Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Zirza

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I am an English teacher from the Low Countries. Like everyone else I aspire to one day write a Booker Prize Winner, but until then I contend my self with reading stuff and writing about it. I try to keep the bitchiness to a minimum, but sometimes I can't help myself. In my spare time I enjoy complaining about the weather and sleeping. I lack the attention span for good books and the tolerance for bad ones. I am stuck in literary purgatory. Hey, at least it's warm here.

Zirza's Reviews:

Spoopy Creppy

The House of a Hundred Whispers by Graham Masterton

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Former prison warden Herbert Russell lives alone in a large and remote 17th century house in Dartmoor. One night, during a full moon, he is clobbered on the head with a hammer. Days later his children – sons Martin and Rob, daughter Grace – gather for the reading of his will. The expected familial bickering ensues, but then Rob’s son Timmy suddenly disappears into thin air. Who killed Herbert? Where has Timmy gone? Why is the cellar of the house bricked up, and why do […]

Peekaboo

Hide and Seek (Inspector Rebus #2) by Ian Rankin

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Somewhere deep in the slums of Edinburgh the body of a man is found. All evidence points towards an overdoses, except for one: the man’s body is elaborately staged, with the lower half of his body wrapped in plastic and his arms spread out as if he’s been crucified. A pentagram has been drawn on the wall and candles have been staged around the victim. Inspector John Rebus has been called in to investigate the murder, but finds the whole thing perplexing. Who staged the […]

It’s Set in Scotland. Of Course it’s Bleak.

Knots and Crosses (Inspecor Rebus #1) by Ian Rankin

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Edinburgh, 1986. A number of young girls disappear. They’re abducted seemingly randomly, strangled and their corpses abandoned. All of Edinburgh’s police force is on top of it and so is John Rebus, a chain smoking, hard drinking former marine who now works as a burnt-out office drone for Edinburgh’s constabulary. It’s not that he doesn’t care, but the work he does is monotonous and neverending, and he’s far away from the action – at least, he thinks so. But someone keeps sending him letters, letters […]

WELL ACTUALLY

Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams

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Are you a woman? Do you enjoy REAL MEN explaining things to you that your incompetent little lady brain made you think you understood? Then look no further, because if male condescension is your kink then this book is going to moisten your loins.  It’d also mean you had terrible taste in books, but whatever. I try not to kinkshame.  Weeks after the death of her twin sister Cambry, Lena Nguyen asks officer Raymond Raycevic (the fact that someone thought this was a good name […]

Saving Grace

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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I’ve read all of Andy Weir’s books. He’s written three so that’s not exactly a major achievement, but it does give me the opportunity to compare and contrast them. Like most people I enjoyed The Martian but did not care very much for Artemis (which, well-intentioned though it may be, is a textbook example of how not to write a strong female character). I loved Project Hail Mary, though with a couple of caveats. But hey, that’s what reviews are for.  First up: it’s really […]

So Your protagonist is a Moron.

No Exit by Taylor Adams

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Writing a good protagonist is obviously a tricky business. You can have all the plot ideas you want, but if there’s nobody to carry them they won’t go anywhere. The problem is that people disagree about what makes a good protagonist. Take Holden Caulfield, for example. Is he the voice of a generation or just a whiny runt with first world problems? (It’s the latter). Unfortunately, as far as No Exit is concerned, your mileage may vary.  The premise of the novel is enticing if […]



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