Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A rare find for me: a good short story collection

The Ancient Magus' Bride The Golden Yarn by Kore Yamazaki et al

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So far I’ve really been enjoying the Ancient Magus Bride in its original manga form; I’ve also liked the anime but haven’t seen the whole thing yet. The general gist is that a Japanese teen, Chise, who has no family who wants her, puts herself up for auction. She is purchased by Elias, a non-human mage who wants to train her/ learn about humans from her. Chise has some magical abilities herself, and she fits in well with the mage’s world. It’s a really sweet […]

Wonderful Look at Magic in Germany

The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch

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Please note that I received this via NetGalley. This did not affect my reviews or rating. This book will be released on March 31, 2019.  So this was pretty cool. Instead of following Peter or Nightingale (why???) we follow another magic practitioner named Tobias Winter. Tobias is the equivalent to our Peter Grant in England, only Tobias operates in Germany. Tobias is working on a case that seems to involve wine, ghosts, and magic. Tobias’s family seemed very interesting and I wanted to know more […]

Great from beginning to end.

The Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy, #3) by Katherine Arden

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Time to buckle down and once again go at my review backlog. Apologies in advance for the sloppy or haphazard reviews about to spew forth from my keyboard. This trilogy, to sum up, is worth it. It’s a bit of a slow burn in the first book as Arden really sets her stage, with amazingly detailed descriptions of what life was like in medieval Russia, but I think all that set-up is more than worth it for the end product, which was a coming of […]

First book in a new series

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

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When I first heard that James was writing a fantasy that used African myth, legends, and folklore, I was very excited, so it should be noted I had high expectations of this novel. Also, I love James’ but it takes about 100 or so pages for me to get into his books, but then I can’t put it down. So, here’s the thing – most readers are going to fall into one of two camps with this book – you are either going to love […]

Fables on the Run

Fox 8 by George Saunders

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This short and entertaining tale by the author of the (honestly, so much better) Lincoln on the Bardo goes by at a fast clip. Accompanied by cute fox drawings by Chelsea Cardinal, Fox 8 tells the story of Fox 8, a quick-learning inquisitive fox who learns to speak and read “yuman” by watching a family as they go about their daily business. As civilization begins to encroach on their forest home and the food supply begins to dwindle, Fox 8 (one of many numbered foxes […]

Hey Diddle Diddle the Dog and the Fiddle & the Bear played the Piano

The Bear, the Piano, the Dog, and the Fiddle by David Litchfield

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The Bear, the Piano, the Dog, and the Fiddle is not as strong as the first book, The Bear and the Piano. Which is not saying a lot, as I was not jumping for joy over the first one. However, David Litchfield introduces the theme of jealousy in a manner that is accessible for children. Fiddle-playing Hector and his dog, Hugo, are best friends. But since there is a new sensation happening (a bear that plays the piano) people no longer what to listen to […]



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