Limited Wish

Limited Wish, book two of the Impossible Times trilogy, is a highly-enjoyable and heady sci-fi adventure with heavy emotional beats. Although this book takes a bit longer than One Word Kill to have its full scope be revealed, the mind-bending paths that we’re being led through becomes a twisty and challenging puzzle that deepens as the story progresses. Exploring the implications of the characters' actions and their ripple effects through various timelines is as impressive as it is complex. Yet Lawrence does an admirable job interpreting these rule-breaking time-travel theories and making them quite clear for the reader to follow.

The book itself is a paradox in a sense, as it is simultaneously a light and heavy read. Romance, role-playing games, and challenges at school help to shape Nick’s coming of age tale, yet it also asks the reader to contemplate advanced mathematics and physics theories, time loops, paradoxes, universal energies, and the potential existence-destroying possibilities that stem from it all. Although Lawrence outlines some of the bigger concepts in as clear a way as possible, I still recommend spending a bit of extra time to think about and absorb each new fold before continuing. Like any good book, you get out of it as much as you put in, and I found myself pausing and doing a bit of extra research to consider some new angles of where the story might be headed. And if any book makes me want to research math and physics on my own time -- for fun! -- then that’s a pretty damn good compliment to the author.

Limited Wish shares a fair amount in common with its predecessor which, considering the plot, is entirely expected, but also serves as a bit of a detriment. Once again, the D&D game emulates Nick’s real-life dilemmas… or perhaps his dilemmas are emulating the game. A few of the story's beats feel familiar, which may be an unfair dig at a story that involves time loops and paradoxes. But it's a small gripe when weighing it against how damn entertaining this story is. These books are relatively short, but make the most of their pages by creating strong characters that leave a lasting impact on the reader, and a furious pace that will force you to want to read this story in just a sitting or two. With only one book to go, and many more questions raised than answered, I can't wait to see what Lawrence has in store for the conclusion.

I'm already a fan of Mark Lawrence, having loved his Red Sister series, and I see him as kinda a lite Jay Kristoff or Roth.
He writes fun, easy to read novels that focus on small core groups, and this series is his first advance into science fiction. I actually bought the first one after getting this galley, so I could read them in order. I read a lot of science fiction, both hard and lite, and it sits somewhere in the middle. The main character, Nick, is a maths genius, like his father, and sometimes I got lost in trying to wrap my head around the concepts he was using (paradoxes, anyone?!), but really, you can't go wrong with a good time travel series. And this is one, weaving typical 1980's nostalgia, time travel, and coming of age strains together into a sometimes poignant but always exciting thread that I will not spoil by giving away any spoilers!

Stranger Things with Time Travel - what's not to like?

Just perfect !!!
What a wonderful mind Mark Lawrence has to create such a wonderful book as this it just has everything you would want in a story and I thought he couldn’t better book one well he surely has with this one so god only knows what is to come with book three and I just wish I didn’t have to wait so long for it, having read books one and two back to back I now have serious withdrawals while awaiting book three.
This is an amazingly written series and I would say has something for everyone it has science, time travel, paradoxes but also at its core it has love and I can’t fault anything about the books at all and I guess you can see I just fell in love with them.
So here I am wishing I could split off in another future timeline and be reading book three, instead I will be patient and just thank the amazing Mark Lawrence for giving me so much pleasure reading this fantabulous series. All the stars and more and highly recommended.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK, 47North for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't think it was possible but Mr. Lawrence topped the first book. The weaving of timelines is done to perfection. As is always the case, his prose is second to none. Bring on book three!

I received this via Netgalley and I can't wait for the hardcover to come in so I can add it to my collection.

Limited Wish is a far more enjoyable read than Book 1 in the series, possibly, because I know what to expect now, (but also because there's less 'mirror action' in the D & D game than in Book 1 - sorry, not a fan because I've never played it, and I just don't get it (ducks for cover!)).
I read it in a few sittings, and look forward to Book 3 to discover just how Nick fares!

Many thanks to Publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC ahead of the release!

Limited Wish is a fine story, it pulls you in from the first page and keeps you on the edge of your seat as a good thriller should. It is a perfect follow-up to the One Word Kill and shares all the strengths with the first volume of the series.

In fact, it shares so much that it reminded me of the problem with Hangover and Hangover II movies. Both are great and deliver the laughs - but it is essentially the same movie. Different context, same plot devices. This is my only grumble with the Limited Wish. I liked it, but I also felt like I read this already (kind of...).

Fans of D&D, Stranger Things and Dark Matter - should really give it a go. The easy flowing story, plot thrills, cute characters - it got it all for a good escapism session. Suitable for both lovers and haters of YA genre.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, 47North and the author, Mark Lawrence, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Limited Wish in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I am a huge fan of Mark Lawrence's novels which is why I jumped at the chance to review this book. And I was certainly not disappointed either.
The storyline was well thought out and written with intriguing characters and descriptive imagery. I was hooked from the start and, as with every other novel by this author, read in one sitting.
Well worth a read. 4.5 stars.

Damn!!!! This was such a brilliant book!!!! I didn't think that Mark Lawrence could better his first book but boy he did!! And probably for the first time in my life I've read books that had paradox, mathematics, science and quantum mechanics in it and I actually enjoyed it. As I had written in my review of the first book, he's so brilliant in describing the extraordinarily difficult and complicated theories in such a simple way that even a layman like me could understand and appreciate it so much. And the book is also so funny in parts, especially Nick with his friends and when he meets Eva. Overall, this is just a wonderfully brilliant book but now I'm grumpy as I'll have to wait for quite some time before the next book is available and I so want to read it now!! Again, this book is much more than a 5 star read but since that's the amount of stars available 5 stars it is. Thank you Mark Lawrence for this wonderful book. And a big thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and 47North for giving me a chance to read this wonderful book in exchange of my honest review.

"Limited Wish" is the second installment in the "Impossible Times" series and sets in a couple of months after the ending of "One Word Kill". Unfortunately, this part in the series feels more rushed than the last part. The characters are underdeveloped and the story gets really confusing towards the end. I think the novel needed to be expanded by a couple of hundred pages to really make sense.

Review
I read the first book in this series a few weeks back and I really enjoyed it so when I saw there was a copy available to read straight away on netgalley, I snapped it up. This book picks up a few months after the events of the first book, Nick has started attending university and doing mathematical research with a big shot professor and he's still playing dungeons & dragons with his friends at the weekend. However weird things start happening and he's sucked back into the world of time travel.

This was just as enjoyable as the first book, it maintained the fantasy aspect with detailed descriptions of the groups dungeon's and dragons game which cleverly begins to reflect Nick's own troubled life. The new characters introduced to us fitted in perfectly and really worked well with plot, it didn't feel like the author was misleading anything or straying too far from the main plot. Nick is a great main character, his character is so well developed and even though he's gone through so much he's still cracking jokes about his situation. It's something that Mark Lawrence does really well, balancing humour with the more hard hitting parts of the plot.

There is further explanations about alternate timelines whichwere enjoyable to read about and even though science and maths were never my best subjects at school and there were times when some of the terminology went over my head and I had to use the dictionary for help a few times, it was still easy to get the gist of things and follow along with the more complex aspects of the plot.

This is a really fast paced read, I read it within a few hours as I was desperate to know what was going to happen next and I've become rather attached to the characters now and invested in how things will turn out for them.. I'm interested to see in which the direction the plot goes next and how the series wraps up with the third and final book.

Rating:
4/5 stars.

* I recieved an ARC copy via Netgalley in return for my honest opinion.

Leave it to Mark Lawrence to write a second book in a trilogy that is even better than the first! I love how every series is of his is so unique, a wonderful mix of humor, heart, and action.

The universe is trying to kill you.

Just when Nick didn't think his life could get any more stressful, more time travelers show up and need his help. Because battling leukemia and life as a 16-year-old math genius now attending university wasn't enough, now the universe is out to get him. He is at the heart of a paradox that could cause not only his universe to be destroyed…

This has all the trademarks of Mark Lawrence's brilliant writing. There's the humor that is found even in the darkest days of a teenager battling leukemia:

"We need to play to our strengths." "We calculate him to death?"

The love and support found in a family:

"My dad used to say that he didn't love my mum because she was perfect, he loved her because her imperfections were a good match for his."

And the friendship that unites five outcasts who would love nothing more than to hide in a good game of D&D, but are forced to find the strength to battle real-life demons.

*quotes were taken from an uncorrected proof*

First I want to thank Netgalley and the publishers, and author Mark Lawrence for the opportunity to read an ARC of this amazing novel. Limited Wish is the second of a three book Trilogy and it actually won't be out until later this month or next (depends on who talks to you). I have already read and LOVED the first book, One Word Kill. Everybody who loves nerdy stuff, science fiction, and time travel is talking about it! I have read many time travel novels, and lots of them are just trips to another time in history where the "real" plot unfolds. Not this series! Until now, my favorite time travel series has been the Time Riders books by Alex Scarrow. I read them all, and was so sad when the series ended. Well, the Impossible Times series is better! By Far! The various ways to cause a quantum mechanics paradox by traveling through time are actually explained here (sometimes well, sometimes not-so-well), and the main characters are relatable, believable and downright amazing. The plot, staring sixteen year old "reluctant genius & prodigy" Nick Hayes, is set in London in 1986, which is the year Back to the Future appeared in movie theaters in the UK. Nick would rather be a normal boy, but that isn't an option for a brilliant teenage cancer survivor who has already met himself as a time traveler (in book one). This time, as he meets a couple of girls who seem weirdly familiar, he realizes that his timeline has some dangerous wrinkles in it. And of course, he's not the only one in trouble; seems like the future of the entire world depends on what he does now. I never played Dungeons and Dragons when it was all the rage but I have friends who did. Nick and his small circle of nerdy friends play D & D for hours, and we see parts of the game leaking into their real lives. I was totally on board every minute, the same way we are when we're watching a great monster movie! I raced through this one, and found that it, like book one, has an appropriate ending (no real cliffhanger here), but I need book three!! I need it now!! Hey, Mark Lawrence, listen here: I need book three! This series is amazing -- REALLY. And DO NOT start with this book, but with book one: One Word Kill. You will love it.

Limited Wish is the second book in the Impossible Times series. I liked the first book better but this is a fine continuation of the story set a couple of months after the first book. Nick and the team are back, but instead of Elton, there are some new characters called Helen and Eva who have some very serious impact on Nick’s life.

Thanks to NetGalley, 47North and Mark Lawrence for my copy.

I enjoyed this sequel much better than its predecessor. I am not exactly sure why that is true: maybe I was already immersed in the story so a continuation meant more to me than the initial dive into a new tale? Perhaps my mind was already accustomed to time travel lingo and mathematical theories thrown at me every other page? Either way, this was a bit more action-packed than the first, the stakes were even higher, and was sucked up from the first sentence until the breathless end. I'm really looking forward to the finale in this crazy, superbly-written series!

