Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Willow Case

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

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The Hollow Places is an atmospheric and spooky novel, but not outright terrifying. It tapped into my weird fear of roots/plants gone bad (see The Ruins) effectively and swept me away nicely for a short and easy read. But I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? Let’s go back to the beginning. Kara, or ‘Carrot’ as she’s affectionately known, is in a bit of a mess. She’s just divorced her partner and is looking for a fresh start. When her uncle, the owner of The Museum […]

Kafka Goes Kaiju

Kaiju No.8 vol. 1 by Naoya Matsumoto

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It’s rare where you have a “I have a dream and I will win” under-dog protagonist who turns out to be special who has odds to overcome, starts towards that dream, and turns out to be in his 30s. Kafka (name might have suggestions I’ll get to) Hibino is 32, works in Kaiju disposal (someone has to clean up when the heroes take down the monsters), and has dreamed of working on the Japan Defense Force (the heroic monster killers led by Kafka’s childhood friend […]

South American spirit

The Lizard Prince and Other South American Stories by Kate Ashwin

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CBR15Passport, author/country   The Lizard Prince and Other South American Stories includes funny, sweet, tense, endearing, thriller, even a bit of horror, stories. This book runs the gambit of folktales, legends, and lore. Know your reader, as not all are for everyone (there are some mature themes, scenes, and concepts). The stories were sensual, romantic, sad, thoughtful, little scary and even confusing. The translations might make a few bumps, but also the cultural differences are not necessarily things younger readers will understand, or relate, too. […]

“Peel away the scalp, scratch at the skull, peek inside the mind of Jeremy Haun. I dare you.” –Declan Shalvey, Bog Bodies

Haunthology by Jeremy Haun

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  CBR15Passport, Different genre horror in graphic novel Okay, I know I keep saying it, but I am not really into horror as a genre. However, I have noticed that there are some terribly clever works out there that fall into horror as a category. Now, I am revamping my thoughts and feeling about horror to say, “I do not like gore for gore sake horror, but a good, not too graphicly gross, thoughtful and/or thought provoking story I am good with.” Mostly. And with […]

Going to Hell and Back

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

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I have never liked The Secret History; I will admit to seeing why it’s such a favorite based on the general aesthetic (practically inventing ‘dark academia’) but that’s about it. Don’t @ me; this is not a ‘convince me’ thing. This particular hill of mine is why I was a little surprised that I liked Ninth House (Alex Stern 1) and I still like her story in Hell Bent (Alex Stern 2). The plot is pretty basic: rescue Alex’s former mentor/friend Darlington from Hell. Alex, […]

Oh Ford, give me chastity, but do not give it yet.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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It seems like the thing to do is to consider Brave New World and 1984 as a pair. And I can certainly understand why, as both are set in a future that is wildly different, yet similarly terrifying. Brave New World begins with an in-depth look at the selective breeding and conditioning that now moulds the human race. No more mothers, no more fathers, no more family units, no more chance to ‘rise above your station’. Now, humanity is one giant balanced equation. From the […]



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