Rate: 4.5/5
Medium: Audiobook
Overview (No Spoilers):
Limited Wish feels like Lawrence’s love note to both mathematics and D&D. A sequel to One Word Kill, Limited Wish picks up with a sixteen year old Nick Hayes who, at least for the moment, seemingly has his life back on track with his cancer in remission. Foreknowledge of the future drives Nick relentlessly in his studies as he knows he must invent the impossible. Unfortunately, the pressure of knowing the future acts to fizzle his relationship with Mia though they remain friends.
This status quo changes quickly as Nick encounters a series of improbable and dangerous escalating situations. After running into not only one, but two time travelers from alternate futures, the peril for all timelines becomes evident. Complicating matters is a new bully, with an even more unpredictable and brutal nature, who is bent on making Nick’s life miserable, all in the name of science of course.
As Limited Wish draws to a close, Nick is faced with a series of impossible decisions that weigh heavy on the sixteen year old. He has to decide between two futures, two fates, and two loves, with no obvious path presenting itself. Needless to say, despite the dire situation Nick and his friends find themselves in, or perhaps because of it, I had a difficult time putting down Limited Wish, curious as to the looming decision Nick would make.
Overall, Limited Wish is an entertaining sequel that will imbue a fresh appreciation for dense mathematics and clever D&D sequences while keeping the reader on the edge of their seat as Nick is on a precariously balances attempting to save two timelines, dodging bullies, beating cancer, and picking a future, all within the span of one book.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
- I so enjoyed Nick meeting Eva. In many ways it was heartbreaking he didn’t choose her future, but it was also him facing his mortality.
- If he didn’t choose Eva’s future can he steal her research now?
- How will the paradox change Nick’s future? Will his cancer return to remision?
- I love how Lawrence works in the titles of these books into the D&D game and the final twist.
The Critiquing Chemist 