Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Violence, Screwball Comedy and Found Family

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

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I have only read Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy even though I know he has written more novels, including some in the same world as the First Law. While I enjoyed the First Law trilogy, the ending was also a bit darker than I had hoped for/some characters didn’t end up where I wanted them to. Since it’s been a while since I read them, I can’t quite remember too much about the writing style – I am sure there were moments of dark humor in […]

“He flopped sideways, mute testament to the greatest fighting technique of all: a friend behind your enemy.”

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

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The Devils is my first Abercrombie book. I’ve had Half a King on my TBR for over a decade, but it hadn’t made its way onto an annual list yet. But as is often the case over the past many years narfna reviewed something ecstatically which had me checking to see if it fit a reading challenge (I’m counting this as weird horror for Read Harder and Black for CBR Bingo) and then it made its way to this year’s list.  My brain is tired having finished the nearly 550 pages of this book. But the good kind of tired. The “I just […]

Better the devils you know

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

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Joe Abercrombie recently became one of my favourite authors (just after I finished his First Law series last year), so his most recent book, The Devils (the start of a brand-new series), has been at the top of my list for my most anticipated releases this year (also I got an ARC so I got to start reading it a couple of weeks before it’s officially released, yay! (but obligatory this didn’t affect the contents of this review, etc.)). The book is set in a […]

“You have to be realistic about these things…”

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

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I originally purchased the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie(consisting of The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and The Last Argument of Kings) sometime around 2009. I’ve somehow went 15 years without reading them, so figured it was finally time to do so… The books are mostly set in a country called the “Union”, and explore the inner politics of the nation, along with a series of conflicts with both the “North” (essentially a loosely organized collection of barbarians), and the “Gurkish” (an expansionist […]

New Old Beginnings

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

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Hmmm. I dunno about this one. I mean, it’s as well-written as anything else Abercrombie has done. It moves well, the plotting’s good. But as it is the finale of a second trilogy so closely tied to the first, it leads me to have to consider everything in bulk. The problem I have with the Age of Madness trilogy was realized about halfway through this one: I don’t care about most of these characters. Oreo and Savine are fun, I guess. Vick is somewhat interesting. […]

January 2024 Leftovers

The Battle of Hastings: The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons and the Rise of the Normans by Jim Bradbury

Time to Murder and Create by Lawrence Block

Charlesgate Confidential by Scott von Doviak

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey

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A lot of folks said this month was slow but I thought it flew by… The Battle of Hastings: The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons and the Rise of the Normans *** Bit too stuffy and academic but gave me a great outline as to the importance of the Battle and its outcomes. Time to Murder and Create **** This is the second time I’ve come out of a Matthew Scudder re-read with a better impression than the first time I read it. How it bodes for the […]



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