Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 21, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Star Wars in general, Star Trek in general, Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, Masters of the Universe in general, season 3 of The Wheel of Time, season 2 of Severance, season 3 of Yellowjackets, Mickey-17, The Electric State, The Day the Earth Blew Up, The Parenting, Ash, O'Dessa, the live action Snow White and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Tobias Carroll shares indie and small press SFF books coming out in March and April 2025. 
• Alex Brown shares must read short speculative fiction for February 2025
  
• Michael Nayak talks about the thin line between science fiction and science fact. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about institutions and organisations that work. 
• Ratika Deshpande shares five SFF stories about embracing new beginnings
  
• Ayida Shonibar shares five speculative anthologies that get creative with gender
• Olivia Waits talks about science fiction, locked room mysteries and the joy of literary games
  
• Andrew Ludington explains why genre matters - but not all the time. 
• Brandon O'Brien explains why people should read speculative poetry and where to find it.
  
• Brandon O'Brien talks about speculative poetry and the body.
  
• Allegra Rosenberg delves into the statistics of the fics posted on AO3, which suggest that a new generation is discovering the Archive of Our Own. 
• Rachel Ayers takes a look at the many retellings of "The Red Shoes" by Hans Christian Andersen. 
• Steve Carper profiles Gnome Press, one of the first SFF specialty publishers.
  
• Lisa Morton and Tom Joyce talk about horror writer Dennis Etchison. 
  
• Christopher Lockett remembers Sir Terry Pratchett for the tenth anniversary of his death.
• Editor Margaret Clark, who worked on the Star Trek novels among many others, has died aged 70.
  
• SFF writer and archaeologist T. Jackson King has died aged 76.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Alasdair Stuart reviews issue 1 of Dark Pyramid by Paul Tobin and S.J. Holden. 
• Victoria Cheng reviews Sound of Magic: Annarasumanara by Ha Il-Kwon
  
• Nnamdi Ezekwe reports that award-winning comic artist Dustin Nguyen has slammed Marvel for its low page rates. 
• Daniel Dern discusses the various comic crossovers between the Shadow and Batman as well as other comic heroes.
  
• James Bacon recounts the history of Greann, the first Irish comic book, which debuted in 1934. 
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits a 1993 Far Side comic strip by Gary Larson which plays with mystery conventions.  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the raven from Edgar Allan Poe's eponymous poem. 
• Alex Williams remembers the late science fiction artist Chris Moore.
  

 

Film and TV: 

• Arturo Serrano calls Paradise a not entirely unoriginal post-apocalyptic thriller.
• Isaiah Colbert calls Orb: On the Movements of the Earth the quintessential thinking person's anime. 
• Isaiah Colbert calls Witch Watch a cozy romance anime. 
• Cath Clarke calls Flow a beautiful and painterly animal adventure 
• Catherine Bray calls Bloody Axe Wound a gorily absurd horror film about a family of serial killers.
  
• Stuart Heritage calls Sylvanian Families: The Movie the anti-Barbie and that's okay.  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on season 3 of the time travel series The Way Home. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 5 finale of Harley Quinn.
  
• N. shares their favourite SFF TV episodes of 2024 at File 770. 
  
• The AV Club shares the twelve strangest filmic Sherlock Holmes reimaginings. 
• The Pulp Net takes a look at the history of The Shadow in the movies.
  
• Charles Bramesco interviews horror director David Cronenberg and film composer Howard Shore 
• Jordan Moreau interviews Robert Kirkman, director of Invincible.
  
• William Earl interviews Mark Anthony Green, director of Opus. 
• Alastair Shuttleworth interviews science fictional band clipping. 
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1970  Doctor Who serial "Doctor Who And The Silurians"
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1984 science fiction film Repo Man. 
• Germain Lussier revisits the 1985 martial arts fantasy The Last Dragon
• Keith R.A. De Candido revisits the 1995  Babylon 5 episode “Matters of Honor”
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1995 The X-Files episode "Humbug".
  
• Don Kaye revisits the 1995 pandemic thriller Outbreak.
• Leah Thomas revisits the 1997 anime Perfect Blue.
  
• Jesse Hassenger revisits the 2000 horror film Final Destination.
  
• Caroline Siede revisits the 2005 science fiction film Aeon Flux. 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale, which aired in 2017, and finds it more timely than ever.
  
• Donna Ferguson reports that Carlo Rambaldi's original body model for ET - The Extraterrestrial is going up for auction.
  
• Danielle Kaye reports that filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch has been charged fro defrauding Netflix for a science fiction series that was never made.
  
• Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney shares her harrowing experiences being detained by ICE at the US border.
• Catherine Shoard reports that Betsy Arakawa, the late wife of the late Gene Hackman, made several phone calls to a medical clinic the day after she supposedly died.
  

 

Comments on Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on “Sic Semper Systema”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on  “Sic Semper Systema” the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Justin Carter shares his thoughts on “Sic Semper Systema”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  
• Nick Romano interviews Jon Bernthal who plays Fank Castle a.k.a. The Punisher in the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe.
• Joshua M. Patton notes that based on criticisms for recent Marvel movies like Captain America: Brave New World, many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem to have forgotten that the first purpose of superhero movies is to be fun.
  
• Ben Child wonders what the casting of Sadie Sink for the next Spider-Man movie means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• James Eatock shares fifty things about Hordak.
  
• James Eatock explains how the Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon depicted He-Man running extremely fast.

 

Comments on Star Wars in general: 

• Joshua M. Patton calls Andor a brilliant Star Wars show, but points out that Star Wars has been political from the very start.
• James Whitbook takes a look at what we know about the early days of Star Wars‘ New Republic

 

Comments on season 3 of The Wheel of Time:  

• Sylas K. Barrett shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Wheel of Time.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Ceara Coveney and Ayoola Smart, who play Elayne and Aviedha, and Marcus Rutherford, who plays Perrin, and Dónal Finn, who plays Mat in The Wheel of Time.
• Melody McCune interviews Kate Fleetwood who plays Liandrin Guirale in The Wheel of Time. 
• Melody McCune interviews Shohreh Aghdashloo, who plays Elaida do Avriny a’Roihan in The Wheel of Time.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general: 

• James Whitbrook revisits the 1995 Star Trek Voyager episode "Prime Factors" 
  
• Dan Persons revisits the 1998 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “In the Pale Moonlight” 
• Avery Kaplan shares her appreciation for the character of Lwaxana Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
  
• Deana Carpenter shares the reactions of Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Jonathan Frakes and Denise Crosby to Galaxy Quest.

 

 Comments on Mickey-17: 

• Arturo Serrano calls  Mickey 17 a film about the human being in the age of its mechanical reproducibility
• Lorinda Donovan shares a spoilerish review of Mickey-17. 
• Inspired by Mickey-17, Alan Boyle wonders how humans can reinvent themselves to live on other worlds.
• Cheryl Eddy declares that people should probably read Edward Ashton's novel Mickey-17, on which the movie was based, instead.
  

 

Comments on The Electric State:

• Anna McKibbin calls The Electric State an awful science fiction film with no interesting ideas. 
• Manuel Betancourt calls The Electric State a banal betrayal of its haunting source material
• Arturo Serrano declares that it's almost admirable how completely The Electric State wastes a great concept 
• Inspired by The Electric State, Jesse Hassenger wonders why the most expensive Netflix films are also inveitably the worst.
  
• Aaron Couch interviews Joe and Anthony Russel, directors of several Marvel movies and The Electric State.

 

Comments on Ash:

• Jacob Oller calls Ash a gory, trippy collage of science fiction influences 
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Ash offers cosmic but limited terror
  

 

Comments on The Day the Earth Blew Up: 

• Sabina Graves declares that the Looney Tunes rise up to save the world and animation in The Day the Earth Blew Up 
• James Whitbrook reports that Warner Bros has pulled all of its classic Looney Tunes cartoons from the streaming service Max, while The Day the Earth Blew Up is in theatres.  
• Garrett Martin explains how to watch the classic Looney Tunes cartoons now that Warner Bros have pulled them from streaming.
  
• Andreas Wiseman reports that Warner Bros is negotiating the sale of the unreleased Coyote vs. Acme movie to the same company that released The Day the Earth Blew Up.
  

 

Comments on The Parenting: 

• Arturo Serrano calls The Parenting  a movie about being terrified of your own parents. 
  
• Benjamin Lee calls The Parenting a so-so comedy and a lousy horror film.
• Jim Vorel calls The Parenting a weak horror comedy 
  

 

Comments on O'Dessa: 

• Jacob Oller declares that the audacious science fiction musical O’Dessa proves that audacity isn’t everything 
• Matthew Jackson declares that O'Dessa dazzles, then fails to deliver

 

 Comments on season 3 of Yellowjackets:

• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Sarah Tolf shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 

 

Comments on season 2 of Severance: 

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
• Molly Templeton shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
  
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Severance. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.  
• Cheryl Eddy lists all the questions she still has ahead of the season 2 finale of Severance. 
• Tenacity Plys discussion how Severance illuminates the opportunism of corporate diversity initiatives. 
• Josh Wigler interviews John Turturro who plays Irving in Severance. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares eight TV shows to watch after season 2 of Severance ends.
  

