Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About ElCicco

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Married, mom of two, history PhD, feminist. I've been participating in Cannonball Read since CBR4. I love to read, and writing reviews keeps me from reading without thinking. I feel like I owe it to the authors who entertain me to savor their creations. It's like slowing down and enjoying a delicious meal instead of bolting your food. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: ElCicco's Quick Questions interview.)

ElCicco's Reviews:

‘Cause you got to have friends, la la la la la la la la la!

Baptism of Fire: A Novel of the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

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Sapkowski is managing to keep my interest very high with this the fifth Witcher book (3rd novel). The stories of Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer continue to develop along very interesting lines, with plenty of fighting, intrigue and double crosses. The truth about Ciri’s power is slowing being unraveled while Yennefer’s role in the problems at hand is only hinted at, and Geralt finds himself part of an unlikely band of people who decide, against reason and any thought of personal safety, to help Geralt find […]

“Neutrality is usually mean.” ~Sapkowski; “If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.” ~Rush

The Time of Contempt: The WItcher Book 2 by Andrzej Sapkowski

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The Time of Contempt is the second novel, fourth book, in Sapkowski’s Witcher series, and as with the previous novel, this one is full of political intrigue, war, and fighting. The overriding question for our main characters is whether, in a turbulent war-torn world, it is possible to maintain neutrality, and if not, is it possible to choose a side without becoming hateful and barbaric. The Empire of Nilfgaard is trying to take over world and is enjoying quite a bit of success in this […]

“You did not see me — you did not look at me, and see me.”

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

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This novel is a Bildungsroman about a young slave named George Washington Black, or simply Wash. It is Wash’s recollection of the extraordinary events in his life during the 1830s, especially his relationship with Christopher Wilde, aka Titch, the brother of Wash’s master Erasmus Wilde. The story opens with Wash in servitude at Faith plantation on Barbados, but his travels will take him to many lands where the weather is different but people are often the same. Washington Black is the story of a young […]

The End is Near-ish

Blood of Elves: A Novel of the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

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This third book in the Witcher series is the first Witcher novel, and its focus, now that Geralt has owned up to his destiny, is on a prophecy about the end of the world. This prophecy involves war among the peoples of earth (human, elven, and other) and the unleashing of some type of very powerful magic. There is the occasional bit of monster fighting, but mostly this story deals in geo-political maneuvering and espionage as Geralt and Yennefer try to keep Ciri safe while […]

Destiny! Destiny! No escaping it for me!

The Sword of Destiny: Tales of the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

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This second Witcher volume, like the first, is a collection of short stories not necessarily told in chronological order. Sapkowski further develops the main character Geralt of Rivia while hitting hard on themes of a changing world and the role of fate and destiny in Geralt’s life. Some of the stories were featured in the TV series, and the reader gets to know characters like Dandelion (Jaskier) and Yennefer a little better. Sword of Destiny includes six stories, the first of which will be familiar […]

Here Come the Witcher Reviews!

The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

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My husband is a big, big Witcher fan — played all the games more than once and listened to the audiobooks. When the news broke that the series was coming to Netflix, I knew I would end up watching with him. He’d been badgering me to read the books for ages and during the show, he kept pointing out where the TV series differed from the books (usually expressed as a complaint). It was funny because that’s usually MY job. So I have caved in […]



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