Dispel Illusion

I told (her) that this had been the time I was going to allocate to catching up on all those great fantasy books I never managed to get round to reading. She told me that they were still publishing great fantasy books, with more coming out each week than I could read in a year. I told her to shut up.

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“Every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part we call ‘the Prestige,” claims Christopher Nolan’s script in his 2006 film of the same name. This third act of an illusion must rely on the strength of its premise and the faith of its audience for the prestige to succeed. For fans of Mark Lawrence’s Impossible Times trilogy, the concluding novella Dispel Illusion delivers the prestige with the precision of a master storyteller at the top of his game. It is a shrewd, skillfully constructed, and wholly fulfilling conclusion to a tale that defies comparison.

I was a seeker of truth. By nature and by profession. Lies, falsehood, ignorance. These were my enemies. The idea that a lie could be a savior… that was a new and alien concept to me.

I enjoy books that challenge the reader, and this series raises as many questions as it answers. While the first two books have Nick scrambling to figure out the logistics behind time travel, Dispel Illusion deals with the consequences of time manipulation once you have it under your control. If you go back in time, are your actions still predestined even if you know you could avoid them? What if you choose instead to fork into a new future but risk a reality-shredding paradox? What is your moral responsibility to the universe against your own personal needs?

But this story isn’t all time-manipulation and reality-forking. While the book drops a few head-spinning bombshells like “the complex pattern of reinforcing feedback cycles feeding energy in at a rate calibrated to the elasticity of local space-time should have built relentlessly to reach the target level,” it knows when to switch gears and explore a new mystery, or amp up the fraught tension and humor.

A reoccurring theme in this trilogy is how real-life challenges are juxtaposed with the Dungeons and Dragons scenarios our group finds themselves facing. (It just goes to show that D&D doesn’t rot the brain, but inspires creativity and lateral thinking, Mom and Dad!!) These chapters offer excellent breathers between the heady time trails and philosophical head-scratchers while infusing plenty of character depth and a healthy dose of snark.

‘What’s the longest this might take?’
‘Well, on the assumption that protons decay, we can expect the heat death of the universe to occur in around… well, it’s a one followed by about a hundred zeros years. And after that the concept of time becomes somewhat problematic. So before then.'

What I find most impressive about Dispel Illusion is how every mystery presented in One Word Kill--even the nearly-forgotten, offhand references—had their explanations revealed. This story felt as if it were a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle in which you could mostly see what the overall picture was, but by the time the book ended, every single piece slotted into place. The final intersection of plot threads and timelines within the story was enough to convince me that this trilogy is secretly an autobiography. I’m not sure how else Lawrence was able to cross all his ‘t’s and dot all his ‘i’s without having to go back in time once or twice to correct a few inevitable inconsistencies. (I’m onto you, Lawrence. DM me some upcoming sports results and I’ll make sure that this paragraph is just a funny thing for readers to skim over and forget about by dinnertime.)

I could ramble on about all the brainy twists, the tenderness, love, sacrifice, adventure, and exceedingly intelligent ‘what if’ ideas that were followed through to the end of this novella. Perhaps I already did and decided to jump back for a re-do. If I did it right, you’ll never know. What you should know is that Dispel Illusion is a brilliant finish to the Impossible Times trilogy, rife with unpredictability, nostalgia, and ceaseless imagination.

ARC via author. On sale November 14, 2019.

Everything has to come to an end, and so with Dispel Illusion, we have to say goodybe to the Impossible Times trilogy by Mark Lawrence. I know I said this before, but I seriously didn't expect to get hooked on this series so much. It's YA(ish), has a lot of sci-fi elements, one plotline is about these kids playing D&D. Nothing here says YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO READ THIS and still, here I am, trying to get my thoughts together, but I don't think I'm ready to let Nick, Mia, Simon, John, Elton and Demus' hand go. It doesn't happen often lately that I actually finish a series, so I totally forgot how bittersweet it is to do so.

I will try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, but if you are not familiar with the events in One Word Kill or Limited Wish then it might spoil those books for you. So, read with caution, as I want you to experience this story for yourselves.

We are six years after the events in Limited Wish, just as Nick, Mia, John and Simon start their adult lives with their first jobs - well, for Nick he is still in his first job, working alongside Dr Creed and Professor Halligan to make time travel possible in the very very near future. They are on the verge of a break through, and Mr Guilde - supported by Charles Rust - is really adamant with getting on with the experiments. For which they have their own reasons of course. While One Word Kill and Limited Wish only focused on a narrow timeframe, in Dispel Illusion we jump forward in time to 2006 and then the dreaded year 2011. These glimpses into the future help to understand how Nick reached some of his decisions and generally how his and his friends' lives went. And of course those episodes where they play D&D give depth to "real life" events as they happen.

