Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR18
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • 2026 Registration
    • Suggest a Review
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

I found this dull, and won’t be continuing the series.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress, #1) by Julie C. Dao

December 16, 2020 by narfna 6 Comments

Honestly not sure I can milk 250 words out of this one. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns didn’t really spark my attention back when it first came out, but when Read Harder wanted me to read a retelling by an author of color, this was on one of the lists I looked at, and picking YA fantasy seemed a good idea at the time. And honestly, it wasn’t bad, I just didn’t find it interesting, at all. It doesn’t help that I didn’t realize this […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: #fantasy, forest of a thousand lanterns, Julie C. Dao, narfna, read harder challenge 2020, retellings, rise of the empress, YA, ya fantasy

narfna's CBR12 Review No:180 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: #fantasy, forest of a thousand lanterns, Julie C. Dao, narfna, read harder challenge 2020, retellings, rise of the empress, YA, ya fantasy ·
Rating:
· 6 Comments

I liked this more on re-read in some ways, and a lot less in others.

Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman

September 1, 2020 by narfna Leave a Comment

The first time I read this I wasn’t very well-versed in comics, in the Marvel universe in particular, or in Gaiman’s work. There was barely an MCU in 2011. The First Avenger would be released three months later. 1602 was an okay read for me at the time, but I remembered almost nothing about it before picking it up again. I definitely liked it more this time, and got more out of it, but there was some stuff that was sort of perplexing and things […]

Filed Under: Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: alternate universe, Comics, elizabethan england, historical fiction, marvel 1602, Marvel Comics, narfna, Neil Gaiman, retellings

narfna's CBR12 Review No:114 · Genres: Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: alternate universe, Comics, elizabethan england, historical fiction, marvel 1602, Marvel Comics, narfna, Neil Gaiman, retellings ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Third time through liked this just as much.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

August 10, 2020 by narfna Leave a Comment

It was interesting to read this after finally having read Little Fuzzy, the original novel Scalzi reimagined, that forms the basis of the story of this book. They were essentially the same story, but had key differences that made them entirely different reading experiences. Scalzi’s version of the story is much less sweet, for one. It’s much more anti-capitalist, though I wouldn’t quite say anti-colonial, and it’s less about answering the central question of “What is sapience?” and more about how the Fuzzys find a […]

Filed Under: Science Fiction Tagged With: #Science Fiction, Fuzzy Nation, john scalzi, narfna, re-read, retellings, sci-fi

narfna's CBR12 Review No:95 · Genres: Science Fiction · Tags: #Science Fiction, Fuzzy Nation, john scalzi, narfna, re-read, retellings, sci-fi ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“Gully Foyle is my name, and Terra is my nation. Deep space is my dwelling place, and death’s my destination.”

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

March 3, 2020 by narfna Leave a Comment

I did a little mini-binge of classic sf books at the end of February, and this one (which I’ve owned in audio for ages) was the first up. It’s also the one I’m the least sure about. The Stars My Destination is considered one of the most important works of sf, and Bester is nearly always mentioned in talks about the masters of the genre. This was the first book I’ve read by him, and his most well-known (although his other well-known book, The Demolished […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Science Fiction Tagged With: #Science Fiction, alfred bester, gerard doyle, narfna, retellings, sci-fi, the stars my destination

narfna's CBR12 Review No:33 · Genres: Audiobooks, Science Fiction · Tags: #Science Fiction, alfred bester, gerard doyle, narfna, retellings, sci-fi, the stars my destination ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Needed to be More Twisted

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

October 9, 2019 by Classic 2 Comments

Well this one was a letdown. I read the twisted tales about Beauty and the Beast and loved how that was set up. This one takes a look at Aladdin and Jasmine and what would have happened if Jafar got to use the lamp and have Genie grant him wishes. I think the biggest problem is that none of the characters feels very developed. There seems to be a side plot with the introduction of two characters (Duban and Morgiana) that held more promise than […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Young Adult Tagged With: A Whole New World, Fairy Tales, Liz Braswell, retellings, Twisted Tales #1

Classic's CBR11 Review No:252 · Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult · Tags: A Whole New World, Fairy Tales, Liz Braswell, retellings, Twisted Tales #1 ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Book Club Discussion Post: Any Sherlock Retelling

September 20, 2019 by faintingviolet 14 Comments

The time is here for our most free-form book club yet. Our goal here is to discuss any Sherlock Holmes retellings or adaptations you have read (doesn’t have to be in the past month or two) and how they reflect on both the larger mythos of Sherlock and what it takes to tell a good story based on another. For those of you returning or who might be joining in for #CannonBookClub for the first time (hello new friends!) all are welcome, you don’t have […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Arthur Conan Doyle, CannonBookChat, CannonBookClub, retellings, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Retellings

Genres: Fiction · Tags: Arthur Conan Doyle, CannonBookChat, CannonBookClub, retellings, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Retellings ·
· 14 Comments
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • …
  • 10
  • Next Page »


Recent Comments

  • Emmalita
    on Library Week! Show us Your Library Joy
    That’s a perfectly good reason to love libraries.
  • carmelpie
    on Library Week! Show us Your Library Joy
    Happy last day of Library Week! I procrastinated all week trying to think of something to say -- some sort...
  • wicherwill
    on At least the cover is pretty
    sigh someone else gave a similar review and it brings up such feelings--I want authors to be able to experiment...
  • Zirza
    on “To The Lighthouse” for the Climate Change Generation
    Sure, though it depends on what you expect. I know some Cannonballers were let down by the thriller aspect and...
  • Madame Anna
    on I accidentally started an alien smut series, and now I can’t stop!
    You need to read the prequel series! Ice Plant Barbarians. It's awesome and explains everything before Lauren's Barbarian! I'm sure...
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission, Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2026 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in