 

Comments on the live action Snow White:

• Peter Bradshaw calls the live action Snow White an exhaustingly awful reboot 
• Jacob Oller declares that the live action Snow White looks one hundred times worth than the animated origional from 1938. 
• Owen Gleiberman calls Snow White one of the better live action Disney remakes
  
• Sabina Graves calls the live action Snow White not perfect, but enchanting enough
  
• Jesse Hassenger calls the live action Snow White fair enough.
  
• Jodee Brown reports that Rachel Zegler has responded to those who criticise her casting as Snow White. 
  
• Annabel Rackham and Steven McIntosh report about the rather low-key European premiere of the live action Snow White in Segrovia, Spain, in response to multiple controversies besetting the film.
• Jeremy Dick reports that actor Martin Klebba, who voices the dwarf Grumpy in the live action Snow White, has criticised the low-key premiere of the film. 
• Manuel Betancourt takes a look at the actresses who played the evil queen in several Snow White adaptations and stole the show.
  

 

 Awards:

• The shortlist for the 2024 BSFA Awards has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2025 Kurd Laßwitz Preis have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Imadjinn Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Climate Fiction Prize have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2025 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award have been announced.
• The winners of the 2025 Children's and Family Emmy Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalist for the 2025 World Video Game Hall of Fame have been announced.
• The winners of the 2025 Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced.
• Cora Buhlert shares an open letter to the 2025 Hugo finalists, whoever they may be.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Nicci French talks about writing a character who is experiencing a psychotic breakdown. 
• Alex Reisner reports about the unbelievable scale of books pirated to train AI large language models.
  
• Seph Rodney declares that creating art in the age of Donald Trump will become harder, but remains vital.
• Lynne M. Thomas announces that she is stepping down as co-publisher and co-editor-in-chief of Uncanny Magazine and that Michael Damian Thomas will continue to fulfil both roles solo. 
• Lucy Knight reports that the crowdfunding publisher Unbound Books has gone bankrupt and hasn't been paying authors for months, but has now been acquired by the Boundless Publishing Group.
  

 

Interviews:

• Therese Lascon interviews George R.R. Martin.
• Adi Tantimedh interviews Ken Liu. 
• Locus interviews Hache Pueyo.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews David Simmons.
• Ellen Peirson-Hagger interviews Róisín Lanigan  
• Simon Hattenstone interviews Richard Blair, son of Eric Arthur Blair a.k.a. George Orwell.

 

Reviews:

• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Future’s Edge by Gareth L. Powell
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Chaos by Constance Fay  
• Jenny Hamilton reviews Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
  
• Bill Capossere reviews Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
• Philip Womack reviews Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins  
• Phoebe Wagner reviews Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Transmentation | Transience by Darkly Lem 
  
• Mark Yon reviews Rose/House by Arkady Martine.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Rose/House by Arkady Martine.
• Marion Deeds reviews Spring’s Arcana by Lilith Saintcrow
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison 
• Chris Kluwe reviews The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey 
• Fiona Denton reviews Witch Queen of Redwinter by Ed McDonald 
• Liz Bourke reviews Grave Empire by Richard Swan  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Dagger in Vichy by Alastair Reynolds
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Oathsworn Legacy by K.R. Gangi  
• Alex Brown reviews These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban
  
• Ian Mond reviews Waterblack by Alex Pheby  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Gaia Chime by Johnny Worthen
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Don’t Sleep With the Dead by Nghi Vo 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones.
  
• Z.B. Steele reviews Bloodchild by Anna Stephens
• Rhiannon Lucy Coslett reviews I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There by Róisín Lanigan
  
• John Mauro reviews House of Muir by Luke Tarzian
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
• Alex Brown reviews The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth.
  
• John Mauro reviews  The M Word by Jeff McIntyre
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Death and Other Speculative Fictions by Caroline Hagood
  
• Paul di Filippo reviews Combat Monsters: Untold Tales of World War II, edited by Henry Herz
   
  

 Classics reviews:

• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisit the 1926 horror story “The Night Wire” by H.F. Arnold.
• Brian Collins revisits the 1955 science fiction story “The Princess and the Physicist” by Evelyn E. Smith 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1956 time travel story  “A Gun for Dinosaur” by L. Sprague de Camp
  
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1961 science fiction novel A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1967 dystopian novel Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1968 Starwolf space opera novel The Closed Worlds by Edmond Hamilton
• Gideon Marcus revisits the 1970 science fiction novels To Venus!  To Venus! by David Grinnell and The Jester at Scar by E. C. Tubb, Amber Dubin revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Hell's Gate by Dean Koontz and Brian Collins revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Out of Their Minds by Clifford D. Simak.
• Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1970 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
  
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the April 1970 issue of Visions of Tomorrow. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1971 near future science fiction novel Missing Man by Katherine MacLean
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1976 alternate history novel  King and Joker by Peter Dickinson 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1994 YA horror novel The Dare and the 1995 YA horror novel Final Grade by R.L. Stine,
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2009 post-apocalyptic novel The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.
  