"How that sense of belonging had felt, of discovering that there were in the world people whose minds were like mine, open to something more than reality, ready to follow imagination wherever it went."

As I hardly ever finish a series lately, I forgot how it feels nearing the end. I wasn't ready for it, even though I was eagerly waiting to read Dispel Illusion to be released. I was curious how the story will end. I mean, we kind of now that - or at least those who read One Word Kill do - but I was also sure that a twist is waiting for us somewhere. And even though I did expect it, I still wasn't ready for the hit. When a book makes me tear up, then that means the author did something right, because damn, that's hard to accomplish. But Lawrence is generally good at balancing the serious moments with some humor or emotional moments, which helps you feel less helpless while you try to wrap your mind around the scientific stuff going on - I have a hard time with this, but I never been into sciences, so there is that.

"Sometimes knowledge isn't power. Sometimes it's just a burden."

I only wish that Simon, John and Elton didn't get more spotlight in the final book of the trilogy. I know that strictly speaking this wasn't their story, but they gave the life and heart to it. Actually, Elton caused the most emotional moments for me and he had the least role in the books.

"Memory and time, time and memory. The universe doesn't care abou time. We care about time. Because we remember."

Dispel Illusion brings a most satisfying ending to the Impossible Times trilogy. The threads are closed seamlessly and there aren't unanswered questions left. Maybe a few smaller ones, but in general, you can't have much complains. I had high expectations for Dispel Illusion, and it didn't disappoint. Just as full of heart, and life lessons as the previous books. I highly recommend the whole trilogy if you'd like to dive into a tale about time travelling, love, friendship, decisions and second chances.

tl;DR: It really does deliver on the promise of the series, and gives you an ending that feels both emotionally valid and narratively compelling.

Longer version:

Dispel Illusion is the final part of Mark Lawrence’s Impossible Times trilogy. The first two books were firm favourites around here, and I’ve been a massive fan of Mark’s work since forever, so anticipation and expectation were high for this conclusion to a cracking series.

I can’t imagine it’ll surprise anyone here if I say that my expectations were met, and the anticipation was well deserved. This volume wraps up the story with skill and care, delivering the characters an ending they deserve, and one that makes for a very satisfying read.

This is a story of time travel, sure enough. Where the previous entries were across the eighties and nineties, while they kept us alive with nostalgia – today’s entries are the 90’s. the 2000’s. That includes the taboo era of the 2010’s, until this case obfuscated due to character goals. I suppose the thing I want to say here is. Each of the eras in this text feels real. Of an age with Nick, the protagonist, I could feel trends just settling out of view. I could feel a world starting to feel more open, more accepting. The zeitgeist is captured in the text, and in its capture lies the crackling energy of inspiration.

This is a story of cultural nostalgia, right enough. Of remembering the shibboleth, of remembering how to get into an empty ground in the middle of the night for a rave. This is a story with historicity and modernity twined throughout/ You’ll not subsist on nostalgia – but fair enough, the nineties and 2000’s were an era apart, one not quite within the modern, but one where the reader might be asked to understand. It’s a liminal space, and that’s a benefit here, for the reader looking back. The world is in flux as much as the characters are.

And so here we are. With Nick, the voice, the face of the stories up until now. Nick is principled, thoughtful, dangerous,. An individual fighting against the course f time, even as he’s shaped by it. I’ve got a lot of time for Nick. Despite his unique position, a genius driving temporal change, the immediacy and emotional reactions have a visceral immediacy to them which make the feel real. We get a variety of views on Nick, travelling between decades with an ease which puts the TARDIs to shame. He is at once recognisably similar, and very different, with each leap between the pages. That has to have been difficult to arrange, and I want to highlight the craft involved. Nick is at once the gangly teenager we know and love, a more focused professional in the throes of an early career, and someone lurking, exhausted, in middle age.

That each of those views feels familiar between chapters, whilst also being individually distinguished is, frankly, a triumph of the craft.

The world is ours. Well, mostly ours. I think there may be a few readers young enough that the 1990’s and early 2000’s are a mystery. To you I say: this is how we lived. Take my word for it. The awkwardness. The careful consideration of those nearby in your judgments. The records turning into CD’s. This is a world in transition, as much as the protagonist is, a world trying to shape itself under pressure, a world trying to make the unfamiliar familiar. Here we sit, reading it, and the flashbacks are real – to the top ten, to HMV, to not being able to use your mobile to answer a call. To so much more. This is a well realised, vividly created world, one that you can feel in your bones.

