Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A reluctant hero faces his biggest challenge yet

The Scavenger Door by Suzanne Palmer

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This is the third book in the delightful Finder Chronicles, and it’s just as good as the last two. Fergus Ferguson gets to spend a little time on Earth for a change, getting to know his surprise younger sister and searching the globe for some alien artifacts that must be found right now, by him, or else. Fergus is always great, but the supporting characters are fun too. His sister Isla accompanies him on a few of his side quests, getting a feel for her […]

“It is the fate of all made things”

“The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer

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Narfna recommended “The Secret Life of Bots” last week and provided a link. I opened the link immediately, and then the tab sat there, open and unread, for days. As one does. The Bot is activated and given a task by Ship. It notes that a long period of time has passed since it was last activated, and that the task it has been given, task 944, was a higher number than usual. The Bot starts out on it’s task – exterminate a pest. Along […]

“I have been activated, therefore I have a purpose, the bot thought. I have a purpose, therefore I serve.”

The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer

Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer

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In catching up on reading end of CBR14 reviews I clocked narfna’s review of Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 132 since she titled it “Attention: Murderbot stans: I have a short story for you.” Consider my attention grabbed. I love Murderbot very much and anything that gives similar feels is something I want to at least peruse, and narfna so helpfully provided links to both The Secret Lives of Bots and Bots of the Lost Ark (and if you click those titles – so have I!). Suzanne […]

Attention, Murderbot stans: I have a short story for you.

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 132 by ed. Neil Clarke

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I downloaded this in 2021 for the Read Harder Challenge but never read it, and no longer remember the challenge I downloaded it for, but I managed to make it fit perfectly into this year’s Read Harder. Efficiency! The issue itself after all of that was a bit of disappointment. I’m noting here at the top that the five-star rating is solely for “The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer, a 8,000~ word novelette that won the Hugo in 2018, a win that is […]

Fergus to the Rescue (Again)

Driving the Deep by Suzanne Palmer

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I enjoyed the sequel to The Finder even more than the first book. Initially, I thought Fergus had another unwilling partner in Zacker, a NY cop who attacks Fergus when he returns to Scotland to make amends for deserting his family as a teenager. In typical Fergus fashion, he’s at the wrong place at the wrong time and is mistaken for a murderous art thief. In The Finder, Fergus took a job on the other side of the galaxy to find and retrieve an almost […]

“Be interesting,” said the alien.

Finder by Suzanne Palmer

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When Bothari43 says, “I’ve found a book you’re going to love,” I listen. The Finder is definitely a book I enjoyed. I already ordered the sequel. Fergus Ferguson has a simple job—repo a spaceship that was stolen during a test drive. He travels to a deep space cluster called Cernee with the protocols he needs to retake the ship and return it to its owner. He’s big, has a red beard and red hair, and stumbles into the internal conflict going on within Cernee, a […]



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