Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Just Short of Amazing

Pump Six & Other Stories by Paolo Bagigalupi

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How have I not heard of Paolo Bagigalupi until right now? A colleague of mine recommended “Pop Squad,” and it was life changing. I had to go out and find the whole collection. Bagigalupi’s writing is an amazing mix of darkly twisted but heartfelt prose. His short story collection, Pump Six & Other Stories, covers eleven forays into his speculative imagination. My favorites were “The Fluted Girl,” “Pop Squad,” and “Pump Six,” but all the stories in the collection share a new look on post […]

A girl, her ghost friend, and adventure in Edinburgh (bonus review from Ysakitty)

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

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Previous novels by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab were intended for adults and teens, City of Ghosts was written for a middle grade audience.  I give it a three stars for being a solid book but no higher as it shared several concepts with her “Monsters of Verity” duology, which were the most recent books of Ms. Schwab’s that I’ve read. As a result, City of Ghosts didn’t feel very fresh to me,  especially when you take into account the variety of her collected works. In City of Ghosts, as in “Monsters […]

The movie Wes Anderson should have made

Your Robot Dog Will Die by Arin Greenwood

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Apparently this is the year I read all the dead dog books. So . . . sorry for that! TW: Animal cruelty, animal death. In a near future, scientists showcased exactly how terrible humans are by genetically trying to improve on animals. (As if there is anything to improve on in any animal.) Their experiments went extremely wrong, however, when dogs suddenly stop wagging their tales, and suddenly are no longer man’s best friend. As the effects of this tragedy sweep the nation and dogs […]

Am I cooling on Scalzi?

The Consuming Fire: Vol. 2 of The Interdependency duology by John Scalzi

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I have long been a Scalzi fan and am always eager for his next book.  Fortunately, he is the type of author that is able to churn out books on a regular basis which has fed my appetite for some time now.  The Consuming Fire is the sequel to The Collapsing Empire (which I really enjoyed and reviewed last year!), together they are The Interdependency duology.   However, I stalled on this book.  Scalzi’s books tends to be easy reads that can be quickly ripped […]

Anansi Boys-An incredible novel

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

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I admit it, I am a Neil Gaiman fanboy. So, when I tell you that this is one of the best works Neil has ever written, please believe me. This is Gaiman’s second novel and the growth from American Gods, which takes place in the same universe as Anansi Boys, is remarkable. Anansi begins, as so many tales do, with the tragic death of a main character on stage, performing karaoke, and accidentally exposing the breasts of a young woman as he tumbles off the […]

Four Voices, but Two Left Out, Fifth Unknown

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

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It took me a little while to get into Blackfish City thanks to the narrative style, but in the end that turned out to be one of the strengths on the novel. The basic premise is that there are a handful of people wandering around the floating city of Qaanaaq who eventually discover their connections to each other, as well as to a mysterious stranger who shows up riding on an orca, accompanied by a polar bear. The story is told through their alternating perspectives. […]



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