Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Splashing into the Rivers of London

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

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I’d seen this author and series pop up from time to time in CBR, and my curiosity finally overcame my aversion to jumping into a series. How could I continue to ignore the siren call of that terrific cover?! I am ever-so-glad that I went ahead and judged a book by its cover, because I thoroughly enjoyed this police-procedural-gone-off-the-rails. It had all of the inner workings of the police bureaucracy that I, for some reason  find strangely enthralling. The officers had all of the spark […]

Side Story that Works

RWBY After the Fall by E.C. Meyers, Kerry Shawcross, Miles Luna

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For various reasons, I have gotten a little behind with some animated shows I follow, especially RWBY (pronounced ‘Ruby’). I had to pause the series mid-way through season 3, and haven’t been able to pick it back up. I’m now multiple full seasons behind, and I’ve found out via social media etc that there’s some big changes at the end of season 3. Here’s why that matters: RWBY: After the Fall is a light novel side story of sorts that takes place after the events […]

Feelings and Murderbot

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

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According to the inner front cover flap. Exit Strategy is the final novella of the Murderbot Diaries; except that now in about a week, book 5, the novel, will be due out. The saga of Murderbot continues with a real emphasis on a theme that’s kind of been there the whole time: corporate evil. Maybe it’s some of the news lately, but the whole profit over life vibe GreyCris and its people, some of whom Murderbot actually meets this time, give off seems pretty timely. […]

Keep an Eye on Those Dragons

The Secret Chapter by Genvieve Cogman

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There is a lot to like about the Invisible Library series: interesting premise, a heroine who is not a total stereotype, dragons and Fey, dimensional travel and trouble, adventure and fun, and some humor. The Secret Chapter is book 6 in the series and it has a lot to add to the series. The biggest add to the series is some further world building on the dragon side of things. Previous installments have built up some context for the library and the Fey, and now […]

“A whale’s graveyard on the whole is not a good place to stomp around on”

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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I know, I know. Where have I been and how did I not get around to this earlier! To answer that easy question: I have been here, on earth, and I did read this approximately one million years ago. My memory of this volume was corrupted greatly by the 2005 movie adaptation (another issue, I know), and I figured that a new decade was as good a time as any to try out this classic again. Also, I wanted to listen to more audio books […]

ghost stories with a history lesson or two

The Vine that Ate the South by J.D. Wilkes

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This book is fast, ferocious, and fun- which is not a surprise, considering it was crafted by J. D. Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers. He wrote a rollicking Kentucky Odyssey-meets-Stand by Me and illustrated it himself to boot. Not only is this a “do you wanna see a dead body” sort of tale, but it’s also a thoughtful look at the overpowering anarchy of kudzu vine (the titular invasive vine that ate the south), and the people of Appalachia herself. All of the characters within The […]



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