Cannonball Read 12

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About MarkAbaddon

CBR12 LevelsCBR12 participantCBR11 participant

I have been a fan of Pajiba for many years but have stayed pretty quiet on the site. As an avid book reader and collector, I have always wanted to participate in the Challenge but never could find the impetus. In 2019, I am finding that, with all the stress of the political atmosphere, I need a release. Writing has been that for me in the past, and I turn to her now to help me in these dark times.

MarkAbaddon's Reviews:

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The Chain – Just the book I needed

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

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This year has been a difficult one for me, as it has been for most people. Often when I find myself troubled, I start diving into my books. For whatever reason, I have found it so tough to concentrate during this pandemic and economic meltdown that reading juts isn’t an option. I heard about The Chain on a website (possibly pajiba.com, but I cannot be sure) and thought it sounded interesting. The book arrived and I devoured it in a day. Was this the greatest […]

The Book Thief – an absolutely beautiful story

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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I am late to the party, I admit it. This book has been out for a long time, won many awards, and even been turned into a film (which I plan on watching this weekend). Yet I had not read it until very recently. That is my loss, because this novel is fabulous. Usually, one can categorize a book pretty clearly, but not in this case. Yes, Death is the narrator here and there are descriptions of souls but does that make it fantasy? Nah. […]

A Disappointing Story but one with interesting ideas

Unsouled by Will Wight

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I hate writing reviews on books I did not like, but it is necessary. I go to a lot of websites and on one of them, cannot remember which one, this series was suggested as a different take on fantasy. And it is. Unfortunately, it also does not apply a consistent set of rules to the world that is described and has a main character that is unlikable. The story is a basic Campbell-esque hero saga one where a young man, who has a difficulty […]

New treasures from Octavia Butler

Unexpected Stories by Octavia Butler

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Some days, the gods just smile on you. I was walking into Dreamhaven Bookstore in Minneapolis (and if you are in the area, check it out, one of the best places for Neil Gaiman/anime/science fiction stuff in the upper Midwest) when I saw an entire shelf devoted to the works of Ms. Butler. I had read Lillith’s Brood many years before and loved it but loaned out my copy and it was never returned. So I purchased a number of works and started with Unexpected […]

Station Eleven-a surprisingly optimistic apocalyptic story

Station Eleven by Emily Saint John Mandel

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I admit, when I saw this come up as a featured book for Cannonball Read, I was a bit wary. Not because I was not a fan of the book, I was. However, reading a book about society rebuilding after a devastating plague seemed a bit masochistic during these days of isolation due to COVID-19. But I am glad I did. This books speaks to the resiliency of our species, both from a physical, as well as a cultural standpoint. One of the keys to […]



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