Wombling Along
Hellooo!
Welcome to Wombling Along the blog’s weekend supplant where I share the reviews and other things online that caught my eye. Not everyone is online at once so for me it’s nice to try to pick up the Conversation in a slightly different way.
Hope you’re ok? We here in Liverpool have had a day without much rain but otherwise the U.K. has indeed been a bit soggy for quite some time. This means I’ve largely been reading oh dear what a shame. A couple of days off have been lovely and a few more are planned over the next month. Reading wise it’s been good and schedule is going ok!
Reviews
Ancillary Review of Books have been busy and we start with the bleak dystopian short story collection World’s End by James Sallis
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/02/20/all-we-have-are-the-connections-that-we-make/
Ancillary also have another Profane Illuminations looking at three example s of Weird Fiction
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/02/18/profane-illuminations-iii/
Ancillary also has this tempting review of The Happiness Collector by Crystal King
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/02/16/meander-curate-lose/
Locus add to the number of good reviews I’ve seen for The Essence by Dave Hutchinson
https://locusmag.com/review/the-essence-by-dave-hutchinson-review-by-alexandra-pierce/
They also take a look at Clarkesworld
https://locusmag.com/review/clarkesworld-11-25-review-by-a-c-wise/
Also a reminder I need to read Secrets of The First School by T L Huchu
https://locusmag.com/review/secrets-of-the-first-school-by-t-l-huchu-review-by-colleen-mondor/
And another positive review of the fantastic The Apple and The Pearl by Rym Kechacha
https://locusmag.com/review/the-apple-and-the-pearl-by-rym-kechacha-review-by-niall-harrison/
Nerds of a Feather add to why you would read All That Is In The Earth by Andrew Knighton
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/02/book-review-all-that-is-in-earth-by.html
Gingernuts of Horror has a very good review of why Shine by Am Shine doesn’t quite work for them
https://gnofhorror.com/grace-by-a-m-shine-review-disjointed-folk-horror/
The Fantasy Hive have a buddy read review of The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2026/02/the-elsewhere-express-by-samantha-sotto-yambao-buddy-read-review/
Diversity In Horror has a great temptation in the form of the Valley of Vengeful Ghpsts by Kim Fu
https://diversityhorror.com/2026/02/15/the-valley-of-vengeful-ghosts-by-kim-fu/
Jamreads is impressed by Sauti Terrors edited by Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton and Cheryl S Ntumi
https://jamreads.com/reviews/sauti-terrors-edited-by-eugen-bacon-stephen-embleton-and-cheryl-s-ntumi
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub hugely enjoyed The Curse of Dragon Tail Island by Jonathan Nevair
Reactor share their favourite short fiction of January
https://reactormag.com/must-read-short-speculative-fiction-january-2026/
Nightmare explores why the short story Bartleby, The Scrivener is very effective weird fiction
https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/nonfiction/the-h-word-bartleby-and-the-weird/
Fantasy Book Critic here explains while some fun was had Green Deadly Things by Jenn Lyon’s has not quite worked for them here
https://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2026/02/review-green-deadly-things-by-jenn-lyons.html?m=1
Reader of Else dives deep into The Calculation of Volume II by Solvej Balle translated by Barbara J Haveland
Harare Review of Books tempts me with The House of Illusionists and Other Stories by Vanessa Fogg
A review can help you decide even based on the reviewer’s final verdict if you want to have a look based on the argument it is making. This balanced review to allow you to decide if Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman is really helpfully argued (it’s not for me but I know loads who enjoy it) as to what its doing and why that can work for readers. This is a great example of what the reviewer is for
Awards
The Ignyte Awards for z2026 are looking for support - a good cause to aid!
https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/support/
The LA Festival of Books has some fine short list of nominees
https://www.latimes.com/events/festival-of-books/book-prizes
And while not quite an award the online community Fantasy Faction have their top 50 books of 2025
In Other News
Stewart Hotston makes an eloquent argument here that readers will never fully get context for many reasons so don’t fall for Don’t Show Don’t tell
https://stewarthotston.com/2026/02/19/why-show-dont-tell-is-bullshit-advice-mostly/
The British Fantasy Society had a regular ask an expert column and this month’s has Pam Livingstone discussing romance and spice in SFFH which is very informative!
https://britishfantasysociety.org/ask-an-expert-february-2026/
I really enjoyed this Angela Slatter interview from Gingernuts of Horror
https://gnofhorror.com/a-forest-darkly-a-g-slatters-interview/
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub also have a list of books with relationships that are not about love
Round Ups
Words for Worlds by Gautam Bhatia is always worth subscribing to
https://gautambhatia.substack.com/p/words-for-worlds-issue-115
Always subscribe to the Full Lid
https://mailchi.mp/e5f4b60e2842/y5uoz01zp7
And for greatness and the article on blogging is a MUST Read don’t forget to subscribe to Renay’s Intergalactic Mixtape
https://buttondown.com/intergalacticmixtape/archive/intergalactic-mixtape-41/
I leave you now with a fossil to remember
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v0ev05mdjo
Have a great weekend and keep reading!
