Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

It walks, talks, learns, and wants to take over the world

How to Train Your Evil Robot, by Joy McCullough and Eduardo Medeiros

by Leave a Comment

I would have liked a smidgen more technical information in the book, How to Train Your Evil Robot, but overall this is a fun read about AI or of course, artificial intelligence, but the way it is presented mostly allows for the amount we are given to lead to an understanding of what AI is and what it can do. I read via an online reader copy, therefore I could see the graphic novel format, but am also assuming it might be a bit of […]

“The laws of physics have already been violated. What happens if they decide to press charges?”

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire

by 1 Comment

I’ve seen that mixture of resignation and hopelessness before; its usually in my mirror.   After the events of Rosemary and Rue, Toby is back once again in the service of Duke Sylvester Torquill, lord of the Duchy of Shadowed Hills (outside of San Francisco, in the Mt. Diablo area.). As much as she doesn’t want to be, it’s apparently once a hero, always a hero. I’m not a hero; if I’m lucky, I never will be. I just do my job Sent to help […]

Politics, Economy and Gender of Gaming

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow

by Leave a Comment

My review of In Real Life by Cory Doctorow has borrowed pieces from a couple online reviewers. I figured they said what I was feeling, and it’s validating to know I wasn’t the only one that wasn’t “wowed” but the book, yet still found enjoyment. I will start  with: This is not a perfect story, still, I had… fun reading it. The online world vs real world has been done before.  You can … connect on a virtual level, but it can’t replace human (…) […]

Overall an amazing alternate history but what I really appreciated was the portrayal of the main character’s anxiety

The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal

by 3 Comments

Mary Robinette Kowal seems to lean towards alternate history in her speculative fiction writing.  The Glamourist Histories re-imagines the regency era with illusion magic.  Ghost Talkers creates a WWII in which spiritual mediums talk to recently dead soldiers to get information on battles.  In The Lady Astronaut novels, Kowal has dreamed up an alternate timeline where a gigantic meteorite strikes the Atlantic just off the East coast of the United States in 1952, destroying much of the Eastern seaboard and annihilating most of the US government.  Recovering from […]

End of Watch

by Leave a Comment

End of Watch.  Once again, I’m sorry to say that there’s not much good to be said about this one.  It’s a real downer, and I waited several weeks after I read it to write this review, because I didn’t want to ruin it for anyone.  Problem is, I also don’t want to have to reread it, and unlike some other books, my head doesn’t want to hold on to it.  My major issues were how irritating it was that King returned to drugging people […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo