Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I want to live in this book.

Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles, #1) by Ilona Andrews

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“…Something isn’t right with you and this property. Strange things happen around it. I don’t know what is going on, but I will find out. You could make it easier on yourself by coming clean.” “Sure. This is a magic bed-and-breakfast and the two guys in my kitchen are aliens from outerspace.” Blurb from the back of the book: “On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih […]

Justin Cronin Is Good at Twisty Turny Science Fiction

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

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This newest Justin Cronin novel is set on Prospera, an archipelago of three islands. The first, Prospera, is where the white collar workers live. They have jobs but are focused on art, beauty, culture, society, and law. The second island is the Annex, which is where support staff (i.e., “the help”) live. Prosperans have been genetically tweaked to be long-lived and also infertile. When they get old enough and their health declines, they “retire” to the Nursery, which is on the third island, where they […]

I, too, like a rousing sci-fi series about a murderous robot that wants nothing more than to watch soap operas.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Network Effect by Martha Wells

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Before I get into the reviews, I’m just going to preface this by saying I don’t really remember all the individual books, but Murderbot is one of my favorite characters ever. All Systems Red (5/5) “Murderbot” is the self-chosen name of a security android appointed with the task of protecting a team of scientists surveying a planet. It is a rogue SecUnit, however, and has overridden its governor, unbeknownst to everyone else, and wants nothing more than to disengage from the world and watch soap […]

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor asteroids, or giants, messy planets, nor gloom of night stays this courier from the not-so-swift completion of their appointed rounds

The Postman from Space by Guillaume Perreault

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The Postman from Space written and illustrated by Guillaume Perreault is an odd book that is both really really good and also a, “What did I read?” read. There is a lot going on, even though it looks simple. I was just flying through the minimalist text, thinking things would either be a bit on the “normal and dull” side or outrageously humorous. I am not sure if kids will get some of the Easter eggs (there is an obvious nod to a classic prince […]

“We all have ways of showing our patriotism, and mine is holding my country to account. I want to dissuade her from her worst, cruellest impulses, for I truly believe that if she does not evolve past them, she will not survive.”

Truth of the Divine (Noumena, #2) by Lindsay Ellis

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I don’t have it in me right now to talk about this book in the way that it deserves. This is a book that explores the fallout from First Contact (and the fallout from covering up First Contact) in practically every way possible. There was so much going on in this book (and all of it done well), I don’t even know how to start summing it up. I’m tempted to just do the bullet points thing. In fact, you know what, fuck it. I’mma […]

What it Means to be My Favourite Alien

Translation State by Ann Leckie

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Have you ever experienced so much anticipation for a book that it you nearly squealed in glee? This is me with Ann Leckie’s Translation State. If Translation State had just been a sequel to her Imperial Radch Trilogy, it would still have been intriguing enough to check out. But Translation State is not just a follow-up to the Radch books—it’s a book that heavily features the Presgr Translators! To keep things vague for anyone who hasn’t yet read the Radch books (and you should), the […]



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