Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About MarkAbaddon

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Somehow I have turned into a real life Ross Geller, having now been married 3 times. Otherwise, just your normal Jewish geek living in MN. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: MarkAbaddon's Quick Questions interview.)

MarkAbaddon's Reviews:

Children of Dune – a worthy successor to the original novel

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert

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It has been probably over 30 years since I last read Children of Dune and I did not remember it being this complex or political. Of the first 3 books in the series, it is the one that is most focused on politics (yes, even more than Dune). The intrigues between Jessica and Duncan, between Alia and the twins, between the Preacher and Alia, basically everyone is scheming against everyone else. The religious subtext takes a backseat, with one notable exception, to the plotting of […]

Wheel of Time – much different than the show

Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

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While I have been aware of the Wheel of Time series since the 90s, I avoided reading it as I had my fill of Tolkein wannabe stories growing up and had been generally avoiding them since then. With the series premiering on Amazon Prime, my teenager had started reading them and had been pressing me to read them but I resisted. After watching the first season, which I enjoyed greatly, I decided to give the books a shot and I am glad I did. Reading […]

Caste – A book that may change how you view society

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

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There are books one reads for pleasure or diversion. There are books one will read for school or for work. Then, there are some books one reads because they are important and can provide new insights into the world. Caste falls into the latter category. I read this because a close friend asked me to do so, she was putting together a group to discuss the book and asked me to join (and I honestly felt flattered by the request, considering the intellects of the […]

Dune Messiah – a worthy successor to Dune

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

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What happens after you conquer everything? This is a question i have always wondered about after hearing the story of Alexander the Great. Paul Atreides has won his war against the Harkonnens & the Emperor & his Fremen have brought their jihad to every corner of the known universe. Yet Paul is miserable.  This is partly due to his prescience which traps him as he sees the future unfold & he cannot see any way to escape it. He also sees his beloved Fremen move […]

Octavia Butler – Adulthood Rites, well this was disappointing

Adulthood Rites by Octavia Butler

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I hate writing negative reviews, especially for authors I love, but this book did not do it for me. Middle parts of a trilogy are difficult, I understand that, but this book just felt repetitive and barely moved the narrative forward. This novel focuses on the first male child born of a human (with genetic input from the Oankali) on earth since humanity was saved from extinction. Lilith, the main character from the first book is the mother but she barely appears as Akin, her […]

Dawn – An intriguing take on human-alien interactions

Dawn by Octavia Butler

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I first read the Xenogenesis saga of Octavia Butler when I was a teenager and it arrived with a ton of other books I ordered from some science fiction book club (I had just gotten a job and was a dumb kid, don’t judge). What I remembered most from the initial read was the use of cancer cells by the alien race, the Oankali, to reshape their own bodies which I thought was a brilliant concept (actually still think it is brilliant). Maybe I did […]



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