Wombling Along
Helloooo!
Welcome to the blog’s weekend feature where I gather reviews and other things that caught my eye online this week.
My week has been very much work focused as a lot of things have erupted at once. This has massively curtailed my reading time and unfortunately may go on for a few more weeks. It will pass…please pass.
Reviews
SFF world explores the tricky middle book of The Captain’s Daughter by Peter F Hamilton
https://www.sffworld.com/2026/06/the-captains-daughter-by-peter-f-hamilton-2/
Blue Book Balloon enjoyed Ava Morwood’s Until We Drown as much as I did
http://bluebookballoon.blogspot.com/2026/06/review-until-we-drown-by-ava-morwood.html
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub entices me with a Dungeon book (after this week a hard sell) but The Dungeon Master by Gareth Hanrahan sounds interesting
Gingernuts of Horror looks at horro for ten year olds that doesn’t include end of year assessments
https://gnofhorror.com/the-kids-are-alright-horror-books-for-10-year-olds/
And reminds me I cannot wait to read Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist
https://gnofhorror.com/home-sick-by-rhiannon-grist-review/
And this Dark Academia tale appeals in the form of The Way It Haunted Him by Laura R Samotin
https://gnofhorror.com/the-way-it-haunted-him-review-laura-r-samotin/
Fantasy Book Nerd is very impressed by Trad Wife by Sarah Langan
https://www.fantasybooknerd.com/2026/06/book-review-trad-wife-sarah-langan.html
Locus tempts with Department of the Vanishing by Johanna Bell
https://locusmag.com/review/department-of-the-vanishing-by-johanna-bell-review-by-ian-mond/
Ancillary explores in this great review who a book is for while also talks about Figures Crossing The Field Towards The Group by Rebecca Gransden
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/06/10/spd-single-syllable-symphony/
Also a balanced look at Vile Lady Villains by Danai Christopoulou
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/06/12/theyre-not-bad/
They’re also very impressed by Rabbit, Fox afar by PC Verrone
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/06/09/conjuring-toni/
Reactor tempts me with uncertainty with this look at The Impossibility of Crows by Kirsten Kaschock
https://reactormag.com/book-review-an-impossibility-of-crows-by-kirsten-kaschock/
Unofficial Hugo Book Club find a finely read in the form of Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer
http://hugoclub.blogspot.com/2026/02/midwife-crisis-or-regressive-theocracy.html
They also highly recommend Ode to the Half Broken by Suzanne Palmer
http://hugoclub.blogspot.com/2026/06/half-broken-but-fully-awesome.html
SF Book Reviews explores ballet and fae (weirdly the second book on this topic I’ve seen this year) in the form of Wonders Never Cease by Lexy Hudson
https://sfbook.com/wonders-never-cease.htm
Strange Horizons enjoyed The Soujd of the Dark by Daniel Church
https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/the-sound-of-the-dark-by-daniel-church/
Awards
The Stoker awards announced their winners
https://locusmag.com/2026/06/2025-stoker-awards-winners/
As did The Nebulas
https://sfwa.org/2026/06/06/61st-annual-nebula-awards-winners/
the Ignyte Awards has announced its shortlists
https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/vote/
As have the Future Worlds Prize
https://www.futureworldsprize.co.uk/2026-prize/
In other news
Speculative Insight has a fascinating free essay looking at gods in fantasy
https://www.speculativeinsight.com/essays/ambiguously
And fairytales
https://www.speculativeinsight.com/from-the-vault/modern-place-fairytales
Pages Unbound has some thoughts on reading classics
AI seems to have a recurring character called Elias Thorne in this fascinating story that again explains why it’s not a good thing for writing
https://www.404media.co/elias-thorne-chatbots-llms-chatgpt-lighthouse-keeper-story/
Ancillary also had this roundtable of reviewers where I was invited with a host of colleagues to people to discuss writing a positive, negative or critical review
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/06/11/ror-positivity-negativity-or-the-secret-third-thing/
Reactor explores the work of two authors I need to read more of Joel Lane and Clive Barker
https://reactormag.com/poetry-from-the-plague-pit-the-early-stories-of-clive-barker-and-joel-lane/
The author Lorraine Wilson explored reviews and their impact on a debut author
https://www.patreon.com/LorraineWilson/posts/reviews-authors-158145012
As always never forget to read Renay’s Essential Intergalactic Mixtape
https://buttondown.com/intergalacticmixtape/archive/intergalactic-mixtape-57/
And finally how many words can you recognise in this little game?
https://vocabowl-870366514258.us-west1.run.app/
Have a great weekend, fear not Doctor Who will return and keep reading
See you soon
