Ancillary Review of Books
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culture, power, speculation
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https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AncillaryReview
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ARB’s 2025 Notable Criticism
In the field of speculative criticism, many of the challenges and positive developments we noted last year are still in full effect. 2025 has brought even more precarity for culture writers and aca…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
Last post of the year! We present ARB's Notable Criticism of 2025—ten articles that highlight the vitality and possibilities of speculative criticism:
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Something affecting us in book publishing world: book club scams! They obviously target desperate authors and while these might be easier to spot for folks in the fiction world, who see lots of scams, these book clubs are now heavily targeting authors of UP books. So be wary!
The New “Book Club” Scam Targeting Authors and How to Spot It
A Public Service Post for Writers
medium.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Something affecting us in book publishing world: book club scams! They obviously target desperate authors and while these might be easier to spot for folks in the fiction world, who see lots of scams, these book clubs are now heavily targeting authors of UP books. So be wary!
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
My February small press column is up! Wasn't sure what to expect picking this one up, but it was a surprisingly hard hitter, and with a lot of interesting things in to have a poke at.
"The Cruelty is the Point" - for the latest Small Press Dispatch, @chloroformtea.bsky.social looks at tyranny, rebellion, and language in Ben Peek's RED LABYRINTH (@snugglybooks.bsky.social):
Small Press Dispatch: The Cruelty is the Point
Roseanna Pendlebury The Red Labyrinth is where people are sent when they break the Red King’s laws. Zoja Rose’s crime was learning to read, compounded by her use of this knowledge to learn more abo…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:19 PM
My February small press column is up! Wasn't sure what to expect picking this one up, but it was a surprisingly hard hitter, and with a lot of interesting things in to have a poke at.
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Such a wealth of amazing books here. I challenge you to look through and not find something interesting to review
Lots of good SF books (and books about speculative fiction & related topics) coming out this spring: check out our latest call for reviews & essays!
Calls for Reviews & Essays: 2026
The Ancillary Review of Books publishes reviews and essays with an emphasis on utopian impulses and systemic injustices. ARB seeks to build a community of radical thinkers writing about amazing, sp…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Such a wealth of amazing books here. I challenge you to look through and not find something interesting to review
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Locus Awards voting is OPEN!
Anyone can vote, and you can write in any eligible titles, editors, publishers, artists, magazines, and more!
Even the Hugos usually see only two or three thousand votes, far fewer in some categories - your votes matter!🗳️
poll.voting.locusmag.com
Anyone can vote, and you can write in any eligible titles, editors, publishers, artists, magazines, and more!
Even the Hugos usually see only two or three thousand votes, far fewer in some categories - your votes matter!🗳️
poll.voting.locusmag.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:56 AM
Locus Awards voting is OPEN!
Anyone can vote, and you can write in any eligible titles, editors, publishers, artists, magazines, and more!
Even the Hugos usually see only two or three thousand votes, far fewer in some categories - your votes matter!🗳️
poll.voting.locusmag.com
Anyone can vote, and you can write in any eligible titles, editors, publishers, artists, magazines, and more!
Even the Hugos usually see only two or three thousand votes, far fewer in some categories - your votes matter!🗳️
poll.voting.locusmag.com
new "favorite" genre of slop-spam is where they awkwardly compliment/recap one of our writers' articles and then tie it to a wildly unrelated product or service
February 4, 2026 at 8:02 PM
new "favorite" genre of slop-spam is where they awkwardly compliment/recap one of our writers' articles and then tie it to a wildly unrelated product or service
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
The Ancillary Review of Books anti-billionaire promise:
February 4, 2026 at 3:45 PM
The Ancillary Review of Books anti-billionaire promise:
"The Cruelty is the Point" - for the latest Small Press Dispatch, @chloroformtea.bsky.social looks at tyranny, rebellion, and language in Ben Peek's RED LABYRINTH (@snugglybooks.bsky.social):
Small Press Dispatch: The Cruelty is the Point
Roseanna Pendlebury The Red Labyrinth is where people are sent when they break the Red King’s laws. Zoja Rose’s crime was learning to read, compounded by her use of this knowledge to learn more abo…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
February 4, 2026 at 1:43 PM
"The Cruelty is the Point" - for the latest Small Press Dispatch, @chloroformtea.bsky.social looks at tyranny, rebellion, and language in Ben Peek's RED LABYRINTH (@snugglybooks.bsky.social):
Lots of good SF books (and books about speculative fiction & related topics) coming out this spring: check out our latest call for reviews & essays!
Calls for Reviews & Essays: 2026
The Ancillary Review of Books publishes reviews and essays with an emphasis on utopian impulses and systemic injustices. ARB seeks to build a community of radical thinkers writing about amazing, sp…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
February 2, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Lots of good SF books (and books about speculative fiction & related topics) coming out this spring: check out our latest call for reviews & essays!