  

 Crowdfunding:

• The Beyithirr Mythic Legions dragon action figure from Four Horseman Studios is looking for funding.

 

Con and event reports:

• Kathy Bond, chair of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, shares a statement regarding international members worried about travelling to the US in the current political climate.
  
• Dave Lally shares an overview of Irish cons in 2025. 
• Mike Glyer shares the program for the 2025 2025 LA Vintage Paperback Collectors Show & Sale in Glendale, California.
  
• Ella Creamer reports about the 2025 London Book Fair in London, UK.
• Germain Lussier lists some panels he is excited about at the 2025 Star Wars Celebration in Chiba, Japan.
  
• Ellen Datlow shares photos of the latest Fantastic Fiction reading at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring Victoria Dalpe and Jedediah Berry
  
• Pam Kragen reports about a Doctor Who exhibition at the Comic Con Museum in San Diego, California. 
• Con runner and disability advocate Guy Thomas has died aged 67.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Ian Sample reports that ESA's Hera spaceprobe has captured some images of the Mars moon Deimos on route to the asteroid Dimorphos
• Lydia Amazouz reports that Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Moon lander has captured an image of a diamond ring eclipse.
  
• Joe Hernandez reports that a new crew has arrived at the International Space Station to replace the astronauts stranded in space for nine months,
  
• Helen Sullivan explains how astronauts feel, when they return to Earth. 
• Eric Berger reports that the Trump government may slash NASA's budget by fifty percent. 
• Hannah Devlin reports that according to recent findings, the mysterious cosmic force dark energy appears to be weakening.
  
• Donna Ferguson reports that the notebooks of Victorian scientist Michael Faraday have been discovered. 
• Adam Kucharski wonders whether we worry too much about misinformation.  
• Kevin Canfield and Joshua Hammer discuss the race to decipher Assyrian writing in the nineteenth century.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Justin Carter wonders whether Assassin's Creed is ready for its next era. 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the Tarkir: Dragonstorm expansion of Magic: The Gathering.
• Ayesha Rascoe interviews video game designer A.M. Darke
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins He-Ro action figure,
• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins He-Ro action figure,
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "After the Invasion of the Bug-Eyed Aliens" by Rachel Swirsky in Reactor. 
  
• "The Philosophical Quandaries of Meeting Your Doppelganger In Moonshine City" by Angela Liu in The Dark.
• "Message in a Babel" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed.  
• "The Shift" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Lightspeed.  
• "Here-and-Now-and-Then" by Jonathan Olfert in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Wheat of Good Works" by Matt Hornsby in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Butterfly Pavilion" by G. Willow Wilson in Uncanny Magazine
• "Little Boat" by Dale Smith in Interzone Digital. 
  
• "Those Uncaring Waves" by Yukimi Ogawa in Clarkesworld.
• "Hook and Line" by Koji A. Dae in Clarkesworld. 
• "Spinning Shadows into Stone" by Sarena Ulibarri in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "His love’s ashes on his tongue" by Monte Lin in The Deadlands.
• "In the Time of Discord" by Gustavo Bondoni in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "Pezcara" by Ana Hurtado in Nightmare Magazine.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the final season of The Handmaid's Tale.
  
• Watch a trailer for Freakier Friday.
• Watch a trailer for The Shrouds. 
• Watch a trailer for The Ugly Stepsister. 
• Watch a trailer for Toxic Avenger.
  
• Watch a trailer for Together. 
• Watch a trailer for Elio.
• Watch a trailer for Sylvanian Families: The Movie
• Watch  “Ma Meilleure Ennemie”, an Arcane themed music video. 
  

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 14, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2024 Nevula Award nominations, Andor and Star Wars in general, Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, Masters of the Universe in general, season 3 of The Wheel of Time, season 2 of Severance, season 3 of Yellowjackets, season 3 of Invincible, Mickey-17, The Electric State, In the Lost Lands, Sisters Midnight, the live action Snow White, the future of James Bond and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares the best recent science fiction and fantasy books. 
• Lacy Baugher Milas shares the best new fantasy books coming out in March 2025. 
• John Wiswell talks about how fiction is in conversation with itself and how trends become genres.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction works that undermine their own thesis.
  
