Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Viscerally terrifying, but maybe a little too clean?

The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher

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Kara is reeling from an out-of-the-blue divorce from her husband when her Uncle Earl calls to offer her his spare room. Sure, the room is back in her home state of North Carolina. And sure, the room is in the back of Uncle Earl’s “curio museum,” featuring such exhibits as a “genuine” Fiji Mermaid and an uncomfortable number of taxidermied animals. But when you’re a freelance graphic designer with a small client base, sometimes you have to make do. So Kara moves to the Wonder […]

Finally a fantasy novel without a stick up its butt

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

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It’s hard for me to get into fantasy stories. I have the attention span of a 2 year old golden retriever and most fantasy really takes time to get going. This is no different. If you are also that kind of reader, I encourage you to fight through the first couple of set up chapters for this one. Plot: In a world where gods are real, one dude dedicated to serving one (with a big sword) also learns they can die, and like, what do […]

2020 Would Be Better with Cookie Golems

A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

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I suppose this book is technically YA, since it has a 14-year-old protagonist, and no sex or swearing. However, it has a lot of murder, and politics, and war, and zombie horses, and a semi-sentient carnivorous sourdough starter named Bob. Truly a novel for our times. T. Kingfisher (AKA Ursula Vernon) is a really great author. I cannot emphasize that enough. I have never read a book by her that I didn’t enjoy. Much like Terry Pratchett, she uses fantasy tropes to speak to deeper […]

“So.” She drummed her fingers on the book. “You’re a grown man who still reads ghost and monster stories.”

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

The Whisper Man by Alex North

Verity by Colleen Hoover

A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

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(4 stars) The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher Kingfisher tells us from chapter one that the dog (Bongo, best dog ever) and the narrator (Mouse, also quite enjoyable) will be okay at the end of the book. This is good, because I liked them both very much, and this book was SO CREEPY that I really needed some reassurances by the end. Mouse gets called up by her dying father to help with his dead mother’s estate — specifically, the big old house in the […]

Falling in Love with the Spirit in the Sword

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

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I have sung the praises of T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon many times here on Cannonball. Her books are autobuys for me, and I have never been disappointed with them. They are funny, clever, sensible fantasy romps and I love them to pieces. I love her world building and they way that so many of her novels are reactions to other stories. For example, in this book Kingfisher was annoyed by Elric (Michael Moorcock’s Elric? I haven’t read them, I’m not familar) and claimed the real victim […]

“I am afraid for your priorities, son”

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Jackalope Wives and Other Stories is another short story collection by T. Kingfisher and I loved it. I’ve read a couple of these stories previously, when they were first published, but I love that they’re all collected in one place. I especially that that because while the collection only contains two completely new stories, most of them were new to me. Kingfisher brings her usual sensibility and love of practical characters and talking animal companions to this collection. If you like her work then this […]



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