Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

1st Bingo!

Andrea Vernon & the Corporation for Ultra-Human Protection by Alexander C. Kane

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While I don’t normally go in for the self-published or amazon-only published books, crystalclear listened to the audio version of Andrea Vernon & the Corporation for Ultra-Human Protection, and adored it, so I told her I’d give it a go. She loves me, and bought me the print copy since I don’t do audio books, and it was an absolute delight. This book is just fun. Andrea Vernon is the most relatable millennial, struggling to find employment in NYC while also being true to herself […]

Things Are Better Now

The Seep by Chana Porter

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Aliens have invaded Earth through some kind of additive to the water which induces a blissful haze in people, and can be used to cure illnesses, modify bodies, or even alter a person’s age. Over time, the whole world is changed by this process or entity called the Seep which ultimately leads to a utopia where everyone can do or have whatever they want. The premise is so unconventional that the potential to develop an engaging and thought-provoking story is a given, but somehow it […]

Absolutely and wonderfully bonkers read

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Bolstered by all the delightful comments on my Gideon the Ninth review, I thought I should try to put my thoughts together about Harrow the Ninth, the sequel. SPOILERS FOR GIDEON THE NINTH FOLLOW! Really. It’s impossible to talk about Harrow without talking about the end of Gideon. It doesn’t just follow chronologically (sort of), but the impact of the ending on Harrow informs the entirety of her story. So… wow. I am so impressed by author Tamsyn Muir, who took her sure-fire hit–where one of the main things […]

The world is falling apart, but the magic is coming together

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

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This felt like a post-apocalyptic story within a post-post-post-apocalyptic story. In the aftermath of the last Fifth Season (a catastrophic event that causes massive destruction and changes the face of the Earth for an unspecified amount of time; the last one started in the first book), Essun finds herself in a new community, with everyone learning how to live and work together. There are bandits and bad communities, internal strife, lack of food and resources, and the usual post-apocalyptic worries. Of course, this being an […]

cbr12bingo – Green (and another Bingo!)

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

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I wanted so much more from this little dusty sketch of the dystopian west. It had a helluva hook – outlaw lesbians! Gun-slinging sisters-in-resistance! Non-binary action heroes! Unfortunately, it ground to a halt far short of its potential destination. It begins as all westerns do: someone hanging taut at the end of a rope. There are western tropes a-plenty; rough-riding, chaw-spitting, howdy pardnering, thankya kindly ma’ams litter the landscape. This wild west is wild for a different reason, though: we’re in a thinly plotted dystopia. […]

Demonic Duo

Forever by Pete Hamill

Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by Mara Leveritt

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Knocked out two books this past weekend, one fiction, the other non-fiction, both somewhat relating to the supernatural. Forever 3 stars Considered by no less than Lawrence Block to be the great New York City novel, I knew I had to grit my teeth through Forever after failing twice before, especially considering the recent death of its author, Pete Hamill. And while I don’t like it nearly as much as Block, I’m glad I did. Hamill is a good writer; I’ve already added another of his books to […]



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