One Word Kill (Impossible Times, #1) by Mark Lawrence

Jun 11, 2018 Mark Lawrence added it · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

OUT TODAY in paperback and ebook!

For hardcover and audio the release date is still 1st of May.

So these are the links for One Word Kill on Amazon First Reads,

Where Prime/First Read members can get the book FOR FREE in ebook, very cheap in paper.

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/f...

AUS https://www.amazon.com.au/kindle-dbs/...

US https://www.amazon.com/firstreads/

Giving all this away on my blog! Just guess at the sum of a dice roll.

You can check the early reviews here:

http://mark---lawrence.bl ...more

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Jan 15, 2019 Robin Hobb rated it it was amazing

I've giving One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence six stars.

Oh. You think I can't do that?
Well, yes, I can. Even if you don't see them up there.

Because while a five start book is a good solid read, one that I truly enjoy, there are some books and stories that are more than that. They are the stories that stay with you for a lifetime.

My six star stories are likely different from yours. A story gets six stars when it doesn't waste a word. It opens the door, I enter the tale, and for that time, I'm in I've giving One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence six stars.

Oh. You think I can't do that?
Well, yes, I can. Even if you don't see them up there.

Because while a five start book is a good solid read, one that I truly enjoy, there are some books and stories that are more than that. They are the stories that stay with you for a lifetime.

My six star stories are likely different from yours. A story gets six stars when it doesn't waste a word. It opens the door, I enter the tale, and for that time, I'm in that world. It's a story that works perfectly for me. Other examples of my six star stories would be Smith of Wooton Major by J R R Tolkien. Or the Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov. These stories have nothing in common, except that they worked perfectly for me.

Anyone who has read my books may have guessed that I have a few things that utterly fascinate me. The information we carry in our blood. The nature of memory. The possibility of myriad futures. The absolute wonder of suddenly seeing the world from a different perspective. The stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world.

Now it would be a spoiler if I told you which of those fascinations One Word Kill dances with. But I will say that it treads the measure perfectly. It's not a very long book, especially by today's standards. But it's the perfect length for the tale it tells.

Buy it. Read it.

The usual Caveat. Mark Lawrence is someone I know as a fellow writer and consider a long distance friend, even though we've never met face to face. I got this story from him for free. I also have to admit that it took me awhile to figure out how to get the file to open on my phone, and then I misplaced it on my phone for several months and didn't even read it until he asked me if I'd liked it, and reminded me that I'd told him I'd managed to put it on my phone.
The wonders of modern technology!

I don't particularly enjoy reading things on a tiny screen. But a serendipitous 14 hour power failure left me with my (luckily) fully charged phone as my only toy. I started reading, grumbling over how small the font was, and soon forgot entirely about that as I was pulled into the world and the tale.

So. My usual spoiler free review. Go find it and read it. I think you'll love it. I now need to get several real copies of this book, because I know people who will love receiving them from me.
...more

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Apr 01, 2019 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-first, kindle-own, sci-fi

I snagged this book so fast when it was on the Kindle First list! I mean the wonderful Mark Lawrence was kind enough to offer me a chance to read it awhile back but I don’t do pdf or mobi downloads. 😫

Anyhoo! I loved this book and it’s set in the freaking 80’s! I mean, I was born in the 70’s but the 80’s and 90’s rocked! Well, mostly......

I don’t usually like time travel books but there are a few that I love and this is one of them.

Demus explained that when you come back through time you come b
...more

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Aug 27, 2018 James Lafayette Tivendale rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, freecopy

I received an uncorrected proof copy of One Word Kill in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Mark Lawrence and 47North for approaching me to read this early.

Starting on the 8th January 1986, Nick a gangly 15-year-old who is extremely intelligent is diagnosed with leukaemia. The doctors advise that he may only have up to 5 years to live. In the local hospital, he goes through Chemotherapy and shares a children's ward with many other suffering youths as they weaken and essentiall I received an uncorrected proof copy of One Word Kill in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Mark Lawrence and 47North for approaching me to read this early.

