Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

So much angst and pining and a big sabre-toothed snow cat (Double Cannonball!)

A Touch of Stone and Snow by Milla Vane

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Official book description (cause I haven’t finished the book yet): Danger lurks in the western realms. The Destroyer’s imminent return has sent the realms into turmoil as desperate citizens seek refuge—but there’s no safety to be found when demons and wraiths crawl out from the shadows. Even Koth, a northern island kingdom left untouched by the Destroyer a generation past, is besieged by terrors spawned from corrupt magics. When Lizzan leads the Kothan army against these terrors, only to see her soldiers massacred and to […]

Obsession Leads to Destruction, or Don’t Make a Vow Lightly

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

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The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 4 of 5 stars “The Silmarillion” is a VERY different book from what most fans of “Lord of the Rings” may expect. First of all, it’s an anthology of several different works J.R.R. Tolkien had started but had never published on their own. While they are separate works, they all deal with the origins of Middle-Earth and some of the important Elvish characters, mostly Elrond, Cirdan, and Galadriel. The second thing is that this isn’t a narrative driven […]

How a Fantasy World can Help You Solve Your Real-World Problems

Riverland by Fran Wilde

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Riverland by Fran Wilde My rating: 5 of 5 stars Winner of the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Young Adult Fiction, “Riverland” tells the story to two sisters, Eleanor and Mike. From the very beginning it’s apparent things are not right in their family. Eleanor tells Mike stories to keep them calm and distract them from the tension between their mom and dad. We soon learn that the problem is their father, who is abusive and their mother, who enables him, and is manipulative herself. […]

It’s Not Over, Til the Last Battle’s Won

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

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The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wrapping up the quest the Fellowship set out to accomplish, Sam and Frodo make it to Mordor while the rest tie their fates the world of men and the battle at Monas Tirith. After the major events conclude the Fellowship is reunited and the diverging narratives come back together like it was in the beginning. Then begins the part I hate: the goodbyes. I hate goodbyes. Literary or real. Especially after […]

When Ghosts of the Past Narrate the Story

Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby

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Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby My rating: 5 of 5 stars I came across “Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All” as I was reading through the National Book Award winners. “Thirteen Doorways” was nominated for best young adult. The story is set in the late 1930’s as the Depression era gives way to WWII. Frankie, the protagonist of the tale, is in an orphanage with her two siblings in Chicago. What was immediately odd for me was the fact that the […]

One of the most imaginative fantasies I read this year

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft

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Senlin Ascends has gotten a lot of hype the past few years in fantasy circles. After reading it, I can really see why. It is utterly imaginative, crafting a fantasy world very different than most: one that takes place almost entirely within a tower that reaches up towards the heavens. Thomas Senlin is a mild-mannered schoolmaster from an analogue of 19th century Britain, who travels with Marya, his new wife, to visit the Tower of Babel for their honeymoon. Yet he loses Marya almost instantly, […]



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