Cannonball Read 10

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Scheming, Snark and a Society on the Precipice

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

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IT’S HUGO TIME! Which means it’s time for me to tackle the best novel nominees! The Collapsing Empire is the first instalment in ‘The Interdependency’ series, which is John Scalzi’s take on a space opera. If you’re already a fan of Scalzi’s work, rest assured you’ll probably enjoy this one. All the tonal hallmarks of his previous writing – breezy, minimalist and snarky – are intact. So is his inclination to weave politics into otherwise lighthearted writing. What’s interesting about this series is that it appears to be a good indicator of the kind of books that likely influenced Scalzi […]

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5/18/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:12 |

There is a cat in this book whose name is Donut.

Head On (Lock In, #2) by John Scalzi

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Scalzi’s books are always such good palette cleansers. Head On was fast and fun (and a little bit infuriating). This is the second book in the Lock In series, which started with 2014’s Lock In. You don’t need to have read the first book if this one tickles your fancy, but you should, because it’s great. The premise here is that in the near future, a disease called Haden’s Syndrome (after the first lady of the US, it’s most famous victim) makes it so that a portion of the population are locked in to their bodies, perfectly aware, but unable […]

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5/10/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:60 |

Your Pinky Swear Sits on a Throne Of Lies

Head On: A Novel Of the Near Future by John Scalzi

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Last year I listened to Wil Wheaton narrate John Scalzi’s Lock In. Later in the year, angry dimples told me that Amber Benson had also narrated Lock In and that her narration was very good. I listened to it and agreed. As much as I enjoyed the Wil Wheaton narration, I liked Benson’s even better. And then we found out that both Wheaton and Benson were narrating versions of Scalzi’s follow up novel, Head On. We agreed, Benson first, Wheaton later. I enjoyed Head On quite a bit. In my Lock In review, I commented that I wouldn’t mind a series of Chris […]

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4/26/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:15 |

Apply directly to the forehead

Head On by John Scalzi

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John Scalzi is the Brandon Sanderson of science fiction. He’s prolific, can keep multiple series going simultaneously, and everything he writes is interesting and distinct. This is the second book in his Lock In series (I read the first one two years ago, and liked it a lot). I didn’t really do anything to refresh my memory of the series, but I never felt lost or in need of any reminders. I jumped right back into this world without issue. One percent of the world’s population has contracted “Haden’s syndrome”, which locks them into their body. This inspired a moon […]

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4/26/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:9 |

Scalzi Gon’ Scalzi: Funny, Thought-Provoking, Occasionally Profound

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

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In last year’s CBR I reviewed Old Man’s War, the first book in an NYT best-selling sci-fi series by John Scalzi. The gist of the first book was that when you reached a certain AARP-like age on Earth, you could enlist in the space marines to protect humanity from…something. You’d take an elevator up to space, and then you weren’t quite sure what came next. You were legally dead on Earth. That’s kind of all you as a space marine cadet knew. Without spoiling the first book, a lot of cool stuff happens for the AARP members once they make it […]

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3/10/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:19 |

A candy bar of a book

Lock in by John scalzi

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My husband, when I was reading The Martian, said he had liked the book but his one complaint was that it read like it was being pitched as a screenplay already.  I didn’t feel that way, but also didn’t see why that would be a negative even if I had. I get it now. Which is not to say I disliked this book, quite the contrary. A science fiction thriller that uses a murder mystery as a plot to support the world building the writer is clearly more interested in,  Lock In clearly has fun playing with the “what if’s”. […]

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2/26/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:17 |

What Does Humanity Mean?

The Last Colony and Sagan’s Diary by John Scalzi, William Dufris

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You can pick up any reasonably well written book and make a case for it being an exploration of what it means to be human, the state of humanity, or the universal truth of the human condition. Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series is very definitely asking what defines humanity. In the universe of the Old Man’s War series, Scalzi pushes the envelope of humanity. Colonial Defense Force soldiers are created when In The Last Colony, we return to the protagonist of Old Man’s War, John Perry. We rejoin Perry with his wife, Jane Sagan, a former special forces soldier created […]

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12/23/2017 's CBR9 Review No:118 |

Fucking Humans

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

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John Scalzi has created a fascinating sci-fi universe in his Old Man’s War series. The Ghost Brigades is as much a horror story as a sci-fi adventure. Scalzi references Frankenstein repeatedly as he plants questions about the boundaries of being human, the ethics of creating life,  corporate control, and who we consider monsters. Scalzi presents some interesting and deep questions, but ultimately sidesteps the more problematic answers by wrapping up his stories with happyish endings. Which is fine. These days I’m reading for neater resolutions and happier endings. If I wante to run screaming into the wilderness, I’d pay more attention to the […]

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12/9/2017 's CBR9 Review No:111 |


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