Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“She was Grendel’s mother; she was vengeance incarnate.”

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

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Bingo 22: Rec’d Those Goodreads emails that include “stuff currently popular” are often annoying, but sometimes skimming them pays off. I saw a review of the sequel to Hench, which led to me clicking on Hench, and being convinced to pick it up from the library based on those reviews. We’ll call that “recommended”. Imagine the world governed by super heroes and supervillains, but the heroes might be as destructive and violent and generally damaging as the villains. Anna is a temp worker for a […]

Enter the Multiverse but Staying Cozy, at least for now

Chilling Reflections by Drew Hayes

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Bingo 4: Favorite Drew Hayes in one of my favorite contemporary authors. He’s got the right level of geek, trope, and fun, while still managing to stay interesting. Chilling Reflections is book 3 in the Villain’s Code series, and while there have been signs in previous volumes, this one makes it pretty clear that this series is tilting into a Marvel-style multi-verse area. One thing that definitely surprised me is how directly the side story series (Villains Vignettes 1) is involved. I’ve read that, and […]

Good old fashioned pop culture salutes

Villains' Vignettes Volume 1 by Drew Hayes

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Bingo 4: Hold Steady Drew Hayes has been one of very few authors who has been both reasonably consistent and prolific without getting dull; he’s also a favorite of mine, so for all those reasons, he counts as Holding Steady. What’s new is that Villains’ Vignettes Vol 1 is a story without a connecting plot building; the three tales are a bit long to be short stories, so maybe we’ll call them novelettes. The style somehow manages to be straightforward but still have snappy dialogue […]

What’s Your Flavor of Ice Cream?

Bones of the Past by Drew Hayes

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Villain’s Code 1 may have been the first thing by Drew Hayes that I read. Now that it was finally time for a sequel, I was kind of excited to see that world again. Villain’s Code 2 is titled Bones of the Past and that’s pretty much an accurate description on a couple of levels. First, the main focus of book 1, Tori, who is now a new villain starting to find her place in the world, is not as much the focus; but she’s […]



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