Wombling Along
Helloooo!
Should we all agree this has been A WEEK? While the world let’s face it is even more on fire than usual to take you away for a few minutes I have a blog for you.
Wombling Along is the blog’s weekly supplement of review and other online articles I caught that may be of interest. Grab a cuppa, you definitely can have a biscuit or cake with it too.
My week as expected after being ill for a lot of last week involved catch up and I’m happy to report bar a couple of admin jobs today all went well. Reading was a bit slower but I find sometimes I just need a breather from it and happily no blog deadlines missed so far. I have even started the 2026 scheduler.
I watched a truly awful film (1943 The Phantom of the Opera) and that alway reminds me why I enjoy reading. I also have hugely enjoyed The Traitors again and the finale was excellent (no spoilers from me!)
Now onto the fun stuff!
Reviews
I found this book review from Kerr McBookNerd really explain why The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones is worth your time
Strange Horizons really clicks with An Instruction In Shadow by Benedict Jacka
https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/an-instruction-in-shadow-by-benedict-jacka/
Strange Horizons is also impressed by a tale of far more than just the military meet Bigfoot with Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures by Matthew James Jones
Ginger-Nuts of horror is very impressed by ITCH! by Gemma Amor
https://gnofhorror.com/folk-horror-and-feminine-scars-in-gemma-amors-itch/
SF Book really liked the gritty low fantasy Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean
https://sfbook.com/paved-with-good-intentions.htm
They also enjoyed The Night Ship by Alex Woodrow
https://sfbook.com/the-night-ship.htm
Reactor has a reality bending reading experience with The Village at the Edge of Noon by Darya Bobyleva
https://reactormag.com/book-review-the-village-at-the-edge-of-noon-by-darya-bobyleva/
Fantasy Hive had a lot of fun with The Blackfire Blade by James Logan
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2026/01/the-blackfire-blade-by-james-logan-book-review-2/
The Hive was very very impressed by Persona by Aoife Josie Clements which gets now my interest
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2026/01/persona-by-aoife-josie-clements-book-review/
Ancillary Review of Books has an interesting non fiction review of Nothing Wanting - Asexuality and the Matter of Absence by KK Cerankowski
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/01/19/this-page-intentionally-left-blank/
Ancillary’s SFF Librarian all has a feast of short reviews of some reads here
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/01/21/sff-librarian-reviews-jan-2026/
Ancillary also really appreciated the short story collection A Love Story from the End of the World by Juhea Kim
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/01/23/how-do-we-live-at-the-end-of-the-world/
Nerds of a Feather had a good balanced review of Self-Portrait with Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka explaining what did and did not work for the reviewer
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/01/book-review-self-portrait-with-nothing.html
Nerds were less impressed by The Regicide Report by Charlie Stross
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/01/book-review-regicide-report-by-charlie.html
Fantasy Book Nerd despite purple prose had fun with THE CURSE OF THOLGOR by F. DUBAY!
https://www.fantasybooknerd.com/2026/01/book-review-curse-of-tholgor-f-dubay.html?m=1
Expendable Mudge enjoyed despite some issues some queer dystopian fiction in the form of The Shutouts by Gabrielle Korn
https://expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-shutouts-keeping-apocalyptic-tales.html?m=1
Espresso Coco explains why the thriller The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani worked for them
https://espressococo.com/2026/01/21/review-the-midnight-king-by-tariq-ashkanani/
Jam Reads really liked The Night Ship by Alex Woodrow
https://jamreads.com/reviews/the-night-ship-by-alex-woodroe
they also m enjoyed Asunder by Kerstin Hall
https://jamreads.com/reviews/asunder-by-kerstin-hall-uk-release
Bookjockey Alex adds to the list of people enjoying The Noght Ship by Alex Woodroe (I do enjoy when we get to see multiple reviewers reading the same thing at once!)
https://bookjockeyalex.com/2026/01/22/review-the-night-ship-by-alex-woodroe/
Witty and Sarcastic Book Club has a fascinating read of a vampire tale with a difference with John Doe Does Not Suck by Kathryn Berla
Fan Fi Addict enjoyed being unsettled by Trad Wife by Sarah Langan
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-trad-wife-by-sarah-langan/
And finally a reminder all reviews also bring a reviwer’s own experiences to a story and they may see something very different that others will have missed. Stuart Hotston eloquently explains their issues with The Everlasting by Alex E Harrow
https://stewarthotston.com/2026/01/23/review-the-everlasting-i-feel-used-and-dirty/
Awards
The long lost for the BSFA awards is out and members can now vote for who should get to the short list. I definitely recommend having a look at the non fiction and writer sections for some cool links!
https://bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-longlist/
In Other News
Galactic Journey has some more thoughts on 1970’s feminism and some key writers of the year
Journey Planet has a new issue focusing on comics
https://www.journeyplanet.org/journey-planet/issue-92-comic-culture
The Baffler has a fascinating look at how blogging and Maisy have a tortuous history - I am aware this is eventually also a long list of links but I think some context always helps!
https://thebaffler.com/after-the-fact/list-and-shout-kiesling
Ken Liu at Reactor adds to a debate over is SF about foretelling the future
https://reactormag.com/why-science-fiction-cant-predict-the-future-and-why-thats-a-good-thing/
Reactor looks at cyberpunk before the 1980s!
https://reactormag.com/seven-works-of-cyberpunk-written-before-the-eighties-made-it-cool/
A BFSA essay nominee to look is this one from Strange Horozns about framing the future
I really liked this article looking compassionately at what our TBR piles are for
https://reactormag.com/your-to-be-read-pile-might-be-lying-to-you/
Cavan Scott in this short essay reminds us of the value of reality
Published 8 years ago but I suspect relevant to the year ahead is this look at Le Guin and her thoughts on protests m
https://lithub.com/the-way-of-water-on-the-quiet-power-of-ursula-k-le-guins-activism/
Round Ups
Curiosity Killed The Bookworm has a summary of several recent reads
Gautam Bhatia has another great Words for Worlds
https://gautambhatia.substack.com/p/words-for-worlds-issue-113
I’ll sneak in here Espresso Coco’s reads of the past year
https://espressococo.com/2026/01/23/books-of-the-year-2025/
For an excellent read don’t forget The Full Lid is out this week
https://mailchi.mp/83ec5f799763/the-full-lid-january-23rd-2026
As always don’t forget more temptation and fun to be had with Renay’s Intergalactic Mixtape
https://buttondown.com/intergalacticmixtape/archive/intergalactic-mixtape-37/
And finally this poem by Adam Roberts is well worth a quick read after this week
https://profadamroberts.substack.com/p/ozymandias-replies
I leave with wise words from Claudia below. Have a great weekend and see you soon!