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review


I love that I got to read One Word Kill and Limited Wish so close together. I have no idea how I'm going to survive the wait until November to read Dispel Illusion. This trilogy is a masterpiece. And I'm saying that having not read the third book.

OWK ended on a hopefull but very bittersweet note. LW picks up a few months later. In some ways Nick's life has improved, in others it definitely hasn't. Nick is now an undergraduate in Mathematics at Cambridge, having stopped hiding his genius in the interests of working towards discovering time travel. A sixteen year old prodigy draws attention and not all of it good. Between girl troubles, DD sessions, working with a Cambridge professor and negotiating with his tricky health, Nick really has enough to worry about. It's a shame that everything suddenly seems to be conspiring to try and kill him really.
And then there's the anomalies, the weird energy surges and the phase shifts. Suddenly Nick isn't worried about living another 25 yrs - he might not make it to the end of the week.


Never let it be said that Lawrence doesn't put his characters through hell. He certainlg doesn't stay his hand for a teenage character! Perhaps that's what makes the pay off so satisfying, when clever plotting, witty narrative and great characterisation converge to race to the finale. One thing Lawrence always does is stick his books endings. The structure is always sound without sacrificing character voice or agency.

Another point I'd make is that a time travel plot is incredibly hard to land. When you start looking at quantum mechanics and temporal anomalies, not to mention sheer logic, most time travel plots grow overripe faster than avocados. I'm enough of a physics hobbyist (read: nerd) that it can throw me out of the book. Usually a good story and great characters will keep me on board. Lawrence not only delivers both of those things but his time travel narrative actually stays robust and carries the story to its conclusion.

I could go on but you'd better just read the book. I love the characters and their friendship groups. The writing was poihlgnant in places, hilariously laugh out loud funny in others but always engaging. The nerdery, DD, science and 80s refs are brilliant. And this has one of the most beautiful closing chapters of any book I've ever read. This is excellent. Highly recommend.

What a wild ride! 'Limited Wish' was full of adventure, mystery and adrenaline!

'Limited Wish hooked me in hard and fast from the very first page, in fact I think I even enjoyed it more than its predecessor, 'One Word Kill,' which I also loved. Nicks story continued, and not content with battling cancer, and being a maths genius, he also started Cambridge University at the tender age of 16! That's not even the strangest thing that happened!.This book took me on a whirlwind adventure, involving time travel, paradoxes, creepy villains, (like seriously that train scene 😮)creases in the fabric of time, and the possible destruction of the universe! Oh is that all you say?!

My heart was racing throughout the whole of this book, I was on constant alert, with the shocking twists and revelations. My head did nearly explode with all of the maths and science, but it was done really well so that non geniuses like me could follow and understand!

'Limited Wish' still had the great feel that the first book had, centred around Nick and his friends, and they still played D+D! I loved the friendships, and the love and support they had for each other! Amongst the action, science and maths, there was the usual teenage angst and relationship dramas. There was some great dark humour too, mostly from Nick, as he had to deal with his ongoing cancer, violence and the universe trying to kill him.

I actually lost all my highlighted quotes, but one that stood out to me was when Nick said, "My dad used to say that he didn't love my mum because she was perfect, he loved her because her imperfections were a good match for his."


Truly I was captivated by this mind bending tale, and found myself simultaneously wanting to race through it, and yet wanted to take my time so that it didn't end too soon! Highly recommend 👍

Two books into this series, and I'm impressed by the courage of Mark Lawrence.  Having a story with time travel and parallel stories, I admire that he made a decision at the end, just like Life requires.

I've read a few stories like this, with a character's decisions causing changes in the future... in a way every story has this, as our actions change what happens next, but most stories don't discuss that in the story itself.  Stories with time travel tend to need that discussion though, at some point.

Without spoiling the story, the end of the book is foreshadowed and the main character will have to make a decision.  The effects of that decision will influence the future of everyone we've started caring about in this series.  I anticipated that Lawrence would chicken-out and have the decision either a) not matter, or b) be decided by the Universe.

To my surprise and happiness, this failure to commit didn't happen.  I admire the way the story came together and still gives us an ending that works for the story, even if it's not what we may want.

So often book fall prey to second book syndrome, where the book really feels less like a book in its own right and more a transition between books one and three. This book did almost the exact opposite. In fact, it solidified Mark Lawrence as one of my favorite authors of the year.

This book takes all of the elements of One Word Kill that I loved and built on them, all while telling a new and intriguing story in this trilogy. It gives just enough to leave me wanting more while also wrapping up this chapter of Nick’s story without me having too many unanswered questions.

The. Writing. I’m the type of reader that cannot get into books with flowery prose, the type that feels like the author is trying too hard to show the reader how many big words they know. Lawrence has a simplicity to his writing in the best way possible. When he needs to get technical with the physics of time travel, he gets technical, but it never feels forced or unnatural. And it’s easy to follow even the more complex elements. I devoured this book because it was so easy to get into the flow of the story with the fluidity of the narrative.

I also really enjoyed how the old characters from the first book were developed more, while adding some awesome new characters. Eva’s my new favorite okay? Okay. She’s a total badass and I’d protect her with my whole life.

I cannot wait to see how this series ends! Luckily it sounds like I won’t have to wait too long!

Limited Wish picks a few months after the ending of One Word Kill. Nick goes to Cambridge University where he impresses everyone with his almost preternatural mathematical skills. In the meantime he has to deal with the Universe willing to kill him (by all means necessary, Leukemia included), girls (yep, plural), D&D sessions and guests from the future.

Problems faced by friends during D&D sessions translate into real life decisions and titular spell Limited Wish has an interesting concept I’ll let you discover on your own.

I always loved mathematics and Lawrence shows it beauty without delving into complicated equations. Highly appreciated.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy of Limited Wish!

The nostalgic fun continues in LIMITED WISH, the second book in the Impossible Times series by Mark Lawrence. The main character, Nick, has a lot on his plate: recovering from his recent bout with leukemia, falling for a girl but her dating someone else, and finding out that he is a time traveler in the future because his future self has visited him. Now Nick discovers there are multiple timelines and his head is spinning over which timeline is the right one. On top of it all, he has started research work at Cambridge and that quickly becomes complicated. Girls, physical recovery, time travel, friends, potential universe-shattering paradoxes. Nick has to balance it all and decide what are the right choices for him.
I really like how Lawrence has built the world that Nick lives in. Being in the 1980's brings back pleasant memories and having Nick still yearn to be a kid at heart by placing his weekly D&D game at the same level of importance to him as everything else. Nick is such a relatable and likeable character, through his struggles and successes, his awkwardness and bravery, and his sheer curiosity, the reader sees a teenager that we all once were. And all of the supporting characters are well developed and fun too. The action pleasantly builds to the climax of the book and there are some good twists along the way. Excited up until the end, the book also leaves a cliffhanger big enough that the reader is yearning to get their hands on the next book.
LIMITED WISH is not overly complex or epic in style, but it is loaded with exhilarating actions, endearing moments, and entertaining banter. I'm looking forward to the next Impossible Times book.

5×10ⁿ STARS! This book will make you go round and round and round in a never-ending loop of paradox...and fall down dead; a “head-twister” is what I like to call it :)

“Time heals all wounds.” Sam offered the old cliché.
“Time causes a lot of them, too.”

J.D. Salinger wrote, “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.” but when it does, it's an author who feels fabulously familiar, who understands you in a wondrous way, who you know you would have the most terrific talk with...and every time, every time, I turn the last page of a book by Mark Lawrence, that wish descends upon me like a vicious falcon, that cunning cruel creature, would upon its vulnerable prey.

Limited Wish is the best sequel One Word Kill I, this mulish maniacal meretricious mortal who would read anything the malefic munificent meritorious Mark would write—even pure poignant poetry (which he actually has and which are azure, ardent, and amazing), could have hoped for!
(Note: did I seriously just do that??)

“We humans care about what is, about what’s in front of us. Untouchable realities are too academic. If a man is starving to death on our street we empty the larder to feed him. Move him to a country a thousand miles away and our compassion shrinks a hundredfold.”

With his exquisite, flowing, and memorable writing that utterly traps you in its tale, throwing away the key (yay I stopped doing it!), and his glamorous gratifying grasp on anything from love, cancer, and humanity, to mathematics, physics, and paradox, and his incredible ingenious imagination to shape a singular strong story (nope...didn't stop), and with his tremendous talent in teaching to simplify the most complex concepts, Mark Lawrence has created magic in this book—more than ever before!

And I know that is a paragraph of praise, but it's true.

“A good mathematical proof is a gem. It sparkles in the same way, and like a diamond it’s impervious to time. It takes and multiplies the light of understanding, refracting it through many facets.”

There is the likely possiblity that this book might give you a headache, but in a good way! One Word Kill was much simpler and stood as an introduction to accustom the reader to the concept, aiming to explore its more complicated and fascinating side in the sequel(s); and thus there is more science in Limited Wish, and it's a unique book to truly challenge your mind, but you shouldn't worry—the author makes it all impossibly easy!

As Jane Austen said, “if a book is well written, I always find it too short.” and in this case it is too short :(
So I strongly suggest you pre-order it right now, because you are in for a ride unlike anything before.

I read both of mark lawerance's new books in this series courtesy of herbalist and really enjoyed them! Such a great author.

This book is a follow up to 'One Word Kill' and that book should definitely be read first to understand this book. While the author does give a helpful recap of OWK, it in no way replaces the full experience of the first volume of this planned trilogy.

I described OWK as Stranger Things meets Terminator 2, and many of the themes continue into this book. The first book introduced the overall arc and the mechanics of time travel. This entry into the series focuses more on one of the primary problems with time travel: paradoxes and multiple universes/timelines/realities. Between this book and Avengers Endgame, my head is spinning with trying to wrap my head around how it all works. Without delving into too many spoilers, it also has a great look into the Butterfly Effect and how small choices affect the future.

My best advice? Enjoy the ride and don't think on the mechanics of time travel too hard... That's generally a good rule of thumb for time travel. Mr. Lawrence does a great job of explaining it all, but it's best to just live in the moment.

The book is extremely well-written, combining Dungeons and Dragons scenes, "normal" teenage experiences, time travel, action/heist sequences, and the experiences of a cancer patient. Those all don't seem to go well together, but in this book, it does.

I definitely recommend this book and series to anyone. While it is marketed as YA fiction, there's enough there that can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike. I'm currently hoping I Can develop time travel to get to the last book in the series even faster.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for me to review.

