Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for January 10, 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: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars in general, Masters of the Universe in general, season 7 of Outlander, season 2 of Silo, season 2 of Mayfair Witches, Creature Commandos, season 2 of Severance, season 2 of Squid Game, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Alex Brown shares YA science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out in January and February 2025.
  
• Alex Brown shares five YA SFF books about revolutions and rebellions. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction books about aliens attempting to govern humans 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction novels that dabble in environmental determinism 
  
• Ratika Deshpande shares six SFF stories about the power of words. 
• Cat Eldridge asks several people about their favourite work by J.R.R. Tolkien.
  
• Julie Phillips talks about the quiet power of Ursula K. Le Guin’s political activism  
• Renay Williams talks about the decline of SFF review blogs and the possible reasons for it. 
• Katy Waldman reports about a plagiarism scandal in the romantasy genre involving Tracy Wolff's novel Crave. 
• Molly Templeton wonders what escapist fiction means.
  
• Isa Arsèn asks why the same stories are being told and adapted over and over again. 
  
• BBC Radio 4 laments the death of cultural originality.
  
• Iszi Lawrence discusses the rise of fandom.
  
• Elizabeth Minkel reports that in 2024, lots of companies tried to profit of fanfiction, usually unethically.
• Paul Grondahl shares an obituary for George Zebrowski. 
• Steve Holland shares an obituary for Barry Malzberg.
  
• Science fiction fan and con-runner Julianne Brandes Owings has died aged 80.
  
• Thriller and horror author Andrew Pyper has died aged 56. 
• Locus remembers Andrew Pyper.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone #4 by Jim Zub and Jonas Scharf
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews "Inferno", volume 8 of Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda 
• Warner Holme reviews The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotucno
  
• Archita Mittra reviews Dream Machine: A Portrait of Artificial Intelligence by Appupen and Laurent Daudet
  
• Sam Wicks and Michael Dulaney profile Scott Wilson, creator of the Aboriginal superhero Dark Heart.
• Scott Edelman interviews Martha Thomases, journalist and publicist at DC Comics.
  
  

Film and TV:

• Olivia Rutigliano wonders what it means to remake Nosferatu instead of simply Dracula?
• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the final season of What If...? 
• Andrew Osmond notes that the animated The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is actually a success in Japan.
• Isaiah Colbert calls Zenshu a surprisingly refreshing anime about the anime industry. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido calls Joker: Folie à Deux a disappointing slog that fails on multiple levels.
  
• Rafael Motamayor calls Goosebumps: The Vanishing a fun gateway horror
  
• Cath Clarke calls Get Away a ridiculous folk horror comedy.
  
• Catherine Bray calls The Damned an atmospheric period horror film from Iceland.  
• Leslie Felperin calls Street Trash a dull horror remake.
  
• Jim Vorel looks ahead at the most anticipated horror movies of 2025.
• Witney Seibold shares eight classic and not so classic science fiction movies set in 2025,
  
• Diana Keng shares her appreciation for the character of Jentry Chau from Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld. 
  
• Janice Newman looks back on the debut of Sesame Street in 1969, 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1995 Babylon 5 episode “There All the Honor Lies” 
• Haley Zapal revisits the 1955 historical action film Seven Samurai.
  
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2014 science fiction film Edge of Tomorrow.
  
• Ben Child reports that actor Jesse Eisenberg claims his turn as Lex Luthor derailed his career. 
• Toby Hadoke shares an In Memoriam video of all the people involved with Doctor Who whom we lost in 2024. 
• Film editor and producer George Folsey Jr., who worked on The Blues Brothers, Twilight Zone: The Movie and the Thriller music video among many others, has died aged 85.
  
• Britt Allcroft, producer of Thomas the Tank Engine, has died aged 81.
• Musician Peter Yarrow, the Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary and composer of "Puff, the Magic Dragon" has died aged 86.
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Danielle Directo-Meston interviews Nicholas Galitzine who has been cast as Prince Adam a.k.a. He-Man in the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action movie. 
• Cora Buhlert takes a look at the character of Geldor from Masters of the Universe and why his action figure looks different than his comic appearance.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars in general:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on  “We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble”, the latest episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 
• Rafael Motomayor shares his thoughts on “We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble”, the latest episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.  
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on “We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble”, the latest episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.   
• Liz Declan calls Skeleton Crew the best Star Wars TV series since Andor.
• Germain Lussier notes that Skeleton Crew not only destroyed a spaceship, but also made several merchandise articles obsolete in the process.
  
• Clayton Sandell interviews Jake Lloyd who played the young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace.
  

 

Comments on season 7 of Outlander: 

• Hunter Ingram shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.

 

Comments on Creature Commandos: 

• Isaiah Colbert shares three things he liked and three things he didn't about season 1 of Creature Commandos.
  
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Maria Bakalova who voices Princess Ilana in Creature Commandos.
  

 

Comments on Silo:

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.

 

Comments on season 2 of Squid Game:

• Josh Wigler interviews Hwang Dong-hyuk, creator of Squid Game.
• Cheryl Eddy shares eight things she'd like to see in season 3 of Squid Game. 
• Watch a Making of for season 2 of Squid Game.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Mayfair Witches:

• Lacy Baugher Milas declares that season 2 of Mayfair Witches favours plot twists over character depth
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Mayfair Witches.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Severance: 

• Elijah Gonzales declares that season 2 of Severance works overtime to deliver striking imagery and sharp commentary
• Germain Lussier declares that season 2 of Severance is just as awesome as fans were hoping
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Adam Scott, star of Severance. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Dan Erickson, showrunner of Severance.
  

 

Comments on Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: 

• Arturo Serrano calls Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl a most welcome return.
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on Wallace & Gromit, Vengeance Most Fowl
  
• Anna McKibbin declares that with Wallace & Gromit and its other stop-motion animated films, Aardman Animations presents a quietly subversive vision of England
• James Whitbrook declares that Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl cannot beat The Wrong Trousers‘ chase scene—and it doesn’t need to 
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Golden Globes have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2025 SAG Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2025 DGA Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 2025 MPSE Golden Reel Awards have been announced. 
• Nicholas Whyte talks about his involvement with the Hugo Awards.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Charlie Jane Anders asks whether unreliable narrators have to be arseholes. 
• Ira Nayman talks about the professional writer/editor relationship. 
• Alafair Burke explains how social media helped her become her true self.
  
• Gareth Rubin notes that writers are expected to work for love, but no one would ever expect that of a dentist.
  
• Victoria Strauss reports that the people behind the scam operations PageTurner Press and Media have been arrested in California.
  
• Phoebe Zhang reports that the Chinese police is cracking down on writers of gay erotica.
• Matt Vasilogambros reports that librarians are gaining legal protections in some US states as book bans soar.
  

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee.
• Joachim Boaz interviews Jordan S. Carroll.
  

 

Reviews:

• Grab This Book reviews Glory in Death by J.D. Robb   
• Liz Bourke reviews Countess by Suzan Palumbo
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Coyote Run by Lilith Saintcrow
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
  
• Anneke Schwob reviews The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Pilgrim Machines by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Cost of Power: Return by Joyce Reynolds-Ward 
• Clara Cohen reviews Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Hessians and Hellhounds by Tilly Wallace
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Hidden Queen by Peter V. Brett. 
• Liz Bourke reviews The Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
  
• Liz Bourke reviews The Republic of Salt by Ariel Kaplan
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Gingerbread Men by Joanna Corrance
  
• T.O. Munro reviews Blood Brothers Beyond by Rob J. Hayes 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill
  
• Abergale Shep reviews Stay in the Light by A.M. Shine
• Ian Mond reviews Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins 
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Mcleod Chapman  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
  
• Marion Deeds reviews The Militia House by John Milas 
• Tobias Carroll reviews Dogs and Monsters by Mark Haddon.
  
• Karen Haber reviews The Kwaidan Collection by Lafcadio Hearn 
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Muse from the Orb revisits the 1928 horror story "The Ghost Table" by Elliot O'Donnell 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1957 science fiction novel Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1957 science fiction novel Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein.
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the February 1970 issue of Galaxy.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1976 planetary romance Brothers of Earth by C. J. Cherryh 
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the spring 1977 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.
• Alan Brown revisits the 1978 science fiction collection The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun, edited by J.J. Pierce 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1980 horror story “Strata” by Edward Bryant  
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1989 YA horror novel The New Girl and its 1994 sequel The New Boy by R.L. Stine.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1992 science fiction novel Hard Landing by Algis Budrys.
  
• Clara Cohen revisits the 1995 fantasy novel Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb.  
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2006 urban fantasy novel Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mark Evanier recounts a story about a Robert A. Heinlein panel at a convention where it turned out that neither the moderator nor the panelists nor the audience were familiar with Heinlein and his work.
  
• Mark Sweeney reports that stage producer Cameron Mackintosh, who operates several theatres and successful show in London's West End, has reported a dip in profits amidst rising costs in 2024.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• The speculative flash fiction magazine The Cosmic Background is looking for funding for its second year.
• Wave 1 of The Cursed Dead horror action figure line from Toy DNA is looking for funding.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Ryan Britt reports that solar sails might be the future of space travel.
• Business Daily interviews astronaut Chris Hadfield. 
• Jason Sanford talks about AI and the enshittification of life.
  
• Victoria Lucas reports about the establishment of ARPANET
  

 

Gaming: 

• Tom Regan looks ahead at the French RPG videogame Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 
• Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics reports that Hasbro is launching a Dungeons and Dragons themed slot machine game to great controversy.
• Keza MacDonald reports that sales of boxed videogames have collapsed in the UK. 
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Pixel Dan reviews wave 2 of the Mattel Street Sharks action figures.
  
• Chloe Hamilton reports that the popularity of Jellycat stuffed toys has inspired a wave of shoplifting.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Our Echoes Drifting Through the Marsh" by Marie Croke in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Half Drowned" by S.L. Harris in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "A Heap of Petrified Gods" by Adelehin Ijasan in Lightspeed
• "Tell Them a Story to Teach Them Kindness" by B. Pladek in Lightspeed.  
  
• "A Blackened Shield" by Jay Requard in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "In the Blue Room" by Orrin Grey in The Dark.
  
• "The Morning Room" by Katharine Tyndall in Nightmare Magazine.  
• "Never Eaten Vegetables" by H.H. Pak in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Let Her Collect Stamps" by Juniper White in Apex Magazine.
  
• " I Will Get Her Back" by A.T. Sayre in The Cosmic Background.
• "How the End Begins" by Gabrielle Emem Harry in Omenana.
  
• "Six People to Revise You" by J.R. Dawson in Uncanny Magazine 
  
• "Strange Creatures" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Last of Us.
  
• Watch a trailer for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
• Watch a trailer for Cassandra. 
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of Mythic Quest.
  
• Watch a trailer for Into the Lost Lands.
  
• Watch a trailer for Heart Eyes.