Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I’m still not sure exactly what to make of this book and it’s been months.

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

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I found this an enjoyable reading experience, but it definitely wasn’t a perfect read for me. I’m gonna need to talk spoilers to get my full thoughts out, but they’ll be marked. But first, non-spoilery thoughts. Obviously you know from the title that this is a book about maps, and people who make, study, and collect maps. It’s also about family, secrets, magic, and murder. Our main character is Nell, whose mother died in a fire when she was a small child, and whose father […]

Other People Recommended It on CBR and I Also Recommend It!

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

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CBR14Bingo: Dough (I feel like I remember them eating bread in this book? Also there’s the use of currency. I’m struggling with the last two bingo squares.) I read this based off wicherwill’s recommendation — the idea of Tamora Pierce for adults really hooked me, since I am a life-long Tamora Pierce fan. I’m happy to say that this lived up to the hype! I loaned my copy to my mom, so the recommendation chain is continuing. In the world of Paladin’s Grace, gods are […]

“The important thing in running away is not how fast you run but simply that you run faster than the next man.”

Prince of Fools (Red Queen's War #1) by Mark Lawrence

The Liar's Key (Red Queen's War #2) by Mark Lawrence

Wheel of Osheim (Red Queen's War #3) by Mark Lawrence

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Well, this is less ambitious of me than the time I tried to review an entire five-book series all in one go.  This is just a three book series this time! (Also, because I have chosen to review the books this way, there will be minor spoilers) I’ve started reading two of Mark Lawrence’s trilogies so far. Of those two, I would highly recommend The Book of the Ancestor series, starting off with Red Sister. They were one hell of a package: I loved both […]

A Poem and Prayer and some F@cks

A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers

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Bingo 22: Verse I think I’ve found my preferred Becky Chambers series; the two Monk & Robot books I’ve read so far are philosophical, gentle reads that are still interesting with character and a little plot. The second one though is suitable for a ‘poetic’ category given that it opens with a poem and has a rhythm to it both in terms of the prose and the general story. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy has a really good opening; first the prayer itself that introduces […]

But if you find the strength in your friends, and you nurture it, then you will always be surrounded by giants.

In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan

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CBR14 BINGO: Shadow Square (Had another book in mind for this square and then this called to me from the library’s new bookshelf. Shadow in the title. Shadowy figures. Shadow government. Lots of living in your own shadow or someone else’s.) I like fantasy novels. I have certainly read my share of fairy shenanigans. But, I think that I tend to limit my fantasy selections based, not just to fairy-heavy plots, but to the book cover. For me, there is a certain type of cover that […]

The Night Stalker … In Print

The Kolchak Papers: The Original Novels by Jeff Rice

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I like to find the original literary sources for movies that I like (see past reviews of Strangers on a Train, Rosemary’s Baby, Breakfast at Tiffany’s), so I was happy to find out that an old television show from my childhood, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, actually started life out as a book. The Kolchak Papers: The Original Novels includes the first two novels that introduced intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak, who has a flair for detecting the supernatural. They first debuted in 1970 and are now […]



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