Books and Short Stories I Read in January 2026

Mostly short stories this month plus one book. 

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 1989. Originally published in 1930)

This was a re-read. I enjoyed this just as much as I did when I first read it many years ago. A cynical mystery with interesting characters, some hardboiled dialog, and a plot that kept me reading. I plan to re-watch the 1941 film soon. 

Conan: Comrades by Brian D. Anderson (The Heroic Legends Series, Titan Books, 2025) 

A gritty and fast paced short story about Conan as a mercenary. It does a great job of showing what those who fight for coin deal with. The ending hits hard. 

Old Moon Quarterly: A Magazine of Dark Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery Issue #5 (Summer, 2023)

This is another great mix of dark fantasy/sword and sorcery stories along with some poetry. Highly recommended. I’ll post a more in-depth review soon. 

“Blood of the Gods” by Robert E. Howard 

(From El Borak and Other Desert Adventures, Del Rey Books, 2010. Originally published in Top Notch, July 1935)

It’s been a while since I read anything by one of my favorite authors, Robert E. Howard. As his birthday is on January 22, I wanted to read something by him, but I wasn’t sure what to pick at first. Then I remembered that author Scott Oden recently wrote on his Substack about what Robert E. Howard taught him about writing fight scenes. I learned a lot from it. In the article he analyzes the El Borak story “Blood of the Gods.” Here’s a link: Rivers of Crimson - by Scott Oden

I have the Del Rey collection of El Borak stories, so between the Scott Oden post and the book sitting unread on my shelf, “Blood of the Gods” was an easy pick. The stories are about an American gunfighter’s adventures in Afghanistan. He’s given the name El Borak (Arabic for “The Swift”) due to speed and quickness. 

In this story he races to the aid of a friend after learning that dangerous soldiers of fortune are seeking the friend and his treasure, the Blood of the Gods. The story is fast paced with lots of action right from the start leading to an excellent finale. While I wouldn’t rate it as high as most of Howard’s Conan or Soloman Kane stories, it’s an excellent pulp adventure story and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Looking forward to reading more of El Borak in the future. 

Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights

I’ve been a fan of Christmas ghost stories ever since learning about them a few years ago. This is the third anthology of Christmas hauntings from the British Library Tales of the Weird that I’ve read. Like the previous volumes, while I didn’t care for a couple stories, I enjoyed the majority of them.

Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights edited by Lucy Evans and Tanya Kirk (British Library Publishing, 2021) 

The Ghost at the Cross-Roads by Frederick Manley (4/5)

After a traveler seeks shelter from a snowstorm, he tells a tale of playing a card game with a mysterious black-clad stranger. A nice example of crossroads folklore. 

The Blue Room by Lettice Galbraith (4/5)

The housekeeper of a stately home narrates a story of a room that is said to be haunted. Eventually a feisty university student investigates, and the housekeeper attempts to help her. A suspenseful story with two strong female characters.

On the Northern Ice by Ellia Wilkinson Peattie (5/5)

A man ice skating across a lake at night follows a mysterious figure. As short and simple as the story is, I loved the prose, the atmosphere, and where the story led.

The Black Cat by W. J. Wintle (3/5)

A man afraid of cats becomes haunted by the spectre of a cat. Straightforward. 

Ganthony’s Wife by E. Temple Thurston (4/5)

A man tells an unsettling ghost story to a group of people sitting around a fire on Christmas. I really enjoyed the descriptions of snowbound London. 

Mr. Huffam by Hugh Walpole (2.5/5)

A light-hearted story about the effect a mysterious stranger has on a household that has lost Christmas cheer. While I enjoyed the prose, I felt the story was slow moving and overly sentimental.

The Man Who Came Back by Margery Lawrence (4/5)

Things get creepy when a seance is held at a party. After a quick set up the tension is built up well leading to an exciting finale.

The Third Shadow by H. Russell Wakefield (3/5)

A mountain climber tells the story of a mysterious incident during a climb with a fellow climber who had lost his wife after an accident. Straightforward with some great atmosphere at the end.

The Apple Tree by Daphne Du Maurier (5/5)

A recent widower, who found his wife irritating, tries to enjoy his new freedom but keeps getting reminded of her by a tree in his yard. Is he being haunted or is he experiencing guilt? A chilling story with engaging prose. Outstanding from start to finish. 

The Leaf-sweeper by Muriel Spark (2/2)

A man sent to an asylum for his obsession with abolishing Christmas meets his doppelgänger who is obsessed with Christmas. A little too surreal for me.

The Visiting Star by Robert Aickman (5/5)

A once famous actress with a secret visits a mining town to appear in a play. Atmospheric, haunting, original, and I loved the prose. This was my first Robert Aickman story and I'm still thinking about it.

A Fall of Snow by James Turner (5/5) 

A man tells the story about something frightening he saw during a toboggan ride one Christmas in the countryside during his childhood. The story captures bittersweet memories of childhood well and makes snowfall something dark and mysterious. 

This was a pretty good mix of stories. I’m looking forward to reading more from the British Library Tales of the Weird series.