Starting on the 8th January 1986, Nick a gangly 15-year-old who is extremely intelligent is diagnosed with leukaemia. The doctors advise that he may only have up to 5 years to live. In the local hospital, he goes through Chemotherapy and shares a children's ward with many other suffering youths as they weaken and essentially fade from health and normality. He has to visit the hospital weekly yet when he is not there he is living the life of a normalish geeky teenager. Going to school, dealing with bullies, scared to talk to girls but what he looks forward to the most is the weekly D&D meet-ups he has with his best friends. They can forget about the monotony and hardships real-life presents and lose themselves in a fantastical adventure where their imagination is the only limitation. When he is playing, even Nick forgets about what ails him. It all seems pretty straightforward until intense deja-vu affects the protagonist, a shadowy stranger starts stalking him, certain events that happen in their sessions are scarily close to some real-life events and what's even scarier than all is that a young lady has joined the group's D&D party!

It's no secret that in my humble opinion Mark Lawrence is one of the finest and most consistent fantasy authors currently writing. By profession, Lawrence is actually a scientist so it seemed like only a matter of time before he made the foray into the science fiction genre. This is completely unlike anything Lawrence has published before. This isn't like any science fiction stories I've read previously and for all the elements of time travel, parallel universes, complex mathematics and quantum mechanics, it features drug dealers, local psychopaths and the D&D group trying to learn how to dance to impress the ladies. It's a peculiar mix but I'm happy to say it works expertly.

The story is presented through Nick's first-person perspective and he is a very likeable character who is a joy to follow. The accompanying cast is surprisingly deep and well fleshed out to say that this is quite a short book. I'd estimate it's approximately 90,000 words. In addition to Nick, My favourite characters were Mia, the goth girl who joins the boys games, Elton, who adores his kung-fu practising, and John, the cool dude who loves D&D but doesn't mention it to any of his school friends. Also, a character called Demus who I will say nothing about but who is hugely important and influential to the overall narrative and progression of the tale.

It is difficult to summarise and this probably won't be accurate enough but this is the best I can come up with. This seemed like a mix of Stranger Things, Donnie Darko, the Xbox game Alan Wake mixed with the youthful antics and awkwardness seen in comedy shows The Inbetweeners and The Big Bang Theory. Some of the scientific language written does come across occasionally as confusing and very hi-tech and knowing Mark's profession I imagine it's all legit and accurate. Although the story is complex, multi-layered, unpredictable and ultimately enduring it wasn't too difficult for me to follow as Lawrence is an excellent writer. The writing is sometimes intoxicating and addictive however surreal and bizarre certain events may be and I loved the humourous flow and banter between the friends. Mark's prose is poetic and sometimes, in a good way, hypnotising. I read One Word Kill within 24 hours and it was all I could think about to the extent where I dreamt about the shadowy character who stalks Nick!

The world building is admirable whether describing the suburbs in London, a friend's council flat or describing the London underground service. There are lots of brilliant references to the mid-80's such as the fact Back to the Future had just been released, kids play on their Commodore 64's and that everyone believes Hoverboards will be the obvious invention that the future will present. I really enjoyed, and I bet Mark enjoyed writing the descriptions of the D&D ventures. These sections are closer to what he has written before but with more humour, teenagers innocence and tropes including typical creatures like orcs, vampires, mages, clerics, warriors that will probably prompt a sense of nostalgia for his readers and the target audience. I regret that I've never played D&D. :(

