Niall Harrison
@niallharrison.bsky.social
reader, critic, fan, he/him
Reposted by Niall Harrison
The recommended reading list is here, and I'm going to post links to reviews of the titles below, but you can vote for any eligible books (and you can also nominate these titles in other relevant categories, like Best SF Novel or Best First Novel, should you be so moved) locusmag.com/2026/02/2025...
2025 Recommended Reading List
Welcome to the Locus Recommended Reading List… We saw some fabulous books come out last year and are so pleased to let you know about them! Our recommendations are compiled annually by the Locus re…
locusmag.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:17 PM
The recommended reading list is here, and I'm going to post links to reviews of the titles below, but you can vote for any eligible books (and you can also nominate these titles in other relevant categories, like Best SF Novel or Best First Novel, should you be so moved) locusmag.com/2026/02/2025...
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Hopping on the back of this to highlight that the inclusion of Best Translated Novel in the recommended reading list this year means there is now also a Best Translated Novel category in the awards - so go forth and vote! Because if not enough people use the category, it might not be there forever.
It's that time of year again! The Locus Awards are looming in the distance, but you need to choose your champions! Voting is now open for all, give your favorite authors and works the voice they deserve!
Vote now at poll.voting.locusmag... or via the link in our bio.
Vote now at poll.voting.locusmag... or via the link in our bio.
February 13, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Hopping on the back of this to highlight that the inclusion of Best Translated Novel in the recommended reading list this year means there is now also a Best Translated Novel category in the awards - so go forth and vote! Because if not enough people use the category, it might not be there forever.
Hopping on the back of this to highlight that the inclusion of Best Translated Novel in the recommended reading list this year means there is now also a Best Translated Novel category in the awards - so go forth and vote! Because if not enough people use the category, it might not be there forever.
It's that time of year again! The Locus Awards are looming in the distance, but you need to choose your champions! Voting is now open for all, give your favorite authors and works the voice they deserve!
Vote now at poll.voting.locusmag... or via the link in our bio.
Vote now at poll.voting.locusmag... or via the link in our bio.
February 13, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Hopping on the back of this to highlight that the inclusion of Best Translated Novel in the recommended reading list this year means there is now also a Best Translated Novel category in the awards - so go forth and vote! Because if not enough people use the category, it might not be there forever.
Reposted by Niall Harrison
The Year in Review 2025 by Jake Casella Brookins locusmag.com/feature...
February 12, 2026 at 8:07 PM
The Year in Review 2025 by Jake Casella Brookins locusmag.com/feature...
Loved this. Locus review won't be online for a bit, but here's the conclusion.
February 12, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Loved this. Locus review won't be online for a bit, but here's the conclusion.
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Hugo nominations are open; our eligible title this year is Paul Kincaid's Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction, for Best Related Work
February 11, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Hugo nominations are open; our eligible title this year is Paul Kincaid's Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction, for Best Related Work
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Check out Niall Harrison’s review of THE VILLAGE AT THE EDGE OF NOON by Darya Bobyleva: “it is about how stories can run in parallel, even among groups of good people who work and live closely together for years.”
The Village at the Edge of Noon by Darya Bobyleva: Review by Niall Harrison
The Village at the Edge of Noon, Darya Bobyleva (Angry Robot 978-0-857-66990-2, $18.99, 384pp, tp) December 2025. Darya Bobyleva’s The Village at the Edge of Noon, translated by Ilona Yazhbin Chava…
locusmag.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Check out Niall Harrison’s review of THE VILLAGE AT THE EDGE OF NOON by Darya Bobyleva: “it is about how stories can run in parallel, even among groups of good people who work and live closely together for years.”
This review starts and ends with comparison to another book, the review of which isn't online yet; but hopefully the rest of it is readable in isolation locusmag.com/review/the-v...
The Village at the Edge of Noon by Darya Bobyleva: Review by Niall Harrison
The Village at the Edge of Noon, Darya Bobyleva (Angry Robot 978-0-857-66990-2, $18.99, 384pp, tp) December 2025. Darya Bobyleva’s The Village at the Edge of Noon, translated by Ilona Yazhbin Chava…
locusmag.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:30 PM
This review starts and ends with comparison to another book, the review of which isn't online yet; but hopefully the rest of it is readable in isolation locusmag.com/review/the-v...
Reposted by Niall Harrison
The Year in Review 2025 by Tim Melody Pratt locusmag.com/feature...
February 8, 2026 at 11:32 PM
The Year in Review 2025 by Tim Melody Pratt locusmag.com/feature...
An unexpected detail in On the Calculation of Volume is that it seems to be set in a timeline or at a time when the much-promised, and much-delayed, Newcastle--Bergen passenger ferry route is actually operational.
February 8, 2026 at 10:12 PM
An unexpected detail in On the Calculation of Volume is that it seems to be set in a timeline or at a time when the much-promised, and much-delayed, Newcastle--Bergen passenger ferry route is actually operational.
The minimum word requirement for the Hugo Best Series category is 240,000. Has anyone tried to estimate when On the Calculation of Volume becomes eligible? I don't think it is on the basis of the first three vols; but maybe by the end of this year, when there are five?
February 8, 2026 at 12:52 PM
The minimum word requirement for the Hugo Best Series category is 240,000. Has anyone tried to estimate when On the Calculation of Volume becomes eligible? I don't think it is on the basis of the first three vols; but maybe by the end of this year, when there are five?
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Our February link round-up is live!
Wow! Signal: February 2026
Jake Casella Brookins I’ve got a somewhat shorter list this month: partially because a few other venues were just flooding the zone with good articles (looking at you, LARB & SH), partial…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
February 7, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Our February link round-up is live!