More time travelling and physics in the second book in this fun and mind bending series from Mark Lawrence. I will say that it is pretty essential to read the first book, One Word Kill , before tackling this one, as otherwise The reader would be pretty lost. Once again our group of D&D playing friends must complete a risky heist , this time to repair a fracture in the time lines that is causing ripples and trying to kill our protagonist in a series of increasingly unlikely ways. Once again there is a good blend of action and humour to hold my interest as a reader. This was a fun book, and I am thankful to the publisher for my copy supplied via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a wonderfully fun read.
I love this series and am a huge fan of Mark Lawrence anyway and i enjoyed his trademark humor in this.

This story done so well it feels almost real in a way and is a refreshing change from much of what else is on the market at the moment.

Big fan, can't wait to read the finale

Well, even I don't understand D&D references used in this story, Mark Lawrence kept a compelling storyline than One Word Kill. The characters here are mature and more of the time traveling references than the first book.

Following on from One Word Kill (so if you haven't read that go and avoid any people-who-survived type spoilers!!), Nick Hayes, 16-year-old mathematics genius, now knows that he has about 25 years to invent time travel before coming back to meet himself last month. So, he decides it's time to stop pretending to be 'normal' and accept early admission to a posh University filled with upper class nobs, where he can try to dumb down his explanations to his new maths professor. He also has to try to reclaim the girl that he was trying to save in the first book, but who is understandably a little freaked out by all the 'destiny' with their relationship.

Much as I enjoyed OWK, it didn't quite hit all the buttons I would have hoped for. Still, I was looking forward to this sequel to see where the story would go. And I was not disappointed! In fact, LW is the story getting much more into its stride, and as a result I enjoyed it even more.

Time travel has always been one of my favourite plots in speculative fiction, and I very much like how it's handled here. The characters feel a lot more grown up, too, despite the passing of mere months. And with different expectations after book one, the gentle nods towards the 'period' (hey - I lived through it, it's not exactly the Victorian age!!) made me smile rather than being disappointingly light. There is a great deal of amusement, I thought, from the mention of modern band names and how nonsensical they would be in the 1980s - Lady Gaga? Red Hot Chilli Peppers? Fnarf.

I also loved the way the D&D game reflects the events in real life for the kids, without being overly forced. This takes a while to show up, as in the first book, but is a nice little touch.

Recommended, and bring on the third installment already!

Nick Haye's mathematical ability has wowed Oxford and vaulted him into helping with a  series of experiments that may be the answer to his time traveling questions... but there's a problem. Ok, several problems. Echos in time, stray energy, temporal resonances, and PARADOXES! Possibly brought on by Helen, a new character who helps him out of a tight situation...running from some jerky, older Oxford dorks... coincidences become fate.

Will the "spanners in the works" mess up the ‘Save Mia’ plan... Chased by a government agent with past issues and rippling, mind-bending time loops, it’s up to Nick's friends and Demus and Mia and Helen and others to help him sort it out.

More D&D. More maths, More... I certainly liked One Word Kill, but I loved Limited Wish. The second book seems more introspective than the first; it concentrates mostly on Nick's timeline and honestly, more of the things that I found enjoyable in the first book. He now has the main goal of discovering time travel, yet there are several factors that may get in way, including most importantly, his health. Two things to love about his characterization: Lawrence's description of Nick's manipulation of numbers was an excellent way to help the uninitiated understand a sliver of the process. Nick's awkwardness in the face of infatuation, flirting, and love is heartbreakingly realistic. 

D&D. There's a big shift with Elton dropping out of the narrative and the friendship group. Mia takes over the task of DM, and the quest takes on a more symbolic twist on the story running in the forefront of Limited Wish... and when you get to the origin of the title, it is an awesome piece that links several threads together. Fun Stuff!

Note: A Mandlebrot reference made me happy... not that understand any of his work, but I read Ziemska's novella Mandelbrot the Magnificent last month and loved it. (Review can be found here: Mandelbrot the Magnificent: A Novella by Liz Ziemska)

I highly recommend this series and am eagerly waiting for the 3rd installment. 

4.5 out of 5 stars.

This is the second book of a trilogy about time-travelling maths prodigy Nick Hayes and his Dungeons & Dragons playing friends. I read the first, One Word Kill, very recently which meant the plot and characters were all fresh, although the author helpfully includes a quick recap at the beginning - I wish more writers would do this! I definitely recommend reading these in order regardless.

A few months after the events of OWK, Nick’s life has changed dramatically - he is now studying at Cambridge under a famous professor, who will work with him on the equations which will ultimately help him travel through time. Mia has dumped him in favour of a flamboyant teen actor but is still showing up for their weekly D&D games. When a strangely familiar girl appears and the universe starts trying to kill him, Nick learns that the paradox he creates is putting multiple timelines at risk, and only he can fix it.

I confess I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first book, but it’s still a highly readable adventure - there was a bit too much D&D in this one - not something I was ever into - although I learned the origin of the personality grids that have been showing up on Facebook lately, referring to Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic, so that’s something.

I loved the time travel jokes and eighties throwback references, and while the mind-bending Timey-Wimey stuff got a bit confusing for me, the author did a good job of straightening it out again. I worried we were heading for a cliffhanger ending - the next book is apparently not due until November so that would’ve been annoying - but he actually wraps it up very satisfactorily while still leaving plot lines to be completed. 4.5 rounded up for the wonderful characters and originality of ideas (at least for someone who doesn’t read much sci-fi/fantasy).

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review. Limited Wish is published on 28.05.19.

[Excerpt]:

Well. I was intrigued by this series for two reasons: time travel and the fact that a young kid gets cancer and has to deal with all these crazy happenings at the same time he undergoes treatment. Something about the combination caught my attention – it seemed unusual. So I downloaded the first book, “One Word Kill” for free from April’s Amazon First Reads list. Then I received an ARC of “Limited Wish” before I’d even got to book 1, so I hunkered down to read them both.

These books are well-written. They contain LOTS of mathematics and physics-speak. I’m sure to people who like both and/or one of those topics, the books would be extremely fun and interesting. However, I am not one of those people.

I was bored most of the time and confused at least half the time. I found events hard to follow. The time travel aspect was so ingrained within the actual mathematics that it lost its “shine.” I also didn’t feel connected to ANY of the characters, which is always a big indicator to me that I won’t like / enjoy a book. I’ve noticed in the past few years that I’m not as invested in stories with a male protagonist. I thought Nick was okay, and Simon was odd but likeable, but I didn’t care for either of the girls (Mia or Helen), and the whole Demus plotline was just….I don’t know, extraordinarily uninteresting to me. Also, Dungeons and Dragons features HEAVILY in this series, and since I have never played this game a day in my life, nor do I understand a single thing about it, I was equally bored and frustrated because nothing made sense. I did think it was cool that Nick’s daughter with Helen, Eva, time traveled to meet her father. But that wasn’t nearly enough to redeem this book.

[Full review on my blog!]

Limited Wish wasn’t quite as enjoyable to me as One Word Kill but it still carries some of the same magic I found in the first book. There is a paradox as two possible time lines are too close together and our Nick seems to be in both of them. He is the key to fixing things but since he is also the source of the paradox the universe is trying to kill him.

Nick and company are great again. I really like how most of this group of friends sticks together through thick and thin. Even Nick going off to university early is not going to mess up the Saturday D&D game, although the new Paladin might. Sam is Mia’s new boyfriend, yes you heard that right Mia has a new boyfriend and she invited him to the D&D game. I guess when the universe tells you, you’re going to be with a certain person sometimes you still fight it.
But now, it’s like… It’s like me and Mia are fated to be together. It’s like there’s no choice and we know where we’re heading.’
‘Pressure, dude!’
John always said ‘dude’ as if he were trying it on for size. But he was right. Romance and love can endure external pressure to end them. Being told no just made Romeo and Juliet get serious. But those emotions don’t do so well if that pressure is trying to make them happen instead of trying to make them stop. It’s like having a gun to your head and being told to laugh convincingly at a joke or you get a bullet.

So Nick is dealing with University, the girl he is supposed to be with fighting it, another girl who looks familiar popping up at strange times, a bully or two at school and just to round it all out a do-gooder Paladin.

The struggle I had with this book is that the tie in to the D&D game didn’t go along quite for me. Also, the dueling time lines starting to get a little confusing. The impending paradox and everything that entailed along with some of the other events like busting into a Nuclear Power plant did seemed a bit far out there too. But it was all entertaining, even if I possibly over thought some things.

Eva was a great character addition to the story and I was happy to see Demus again. I did like how this all hinged on Nick being in the right place at the right time to do ‘something’ to set both timelines right again
‘Hope,’ said Demus, ‘is an essential tool in any torturer’s kit bag. Hope is the thing that we will torture ourselves with after he’s knocked off and gone home for the night. That, sadly, is one of the lessons standing between you and me.’

One Word Kill had more of a Stranger things vibe to it. Still a decent second book to a series and enjoyable, but didn’t quite hold my attention as much. Looking forward to seeing what other time shenanigans our questing party will have in the next book of the series.

I received an arc from Netgalley. This does not affect my unbiased review of the book.

Yet another brilliant book from Mark Lawrence. Believable characters, imaginative plot, can’t wait for the final instalment.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Not to spoil anything, because it is the second book in the series, but oh my god. If you thought the first book was a wild ride, just wait until you read this one.

Mark Lawrence is such a skilled writer. In only 250 pages, he manages to give you everything you want in a story - enough exposition, enough action and a great, exciting and believable ending.

Limited Wish continues where One Word Kill left off and introduces some new characters. We still follow Nick and his friends, they still play Dungeons and Dragons and Nick still has leukaemia. But, as in the last one, there's so much more to the story. We get plenty of time travel, paradoxes and intrugue.

I loved it as much as the first one and can't wait to read the final instalment.
5/5 stars

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

* * * *
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

I enjoyed this series so far.

This book (and series) are fantastic if you are just starting to read sci-fi/fantasy.

This book is very well written and it kept me hooked from the beginning.

I do highly recommend.

So, I received this second book for a free download. With that in mind, I bought the first book. Thinking that I love Lawrence's book's, so this would be a no brainer. I did like the first book. But, I guess I wasn't much impressed with this one. Nor do I have interest in the third. I'm not sure really what lost me. The d&d stuff was a drag. Yes, I once dated someone who was fairly awesome, then on a Saturday he took me to a d&d thing. He played. I read and watched m.t.v. He was hot. Then not! Maybe, that's it for me. I don't think nerds or geeks are cute. Never have, and I never will. I ain't gonna blow smoke.up.your ass and say the first book was great either. Except for the kick ass gal, "who's name I can't even remember," the rest were everything I avoided back in school. Don't get me wrong, because I didn't like jocks either. I was always middle of the road. I love Mark Lawrence when he does fantasy. This is not for me. I understand how others would like it, but again.....Not me. I actually want to know about the Sisters. That world. This is puff.

Well, I didn't for one second believe that Mark Lawrence could surpass the standard of the first book but he has! This second novel in the Impossible Times series is a fantastic and fiercely compelling tale of time travel, gaming, maths, paradoxes, action and excitement. The cast happens to be exquisitely drawn with complex, multi-dimensional personalities and the plot well constructed with tension aplenty. We learn so much more about Nick in this instalment as this was a lot more introspective than Limited Wish. Nick is incredibly real and relatable as he's quite awkward and introverted just like me and it can cause a few issues in life which he experiences throughout this book.

It is an excellent piece of fun, epic, speculative fiction with a plethora of original and intriguing ideas which come together in a flurry of different threads and eventually merge. I was expecting a cliffhanger given that it is leading into and setting up for the final book but Lawrence manages to craft a satisfying conclusion to it too; I certainly wasn't expecting that so it was a welcome surprise. The humour the author interspersed throughout was a stroke of genius and appears at just the right moments to provide a little light relief. This is a detailed, immersive world and a story that moves at a decent clip. Focusing on the issues surrounding time travel, this episode explores paradoxes and multiple universes, timelines, realities and is a real adventure. Many thanks to 47North for an ARC.

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.

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.

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

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.

“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.

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.

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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)

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.

"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.

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.

I’m loving the quick release schedule for these books, because it meant I was able to jump right into Limited Wish almost immediately after finishing One Word Kill and I was definitely looking forward to continuing the story of Nick Hayes and his friends. Following the events of book one, our protagonist has beaten his diagnosis of cancer and is now enrolled in the prestigious Mathematics program at Cambridge, following in his brilliant late father’s footsteps. It is 1986 and Nick is looking forward to beginning a new chapter in his life as a university student, but still he maintains close ties to his mother and his group of D&D friends at home. Of course, things haven’t exactly been the same between them anymore, not since their brush with time travel, and considering what they’ve all been through, that’s not too surprising.

As it turns out though, Nick’s adventures are far from over. At school, he meets a fellow student who seems strangely familiar, though he’s pretty sure he’s never seen her before. Comprehension dawns as he realizes that his past shenanigans must have caused several disruptions through time, and now life as he knows it is in danger of unraveling unless he can get the gang together again to fix the very fabric of reality—with the help of some unexpected and impossible allies to boot.

Oh, reviewing a time travel book is always so frustrating, because how do you explain the best parts without spoiling things? Multiple possibilities, mind-bending paradoxes, uncanny precognition, communications from the future…this book has it all. I think it’s safe to say if you enjoyed One Word Kill, then Limited Wish will appeal to you for all the same reasons, but with the stakes even higher this time, the difference is that you will likely get hooked much faster and much harder. No small amount of credit is also due to Mark Lawrence for this, for as always, he writes in a style that is easy for readers to grasp and to grow addicted to, so you just can’t help but keep turning the pages. Even the driest and most complex of theories seemed straightforward and superbly, unendingly fascinating in his hands, and as a result, I finished Limited Wish in about a day. It’s also a fast-paced and rather short novel, so that helped as well.

Again, the characters stole the show in this one. Nick Hayes as a protagonist is likeable and sympathetic, to the point where you almost have to resent the author a little for putting this sweet kid through the wringer. Though if you’ve read Mark Lawrence, chances are you already know his characters are no strangers to hardship, given his penchant to throw seemingly impossible obstacles before them. It’s what makes reading his books so worth it. Limited Wish hooked me in because I already felt close to Nick, and it was both joyous and heartbreaking to see him be presented with another challenge. Like One Word Kill, this sequel strikes a fine balance between the entertaining action and the emotional, poignant gut-punch moments. It makes you really feel for Nick, simultaneously making him a character you want to cheer for, as well as to wrap around in protective arms in order to shield him from all the pain and uncertainties of life. At the same time, the story is also full of these wild and incredible scenarios that make you wonder what you would do if you were in the protagonist’s shoes, coming face-to-face with people from his past and present. That is to say, despite its moodier moments, this is a really fun read that contains plenty of lightness to balance out some of the life-altering confusion and angst.

So what else is there left to say, besides I can’t wait to see what else this series has in store for us! I’ve been a fan of Mark Lawrence for a long time, but the last couple of years has seen his writing and storytelling evolve to a whole new level, with the proof of that happening right before us in the Impossible Times trilogy. Bring on the third book, I say, because I’m loving it. With Dispel Illusion due out before the end of the year, I’m just glad the wait won’t be too long!

Okay so middle books in trilogies are always risky as there's often no big world introduction or big awesome ending and much of the time they simply don't live up to the first and last books in the series.
This is not one of those occasions. Mark Lawrence laughs in the face of "Middle Book syndrome". In fact, I actually liked this one better than the first!

All of our favourite characters from the first book return in a slightly different setting - Cambridge University! As I'm rather familiar with Cambridge I very much enjoyed this new setting. While I feel like we had further character development with our MC Nick, I do also feel like his friends were more on the sidelines of this one for some reason which is a bit of a shame.

I still absolutely loved the D&D sessions and I'm so glad this continued throughout the book even with Nick going off to university. That little bit of magic and imagination and all round nerdiness is just wonderful.

As for the time travel theory used in the series - I have to admit that I still can't quite get my head around it but that's pretty much to be expected for time travel plots!

The ending was overall fairly satisfying and this could easily finish as a duology (but I'm still secretly glad we're getting one more book).

Mark Lawrence continues to impress in this lovely new trilogy.

Thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for and honest review.

I started to read this book, then stopped when I realised it was following on from a previous novel, One Word Kill. I was intrigued enough by the premise, so I've shelved this book and bought One Word Kill to start off with. I'm already enjoying it immensely - loving the characters and how it's all unfolding. So four stars so far, and massive thanks to Amazon Publishing UK 47north and Net Galley for bringing this Author and book to my attention. I'll update my review once I've finished them both.

4.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2019/06/13/limited-wish-impossible-times-2-by-mark-lawrence/
Limited Wish was a blast of a book that brought with it more mind bending paradoxes and adventure very much in the style of Back to the Future. This series is a whole lot of fun – although I’m not sure fun is the word I’m really looking for or truly says what I want it to – it will suffice for now and maybe I’ll shoot back in time later and revamp this – and nobody will even see this version. Also, be aware that this review may contain spoilers for One Word Kill so unless ‘current you’ has a way of manipulating time and jumping back to tell ‘past you’ not to read it – then, well, be warned. That is all.

We jump forward a little as the story begins and find Nick in a punt, racing from a bunch of hysterical students with blood on their mind. It seems that Nick has caused offence in some way and is about to pay the price unless he can make his escape. As it happens, a young woman saves the day and rescues the dude in distress. Hooray.

Meet Helen. Nick has that strange feeling of deja vu, he’s sure he’s met Helen a few months earlier in what has come to feel like a haunting event. Helen is also a student at Cambridge, easy going and easy to like Nick develops an almost immediate crush – but, what about Mia you might very well ask – well, Mia and Nick are no longer dating, too much stress accompanied their pre-destined relationship – but, hold up, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Nick, at the age of 16, finds himself unexpectedly attending Cambridge University, mathematical genius and beater of cancer. He’s working, alongside an eminent professor to discover the time travel he will need to make use of in later years. Of course all is not plain sailing. Apart from getting off to a bad start with a number of the older students who very much resent Nick’s existence let alone his gall in attending their prestigious university, the pressure of finding scientific solutions becomes very real when the sponsors of the project start to use strong arm tactics to keep things on track. On top of this Nick once again finds himself becoming something of an anomaly, strange things occur around him and he finds himself visited by people from a future yet to come. But none of these things are as life threatening as the ‘wrinkle in time’ that has affected Nick’s timeline so disastrously and resulted in him having to cope not only with a world determined to see his demise but also facing the news that the cancer he beat has returned with a vengeance. Things have gone rapidly wrong to say the least.

I’m not going to go further into the plot as this could undoubtedly spoil the surprises in store. There is no shortage of mind bending twists in Limited Wish. It really is a book that will make you stop short and think hard. I love the conundrums created here, it truly is a ‘what came first, the chicken or the egg?’ type of read. If somebody didn’t come back in time in book one, for example, would time travel even have been thought of as a possibility? Riddle me this – the Terminator – travels back in time to assassinate the mother of the rebel leader who is proving such a problem in the future and in doing so leaves behind a peace of technology that is so futuristic that it actually enables that future, which the Terminator comes from, to exist. Yep, it kind of does my head in too but in a good way that, as strange as it may sound, I enjoy. So many, infinite possibilities that occur not in a lifetime but in a mere instant, all with the possibility to split into different possible futures.

On top of this we have the return of Nick’s friends, or nearly all of them. They’re starting to lead more separate lives in some ways, and Nick’s departure to University has helped to speed up the rift a little, but they still come together every weekend to share their love of D&Ds. Mia has a boyfriend and Nick struggles to come to terms with it all, particularly when she starts to bring her new fella to their weekly games sessions. It’s all part of growing up.

Lawrence has definitely tapped into our love of a certain era with this series. It’s just got such great vibes, its fast paced and is basically a story very well told. The other thing that is really well done is the voice of the main protagonist. Nick feels like a 16 year old and even though Lawrence manages to make this seem deceptively easy to achieve I have to applaud it especially the way that the main thrust of the story is all about the difficult choices which he’s presented with – which is a very real issue when you’re in your teens.

In terms of criticisms. I don’t really have anything to be honest other than the fact that the other characters play something of a lesser role here – but it feels like a natural part of their own growing up.

A second instalment that builds admirably on the foundations laid in the first book and in fact develops in even more twisted ways – I can’t even begin to imagine the ways in which the third book will explore the multiple possibilities that open up when time travel is a possibility.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Fine sequel to "One Word Kill".

Mark Lawrence's writing kept my attention span high throughout the whole reading session. I like where the story is going and the character's developments, especially Nick's. Compared to "One Word Kill" it was a little bit slower....which is still faster than most novels I read, so can't complain here.

Overall a good mix of dark humour and serious topics.

LIMITED WISH
Impossible Times #2
Mark Lawrence

Publisher: 47 North
Edition: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Release date: 28 May 2019
Rating: 4 stars


My Thoughts:
Limited Wish is another really fun read from Mark Lawrence. Nick and his friends are back, along with two new characters: Helen, and a mysterious girl who keeps appearing and disappearing. I guessed who she was, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment. There are many parallels to the previous book, One Word Kill, which is also fun. Things are similar yet different, in interesting ways.
The parallels between the D and D games Nick and his friends play and events in the real world are handled brilliantly and these are possibly my favourite parts of the novel. The Inescapable University is such a great fantasy creation. I would have liked to see even more gaming and more interactions between Nick, John, Simon and Mia. But Lawrence packs a lot into just over 200 pages, and I can see why he made the decision to focus on other parts of the story.
Mathematics and paradox play an even bigger role in this novel than in the previous one, to great effect.
The resolution of Nick’s problems with the villain is surprising and satisfying. I should have seen it coming, yet I didn’t. I love that.
Limited Wish is a sequel that doesn’t drop the ball. In fact, it keeps several balls spinning and then catches them all and takes a bow. The third book, Dispel Illusion, will be coming out in November. I’m expecting a satisfying conclusion to the series.

