Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Not Without My Dice.

A Conventional Boy by Charles Stross

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I’ve been a fan of Charlie Stross’ Laundry Files for over a decade now. This has given me plenty of time to watch the series evolve. Like many other works that began as satire aimed at government bureaucracy, it has grown increasingly cynical as real life has become harder and harder to parody.  In particular, there was a rough trilogy linked to the original Laundry Files stories under the title of Tales of the New Management that hit me as painfully cynical, to the point that it […]

Made me want to re-read Six of Crows instead

To Steal from Thieves by M.K. Lobb

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Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own. In an alternate version of Victorian London, magic exists and can be used to improve technology. It’s known as alchemology, and requires the magic-user to sacrifice some blood and life force to create the magical element known as primateria. It means that alchemologists tend to have shorter lifespans, which was certainly the case with Zaria Mendoza’s father. Now she’s an orphan struggling to complete her father’s outstanding commissions to […]

Palace Intrigue of the Highest Levels

The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty

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Here we are in the second of the Daevabad Trilogy, and unlike many another trilogy, the second volume does not disappoint (nor the third, spoiler alert).  Nahri, former street rat healer, and her companion, Dara, otherwise known as the scourge of Qui-zi for the murderous campaign he was forced to commit, have made it to the hidden djinn stronghold of Daevabad, supposedly the site where the various djinn people live in harmony.  Except they don’t. Daevabad was once ruled by the Nahid, a tribe of […]

“The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time you share tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share tea, you become family.”

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

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Wallace Price doesn’t care if no one likes him; he’s efficient at his job and that’s all that matters. Social life, friends, family, loved ones? None of that is important. Until the day he drops dead, and his time to find any of those things runs out. Now that Hugo, a caring tea shop owner is offering to help Wallace find peace before passing over, Wallace might actually start to realize how much he has been missing. Even if the Manager, Hugo’s boss, has given […]

A Woman, her sword, and her honor. What else do you need?

The Disfavored Hero: Book One of the Tomoe Gozen Saga by Jessica Amanda Salmonson

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I love when I have had a book on my TBR list for years (15 in this instance), and I actually don’t regret finally picking it up. This was a book I enjoyed from beginning to end, and actually made me want to read the rest of the series. Inspired by a historical figure yet set in a fantastical version of Japan, The Disfavored Hero tells the story of Tomoe Gozen, a female samurai serving a local lord during the time of the Shogun. While […]

Crime syndicates, clairvoyants and angelic figures

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

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I remember meaning to read The Bone Season when it came out but then before I got around to it, seemed like the reviews and reactions from people whose judgement I trust was pretty middling so I didn’t prioritize it, and never got around to it. I quite liked A Priory of the Orange Tree (and the prequel novel) so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Samantha Shannon had gone back and revised The Bone Season for its 10th anniversary and it was Narfna […]



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