Wombling along
Hellllooo!!!
Welcome to Wombling Along where I gather reviews, articles and other things that caught my eye and I think are worth sharing.
Hope you’re all ok? It’s been a bit of a weird week where the main feeling is frazzled nothing major just flat battery and I’m hoping a long weekend off will do a bit of good. Not quite up to my usual reading speed at all!
TBR Challenges
First up as it’s the first Saturday of the month my pics for my TBR Challenge this month
2 – Partners in crime?
For the month of Valentines you can choose a book about a partnership be it friends, lovers or whatever combination comes to mind
I’ve a soft spot for a good double act and watching the characters who know each other and interact can be a real pleasure. Looking at my shelves it is a treat I’m allowing myself to read a book featuring one of the early dynamic duos of my reading but via a different author who I’ve seen can handles the two well it’s Holes and Watson returning to an old case in Beast of the Stapleton by James Lovegrove
Stretch Goal – ever read a book, get the sequel and then park the sequel for a rainy day? This month prepare for that day!
TBR piles are often reminders to ourselves we forget about. Oooh I need to see what happens next but then you feel it’s never quite the moment for catching up? Fear not February is here to help. You have my permission to carry on. I’m going for a duology and almost as if I planned my reading is The Nameless Lands by Kate Elliott
Reviews
Lord Samper’s Library mysteriously blames me but deep down the really loved Acquired Taste by Clay McLeod Chapman so all that tempts ends well
https://lordsamperlibrary.blogspot.com/2026/02/acquired-taste-clay-mcleod-chapman.html?m=1
The Fantasy Hive has enjoyed Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2026/02/children-of-strife-by-adrian-tchaikovsky-book-review/
Alasdair Stuart has begun a new review project looking at this year’s 2000AD comic each week
https://alasdairstuart.com/2026ad-prog-2464/
Dinipanda Reads in this review falls hard for The Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Fantasy Book Nerds via a mysterious helpful TBR challenge gets to finally enjoy Blood and Sugar by Laura Shepherd
https://www.fantasybooknerd.com/2026/02/book-review-blood-sugar-laura-shepherd.html?m=1
Gingernuts of Horror intrigues me with In The House of Inbetween by JD Buffington
https://gnofhorror.com/in-the-house-of-in-between-by-j-d-buffington-review/
Galactic Journey in 1970 has some sobering news and two anthologies to dissect
https://galacticjourney.org/february-6-1971-retreat-quark-2/
Strange Horizons really lied what Adrian Tchaikovsky does in Spiderlight
https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/spiderlight-by-adrian-tchaikovsky/
They also enjoyed Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree
https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/brigands-breadknives-by-travis-baldree/
Nerds of a Feather explores really well why The Astral Library by Kate Quinn did not work for them
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/02/book-review-astral-library-by-kate-quinn.html
in the latest Realm of the Elderlings catch up they find Robin Hobb actually….merciful!
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/02/realm-of-elderlings-project-fitz-and.html
They also find joy reading Hyo The Hellmaker by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/02/book-review-hyo-hellmaker-by-mina.html
It’s an older review but this look at The Mercy of Gods by SA Corey I feel ask ever more relevant question of the wider genres about how we may seem to think taking down fascists is a bit easier than reality shows
https://www.typebarmagazine.com/tangled-fantasies-internal-resistance/
Ancillary Review of Books tempts me with The Red Labyrinth by Ben Peek
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/02/04/small-press-dispatch-the-cruelty-is-the-point/
Locus looks at the latest Khoreo
https://locusmag.com/review/khoreo-5-3-review-by-a-c-wise/
Witty and Sarcastis book club recommends Sister Svangerd and The Not Quite Dead by KJ Parker
Jamreads enjoyed The Ritual by Adam Nevill
https://jamreads.com/reviews/the-ritual-by-adam-lg-nevill
Awards
Locus has started prep for their award and their reviewers have assembled a recommended reading list worth a look
https://locusmag.com/2026/02/2025-recommended-reading/
BSFA thoughts come here via Nick Hubble
The Ignyte awards are looking for judges to help create the long lists
https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/wanna-judge/
In Other News
Speculative Insight looks at how parenting and SF get explored in tv and film
https://www.speculativeinsight.com/
Charlie Jane Anders explores the death and rebirth of queer bookshops
https://buttondown.com/charliejane/archive/the-death-and-rebirth-of-the-queer-bookstore/
I’m not sure yet I’m ever going to get on board with cosy fantasy and can’t quite woe out if that’s because my tastes run darker or I’ve just not yet found may books in the subgenre that feels like it’s doing anything grabbing my attention
Here is a look at some issues with it crossing into romance
https://reactormag.com/the-problem-with-small-town-witch-romances/
At Art Review Xeuting C Ni explores Wuxia and a host of new women writing in the genre
https://artreview.com/there-is-no-such-thing-as-real-wuxia/
Round Ups
Cheryl Morgan has released their latest Salon Futura which is alway worth a look
https://www.salonfutura.net/2026/02/issue-76/
Gautam Bhatia created their weekly Words for Worlds
https://gautambhatia.substack.com/p/words-for-worlds-issue-114
Imyril at Always Room for One More rounds up January
https://onemore.org/2026/02/01/redux-hello-2026/
The Fantasy Hive give their favourite reads of January too
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2026/01/top-picks-january-2026/
At Reactor Wole Talabi pics ten great African speculative short stories from last year
https://reactormag.com/tenish-of-the-best-african-speculative-short-fiction-stories-of-2025/
As always don’t forget for more genre goodness to read and subscribe to Renay’s Intergalactic Mixtape
https://buttondown.com/intergalacticmixtape/archive/intergalactic-mixtape-39/
And finally I has some suspicions the wider world is why my concentration is shot at the moment and ultimately reading and words are how I relax and also think about what’s going on. I saw this yesterday and it’s rather beautiful and reminds me good words and good performances create art for the times we live on that take us to the heart of the matter so I leave you with Sir Ian McKellan and something beautiful
Have a great weekend and enjoy your reading
