Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Lucky #13

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

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Writing a mystery with no solution is an easy thing to do. All you need is some inscrutable pieces of information and no way for a reader, or the characters, to be able to piece the whole thing together in a way that brings satisfaction. Bad writers do this kind of thing all the time and try to pass it off as enigmatic. It takes a master to write a mystery with no solution and still make the journey feel worthwhile to the reader. That is what Stephen King has done with The Colorado Kid. Steffi is a summer intern […]

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8/9/2017 's CBR9 Review No:13 |

Like hope, stupid also floats.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

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Quite possibly the stupidest, most aggravating character in recent memory blunders her way through a mystery like an amateur Inspector Clouseau. It’s staggering how many poor decisions our hero Laura “Lo” Blacklock makes on a minute to minute basis. I had to keep checking that the author wasn’t actually a man writing under a woman’s pseudonym because this is one of the most misogynistic books I’ve read in some time. Sample dialogue: “I groaned at my own stupidity…” “Why didn’t I listen to…” “How could I have been so stupid…” Christ, lady, we get it. You’re an idiot. By the […]

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8/1/2017 's CBR9 Review No:12 |

Anosche.

A Conjuring of Light (A Darker Shade of Magic 3) by V.E. Schwab

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If there was any confusion that this series could be filed under YA, A Conjuring of Light obliterates that idea swiftly. The first book introduced the world and characters, the second made us care about them, and the third puts them through absolute hell. But in a good way, closing out the Shades of Magic trilogy and earning its place as one of the greatest fantasy works of all time. Yep, it’s that good. When we last left Kell, Lila, Rhy, and all the rest of our friends and foes, Osaron, a piece of magic that thinks itself a god, […]

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7/5/2017 's CBR9 Review No:11 |

Once More With Feeling

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10 by Christos Gage, Rebekah Isaacs, Megan Levens, Joss Whedon, Nicholas Brendon

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Old wounds, old enemies, and old questions all play a big part in season 10 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from Dark Horse Comics.  For the first time since the series was restarted in comics format this season feels the most like the original television series in both scope and the characters and how the interact with each other. If you are not caught up on the series I will try to quickly summarize the pertinent bits. If you are not familiar with the series in television than I have no idea why you are reading this anyway. Get ye […]

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5/23/2017 's CBR9 Review No:10 |

…thou shalt see that it is barren.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

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Like many of you I have had an adverse reaction to the state of politics over the last few hellish months since President Eats-His-Steak-With-Catsup-Like-A-Goddamn-Child was sworn in to office. To be honest it still feels like a nightmare and I find myself jolting at least once a day when I remember that the people of the United States elected that lying gasbag as the President. This is why I don’t watch shows like Black Mirror. When this is our reality there is no reason to introduce more fantastical shit to be afraid of when we are living in the Twilight […]

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5/20/2017 's CBR9 Review No:4 |

So you wanna play with magic?

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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This dark fantasy is Game of Thrones meets The Night Circus and will appeal to any fans of realistic fantasy. The first book of a three part trilogy (part 3 releases February 2017), A Darker Shade of Magic is an outstanding novel that will enthrall readers and insure you are up late reading “just one more page.” There is not one London, but four. There is the world of Henry III, a Grey London without magic. There is Red London, where magic is in balance. White London, a world where magic is starved. And Black London, a world overwhelmed by […]

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2/10/2017 's CBR9 Review No:3 |

Sweetness Follows is the best novel yet from Ciarán West

Sweetness Follows by Ciarán West

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It takes a talented writer to inject new life in to the well worn coming of age genre. It so happens that Ciarán West is just that talented, and then some. He takes a shopworn concept and spins it into a 350 page story that moves by so quickly it’s over before you’ve had time to properly say goodbye to the characters. Sweetness Follows is a sequel to West’s previous novel The Boys of Summer. Don’t worry though, you don’t need to have read that one, of course you should though (buy it here!), in order to enjoy this new […]

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1/26/2017 's CBR9 Review No:2 |

Princess Leia takes center stage in the excellent Star Wars: Bloodline

Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray

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This new iteration of Star Wars since Disney purchased them a few years back is not the Star Wars that we grew up on. While The Force Awakens largely played it safe there were a few key differences that have set the continuation of the story apart. First, most of the characters exist in a moral gray area now. The days of the EVEEL Emperor and sneering Imperial toadies is largely behind us.  Secondly, these stories are primarily female driven. So far both of the new movies and all of the books have prominently featured women in the lead roles […]

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1/13/2017 's CBR9 Review No:1 |


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