Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“…and in the old days they did things for a reason. And if you don’t understand why—well, you might end up opening a few doors better left closed. “

Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand

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A story about Windhollow Faire a fictional British folk band, who in the 1970’s England,  rented an ancient and super creepy country house so they could lock themselves down and record an album.  And oh, the text lets us know what an album Wylding Hall (named naturally after the home they were recording in) was, it was the one that made the band capital F famous.  But it came at quite the cost, as the groups lead singer vanishes into the house and is just […]

Nazis? I Hate Those Guys

The Book of Lamps & Banners by Elizabeth Hand

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I used to binge watch the tv show 24 with friends from college. In the beginning of the season 1 episodes, Jack Bauer would mournfully reflect on his circumstances and say, “I’m Jack Bauer, and this is the longest day of my life.” To which one of my friends joked: “What about season 3? Is that the third longest day of his life?” Generation Loss was published in 2007, which feels like an alternate timeline to what we’ve been through these last thirteen years. Yet Elizabeth Hand has […]

London Calling

Hard Light by Elizabeth Hand

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With a new Cass Neary novel out, I realized that I put book three off for so long. That was a mistake. I’ve never enjoyed a misanthropic character more and I think in large part that’s because Elizabeth Hand is such a fantastic writer. She doesn’t make Neary more than it is, she’s an anti-hero plain and simple. But she knows how to write a hell of an atmospheric tale, with touches and nods to photography and the punk scene. I know little about either […]

Let It Snow

Available Dark by Elizabeth Hand

Home For The Holidays by Gary Reilly

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For the first time, I’m reviewing two books at once! Fortunately, both were solid 4-star reviews so I guess I don’t have to note that. Available Dark I read Generation Loss, the first book in the Cass Neary series over the summer and it absolutely knocked me off my feet. I don’t know what I expected but I didn’t expect that. I think it goes to show how the idea of having to “root for a character” in order to be invested is a crock of […]

Look At This Photograph!

Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand

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Who knew the world of photojournalism was so fraught with peril!? This book sucked me in, which I did not expect at all. I saw this on a list of suggested books for Veronica Mars fans, perhaps because both protagonists are cynical, blonde women? But while Veronica has her issues, she has nothing on Cass Neary. I don’t know really how to describe this. Yes it is a murder mystery but it’s really more of a thriller, involving a washed up, drug addled photographer sent from Manhattan […]

Potential, buried under a few layers of meh

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The friend who recommended this sold it as a ‘scary book.’ It was not scary. Or else I am awesomely brave. Yeah, I’m sure that’s it. Sweeney, Angelica, and Oliver are freshmen at a college called St. John the Divine. Grey’s Anatomy-style crushes crop up immediately, with our heroine Sweeney in love with Angelica and Oliver, and Angelica and Oliver in love with each other, but also happy to flirt with Sweeney. Things get weird pretty fast when Sweeney sees an angel in her dorm […]



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