Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Saving Grace

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

by Leave a Comment

I’ve read all of Andy Weir’s books. He’s written three so that’s not exactly a major achievement, but it does give me the opportunity to compare and contrast them. Like most people I enjoyed The Martian but did not care very much for Artemis (which, well-intentioned though it may be, is a textbook example of how not to write a strong female character). I loved Project Hail Mary, though with a couple of caveats. But hey, that’s what reviews are for.  First up: it’s really […]

What would you do with a spaceship full of psychic cats?

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

by Leave a Comment

It might end up sounding like I didn’t like Chilling Effect, but I want to be clear from the beginning that this was a fun and mostly entertaining read. The basic premise might sound familiar: space-ship captain and rag-tag crew/found family go about their existence but then everything changes when they are faced with a seemingly impossible mission and chaos/adventure ensues. The same goes for most of the characters, including Eva Innocente, tough captain with some sort of tragic past who can’t seem to get […]

A city that comes alive

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

by 2 Comments

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin is a unique science fiction novel that brings cities to life. When a city becomes “great” a human inhabitant becomes its avatar. Except at the start of this novel, the homeless Black boy is chased into hiding. Enter the awakening of the human avatars of each of the five boroughs. The book follows each avatar as they discover their connection to the city. There is a mysterious entity that doesn’t want the city to fully become a great […]

“Truth is a human right.”

Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

by 3 Comments

I have no idea who Lindsay Ellis is, so I picked this up solely based on the blurb. I have a definite soft spot for first contact stories, especially ones where the humans involved are not, well, exactly who you’d pick to represent humanity. “Truth is not freely given in our society; it must be taken. Where walls are built, tear them down. Where borders are drawn, erase the line. Where you see wax, break the seal. Truth is a human right.” It’s 2007, and […]

Still not entirely sure what is going on in this story, but it’s an intriguing set-up

Paper Girls, vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

by Leave a Comment

3.5 stars CBR13 Bingo: Gateway It’s just after Halloween 1988, and four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls have a very unusual night, full of surprises, peril, and unexpected occurrences. I went into Paper Girls knowing literally nothing about it except that it was written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang, both artists whose work I’ve liked in the past. Did I know it was set in the late 1980s? Nope. Did I know the protagonists were pre-teens? Big old no. Had I given […]

‘The spook and her pet’ take on an alien empire in this amazing sequel – and Bingo #2!

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

by 1 Comment

CBR 13 Bingo: New Series – This is the sequel to A Memory Called Empire which was published in 2019 and completes my second bingo. I loved A Memory Called Empire , in my review said it was deserving its spot on the Hugo nominee list and I was delighted when it won!  The follow up, A Desolation Called Peace, is similarly incredible.  In preparation for reading this, I found an excellent recap that goes over individuals and factions, and their motivations.  I highly recommend it. The […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo