Cannonball Read 10

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Scheming, Snark and a Society on the Precipice

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

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IT’S HUGO TIME! Which means it’s time for me to tackle the best novel nominees! The Collapsing Empire is the first instalment in ‘The Interdependency’ series, which is John Scalzi’s take on a space opera. If you’re already a fan of Scalzi’s work, rest assured you’ll probably enjoy this one. All the tonal hallmarks of his previous writing – breezy, minimalist and snarky – are intact. So is his inclination to weave politics into otherwise lighthearted writing. What’s interesting about this series is that it appears to be a good indicator of the kind of books that likely influenced Scalzi […]

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5/18/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:12 |

Lie down; try not to cry; cry a lot

Saga Vol #7, #8 by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Artist)

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Saga is always an emotional trip, where even the highs are touched by a rather unsettling nervous feeling. And really, only after reading the gut punch that was Volume 7, would anyone read #8 and think, “Oh, that one was actually pretty uplifting!” Volume 7 takes place on a comet that is caught in the middle of the war between Wreath and Landfall. Hazel’s collected family have settled there for some months, finding it to be a surprisingly hospitable place in the midst of the violence. They’ve comfortably befriended the locals (who are, in the classic tradition of Saga, adorable […]

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5/15/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:25 |

Just your run of the mill novelization, with some deleted scenes.

The Last Jedi (Star Wars Novelizations, #8) by Jason Fry

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The movie did it better. To be fair, the movie always does it better than the novelization. Novelizations are nearly to a one marketing ploys. But after having read the novelization for Rogue One, I am now spoiled for all future movie novelizations. That book was fantastic. It was a piece of art all on its own, and I nearly liked it better than the movie. This was not that. It was competent. Nothing was wrong. But most importantly, it didn’t really translate; the big moments did not hit here like they did in the film. They mostly just zoomed […]

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5/15/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:61 |

Unpretentious, brilliant, engaging sci-fi.

Young Miles (Vorkosigan Saga Omnibus #2) by Lois McMaster Bujold

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Two books into the Vorkosigan Saga, and I’m increasingly flabbergasted that it took me so long to read not only this series, but Bujold in general. These books are so competently written, and I want that understatement to be interpreted as laconic reverence, and not as an underhanded jab. The writing is uncomplicated and efficient, and is a real testament to the power of honestly good storytelling. A lot of sins can be forgiven by covering them in flowery, lyrical, and highly figurative prose. Bujold’s writing, on the other hand, offers itself bare; the characters speak plainly, the plot develops […]

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5/14/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:22 |

Becky Chambers might be my new hero

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

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Before I finished my last read, I started poking around in The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, trying to pick my next read, when I noticed the page “A special note from Becky Chambers” all the way in the back. I assumed it would be an acknowledgement page or maybe a teaser for an upcoming book or even just a note to her fans, but instead, Chambers included a note to encourage aspiring writers not to give up.  The timing couldn’t have been better. I’ve been pretty down on my own writing for quite a […]

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5/7/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:24 |

“You should have fallen in love with a happy man, if you wanted happiness. But no, you had to fall for the breathtaking beauty of pain.”

Cordelia's Honor (Vorkosigan Saga Omnibus #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold

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The Vorkosigan Saga is one of those classic SF series that has been a little intimidating to me because there are so many books in the series, and the suggested reading order of the series is not the publication order, so it doesn’t naturally lend itself toward easily identifying the “next” book in the series. Cordelia’s Honor is actually an omnibus edition comprised of Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan #1) and Barrayar (Vorkosigan #7)(???) Here’s a short plot description from Goodreads for both of those: Shards of Honor – “When Cordelia Naismith and her survey crew are attacked by a renegade […]

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3/20/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:15 |

Another 5-star review from this Expanse stan

Persepolis Rising (The Expanse #7) by James SA Corey

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This series has become essentially un-reviewable for me. I give every installment either four or five stars, and I have the same good things to say about every one. Without digging deeper into more specific plot points, which I don’t tend to do in my reviews, there aren’t a lot of new ways to praise overall themes or achievement in character development. However, Persepolis Rising is actually a bit different from its predecessors, particularly in that last respect. It opens after a considerable time-jump from the end of Babylon’s Ashes and finds some of the crew of the Rocinante — […]

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3/14/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:14 |

Confessions of a recovering literary fiction snob

Matter by Iain M. Banks

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I loved reading fantasy and horror and suspense as a kid, and I loved the literary fiction we read in school. As an adult, I started taking myself and my choice of reading materials far too seriously, staying away from anything too genre, making rare exceptions for Atwood’s Madd Addam series or Tolkien. [I know. Insert eye roll <<here>>] And then about six years ago, I read and loved Iain Banks’s The Wasp Factory, and I started looking into his other books and found that he’d written a whole series of space opera. Not my jam. But something made me […]

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2/17/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:8 |


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