This book review was part of a podcast discussion.
Listen to the episode here.
One Word Kill is a work that walks the border between science fiction and fantasy, from one of the best fantasy authors working today. Mark Lawrence has written some of my favorite books of the last decade. In One Word Kill, Nick and his D&D group are doing their best to get through adolescent life in 1986 London, a life thrown into chaos first by Nick’s diagnosis of cancer, then by the appearance of a strange man who claims Nick and his friends are in imminent danger.
The strength of Lawrence’s writing has often been his ability to create interesting page-turners that buck the standard rules of narrative. His debut series and universe had stories that eschewed average antagonism and read almost like road journals, but the character work was so strong that it carried over the jarring nature of leaving the normal literary mechanisms behind. That continues in One Word Kill. Nick and his friends come alive on the page, and the twists and turns of their lives and troubles give the novel the feeling of sitting around the table with your own friends for a game of D&D.
Then it introduces time travel. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that this is the story’s primary twist. Neither the first few chapters nor any of the advertising copy make it clear, but elements of time travel enter the story early on. I’m not totally against the use of this element, but it’s such a difficult thing to pull off, and I’m afraid Lawrence doesn’t quite manage it. The best thing I can say is that time travel doesn’t dominate the novel, and like most of Lawrence’s work the characters are instantly likeable and relatable. The world of 1986 London is a great setting, and it’s that aspect of the story that kept me turning pages to the end. But I think that the characters and Lawrence’s stellar prose could easily stand alone without the time travel element, and ultimately I don’t think the story would change that much if you removed it.
Unfortunately, the character motivations are all almost entirely tied to the time travel and the ultimate resolution of the story is abrupt and convoluted in the nature of time travel stories. I think that Nick and his D&D group are still worthy of your attention, and I will be picking up the next book in the series, but that’s more out of loyalty to a great author then attachment to One Word Kill or its conclusion. I give One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence a 3 out of 5.
Chicago, IL
A preacher's kid from the South who went North a long time ago. I'm an Engineer by day trying desperately to enjoy my day job. I love fantasy and sci-fi and I'm always looking for new worlds to explore.
DanielEavenson.com is my author site.
