Wombling Along
Hellooo!
Hope you’ve been ok this week and avoided overheating in the UK sunshine. Let’s just say it was indescribable being back at work after a holiday! But reading is happening and that is always the important thing!
The experiment appears to be working and people are enjoying the wombling. Also I’m finishing it useful too!
If this is your first time the idea is to highlight things I saw online in the world of blogging that were interesting this week and I hope you find it informative at the very least.
First up in non-fiction was this review at Speak by Adam Aleksic which explores evolution of language. I’m interested in context for use of words and this sounded an interesting topic.
Galactic Journey goes back to 1970 and Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz
In books I’m really keen to read Fantasy Book Nerd achieves Booktempting with a look at the much awaited Sword of Bronze And Ash by Anna Smith Spark
https://www.fantasybooknerd.com/2025/08/book-review-sword-of-bronze-and-ash.html?m=1
Harare Review of Books has this review of Kindred Creation - Parables And Paradigms for Freedom by Aida Mariam Davis
Nuts4r2 reminds me I still need to try True Detective
https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2025/08/true-detective-series-one.html?m=1
Jamedi of Jam Reads has two tempting reads Swordheart by T Kingfisher and The Bloodless Queen by Joshua Phillip Johnson
https://jamreads.com/reviews/swordheart-by-t-kingfisher
https://jamreads.com/reviews/the-bloodless-queen-by-joshua-phillip-johnson
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub has a look at Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2025/08/09/book-review-grave-importance-by-vivian-shaw/
Fanfi addict tempts with the romance Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-behind-frenemy-lines-by-zen-cho/
Locus has AC Wise doing a review of Clarkesworld’s short fiction
https://locusmag.com/2025/08/clarkesworld-short-fiction-reviews-by-a-c-wise-11/
Gingernuts of horror looks at Askin by Kathe Koja and The Atlas of Hell by Nathan Ballingrud
https://gnofhorror.com/skin-by-kathe-koja-a-visceral-tale-of-madness/
https://gnofhorror.com/nathan-ballingrud-the-atlas-of-hell/
the Fantasy Hive have this look at The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2025/08/the-bone-raiders-by-jackson-ford-book-review/
Needs of a Feather as always do Booktempting with On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle (translated by Barbara Haveland) , Time’s Agent by Brenda Peynado and Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/08/book-review-on-calculation-of-volume-by.html?m=1
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/08/review-times-agent-by-brenda-peynado.html?m=1
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/08/review-raven-scholar-by-antonia-hodgson.html?m=1
Gav Reads looks at The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton with a very mild spoiler approach
https://gavreads.co.uk/2025/07/05/fr-review-of-the-stars-too-fondly-by-emily-hamilton-2024/
Strange Horizons really interested me in Animals by Geoff Ryman
http://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/animals-by-geoff-ryman/
As always two lynchpins of joy you should be following are Alasdair Stuart’s Full lid
https://mailchi.mp/11fc56be1630/the-full-lid-15th-august-2025
And Renay’s essential Intergalactic Mixtape
https://buttondown.com/intergalacticmixtape/archive/intergalactic-mixtape-15/
Three reviews I think really worth a look at how they tackled their subjects were
Ancillary Review of Books does an interesting dual review on Adam Robert’s Fantasy - A Short History and then uses that non fiction’s themes as a way to look at Waterback by Alex Phelby
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2025/08/13/snap-criticism-roberts-and-pheby/
Skiffy and Fanty have a really well crafted negative review going into the issues of a book that delivers a sequel that underwhelms with The Lords of Creation by SM Stirling
https://skiffyandfanty.com/blog/review-the-lords-of-creation-by-s-m-stirling/
Also I’m usually wary of full on spoilers on a review but this from Gingernuts of Horror explores the full plot both to inform and warn the potential viewer, debate the various reactions to a piece of work and finally explore the themes of The Rule Of Jenny Pen - I think this does it excellently
https://gnofhorror.com/why-is-the-rule-of-jenny-pen-so-divisive/
In other news
I really liked Charlie Jane Anders exploring in this article how fiction tends to treat mothers
https://buttondown.com/charliejane/archive/neither-monsters-nor-saints-mothers-can-be-people/
There was an interesting interview via Armed With A Book with the organisers of Small Spec Book Awards
https://armedwithabook.com/small-spec-book-awards-an-interview-with-the-founders/
There was a very neat look at one British SF’s notable writers Nigel Kneale via Gingernuts of Horror
https://gnofhorror.com/a-very-british-terror-the-works-of-nigel-kneale/
In a flashback to the 2010s there was an online debate on canon that came and went and I think shows most people think of it appropriately. I liked Shaun Duke’s blog on this still relevant and also shows it was three years since this last started up!
https://shaunduke.net/2022/02/whythesfcanondoesnotexist/
My inner youth was taken back to one of my first comic (and toy) loved The Transformers comics of the 1980s via this Alec Meer blog
Elizabeth Bear has written a lovely thoughtful piece about genres, moments and growth
https://buttondown.com/matociquala/archive/the-cozygrimdarkheroic-fantasy-sine-wave-and-a/
Thanks to Fantasy Book Nerd for highlighting this story of an author who exits the scene and the search for what happened next.
https://manchestermill.co.uk/andrea-ashworth-vanish-from-view/
