Wombling Along!
Hellloooo!
Holiday time is over (wailing returns) a lovely time in Sicily was had and returning to my Shreddies after a lovely display of cakes for breakfast is not optimal. The return to work was a system shock and for good measure the trains went spectacularly wrong on Thursday but I am still feeling much better for a break. A week off reviewing was also quite nice too!
Today I am looking forward to review writing again! That should keep me out of trouble and your TBR piles refreshed - win win eh?
Ahem welcome to Wombling Along the blog‘s weekend supplement where I share reviews and other things that caught my eye online.
Reviews
Becky’s Books enjoys a finale to a fantasy series with The Fury of The Gods by John Gwynne
https://crooksbooks.blog/2026/08/07/the-fury-of-the-gods-by-john-gwynne-book-review/
SF Books was impressed by Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist
https://sfbook.com/home-sick.htm
And also The Infinite State by Richard Swan
https://www.sffworld.com/2026/08/the-infinite-state-by-richard-swan/
Ginger Nuts of Horror get surprised by The House That Eats The Dead by Max Doty
https://gnofhorror.com/the-house-that-eats-the-dead-by-max-doty-review/
They were also really taken by Dreamland by Olive Blake
https://gnofhorror.com/dreamland-by-olivie-blake-review-hollywood-gothic/
Skiffy and Fanty give a balanced review of The Age of Blood and Magic by Hannah Mathewson
https://skiffyandfanty.com/blog/review-the-age-of-blood-and-magic-by-mathewson/
Jam Reads is impressed with the sequel Eight Tastes of Treachery by Ryan Rose
https://jamreads.com/reviews/eight-tastes-of-treachery-what-we-eat-2-by-ryan-rose
and another sequel impressed with Six Savage Thrones by Holly Race
https://jamreads.com/reviews/six-savage-thrones-queens-of-elben-2-by-holly-race
Locus Looks at Asimovs
https://locusmag.com/review/asimovs-review-5-6-26-by-a-c-wise/
They also tempt me with Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman
https://locusmag.com/review/ignore-all-previous-instructions-by-ada-hoffmann-review-by-gary-k-wolfe/
Ancillary Review of Books enjoyed the gothic novella The Turn by Rachel Feder
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/08/05/everything-is-sex-except-sex-which-is-power/
Witty and Sarcastic Book Club hugely enjoyed A A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2026/07/14/book-review-a-trade-of-blood/
Stewart Hotston really enjoyed Hooked by Asako Yuzuki
https://stewarthotston.com/2026/08/04/hooked-a-brutal-funny-and-sad-story-about-female-friendship/
Nerds of a Feather tempts exceedingly well Wickhills by Premee Mohamed
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/08/book-review-wickhills-by-premee-mohamed.html
Ian Mond was impressed by Weak In Comparison to Dreams by James Elkins
https://ianmond.substack.com/p/weak-in-comparison-to-dreams-by-james
And enters the repeating world of On The Calculation of Volume Volume 1 by Slovej Balle
https://ianmond.substack.com/p/on-the-calculation-of-volume-book
Harare Review of Books enjoyed The Unrepentant - Short Stories by Sharmini Aphrodite
https://hararereview.com/2026/08/02/the-unrepentant-short-stories-x-sharmini-aphrodite/
Awards
The Mythopoeic Society announced their award winners
https://mythsoc.org/news/news-2026-07-26.htm
The World Fantasy Award nominees have been announced
https://locusmag.com/2026/08/2026-world-fantasy-awards-finalists/
Tar Volon looks at the Hugo Novellas
https://www.tarvolon.com/2026/08/05/2026-hugo-awards-ballot-best-novella/
As do Skiffy and Fanty!
https://skiffyandfanty.com/blog/reviews-hugo-finalists-for-best-novella/
At Nerds of a Feather a look at the Clarke Award shortlist was had
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/08/the-arthur-c-clarke-award-2026.html
In Other News
I saw this older blog post by Stewart Hotston looking at the Vimes Boots theory
https://stewarthotston.com/2026/03/02/the-pain-point-or-why-the-vimes-boots-theory-isnt-true/
Speculative Insights has a new essay exploring the idea of the Bride of Frankenstein
https://www.speculativeinsight.com/
I strongly recommend this essay from P Djeli Clark on using African culture and history in fantasy world-building
https://disgruntledharadrim.com/2026/08/04/africa-fantasy-and
I also really liked this exploration of what a community should be from Micaiah Johnson
https://www.patreon.com/MicaiahJohnson/posts/my-favorite-cat-165399045
Ancillary Review of Books gathered up articles in their monthly Wow Signal
https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2026/08/07/wow-signal-august-2026/
The Full Lid this week explored smartly storytelling
https://mailchi.mp/8f3ffbcab460/the-full-lid-7th-august-2026
As always for more great stuff don’t forget your essential Intergalactic Mixtape from Renay
https://buttondown.com/intergalacticmixtape/archive/intergalactic-mixtape-65/
Have a great weekend but it is time for me to don the Womble Helm and get back to Booktempting. Keep reading and I will see you soon!
