Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Despite some excellent stories I can’t whole heartedly recommend this anthology

Never Too Old to Save the World: A Midlife Calling Anthology by Alana Joli Abbott, Addie J. King

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I love the idea of this anthology. At 54, I am not ready to give up saving the world and I am delighted to see stories about folks in the upper age ranges at the center of save the world stories. As is always true with anthologies, not every story was for me. There are some real gems in here. It’s wonderfully inclusive. I wish I could recommend it. There’s one story that throws in a brief and unnecessary Harry Potter reference, which means I […]

“There is beauty in my truth, and I have so much to share.”

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022 by Edited by Rebecca Roanhorse

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I look forward to this collection every year and so it was a treat to see it pop up in the bookstore recently. The selections are always varied and interesting, and John Joseph Adams should get special kudos for all the preparatory work he does before he chooses the best 80 stories and hands them over to the guest editor to choose 20 for publication. In contrast to the 70s SF/F anthologies I’ve been slogging my way through this year in the hopes that there […]

I might not know what you are feeling. But I know grief.

The Alchemy of Sorrow by Sarah Chorn, Virginia McClain

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The Alchemy of Sorrow: A Fantasy & Sci-fi Anthology of Grief and Hope was a gamble because I was only familiar with one author, Intisar Khanani. I like anthologies because I get to explore authors I haven’t read before in short bites. I love Khanani enough that I knew her story would be worth the whole anthology.  I did love her “Twice-Domesticated Dragons,” and I also loved several of the others stories as well. I read a lot of advance reader copies, which means that […]

Little Bits of Awesomeness

Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019 by Carmen Maria Machado, Editor

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I love short story collections. They’re perfect for reading with a meal or while waiting for an appointment. You won’t get so involved that hours go by, but you get a little slice of great writing. I almost always have a short story collection stashed in the car or my backpack for emergency reading. All I can say about this collection is Wow! Ms. Machado has done an amazing job of selecting some of the best SF and Fantasy published in other anthologies in 2019. […]

A love letter to Arthurian legend told through inclusive re-imaginings

Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices by Edited by: Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington

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Thank you, llamareadsbooks for gifting this book to me in the CBR Book Exchange! CBR14 Bingo: “Time” – This anthology moves through time, from the ancient past to the far future. Sword Stone Table first came to my awareness through emmalita’s review.  When narfna reviewed it a few weeks ago, it prompted me to move it to the top of the read pile.  I have a deep affection for stories about King Arthur and Camelot that probably started with the Disney animated version, was strengthened by […]

When she wants something, she has the knack of making it seem inevitable.

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Naomi Alderman; Leigh Bardugo; Alyssa Cole; Lucy Foley; Elly Griffiths; Natalie Haynes; Jean Kwok; Val McDermid; Karen M. McManus; Dreda Say Mitchell; Kate Mosse; Ruth Ware

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I enjoyed this collection of contemporary writers writing new short stories featuring Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple. Two of the things that make Miss Marple such an interesting character, and so ripe for reinterpretation are her clear eyed, somewhat cynical view of humanity, and the way she is underestimated because of her age. The stories that worked best were the ones that embraced these aspects. Some stories worked better than others with a couple of standouts and a couple of authors whose backlist I’ll be […]



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