What a great conclusion.

If you're wondering, this is a trilogy I enjoyed at 62 and would have enjoyed when I was ten, too. Not a lot of writers can pull that off. I don't even typically like time travel stories! But this is great. ( )

This was the least annoying installment in the series (for me), but still only three stars.

The parallels to the D&D game were brought from the background to the forefront in a manner reminiscent of being hit over the head repeatedly with a two by four, which, fair enough. I still felt like the characters were very thin (especially Mia), and I had a hard time caring about anyone. I'll admit I didn't expect the ending to go quite as it did, but I also was hoping for something a little more Mark Lawrence and less Disney.

Having said all that, I think this is a good, fun series for the right audience. I just wasn't it. ( )

When you start a book with "The two saving graces of explosions are that from the outside they're pretty and from the inside they're quick" you know that it's going to be a wild ride. Lawrence wraps up the Impossible Times trilogy with excellent taste and mind bending tension. It gets an easy 5/5 stars!

A quote I particularly loved (and very fitting with this book) is: "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." ( )

As usual, Mark Lawrence's prose is superb. Sci-fi is not really my cup of tea; I'm more inclined toward fantasy. Nevertheless, I read the books because it was Lawrence. And I'm glad I did. The whole series is absorbing enough, especially with the whole D&D parallel sub-plot. While One Word Kill and Limited Wish had their own arcs, the last book of the series, Dispel Illusion sought to close the circle of time, as it were. Overall, a good enough trilogy based on time travel, and one that's not too taxing. Now, that's an achievement! ( )

"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."
This is a very satisfying end to a wonderful if sometimes bewildering series (I've admitted before my confusion over some of the science involved but that's me and shouldn't impact the enjoyment of the books). There are time jumps between 1986 and 2011 and in-between as Nick and Mia try to solve the future impact of Mia's accident. Meanwhile, the D&D game continues into the groups' adult lives.
As is usual, it is the D&D game that provides the solution to the dilemmas Nick faces in developing time travel. Very rich people are now coming to Nick to travel back in time to fix issues in their lives. I liked that the reasons given had more to do with small but impactful choices they made rather than for power or more wealth. And genius though he may be, Nick learns that he doesn't know everything.
A personal highlight was when Taproot makes an unexpected but gratifying appearance. I suddenly realized that much like Cid in the Final Fantasy games, Mr. Lawrence inserts Taproot into his series (at least the ones I've read so far). It's a delightful little Easter egg for the readers of his books.
I very much enjoyed this time travel series interspersed with old D&D and recommend it highly. ( )