Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The philosophical adventures of Uncharles the robot.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. Okay, so, this book was not AT ALL what I was expecting going in, based on the blurb. If you are expecting emotional good times and characters to identify with ala Murderbot, stop expecting that. Our main character, Uncharles, goes on a sort of picaresque philosophical journey of What Does It Mean to Be Alive, with each section of the book being an ode/homage to a different […]

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells

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In five(ish) words: Free will, space-faring, android, science fiction, charming. I see how “charming” might seem out of place for something called “The Murderbot Diaries” that revolves around our understanding of a security droid’s awakening to and wrestling with purpose, but here we are. This novella packs a lot of meaning and thought-provoking content (and even a little humor) into its pages. This book reads like a space episode of Doctor Who, the type where the Doctor and their companion is stuck on a space […]

Celebration of storytelling

The Girl and the Robot Heart by Neal Hoskins

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I was reading up a storm the other day and found an online reader copy (due late September 2024) called, The Girl and the Robot Heart.  It is a terribly lovely story that is not easy to read or to view. It is not a one time read, but a multiple time read where you need to break things down. First read the text, then read the art and finally the two together (or whichever order you would like to do). And though set at […]

The Sixteen Sweet Books Challenge #1 Cozy science

Rover and Speck: This Planet Rocks! by Jonathan Roth

Rover and Speck: Splash Down! by Jonathan Roth

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The Sixteen Sweet Books Challenge Cozy #1   #CBR16SweetBooks     Cozy for me means easy, simple, I do not have to “think” to hard, but I can enjoy and even learn something. I could see myself curled up reading these to my nephews or my soon official great-niece (I’ve adopted several unofficial nieces/nephews and greats over the years)     I was reading my online reader copies and found two Jonathan Roth titles. Okay, I found one that I came to realize was actually the second […]

CBR BINGO – ASIA/OCEANIA: A total and complete confusion DNF.

The Archive Undying (Downworld Sequence, #1) by Emma Mieko Candon

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Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. – – – Firstly, here’s the extremely intriguing synopsis from Goodreads: “War machines and AI gods run amok in The Archive Undying , national bestseller Emma Mieko Candon’s bold entry into the world of mecha fiction. WHEN AN AI DIES, ITS CITY DIES WITH IT WHEN A CITY FALLS, IT LEAVES A CORPSE BEHIND WHEN THAT CORPSE RUNS OFF, ONLY DEVOTION CAN BRING IT BACK When the robotic […]

CBR BINGO – On the Road: “. . . happiness comes not from bodily pleasures or wealth or power, but from living a life that’s right for your soul.”

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

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This was very sweet and a little bit unhinged, which I of course always appreciate. This is actually a bit more in line with Klune’s self-published stuff, with darker themes and humor with a little more of an edge to it. I am REALLY curious to know what the original story in this book looked like; he’s vague in the end notes but apparently somebody told him the world wasn’t ready for it (????) and things were changed up pretty heavily. There are some light […]



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