Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Horribly Fun

Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Tchaikovsky has a knack for making humans supporting actors in his space-faring opera about intelligent animal life. After reading Children of Time, which I enjoyed, I wasn’t sure how he would do a second book about a different species in a fresh way. But this second book is just as good as the first. Told in a similar way to Children of Time, Children of Ruin switches between the past and present. The past being a time when human civilization has basically self-destructed and sent […]

“For I fear that the day when aliens reveal themselves to us fully will also become the first day of the end of life on Earth as we know it!”

UFO Mushroom Invasion by Shirakawa Marina

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This is the second book in Ryan Holmberg’s imprint of classic SF/horror manga from the 1970s/80s. I will say I enjoyed Her Frankenstein better but I thought UFO Mushroom Invasion was also interesting and had some striking moments that made me glad I read this. I do understand that smaller print books tend to be more expensive because they have smaller print runs and tighter economics to work out, but $19.95 is a tough price point for me here considering that most manga is ranging […]

Orphans and them

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans and Clayton Cowles

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I have had We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans and Clayton Cowles as an online reader copy for a few months. I have had opportunities to read it, but for the most part I figured it would expire before I had a chance to. Thankfully I was able to find it and read it at lunch today. It was an interesting experience. This graphic novel is an on book. We know the dystopian aspects (a girl wakes up one morning to find […]

“Dad? Mom? I think I can do it.” (Do what?) “Save the world?” or Don’t touch the cute space robot on the weird planet in the first place

Blake Laser by Keith Marantz

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Blake Laser is a fun story for the lover of science-fiction, love of a little fantasy, of course aliens and just the right amount of humor. Everything is a bit face paced, but is not crowded with text, too many images or action. This story by Keith Marantz has a biracial family of four, that are heading where no human has gone before! No, not space (it is the 24th century after all, been there done that!) but a particular place in space. The family […]

This whole race of aliens forgot how to have children. CBRBINGO – Celestial

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

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This was really good! So much better—and different—than the author’s first book. If you want a fun space opera with some adventure packed in, I have a book for you. Maya Hashimoto used to be the Robin Hood of art thieves–stealing from the rich and their museums, and giving back to the alien civilizations where they were stolen from. Maya lives in a world where First Contact happened ages ago, humans still kind of ruined the planet, but also moved out to colonize the stars. […]

Defender of the cosmos! Vanquisher of evil! Failure at frisbee!

Mr. Muffins by Georgeo Brooks

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Mr. Muffins by Ben Kahn and illustrated by Georgeo Brooks might not be due until mid-January 2025, but I think people should know about this graphic novel now. Not because I have read several books by Kahn or Brooks and loved them all (I haven’t) but because I think now I might see what I can find and that this book is going to be a fun read for most people. This is not a new idea. The theme is “You are afraid, but it’s […]



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