Wombling Along

reviews

Jul 4

Helloooo!

Welcome to Wombling Along! The blog’s weekend supplement where I gather up the reviews and other things that caught my eye online. Grab a cuppa and get booktempted.

It’s been another busy week so good news I’m reading but little reviewing headspace but I’m hoping a breakthrough yesterday fixed that. I have though nearly finished the Clarke award reading so next I will focus on Hugos and then Le Guin and BFS.

Reviews

Locus looks at Analog’s short fiction

https://locusmag.com/review/analog-mar-apr-2026-review-by-a-c-wise/

And The Faith of Beasts by James SA Corey

https://locusmag.com/review/the-faith-of-beasts-by-james-s-a-corey-review-by-russell-letson/

Strange Horizons has a timely look at the excellent Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta

https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/mad-sisters-of-esi-by-tashan-mehta/

And Nonesuch by Frances Spufford

https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/nonesuch-by-francis-spufford/

Blue Book Balloon looks favourably Our Noble Selves by Kate Aktinson

http://bluebookballoon.blogspot.com/2026/07/review-our-noble-selves-by-kate-atkinson.html

Nerds of a Feather enjoyed Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead by K J Parker

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/07/book-review-sister-svangerd-and-not.html

And also impressed by Angel Down by Daniel Kraus

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/06/review-angel-down-by-daniel-kraus.html

Gingernuts of Horror dive into Appalachian horror Fawn - The Devil Knows Her Name by C N Vair

https://gnofhorror.com/fawn-the-devil-knows-her-name-by-c-n-vair/

They really enjoyed the slow horror of The Red Sacrament by Sarah Hinkley

https://gnofhorror.com/the-red-sacrament-by-sara-hinkley-review/

And also enjoyed Blood On the Bricks edited by Neil Williamson

https://gnofhorror.com/blood-in-the-bricks-urban-folk-horror-review/

Ancillary Review of Books also was impressed by The Red Sacrament too!

https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/07/02/blood-and-history/

And a balanced look at Everybody’s Perfect by Jo Walton

https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/06/30/a-world-to-get-lost-in/

And a word to remember as they look at Baculum by Edwin Callihan

https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/06/27/nutritional-facts-mock-the-lord/

Becky’s Book Blog is very impressed by Voyagers by Meg Charlton which sounds fascinating

https://crooksbooks.blog/2026/07/02/voyagers-by-meg-charlton-arc-review/

Jam Reads adds to the many good reviews of Moon over Brendle by Jeff Noon

https://jamreads.com/reviews/moon-over-brendle-by-jeff-noon

Blibionerd Reflections explores the Fantastic The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed

https://biblionerdreflections.com/2026/07/01/the-republic-of-memory-arc-review/

In non-fiction Ian Mond is swept along by The Recollections by Christopher Priest and Nina Allen

https://ianmond.substack.com/p/the-recollections-by-christopher

Bookdout really liked This Is Where The Future Bleeds by Mike Brooks

https://bookdout.wordpress.com/2026/07/01/review-this-is-where-the-future-bleeds-by-mike-brooks/

A certain bridge appears in the latest Lord of the Rings readalong from The Wrong Questions

http://wrongquestions.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-great-tolkien-reread-journey-in.html

Pages Unbound had fun reading Thorn by Intisar Khanani

https://pagesunbound.wordpress.com/2026/06/30/thorn-by-intisar-khanani/

Reactor liked the excellent The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe

https://reactormag.com/book-review-the-killing-spell-by-shay-kauwe/

And in not quite a review GavReads explores what happens when a books does not work for you and as it is Dungeon Crawler Carl I can understand that feeling

https://gavreads.co.uk/2026/06/29/dungeon-crawler-carl-and-the-problem-of-not-caring/

SFF World really liked The Tinder Box by M R Carey

https://www.sffworld.com/2026/06/the-tinder-box-by-m-r-carey/

Awards

the Le Guin awards were announced and a great looking shortlist awaits

https://www.ursulakleguin.com/prize26

In other News

At Stone Soup Ghost Gautam Bhatia talks about editing Strange Horizons and the structure of the magazine is very refreshing

https://stone-soup.ghost.io/guest-feature-on-editing-an-anarchist-sff-magazine/

The British Fantasy Society explores the charms of novella

https://britishfantasysociety.org/the-joy-of-novellas/

Looking for more novellas? Try Small Pitch