Limited Wish (Impossible Times Book 2) by Mark Lawrence

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.

Thank you to NetGalley, 47North, and Mark Lawrence for an advanced copy for review.