James Patrick Kelly is one of our very best writers, particularly of short fiction, and here's a review of his new collection, out this month from Fairwood Press: THE BOOK OF BOTS. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Robots Robots Everywhere
The Book of Bots, by James Patrick Kelly
open.substack.com
Here's a look at Ann Leckie's latest novel, RADIANT STAR. (In which I let my Trollope fascination run away with me a bit!) open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
An Almost Trollopean SF novel
Radiant Star, by Ann Leckie
open.substack.com
Gene Wolfe's shapechanging novel THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS: different every time I read it, always beautiful, always horrifying. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Beauty, Mystery, Horror, Shapechanging
The Fifth Head of Cerberus, by Gene Wolfe
open.substack.com
Here are the answers to my quiz on Early Women Science Fiction Writers: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/07/answ...
Answers to Early Women Science Fiction Writers Quiz
Here are the answers to the quiz I posted a couple of days ago. ( Here's the original quiz .) 1. One of the earliest women to hold major cr...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
Here's a (fairly hard except for science fiction readers) quiz about "early women science fiction writers": rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/07/quiz...
Quiz: Early Women Science Fiction Writers (etc.)
As I do many years, I created a quiz for the online trivia league I play in (Learned League.) This year the subject was "Early Women Science...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
My look at Naomi Kanakia's arguments (convincing, to me) for reading the so-called "Great Books". open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Just Read. And Read with aspiration!
What's So Great About the Great Books?, by Naomi Kanakia
open.substack.com
A really cool and powerful novel by Beryl Bainbridge, AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE: open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Awfully comic, awfully dark
An Awfully Big Adventure, by Beryl Bainbridge
open.substack.com
Another magnificent novel by Elizabeth Taylor, A GAME OF HIDE-AND-SEEK (1951). open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Desire and Disappointment
A Game of Hide-and-Seek, by Elizabeth Taylor
open.substack.com
Here's a summary of my reviews of the novellas on the Hugo Shortlist this year: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/06/hugo...
Hugo Ballot Thoughts, Best Novella (and links to the rest)
Here are links to my reviews of all the Hugo nominated novellas. In what I think is not a terribly strong shortlist, I have a clear first pl...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
I've finished my Hugo shortlist reviews with a fun novella by Freya Marske, CINDER HOUSE. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Novella Review: A Ghost Cinderella
Cinder House, by Freya Marske
open.substack.com
My penultimate review from the 2026 Hugo novella ballot: What Stalks the Deep, fine work from T. Kingfisher. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
My latest review of a Hugo-nominated novella, Olivia Waite's Murder by Memory, which I found quite disappointing. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Novella Review: Murder on a Generation Starship
Murder by Memory, by Olivia Waite
open.substack.com
My tentative ballot for the Hugo Novels this year, with links to my reviews: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/06/revi...
Reviewing the Hugo Nominees for Best Novel: 2026
Here are the my looks at the six novel on the shortlist for the 2026 Hugo for Best Novel. They are listed in my order of preference, and I w...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
My last Hugo shortlist novel review: a plotty and fun traditional fantasy, The Raven Scholar, by Antonia Hodgson. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Novel Review: A Plotty and Fun Traditional Fantasy
The Raven Scholar, by Antonia Hodgson
open.substack.com
Another review of a novella from the 2026 Hugo shortlist: THE SUMMER WAR, by Naomi Novik. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Novella Review: The Summer War, by Naomi Novik
Elves vs. Humans, Take N
open.substack.com
Another review recovered from SF Site -- M. John Harrison's excellent collection TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS, from 2000. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/06/reto...
Retold Review: Travel Arrangements, by M. John Harrison
Here's another review taken from SF Site. I wrote it in 2000. Retold Review: Travel Arrangements , by M. John Harrison by Rich Horton M. Joh...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
The second of my reviews of Hugo-nominated novellas: Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Novella Review: Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz
Robots and cooking
open.substack.com
Here's a restored review from SF SIte, of Richard Calder's 2000 novel MALIGNOS: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/05/reme...
Remediated Review: Malignos, by Richard Calder
Here's another review that had been lost in the ether since SF Site disappeared. This one is from 2000. Remediated Review: Malignos , by Ri...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
My look at the nominees for Best Novelette Hugo, 2026. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Another review rescued from SF Site: Future on Ice, a very good anthology of SF from the '80s: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/05/revi...
Revived Review: Future on Ice, edited by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card's reputation has taken a rather well-deserved hit over the past few decades in great part because of his repellent views ab...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
Another novel from the Hugo ballot, Nnedi Okorafor's very interesting novel Death of the Author. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Shortlist Review: The Author and the Robots
Death of the Author, by Nnedi Okorafor
open.substack.com
Trollope's 1867 novel NINA BALATKA, originally published anonymously. It's not great Trollope, but it's good. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Bridget & Bernie; Abie & Rose; and ... Nina & Anton?
Nina Balatka, by Anthony Trollope
open.substack.com
Another review recovered from SF Site -- this one is of Dave Langford's hilarious (almost TOO hilarious!) 1984 novel THE LEAKY ESTABLISHMENT. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/05/rein...
Reinstituted Review: The Leaky Establishment, by David Langford
This is another review I did for SF Site, and thus am recovering after that wonderful pioneering website went dark. As ever, I note that it'...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
My survery of the short stories nominated for the 2026 Hugo. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Short Stories 2026
A look at the nominees
open.substack.com
Here's a look at one of the novels on the Hugo Shorlist for 2026, Adrian Tchaikovsky's SHROUD: open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Hugo Shortlist Review: Dark Communication
Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
open.substack.com
Here's another old SF Site review, from 2001, when Paul Di Filippo's excellent collection Strange Trades appeared: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/05/repa...
Repaired SF Site Review: Strange Trades, by Paul di Filippo
Here's another review risen from the ashes of SF Site. The review itself didn't really need "repair" -- but I'm posting it in part to comfor...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
I reread an anthology of stories from early in Michael Moorcock's New Worlds tenure: open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Flavors of Science Fiction's New Wave
The Best SF Stories from New Worlds #2, edited by Michael Moorcock
open.substack.com
Here's another review exhumed from SF Site, this one of a couple of books by Sherwood Smith that I really loved: Crown Duel and Court Duel (now available in a combined edition): rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/05/revi...
Revivified Review: Crown Duel and Court Duel, by Sherwood Smith
This review was written originally in 1999 for SF Site, about two YA novels by Sherwood Smith, one called Crown Duel (1997), the second Cou...
rrhorton.blogspot.com
Another delightful Trollope novel: Phineas Redux, fourth of the Palliser (or Parliamentary) novels. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...
Humor, Drama, Passion, Society
Phineas Redux, by Anthony Trollope
open.substack.com
