Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 7, 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, Captain America: Brave New World and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, Daredevil: Born Again, Masters of the Universe in general, season 3 of The Wheel of Time, season 2 of Severance, season 3 of Yellowjackets, the 2025 Academy Awards and Golden Raspberries, all the new toys revealed at New York Toy Fair, the latest news on the sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman, tributes to Gene Hackman and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy shares 64 new science fiction, fantasy and horror books arriving in March 2025. 
• Reactor lists all the new science fiction books coming out in March 2025. 
• Reactor lists all the new fantasy books coming out in March 2025. 
• Reactor lists all the new romantasy, horror and SFF crossover books coming out in March 2025. 
• Reactor lists all the new young adult SFF books coming out in March 2025. 
• Alex Brown shares young adult science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out in March and April 2025. 
• Niall Harrison shares his favourite SFF works of 2024.
  
• AudioFile Magazine share their favourite SFF audio books of 2025 to date. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for February 2025.
  
• Jenny Hamilton declares that romantasy needs to grow beyond tropes and trends.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction novels about the last people on Earth. 
• Dalya Alberge shares some insights from recently sold letters by J.R.R. Tolkien where he complains about an incapable typist, among others.
  
• Cora Buhlert offers an overview of the history of the German science fiction series Perry Rhodan.
• Courtney Rogers recounts how the 1960s paperback reissues of Doc Savage came to be.
  
• Lucy Mangan reports how reading, including romances, helped her through the grief after losing her father. 
• Alexander Poots discusses how hobbies, hobby clubs and magazines can form connections and help people. 

 

Comments on the sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman: 

• Jacob Bryant reports that Neil Gaiman claims that his accuser is lying and the relationship was consensual.
  
• Ella Creamer reports that Neil Gaiman has filed a motion requesting that the US court dismisses the lawsuit against him alleging rape and sexual assault 
• Dominic Patten also reports about Neil Gaiman's attempts to get the lawsuit against himself dismissed.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Gareth Watkins calls AI art the new aesthetics of fascism. 
• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #17 by Jim Zub and Danica Brine 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews The Power Fantasy by Kieron Gillen, Caspar Wijngaard, Clayton Cowles and Rian Hughes 
  
• Arley Sorg interviews Julie Dillon. 
• Jukka Issakainen interviews Nate Baertsch. 
• Sam Thielman and Gabriel Gianordoli profile Jaime Hernadez.
  
• Kathryn Bromwich shares Victor Hugo's gothic fantasy artwork.
• The Guardian shares a look at unique movie posters from Communist era Poland. 
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon for World Book Day.

 

Film and TV: 

• Jacob Oller calls Mickey 17 a messy and hilarious science fiction film.
• Arturo Serrano shares his thoughts on Molli and Max in the Future and Love Me.  
• Matthew Jackson calls The Rule Of Jenny Pen a paranoid retirement home horror film.
  
• Leslie Felperin calls Die Alone a  highly derivative but mildly absorbing Canadian horror thriller 
• Natalia Keogan calls Bloat an uninspired horror film stuffed with clichés rather than scares
  
• Cath Clarke calls Giants of La Mancha a kids cartoon that sticks Don Quixote Jr into the modern world 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts about the latest episode of Mayfair Witches. 
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Invincible. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Harley Quinn.
  
• Jesse Hassenger discusses how the relationship between director Paul W. Anderson and actress Milla Jovovich shaped the Resident Evil movies.
  
• Catherine Shoard and Raphael Boyd report that even though Dune: Part 2, Wicked and Inside Out 2 were hugely successful blockbusters, they're unlikely to take home any Oscars, because the Oscars don't care for blockbuster cinema. 
• Rory Doherty shares a guide to South Korean science fiction films. 
• Leah Thomas shares her favourite magical girl anime. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares a brief taxonomy of phone calls in horror movies
• Stuart Heritage reports that according to a recent survey, characters named David, Holly or Dick are most likely to be killed off early in a horror movie.
  
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Julianne Nicholson, one of the stars of Paradise.
• Naman Ramachandran interviews Tom Burke, who appears in Black Bag and Blade Runner 2099.
  
• Simon Bland interviews Walter Hill and Deborah van Valkenburgh, director and one of the stars of the 1979 dystopian action film The Warriors.
  
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1981 fantasy movie Dragonslayer.
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1989 science fiction film The Abyss.
  
• Paul F. Verhoeven revisits the 1992 cyberthriller Sneakers.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1995 Babylon 5 episode “The Fall of Night"  
  
• Nellie Andreeva reports that Foundation has restarted production on season 3 and that the show will get a new showrunner for a potential season 4.
• Jenna Scherer praises the late Michelle Trachtenberg's performance as Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  
• Singer and actor David Johansen, front man of the New York Dolls who also appeared in Scrooged and several other movies, has died aged 75. 
• Actress Pamela Bach, who appeared in The Young and the Restless, Knight Rider and Baywatch and was married to David Hasselhoff, has died aged 62.
  
• Actor George Lowe, best known for voicing Space Ghost, has died aged 67.
  

 

Tributes to Gene Hackman:

• Steve Vertlieb remembers Gene Hackman.
• David Thomson remembers Gene Hackman. 
• Walter Murch remembers Gene Hackman. 
• Danette Chavez remembers Gene Hackman.
  
• Dani Anguiano and Ed Pilkington report that the police have ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning as a cause of death for Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog. 
  

