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A review by sgbrux
One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence
5.0
You guys: Read. This. Book.
A crew of friends that doesn’t feel troped out—you’ve got the smart goth girl Mia, the rich kid John, the computational genius Simon, the acrobatics extraordinaire Elton, and lastly, the wonderful protagonist Nick who has an affinity for quantum theory (and math in general)—just like his dad.
It’s 1986, and Nick—15—has been diagnosed with leukemia. He juggles the usual challenges that come with being a teenage boy: wanting to play D&D with the boys (this story is so much fun with how D&D is woven into it), keeping up with his studies, staying under mom’s radar, avoiding the interest of school bullies, navigating his first crush—and all of this while undergoing chemotherapy. You can imagine how its effects would make it harder for a boy to maintain confidence and a positive outlook on things.
Mark is so fantastic at writing characters who feel 100% real. Cancer aside, I feel like I knew these kids in my own adolescence. There’s a huge sense of nostalgia in this story that coils around you and pulls you in. At roughly 200 pages, he doesn’t waste a single word, and despite the brevity, each character felt fleshed out and fully realized. I very much enjoyed this group of friends and tagging along on their journey.
One of my favorite movies is Mr. Nobody; without giving too much away, if you tend to ponder life and existence like I do, I think you’ll really enjoy the story Mark has crafted here. I can’t wait to read the next book. And Mark’s writing... it’s as delicious and eloquent as always. Reading his work has become one of my favorite hobbies.
Here’s a snippet:
People look funny when you turn down the TV volume and they dance without music. When they talk without meaning it’s the same thing. If you ignore the words, there’s an honesty in the emotion that fleets across faces in conversation.
A crew of friends that doesn’t feel troped out—you’ve got the smart goth girl Mia, the rich kid John, the computational genius Simon, the acrobatics extraordinaire Elton, and lastly, the wonderful protagonist Nick who has an affinity for quantum theory (and math in general)—just like his dad.
It’s 1986, and Nick—15—has been diagnosed with leukemia. He juggles the usual challenges that come with being a teenage boy: wanting to play D&D with the boys (this story is so much fun with how D&D is woven into it), keeping up with his studies, staying under mom’s radar, avoiding the interest of school bullies, navigating his first crush—and all of this while undergoing chemotherapy. You can imagine how its effects would make it harder for a boy to maintain confidence and a positive outlook on things.
Mark is so fantastic at writing characters who feel 100% real. Cancer aside, I feel like I knew these kids in my own adolescence. There’s a huge sense of nostalgia in this story that coils around you and pulls you in. At roughly 200 pages, he doesn’t waste a single word, and despite the brevity, each character felt fleshed out and fully realized. I very much enjoyed this group of friends and tagging along on their journey.
One of my favorite movies is Mr. Nobody; without giving too much away, if you tend to ponder life and existence like I do, I think you’ll really enjoy the story Mark has crafted here. I can’t wait to read the next book. And Mark’s writing... it’s as delicious and eloquent as always. Reading his work has become one of my favorite hobbies.
Here’s a snippet:
People look funny when you turn down the TV volume and they dance without music. When they talk without meaning it’s the same thing. If you ignore the words, there’s an honesty in the emotion that fleets across faces in conversation.