Disclosure
A digital A.R.C. of this novel was supplied to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This series is very enjoyable. The writing and the characters are great. I love Nick's story and can't wait for the next book.

I’m so glad that I had an opportunity to read the two books in the Impossible Times trilogy back to back. One Word Kill was an amazing “introduction” of the time traveling concept and the main characters, but Limited Wish brought the story to the next level, introducing even more of dark and twisted moments.

The boy-genius Nick Heyes has a big task ahead of him, and to make that future possible he needs to hurry up, even if that means doing everything in his power to enter Cambridge University and work with one of the most famous mathematicians of his time.

If One Word Kill was «Time Traveling for Dummies. Vol 1», Limited Wish felt more like a school manual on all things science (with a lot of paradoxes!). Don’t let this scare you off, though! Because as always, Mark Lawrence’s clever and beautiful writing style makes everything appealing, even maths!

I feel like this trilogy needs to become required reading for math lessons. Not to learn math, but to inspire children and create a positive association with mathematics. I can already imagine how many young boys and girls would strive to be like Nick Heyes, especially when it comes to time traveling. Oh, and of course there will be even more who’d LOVE to play Dungeons & Dragons.

brief summary
Mathematical wunderkind Nick Hayes is back in the second Impossible Times book, wherein he, his future self, and an intriguing new girl who is a temporal anomaly must perform mind-boggling heroics to save not only the love of his life but the entire world while still navigating the real-life demands of friendship, university, and the return of Nick's leukemia.

full review
Mark Lawrence's second installment in the Impossible Times series opens in 1986 and Nick Hayes is just starting college at Cambridge, where he is working closely with one of their best professors on the mathematical properties of time travel. He is still recovering in some ways from the events of the previous book. He is still playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends on the weekends, but his entry to college is not the only thing that has changed. Elton is no longer a part of D&D, and so Mia has taken on the role of Dungeon Master. She's also taken on a new boyfriend who is not Nick, and she's begun to bring him to sessions, much to the group's annoyance and Nick's dismay.

Despite the changes in Nick's life, he remains a textbook bully magnet, and the fact that he's now at Cambridge apparently makes no difference. The bullies are at least a good deal less psychotic than the antagonist of the previous book, but they're really the least of Nick's worries, even after one of them stabs him with a sword. For one thing, Ian Rust has a brother who's just as batshit crazy, though in a different way. For another thing, there's a girl. Two of them, in fact, and one of them needs Nick to help her save the world from coming apart due to microsecond temporal differences across the globe in her time. It doesn't help that the universe seems to have committed itself to killing Nick, either, with buildings exploding near him, cars swerving to hit him, and every die he rolls gaming coming up a natural 1.

This book delves more deeply into the complexities of time travel, and also of life, and as such can be a little difficult to follow, particularly toward the end, where perspective shift quite rapidly, as does the year. Nevertheless, all of the elements which made the first book such an enjoyable read - D&D sessions, nerdy name checks, 80s culture, and interesting supporting characters to name just a few - remain in this book. However, they take a backseat to the plot, which involves more complicated explanations of time travel science that my brain really wanted to skim over. I could have used more time spent with Nick's friends, although the fact he is now at Cambridge instead of attending school locally makes it perfectly reasonable that they would feature less prominently in this chapter of Nick's life.

It is worth mentioning that without the catch-up section preceding the main text, this book would make absolutely no sense to someone who picked it up and read it out of sequence with the first book in this series. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but despite Lawrence's very good summary, this is not a standalone. That said, Limited Wish really is an enjoyable addition to the Impossible Times series, and I absolutely recommend it. Knowing that this is intended as a trilogy, I am eager to know what the third book will bring, and which characters from this book will recur. Thank goodness Lawrence has been producing these books at a delightfully rapid rate.

Received from Netgalley and 47 North for honest read and review.

I am an avid reader of Mr Lawrence's books and this series is just as good as his others. Central character is Nick who has Cancer and this follows him in one timeline and Eve in another.It is masterfully done and the writing is outstanding.No spoilers but this is really good and all the characters are brilliant.

There is just so much going on with Nick/Demus that the story flows from one to the other.
Brilliant series and cannot wait until November for book 3.

4.50- What would you do with a Limited Wish? A wish granted by a half-genie. Nick and the gang minus one and plus another are back again playing Dungeons & Dragons. As with the first book One Word Kill, certain actions in the game play are played out in actual life and the decisions that are made influence the outcome.
The year is 1986 and Nick is attending Cambridge University after being discovered as a mathematical genius. Strange, eerie and ghostlike things start happening to Nick. He keeps rolling the same number in D&D, things in his room move and he starts seeing blurs and ghostlike images. What does all of this mean?
The time element in this book is heavy and confusing at times. In the first book, Nick is visited by someone in his future, but in this book he is visited by two visitors and it has created a time paradox that leads to tough decisions for Nick. He is delivered bad news in this book that makes him struggle through the events he needs to proceed and is also bullied by someone related to his past and new jealous bullies in the college life which make his obstacles even harder to hurdle.
This book was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book!

What is there not to adore about this series so far? Book two does not suffer from the sophomore slump. Limited Wish is a fantastic journey with all the tropes that I love in a book in this genre, a university setting, nerdy-smart, math-type characters and adventures. This has all of that and more. It picks right up from Book 1 and leaves you waiting desperately for the final book in the series. I love it!

#LimitedWish #MarkLawrence #NetGalley

Review posted at Grimdark Magainze:

I read One Word Kill a few weeks ago and was thrilled to get hold of an eARC of the sequel, Limited Wish.

If you liked book one, prepare to be just as entertained an engrossed with book two. The good news is that this book doesn’t suffer at all from “middle book syndrome” where the bridge from beginning to end of a trilogy often becomes the weakest link. Indeed, this is just as good if not better than the first book.

Limited Wish picks up a few months after the events of One Word Kill, as our party of adventurers settles back into their daily lives. Our narrator, Nick, has turned 16 and worked his way into admission at Trinity College in Cambridge, working as a protégé to a Professor in Mathematics. They’re working together on ideas with bending time, as Nick is convinced by his experiences in book one that he eventually invents a method of time travel.

As in book one, Nick and his friends get together each week to play their Dungeons and Dragonscampaign. The book’s title reflects that, with the Limited Wish spell being one that has wondrous benefit but obvious limitations on it. It’s all in the wording of the wish. The campaign story runs parallel to our main story, where Nick is once again dealing with visitors from the future and having to avoid time paradoxes.

This time around, Lawrence ups the stakes from the first book. Nick still has the shadow of leukemia to haunt him and threaten to end his future before he can move to set it back to what it was, or is, supposed to be. We see that there are many alternate realities and possibilities, and Nick is determined to make sure that his reality is one where he isn’t killed by such things as his leukemia or the simple fact of the universe seeming to be out to kill him with random accidents. If that’s not enough, Nick and his friends are dealing with the aftermath of the events in book one, where they know certain parts of their futures and are dealing with the questions of how set in stone they are or if their current actions will change things up and create a Butterfly Effect.

This isn’t a rehash of the first book, but a deeper study into time bending and alteration, and the paradoxes that are formed when it’s attempted. At the centre of these ideas is the “time hammer”, which Nick will need to employ at a precise moment of convergence in order to set things “right”. It’s a bit of a mind twister for both Nick and the reader, but Lawrence pulls it off in ways that make sense scientifically and make sense to the layman reader.

I’m recommending the Impossible Times trilogy as one of the top reads of 2019, and very much looking forward to the conclusion in November. I can see this series down the road as an essential re-read, as there will be lots of little things to snap into place the second time around. Perhaps the time hammer will make elements click that might have been overlooked with the first reading.

A great sequel set five months after One Word Kill. A great story about time travel and the endless possibilities of science mixed in with dungeons and dragons. Cannot wait to read the final part of this trilogy to find out what happens to Nick.

Ok, wow! So mister Lawrence has done it again, surprised me when I did not think there was any way he’d manage to do it again, but here I am being proven wrong by the master of plot twists and logic. 😲😲😲😲

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. [goodreads blurb]

From the first flick of the page you know that your mind is going to be blown away and it will be a WILDE ride. Nick is now a student at Cambridge University which comes with its share of problems, some more mundane than others (because the others involve some time travel paradoxical situations that will make your brain swivel 😲).

If you’ve read book one (and you should’ve if you’re reading this!), you are most probably already in love like me of Nick’s personality. He has been battling cancer for a very long time, but he is super clever, witty and with a wicked sense of humor. Although there are sad moments at times in this series (duh, cancer!), his outlook on life is positive and uplifting. His D&D friends are the best and a great support network for him. That circle of friendship is the best. I appreciated that it had the same feel as book one [One word kill] and it continued to be centered around Nick, his D&D friends and the new challenges they have to face.

But what truly blew my mind were the plot twists intertwined with the time travel paradox. I was not able to wrap my brain that much around it, but what I did manage, I really enjoyed. I honestly I don’t know how the man can write stuff like that and constantly blowing my mind.

It is all good and dandy with the good guys, but let’s not forget the bag guys who did an amazing job. Mr Rust was one of the creepiest, I swear and somehow in my mind I pictured him with an evil laugh like Dr Evil.

I cannot wait for book 3 to be released – DISPEL ILLUSION – towards the end of the year! Impressed that he’s done it in such a way that the readers don’t have to wait ages for the release.

Mark Lawrence is a master at telling compelling stories!
Limited Wish is the second book in the Impossible Times Trilogy. I adored the first book, One Word Kill, and honestly, I wasn’t sure where the story would go in this second book. However, Mark Lawrence did not disappoint. He has a way of telling a story that grips me and I have to keep reading until the end. While I enjoy reading science fiction, I tend to get lost in the heavy science parts, but I did not feel this way while reading this book. I found science very approachable and easy to understand despite the complex themes, such as, time travel and paradoxes. Overall, the story was complex, fast-paced, and still easy to follow. My one negative is that I did not feel overly attached to the characters. Personally, I enjoy books with a lot of character development, and I felt like there was not as much character development as I would have liked. However, this did not take away from my overall enjoyment. Also, I wish the D&D sections were just a tad bit shorter, though this is just a personal preference. I found myself wanted to skim through them to get back to the other parts of the story that I liked more.
I would highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read the next one!

