Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“Perhaps being a Light of God is difficult when you’re in a dank box on the ocean.”

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

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I am very glad that I read this book: one, it washed the taste of The Maiden and Her Monster out of my mouth; and two, because it was compared to Good Omens and (luckily) it earned that comparison. When the Angels Left the Old Country is about a small Polish shtetl (in fact, it is so small that it is only known as Shtetl) and the angel and the demon who are chevrusas (or Talmud study partners) there. The angel (occasionally called Uriel, usually […]

A prime example of how a poor narrator can almost ruin a book

Phantasma (Wicked Games #1) by Kaylie Smith

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As you can probably tell from the title of my review, I listened to this as an audiobook. I didn’t fully dislike the book, but the narrator’s portrayal of the main character had me annoyed. Ophelia is a budding necromancer, and she’s reeling from the sudden death of her mother. She has to basically take over the family business of bringing back people’s loved ones for closure before she’s fully trained or ready. There’s a whole game aspect (some might call it the plot) with […]

Brutally beautiful historical fantasy

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

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I was immediately drawn to this book, but struggled with eyeball reading, so I was so glad when I got an advance listening copy as well, especially so I wouldn’t be butchering the Chinese words and intonations. This is really intense and deals with a lot of really difficult topics, and it’s hard to say any of the characters (though especially Ba) were likable, but the ending left me with a feeling of hope and healing. Told through three (four?) perspectives, A Beast Slinks Towards […]

Somewhat Lovable Schlub Breaks the Universe

Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World by Mark Waddell

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I was really committed to embracing Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World. I generally like dark slapstick and horror comedy; I enjoyed Someone You Can Build a Nest In (from the POV of a sentient ooze that eats most of its in-laws) and Dreadful (from the POV of an evil warlock who wakes up one day with amnesia and a conscience). So, when I found this queer romance centering a guy who raises an Abomination to eat the world in exchange for a promotion […]

Mafia, magic, and sin

Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair

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Terror at the Gates is the first book in the new Blood of Lilith duology series from Scarlett St. Clair. The city of Eden is split into different districts ruled by mafia-esque families. Women of this world are born with magic, which they are allowed to use only if approved by their fathers or husbands. We meet Lilith Leviathan after she has run away from her posh district to live by her own rules in the red light district. She has sex magic that allows […]

Please, Re-read the Previous Book First

Queen Demon by Martha Wells

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So, I did mention I had more than one Martha Wells book to attend to today, and this is the tricker one to write about. I read Witch King  earlier this year, and while I very much liked it, there were, I thought, some notable flaws. Witch King had a dual narrative, with each of the two branches separated by over fifty years. And within these fifty years, there have been some significant political changes that are sometimes a little hard to grasp because of […]



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