Limited Wish

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 show more falling face-first into a ton of critical-failure rolls. :)

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

"We’re all infinities."

I can’t adequately express how enjoyable this trilogy has been so far. I lay in bed and finished this second book around 1am last night. I was up thinking about not just the implications of Nick’s predicament, but my own reality and past choices and how they brought me to the here and now. I’ve mentioned before how Mr. Nobody is one of my favorite films; Limited Wish dove deeper into multiverse theory—so much so just thinking about it makes my mind go all soupy. And I love it.

Lawrence took where I thought this series was going and steered it into much deeper, more obscure science fiction territory. And man, I’m really enjoying the ride!

Where book 1 gave us an irresistible group of D&D nerds and teenage show more angst, book 2 layered on time-space anomalies and instances of complex paradox and somehow found a way to kick up the angst tenfold. All the while running the main story line parallel to the D&D story, like in the first book.

I have this unsettling feeling that I’m in for an unexpected treat in the final book, and I’m a bit scared to see what that may be. show less

Another Mark Lawrence book finished and I'm sad because I don't have that many more to read before I'll have to wait for his latest book. But I'm also happy because this was a fabulous sequel to One Word Kill.
Nick and his friends are back, bending time, playing D&D, and working out relationships, friendships, and family. Nick has moved on to attending Cambridge at age sixteen, working out the mathematical formulas he'll need for future time travel.
I admit that I don't always understand the physics and math used to explain the time travel aspects of the story, but I've found that if I just substitute the words magic for math and sorcery for physics, I feel I get the concepts pretty well.
"...there are fabulous beasts that swim in the show more 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."
I love the plotting and how the story parallels the D&D game. My son and I have discussed the rules for 2nd edition (I think that's what Nick and his friends use) and the differences with today's
rules. He's been intrigued by how well Mr.Lawrence integrates those into the story.
It's another wonderful read, and now, onto Dispel Illusion. show less

Six months have passed and Nick has a lot on his plate. He's turned 16, is now a student at Cambridge working with a world-renowned mathematician, continues recover from leukemia and, worst of all, his first and only girlfriend is now dating someone else. At least there is still the weekly D&D game night with his friends. Nick is barely settling into his new routine when he literally bumps into a strange woman who sets of series time fractures, with Nick at the center of their disruption.

Limited Wish is the second in the Impossible Times trilogy by Mark Lawrence. This is one crazy, timey-wimey story! And one that I'm finding hard to review without giving things away. Let's just say that Lawrence took the concepts from book one and ran show more with them so if you enjoyed the first story, you should like this one too. I'm definitely getting a Back to the Future vibe this time around, which isn't a bad thing. Just be prepared for some mind bending loops. And I definitely don't have the level of math required to understand it all!

My favorite part this time is the D&D story thread and how it ends up tying in to the main plot of the book. Very clever and a great way to provide insight into another side of Nick. The one thing I was missing is the super close camaraderie of Nick and his friends. Those relationships have changed since the first book and I found myself missing those interactions.

Now to wait for November and see how the various timelines resolve. show less

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 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 show more 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.
Thank you to 47North/Amazon Publishing UK, Mark Lawrence, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! show less

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 show more 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. show less