Reposted by Niall Harrison
The Year in Review 2025 by Colleen Mondor locusmag.com/feature...
February 6, 2026 at 8:11 PM
The Year in Review 2025 by Colleen Mondor locusmag.com/feature...
On the one hand, literary prizes with eligibility windows that don't line up with the calendar year are confusing, especially if their announcement cycle *does* line up with the calendar year. On the other hand, it makes for interesting juxtapositions. climatefictionprize.co.uk/longlist-2026/
Explore the longlist - The Climate Fiction Prize
Explore the inaugural longlist for the Climate Fiction Prize
climatefictionprize.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 8:37 AM
On the one hand, literary prizes with eligibility windows that don't line up with the calendar year are confusing, especially if their announcement cycle *does* line up with the calendar year. On the other hand, it makes for interesting juxtapositions. climatefictionprize.co.uk/longlist-2026/
Reposted by Niall Harrison
The Year in Review 2025 by Ian Mond locusmag.com/feature...
February 4, 2026 at 11:49 PM
The Year in Review 2025 by Ian Mond locusmag.com/feature...
@mondyboy74.bsky.social if it is still the case (per your review of She's Always Hungry) that you haven't read this, I think you might really enjoy it. Pairs interestingly with A Granite Silence in terms of what it's doing with true crime.
Penance is the one I have jumped into first, in part thanks to an enjoyable debate over the weekend about what the closest motorway service station to Scarborough is.
February 3, 2026 at 8:44 AM
@mondyboy74.bsky.social if it is still the case (per your review of She's Always Hungry) that you haven't read this, I think you might really enjoy it. Pairs interestingly with A Granite Silence in terms of what it's doing with true crime.
Reposted by Niall Harrison
The Year in Review 2025 by Gary K. Wolfe locusmag.com/feature...
February 1, 2026 at 8:53 PM
The Year in Review 2025 by Gary K. Wolfe locusmag.com/feature...
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Happy to see Paul Kincaid's Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction on the @locusmag.bsky.social recommended reading list! locusmag.com/2026/02/2025...
2025 Recommended Reading List
Welcome to the Locus Recommended Reading List… We saw some fabulous books come out last year and are so pleased to let you know about them! Our recommendations are compiled annually by the Locus re…
locusmag.com
February 1, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Happy to see Paul Kincaid's Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction on the @locusmag.bsky.social recommended reading list! locusmag.com/2026/02/2025...
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Until 14th February, buy every 2026 Honford Star title at a 40% discount.
For more info about the 7 exciting new titles👉https://buff.ly/sr6SStq
For more info about the 7 exciting new titles👉https://buff.ly/sr6SStq
January 22, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Until 14th February, buy every 2026 Honford Star title at a 40% discount.
For more info about the 7 exciting new titles👉https://buff.ly/sr6SStq
For more info about the 7 exciting new titles👉https://buff.ly/sr6SStq
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Here are my thoughts and recommendations after considering the BSFA longlists. Voting closes on 19 Feb, so there is still time to have a look at some more works but I'm pretty firm on my four selections for Best Collection and both Non-Fiction categories and I know the critical conversations I want.
BSFA Awards Longlists 2026: Some Thoughts and Recommendations
The longlist of nominations is here. They are longlists but I think that is good. It’s good for writers and artists because it helps promote their work to a wider audience. It’s good for voters bec…
prospectiveculture.wordpress.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Here are my thoughts and recommendations after considering the BSFA longlists. Voting closes on 19 Feb, so there is still time to have a look at some more works but I'm pretty firm on my four selections for Best Collection and both Non-Fiction categories and I know the critical conversations I want.
I had been doing ok this year, but thanks to a book event, a couple of pre-orders coming in, and then a trip to York to see friends, I have comprehensively fallen off the wagon
February 1, 2026 at 5:21 PM
I had been doing ok this year, but thanks to a book event, a couple of pre-orders coming in, and then a trip to York to see friends, I have comprehensively fallen off the wagon
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Reposted by Niall Harrison
Welcome to the 2026 Criticism Special Issue!
The Brackish Pool: Towards a Critical Practice of Reading Weird Fiction
by Zachary Gillan @megapolisomancy.bsky.social
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
The Brackish Pool: Towards a Critical Practice of Reading Weird Fiction
by Zachary Gillan @megapolisomancy.bsky.social
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
![NON-FICTION
Quote
the ideal reader of the weird has to embrace a kind of wilful suspension of foreknowledge or generic expectation. This affected tabula rasa perspective requires, in turn, a critical approach, a practice of weird reading [1] hyper-attuned to the weird poetics of a piece as it signals its own weirding and becomes weird fiction.
end Quote
The Brackish Pool: Towards a Critical Practice of Reading Weird Fiction
by Zachary Gillan
26 January 2026
Strange Horizons](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:sxw2th36klmpelvkrux2pa3y/bafkreiddzptg5esulvbs7mnjcyp4mdxt7m6jffkjqncqob4xcrp4sqcqx4@jpeg)
January 26, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Welcome to the 2026 Criticism Special Issue!
The Brackish Pool: Towards a Critical Practice of Reading Weird Fiction
by Zachary Gillan @megapolisomancy.bsky.social
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
The Brackish Pool: Towards a Critical Practice of Reading Weird Fiction
by Zachary Gillan @megapolisomancy.bsky.social
Link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Reposted by Niall Harrison
📣 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 Niall Harrison
Very pleased to see Paul Kincaid's Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction on the @bsfa.bsky.social longlist for long non-fiction: www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-...
Vote for the BSFA Awards
www.bsfa.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Very pleased to see Paul Kincaid's Colourfields: Writing About Writing About Science Fiction on the @bsfa.bsky.social longlist for long non-fiction: www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-...