Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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A brilliant (but bloody) blend of history and fantasy

He Who Drowned the World: The Radiant Emperor Duology Book 2 by Shelley Parker-Chan

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This finale to Shelley Parker-Chan’s The Radiant Emperor Duology was outstanding. As with the first book (She Who Became the Sun), Parker-Chan focuses on the political and military machinations of a handful of ambitious individuals, each desperate for power and/or revenge. Parker-Chan has created complex characters who, despite their violent and frequently perverse proclivities, can also occasionally inspire pity. The court intrigues and double crossings had me on the edge of my seat, and the battles — sometimes featuring very hungry ghosts — were harrowing. […]

The Outsiders

She Who Became the Sun: The Radiant Emperor Duology Book One by Shelley Parker-Chan

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Beginning in 1340s China, She Who Became the Sun opens with a 10 year old girl, never named, living in utter poverty in a small village. She has already lost her mother and several siblings to starvation. The girl, her father and an older brother named Zhu are the only survivors. Zhu was meant to be sent to a monastery when he was old enough, and a fortune teller predicted greatness for him, but for the little girl he predicted, literally, nothing. Yet the girl […]

‘I claim my place. And if the pattern of the world refuses to let that place exist, I will change it. ‘

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

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There will be spoilers from She Who Became the Sun here, be warned.  He Who Drowned the World was one of my more anticipated reads this year, and Emmalita was so very kind and sent me a copy. So, I owe it to squeeze this review in before the year’s end.  She Who Became the Sun was an absolutely fantastic book that really put Shelly Parker-Chan on the map. But it was also a book that was eager to give you a gut punch. Or […]

Getting caught up on reviews

Frankenstein, or: The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy

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Frankenstein, or: The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (5 stars) As I slowly make way through books most of you read in grade school, I’m learning that these books have staying power for a reason. I’ve liked the vast majority of them. Sometimes, I don’t know how I made it through school without having read them before, but my ability to avoid school work should never be underestimated. This book was phenomenal. Melodramatic, and the prose, though beautiful, was a bit antiquated and florid, but […]

So tell me, little sister: What are you prepared to do, for what you want?

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

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When I posted my review of She Who Became the Sun a couple of people mentioned they were afraid to read He Who Drowned the World. Friends, you are right to be afraid. As Shelley Parker-Chan tweeted recently, “emotional books that feel like a gut punch”—hey, that’s my brand!” Because we know that this series is a retelling of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we know that our protagonist, Zhu Yuanzhang, will defeat her enemies by the end of the book, and that her […]

Willpower alone won’t guarantee survival.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

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Shelley Parker-Chan and Natalie Naudus (narrator) kicked my head in with She Who Became the Sun. It took a bit to get into the book, listening for 20 minutes here and there, but by the time I hit the 3 hour mark I had a hard time stopping so that I could sleep, and even then I dreamed about Zhu Chongba, General Ouyang, and Ma Xiuying (I am reliant on Wikipedia for spellings because I don’t have the text). The unnamed girl who takes over […]



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