Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Made me want to re-read Six of Crows instead

To Steal from Thieves by M.K. Lobb

April 4, 2025 by Malin Leave a Comment

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own. In an alternate version of Victorian London, magic exists and can be used to improve technology. It’s known as alchemology, and requires the magic-user to sacrifice some blood and life force to create the magical element known as primateria. It means that alchemologists tend to have shorter lifespans, which was certainly the case with Zaria Mendoza’s father. Now she’s an orphan struggling to complete her father’s outstanding commissions to […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Young Adult Tagged With: alternate history, ARC, cbr17, heist, historical fiction, M.K. Lobb, magic, Malin, NetGalley, paranormal fantasy, romantic, To Steal from Thieves, Victorian, Young Adult

Malin's CBR17 Review No:20 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Young Adult · Tags: alternate history, ARC, cbr17, heist, historical fiction, M.K. Lobb, magic, Malin, NetGalley, paranormal fantasy, romantic, To Steal from Thieves, Victorian, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Optimistic dystopian fiction?

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

January 20, 2025 by KimMiE" 2 Comments

In an alternate universe in 1899,  travelers wishing to cross the land between China and Russia have only one option: the Trans-Siberian Express. The area known as the Wastelands is a dangerous zone: it’s populated by monsters, the air is poison, and even staring at the view too long will mess with your head. Still, the train has a reputation for luxury, especially if you can afford a First Class ticket. Who wouldn’t want to experience the adventure of a luxurious trans-Siberian excursion, with a […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: alternate history, cbr17, debut novel, dystopian fiction, KimMiE", Sarah Brooks

KimMiE"'s CBR17 Review No:1 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: alternate history, cbr17, debut novel, dystopian fiction, KimMiE", Sarah Brooks ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

The Right Read at the Right Time, almost

The Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clark

November 10, 2024 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

Bingo Free Space Yes, I know Bingo technically was supposed to end two days ago, but since this is the extra free space I never ended up using, I’m still going to finish that off. I’ve been struggling to find a novella that I wanted to assign to an intro to lit class this coming spring (for reference, I’m at a regional state school) because I didn’t want to re-use anything too recent and I wanted to avoid something easily findable on the internet (either […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: #fantasy, alternate history, black speculative fiction, historical fiction, P. Djèlí Clark, speculative, the black god's drums

CoffeeShopReader's CBR16 Review No:64 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Speculative Fiction · Tags: #fantasy, alternate history, black speculative fiction, historical fiction, P. Djèlí Clark, speculative, the black god's drums ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Orange book cover with a black and white drawing of woman in a trench coat and fedora.

A Dystopian Alternate History of WW2

Widowland: A Novel by C.J. Carey

November 8, 2024 by RouletteGirl Leave a Comment

In this alternate version of history, Great Britain and Nazi Germany forged an alliance in 1939, preventing World War II and creating a “Protectorate” in England in which women are divided into castes, Jewish people are mostly barred from public life, and reading for pleasure is discouraged, though not yet outright banned. It is now 1953. Our protagonist Rose is a “Geli”, the highest rank a woman can achieve, and works for the Ministry of Culture where she rewrites classics of English literature to better […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: alternate history, C.J. Carey, Dystopian

RouletteGirl's CBR16 Review No:46 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: alternate history, C.J. Carey, Dystopian ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Stephen King’s sprawling historical time-travel epic

11/22/63 by Stephen King

September 8, 2024 by HC 1 Comment

At work I have a Book Friend who reads mostly horror. He gives me horror recommendations, and I give him sci-fi recommendations, and we both try to enjoy each other’s genre of choice, to varying success. At the other’s insistence, we have both read genre staples without being convinced of their universal relevance (though I have more right to feel aggrieved about this arrangement because Slaughterhouse Five was like 250 pages and It was fucking 1,200 pages, Dorian). It was not for me. I finished It, because I’m a […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: alternate history, genre mashup, horror, sci-fi, Should you read it?, Stephen King, time travel

HC's CBR16 Review No:14 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction · Tags: alternate history, genre mashup, horror, sci-fi, Should you read it?, Stephen King, time travel ·
· 1 Comment

Fake marriage and further hijinks

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

February 11, 2024 by Malin Leave a Comment

Alice Dearlove works for the secret organisation the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, or A.U.N.T., staffed by spies and agents disguised as ladies’ maids, butlers, footmen, and other household staff who mostly go unnoticed by the higher classes, but are usually in a position to see and hear everything. She’s one of their top agents, known within A.U.N.T only as Agent A. Usually, Miss Dearlove works alone and gets excellent results while doing so. Now she faces one of the biggest challenges of her career. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery, Romance Tagged With: alternate history, CBR16, Dangerous Damsels, fake marriage, funny, historical romance, India Holton, magic, Malin, paranormal fantasy, pirates, spies, The Secret Society of Tea and Treason, Victorian, witches

Malin's CBR16 Review No:8 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery, Romance · Tags: alternate history, CBR16, Dangerous Damsels, fake marriage, funny, historical romance, India Holton, magic, Malin, paranormal fantasy, pirates, spies, The Secret Society of Tea and Treason, Victorian, witches ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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