Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“It’s like the foreign legion for nerds” I said, and laughed.

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

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The Kaiju Preservation Society is very definitely a John Scalzi book. In his Afterword, which is worth reading, he describes it as a pop song. It came to him almost fully formed after he finally abandoned a book he describes as “a brooding symphony.” It’s frothy, entertaining and goes down smoothly while pointing out significant cultural issues. The good guys win and the bad guy satisfyingly gets what’s coming to him. I really loved that Scalzi starts this book firmly in our world, in our […]

A satisfying end to a great sci-fi trilogy

The Last Colony by John Scalzi

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Reviewing books in the middle of a series is always tricky because, by definition, spoilers are inherent. The fact that the the cover of this book says it’s a sequel to Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades already gives away certain information about the plot, let alone the back cover summary. All that aside, I will try to just give the bare bones of this plot along with this statement of the trilogy – it’s a fun, entertaining, and satisfying series. Now, to The […]

The End (for now).

The End of All Things (Old Man's War #6) by John Scalzi

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The End of All Things by John Scalzi wraps up several threads from the later books, while still leaving plenty of room for more entries in the series. This series tells one long story and should not be read out of order as there is no way to discuss the plot without getting into spoilers. If you have not read this series, starting with Old Man’s War, I highly recommend it. The first three books especially are outstanding. The most recent entry in the Old […]

Scalzi is always fun

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

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I’ve read more of Scalzi’s blog than his books and he’s just a fun writer. I read Red Shirts (and reviewed it for something like CBR11) and enjoyed it despite my utter lack of Star Trek knowledge so when a friend gifted me this for Christmas, I knew I was in for a good time. And maybe reading only electronic and audiobooks was part of my book exhaustion – getting to actually curl up on the couch with this one made it all fun again. Scalzi […]

The Series Conclusion

The Last Emperox by John Scalzi

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Let’s be honest here, if you are reading a review about the third book in a trilogy, you already read the series too. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one. I really enjoyed the series but I can’t help but think that this one was a little rushed. It felt like a very abrupt ending and one that didn’t really go where I thought it would. I generally do not try to predict where I think a book or series is going […]

Killing people to save their lives

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi

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The Dispatcher (5 stars) This story holds up on re-read. I haven’t read my first review of this audiobook, so it’ll be interesting to see how it lines up, but I do remember liking it the first time I listened to it. First, I think Zachary Quinto needs to narrate more books. He has this marvelously dry voice that is both soothing and unobtrusive. It’s easy to listen to without being boring. And he has a great ear for voices. Second, I will read anything […]



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