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:

A new version of a classic short story from Neil Gaiman

Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman

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I admit it, I am a Neil Gaiman fanboy. There are two shelves in my library devoted to his works and this short story, Snow Glass, Apples, sits among the greatest pieces he has created. So what is it about? Take the story of Snow White, keep all of the elements of the story we are familiar with (the stepmother, the dwarves, the stepmother’s attempt to kill Snow White, the Forest, etc.), then invert some, distort others and create a whole new perspective on a […]

Magnificat – an incredible ending to this series

Magnificat by Julian May

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It has been a lot of fun re-reading all 9 books in this series but it finally comes to an end with Magnificat. Julian May truly has crafted a series that is extraordinary in scope and with characters who are vibrant. And that series does come full circle in this final installation. One of my favorite TV shows is Firefly and a quote from that show that I love is “It’s not about the destination, it is about the journey.” We have know from the […]

Diamond Mask – well, no one bats 1.000

Diamond Mask by Julian May

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It had to happen eventually, I did not care for this book, the first one in the series that I would describe in this manner. Why? The titular character, Dorothea MacDonald. All of the previous books, including the ones set in the Pliocene, are focused on the Remillard family. The abrupt shift to another character, and one who is not terribly sympathetic early on, is jarring. Diamond Mask is placed in danger from an early age by Hydra and Fury, and it honestly does not […]

Jack the Bodiless – a worthy addition to the series

Jack the Bodiless by Julian May

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This book kicks off the last part of Julian May’s Galactic Milieu series and does so with aplomb. References to Jack Remillard had been numerous in previous books but always vague. It had been stated that he was, arguably, the most powerful psychic ever born but why he did not have a body and how he died was never fully explained. The story begins with a death, that of Denis Remillard’s brother Victor, who had been the main antagonist in the earlier books. As Victor […]

A book more relevant now than when it was first written

Intervention by Julian May

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I admit it, this is the books I have been looking forward to the most when I decided to re-read this series and it did not disappoint. This chapter of May’s Galactic Millieu saga starts shortly after WW2 with the first births of humans with mind powers (as far as we know, there could have been isolated incidents earlier in human history, but this is the first time a small number were born around the same period).  While there are several families in whom these […]

Galactic Millieu- The Adversary

The Adversary by Julian May

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And so this chapter of the Julian May’s epic saga ends, not with a whimper but with a bang. Many of the issues with certain characters becoming overpowered in the last volume are addressed in this one and Marc Remillard, the Adversary (or Abaddon) takes center stage for much of the story. The reader finds out much more about his motivations and what instigated his rebellion. He is no stock villain, he believes in humanity’s potential and simply wants to see it realized. Yes, it […]



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