• Catriona Silvey shares five time travel romances about non-linear love  
  
• Alex Brown shares five underrated SFF books about bad-ass women. 
• Lorna Wallace shares six bone-chilling SFF stories set in the Arctic or Antarctic
  
• Cynthia Pelayo shares five novels about supernatural serial killers.  
• Molly Templeton talks about SFF stories that play with form.
  
• Brandon O'Brien explains why pop culture references in poetry are speculative. 
  
• Adrian Collins recommends music to go with several SFF books. 
• Terry Brooks has announced that he is going into semi-retirement and will hand the Shannara epic fantasy series over to Delilah S. Dawson.
  
• Michael Paulson reports that several theaters and other arts organisation have sued the US National Endowment of the Arts over a new executive order by Donald Trump requesting groups and projects applying for grants not to promote "gender ideology".

 

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #18 by Jim Zub and Danica Brine 
• James Whitbrook reviews Star Wars: Legacy of Vader by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and Nolan Woodard
  
• For Eternia interviews Christine Vergara, daughter of the late Disney and Filmation animator Mike Toth. 
• IX Gallery shares several pieces of art by the late SFF artist Stephen Hickman. 
• Vanessa Thorpe reports that comics and manga, including those aimed at children, are booming in the UK.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Tobias Carroll calls the Iranian movie Invasion the post-apocalyptic time-loop vampire movie you didn’t know you needed 
• Radheyan Simonpillai calls O’Dessa a clumsy science fiction musical 
• Jim Vorel calls The Rule of Jenny Pen a grotesquely gripping battle of wills 
• Cheryl Eddy praises the performance of Kelly Marie Tran in the horror film Control Freak. 
• Brianna Zigler calls Opus a scattered cult horror film.
  
• Phil Hoad calls Don’t Turn Out the Lights a cliched horror film. 
• Jim Vorel calls The Parenting a weak horror comedy 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Harley Quinn.
  
• Jesse Hassenger calls Plankton: The Movie a Spongebob spin-off movie that's for fans only 
• Daniel Fienberg calls the documentary Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror an affectionate, personal look at the cult movie phenomenon
  
• Adrian Horton calls The Age of Disclosure a provocative new documentary that argues for the existence of extraterrestrials
  
• Guy Lodge shares his favourite haunted house movies. 
• Connor Dougherty discusses how Silo and Paradise depict housing after the apocalypse.
  
• Constance Fay discusses how Farscape handles princesses. 
• Avery Kaplan shares eight Star Trek episodes where time is out of joint,
  
• James Whitbrook talks about the war that forms the background of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise 
• Xan Brooks interviews Gints Zilbalodis, director of Flow. 
• Sabina Graves interviews Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, composers for Moana 2, and Awhimai Fraser, who voices the titular character.
  
• Dan Larson revisits the 1987 science fiction western cartoon series BraveStarr and the failure of both cartoon and toyline.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits season 2 of Babylon 5, which aired in 1994/95. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1997 science fiction movie The Fifth Element  
• Holly Kybett Smith revisits the 2012 medical horror film Antiviral.
• Germain Lussier revisits the 2019 fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2019 supervillain movie Joker. 
• Brian Welk reports that Jon Bolerjack, who worked as an assistant to Stan Lee during the comic legend's last few years, is planning to release a documentary about the elder abuse allegedly suffered by Lee.
  
• Animation Magazine reports that Disney Animation production management workers have ratified their first union contract 
• Danya Issawi reports about a controversy surrounding the redesign of Shrek and Fiona's faces for Shrek 5.
  
• Victor Tangerman reports that Netflix has used AI to "upscale" the 1980s sitcom A Different World with terrible results.
  
• Winston Cho and Alex Weprin report that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are rapidly disappearing in Hollywood due to the Trump government cracking down on such initiatives and wonders whether they were ever more than windowdressing in the first place.
• Catherine Shoard reports that actress Ayo Edebiri was inundated with death threats and racist abuse after Elon Musk retweeted an unfounded rumour that she would be cast as the lead in a proposed Pirates of the Caribbean reboot. 
• Dani Aguiano explains how and when Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa likely died.
  
• Gene Winfield, who designed custom cars and other vehicles for Blade Runner, Star Trek, Robo-Cop, Get Smart, Batman, The Man from UNCLE and many others, has died aged 97.
  
• Actor Simon Fisher-Becker, best known for his roles in Doctor Who and the Harry Potter movies, has died aged 63.
  

 

Comments on Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Justin Carter shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  
• Joshua M. Patton shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  
  
• Joshua M. Patton discusses the fates of Foggy Nelson and Karen Page in the Daredevil: Born Again premiere. 
• Joshua M. Patton talks about an Easter Egg which could hint at a character who died in Daredevil: Born Again getting better.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1986 Daredevil: Born Again comic story arc by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. 
• Anthony McGlynn reports that in spite of lackluster reviews, Captain America: Brave New World has outgrossed Captain America: The First Avenger at the box office.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether Groot might be getting a solo movie.

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Matthew Biggin shares some comments by Camila Mendes about being cast as Teela in the upcoming live action Masters of the Universe movie. 
• Mega Jay Retro interviews Joshua Sky, writer of the Masters of the Universe Origins mini-comics.
  
• James Eatock notes that Whiplash was serving the Demon King Kraal rather than Skeletor in an episode of the Filmation He-Man cartoon.

 

Comments on season 3 of Andor and Star Wars in general: 

• Joshua M. Patton declares that Andor is Star Wars for adults and there is a place for that. 
• Maggie Lovitt interviews Tony Gilroy, showrunner of Andor. 
• James Whitbrook interviews Tony Gilroy.
• Sabina Graves interviews Tony Gilroy.
  
• James Whitbrook explains how the Rebel Alliance was formed in the Star Wars‘ Expanded Universe
  
• Germain Lussier shares some background on the Star Wars Underworld TV show that was never produced.
• Zack Sharf shares more information about the unproduced Star Wars Underworld TV series.
  

 

Comments on season 3 of The Wheel of Time: 

• Lacy Baugher Milas calls season 3 of  The Wheel of Time an impressive if occasionally hollow fantasy spectacle
• Christina Izzo declares that The Wheel Of Time feels stuck in season 3. 
• Cheryl Eddy declares that season 3 of The Wheel of Time has magic but feels very much like a midway point 
• Jamie Parker declares that season 3 of The Wheel of Time brings fans further from the books, but maks for a better show
• Melody McCune calls season 3 of The Wheel of Time ambitious in scope and tone, 
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3 of season 3 of The Wheel of Time. 
  
• Sylas K. Barrett shares his thoughts on episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3 of season 3 of The Wheel of Time.
  
• Sylas K. Barrett recounts where the various characters were at the end of season 2 of The Wheel of Time.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Sophie Okenedo who plays Suian Sanche in The Wheel of Time.
• Melody McCune interviews Daniel Henney and Sophie Okenedo, who play Lan Mandragoran  and Siuan Sanche in The Wheel of Time.
  
• Melody McCune interviews Zoe Robins who plays Nynaeve al’Meara in The Wheel of Time. 
• Melody McCune shares her appreciation for the character of Egwene al’Vere in The Wheel of Time.

 

Comments on Mickey-17: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Mickey-17 offers catharsis in uncertain times 
• Jonathan Cowie shares his thoughts on Mickey-17
  

 

Comments on The Electric State:

• David Ehrlich calls The Electric State a joyless mockbuster that is only compelling as an argument for letting the movies die
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Electric State a soulless, muddled and derivative science fiction film. 
• David Rooney calls The Electric State a busy and boring science fiction film. 
• Clarisse Loughrey calls The Electric State completely incoherent. 
• Jim Vorel calls The Electric State the most banal way you can spend $320 million US-dollars
  
• Ellise Shafer interviews Millie Bobby Brown, star of The Electric State and Stranger Things.
  
• Justin Carter shares early, mostly negative reactions to The Electric State.

 

Comments on In The Lost Lands:

• Haley Zapal declares that In the Lost Lands feels like a dystopian video game that's all style and no substance  
• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls In the Lost Lands a typical Paul W.S. Anderson fantasy action film.  
• Jesse Hassenger discusses how the relationship between director Paul W. Anderson and actress Milla Jovovich shaped the Resident Evil movies and In the Lost Lands.

 

Comments on season 3 of Invincible: 

• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the season 3 finale of Invincible. 
• Isaiah Colbert shares four things he liked, and two he didn’t, about season 3 of Invincible. 
• Renaldo Matadeen explains the ending of season 3 of Invincible.
  