Slap Mark Lawerence's name on a book and I'll come sprinting. Of course when he announced he was releasing a new series following a teenager who likes to play dnd with his friends when things that happen in their gaming sessions, happen in real life, I WAS HERE FOR IT.

This sequel does not suffer from the "middle book woes". It expanded the world. It brought in more development for the characters. Limited Wish is an engaging treatise of life, change, morality, and love. It's a moving story that captures the readers through its characters and ends on a note that leaves you with questions, but doesn't leave you unsatisfied. This is a book that will make you think and make you care.

Mark's work is consistently excellent -- he knows how to tell a story well, delivering plot twists and surprises along the way to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, and developing characters who are engaging and relatable. I'm excited to move onto the next.

Much like the first book, this is a wild ride that pulls you along by your ears, and you are unable to find the breaks. The characters, again, are the best part of the book, not to mention the science seeming realistic and well explained. Another winner from Mark Lawrence!

The second instalment of Mark Lawrence's sci-fi series, starting with One Word Kill, was an enjoyable one. I'm not going to go into too much detail of this book in this review as the story in this one does pick up straight where the first one left off and I don't want to accidentally include any spoilers. I will say though that I enjoyed this continuation and the where the story took us.

A lot of my thoughts for this one are similar to the first, so check out my review for that of your interested. The sci-fi time travel elements are still at the forefront of this story and in this instalment they have definitely been ramped up a level and, as a result, made the story that bit more difficult to follow. There were several times when I found myself a bit confused with the science and mathematical references however, that being said I still enjoyed the over arching plot of the story. I especially enjoyed the D&D scenes. These were really well described and they felt like a story in themselves. I can see why Mark Lawrence is such a prolific fantasy author after reading these chapters.

I also still enjoyed the characters in this one, especially our new characters to the series, Eva and Helen. I enjoyed how smart and witty these two were with just a hint of sarcasm, they were fun to read. I did however, find it more difficult to relate to the main character in this book, compared to the first. I think this was due to him being very focused on a lot of the scientific and mathematical elements that went over my head. That being said I still enjoyed reading from his perspective.

Overall I thought this was a good continuation in this series however, I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the first. The ending of this one felt quite conclusive too however, this is going to be a trilogy, with the final book being released later this year, so I'm keen to see where this series goes from here.

Limited Wish picks up more or less exactly where One Word Kill left of, give or take a few months. We have lost one of the gang, due to the events of book this person no longer feels safe around Nick. The full extent of Nicks genius is delved into here as he has now snagged a place at Cambridge, despite not finishing school. The author takes what we learned in book 1 and brings it to the next level - more science, more D&D, and more love (interests).

Yes, the science ramps up, and I must admit, a couple of times, in between all the equations and time travel paradox talk I was drawn back to episodes of Fringe where they discussed "everything being numbers". Nick, and by default the author Mark Lawrence, is just a fuck load better at Math than I ever was, or will be.

Anyway, difficult Math aside, Mark has thrown up another stomping read with this sequel. This book has a little of everything, but where I thought it really came alive were with it's bad guys - and the mystery surrounding them. There are a couple of scenes here that really gave me the creeps (train scene!!!).

Nick's relationship with his friends has grown stronger (for the most part) but his relationship with Mia is put to the test throughout the book - especially with the addition of a second lady to fight for his affections. The dynamic between all the characters was great.

Overall, a quick read, sci-fi with some great action, and high tension scenes thrown in for good measure. Have no hesitation in recommending this one, and cannot wait for the final part of the trilogy due out before the end of the year. Once again it left me wanting to watch Stranger Things but the good news is Series Three has just come back on Netflix!

As Limited Wish (2019) begins, Nick Hayes, the 16-year-old math genius that we met in One Word Kill (you need to read it first) is being pursued by a pack of drunken Cambridge students bent on beating him up. It’s 1986 and Nick has just been enrolled at Cambridge, thanks to the notice of Professor Halligan, a brilliant mathematician who recognizes Nick’s potential. What Prof Halligan doesn’t know is that Nick has to invent time travel so that when he’s older he can come visit his teenage self in the late 1980s and, in so doing, save Mia, the girl he thinks he loves and has a future with.

But there are several major problems with this scenario. Worst: (1) Nick has no idea how the mathematics of time travel might work, especially when you throw in the time paradoxes he’s experiencing, and (2) Mia has dumped Nick. Other significant problems include the hazing that Nick is undergoing at Cambridge, the weird instances where he seems to perceive time fragmenting to create multiple potential futures, the fact that he’s met another girl, Helen, who he’s very much attracted to, and some dire news he receives from his oncologist. At this point, Nick is fairly confused and realizing that he may have screwed up his future entirely. He needs to get it back on track if he hopes to survive to save himself and Mia.

Some visitors from the future ― one familiar character and one new one, Eva, who has a surprising connection to Nick ― complicate this process further, especially since they’re from incompatible futures. If that’s not bad enough, another vicious enemy appears who’s tasked by a shadowy investor with keeping Nick on task with his scientific research, and who begins to take an unhealthy interest in Nick because of certain events from One Word Kill. And have we mentioned that the universe is trying to kill Nick? (It’s nothing personal, Eva assures Nick, “just physics.”)

Mark Lawrence’s IMPOSSIBLE TIMES trilogy is reminiscent of (and possibly a celebration of?) 1985’s best movie, Back to the Future. It’s full of time paradoxes and competing versions of the past, present and future that shouldn’t be examined too closely; you’ve just got to deal with it. The number of hard-to-swallow coincidences, like a second villainous Rust brother, and the overload of problems and challenges faced by Nick, are hand-waved away as all part of Nick becoming a lightning rod for changes and paradoxes that the universe wants to prevent. Logically it’s hard to swallow, but if you can roll with it, it does make the story more exciting.

We’re still concerned about the plot issue that Tadiana mentioned in our review of One Word Kill ― we’re simply not convinced that the first instance of time-travel, the one that created all these problems for Nick and his friends, ever needed to happen in the first place. So far, the suffering and confusion that has resulted doesn’t seem worth it. We’re hoping Lawrence is going to convince us otherwise by the end of the trilogy but at this point we’re doubting it, and will reluctantly chalk it up to some extremely unadmirable selfishness or blinkered thinking on Nick’s part.

Fans of One Word Kill will surely enjoy Limited Wish. Other than the change in setting and the addition of a few new characters, it is an expansion of the story in One Word Kill and the prose, characterization, and dialog continue to impress us. We love how Nick talks about the way mathematics underlies the structure of the universe.

[T]here are fabulous beasts that swim in the seas of mathematics. Multidimensional behemoths of incredible beauty that even the best of minds struggle to glimpse. The equations we battle with, the proofs that we use to nibble at the edges of such wonders: these are the shadows cast by those we hunt.

We also love the retro feel of the novel and Kat, especially, can relate to these characters since she was also starting college in the fall of 1986. (And she will admit to occasionally, like Nick, wallowing in teenage misery while listening to Sisters of Mercy ― though she didn’t have as compelling reasons as Nick.)

The titles of the IMPOSSIBLE TIMES trilogy cleverly blend Nick’s personal life with the Dungeons & Dragons game he plays with his friends on the weekends. The title of the first book, One Word Kill, refers to Nick’s cancer diagnosis. Limited Wish, another spell used in Nick’s D&D game, reflects Nick’s realization that he can’t have everything he wants in life. Some things are going to have to be sacrificed. It’s also a metaphor for the idea that sometimes a small wish, or change, can have a major impact, which plays out in an intriguing way in the plot.

The final book is titled Dispel Illusion and will be released in November. We are wondering what illusions will be dispelled…

Kat recommends Brilliance Audio’s versions of the IMPOSSIBLE TIMES novels, which are beautifully narrated by Matthew Frow. By the way, Kat would also like to point out that people who wear Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirts do not also wear Lady Gaga T-shirts.

The second book of the trilogy and I wasn't expected less of it!
It is constructed on the same structure as the first one. Complicated, intelligent, with a lot of facts, not for beginners' mind.
I still love all those characters and I still stick to my previous idea - the book makes me feel dumb. Which I appreciate!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

There's not much else to say other than I freaking LOVE this series! Having grown up in the 80s, I adore the nostalgia and I'm a sucker for a good time travel tale. Mark Lawrence has proven, once again, to be a master storyteller!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Following on from One Word Kill we find Nick at 16, studying at Cambridge university. After fighting cancer, a crazy psychopath with a penchant for machetes, and first love, he’s hoping to settle down and sort out the small matter of inventing time travel.

I actually enjoyed this more than the first novel. The pacing is much snappier, and with just Nick as the central character, and less interaction from his friends, I felt I could connect with him better. He’s fleshed our better here, and more emotionally complex. The introduction of Helen and Eve was a good move too, as I found them a lot more relatable and engaging than his other friends. As always, the writing is great too.

Speaking of complex. The whole time travel, paradox, physics stuff does start to run that line between detailed and overly complicated. I appreciate a good amount of science, especially when it’s called for in a book like this, but some of this was beyond me, and left me slightly confused at times. I haven’t studied physics in nearly 20 years. My brain hurt. I can’t deny it isn’t cleverly done though.

Great for lovers of the 1980s, physics and time travel. But pay attention, or you’ll loose sense of the plot.

I’ve always been a fan of Mark Lawerence style of writing. This book has a lot of suspense and could not put it down. I wasn’t sure if I would like this book as much as grey sister, but have to say it exceeded my expectations.

The concept of the novel is intriguing and the execution was done with great sense of humour and flourish, but I just couldn't enjoy it. "Limited Wish" just wasn't for me. The whole story, the paradoxes, the anomalies, the timelines, the incarnations, the time travel... it just was too weird for me and didn't make much sense. And it all came down to choosing a love interest for the main character, really?

What I liked about this book was the hero, who was original, intelligent and funny. His troubles were real, he had great friends and his musings were interesting. I also liked the setting, at times it was like visiting Cambridge again (punting!!!) :) But I didn't like at all how people studying there were depicted. The bulling was unrealistic, privileged people flaunting their family wealth were totally unrealistic! It really doesn't look this way in Cambridge, so I think it gives a very unfair, wrong impression of the Cambridge community.

The concepts described in this novel are definitely thought provoking, but is there a place for such abstract thinking in a YA novel? I am not so sure.

I received "Limited Wish" from the publisher via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

Back when I started reading One Word Kill, I was uncertain as to what to expect from Mark Lawrence, whom everyone knows as a grimdark writer. What I absolutely didn’t expect was that I will fall in love with these characters. I was only 38% or so into One Word Kill when I went and requested a copy of Limited Wish. And although – at the time – I had a really tight reading schedule – which didn’t contain either books btw – I just jumped right into it after I finished One Word Kill. Now, I know I’m a bit late writing this review, but life just got a lot more busy all of a sudden. Anyway, it’s just high time to get this review out.

A few months passed after the events in One Word Kill, but things have changed. he tightly knot group of friends have to deal with some losses, complicated relationships between the members and the fact that Nick had become some kind of celebrity within scholarly circles and now attends Cambridge University. With the changes of environment new challenges stand before Nick and new friendships as well. Namely Helen, and a mysterious girl who looks very similar to her. Once again, Nick finds himself in the middle of danger. Some entitled bastards want to do him in, Rust’s brother is out to get him to make sure he holds up his part in the experiments Nick and his professor do to make time travel possible for the future which, for him, doesn’t seem as bright anymore – but then, when did it look like it? And so, he is trying to figure out what would be the right course of action. Should he make his own choices or should he follow those which were already made?

And while he tries to make sense of it all, he is still the awkward teenager we got to know in One Word Kill.

“‘I … uh.’ Something about her dress had stolen the words from my tongue. I would say that all my cool deserted em, but I’d never had any in the first place.”

Fortunately for Nick, his friends – despite everything – still have his back and are ready to do anything for him. I don’t know if he ever realises how lucky he is with them. The most memorable – and emotional – moment for me was when Elton appeared when Nick was on the lowest points. But thankfully, Simon is still Simon with his insufferable personality you can’t help to adore, just a tiny little bit.

“There were very few things that would move Simon to use the phone, but not showing up for D&D was one of them. And when it came to awkward phone calls, well, let’s just say that Simon had a weapons-grade long silence.”

And since we are talking about D&D, it feels like it got a bit more time to shine. I enjoyed those scenes, because they accompanied and complemented well the rest of the plot and reflected the relationships between the characters. I love how Lawrence waved D&D into this trilogy.

Limited Wish, the second book of the Impossible Times trilogy is just as fast paced, intriguing and full of heart as the first book was. Maybe even more so. Maybe some twists didn’t sit as well and was a bit predictable at places, but I’m just really nitpicking here. I would have jumped right at book 3 if I could, but alas, I have to wait – impatiently – for it to be released.

Set a short while after the first book in the series - One Word Wish finishes, it carries on much in the same vein; cunning plans, world saving, time travel, health battles and teenage worries.
It was brilliant to be back with the characters, each one more wonderful than the last.
The second book was equally as brilliant as the first and I can’t wait to read the third.

Pretty good book from a master of traditional fantasy. This second book from him in a more urban setting really proves he can master anything.

Nick the main character from both books is strong and weak all at the same time. He has a lot that he offers to a story. I like this character though I see the more selfish side of him even if it isn't really him.

Eva is interesting and I really think would make a great main character in the future especially as she tries to live with her life.

Wonderful book and will wait for book 3 to come out.

These books show a great new future where time travel is really possible.

This was okay. I haven't read book one, so I don't want to be unfair, but it just didn't do it for me. I'm sure it has an audience however.

Great pacing, good connection with the main character, loved the geekiness of it. The amount of math and science was at times a little overwhelming, but very well explained nonetheless.

In the interest of getting caught up on my humongous pile of reviews that need writing while I’m fighting with a half broken keyboard I’ve decided to combine the first two books of this series together. I actually read book one quite a while ago but wasn’t quite blown away so I had been putting off book two but finally made it through.

One Word Kill and Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence are the first two books of the Impossible Times series. This one is a young adult science fiction fantasy series that revolves around time travel and is set back in the 1980’s.

The story begins in 1986 with Nick Hayes who had been diagnosed with cancer but despite that Nick was pretty much a regular teen hanging with friends. However, when Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons playing friends welcome a new girl to the group things begin to get pretty strange.

Now, I am normally a sucker for anything 80s so that alone should have had me loving this series like a lot of other readers seem to except one of the biggest 80s things you find going into this is Dungeons & Dragons which I know nothing about. Putting that to the side though I’m sometimes up or down with time travel novels too and while I thought some of the ideas here were interesting most seemed obvious along the way so in the end I was just so-so with this series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was a welcome and fun change from Mark Lawrence. As one who loves his gritty and dark fantasies, this was a nice break especially as someone in a certain age group who could really relate to the story and the events that were happening. Very reminiscent of Ready P:layer One.

While I still love this series, for me this story suffered a bit with Second book syndrome.

Limited Wish used many of the same tactics as the first book and while this did offer familiarity, they didn't offer much originality to the story. At times I felt that this story meandered and I just wanted them to get on with it. I was lost at points wondering why Lawrence had bothered spending story on, while many of them did come together in a round about way, not all of them did and i sort of wondered if this could have been done more engaging way.

Overall, I will be looking for book 3 but maybe not with as much excitement as I had when reaching for book 2 originally

So, I have a little confession to make before we start… I am not a fan of time travel. But I am a big fan of Mark Lawrence. Do you see my problem here? On one hand, this series is not for me, because of time travel, on the other hand… how can I resist? so I had to try and see for myself how this series was.
The first book was ok. Obviously, if you are more into time travel the first book was quite interesting. And if you are a fan of D&D or if you are going through a nostalgia fase for the 80’s well, even better. But I am not a fan of D&D (hear me out, I love the idea but it just too social for me, it requires too many social skills, because it involves a group of people, and groups aren’t my thing) and I am not having a bout of nostalgia (even if I am in the right age for it), so the three main points of this series aren’t really doing something for me.

But the first book wasn’t bad, just not really my thing and I have decided to try and see how the second was. And I was very lucky because I enjoyed myself more during this second installment. I don’t know what was better, for me, but I found myself more drawn into the story and I didn’t have a hard time empathizing with the characters, either.
All in all is a fast-paced story with a great part about timetravels and paradox (this was surprising, but that part was quite enjoyable to me!) and I fell in love with their campaign in D&D (is that the right name, I know the Italian word, but I am not so sure about the English one, so if it’s not the right one please forgive me!).
And I liked all the characters more, too. Eve was my favorite, but all the others were quite good (in the first book I had some difficulties to really like them, I wasn’t really invested in them and in the story) and I found myself more at ease with them.

All things considered, I am a big fan of Lawrence when he writes fantasy, not so huge when he tries something new (sorry!), but I think it’s a good thing that he’s experimenting and I would read the final chapter, too.

A great book, and great continuation of the story. I am not a great fan of time travel books, but I think this is one of the stories that got things right.

Since the last story a lit has happened. Nick is looking to make his mark on the world, but also looking to fulfill his destiny and mission from the last book. However now all his relationships are different. Can knowing you future bring it about or make it harder and less likely.

This story had two, then three strikes against it (set in the eighties, which was a decades I loathed), its protag has cancer, and I loathe cancer stories, and there is a love triangle, another pet hate.

On the other hand, it was written by Mark Lawrence, and so I dove in, and what a wild ride. Really, this needs to be a film. Lawrence lets his imagination go while managing to make math sexy, throwing twists, turns and coincidences at the reader faster than a roller coaster that lost its brakes. While the basic time travel paradox isn't necessarily convincing (how many of them are?) the pure story telling power cannot be beat.

A brilliant continuation from One Word Kill, Limited Wish picks up a little while into the future where our hero is delving into the realms of time travel probability and the universe is trying to kill him for it; A surge of action and excitement, I love how each book's title captures the mood and outlook for each individual book. I can't wait to see how the story wraps up in Dispel Illusion!

This second installment is brilliant and gripping as the first one - after all, Mark Lawrence is a warranty- Maybe it is a bit too convulted for my tastes, but I loved how it messed with my mind nonetless.

The second book in this trilogy is largely a retelling of the first book. Nick sees some mysterious people, who turn out to be from the future, there is a lot of talk about time travel and parallel universes and there is a heist sequence at the end.

This book was a lot heavier on the pseudo-science and that got a little tiring and head-scratchy at times, with all the talk of paradoxes and whatnot.

This was an enjoyable read, but as with anything time travel related too much creativity and inventiveness can only lead to stretches in plausibility and lengthy justifications for the "science".

I was very fortunate to receive this book from the author for an honest review. While I thought the depiction of mental health and the struggles from that were very real and honestly triggering, the rest of the book faltered from a pacing issue. I feel that dungeons and dragons could be more interesting in a tale (see the show Stranger Things), but in this book, I found myself really bored. Things finally started getting more interesting in the last 50 pages, enough that I picked up the second book to see what happened.

I can only reiterate that I love symbolic titles and titles that appear verbatim in the text.

I feel this suffers from typical second-book-syndrome that so many trilogies have. I was missing the excitement and suspense and nothing new came to be. The D&D sessions are still happening and kind of mirror real life, Demus plays a role again and the time travels shows its flaws - but that's nothing we haven't seen in the first book. I don't feel we have enough development to suffice for a whole book.

I felt the choice Nick has to do make in the end felt quite shallow since we spent so few pages on either of the relationships. It was a critique I had in the first part but I feel it is more pronounced now.

I absolutely love this book! Mark Lawrence has a wonderful imagination, I didn't think Book 1 could be topped but it was! The Impossible Times series has become on of my all time favourites!

I enjoyed Limited Wish even less than One Word Kill. This book might suffer from the middle book syndrome (which isn’t something I can verify, as I don’t plan on finishing the series). Despite this book being as short as it was, I felt that it dragged on in some parts. There were just many things about Limited Wish that bothered me.

I found the overall story less engaging and enjoyable. The action was still there and I did fly through this book, which is always nice. The D&D stuff started to annoy me, it felt like such a chore to read about it. Another aspect of this that bothered me is Nick. He annoyed me so much throughout the whole book. I can’t go into detail as to why, because that would definitely contain spoilers. The other characters weren’t developed from the first book, which was rather disappointing. I feel that the point of this series is the plot and not the characters.

The thing that bothered me most about Limited Wish is the love triangle. That is a trope that I hate and the way it was used in this story bothered me so freaking much. I honestly didn’t expect this kind of love story from this book. I feel like this review makes it seem like I hated this book. That is not the case. I was still interested in the story, but many other aspects of the book hindered my enjoyment of it.

Overall, Limited Wish was a disappointing book for me. Things I hoped would improve from the first book didn’t and some other things happened that really bothered me. I’m not sure if I would recommend this book.

I preferred this sequel to One Word Kill, the first in the trilogy, and really enjoyed the direction it took the characters in. And of course there was plenty of time travel goodness and Dungeons & Dragons campaigns to be had.

Great follow up to One Word Kill with the continuing story of Nick Hayes. Time travel is a difficult sci-fi concept to get right, but here it works well with a fast paced plot and emotional moments.

Limited Wish, second book in the Impossible Times trilogy, follows again Nick, this time a student at Cambridge determined to be just that - a regular student. When he sees a familiar looking girl, he discovers creases in the fabric of time, that paradoxes are arising, and he’s running out of time to save not only his future but the world.

