Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The night of all nights

Night of Lyons by Chasity Bowlin, Ruth A. Casie, Lynne Connolly, Sandra Sookoo, C.H. Admirand, Sara Adrien, Belle Ami, Abigail Bridges, Jenna Jaxon, Aurrora St. James

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Many a Regency hero and heroine will meet their match at the masquerade ball held tonight in the Lyon’s Den, an infamous gambling hall. A Lyon With No Name (Chasity Bowlin) This was a solid start to the collection, with the tried-and-true pairing of wickedness and innocence being refreshed by William’s awareness that he must pull his affairs together for Ellie and his estate’s sake. The Lady and the Lyon’s Scandal (Ruth A. Casie) Eva is a clever character, and I enjoyed how she and […]

Back then we prayed to the gods and went on killing sprees. Now we have Zoloft.

Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams

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Zoraida Cordova knows what’s what. Her story, “The Gorgon Confessionals,” opens Fit for the Gods by imagining that the gods, immortals, heroes and villains of Greek mythology are regenerating into the modern world, they have their memories, but not necessarily their powers. Through a documentary series, Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy, is examining the story of Medusa and Perseus through a series of interviews. Zeus is a Republican candidate for President. (Vote Hades!). The stories by two of my favorite authors, Suleikha Snyder and Alyssa Cole […]

Despite some excellent stories I can’t whole heartedly recommend this anthology

Never Too Old to Save the World: A Midlife Calling Anthology by Alana Joli Abbott, Addie J. King

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I love the idea of this anthology. At 54, I am not ready to give up saving the world and I am delighted to see stories about folks in the upper age ranges at the center of save the world stories. As is always true with anthologies, not every story was for me. There are some real gems in here. It’s wonderfully inclusive. I wish I could recommend it. There’s one story that throws in a brief and unnecessary Harry Potter reference, which means I […]

“There is beauty in my truth, and I have so much to share.”

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022 by Edited by Rebecca Roanhorse

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I look forward to this collection every year and so it was a treat to see it pop up in the bookstore recently. The selections are always varied and interesting, and John Joseph Adams should get special kudos for all the preparatory work he does before he chooses the best 80 stories and hands them over to the guest editor to choose 20 for publication. In contrast to the 70s SF/F anthologies I’ve been slogging my way through this year in the hopes that there […]

I might not know what you are feeling. But I know grief.

The Alchemy of Sorrow by Sarah Chorn, Virginia McClain

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The Alchemy of Sorrow: A Fantasy & Sci-fi Anthology of Grief and Hope was a gamble because I was only familiar with one author, Intisar Khanani. I like anthologies because I get to explore authors I haven’t read before in short bites. I love Khanani enough that I knew her story would be worth the whole anthology.  I did love her “Twice-Domesticated Dragons,” and I also loved several of the others stories as well. I read a lot of advance reader copies, which means that […]

Little Bits of Awesomeness

Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019 by Carmen Maria Machado, Editor

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I love short story collections. They’re perfect for reading with a meal or while waiting for an appointment. You won’t get so involved that hours go by, but you get a little slice of great writing. I almost always have a short story collection stashed in the car or my backpack for emergency reading. All I can say about this collection is Wow! Ms. Machado has done an amazing job of selecting some of the best SF and Fantasy published in other anthologies in 2019. […]



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