 

Comments on The Day the Earth Blew Up: 

• Jacob Oller declares that The Day The Earth Blew Up isn't as apocalyptic a Looney Tunes movie as it sounds 
• Sabina Graves interviews Eric Bauza and Candi Milo, who voice Porky and Petunia Pig in The Day the Earth Blew Up.
• Sabina Graves wonders whether The Day the Earth Blew Up could change the fate of Coyote vs. Acme.
• Tara Bennett hopes that The Day the Earth Blew Up will revive the fortunes of the Looney Tunes characters after Warner Bros all but abandoned the characters.
  

 

Comments on Sister Midnight: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Sister Midnight an Indian horror comedy which finds the terror in arranged marriage 
• Nadia Khomani interviews Karan Kandhari, director of Sister Midnight. 
  

 

Comments on season 3 of Yellowjackets:

• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 

 

Comments on season 2 of Severance: 

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
• Molly Templeton shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
  
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Severance. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the  latest episode of Severance.  
• Carly Lane interviews Patricia Arquette who plays Harmony Cobel in Severance.

 

Comments on the live action Snow White:

•  Sabina Graves wonders why Disney is burying the live action Snow White. 
• James Hibberd and Pamela McClintock report that Disney basically just wants to get the live action Snow White movie over with after a slew of controversies.
  

 

The future of James Bond:

• Alex Weprin and Borys Kit report that the sale of the James Bond rights to Amazon are part of a scramble for media companies to snap up valuable franchises and intellectual property.
• Robyn Vinter shares former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan's view on the future of 007.

 

 Awards:

• The finalist for the 2024 Nebula Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2025 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the Speculative Literature Foundation’s 2025 Illustration of the Year has been announced. 
• The shortlists for the 2025 Carnegie Medals have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2025 BAFTA Games Awards have been announced.  
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2024 Nebula finalists.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Kate Maruyama talks about writing across genres in a shelf-specific world
  
• Sanjena Sathian talks about breaking free of gendered literary expectations.
• Angela Liu talks about reader-to-character interactions and mixed reality storytelling 
  
• Stephen Holgate explains how his career as a diplomat informs his writing.
  
• Victoria Strauss asks if writers are uniquely vulnerable to scams.
  
• Kirk McElhearn explains how to handle online book reviews without losing your mind  
• Locus shares information of the new owners of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 
• Dan Milmo reports that Open AI has revealed a new version of ChatGPT that is allegedly good at creative writing.
  
• Stephanie Converry reports about silent book clubs, which are gaining popularity in Australia. 
• Jason Mojica explains how comic book shops manage to survive and even thrive in a changing retail world.
• The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program has had its funding cut by the US Department of Education.
• Malinda Lo responds to the proposal to ban her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club in South Carolina.
  
• Claire Kirch and Nathalie op de Beeck report that the American Booksellers Association is under fire for not offering support to bookstore which are being harassed for selling books about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and books by Palestinian writers.
  
• The Mysterious Galaxy SFF bookstore in San Diego, California, reports that their shop was flooded.

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Amal El-Mohtar. 
• Kelly Link and Silvia Park interview each other.
  
• Alex Clark interviews Kazuo Ishiguro.
• Sam Jones interviews Virginia Feito. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Yudhanjaya Wijeratne  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Pippa Goldschmidt
  

 

Reviews:

• Paul Di Filippo reviews Galaxy Raiders: Abyss by Ian Douglas
• Camestros Felapton reviews Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
  
• Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere review The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Idolfire by Grace Curtis
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Whispers of the Storm by Z. B. Steele 
• Kat Hooper reviews Into the West by Mercedes Lackey
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey
• Alasdair Stuart reviews One for All by Lillie Lainoff  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Zodiac Rising by Katie Zhao
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews We Lived on the Horizon by Erika Swyler 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Watermark by Sam Mills 
• Alex Brown reviews The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar.
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Legacy of Arniston House by T.L. Huchu
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Garden by Nick Newman 
  
• Adrian Collins reviews The Red Labyrinth by Ben Peek
• Runalong the Shelves reviews All The Hearts You Eat by Hailey Piper
• Lucy Powell reviews Lucy Undying by Kiersten White 
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits The Final Gate by Wesley Southard and Lucas Mangum  
• Melissa A. Watkins reviews The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses
  
• Marcel Theroux reviews Twist by Colum McCann 
• Abergale Shep reviews Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures, edited by Francesco Verso
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Year’s Best Science Fiction on Earth 2, edited by Allan Kaster
• Stuart Jeffries reviews A Brief History of the End of the F*cking World by Tom Phillips 
• Paul Weimer reviewsw Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll.
   
