Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Mend is Nigh

Severance by Ling Ma

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Ling Ma has crafted a beautiful pandemic tale in Severance, akin to Station Eleven. The tale of humanity’s downfall is told through the eyes of Candace Chen, a disconnected millennial living her days in Manhattan with her directionless boyfriend, her soul crushing corporate job, and the unresolved feelings associated with the death of her parents. She is on a coffee/work/sleep/rinse/repeat schedule, not staying still but also not moving forwards… as society collapses around her. The end of the world this time is not via a […]

This isn’t your father’s Jungle Book…..

Sengi and Tembo by G. Falco

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FYI: I have some not fort his book images becaue I can and I like them! If Animal Farm and A Tale of Two Cities created a book together, the graphic novel Sengi and Tembo by G. Falco (or Giuseppe Falco) probably would be the results. Rebellion, status quo, life, and the ultimate equalizer death all come together in a dark, somewhat comedic commentary on not only how things should be but can become. Sengi is a young mouse that quickly learns the dangers of […]

Before Harry Potter, There was Diana Wynne Jones

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci: Vol. I Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci: Vol I The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

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I was reminded of Diana Wynne Jones when reading Gaiman’s The View from the Cheap Seats. I had a vague recollection of knowing her name, and decided to go check out her work. It turns out, I was a huge Jones fan as a child and just didn’t know it. I read several of her books in elementary and middle school, and aside from my father reading Lord of the Rings to me, Jones’ work was one of my first real introductions to fantasy. My library had The […]

“It’s not unlike filtration, a move that blatant, deliberate. “

Sleep Donation by Karen Russell

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In the near-future, we lucky Americans are eyeball-deep in a new terror: we can’t sleep. Every day, thousands more become unable to reach REM. They die after days of restlessness. The only thing that can help? Donations of sleep from “healthy” dreamers. Not unlike a blood drive, people like Trish Edgewater are cold-calling sleepers, begging them to give some of their life to the lifeless. Etiquette is a powerful programming, however, and easily exploitable. I sneeze. He sneezes back language at me, reflexive generosity: “Bless […]

Small unsatisfying bytes of sci-fi

Cosmogramma by Courttia Newland

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‘Cosmogramma’ is a collection of speculative short stories of a science fiction bent. Robots, AI, space travel… with a little sprinkling of mermaids and zombies and superhumans to keep things interesting. Given it’s a collection of short stories, I’ll do my best to review each briefly and then give my overall impression: Percipi A dispassionate retelling of a robopocalyse. Engaging, well told, and very believable. I wish that this short story was fleshed out and just the whole novel, honestly. Reminded me of ‘animatrix’.  Five […]

Go talk your weird love to the wind

Thirty Talks Weird Love by Alessandra Narvaez Varela

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When I first started to read Thirty Talks Weird Love my first thought was, “Well this is crap.” But I realized I was tired and told myself to go to bed. That is the main thing you need to know about Alessandra Narvaez Varela’s book: be rested. This book is an emotional rollercoaster and if you are the tiniest bit uncomfortable or not in a good headspace, do not try this book. The journey of finding and being perfection, and how we see ourselves are […]



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