Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Two very different books, two very different reactions

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

Blood Music by Greg Bear

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On a Pale Horse (1983) by Piers Anthony – 4 stars Zane is poor. Jobless. He lives a pathetic existence, and has little to look forward to. A shop keeper attempts to sell him powerful gems that can give him everything he wants. A magical gem that can point him in the direction of a woman who will love him absolutely? Tempting, but Zane can’t afford it. How about one that will grant him wealth beyond imagining? Absurd – that would have to be far […]

And His Name That Sat Upon Him Was Death

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I first heard about this book during a podcast interview with Bryan Fuller, the awesome showrunner behind Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, and Dead Like Me (three of my favorite shows). He cited it as an inspiration for the premise of Dead Like Me. This did a pretty good job of selling it, even though I initially thought the idea was a bit derivative of Terry Pratchett’s Mort (although it was actually published 4 years before Mort) and thought it would be entertaining “Discworld Lite.” On a Pale […]

Takin’ a Trip to Goofyland

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Question Quest by Piers Anthony (1991) Xanth is a very magical realm and a complete series of fantasy books by cheeky Mr. Anthony.  In this ongoing story of Xanth, it begins with a simple girl on a simple quest.  She, like everyone else on Xanth, has a magical ability but that’s not the reason she’s come to ask an ancient wizard a Question.  She thinks she is an old maid at thirty and perhaps the proposal she turned down when she was younger could be […]



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