Limited Wish follows closely behind One Word Kill, and the events that took place. Nick is still struggling with his sickness, and having met his future self and the effects that has on him and his friends. It’s still heavy on the math and DnD, but this time with more of a focus on time paradox, as well as a new member of their DnD group. It’s a similarly fast paced story, moving quickly through the events after Nick sees the familiar girl.

The writing is also fast paced, pulling you along with Nick. There are some rather dense moments when focusing on explaining the math and science behind the time travel and paradox, but it doesn’t feel like it bogs the story down. Occasionally it is a bit overbearing for how long these sections go on, but it doesn’t detract from the story and is important.

My biggest complaint with this one is the side characters really don’t feel as though they grow, or have any development. While Limited Wish doesn’t focus on them, it would have been nice to see some change with Nick’s friends, showing that they’re growing up as he is. Instead, they feel a bit one dimensional, and you feel rather indifferent to their purpose in the book.

All in all though, a good sequel to One Word Kill, and especially a fun series for those that love mind bending time travel stories.

A worthy follow-up to One Word Kill!

Limited Wish is the second installment in the three-part Impossible Times series, and it was just as entertaining as the first. With this one, however, Mark Lawrence seemed to swop out some of the adventure elements of the first book for more technical details on the intricacies of time travel, so where One Word Kill was a general rip-roaring good time, this one felt a tad more serious - in a good way! The buildup to the final, critical moment was also really well done, making for a satisfying read overall.

Woohoo for book 3!

i generally enjoy mark lawrence, his characters and his writing. i devoured his Book of the Ancestor trilogy, and have loved many of his other works as well.

this is no different from what i've read from him and already loved, although it has a very interesting and different urban fantasy setting. it's a short and fast story about nick hayes, fifteen year old cancer patient, math nerd and D&D aficionado, and the trials he and his group of friends have to go through in order to fulfill a request made by a very weird yet very familiar man who claims he is a time traveler. i love it because it's the perfect kind of escapism fiction i find myself craving these days; sweet characters, an adventure to go through and an atmosphere that gets me to turn the pages as rapidly as i can.

After reading and loving One Word Kill, I could wait to jump into Limited Wish and see whether Demus’ plan actually works. Limited Wish starts with some jumping timelines, we open in June where Nick is working with a Professor at Cambridge University despite only being just 16, but we also know that between February and now, he has lost his friendship with Elton and broken up with Mia who he worked so hard to save in the first book. We then jump back to February where we learn Nick wanted to get into university early so, he could start working on inventing the headbands Demus gave him and prove time travel was real and possible. He manages to do this by crashing one of Professor Halligan’s lectures in order to talk to him, but he soon realises that his new research is incorrect and corrects it for him. At that point the Professor demanded that Nick be allowed to work with him or he would resign so Cambridge allowed it but being on the youngest people there Nick is having a hard time fitting in as we see in the opening chapter where he is rescued by 17 year old Helen for some third year students. Nick gets the same déjà vu feeling with Helen as he did with Demus when they first meet so I have a feeling she is going to be important to this book. So far, the opening of Limited Wish was great, and I can’t wait to see where Nick goes in this instalment.

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Nick dries off his clothes in Helen’s accommodation and he begins talking to her about everything that has gone on with Demus even though he didn’t realise he was doing it when he suddenly remembers why Helen looks so familiar. It turns out in February, Nick saves Helen from being chased down by echoes of herself and something else that he doesn’t quite understand, while Helen sees this as a bit mad, it also happens with John on their way home and other strange things have also been happening to Nick but now there is no Demus to explain them. When he brings this up at their next D&D game, now minus Elton, everyone including Simon is very concerned for Nick and it seems like Nick has turned himself into a statistically outlier meaning there could be many more unpleasant and dangerous thing in store for Nick as time goes on. While the first book didn’t feature the dual timelines, I am rather enjoying it as it will take a bit longer for the puzzle to come together as the clues as scattered over two distinct time periods. Nick is beginning to notice more of these impossible events happening to him but every time he is saved my time fragmenting and showing him the way out. He also begins to notice that these events are more violent in nature whenever Helen is around. We get our first clue that she is just like Demus, in the fact she comes from the future by the band t-shirt others see her wearing referencing The Red-Hot Chilli Peppers and Lady Gaga which weren’t around in 1986.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Nick is trying to pin Hellen down to try and figure out what the hell is happening when they are together and what the link is between them but she always manages to evade him by simply disappearing whenever he tries to chase her down. The next he is at Simon’s for D&D, they have a new player in the form of Sam, Mia’s new boyfriend which upsets Nick, but he doesn’t say anything. The echoes and strange things haven’t stopped happening and even Simon who has no interest in the outside world warns Nick that someone is protecting their investment and that investment is him and he should watch himself and follow the money since his project has an unknown financial backer. Nick gets even more concerned when he realises, he is begin followed but it turns out to be Demus, not the one from the first novel, but a different Demus who believes a paradox is in effect since he is missing memories that Nick has especially surrounding Helen. This means that this Demus and Nick aren’t the same person and the future Nick worked so hard to protect in the first book might be in trouble now unless they resolve the paradox. I am almost sure that Helen is the paradox since she is clearly from the future and somehow is disrupting the timeline that Nick wants to protect.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, I was enthralled by the characters and where the story was going. I also have the mention that the science presented in this novel isn’t hard to understand at all and is extremely fascinating and I hope that Mark Lawrence write more science fiction in the future since he seems to be really good at it although I will withhold my final judgement until I have completed the trilogy. Demus was right to tell Nick to listen to Simon’s advice since night when he returns home, he realises that the mysterious girl was in his home and left him a book on mathematics written by none other than Lewis Carroll in 1888. However, Nick can’t touch the book without receiving a massive shock, but he decides to take it to university the next day. On the train there he meets an unsavoury character called Charles Rust who seems to be working on the behalf of Miles Guilder the man backing their research. Rust explains that his job is one part to protect Nick and the other part to intimidate him and I am getting some really bad vibes off this guy as he proves he can get to Nick and anyone Nick cares about with ease. However, Nick has bigger things to worry about as one of the university boys runs him through with a sword and while it should have been a deadly blow it almost magically became a small cut but Nick is also told at the same time that his cancer has returned. This solidifies the message that the current Demus and Nick aren’t same person and that they have definitely gone off course since the original Demus lived to be 40 whereas Nick might not even make 17 now.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, Nick is in the hospital when he is rescued by the mysterious Eva who has been asking after him. It turns out that Eva is Nick’s daughter from another alternate timeline to Demus’ meaning that Nick himself is the paradox causing all these strange events. From what he can gather from Eva and Demus, it all centres around the May Ball, in one timeline he leaves the ball with Mia, lives 25 years until her accident where he comes back in time like the original Demus from book one. In another timeline, he leaves the ball with Helen, has Eva at 19 and dies from his cancer two years later. What they have to do now is create a time hammer and activate it at the precise moment the paradox occurs which is the evening of the ball but Nick also has to get Mia, Helen and his other friends to attend for it to work. Nick is also going to have to make the choice between the timelines at some point, but I am not sure which one he would rather choose right now. In addition to all this, he has Charles Rust, Ian’s older brother sniffing around and while Charles isn’t as crazy as his younger brother it definitely runs in the family and he wants to know what happened the night his brother was killed but Nick can’t tell him even if he wanted to because he erased those memories.

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Nick knows what has to be done to repair the paradox, but it seems like absolutely nothing is going in their favour, although the universe has temporarily stopped trying to kill Nick. While he knows he has to go to the ball, Nick doesn’t feel well enough to do it but Demus and Eva break him out of the hospital again only for them to be jumped by Charles Rust, who has figured out that Nick is time travelling and the dead Demus and the current one are version of him and he is out to get revenge for the death of his brother. They manage to escape but it has thrown a spanner in the works since he needs to be dealt with in the current Nick’s timeline to prevent any problems after they unleash the time hammer. It turns out the best solution there is for Demus and Eva to jump back in time, Demus to his original point in January and re-live that timeline while Eva will jump further back to the 70’s and deal with the Rust problem. I did like that Elton made a reappearance in this novel, but still doesn’t really interact with Nick because of his ability to attract death and destruction but he still cares about his friend which is nice to see. At this point in the novel, the plot did seem really similar to that of the first book but I am hoping that the resolution will be different and provide a great opening for the last book in this series, Dispel Illusion which I will probably be reading right after I finish Limited Wish. I also really liked how the titles of the first two books somehow linked back to D&D which is something all the characters love and it makes up a huge part of the books. You don’t have to know anything about D&D in order to read these books as most of it is explained and you pick the rest up fairly easily and honestly it sounds rather fun.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, we get to see the pieces come together as Eva and Demus race to untangle their timelines while our current Nick watches from the side-lines. Their plan is interrupted as Charles Rust land a fatal blow to Demus, but he manages to complete his side of the arrangement allowing Eva to travel back through the cracks in time to where she needs to be. However, along the way she makes a small yet important change which has some amazing consequences. Ultimately Nick still has to make a choice between the two timelines, between Mia and Helen and the two lives he could lead. Despite not knowing that much about Demus’ life, his future life he chooses Mia which I had been hoping for although the introduction of Eva did make me question this. The ending of Limited Wish was great and leaves a nice opening for Dispel Illusion, I think the final book is going to focus on Mia’s future accident and where or not Demus’ efforts actually saved her but I am eager to see whether my theory is correct.

Quick easy read, this is my first book by him. Wasn't completely impressed. It is the 3rd installment of a series so that might be why but I did feel it lacking in some areas.

The plot was exciting and kept me hooked but the writing and characterisation left a lot to be desired. The author felt the need to mention Simon's weight every time he was in a scene and the love interests didn't seem to have any agency in who they ended up with by the end.

Firstly, Limited Wish, was not as show stopping as One Word Kill. It still had all the amazing elements of One Word Kill but it didn’t hit quite as hard as book 1!

Limited Wish had the same amazing combo of humour, unexpected twists & turns and amazing sci-fi elements of book 1. I also still really enjoy this series’s take on time travel even though it drifted a little bit into the normal take on time travel in this one.

Book 2 was still extremely unpredictable and kept me on the edge of my seat. Though in this one the twists were a little less hard hitting as it book 1 which left me wanting more. I hope book 3, Dispel Illusion, will be able to fill that gap!

Overall for a 200 page book this is still very hard hitting, in depth and unpredictable and I highly recommend giving it a go! I will be picking up Dispel Illusion as soon as I finish writing this review!

These books were really not for me unfortunately, I found them tedious and a bit boring!

I think Lawrence had enough content to write these as full length but as the basic short story, he needed to develop his characters more than he had chance to in this book.