Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Smashing the patriarchy is a brutal business

The Poet Empress: A Novel by Shen Tao

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I picked up this novel based on Narfna’s recommendation, and I’m glad I did. This is an intense fantasy novel about power, magic, literacy and women. And as Narfna says, it is NOT romantasy, no matter how it might be marketed. This is Shen Tao’s debut novel, and she warns readers that it contains violence, sexual abuse, and torture, and some of this involves children. It can be a lot but if you can handle it, it’s worth the ride. The Poet Empress is set […]

Where Lovecraft Meets Tradecraft

The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross

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Charlie Stross finished up The Laundry Files series earlier this year, so I decided I should do a bit of a re-read.  It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve read some of these, so I thought a little brush up couldn’t hurt.  But I have to mention something weird about my friends first; when I did a re-read of the Obernewtyn series a while back, I mentioned that I started reading them based off a friend’s recommendation. And this friend didn’t do me the […]

My friend wrote a book (two, actually) and you won’t be able to read it if you can’t read Danish

Kraft & Mod (Courage) by Trine J. Cederlof

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4.5 stars Nowhere Book Bingo 26: A Middle Grade Book Defeat the Goblin TBR: The Shiny book (added in December 2024) Disclaimer! The author is a friend of mine, but my opinions are my own, and I bought the book with my own money (because friends make sure friends get royalties). As part of the peace agreement between the Green Shores and the Blue Mountains, Prince Mirounga (called Miro), nephew and heir to the king of the Green Shores, is sent into fosterage to the Blue Mountains. […]

“Lying is like farming, or draining marshland, or terracing a hillside or planting a grove of peach trees. It’s an attempt to control your environment and make it better.”

Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K.J. Parker

Saevus Corax Captures the Castle by K.J. Parker

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Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead – 3.25 stars Saevus Corax just wants to be left in peace to operate his battlefield salvage company, but when his past comes calling, he must admit to possession of his former name, and deal with all the troubles that are still brewing in that prior life. Saevus Corax is an interesting character, a fast-talking rogue with a talent for survival and a desire to keep eking his living without getting embroiled in major geopolitical issues which is, unfortunately, […]

This feels like the second book of a trilogy but it isn’t

A Forest, Darkly: A Novel by A.G. Slatter

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A Forest, Darkly is both a fantasy and a mystery. The Great Forest, where the action takes place, is a frontier where civilization seems to be slowly encroaching. Old magic and creatures are still very much alive here, and the presence of a witch has been tolerated by villagers for generations, but the world is changing. The village has grown since main character Mehrab, resident witch, arrived 20 years ago, and lately, something dark and insidious seems to be stalking the forest. This would be […]

Pretty much nothing like the movie

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

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Read the Rainbow – Red Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III may be the least intimidating Viking in several generations, which is a bit of a problem, since he’s the son of the Chief, and therefore meant to lead the Hairy Hooligans when he gets older. He’s skinny, puny, bookish and not even slightly intimidating, and when he has to compete in the traditional manhood trial of the tribe, and sneak into a cave to capture himself a dragon, he ends up with the smallest, least impressive […]



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