Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Smart, scary, and intimate science fiction thriller

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

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Blake Crouch’s previous novel Recursion is one of the scariest time travel novels ever written. Crouch created a near-future ripped apart by the invention of time travel and the utter chaos it unleashes. Upgrade does not reach the same heights of invention as Recursion, but Crouch has more on his mind this time around. In a non-specific near future, the world is in serious trouble. Climate change is destroying urban areas and genetic experimentation has unleashed the worst catastrophe yet on humanity. In response, the […]

Amazon’s Forward Collection is half-apocalyptic, half Black Mirror

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

Ark by Veronica Roth

Rand0m1ze by Andy Weir

You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

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So I downloaded the 6 novellas that make up Amazon’s new Forward Collection, which appears to be a collection of sci-fi short stories by known authors (even though I have never anything by most of them). You can read them for free if you’re a Prime customer. I decided I will read them one each morning over a week and review them as I read them, but wait to post all reviews in one post. I will do it this way because these are short, and […]

TikTok made me read it!

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

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For my first read of the year, I started with Dark Matter – a book I’d seen reviewed a lot on social media.  This book was part science fiction and part thriller.  It fully succeed in either genre but I still felt it was still an interesting premise and a good book overall. Its hard to explain the complex storyline without giving away the spoilers.  Its the journey of what would happen if you could go back and see what your life was like if you’d […]

Escape From the Present with… THE FUTURE!

Ark by Veronica Roth

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

Randomize by Andy Weir

You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towlesl

Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

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And you know what? The future isn’t that bad! Well, it is full of disasters- pandemic, plague, asteroids, climate change, robot uprising -but there are always sparks of humanity ready to push through none the less. Amazon’s Forward collection, a group of five short stories from some big names, throw some big ideas out into the universe and let you, in a way, choose your own adventure! I suppose there is a “correct” order in which to read these, but I didn’t bother. I don’t think […]

CBR12 Book Bingo – No Money!

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

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Snowstorms, and zombies, and time travel, oh my! I requested Dark Matter from my local library shortly after reading Recursion. Once again, Blake Crouch did not disappoint. Crouch turned It’s a Wonderful Life into a science fiction thriller. The action and suspense felt so real, it left me sweaty. Every time I thought I had it figured out, a new twist would appear. Dark Matter is one of those books you do not want to read before bed, because you may not be able to put it down. While walking […]

CBR12 Book Bingo – Yellow

Recursion by Blake Crouch

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I discovered Blake Crouch in the Book of the Month Club, where I saw his books featured in the “Members Most Loved” category. Once I dug into Recursion, I immediately saw why. Crouch writes books that are smart, twisty, and feature fully-developed characters, creating a trifecta that leaves the reader wanting more. I don’t normally lean toward science-fiction, but Crouch has almost single-handedly made me a fan of the genre. In Recursion, a mysterious phenomenon begins to pop-up throughout the population that causes its victims […]



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