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Here's more from our Criticism Special Issue!
Structural Functionalism and Fantasy Fiction
by O. F. Cieri
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Structural Functionalism and Fantasy Fiction
by O. F. Cieri
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
January 30, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Here's more from our Criticism Special Issue!
Structural Functionalism and Fantasy Fiction
by O. F. Cieri
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Structural Functionalism and Fantasy Fiction
by O. F. Cieri
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Check out this review I wrote for the excellent @ancillaryreviewofbooks.org on Jeremy Rosen’s new book on the genre turn of literary fiction, Genre Bending
The Plastic Utility of Genre: @sebsp.bsky.social reviews Jeremy Rosen's GENRE BENDING (@stanfordpress.bsky.social)
The Plastic Utility of Genre: Review of Jeremy Rosen’s Genre Bending
Sebastian Sparrevohn Under Review:Genre Bending: The Plasticity of Form in Contemporary Literary Fiction. Jeremy Rosen. Stanford University Press, December 2025. Jeremy Rosen’s Genre Bending: The P…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 29, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Check out this review I wrote for the excellent @ancillaryreviewofbooks.org on Jeremy Rosen’s new book on the genre turn of literary fiction, Genre Bending
The Plastic Utility of Genre: @sebsp.bsky.social reviews Jeremy Rosen's GENRE BENDING (@stanfordpress.bsky.social)
The Plastic Utility of Genre: Review of Jeremy Rosen’s Genre Bending
Sebastian Sparrevohn Under Review:Genre Bending: The Plasticity of Form in Contemporary Literary Fiction. Jeremy Rosen. Stanford University Press, December 2025. Jeremy Rosen’s Genre Bending: The P…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 28, 2026 at 3:10 PM
The Plastic Utility of Genre: @sebsp.bsky.social reviews Jeremy Rosen's GENRE BENDING (@stanfordpress.bsky.social)
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
So much love for @moonpalacebooks.bsky.social
“Everything We Do Matters.” Minneapolis’s Moon Palace Books is a Hub For Anti-ICE Resistance
Angela Schwesnedl from Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis picked up my phone call on Saturday almost two hours to the minute after Alex Pretti was murdered in the street by ICE officers. “If you have…
lithub.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:12 PM
So much love for @moonpalacebooks.bsky.social
In the latest episode of A Meal of Thorns, biographer Jon Tattrie (TO LEAVE A WARRIOR BEHIND) joins to talk about Charles R. Saunders' sword-and-soul classic IMARO, and its many lives & afterlives:
A Meal of Thorns 42- IMARO with Jon Tattrie
Charles Saunders’ sword and soul narratives, pulp-fantasy-inspired tales of Black and African heroes, helped blaze a trail for the genre—but, like Saunders himself, they have a complica…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:10 PM
In the latest episode of A Meal of Thorns, biographer Jon Tattrie (TO LEAVE A WARRIOR BEHIND) joins to talk about Charles R. Saunders' sword-and-soul classic IMARO, and its many lives & afterlives:
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
📣 It's here: the 2026 @strangehorizons.bsky.social Criticism Special!
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
26 January 2026
Welcome to the annual Strange Horizons criticism special!
strangehorizons.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:41 PM
📣 It's here: the 2026 @strangehorizons.bsky.social Criticism Special!
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
I just finished the works of vermin based on this review. It was an incredible statement of a book and I loved every minute reading it.
Synesthetic, Uncapturable, Uninterpretable, Irreproducible: @megapolisomancy.bsky.social reviews Hiron Ennes' THE WORKS OF VERMIN (@torbooks.bsky.social)
Synesthetic, Uncapturable, Uninterpretable, Irreproducible: Review of Hiron Ennes’s The Works of Vermin
Zachary Gillan Under Review:The Works of Vermin. Hiron Ennes. Tor Books, October 2025. “In the true work of art”, Walter Benjamin once wrote, “pleasure can be fleeting, it can live in the moment, i…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 20, 2026 at 12:32 AM
I just finished the works of vermin based on this review. It was an incredible statement of a book and I loved every minute reading it.
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
I have a chapter on ectogestation and reproductive justice out in this new edited collection on Technology, Health, and Law in Life and Death 👇 www.bloomsbury.com/uk/technolog...
Technology, Health, and Law in Life and Death
This book brings together leading global scholars to examine the legal, ethical and social implications of biotechnological innovations in healthcare throughout…
www.bloomsbury.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:35 PM
I have a chapter on ectogestation and reproductive justice out in this new edited collection on Technology, Health, and Law in Life and Death 👇 www.bloomsbury.com/uk/technolog...
