Rich Horton

Reconstituted SF SIte Review: Dark Integers, by Greg Egan This is a review I did for SF Site in 2008. So the opening sentence is much dated -- Egan has been publishing regularly for the last couple...

Another review rescued from the ashes of SF Site: Greg Egan's 2008 collection Dark Integers. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/02/reco...

Riveting Philosophical Space Opera Slow Gods, by Claire North

Claire North's Slow Gods is one of the best SF novels of 2025: out and out Space Opera, cool characters and worlds, and worthwhile philosophical contemplation.
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Not quite an Excellent Woman The Sweet Dove Died, by Barbara Pym

At long last I revisit the excellent Barbara Pym, with her 1978 novel The Sweet Dove Died.
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Revisited Locus Review: Blue and Gold, by K. J. Parker This review was written in 2010, when Blue and Gold came out, and I honestly can't recall where it was published. Possibly nowhere! But a m...

Here's a review I wrote in 2010 of K. J. Parker's novella BLUE AND GOLD. I don't know where or if this version appeared -- a much shorter version was in Locus. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/02/revi...

A Box of Fierce Delight Michael Swanwick's The Universe Box

A review of Michael Swanwick's exceptional new collection, THE UNIVERSE BOX.
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Retro Magazine Review: Astounding, July 1955 Retro Magazine Review: Astounding , July 1955 Astounding Science Fiction , under the editorship of John W. Campbell, Jr., was the central ma...

Here's the first "retro review" I've done in a while. A look at the July 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction -- alas, not a great issue. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/02/retr...

Three Thousand Longing Words A. S. Byatt's "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye", and the movie Three Thousand Years of Longing

This is a lightly revised version of a post I did for Black Gate in 2023, on the movie Three Thousand Years of Longing, and its source material, A. S. Byatt's wonderful novella "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye". richhorton314252.substack.com/p/three-thou...

A Naive Look at a True Classic Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

My (very non-scholarly) look at one of the foundational texts of English literature -- The Canterbury Tales. (Which are great fun too!) open.substack.com/pub/richhort...

Thanks for the alert!

Here's another review that I did in 1999 for SF Site, of Martin H. Greenberg's anthology My Favorite Science Fiction Story: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/02/repa...

A Fun but Flawed Magic School Novel The Incandescent, by Emily Tesh

I've reviewed Emily Tesh's The Incandescent -- enjoyable but it really could have been even better.
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SF Site Resurrection: The Desert of Souls, by Howard Andrew Jones Howard Andrew Jones died a year ago, on January 16, 2024. He was only 56 (and could have passed for 36!) He was one of the undersung stars o...

Howard Andrew Jones, an exceptional writer and editor, mostly of Sword and Sorcery, died a year ago today. In his memory, here's my review of his first novel: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/01/sf-s...

The End of Two Eras George MacDonald Fraser's Mr American

A look at George MacDonald Fraser's lovely and moving novel Mr American. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...

Resuscitated Review: The Wooden Sea, by Jonathan Carroll Here's another review I'm reposting after the demise of the outstanding old SF/F review site, SF Site . Note that for the most part I'm leav...

Another review saved from the now defunct SF Site -- The Wooden Sea, by Jonathan Carroll. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/01/resu...

A Most Satisfying Capstone The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope

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2025 Reading Summary Here is a quick and dirty look at the books I read in 2025, and how they fit into various categories. To some extent, these categories simpl...

My 2025 reading summary. Really just a list of books and some statistics ... rrhorton.blogspot.com/2026/01/2025...

Virtue and Self-confidence Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen

Thoughts on Northanger Abbey. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...

My favorite is probably "The Ballad of Bowsprit Bear's Stead".

A Sharp Historical The Gipsy in the Parlour, by Margery Sharp

My latest review of a midcentury UK woman writer -- one of my favorite writers of that period, though not at her best: Margery Sharp's 1953 novel The Gipsy in the Parlour. open.substack.com/pub/richhort...

Rescued Review: Uncle Bones, by Damien Broderick Here is another review I first wrote for SF Site , back in 2010. With the demise of SF Site , I am slowly reprinting some of those reviews a...

I've rescued another of my reviews from the ashes of the pioneering science fiction review website SF Site. This one is of the late Damien Broderick's excellent collection Uncle Bones.
rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/12/resc...

Review: A Christmas Carol and Other Holiday Treasures, by Charles Dickens Review: A Christmas Carol and Other Holiday Treasures , by Charles Dickens by Rich Horton Charles Dickens wrote five novellas, of almost equ...

For the season, here's a look at Charles Dickens' five holiday-themed novellas from the 1840s: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/12/revi...

Review: A Christmas Carol and Other Holiday Treasures, by Charles Dickens Review: A Christmas Carol and Other Holiday Treasures , by Charles Dickens by Rich Horton Charles Dickens wrote five novellas, of almost equ...

For the season, here's a look at Charles Dickens' five holiday-themed novellas from the 1840s: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/12/revi...

A Queasy Satire in 1920s Japan Naomi, by Junichiro Tanizaki

Here's a review of Junichiro Tanizaki's 1925 novel Naomi (translation of Chijin no Ai (A Fool's Love): open.substack.com/pub/richhort...

Notions, Opinions, and Amours Philip Wylie's Finnley Wren

On my Substack I've posted a look, revised from something I wrote nearly a decade ago, at the little-remembered Philip Wylie novel FINNLEY WREN: richhorton314252.substack.com/p/notions-op...

Resurrected Review: The End of Eternity, by Isaac Asimov I call some of my reviews "Resurrected Review", typically when I grab something from my old blog or SFF Net newsgroup and republish it here....

Here's a look at Isaac Asimov's THE END OF ETERNITY: rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/12/resu...

Review: The Horse Without a Head, by Paul Berna Review: The Horse Without a Head , by Paul Berna by Rich Horton At an estate sale recently, whose deceased owner clearly had interesting tas...

This 1955 French YA novel became a Disney TV movie -- and it's actually pretty good. The Horse Without a Head, by Paul Berna. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/12/revi...

A Caper, but Much More A Philosophy of Thieves, by Fran Wilde

A review of Fran Wilde's very find new novel A PHILSOPHY OF THIEVES: richhorton314252.substack.com/p/a-caper-bu...

Old Bestseller Review: The Feathered Serpent, by Edgar Wallace Old Bestseller Review: The Feathered Serpent , by Edgar Wallace by Rich Horton Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born in 1875 in London. He ...

A review of Edgar Wallace's (co-screenwriter of King Kong) novel The Feathered Serpent. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/12/old-...

Some "middlebrow" short fiction of the 1930s "Favorite" stories from Cosmopolitan, circa 1931

This is a look at an anthology Cosmopolitan put together in 1932, of some of the best stories in the magazine -- and, so, a look at the middle range of American short fiction in that period. richhorton314252.substack.com/p/some-middl...

Review: Ladies Whose Bright Eyes, by Ford Madox Ford In 2022 I had a Curiosities feature in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction on Ford Madox Ford's time travel novel Ladies Whose Brig...

A look at Ford Madox Ford's time travel novel Ladies Whose Bright Eyes (1915/1935). This is the expanded version of my Curiosities piece from the July-August 2022 F&SF. rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/12/revi...