This is not released until April 2019 but already in August 2018, this is one of the finest uncorrected proofs I have ever read. I did not notice a single error which is exceptional and shows the hard work Mark, Agnes and 47North have put into this tale. This works perfectly as a standalone. The ending is absolutely spectacular and wraps everything up perfectly. I loved the setting, the protagonist, the characters including the supporting and very minor players, the thrills and spills and emotions. To be honest, the very minor and possible negative that I have is that some of the terminologies threw me off balance very occasionally. 47North enjoyed this book so much they asked Lawrence to turn it into a trilogy of which all the books will be released in 2019. A note to his current fans, although a few scenes are dark and gruesome this is very different to his previous works. An exceptional time-travel adventure featuring a gang of geeks that's cleverly composed, thrilling and will hopefully aid Lawrence's to rise to the top of the game in another genre. I loved it. ...more

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Mar 29, 2019 شيماء ✨ marked it as to-read

Shelves: adult, 2019-releases, fantasy, sci-fi

Me, after pre-ordering books I'm excited about and trying not to feel guilty about it: *through gritted teeth* s-self care

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Mar 03, 2019 Mary S. R. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult, historical-fiction, lgbt, faves, all-time-faves, time-travel, humor

99999 STARS! I count it a shortcoming of Goodreads that there aren't enough stars available.

“We might live in a multiverse of infinite wonder, but we are what we are, and can only care about what falls into our own orbit.”

If I'm being honest, I spent a great deal of time just staring at a blank page thinking, where to start from? Admittedly, this overall analysis is the last part of the review I'm writing—because there were so many platinum points in One Word Kill that I was left trapped in a ...more

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Mar 16, 2019 John Gwynne rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved this book. A fantastic sci-fi reminding me of Stranger Things and the time-bending concepts of the Terminator. I was a teenager through the 1980’s and I loved the sense of nostalgia Mark’s story evoked. It’s a rollercoaster of adventure, wrapped up in nuanced characters and a tight, twisty plot. This is a book that gripped me and didn’t let go until the last page. It’s everything that I look for in a book, and like the best of reads one that has stayed with long after I finish ...more

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Jan 14, 2019 Adam rated it it was amazing

My one line review:

"I clapped after reading the last line. Don’t know if that’s ever happened before."

I'm content to leave this review as simple as that, but I owe it to NetGalley and other potential readers to provide a bit more information. I do think it's best that you go into this story completely blind -- Mark Lawrence has earned enough trust where I don't have to read an advance blurb to know that his stories are'worth reading. That being said, I'll provide a few minor plot spoilers below, My one line review:

"I clapped after reading the last line. Don’t know if that’s ever happened before."

I'm content to leave this review as simple as that, but I owe it to NetGalley and other potential readers to provide a bit more information. I do think it's best that you go into this story completely blind -- Mark Lawrence has earned enough trust where I don't have to read an advance blurb to know that his stories are'worth reading. That being said, I'll provide a few minor plot spoilers below, and try to only touch on overall themes, instead of major plot points.

The story is set in London during the 1980's, and focuses on unpopular teenager Nick who was just diagonsed with leukemia. Nick has a small group of friends that meet on weekends for Dungeons and Dragons, and we get to experience some wonderful role-playing sessions with some talented players. (I was especially nostalgic during these scenes, as I spent many a weekend in a similar position.). Nick and some other members of his group have exceptionally brilliant minds -- one has a brain that can solve computations in seconds, while Nick himself is a student of advanced quantum theory. Somehow, Lawrence combines cancer, D&D, and quantum mechanics into a complex story that highlights the bonds of friendship, pushes the boundaries of physics, and is also somehow a sweet and heart-wrenching love story. (Go ahead and pre-order now, I'll wait.)

Lawrence has some wondeful tricks up his sleeve that underlines his exceptional writing talent. There's a jaw-dropping reveal on page one that stuck in the back of my mind throughout the entire book, and how that revelation comes to fruition is as sneaky and unexpected as it is brilliant. The book isn't that long, and its pace invites the reader to fly through it in very few reading sessions. I encourage you to try and savor it for as long as possible, as it is over much too soon. Although it is the start of a trilogy, there is a definitive and wondefully satisfying ending. (It also offers some sound and applicable life advice, which has had me smiling ever since.)

