Tracy – Page 26 – Cannonball Read 17

Gripping Conclusion of the Passage Trilogy

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

January 30, 2023 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Most of The City of Mirrors is set about 20 years after events of The Twelve. Virals haven’t been seen in decades, and citizens from Kerrville, TX, are moving out into settlements in other parts of Texas. They think the threat is gone because they don’t know about Fanning (AKA Zero). We learn a lot about Fanning. A large segment of the novel, about 100 pages’ worth, is dedicated to his first person account of his life prior to being infected. He was roommates with […]

Not As Many People Die as You Would Expect

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

January 25, 2023 by Tracy Leave a Comment

“Present day” in The Twelve is set about 5 years after events in The Passage. Some of the former cast of characters are tracking down virals, or trying to, at any rate. Others are slaves in Iowa in a settlement of sorts run by “redeyes” – people who are essentially “familiars” to the virals. Their nefarious plan is to have the 11 remaining virals move into something like a bunker in the town so they have a steady supply of food (i.e., people and livestock) […]

Quite an Epic

The Passage by Justin Cronin

January 12, 2023 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Where to start? There so much that happens in this 800-page novel, which almost defies genre. Is it science fiction? Dystopian? Horror? Probably all of those, and more. The novel starts in the near future, or what was probably the near future at the time it was written over a decade ago. Humans have discovered a naturally-existing virus that, when it doesn’t kill them, essentially turns people into vampires: long-lived, strong, easily heal, don’t do well in sunlight, etc. As mankind is wont to do, […]

COVID and Traveling Gave Me Time to Read

Normal People by Sally Rooney

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

October 30, 2022 by Tracy Leave a Comment

I had started reading Normal People quite some time ago but put it down for long enough that when I was ready to start reading it again, I decided to just start over, and I think that helped my enjoy the book more. The re-read of part of the book helped me understand the characters in a way that I hadn’t the first time I started reading it. At this point, probably most people know the plot. Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron grew up in the […]

“Obviously She Was a Person to Whom Things Happened”

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold

January 24, 2022 by Tracy 1 Comment

I remember reading National Velvet multiple times when I was younger. I was one of those horse crazy girls – show me a book about a horse and I’d read it. I recently decided to give it a re-read, and I think it holds up pretty well. The main character is Velvet Brown, youngest (age 14) daughter of a butcher father and a mother who had famously swum the Channel years before. Velvet has a quirky imagination that is tolerated and even supported by the […]

Existential Wisdom in a Small Package

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

January 6, 2022 by Tracy Leave a Comment

I finished this book just before the new year, then immediately reread it and finished it again yesterday. I needed the time to process and absorb it. It has some of what I think would be considered postmodern elements, and I needed the re-read to help me separate the fiction from the philosophy of how to view the world. Richard (the narrator, not the author) meets Donald Shimoda while barnstorming: flying from farm town to farm town and taking locals for airplane rides. Donald used […]

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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