Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Trial by Treason by Dave Duncan

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Much like the first Enchanter General novel, Trial by Treason includes a good bit of real history mixed into an adventure involving magic, some good and some bad. Durwin is pretty standard for an underdog hero, but he’s likeable. His new sidekick Eadig could use a little more character, and so could Louise, the love interest. Her and Durwin’s romance is thankfully not overdone, but it does seem a little rushed. The basic premise is that the moment Durwin receives his certification as a sage […]

https://cannonballread.com/2019/06/trial-by-treason-coffeeshopreader/

Good, but not great. Even with a hero modelled on David Bowie in Labyrinth

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

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3.5 stars Liesl dreams of becoming a famous composer, but is left to write compositions for her talented younger brother to play instead. Her beautiful younger sister is set to be married to the most eligible young man in the village, while Liesl helps her long-suffering mother and bitter father run their inn, their days of musical success and glory behind them. Jealous of her sister’s beauty and brother’s opportunities, Liesl becomes careless and suddenly, it seems her sister has been enchanted by the goblins, […]

A wholly satisfying ending to a great fantasy trilogy

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

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Spoiler warning! This is the third and final volume in the trilogy, and the action starts immediately after the second book. This is not the place to start. If you are not caught up, drop everything and start from the beginning with The Bear and the Nightingale.  Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna managed to defeat one enemy, but at a great cost. Releasing the legendary firebird has caused much of Moscow to catch fire and the citizens, spurred on by the vengeful and jealous Father Konstantin are looking for […]

A defiant girl in a man’s world

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

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4.5 stars Spoiler warning! This is book 2 in a trilogy, and the story pretty much follows on directly from the ending of the previous book. This book, while very good, doesn’t really stand on its own, you would do much better to start at the beginning, with The Bear and the Nightingale.  There are roving gangs of bandits travelling the countryside around Moscow, pillaging and burning the villages and abducting young girls. Prince Dimitri sends his cousin, brother Alexandr, affectionately known to his family as Sasha, […]

This series is just so atmospheric.

The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy, #2) by Katherine Arden

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I need to remember when it comes time to read #3 in this series that I will need at least a week to get through it. Arden’s writing is lovely and her story fascinating and absorbing, but I find it stressful as hell, and I kept having to put it down before I could keep going again. Basically every bad thing that can happen, does. (But by the end, you get a nice sense of resolution, which is necessary because of all the previously mentioned […]

Winter in Russia, and a monster in the dark.

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This was not quite what I was expecting. I think I was expecting something more along the lines of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, because people have compared them endlessly, but aside from taking inspiration from Russian folklore, the two books don’t have very much in common. Uprooted is a fairytale, albeit one that is lengthened and deepened. The Bear and the Nightingale is a historical fantasy that is historical fiction first, fantasy second. This book takes place in medieval Russia, then called Rus’. The daughter of […]



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