Reading Roundup: February 2026

Life updates

There's not a lot to say this month. I'm still full-time parenting (or on a "career break"). It's really hard, I have no money, and am slowly going stir crazy being at home with a baby quite so often. The baby now has teeth, which just make it even more deadly. A lot of fanfic this month too - 1,621,000 words to be precise. That's about 36 hours I think. Blimey.

Rereads or books off-catalogue

Child of the Dark Moon By: Sw-0608

Fleeing from Dudley and the 'Harry-hunters' under a full moon, Harry Potter saves his cousin from a giant wolf and is nearly killed. Severus Snape comes upon the bloody body not ten minutes later and takes the child into his home, against his better judgment. Can Snape come to terms with the vulnerable boy and help him to adapt to being a werewolf?

So I found myself really getting into this one, for a reason I can't quite quantify. It was a heavy on Harry-as-child motif, where the adulting of those around him played a more significant part than your typical story. Also, a well-done insane Dumbledore.

[Remember Two Things]https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14357588/1/Remember-Two-Things()

I'd read it before and enjoyed it just as much again. Grey Harry with a try to keep things Rowling-like.

The Dark Lord Harry Potter by Fairywm

This was a silly crack fic but quite long. I enjoyed it for its silliness, but probably not one to revisit.

Hitchers, by Will Mcintosh

Popped up for a reread, always a good choice.

The Marchbanks Mandate by vedakshu2006

I so wanted to enjoy this. it had a great idea behind it, but ... two dozen soggy socks, underpants and stockings was about 20 too many. Hogsmeade was missing an "a" about 30 times. Why does it have so many carts? When did Tonx acquire a sword? And every adult fighting a Hogwarts student felt like the end of a Scooby-Doo episode. There was something hard to pin down but generally unsatisfying throughout, although I did enjoy the romantic humour, which I felt was done well. So not a complete loss.

Wildcatter, by Dave Duncan

This is my all-time favourite of Dave's standalones. I get a wonderful whoosh in my stomach every time Seth is about to land his shuttle. There are just times in my life I need an hour and a half of guaranteed enjoyment and this very often does that.

Harry Potter and the Stitch in Time, by Lowten

This took over from the end of POA and finished the story with a Harry-Hermione relationship. The "stich" in question is Harry's paternal grandfather, who far from being dead, was frozen in time until Sirius rescued him after escaping on Buckbeak. I quite enjoyed it in a young, ending the story in a traditional sort of a way motif.

New reads for February

5 stars to A Reflective World, by Kevin Lamport

Book Description:

It’s 2028, and the Earth is dying. Poisoned by pollution, suffocating with overpopulation, drowning in a sea of corruption and disease, the planet is a shell of what it once was. Steve Quinn isn’t immune to the collapse. After a tragic accident steals his girlfriend, and nearly his own life, he’s a man living a sepia-toned existence … … until he meets Paige Patel. Paige tells him it’s not too late. A select few, hidden among the shadows of power, have a plan to stop the planet’s spiral into oblivion. A coalition of the world’s most influential forces is working tirelessly to save what remains of the Earth. To ensure success, they need Steve’s help. Steve can’t imagine how he can play a role in something so monumental, but when Paige shows him a bright and thriving future, a spark of hope ignites for the first time in months. Hope and optimism, however, have a way of clouding a person’s judgment, and Steve forgets that nothing worthwhile is free. When he meets Paige’s superiors, the architects of this “new world,” the truth hits they will stop at nothing to secure their vision. With time running out, Steve is faced with a grim decision. Will he cling to the decaying world he knows, a bleak reality he doesn’t want to accept? Or will he help rewrite the future, knowing the price will measure in the millions?

My Thoughts:

Wow. So I really got into this. I really hope there's more coming from this guy, because it kept me hooked and I really want to know about other things that happen within these worlds.

This Book: has 320 pages, a community rating of 5.00.

5 stars to Upended, by P a Kramer

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed everything about this book, which felt as if it were channeling the true spirit of a proper speculative fiction science story. Kramer's left the way open for plenty of follow-on work in the same world if they so choose, and I for one would preorder today!

This Book: has 384 pages, a community rating of 4.33.

3 stars to An Apocalypse and Then Some (A Teenager's Guide to Saving the Earth #1), by Craig Robertson

Book Description:

It was Chris Alan's very first day of seventh grade. That's hard. It's bad. No child should be asked to do such an awful thing. Humiliation, embarrassment, and social isolation await him. Then, of all days, the aliens decide to launch their conquest of Earth. So along with Chris's preteen angst, he gets aerial bombardment and then vicious insectile aliens pile out of their ships and start killing humans in earnest. What a rotten first day of class! As his world collapses around him, Chris makes a frantic run for safety. Alone, he heads into the Rocky Mountains to avoid capture. Now he faces the perils of alien pursuit, and soon, the Montana winter. And he's completely on his own, forced to live by his wits. A betting person would wager big money on Chris failing. But that gambler doesn't know our hero. Chris never quits and he is committed to saving his species. All he lacks to do so are resources, experience, and help of any kind. Yeah, no big deal. He's got this. While he struggles to survive, Chris chances to observe significant people from his past. A teacher, classmates, and even a girl he had a crush on. But can he fulfill his promise to himself and save any of them? If he does, not only will his meager supplies be strained, but he risks betrayal. A desperate person might try to purchase their freedom by selling out anyone they could to their cruel masters. If Chris slips up just once, he knows he's a goner. The aliens are holding humans in bunches with no evident plan. Anguish over what unknown fate awaits humankind, starvation, and the absence of any hope are slowly killing the captives. An unbelievable discovery might make it possible for Chris to turn the tide on our evil conquerors. But can a teenager on his own possibly mount an effective defense? The chances are so small, most people would curl up in a ball and give up. But that's not how Chris Alan is put together. He is willing to roll the dice in an impossible gambit to save his species. Is he brave? Crazy? Nope, he's a teenage boy. Hey, what could go wrong?

My Thoughts:

I wanted to enjoy this, but something about the teen voice didn't quite land with me. It wasn't bad, but didn't really hit the spot for me.

This Book: has 289 pages, a community rating of 4.17.

Coming up

Sadly, I heard of the deaths of rob Grant and Dan Simmons this week. Rob co-authored Red Dwarf, of course, which I've watched and read many times. Rob had already scheduled a Dwarf prequel for July, so that's absolutely going on the wish list.

As for Simmons, I don't seem to have reread Hyperion since I started cataloguing my books post 2008, so there's a reason to throw that up the list.