Great characters. Unique story. A setting that takes full advantage of what it has to offer, and a memorable ending that left me waiting impatiently for the next entry. This story is (quite literally) filled with infinite possibilities, and I'm damn excited to see what else Lawrence has in store. ...more

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Jun 07, 2018 Petros Triantafyllou rated it it was amazing

Nick Hayes takes the news of his imminent death pretty well, or at least as well as any fifteen-year-old boy would. With an aggressive form of leukemia, the same disease he lost his father to a few years back, he knows that he has to live in full the last few months of his life. And what would that entail? Playing D&D with his friends, of course. But when the seemingly random events of his D&D campaign start mirroring real-life situations, or vice versa, he realizes that leukemia may not Nick Hayes takes the news of his imminent death pretty well, or at least as well as any fifteen-year-old boy would. With an aggressive form of leukemia, the same disease he lost his father to a few years back, he knows that he has to live in full the last few months of his life. And what would that entail? Playing D&D with his friends, of course. But when the seemingly random events of his D&D campaign start mirroring real-life situations, or vice versa, he realizes that leukemia may not be his biggest problem yet.

"In hospital they ask you to rate your discomfort on a scale of ten. I guess it's the best they can come up with, but it fails to capture the nature of the beast. Pain can stay the same while you change around it. And like a thumb of constant size, what it blocks out depends on how close it gets to you. At arm's length a thumb obscures a small fragment of the day. Held close enough to your eye, and it can blind you to everything that matters, relegating the world to a periphery."

I was a bit reluctant to read One Word Kill. I may have enjoyed every single published work of Mark Lawrence so far, but a Science-Fiction novel was a big departure from traditional Fantasy, and a huge risk for me since I'm not a fan of the genre. But since the setting of the story is in the past as opposed to a futuristic environment, and since it has been compared to Stranger Things which I fairly enjoyed, I thought I should give it a go. I ended up reading the whole novel, start to finish, in less than three hours yesterday night. And then I read it again today, for good measure.

I wanted to start this review by saying that this may be Mark's best work yet, but I realized I've said the exact same thing in my last 3 reviews of his books. By all accounts, Mark shouldn't be able to get better and better with every novel, since his work was perfect to begin with, but here he is, defying logic...

Standing at 60k words, with an insane pace and an ever-increasing momentum, One Word Kill won't let you breathe. It doesn't matter if you've never played D&D before (I have) or if you have knowledge of physics in general and of the quantum realm in particular (I haven't), this is a story worth reading. Due to its small size I'm not able to tell you more about the plot than what I've included in the blurb above without spoiling it, but I don't think I have to. What I can talk about is the other aspects of the book.

Pace and plot I've already told you about. The book excels at everything else as well. Even if you're of a younger generation, with Mark's vivid imagery and lavish descriptions you won't have trouble adjusting to the 80s setting the story takes place in. Same goes with the physics that replace the magical aspect of a fantasy book. Mark presents and explains the many-worlds interpretation in an easy to follow way, but that doesn't mean it won't get complex enough in places to make you think your way through many problems and dilemmas the story presents later on.

The prose combined with Mark's philosophical musings results in some quotes that will stay with you far longer than the story ever will, but I'll leave a snippet from the book to prove that to you.

"The equations that govern the universe don't care about 'now'. You can ask them questions about this time or that time, but nowhere in the elegance of their mathematics is there any such thing as 'now'. The idea of one specific moment, one universal 'now' racing along at sixty minutes an hour, slicing through the seconds, spitting the past out behind it and throwing itself into the future... that's just an artefact of consciousness, something entirely of our own making that the cosmos has no use for."

