Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And the better the world liked seeing them fall.”

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

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When narfna announced her Re-Readathon and I went through the prompts, two books immediately jumped to mind as ones I wanted to tackle based on the prompts. The first up review-wise is a revisit to Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. When I first read Lord of Scoundrels, I did it via audio, I knew then that it hadn’t given me the experience with the book that was possible. I could see the mechanics of why I liked this book, but it had all felt at a bit […]

When Lovecraft Dismantles the Government

The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross

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Bob’s Back! And so are the the spoilers for previous books. Be warned! Our main protagonist may be back but all is not good with the world. The Laundry is in big trouble. A mainstay of the British government for decades (albiet a secretive one), The Laundry has suddenly come under scrutiny. Thanks to the events of The Nightmare Stacks, one could argue there is no use trying to hide magic from the general public, and the existence of the department is now public. Unfortunately, […]

April 2022 Leftovers

Batman, Volume 3: Death in the Family by Scott Snyder

DC: The New Frontier, Volume 1 by Darwyn Cooke

Batman: Curse of the White Knight by Sean Gordon Murphy

Batman, Volume 4: Zero Year-Secret City by Scott Snyder

Chances by Jackie Collins

Batgirl, Volume 1: Batgirl of Burnside by Cameron Stewart

Batman, Volume 5: Zero Year-Dark City by Scott Snyder

Sonny: The Last of the Old Time Mafia Bosses, John "Sonny" Franzeze by S.J. Peddie

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch

Scoundrel: How a Convicted Murderer Persuaded the Women Who Loved Him, the Conservative Establishment, and the Courts to Set Him Free by Sarah Weinman

Call Me a Cab by Donald Westlake

Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen

The Bouncer by David Gordon

Blood on Snow by Jo Nesbø

Tough Luck: Sid Luckman, Murder, Inc., and the Rise of the Modern NFL by R.D. Rosen

Concourse by S.J. Rozan

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Here are the books I read in April that didn’t merit a full review… Batman, Vol. 3: Death in the Family **** Reading a Batman-v-Joker comic is perfect for April Fools Day. I loved Scott Snyder’s Court of Owls run but wasn’t sure how I’d feel about him doing a Joker story combined with the extended Batman Family (which I’ve never been interested in). But this is a good story, a creepy one that continues to burnish Snyder’s credentials on this series. DC: The New Frontier, Volume […]

Caped Crusade

Batman: White Knight, Deluxe Edition by Sean Murphy

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I so rarely write full-length reviews on graphic novels. This is a rare exception cuz…well, I got a lot to say. I’m not a fan of most modern day DC/Marvel graphic novels. They all have familiar story lines, twee dialogue, and conclusive narratives. I’ll grant that I don’t go too deep in the weeds with them but when I do venture out of my Batman/Daredevil comfort zone (like Hawkeye for example), I’m almost always disappointed. While I do enjoy a decent diet of Batman tales, modern ones […]

Somehow, against all odds, this works!

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Tamaki, Mariko

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Harley’s story is revamped to set her origin during her teen years, and by making this change, we get to enjoy her character without having to negotiate how she got to where she is. In Tamaki’s version, Harleen Quinn has always been something of an oddball and a screw-up with the best of intentions. Raised by a single mom, she takes on being the protector of her family sometimes, even if it lands her in juvie here and there. When she’s 16, her mom lands […]

The Man Who Laughs

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Brubaker’s The Man Who Laughs is generally highly regarded as a great Joker story. I don’t get it. Maybe I don’t get the appeal of the Joker, because I also didn’t like Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum and people lose their minds over that one, as well. Well, it’s up to you. Just know that it wasn’t for me. Fortunately, Brubaker’s Joker story is only half of this particular collection. The back half of this trade paperback also includes Detective Comics #784-786, which is an awesome short run […]



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