The same is true o the characters, mind you Nick and Simon and all of the others. Each has the authenticity that speaks of experience It hurts, it hurts to read in a lot of ways. To go back and live in spaces which had no room for these people For their lived experience. But for all that, each of them is a person, fighting to leave their own shape in the world, trying to make things different. The strength of character is there. It’s enough to make you turn the pages, to see where Nick and the gang are going next. They’re playing less D&D than they used to, but at the same time, they feel as real in their concerns as ever they did. It’s a quiet desperation here in the cast, a team reaching out to something just beyond reach, wrapped in the issues that, as younger folks, they dismissed.
In any event, this is a story which knows how to treat its characters; with respect and with a sense of authenticity and truth. Even the villains, vile as they are, are not unfamiliar – these are people who are real, or were, to some of the leadership.

The story is one that wraps so much in its sense of tension and of prophecy unrevealed. Do we know what occurs, a modern Cassandra? Or not? This is truth. The story moves from time to time, from antagonist to protagonist, and what happens is unsure all the way between the pages. It’s got a conclusion though, one that kicks like a mule. If you’re at wondering if you want to see where this goes, then yes.

If you want to see whether this is worth your time, then yes.

If you want to know if you should finish the series, then yes

If you want to know if this will make you cry and laugh and feel, and see someone trying to be the best version of themselves, and move you to try and be that version of yourself…then yes.

It’s a great finale to a great series, and wholeheartedly recommended.

Dispel Illusion Cast its Spell Over Me!

That’s right- I’m back baby! Dressed in my Dungeons and Dragons gear, because I’ve been whizzing through time/space/my reads to get to today’s release… (okay I got an ARC, but we can pretend I’m a space-hopping primate, can’t we? 😉) Either way, I am more than ready to review the final book in the Impossible Times trilogy!

Much like the first two instalments, this was a compulsive, dramatic and entertaining read. Unlike the first two, this had interlocking timelines, flipping between Nick’s present and future selves. This worked perfectly. The two stories were layered over each other, taking time to get from point a to b, and yet speeding us to the final destination… I barely had the chance to pause for breath!

From the witty first line to the chuckle worthy last, I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out “how on earth are they going to get out of this one”. There were innumerable twists and turns; the plot closed off loops, only to open up more possibilities. I think it’s safe to say I had no idea where it was heading- even though I knew exactly how it had to end.

Still, this managed to hit BIG EMOTIONAL points. The friendships and relationships were beautifully realised. For all the action, there was real heart to this story. As the plot ticked towards a seemingly inevitable conclusion, I felt the protagonist’s desire to roll the clock back. The story began to feel like a love letter to a former self, the wonderful writing giving weight to the narrative and inspiring a sense of longing for simpler times.

Speaking of nostalgia, one of my favourite things about this series was the Dungeons and Dragons subplot. It reminded me of the “what you study in school somehow lines up with real life” trope- except this was way more inventive and ingenious and appealed to my inner geek!

But that was not all- oh no! Because Lawrence had an ace up his sleeve. Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat- I knew it was coming and yet couldn’t see how… until *tada*! Everything came together with a flourish! I’m happy to say, it was one of the best endings I’ve read in a long while and it made me a very satisfied monkey. My reaction to that last masterstroke could only be described as gleeful; my only frustration is that I cannot talk about it for fear of spoilers! Which is why, I’m giving this:

Rating: 5/5 bananas

5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2019/12/16/dispel-illusion-impossible-times-3-by-mark-lawrence/
Dispel Illusion brings to a close the Impossible Times series by Mark Lawrence. I think I can say with sincerity that this book is the perfect conclusion. Absolutely satisfying and the type of ending where you close the book with a ridiculous smile. This is such a whirlwind of a book. The pace is fast, there are plenty of threads to follow and in typical time travel fashion it’s an absolute jumble of timelines each bulging with the possibility of their own impending paradox. And, the twists.

This is a difficult book to discuss the plot. The three books are so intricately entwined and I don’t want to give away any spoilers so if you are planning to read this series then be warned that this review could verge into dangerous territory.

Basically, Nick is a few years older as the story begins. He’s still working on the time travel that will be necessary in order to make his more mature self travel back to help save Mia. I love all these conundrums when time travel enters the scene and Lawrence does a fantastic job of using the teasers that jumping back in time creates. The people funding Nick’s research are a bit unsavoury. Here we have a very rich man with an incurable disease who wants to leap into a more modern time where advances in medicine might be able to help him live a little longer. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Nick’s funder is becoming dangerous – or at least his henchman is. Anyway, I’m not going to give anything more away about the plot.

