Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

90% good spoiled by 10% dumb

The Visitor by Sheri S. Tepper

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I read a Sheri S. Tepper for last year’s CBR and liked but didn’t love it, and thought I’d give her another shot. I thought this one was going to change my mind. It started out with such promise! A rich, interesting, original post-apocalyptic world. Great villains. Okay heroes. Lots of interesting stuff. I was hooked! Until the end. When astronomers and scientists notice a thing out in space, heading rapidly toward Earth, they start getting nervous. When the thing avoids other planets to stay […]

Forced breeding is not appealing

The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper

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Set post a nuclear war that wiped out most of the population. Most of the action takes place in Marthasville, a town that is divided into two parts: a garrison of men and Women’s Country. Life in the garrison consists of training, drinking, literal penis worship, and going to war with other garrisons. Life in the Women’s Country consists of a lifelong dedication to learning, farming, building, herding, dancing, acting, weaving, etc. Life, basically. Books, crafts, and more than cursory healing knowledge is forbidden for […]

Decent beginning + cool idea still manages to = meh

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I don’t think I can recommend this one. The concept was interesting, the beginning was good, and the climax was well done. But the middle and the very end dragged it down too much. Jubal is a planet that was only recently settled by humans. Giant crystal structures poke up out of the landscape all over the planet. The humans call them Presences, and they are very sensitive to sound. If they’re too bothered by noise, they explode, sending shards of crystal into anyone or […]

Sleeping Beauty, Environmental Warrior

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Beauty is a complicated fantasy novel about fairy tales, feminism, environmentalism and the end of the world. It involves fairies, angels, humans, and time travel, and places a heavy emphasis on darkness vs. light, on creativity and destruction. There is a whole helluva lot going on, sometimes maybe more than the author can handle, but author Tepper, who died last year (because of course she did, it was 2016), certainly demonstrates great passion for her subject matter. The novel begins in 14th century Westfaire with […]



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