Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Are we going for an anchor or a compass? A memory to ground you, or a spark to guide you forward?”

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

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In early April I made the choice to put my limited free time (so, so limited in late March and early April) into a complete rewatch of Game of Thrones before the series came back for its final series. I also picked up and put down two different books earlier this month, just not feeling any of them. When it was time to travel for Easter, with a total of four flights, I reached for a sure-fire winner: A Closed and Common Orbit. I loved […]

How do you make an enormous, cult-creating, planet-destroying Cthulhu babydoll NOT exciting??

Deadstock by Jeffrey Thomas

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This book was low-key aggravating. The plot was interesting enough that I wanted to keep going, but the characters were unlikeable enough that I almost gave up on it several times. Spoilers ahead, because nobody else should bother with this weirdness. I picked this one up at a used bookstore because it had a complimentary quote from China Mieville on the cover. You let me down, China! I read very few male authors anymore, and this book reminded me why. A former soldier turned private […]

A Must Read for Any Game of Thrones Fan

Audible Sample Audible Sample The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

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In preparation for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones, I purchased this rather large tome from Martin, along with Elio Garcia Jr. & Linda Antonsson (the people behind A Wiki of Ice and Fire). It is, unquestionably, worth the investment. This is not a new novel in the Game of Thrones world, but can be thought of as an encyclopedia of pretty much anything related to this world. Have a question on Naath, the home of Missandei? Look it up here. Always wanted to […]

Once upon a time I didn’t think I could write short stories.

How Long Til Black Future Month? by NK Jemisin

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I was a little leery of this one for two distinct reasons. One, when an author tells us in the first pages that they don’t like or know how to write short stories…uh oh. And two, I might be one of the few people who didn’t particularly enjoy The Broken Earth (first) book(s). I might go back to them now, because I did enjoy this one. I was worried of getting my time wasted with what I misperceived as a possible dilettante attitude about short […]

Am I cooling on Scalzi?

The Consuming Fire: Vol. 2 of The Interdependency duology by John Scalzi

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I have long been a Scalzi fan and am always eager for his next book.  Fortunately, he is the type of author that is able to churn out books on a regular basis which has fed my appetite for some time now.  The Consuming Fire is the sequel to The Collapsing Empire (which I really enjoyed and reviewed last year!), together they are The Interdependency duology.   However, I stalled on this book.  Scalzi’s books tends to be easy reads that can be quickly ripped […]

Lovecraft, Racism and Disaapointment

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

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I went into this book thinking I would love it. Hoping I would love it. After all, I am a huge Lovecraft fan, in spite of all of the underlying concerns with his tales (for all of his racist and anti-Semitic tropes, as well as a prose so purple it could be smoke on the water, he does present some incredible ideas in his stories). The thought of taking a Lovecraftian universe and exploring it through the eyes of people of color in the 1950s […]



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