Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Publish or Perish

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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Athena Liu has everything a young writer could want. Multiple best-sellers, critical acclaim, even a Netflix deal. Certainly those are the things her friend June Hayward wants and does not have. The achievement gap between the two former Yale classmates really eats at June, who can only begrudgingly acknowledge that Athena’s greater success might come down to her having more talent. More often, June privately grumbles about all the advantages Athena has had, like wealthy parents, English boarding schools, and tremendous support from her agent, […]

“What’s the worst that could happen?” “You’re so young,” he said softly. “You have no idea.”

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

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I embarked on The Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang after seeing it on some  “best new fantasy series” list or another, and I decided to read through all three books despite finding it a rocky go occasionally. Ultimately, I’m very happy to have read these books and I’m impressed by Kuang’s fearlessness as a storyteller – but I don’t think I’m likely to add these to my “re-read” pile any time soon! I don’t know how to review this whole series without including quite […]

I’m living Athena’s life. I’m experiencing publishing the way it’s supposed to work.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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I know what you’re thinking. Thief. Plagiarizer. And perhaps, because all bad things must be racially motivated, Racist. Hear me out. It’s not so awful as it sounds. Readers, it is exactly as bad as it sounds. Juniper Song Hayward is bad person, but don’t worry, she has forgiven herself. Yellowface is told to the reader by June. We are her confessor. She tells us all of her resentments, fears, manipulations, and triumphs. Most of all, she tells us her rationalizations. Athena Liu and June […]

might not be the book you think it is, but it might be the book you need

Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

by 4 Comments

Man oh man do people dislike this book! And when they do, they seem to dislike it for all sorts of suspicious reasons. Oh, white/western person, do you think the main characters in this book, the majority of whom are from colonies, spend a little bit too much time griping about the evils of the British colonial empire? Well then, boy do I have some news that’s going to REALLY disturb you about non-fictional humans in the real world who were once subjugated by the […]

“And the system cannot survive the shock.”

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

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The reviews for this book have been so very mixed – people either really loved it (best book of the year!) or were really frustrated by it. I think a key distinction in the tone of reviews boils down to how much science fiction you were looking for when you cracked open these ambitious pages. If your heart is more invested in the science fiction / fantasy elements, you’re likely to be disappointed by this novel that chooses to focus much more on characters than […]

The Necessity of Violence

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators Revolution by R.F. Kuang

by 11 Comments

I think my mixed feelings are going to come out so I’ll say up front that this is way outside of what I usually read, and while I appreciated that it is a very good book, I often didn’t enjoy reading it. I appreciate it more than I love it. But, I think it’s a worthwhile read. Maybe don’t pick it up right after you put down a book that owns your whole heart. This book is also in conversation with The Secret History and […]



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