Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Doing It For the Death Style Points

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Definitely more 3.5 stars, arrived at due to a 3 star first half and 4 star second half. We start on a planet(?) kingdom(?) post-apocalyptic-world-with-necromancy(?) realm(?) dimension(?) that is dark and gritty in the extreme–so, so very gritty. By about halfway through I realized that no one was an actual zombie/undead necromancer type, but I definitely felt like everyone should have taken a shower with a loofah at least once. For a cast of characters living in an stylistically(?) abandoned(?) / derelict(?) giant mansion(?) / […]

Many flavors of Did Not Finish

The Disasters by M.K. England

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood by Rose George

Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen

Badge of the Bone Ritual: A Humorous Occult Crime Novel featuring Detective Scotty C., Book One by Archer Hay

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The Disasters By M.K. England Nax Hall is kicked out of the Ellis Station Academy less than 24 hours of his arrival. All he’s ever wanted is to be a pilot, but now he’s on a shuttle back to Earth. Joining him are three other washouts, Rion, Case, and Zee. Just as they are about to leave, the station is attacked. The disasters manage to escape, but learn that they’ve been framed for the attack on the station. They must find the real culprits and clear […]

“I think ‘bone frenzy’ might be a term open to coarse misinterpretation, personally.”

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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I started screaming within the first 60 pages. This was good screaming, mind you. Surprise-party-on-a-rollercoaster-with-Elvis-in-space screaming. Everything that I had learned and loved from Gideon the Ninth exploded in my face, leaving a cloud of gore and pure insanity- and you know what? I was into it. Big time. If you have yet to read Gideon (WHY?!) then DO NOT READ THIS WRITE UP. Do not read anything about Harrow, do not read Gideon‘s book jacket, and do not waste any more time! Go go go! Our Lady Harrowhawk is, well, […]

Absolutely and wonderfully bonkers read

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Bolstered by all the delightful comments on my Gideon the Ninth review, I thought I should try to put my thoughts together about Harrow the Ninth, the sequel. SPOILERS FOR GIDEON THE NINTH FOLLOW! Really. It’s impossible to talk about Harrow without talking about the end of Gideon. It doesn’t just follow chronologically (sort of), but the impact of the ending on Harrow informs the entirety of her story. So… wow. I am so impressed by author Tamsyn Muir, who took her sure-fire hit–where one of the main things […]

The best #Pandemic read I could ask for

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Bingo Square: Pandemic This pandemic period, I did a great thing for my happiness: I read Gideon the Ninth. I’m going to eschew a plot description/blurb here and just say what everyone else has been saying: lesbian necromancers in space. Need a little more? Fine. Gideon is not a necromancer (but she is into girls). She hits things with swords so she’s recruited (unwillingly) to go to a big possibly haunted space castle/research facility with her worst enemy, her planet’s only surviving necromancer (who is into bones). […]

Even better the second time

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Rereading Gideon the Ninth was an interesting experience. The first time around, I was completely lost for the first half of the book, which caused me to become progressively more frustrated. Then I hit the middle and it was like a rollercoaster ride to the finish. The second half was such a marvel, I completely forgave the author for not explaining much in the first half. This time, since I wasn’t feeling confused and vaguely annoyed, I enjoyed the first half a great deal more. […]



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