Dispel Illusion by Mark Lawrence: A Book Review

Blurb:

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.

Author: Mark Lawrence
Publisher: 47north
Release Date: 14/11/2019
Pages: 234
Series: Impossible Times #1
Genre: Science Fiction
My Chosen Format: Kindle
My Rating of ‘Dispel Illusion’: 5 out of 5
Purchase: Amazon UK, Amazon US, Audible UK, Audible US

Review:

I’ll start out by saying that, not only is this one of the most clever and well thought out trilogies I’ve ever read, but it’s easily one of the most satisfying I’ll ever read.

The first book in the series showed our young protagonist’s future self coming back to ensure that everything happened as he remembered it happening. That, we saw through Young Nick’s eyes. In Dispel Illusion we see those events through older Nick’s eyes and get a real ‘coming full circle feeling’.

It’s not just book one told from a different POV as this features everything that happens in older Nick’s time that leads him up to making the jump backwards. So much great stuff happening across multiple timelines.

The writing was witty and clever in equal measure and, of the Lawrence books I’ve read (in fact of most books I’ve read) this trilogy as a whole stands head and shoulders above the crowd.

Every book comes in at around 220-250 pages, making them short, easy reads that pack more story than most novels of epic length.

One of the long running plotlines that features from book one is the group’s D&D campaign. It’s a charming little side plot that has so much more to do with the overall story than I ever really appreciated. Just more cleverness from Lawrence right there.

My only negative about the series is that it took me so long to pick it up. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Go buy One Word Kill. Go buy Limited Wish. Buy Dispel Illusion. Thrust yourself into the wonderfully nerdy and brilliantly clever world of Nick Hayes and co.

I just wish there had been something at the end where certain characters met up in the future. Could have really hammered certain feelings home.