So, the characters. I love the way Nick is just so real. He really grows throughout the series and his ‘mature’ self is just as plausible as his younger self. His relationship with Mia is really strong and he still values his friendships. His discoveries have brought him scientific accolades and to all extents he’s making great strides in the scientific field but all of his actions are a little fraught and edged with sadness – if you’ve read the second book you’ll understand why this is the case. There’s such an abundance of thought provoking material here – not least of all the strange idea of destiny and the issue about if you could know exactly when you would die – would you want to? And how would that knowledge change you and impact upon your life.

The timelines jump around a little and in some respects you could say this is an incredibly complex novel and yet at the same time it’s wonderfully easy to understand. It’s puzzling really. Sci-fi isn’t really my comfort zone and time travel can be tricky to say the least and yet neither of these niggles were issues here.

I think Mark Lawrence excels at the big picture. In setting things in motion and jumping around in the timelines of his stories to show you things from a character’s future, or past, that later feeds into the story in such a jaw dropping fashion. This trickery plays a big part here and it’s just incredibly well done. I really am in awe of how all the threads come together.

The writing is once again really good. There is a sense here of the author just enjoying himself with all the flashbacks and references and that comes across. But, more than that, it ponders that age old question of ‘if you could travel back in time – what advice would you give to your younger self’. I think everyone must, at one time or another have considered this very thing and this book really plays into that train of thought. On top of that I think this is the sort of series that has multiple appeal. It’s a clever story, well constructed and gripping to read. For me it put me in mind of so many things and this was an element of the story that I personally loved but, at the same time, I think this will be equally appealing to readers whether or not they share that experience.

In terms of criticisms. I don’t have anything to be honest.

This was a very entertaining series to read. It exceeded my expectations in every way. I always pick up sci fi books with a mild feeling of fear – basically that I simply won’t understand everything or maybe the sci fi will be overwhelming and won’t appeal to me. What can I say – that wasn’t the case here. My fears were unnecessary.

Plus, a very satisfying conclusion indeed.

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

Rating: 9.0 / 10

Synopsis

Sometimes being wrong is the right answer.

Nick Hayes’s genius is in wringing out the universe’s secrets. It’s a talent that’s allowed him to carve paths through time. But the worst part is that he knows how his story will end. He’s seen it with his own eyes. And every year that passes, every breakthrough he makes, brings him a step closer. Mia’s accident is waiting for them both in 2011. If it happens then he’s out of choices.

Then a chance 1992 discovery reveals that this seeker of truth has been lying to himself. But why? It’s a question that haunts him for years. A straw he clings to as his long-awaited fate draws near.

Time travel turns out not to be the biggest problem Nick has to work on. He needs to find out how he can stay on his path but change the destination. Failure has never been an option, and neither has survival. But Nick’s hoping to roll the dice one more time. And this new truth begins with a lie.

Review

Thanks to the author for an advance reading copy of Dispel Illusion (Impossible Times #3) in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this eARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions.

The stories of our lives don’t behave themselves; they don’t have clear
beginnings, and even death isn’t a clear end. We just do what we can, we take what kindness and joy we find along the way, we ride the rapids as best we’re able.

If anyone could write a novel that grabs the threads from the previous installments, weave them seamlessly together to perfect the bow which is the finale, and provide one of the best reading experiences of 2019, Lawrence is your guy. Authors, take note. This is how you finish a series and give your readers exactly what they crave.

Again, like the previous novels, the focus is on the main character, Nick Hayes. It has been quite an adventure following ole Nicky throughout his journey, especially with the, you know, time traveling genius who had cancer and gets the girl vibe. While Lawrence continues to make maths as sexy as possible, he doesn’t allow the theories and actual science to float over your head like an anvil, waiting to mush your brains as the rope beings to fray. It is like seeing someone rear back to punch you in the face, only to give you the gentlest of touches. Mark does a fantastic job of continuing to mix up the science with mystery, fast-paced action, and plenty of D&D goodness.

What I liked most about Dispel is that we are done focusing on how time travel is possible and more how it will affect the past/current/future timelines. Do your actions really have consequences? If you choose to go to the past to fix a mistake, how does that alter your reality? What exactly are the risks of changing one thing vs multiple? Lawrence really pushes the reader to think, which may or may not be your thing when reading a book. For me, I love a good challenge.

All in all, if you enjoyed the first two (2) books in the Impossible Times trilogy, chances are you have already purchased and/or read Dispel Illusion. Props to you. For those of you who haven’t given this series a chance, it is about time you did.