Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A masterclass in the novella; body horror and racism collide.

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark

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We know that the people who join the Ku Klux Klan are monsters. Average people who act in monstrous, horrible ways. But what if some of the Klan members were actual monsters? Giant, hulking, dog-like beasts that want to consume and destroy Black people? Such is the premise of Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark. Maryse, a Black woman, hunts these monsters in Prohibition America with the help of her magical sword infused with the anger, pain, and despair of Black men and women of […]

The most effective collection of short stories I have ever read

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez

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The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is a collection of short stories by Mariana Enriquez. The stories are a mix of magical realism and outright horror. An Argentine writer, many stories take place in Argentina but a fair few also take place in Barcelona, Spain. Enriquez embues each story with a richness of their environment that make each story feel real and possible, despite the more horrific, fantastical elements. Most collections of shorts stories that I have read in my life are mostly fine. They […]

Legacy – Lois McMaster Bujold (2007)

Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold

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Lois McMaster Bujold handles marriages well. In this novel, we already have the marriage of Dag and Fawn, Lakewalker and farmgirl (nickname “Piglet??”), which we witnessed in the first book of this tetrology. Now, we find them returning back to Dag’s hometown, where among other things, he’s going to be presented with the illegality of of his marriage. Recall that Dag is a widower and the father of a dead son, and the Lakewalkers are a clan of strong ethnic ties and traditions, and especially […]

A good read for Mardi Gras

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djéli Clark

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P. Djéli Clark won a 2019 Alex Award for The Black God’s Drums, which was also a finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. The Alex Award is given to 10 books annually by the Young Adult Library Services Association to books written for adults that appeal to readers aged 12-18. This is a short but riveting, action-packed novel set in New Orleans, 1884. As with his previous two works set in 1912 Cairo (A Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Haunting of […]

I want follow through, at least once

Lumberjanes 16 Mind over Mettle by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, AnneMarie Rogers

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I’m starting to get a little bored with this current Lumberjanes pattern: focus on a specific scout who has a personal issue, adventure ensues, friendship lesson is acquired and possibly some personal growth. This time it’s Mal who feels like she’s the scaredy-cat of the group and wants to be braver; the thing I don’t get is why she goes to Ripley the team goof for help. Ripley is totally carefree and runs into everything without thinking; I wouldn’t call that brave, I’d be calling […]

What’s Your Flavor of Ice Cream?

Bones of the Past by Drew Hayes

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Villain’s Code 1 may have been the first thing by Drew Hayes that I read. Now that it was finally time for a sequel, I was kind of excited to see that world again. Villain’s Code 2 is titled Bones of the Past and that’s pretty much an accurate description on a couple of levels. First, the main focus of book 1, Tori, who is now a new villain starting to find her place in the world, is not as much the focus; but she’s […]



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