Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search

*Sigh*

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

by 1 Comment

In John Scalzi’s When the Moon Hits Your Eye, the moon has turned to cheese, what now? So, When the Moon Hits Your Eye did not work for me for a couple of reasons. First, the structure of the story, looking at an event from a variety of perspectives as they experience it, is one that is hard for me to stay engaged with. Second, I had a hard time reading this story in this particular moment. I found reading about governments responding competently and listening […]

Mindblowing, but not in a good way

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

by 3 Comments

This is my fifth Scalzi novel, so at this point, I must be a fan! I will admit, I was nearing the end of the year and still too far away from hitting my Half Cannonball so, on a quiet afternoon, I found myself googling “Short Free Audiobooks” in desperation. I stumbled upon the Dispatcher, saw the author’s name and the runtime (2 hours and 18 minutes), downloaded this audiobook (audionovella?) without hesitation. Tony Valdez is the titular Dispatcher, a person who is paid to […]

“Bourgeois fistula! Bourgeois fistula!” the rest of the dolphins chimed in unison.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

by Leave a Comment

John Scalzi can usually be relied on to deliver some delightfully silly good fun, and Starter Villain is no exception.  Much in the same vein as one of his other more recent books, The Kaiju Preservation Society, Starter Villain starts with some down in the dumps protagonist whose life is suddenly shaken upside down and they are suddenly swept away to a secret, parallel part of society that we regular schlubs never get to see. A hidden section of society that’s a little fun, a little […]

Highly intelligent cats and smack-talking dolphins. What’s not to love?

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

by 2 Comments

Many people fantasize about an estranged relative dying and leaving them a fortune or a thriving business. Few people would indulge in this fantasy if the estranged relative’s business were villainy, and if, in addition to the job, they inherited a long list of enemies. This is the situation Charlie Fitzer finds himself in when his Uncle Jake dies and he’s visited by his uncle’s second-in-command, Mathilda Morrison. Even before Morrison shows up, Charlie has problems. Once a successful journalist, he’s now an underemployed substitute […]

Why So Unserious?

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

by 1 Comment

I read Starter Villain after my hold came up in the library. That’s always fun, it’s like winning a small lottery, especially if the book has many holds. I liked this; I try not to read other people’s reviews of the same books I read before writing the review, but I did read one for this where the reviewer didn’t like the end and felt like it made the entire thing feel unreal. Which I can understand, but I did not feel that way. There […]

“Well, that’s science fiction television for you, though,” Abnett said. “Someone’s got to be the red shirt.”

Redshirts by John Scalzi

by 3 Comments

This book is a satirical love letter + wink + elbow nudge for fans of Star Trek. As any Trek fan knows, those wearing redshirts get killed. Minor background person you don’t know anything about getting more backstory? Killed. Someone about to do their “last away mission” before moving on? Super killed. Though on the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid (which exists in a different universe) the redshirts are dying in a similar fashion, they band together to try to figure out what is going […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo