Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Try this one in the summer

A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion

by Leave a Comment

This novel was pretty good, but for some reason I expected something completely different going in. Will I ever learn – expectations about any novel are a surefire way to be a disappointed reader. I picked this book up because it was suggested as thriller – and I assumed it would work well as a somewhat spooky novel. It’s not spooky at all! I’d say this is more YA with only a mere hint of thriller, but mostly a coming-of-age novel with slightly heightened stakes. […]

Don’t piss off the evil, angry Groot-look alike

The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth

by Leave a Comment

The other day I was looking for a book at the library. Never did find that one, but in the browsing, I picked up The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth. It looked interesting enough, the cover a “spooky” brown and green mix. The boy heading into light but not necessarily good looking light. And that tree like “Lost Boy” font/title gave it mystery and supernatural vibes. Open it up and you see black and white illustrations. They are nice enough, detailed, but not overly so. […]

Darwin’s Blade

Darwin's Blade by Dan Simmons

by Leave a Comment

Among all the Dan Simmons book I’ve been reading in the last few weeks, I think this is the weakest, while also suggesting a much tighter, better book within. Perhaps that’s why he followed this book up with three shorter noir books in the Joe Kurtz series. He creates an interesting character, a former Marine sniper who later became a transportation crash expert through a doctorate and work on the Challenger explosion (this is the second thing I’ve read that Dan Simmons wrote about the […]

“It was time for something new:” Cozy Fantasy During a Chilly Fall is the Best

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

by 5 Comments

I unfortunately can’t remember whose review on here stuck in my mind and got me to buy this book this weekend, but thank you once again to the Cannonball community for their great recommendations! I was wandering around the Strand and this was a random add-on to my pile based off the hazy recollection that this was well reviewed. This book was a nice treat after reading a bunch of 70s sci-fi that had me questioning if I even actually like genre fiction. Fortunately cozy […]

“I’m not particularly keen about funding my own abduction.”

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

by 1 Comment

Crime and punishment, the Cat Sebastian way. Plot: The story weaves somewhat with the last book – The Queer Principles of Kit Webb – with Kit’s life long best friend and co-conspirator having learned the tragic truth that he was, in all likelihood, the true heir to the dukedom that Kit’s own Lord Holland had been prepared to take over his entire life. Rob is enthusiastically anti-monarchist and couldn’t want anything less. But he is a criminal, so he decides he ought to at least get 500 pounds […]

It’s science, it’s fiction, but it’s not science fiction

Bellwether by Connie Willis

by 6 Comments

Why is Connie Willis considered a science fiction writer? Is it just because she wrote about time travel that one time? I haven’t read a ton of her stuff (I did read the time travel one), but I don’t quite get it. This book is fine and fun, but not science fiction at all, even though the cover says “One of science fiction’s best writers.” Sandra is a scientist at a corporate-America type research institute that reminded me a little of Veridian Dynamics. She’s looking […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo