Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Let’s Save the Endangered Walking Nuclear Dinosaurs

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

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I have to admit, I didn’t especially enjoy the only other novel by John Scalzi that I read (Redshirts) so I was hesitant about The Kaiju Preservation Society, but the premise was just too good to not at least give it a chance. The basic gist is that there are parallel worlds to our own Earth, and one them is home to kaiju, basically nuclear powered dinosaurs the size of mountains; once when one accidentally got through the barrier between worlds, someone who saw it […]

“We do not bend. We do not break. We do not bow. We do not yield.”

The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport

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WOW. I was initially drawn to the cover (do I have a thing for hot strong women holding pointy weapons on covers? yes, yes I do) and intrigued by the blurb, but I tried to keep my expectations low. That was completely unnecessary as this is easily one of my favorite books so far this year. Full of action, a flawed-but-trying heroine, and lots of twisty intrigue, it’s impossible to put down. The night before she graduates from the Mareen Republic’s premier military academy, Ikenna […]

World War Z, but with Robots

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

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Hey, did you like Max Brooks’ novel World War Z ? Did you love the structure, the multitude of accounts woven together to form a much larger story of survival? Well, Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson is a fun read but a weak substitute. In brief: sometime in the near future, a sentient AI has taken control of the worlds’ robots and has mostly wiped out humanity. This novel is a concentration of accounts that detail how humans fought back.  It’s only possible to avoid […]

“Observe the plans within plans within plans.”

Dune by Frank Herbert

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For some reason, I’d never gotten around to reading Dune before now, in spite of it being wildly popular when I was in high school, a time when I was more inclined to read sci-fi/fantasy. Part of that popularity had to do with the release of the 1984 film starring Kyle McLachlan; in fact, I even have a personal story. When I was a freshman, I won third place in a Dune poster contest sponsored by Universal Pictures. The third-place prize was a t-shirt and a copy […]

“There is more than one kind of freedom. . . . Freedom to and freedom from.”

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

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I’ve had The Handmaid’s Tale on my shelf for many months now, but I’ve been avoiding starting it. I wanted to read it, but I felt like I had to be in a certain (untroubled) emotional state to face it, and that’s been a tall order these past couple of years. I recently braced myself and got down to business. Of course I already knew the premise: In the near-future, after the U.S. government has been overthrown and replaced by a patriarchal, Cristhian theonomy, women […]

Introducing: Miguel O’Hara

Spider-Man 2099, issue #1 by Peter David

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Peter Parker wasn’t my first Spider-Man. He’s one of my favorite characters, don’t get me wrong, but Peter Parker’s origin story was collective knowledge, it wasn’t new. It was picked over turkey with all the baggage of a holiday meal. I knew going in that 2099 would be different, but I didn’t know what that meant at the time. I was twelve, eating lots of Brooklyn pizza, and guzzling Arizona iced tea at a rate surely to put me on the diabetes fast-track (thankfully, it […]



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