Cannonball Read 12

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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(Bingo: Pajiba) All shall fade into the whiteness of death

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

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I was keenly intrigued upon reading both the Pajiba post about this one and I think also possibly Big Idea on Scalzi’s website but I’m not certain about that. I just know I saw a fair amount of press and was very interested in reading James’ take on an epic fantasy world beginning from an African perspective. “Children cannot help how they are born, they had no choice in it. Choosing to be a fool, though . . .” (Kindle loc 1020) Unfortunately, I am […]

“One should not make a pet out of a wild beast.”

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

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cbrbingo11 – Cannonballer says! In the kingdom of Harding, heir to the throne Emory must go through the ritual every king has had to take on before being granted the crown: slay a dragon, rescue the damsel captive there, and make her your queen.  Emory conquers this task as he conquers all of his conquests, and the young woman he takes back to his kingdom is like the ones who came before: no memory of her past or her time in the dragon’s lair, nameless, […]

“That’s what comes of hungering for something; you forget to check if it’s rotten before you gobble it down”

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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When Jude and Taryn were children, a strange man showed up at their home, claimed their mother was his wife and their older sister Vivienne was his daughter. For the betrayal, the man murdered their parents and took them away to his home: the High Court of Faerie. As daughters of the High King’s top general, Jude and Taryn have been raised very well as part of the gentry, despite their mortal status. This means that while they wear the best clothes, enjoy an education, […]

Switching it up to Faerie Tale Gothic

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

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  Just last week, I reviewed one of the books in Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series, which is steeped in faerie folklore and mythology. There’s nothing like a good fairytale retelling – folklore characters are in the public domain and are fair game for any author who wants to write their own interpretation of them. It can be fascinating to see what direction different people decide to take. For example, the Cait Sith (or Cait Sidhe) of the October Daye universe are wildly different to […]

Complicated Speculative Fiction. And Complicated Book Feelings

The Coldfire Trilogy: Black Sun Rising/ When True Night Falls/ Crown of Shadows by C.S. Friedman

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I finished this trilogy a while ago, but I’ve found myself dragging my feet when it came to writing up the reviews I had some mixed feelings about this series and it was giving me a serious case of writer’s block. I liked these books. Overall, I liked the series. But I’ve had some trouble writing about the flaws without being too negative. I eventually decided that rather than do a separate review for each book, I’d just review the series as a whole. This has […]



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