Bothari43 – Page 19 – Cannonball Read 17

More inward and philosophical, less “cave monsters in SPAAAAACE” than I was hoping, but still enjoyable!

Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

July 17, 2020 by Bothari43 1 Comment

I think this would make an excellent movie, but spending the whole book in one character’s head was a bit much. It was very atmospheric and interesting, but I did not need to hear Gyre’s internal monologue quite so much. Gyre is a caver on a planet with some valuable minerals and not much else. Cavers explore to find mineral deposits with the help of super-high tech suits and a team of handlers on the surface monitoring all the readouts. They have to be completely […]

Quick Questions with a Cannonballer: Aquillia

July 15, 2020 by Bothari43 15 Comments

Which imaginary kingdom would you most like to visit? Teenage-me says “Rohan!” without hesitation. If I’m being honest, adult-me would probably be more at home in the Shire. Adult-me also thinks the Vale of Arryn sounds gorgeous, even though the GOT/ASOIAF world in general might not be a fun experience! What do you write? Will CBR fantasy fans ever get to read an Aquillia original? I hope they will be able to someday; fingers crossed! I write fairly traditional fantasy — secondary world, largely medieval-Europe-based, […]

Late to the party, but so glad I finally made it!

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

July 12, 2020 by Bothari43 1 Comment

I knew this would be good (pages and pages of CBR reviews told me so), and I was not disappointed. There was some truly incredible world-building, some interesting writing choices (second-person point of view chapters?), and characters I wanted to hug or fight battles with. I can’t wait to read the next one! It feels silly to recap the plot when everyone has read it already, but here goes (in case this review is the final straw that pushes you into reading it and joining […]

Excitement and Adventure and Really Wild Things

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams

Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams

June 24, 2020 by Bothari43 3 Comments

I just turned 42, so I figured a Hitchhiker’s Guide reread would be appropriate. Except I skipped the first book, because I feel like that is already kind of imprinted in my brain, and because teenage me found Restaurant at the End of the Universe first, in the small but wondrous YA Science Fiction section at my library. It’s weird to revisit a series you read and loved as a teen. It’s wonderful to hang out with Ford and Arthur again (now firmly Mos Def […]

When “You don’t like where you’ve been, the place where you are is grim, and the only place you see yourself going is not an improvement on what’s gone before,” you’re a malcontent

Out of the Dead City by Samuel R. Delaney

June 13, 2020 by Bothari43 Leave a Comment

This book did a great job with the world-building, but not such a great job with the plot-building. I’m not sure this review can describe what it was about, because I’m not entirely sure I understand what happened. But it sounded very pretty while whatever it was was happening! Far away in a beryl sky, three suns rushed madly about one another and gave a little heat to this farthest of their six planets.” We start the book with Jon Toshar, who has just escaped […]

Quick Questions with a Cannonballer: octothorp

June 10, 2020 by Bothari43 7 Comments

Why ‘octothorp’ (besides the fact that it’s a super cool word)? Apparently I have a punctuation fetish I’m sublimating – ha! My husband and I have ampersand tattoos because of Y The Last Man (the whole section about ampersands being used to denote partnerships that are collaborative as opposed to typing the word “and” if each person did their own work resonated), I used to post in the early days of the mothership as ellipsis, nearly named my kid Thorn with a plan to get […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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