  

 Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1952 science fiction story“The Snowball Effect” by Katherine MacLean 
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1953 science fiction story “A Bad Day for Sales” by Fritz Leiber
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1959 gothic novel Annalisa by Forbes Rydell  
• George Pritchard revisits the 1960 fantasy novel The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. 
• Alex Wallace revisits the 1965 near future dystopian thriller Night of Camp David by Fletcher Knebel  
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1967 Starwolf space opera novel The Weapon From Beyond by Edmond Hamilton
• Victoria Silverwood revisits the April 1970 issue of Fantastic.
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1970 issue of Galaxy. 
• Kris Vyas Myall revisits the 1970 science fiction anthology Orbit 6, edited by Damon Knight.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1976 science fiction anthologies Galactic Empires Volume One and Volume Two, edited by Brian W. Aldiss.
• Sam Reader revisits the 1977 horror story “Night-Side” by Joyce Carol Oates 
  
• Mark Yon revisits the 1980 Book of the New Sun science fantasy novel The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. 
• Julia Steiner revisits the 1983 horror series Blackwater by Michael McDowell.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Issue 3 of Roses & Wildflowers is looking for funding.
• Comic writer Peter David needs help with medical expenses.

 

Con and event reports:

• Chris M. Barkley reports about an author event at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, Ohio, featuring Amal El-Mohtar. 
  
• Arendse Lund reports about the Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition at the British Library in London, UK. 
• The line-up for the 2025 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival in New York City has been announced.
  
• Germain Lussier talks about the difficulties of getting tickets for the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan.
• Lucy Knight lists several guests announced for the 2025 Hay literary festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
  
• Steve Ahlquist reports about an anti book-ban rally in Providence, Rhode Island, in support of the proposed Rhode Island Freedom to Read act, which will protect libraries, bookstores and publishers from book banning attempts.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Jonathan O'Callaghan reports that 128 Saturn moons have been discovered, bringing its total number of moon to 274.
  
• Marcia Dunn reports that the private Athena Moon Lander may have fallen over shortly after landing.
• The Guardian reports that SpaceX’s latest Starship spacecraft has exploded minutes after lifting off from Texas 
  
• Passant Rabie reports that the asteroid mining startup AstroForge has lost its spacecraft Odin somewhere beyond the Moon
• Patrick Pester reports that Varda Space Industries' Winnebago capsule has become the first private spacecraft to successfully touch down in Australia.
  
• Michelle Starr reports that the Curiosity Mars rover has cracked open a rock and discovered brimstone inside. 
• Kenneth Chang reports that NASA has eliminated the position of chief scientist and other jobs at its headquarters due to the budget cuts of the Trump government.
  
• Margharita Bassi reports that the oldest known meteorite impact crater has been discovered in Western Australia.
• Alice Henderson talks about a haunted farmhouse in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
• Judith Tarr profiles a cryptid called Mokele-Mbembe, which is reported to live in the Congo river basin.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Keith Stuart reviews the video game Atomfall and traces its connection to classic British science fiction.
• Paul Weimer reviews the video game Civilization VII   
• Elliot Gardner wonders whether AI generated video games are on the horizon.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Geek Dad Life reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins He-Ro action figure. 
• For Eternia reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Leech action figure.
• Still a Big Kid reviews the Jada Toys Ultra Street Fighter 2 Cammy action figure.
• James Whitbrook shares a look at a new Lego Mario Kart set.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that a replica of Mara Jade's lightsaber is being sold at various Disney Parks. 
• James Whitbrook reports that CherryTree is offering a replica of the coffee mugs seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
• Sabina Graves shares a look at some Universal Monster merchandise that will be sold at the Universal Studios theme parks.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Shade, Skin, Heart" by Kevin Beckett in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "The Shape of Stones" by Hildur Knútsdóttir in Reactor.
• "Those Who Seek to Embrace the Sun" by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe in Lightspeed.   
• "Memories of Temperance" by Anya Ow in Lightspeed.  
• "10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days" by Samantha Mills in Uncanny Magazine
  
• "Someone to Feed You" by Abigail Kemske in Apex Magazine.
  
• "Mindtrips" by Tlotlo Tsamaase in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Get Away" by Ray Cluley in The Dark.
• "Sharp House" by Samir Sirk Morató in Nightmare Magazine  
• "Barbara" by Ashley Erwin in Shotgun Honey.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Last of Us.
• Watch a trailer for Devil May Cry. 
• Watch a trailer for season 7 of Black Mirror.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Poker Face.  
• Watch a trailer for The Life of Chuck. 
• Watch a trailer for All You Need is Kill.
  
• Watch a trailer for the live action Lilo and Stitch.
  
• Watch a clip from the season 3 premiere of Dark Winds featuring George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford.