostalgic feel puts off Ready Player Over and Stranger Things vibes that made me fall in love, not only with Mark Lawrence's writing but Nick as well.

Wow! I really enjoyed the first book, and I liked this one even more! It just keeps getting better!! I love the relationship Nick has with his friends, and I love that parts of it make me laugh, even when it's really, really sad, but what I really love about these books is that I'm still able to enjoy them even though I don't understand all the science stuff and even though I hate math. This book makes me wish I understood all that stuff, and I have never before in my life wished I could understand higher math or that it would be fun to do so! Mark Lawrence is one of my favorite writers, and I always know I'm going to love whatever he's written. He's a guaranteed good read, so definitely check him out if you haven't already!


A super big thank you to NetGalley and publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!!

Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A perfectly awesome time-travel tale served up on a platter of fun D&D mirroring, future-knowledge angst, time-ghosts, paradox, and mathematical hijinx that does more than skirt the edges of a heist novel.

Again.

But don't worry! While this may have a lot of the same elements of the first book in broad strokes, the story ramps up with some rather awesome snags that aren't just romantic. And even the other kinds of encounter-mirroring is fully explained in the recesses of the paradox. :) Very cool stuff, well thought-out, delightfully fast read.

And it is fully taking advantage of our recent loves of Stranger Things (80's geekdom!) and quick-paced thrillers. Only, this is a math-genius cancer-sufferer going to college a bit early and falling face-first into a ton of critical-failure rolls. :)

Well worth it. I'm absolutely loving the hell out of these.

Limitless Praise for Limited Wish!

*Received from Netgalley in exchange for review, but the infinite gushing is all me*

Well hello there! No, you’re not getting déjà vu, I am wearing the same outfit that I did when I reviewed One Word Kill, but that’s not cos I time travelled from an alternate reality, it’s cos I’m here to review the sequel! (plus I didn’t want it to go to waste )

Reading the recap, I was immediately reminded how complex Lawrence’s creation is. With more time travelling fun, this sequel has the added benefit of dual timelines, hinging on multiple choices.

From the outset, there were even more laugh out loud moments and perfectly balanced descriptions. Each sentence had a careful equilibrium, making me appreciate the writing in new ways. With unbelievable skill, Lawrence showed us maths through the eyes of the protagonist, making it more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.

This all works to create a world that is both vivid and a little mind-boggling. What I especially like about it is the way there’s a supernatural strangeness to the story. And of course, I love the characters that populate this world.

I was blown away by the characterisation here. For instance, when Sam introduces himself as Sir Algeron, we instantly know what he is about. All of them are made from an intelligent blend of chaotic and orderly traits, making sense on the surface and yet having enough incongruities so that they feel astoundingly realistic.

This not only equates to a fascinating window into human nature, it also allows the reader to be fully immersed in the story. And what a fantastic story it is! There’s no middle book syndrome here, as we’re thrown straight back into the narrative. Remarkably, the ideas are just as sophisticated as the last. I particularly loved the idea of Nick being a “statistical anomaly” and the clever consequences that produced. I did guess who Eva was, but that didn’t subtract from my enjoyment in any way, though I will say I was more impressed by how D&D was entwined with the plot again! If you do pick this up, you can expect non-stop action and excitement. And, miraculously, Lawrence managed to pull all this off, whilst also managing to end on a sweet note yet again!

The sum total of all this is I enjoyed the heck out of this sequel!

Rating: 5/5 bananas

This is the second book in the "Impossible Timelines" series by Mark Lawrence which follows Nick Hayes, a sixteen years old mathematicial genius who suffers from Leukemia. In this sequel Nick sees a girl which he knows he has seen before, however, the girl has no recollection of who he is. Things start to get a little out of control when he starts seeing different possible outcomes of different situations he experiences and he starts to suspect that something is wrong with his timeline again.
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This is very hard for me to say since I love Mark Lawrence's other books, but I really didn't like this book.
I didn't really connect with the first book in the series "One Word Kill", but I thought it was a clever idea and I loved the D&D inspired aspects of the story.
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In this book I was just bored. I guess sci-fi is not my literary taste, especially YA sci-fi.
I found myself uninterested in all of the scientific parts and the mathematical equations although I love math in real life.
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I also really hate when books have a stalking/horrifying character who threatens the main character, it's just my personal preference.
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With all that being said, Mark Lawrence described beautifully and heartbreakingly Nick's struggles with Leukemia and I respect him a lot for that! I also really appreciate the different representation in the book such as people of color as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
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Unfortunately a 🌟🌟/5 stars from me, but I will definitely check other books by this author!. very hard for me to say since I