How Do We Live at the End of the World? @rymkechacha.bsky.social reviews Juhea Kim's collection of speculative climate stories, from @eccobooks.bsky.social:
How Do We Live at the End of the World? Review of Juhea Kim’s A Love Story from the End of the World
Rym Kechacha Under Review:A Love Story from the End of the World. Juhea Kim. Ecco, November 2025. After two successful novels, Juhea Kim presents A Love Story from The End of the World, a short sto…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 23, 2026 at 1:52 PM
How Do We Live at the End of the World? @rymkechacha.bsky.social reviews Juhea Kim's collection of speculative climate stories, from @eccobooks.bsky.social:
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Gems across every category in the @bsfa.bsky.social long list. I’ll note some of the nonfiction.
Very good to see Kincaid, @adamroberts.bsky.social and @jsanchez-taylor.bsky.social in long nonfiction. Some other works there I’ve not read but now want to, too.
Very good to see Kincaid, @adamroberts.bsky.social and @jsanchez-taylor.bsky.social in long nonfiction. Some other works there I’ve not read but now want to, too.
Vote for the BSFA Awards
www.bsfa.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Gems across every category in the @bsfa.bsky.social long list. I’ll note some of the nonfiction.
Very good to see Kincaid, @adamroberts.bsky.social and @jsanchez-taylor.bsky.social in long nonfiction. Some other works there I’ve not read but now want to, too.
Very good to see Kincaid, @adamroberts.bsky.social and @jsanchez-taylor.bsky.social in long nonfiction. Some other works there I’ve not read but now want to, too.
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Reading Awards Longlists to Gratifyingly Find 'Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Fascism' in an Age of Fascism
(Heartfelt thanks to anyone nominating and/or voting and/or just reading the essay. The fascists will lose.)
(Heartfelt thanks to anyone nominating and/or voting and/or just reading the essay. The fascists will lose.)
Vote for the BSFA Awards
www.bsfa.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Reading Awards Longlists to Gratifyingly Find 'Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Fascism' in an Age of Fascism
(Heartfelt thanks to anyone nominating and/or voting and/or just reading the essay. The fascists will lose.)
(Heartfelt thanks to anyone nominating and/or voting and/or just reading the essay. The fascists will lose.)
The SFF Librarian Reviews: Jeremy Brett looks at Rambo's RUMOR HAS IT (@torbooks.bsky.social), Cooney's SAINT DEATH'S HERALD (@solarisbooks.bsky.social), Nolan's HAPPY BAD (Astra House), and THE ESSENTIAL AKUTAGAWA, tr. Medhurst (@tuttlepublishing.bsky.social):
The SFF Librarian Reviews: January 2026
SFF Librarian Reviews Jeremy Brett As a voracious reader, and as someone for whom science fiction and fantasy are part of my daily job as a science fiction librarian, I come across a lot of wonderf…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 21, 2026 at 2:20 PM
The SFF Librarian Reviews: Jeremy Brett looks at Rambo's RUMOR HAS IT (@torbooks.bsky.social), Cooney's SAINT DEATH'S HERALD (@solarisbooks.bsky.social), Nolan's HAPPY BAD (Astra House), and THE ESSENTIAL AKUTAGAWA, tr. Medhurst (@tuttlepublishing.bsky.social):
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
I’ve got another review up at @ancillaryreviewofbooks.org !
This Page Intentionally Left Blank: @pinebeltblues.bsky.social reviews KJ Cerankowski's NOTHING WANTING (@uminnpress.bsky.social)
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 19, 2026 at 10:56 PM
I’ve got another review up at @ancillaryreviewofbooks.org !
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
It’s a good day to follow @bookcritics.bsky.social. Our finalist lists drop today!
January 20, 2026 at 12:40 PM
It’s a good day to follow @bookcritics.bsky.social. Our finalist lists drop today!
Reposted by Ancillary Review of Books
Excited to have a little flash piece about demons and queer precarity in this edition of @havenspec.bsky.social!
Our ✨January 2026 issue✨ is ready at last!
Subscribers will get it January 26th, and everyone else can read it February 2nd!
It's taken a long time to get the issue ready, but take a look at that 😍TOC😍! The wait was well worth it!
Subscribe through Patreon:
www.patreon.com/c/HavenSpecM...
Subscribers will get it January 26th, and everyone else can read it February 2nd!
It's taken a long time to get the issue ready, but take a look at that 😍TOC😍! The wait was well worth it!
Subscribe through Patreon:
www.patreon.com/c/HavenSpecM...
January 19, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Excited to have a little flash piece about demons and queer precarity in this edition of @havenspec.bsky.social!
This Page Intentionally Left Blank: @pinebeltblues.bsky.social reviews KJ Cerankowski's NOTHING WANTING (@uminnpress.bsky.social)
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
January 19, 2026 at 2:45 PM
This Page Intentionally Left Blank: @pinebeltblues.bsky.social reviews KJ Cerankowski's NOTHING WANTING (@uminnpress.bsky.social)