Finally, what shines the brightest among all other aspects of the novel is the characterization. You would think that 60k words wouldn't be enough to flesh out the characters but you would be wrong. Mark managed to make me care not only about the protagonist but the other characters as well in such a way that I won't forgive him for it, given the bittersweet ending.

All in all, One Word Kill is one of the best books I've read in my life, and I'm confident it will prove to be the same for you too. ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Melanie marked it as to-read

Shelves: arc, sci-fi, adult, fantasy

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Apr 01, 2019 Olivia rated it it was amazing

This made me want to play Dungeons and Dragons, and after not playing Dungeons and Dragons for thirty-five years, I finally did. Partly because a friend kept nudging me, and partly because damn, now I had to.

Mark Lawrence has an amazing voice, and by the end of the first page it's clear One Word Kill can only turn into a great book, and there's nothing that can stop it.

"But as it turned out, I would die even before February got into its stride."

What a sentence. On the first page.

The story is t ...more

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Sep 18, 2018 T.O. Munro rated it it was amazing

In Mark Lawrence’s gradual migration away from the kind of world and characters of his debut novel Prince of Thorns, One Word Kill represents the greatest step so far. We find ourselves neither in the fantastic ice threatened world of Abeth, nor the magically enhanced post-apocalyptic future Earth of the Broken Empire and the Red Queen’s War. We are instead on more nearly contemporary ground - South London in the 1980s – though Lawrence’s gift for sowing peril and dilemma has bled through into t ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Charlie - A Reading Machine rated it it was amazing

Firstly I want to start by saying what a huge pleasure it is hearing Mark speak in such a different voice. I’ve read and loved all his books but this series opener was like a gifted musician revealing that he knows yet another instrument and pulling out one of those guitars that is actually two guitars and it is fluorescent purple and electric.

With the book described as Ready Player One meets Stranger Things (and I’d also chuck some Terminator and Butterfly Effect in there too) readers have some Firstly I want to start by saying what a huge pleasure it is hearing Mark speak in such a different voice. I’ve read and loved all his books but this series opener was like a gifted musician revealing that he knows yet another instrument and pulling out one of those guitars that is actually two guitars and it is fluorescent purple and electric.

With the book described as Ready Player One meets Stranger Things (and I’d also chuck some Terminator and Butterfly Effect in there too) readers have some clues as to what might be coming as we explore the lives of some random teenagers growing up in the 80’s. Alternate realities, inter-dimensional bubbles, time travel and way more are all up for grabs but don’t be too intimidated. Lawrence’s physics background and skill as a writer ensures everything is grounded within a reality we mere mortals can comprehend. I don’t generally expect to pick up complex scientific concepts instantly and neither should you so I recommend you sit back and let it flow. I enjoyed the moments where I had to reread something because it was often a case of just working through the logic of a particularly mind bending piece of action and I never had to just give up and move on.

The characters are unique without being tropes and Nick, Elton, Mia, John and Simon all bring something different to the party. Elton is the Dungeon Master and someone who seems to live the game not just orchestrate it. Simon is the least brave of the group generally choosing to run instead of fight but is a true friend when it counts, Mia provides the boys with a level of trust and acceptance they had probably never experienced from the opposite sex and shows a commitment to the game that rivals anything the group has seen before. John is a nice guy living on the wealthier side of things with a racist mum and a secret or two of his own and Nick is obviously our protagonist and we experience the events of the book from his perspective. They are a good mix and by the end of the book I felt invested in their lives and wanted to read on not to just see how the plot would continue to unfold but to see what happened to each of them as individuals.

The D&D sequences in particular were brilliant fun. Mark did a great job at making the character of Elton a superbly talented storyteller and he’s the sort of dungeon master that would make someone like myself, who has never played RPG’s, excited to give them a go. Yeah I know we all want Mark Lawrence to be our dungeon master but I asked first and he don’t travel. It is pretty epic that he managed to slot some really amazing fantasy sequences into this already sensational science fiction adventure.

