Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Classic Sci-Fi: Should you read it? Starship Troopers and The Forever War

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

by 6 Comments

Classic Sci-Fi: Should You Read It? is a self-imposed project in which I read pre-1990 science fiction novels and categorize them as “classis sci-fi you should read,” “classic sci-fi you should read if you’re all hardcore about it,” or “classic sci-fi you don’t have to read.” For background on my project, please see the introduction to my review of 1984. One appealing thing about sci-fi is that some novels really must be discussed within the context of others. Today (and many other days, I suspect) […]

Rather Appropriate for Today

Actress by Anne Enright

by Leave a Comment

The story of a fictional Irish actress, Katherine O’Dell, circa 1950s – 60s, as told by her daughter.  Think Maureen O’Hara, but she was – hush! don’t tell! – actually born in England.  There are many questions here.  Her daughter’s dad is who? And Norah, the narrator and daughter, has her hands full but it is a labor of love. So Norah grows up in the shadow of her mother, which doesn’t particularly bother her.  No fangirl, she.  She has her own path to follow, […]

Classic Sci-Fi: Should you read it? 1984

1984 by George Orwell

by 7 Comments

CSF:SYRI? Background For the past couple years I’ve been working on my own little reading project. I love the sci-fi genre with my entire heart. I also went to a weird religious middle and high school and I missed reading a bunch of classics. A couple years ago I finally read Slaughterhouse 5 and y’all, it is great! What other classic sci-fi have I been missing out on, I wondered, and tried to research the best I could. Of course the internet has all kinds of […]

At the Mountains of Madness Part 2 – Manga

At the Mountains of Madness Part 2 – Manga by HP Lovecraft,Gou Tanabe,Zack Davisson

by Leave a Comment

When writing my review yesterday for part 1 I forgot to mention one of the biggest feathers in the cap of this Lovecraft story: it inspired John Carpenter’s The Thing, the greatest movie ever made. In part 2, we’ve moved beyond the Lake Camp and the horrors therein and to the mysterious city on the plateau that lies beyond the mountains of madness. This city is one of the chief reasons why visual representations of this story are so beneficial, as you get to experience […]

At the Mountains of Madness Part 1 – Manga

At the Mountains of Madness Part 1 - Manga by HP Lovecraft, Gou Tanabe, Zack Davisson

by Leave a Comment

At the Mountains of Madness is one of Lovecraft’s best stories. Part of that is because I think this might be… the only one without overt and uncomfortable racism? Like at all? I can’t think of any racism present at least, which is a relief because that is a huge asterisk around all of Lovecraft and I totally understand why that ruins him for many people. He was a product of his time, but also he went out of his way to be disgusting, xenophobic, […]

Like the Oregon Trail Game with a Bodice Ripping Mod

Emerald Fire by Julia Grice

by Leave a Comment

Fleeing her plantation home to escape her lecherous cousin, Emerald ends up joining a wagon train headed to California as a mother’s helper. She’s drawn to their guide Mace, but has a long way to go before she can reach her happy ending. More a pioneer adventure than a true romance, we follow Emerald on her way west as the train tangles with illness and injury, hostile Native Americans and a pair of bank robbers. We encounter all kinds of curious characters both on and […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo