Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Sacrifices understanding for looking real smart. Mistakes complexity for depth.

August 1, 2017 by narfna Leave a Comment

What it comes down to with this book is that the barriers to entry were too high. (I shouldn’t have to add the “for me” to that statement, but I will because other people are losing their mind over this book and it was nominated for a bunch of awards, so clearly SOMEONE gets it.) With science fiction and fantasy as a genre, certain barriers to entry are expected, even looked forward to. I always relish that feeling of confusion and displacement I get when […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Science Fiction Tagged With: Hugo Nominee, narfna, ninefox gambit, sci-fi, science fiction, speculative, the machineries of empire, yoon ha lee

narfna's CBR9 Review No:53 · Genres: Audiobooks, Science Fiction · Tags: Hugo Nominee, narfna, ninefox gambit, sci-fi, science fiction, speculative, the machineries of empire, yoon ha lee ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Guys, read this book. I mean it.

March 8, 2017 by narfna 14 Comments

So I read this book in almost exactly 24 hours. My book club picked The Unseen World, at my suggestion, and so of course I waited until the last minute to start it. Don’t know why I did that. It was so good. And I never would have picked it up without book club (even though I suggested it), so thank goodness for book clubs. Anyways, I started it yesterday at 10 AM, got through a little over half by bedtime, then woke up early […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: artificial intelligence, bildungsroman, Fiction, historical, literary fiction, liz moore, narfna, speculative, the unseen world

narfna's CBR9 Review No:24 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: artificial intelligence, bildungsroman, Fiction, historical, literary fiction, liz moore, narfna, speculative, the unseen world ·
Rating:
· 14 Comments

If you love Our Lady of Skepticism, don’t read this.

February 21, 2017 by narfna Leave a Comment

I mean, I hate to be that person, but Hashtag Not My Scully (#NotMyScully). I wasn’t precisely looking forward to this book, despite being the owner of a beyond huge X-Files obsession that permeated my adolescence, but it seemed like a fun idea, if executed properly. I wasn’t as worried for the Mulder one in this pair of books, because his story as a teenager practically writes itself. Also, Kami Garcia seemed like a good choice. She knows the genre, and is successful in it. […]

Filed Under: Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Young Adult Tagged With: dana scully, Jonathan Maberry, narfna, prequel, sci-fi, speculative, x-files, x-files origins, Young Adult

narfna's CBR9 Review No:19 · Genres: Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Young Adult · Tags: dana scully, Jonathan Maberry, narfna, prequel, sci-fi, speculative, x-files, x-files origins, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

why is nk jemisin so good at words?

October 31, 2016 by narfna Leave a Comment

Okay, need the third book now, so there’s that. This second book was still really good, but it didn’t feel as revelatory as the first one did. I mean, that was inevitable. (Oh, boy, though nothing like a first book in a series that smacks you upside your head.) Still, this is a great second book. Second books are hard. They’re not as fun as first books, because beginnings are wonderful, but they still have to be interesting and matter without giving too much away […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: fantasy, n.k. jemisin, narfna, speculative, the broken earth, the obelisk gate

narfna's CBR8 Review No:138 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: fantasy, n.k. jemisin, narfna, speculative, the broken earth, the obelisk gate ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Vonnegut’s little war book.

February 9, 2016 by narfna 21 Comments

There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters.” So basically everyone I’ve ever talked to has read this book before me, and I’m kinda pissed off about that. Why didn’t y’all tell me I needed to read this? I know most people had to […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Science Fiction Tagged With: billy pilgrim, dresden, kilgore trout, kurt vonnegut, narfna, Satire, science fiction, slaughterhouse-five, speculative, time travel, war, WWII

narfna's CBR8 Review No:23 · Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction · Tags: billy pilgrim, dresden, kilgore trout, kurt vonnegut, narfna, Satire, science fiction, slaughterhouse-five, speculative, time travel, war, WWII ·
Rating:
· 21 Comments

This time-spanning lit-fic didn’t really work for me.

February 3, 2016 by narfna Leave a Comment

So apparently this book is kind of like Cloud Atlas because it takes place over different time periods with different characters, and those time periods and characters are all connected somehow by recurring images and themes. But honestly, I wish I would have read Cloud Atlas instead because that’s supposed to be amazing, and while this was interesting, and I think my book club is going to get a good discussion out of it, I wouldn’t say that it works as a story. I feel […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Fiction, literary, louisa hall, narfna, speak, speculative

narfna's CBR8 Review No:19 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Fiction, literary, louisa hall, narfna, speak, speculative ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • G.D. Giant
    on When You Hate the Protagonist (But Enjoy the Book)
    Will do!
  • RouletteGirl
    on When You Hate the Protagonist (But Enjoy the Book)
    Once you finish it, let me know what you think!
  • G.D. Giant
    on Love is in the Cards
    Oh gosh, I loved this book! While I didn't find it "erotically charged" I definitely found it deeply affecting. It...
  • G.D. Giant
    on When You Hate the Protagonist (But Enjoy the Book)
    Hah! This is exactly the review I was hoping for for this book. I haven't read it yet, but it's...
  • G.D. Giant
    on I couldn’t put it down
    I just read this last year and your review is spot on with my experience. I also wished I had...
See More Recent Comments »

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