I do have one criticism but it's a spoiler. (view spoiler)

One World Kill is more YA than anything of his I’ve read before but doesn’t shy away from very adult concepts especially when it comes to the realities of living with cancer and chemotherapy. I think younger readers will appreciate that they are not being molly coddled through some tough sequences as though there is some adult exclusivity on being sick. It’s light on the 80’s shout-outs, which I really appreciated. You know where and when you are from the authenticity of the dialogue and the surrounding elements not because someone is constantly dropping pop culture references but simply because it sounds natural. The conversations and moments between the different characters are always revealing, always moving the story forward and at only a couple of hundred pages it’s fair to say this book absolutely rockets along.

Overall I feel One Word Kill is the start of something very special and will not only give Mark’s legions of fans something they’ve never had from him before but also introduce him to a new more science fiction inclined generation. As a fan of both I felt like Charlie in the chocolate factory, which would make Lawrence Willy Wonka.

It’s a wild and riveting ride and we have a master craftsman at the wheel.

One Word Kill is published by 47North and is coming out on May 1st. It will be followed very quickly by Limited Wish in June, with the final book in the series slated for release before the end of 2019. ...more

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Feb 22, 2019 The Tattooed Book Geek (Drew). rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...

There are some books that when you have finished reading them you need to take a step back and reflect upon the story that you’ve just finished, One Word Kill is one such book, I loved it all and it is exceptional in every way.

One Word Kill is set in January 1986. Nick Hayes is a fifteen-year-old mathematical genius who finds out that he is dying. Then, he has a mystery to solve, an ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 Jane Kelsey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-stars

In the winter of 1986, Nick Hayes is 15 years old and find out he has cancer, but things don’t end here because stranger things are happening. Not only having to cope with the reality of his diagnosis, but Nick and his D&D friends have to find a way to solve an impossible mystery and save the girl.

I honestly don’t even know where to start from because this book is so wholesome and sweet and funny. I had a fabulous time reading this and have felt sadness, anger, happiness, laughter all whilst ...more

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Apr 05, 2019 Anton rated it it was amazing

Shelves: also-strongly-recommended-fiction, alt-modern, sci-fi, urban-mystery, d20

Update. Just re-read the ending. Bumping my rating one star up. Excellent plotting and great riff off D&D themes.

My favourite book from Mark Lawrence. Can’t wait for Limited Wish!

***

Great story! Stranger Things meets Dark Matter. Would definitely appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman as well.

Warning: if you are aged 15 —> 20 it may blow your mind 😂 It would have blown mine for sure!

It would make an awesome movie or TV series too. Give it a go ;)

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Dec 12, 2018 Lukasz rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, time-travel

4.5/5

With One Word Kill Lawrence steps into sci-fi territories. Protagonists don’t wield laser guns or fly in spaceships. Instead, they play D&D and slowly approach adulthood. Story narrator’s, a fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. Cancer killed his father, now it tries to claim him.

Between sessions of chemotherapy and D&D, Nick discovers his dear friend may need his help in far future. Together with his nerdy friends, he must unravel an impossible mystery, save ...more

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Apr 15, 2019 Dee Arr rated it it was amazing

I realized on the second page just how good a book this was going to be. The last sentence at the end of the second paragraph was meant to hook the reader with an impossible statement, which it did to me. The last few sentences in the next paragraph introduced statements that were questions, serving to only drag me deeper into a story I had just begun to read. That quickly, I knew I was in for an adventurous read.

This is a story of time travel, though author Mark Lawrence skirts the science of i ...more

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Jan 24, 2019 Adam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My one line review:

"I clapped after reading the last line. Don’t know if that’s ever happened before."

I'm content to leave this review as simple as that, but I owe it to NetGalley and other potential readers to provide a bit more information. I do think it's best that you go into this story completely blind -- Mark Lawrence has earned enough trust where I don't have to read an advance blurb to know that his stories are'worth reading. That being said, I'll provide a few minor plot spoilers below, My one line review:

"I clapped after reading the last line. Don’t know if that’s ever happened before."

I'm content to leave this review as simple as that, but I owe it to NetGalley and other potential readers to provide a bit more information. I do think it's best that you go into this story completely blind -- Mark Lawrence has earned enough trust where I don't have to read an advance blurb to know that his stories are'worth reading. That being said, I'll provide a few minor plot spoilers below, and try to only touch on overall themes, instead of major plot points.

The story is set in London during the 1980's, and focuses on unpopular teenager Nick who was just diagonsed with leukemia. Nick has a small group of friends that meet on weekends for Dungeons and Dragons, and we get to experience some wonderful role-playing sessions with some talented players. (I was especially nostalgic during these scenes, as I spent many a weekend in a similar position.). Nick and some other members of his group have exceptionally brilliant minds -- one has a brain that can solve computations in seconds, while Nick himself is a student of advanced quantum theory. Somehow, Lawrence combines cancer, D&D, and quantum mechanics into a complex story that highlights the bonds of friendship, pushes the boundaries of physics, and is also somehow a sweet and heart-wrenching love story. (Go ahead and pre-order now, I'll wait.)

Lawrence has some wondeful tricks up his sleeve that underlines his exceptional writing talent. There's a jaw-dropping reveal on page one that stuck in the back of my mind throughout the entire book, and how that revelation comes to fruition is as sneaky and unexpected as it is brilliant. The book isn't that long, and its pace invites the reader to fly through it in very few reading sessions. I encourage you to try and savor it for as long as possible, as it is over much too soon. Although it is the start of a trilogy, there is a definitive and wondefully satisfying ending. (It also offers some sound and applicable life advice, which has had me smiling ever since.)

Great characters. Unique story. A setting that takes full advantage of what it has to offer, and a memorable ending that left me waiting impatiently for the next entry. This story is (quite literally) filled with infinite possibilities, and I'm damn excited to see what else Lawrence has in store. ...more

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Jun 11, 2018 Mitriel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I posted some information about the book here:

https://thatthornguy.com/2018/06/10/o...

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Apr 19, 2019 Calvin Park rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scifi

I’ve meant to read Mark Lawrence’s novels for quite some time. Other things have always crowded out his titles on my TBR, for whatever reason, however. But One Word Kill sounded like exactly the sort of story I love. A sci-fi tale involving quantum mechanics, healthy doses of D&D, and an amazing group of characters? Count me in any day of the week.

I don’t want to spoil anything from this amazing novel, so I’ll basically just restate the blurb from the back of the book. Nick Hayes, our prota I’ve meant to read Mark Lawrence’s novels for quite some time. Other things have always crowded out his titles on my TBR, for whatever reason, however. But One Word Kill sounded like exactly the sort of story I love. A sci-fi tale involving quantum mechanics, healthy doses of D&D, and an amazing group of characters? Count me in any day of the week.

I don’t want to spoil anything from this amazing novel, so I’ll basically just restate the blurb from the back of the book. Nick Hayes, our protagonist, has just discovered that he has cancer. This means massive change to his fifteen-year-old life, but those changes are minor in comparison to what’s in store. The story Lawrence crafts here follows Nick and his group of friends. The first note I made as I was reading, and this was only a couple pages into the novel, was “Lawrence does an incredible job of setting the ambiance and getting us into Nick’s head. It’s just excellent,” and that really could stand as my comment for the entire novel. What makes all of this work, and makes One Word Kill stand out above other similar novels is the emotion Lawrence manages to cram into almost every page. From the fear of being told one has cancer, to the joy of gathering for a game of D&D with friends, to the pain of losing people close to us, to the need to be loved and cared for, Lawrence excels at making you feel with his characters. There are some healthy doses of nostalgia for those of us who grew up somewhat outcast in our communities, but the emotion of these characters connects at a much deeper level than that. Not only does Lawrence excel at giving his story emotional impact, he does so because he crafts such real and believable characters. Then he puts them in an adventure with plenty of twists and turns, and no shortage of pulse-pounding scenes. This is a wonderful, brilliant read that I can’t recommend highly enough. Just when you think you have things figured out, Lawrence offers another reveal that keeps you guessing and moves the narrative in unexpected directions. It’s masterful.

There are few weaknesses to this novel. One that I did notice, however, is that there was a moment when I questioned exactly what the motivations of some of Nick’s friends were. How it was that they were joining him on this insane quest. It’s likely that other folks won’t have the same experience at that moment in the story, but it did give me pause. It was noticeable only because I was completely and totally engaged with the characters and story every other millisecond of reading this novel.

One Word Kill is nearly everything I could possibly want in a quick, sci-fi coming-of-age tale. I couldn’t put it down and I’m confident you won’t be able to either. Pick it up as soon as you can and get ready for an incredible ride.

9.5/10
4.75/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing
...more

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Mar 18, 2019 preoccupiedbybooks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019

Loved it! RTC
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Why am I only just hearing about this?!
*Trips over own feet trying to add it*

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Apr 15, 2019 Josh rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, prime_reads, read_2019, time_travel

If you're into Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), time travel, and have a thing for 80's nostalgia, One Word Kill is for you.

Mark Lawrence, better know for his epic fantasy novels, steps into the wild realm of sci-fi to deliver an interesting time travel novel centered around a group of teenagers with some semblance to Stranger Things.

The D&D weekend meets, this oddball group of teens so earnestly participate, methodologically morphs into reality when a stranger from the future arrives with on ...more

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Apr 07, 2019 kartik narayanan rated it liked it

One Word Kill is a disappointingly average science fiction book whose saving grace is that it is authored by Mark Lawrence. So it will sell.

The blurb gives away most of the story (the little that there is) except for a couple of twists that is foreshadowed a long way off. I suppose that if your exposure to classic science fiction is limited (i.e. one has not read 'By His Bootstraps', 'The Weapon Shops' or any other seminal time travel story.) then you might not expect these twists but for season ...more

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Apr 14, 2019 José rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, trilogías-leídas, kindle

Another brilliant book by Mark Lawrence! Loved every single page of this one; it's a wonderful story about friendship, D&D, and time travel.

I totally recommend it!

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Apr 12, 2019 sofia (sam willows) rated it liked it

i liked it! it’s a good book, but it didn’t really click with me. i wasn’t really invested in this, emotionally or plot-wise, but i had fun anyway

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Apr 13, 2019 john m rated it it was amazing

Wonderful story

One Word Kill is a fun tale that will keep you up past your bedtime trying to read just one more chapter.

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Mar 14, 2019 Peter rated it it was amazing

This is fantastic! I feel so lucky to have been given an ARC copy of this, you will not be dissaponted by this story. Mark has produced another amazing book, a full review will be on my blog but not for a while.

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Apr 01, 2019 Goth Gone Grey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019, favorites, kindle-first, sci-fi-fantasy

Be still my geeky heart!

Written with a heartfelt love - or deep understanding, at the very least - of D&D gaming, of the outcasts who somehow fit together, and the magic to be had around a game table, this book entranced me from the start. An example, one of many quotable moments within:

"That’s the common thread running through all the diverse hordes of nerds and geeks who turned up to the conventions and gatherings, who queued outside Games Workshop for the latest rulebook. We were all of ...more

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Apr 07, 2019 Caidyn (SEMI-HIATUS; BW Reviews; he/him/his) rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

This was such a fun read! I mean, I honestly don't have much to say about it. I loved the group of kids that we were following through it. And, I really enjoyed the story. Some of it went over my head and I wish that this was longer/one book instead of two, but it was just a great ride. I'd expect nothing else from this author!

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