Wombling Along
Helloooo!
Hope you survived stormy weekend and whatever the week blew at you. It’s been a quiet week and things are going ok and sometimes that’s just nice. I can see soon a week off, World Fantasy Con in Brighton and a few days without an early alarm in my future plus a pile of great looking reads. I’ll call that a win this week.
For new readers Wombling Along is where I share reviews that caught my eye and a few other things. Think of this as the blog’s weekend supplement to tick into with a cuppa, comfy chair and take your mind to fun places.
Reviews
Ancillary Review of Books looks at As The Earth Dreams - Black Canadian Speculative Stories edited by Terese Mason Pierre
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2025/10/10/voices-from-the-north/
Strange Horizons reminds me I need to read The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott
http://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/the-witch-roads-by-kate-elliott/
Nerds of A Feather didn’t enjoy All That We See or Seem as much as I did but although some spoilers the reviews argued its case well and a reminder reviews are always subjective it’s the bigger consensus in the conversation that also makes things interesting
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/10/book-review-all-that-we-see-or-seem-by.html?m=1
Fantasy Hive really entices The Undrowned by Toby Vieira
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2025/10/the-undrowned-by-toby-vieira-book-review/
Locus has a great short fiction roundup
Jamedi was impressed by The Emperor : Twin by Honey Watson
https://jamreads.com/reviews/the-emperors-twin-by-honey-watson
Needs of A Feather also have a good review here exploring how reader expectations are also quite key to how much we enjoy a book and what happens when it does exactly what it says on the tin
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/10/book-review-stardust-grail-by-yume.html
Reader of Else continues the deep dive into Lord of The Rings
Galactic Journey goes back to 1970 with a real life tale of bank robberies and then work by Philip Jose Farmer
What’s The Word Now had fun with All of Us Murderers by KJ Parker
https://whatsthewordnow.blogspot.com/2025/10/book-review-all-of-us-murderers-by-kj.html?m=1
And Wrong Questions convinced me I need to pick up Big Time by Jordan Prosser
https://wrongquestions.blogspot.com/2025/10/recent-reading-big-time-by-jordan.html?m=1
Getting a touch into the season of Halloween. Ancillary also loved A Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper which I need to read! https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2025/10/08/mirrors-doorways-holes-in-the-world/
the Fantasy Hive enjoyed Empire of The Vampire by Jay Kristoff
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2025/10/empire-of-the-vampire-by-jay-kristoff-book-review/
Gingernuts of Horror always knows to tempt and starts with And The River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun
https://gnofhorror.com/and-the-river-drags-her-down-by-jihyun-yun/
We have a great short fiction collection on Teenage Girls Can Be Demons By Hailey Piper I need to read this!
https://gnofhorror.com/teenage-girls-can-be-demons-by-hailey-piper-review/
Novel Delights enjoys the gothic horror of House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
https://noveldeelights.com/2025/10/07/house-of-splinters-by-laura-purcell/
Gingernuts also has a great deep dive into Weaveworld by Clive Barker which I really should pick up to read and this review is a treat
https://gnofhorror.com/weaveworld-stories-without-end-my-life-in-horror/
Fantasy Hive have an enticing look at Itch by Gemma Amor which I’m reading very soon
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2025/10/itch-by-gemma-amor-book-review/
Locus really enjoyed The Creator by Aliya Whiteley
https://locusmag.com/review/short-take-the-creator-by-aliya-whiteley-review-by-niall-harrison/
And Strange Horizons loved When There Are Wolves Again and I’ll not stop tempting this books for ages so go and get it!
In other news
The Ditmar awards were announced and interesting books and authors to look out for
https://locusmag.com/2025/10/2025-ditmar-awards-winners/
Fran Wilde looked back at lessons learnt after ten years of being published
https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-it-started-140101265
Soberly The Guardian reports on the decline in black authors on children’s books. Other genres are reporting similar and it does seem publishing’s promises of a few years ago are turning unhappily shallow.
For Banned Books week I really enjoyed Margot Kinberg’s thoughts on the subject of controlling what children read
https://margot-kin-berg.com/2025/10/09/we-dont-need-no-thought-control/
Fancy helping a very good cause and getting some fiction? Then come and donate to Green Ink an annual writing challenge and helps a good charity
Reactor explored the pull of medical horror to readers
https://reactormag.com/dystopian-medicine-why-medical-horror-has-a-hold-on-us/
While also that pain all bookworms get when we know we need to move house
https://reactormag.com/there-comes-a-time-in-every-readers-life-when-you-have-to-move-the-books/
Fantasy Hive asked a lot of horror authors which character they’d hang out with
Roundups
Gautam Bhatia has another edition of Words for Worlds
https://gautambhatia.substack.com/p/words-for-worlds-issue-105
Gavreads too has started a weekly progress report
https://gavreads.co.uk/2025/10/05/sunday-summary-5th-oct-25-edition/
And as always sign up for Renay’s indispensable Intergalactic mix tape
https://buttondown.com/intergalacticmixtape/archive/intergalactic-mixtape-23/
And finally a tale of cheating as we enter the shadowy world of Conkers
Have a great weekend!