 

Comments on Captain American: Brave New World and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general: 

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Sam Wilson deserved better than Captain America: Brave New World.
• Joe George declares that Captain America: Brave New World’s refusal to engage with political reality is a missed opportunity to stand up and say something relevant about the world we’re now living in
  
• Fay Watson reports that Steve Rogers' list of things he missed while frozen seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is different according to the location where the film is playing. 
• Germain Lussier ranks the movies by the Russo brothers.
  

 

Comments on Daredevil: Born Again:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on Daredevil: Born Again.
• Jarrod Jones calls Daredevil: Born Again a return to form 
• Justin Carter declares that Daredevil: Born Again's scattered pieces come together for a brutal, satisfying whole. 
  
• Garrett Martin declares that Daredevil: Born Again takes too long to get going.
  
• Lucy Mangan wonders whether Daredevil: Born Again could be better than The Penguin.
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• James Eatock revisits the 1983 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode "The Time Corridor".
  
• James Eatock reveals the names of Orko's parents who are occasionally glimpsed in the Filmation Masters of the Universe cartoon.

 

Comments on Star Wars in general: 

• Joshua Patton reminds us that Kathleen Kennedy produced many hugely successful and beloved movies before becoming head of Lucasfilm. 
• James Whitbrook reports that the Ghorman Massacre will be shown in season 2 of Andor.
  
• James Whitbrook lists what we know about Mon Mothma's homeworld Chandrila. 
• James Whitbrook discovers a George Lucas cameo in The Phantom Menace.
  
• Matthew Aguilar reports that the original theatrical cut of Star Wars is finally available for streaming.
• Germain Lussier reports that the original theatrical cuts of the Star Wars movies vanished from streaming after a few days.
  

 

Comments on season 3 of The Wheel of Time: 

• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Josha Stradowski who plays Rand Al'Thor in The Wheel of Time.
• Melody McCune interviews Madeleine Madden who plays Egwene al’Vere in The Wheel of Time.
  
• Jamie Parker interviews Daniel Henney and Sophie Okonedo, who play Lan Mandragoran and Siuan Sanche in The Wheel of Time. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Dónal Finn who plays Mat Cauthon in The Wheel of Time.
  

 

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. 
• Jazz Tangcay interviews Simone Kessell who plays Lottie Matthews in 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 Jessica Lee Gagné, director of the latest episode of Severance. 
• Cheryl Eddy calls the character of Dr. Mauer in Severance "true nightmare fodder".
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2025 Robert E. Howard Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Australian Romance Readers Awards have been announced. 
• The longlist for the 2025 Rhysling Award has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Clarkesworld Reader's Poll have been announced. 
• The recipient of the 2024 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award has been announced. 
• The longlist for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Libby Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2025 Audie Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2025 Academy Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2025 International Film Music Critics Association Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2025 Golden Raspberry Awards have been announced.
  
• Catherine Shoard reports that Francis Ford Coppola is actually thrilled that his science fiction movie Megalopolis won two Golden Rasperries. 
• Cheryl Eddy notes that Madame Web winning the 2025 Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture is unfair, considering that Joker: Folie a Deux was even worse.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Charlie Jane Anders explains how to fix a character who's starting to bore you.
  
• Amanda Flower explains how to craft a mystery in both a historical and contemporary setting
• Kelly Burke reports that Australian writers are furious after the publisher Black Inc has requested to use the work of authors they sign for AI training. 
• Ella Creamer reports that according to a new poll, forty percent of Britons have not read a book in the past year.
  
• Charles Hewitt discusses how bad author behaviour influences which books bookstores stock.
  

 

Interviews:

• Runalong the Shelves interviews Premee Mohamed. 
• Alani Joli Abbott interviews C.L. Clark.
  
• Lacy Baugher Milas interviews Libba Bray.
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Annabel Campbell
  
• Brandon O'Brien interviews Bryan Thao Worra
• Arley Sorg interviews Lee Harris.
• Scott Edelman interviews Robert Greenberger. 
  

 

Reviews:

• Paul Weimer reviews Future's Edge by Gareth Powell
  
• Fiona Denton reviews Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
• Sasha Bonkowsky reviews The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton
  
• Mark Yon reviews Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Stone Certainty by Simon R. Green 
• Alex Wallace reviews The Artistry of Magic by Helen de Cruz 
• Marion Deeds reviews The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs
  
• Kat Hooper reviews Beyond by Mercedes Lackey
• Marion Deeds reviews The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson 
• Fiona Denton reviews The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow 
• Alex Brown reviews The Devourer by Alison Ames
  
• Lacy Baugher Milas reviews The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews One Level Down by Mary G. Thompson 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram 
  
• Paperback Warrior reviews Solomon Kane - The Hound of God by Jonathan Maberry.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf by C. L. Clark 
• Ed Crocker reviews When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy 
• Marlene Harris reviews Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews The Garden by Nick Newman
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
  
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
• Sandra Newman reviews The Antidote by Karen Russell
  
• Rob Bedford reviews The Radiant King by David Dalglish.
  
• Blue Book Ballon reviews Small Fires by Ronnie Turner
• The Quick and the Read reviews Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito  
• John Mauro reviews The Underhistory by Kaaron Warren
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Juice by Tim Winton 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Pigs to Slaughter by E.J. Doble
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews All The Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma  
• Tobias Carroll reviews One Message Remains by Premee Mohamed.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews An Orchid In My Belly Button by Katy Wimhurst 
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Sinkhole, and Other Inexplicable Voids by Leyna Krow 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Keith Roberts’s Pavane: A Critical Companion by Paul Kincaid
   
  

 Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1899 science fiction story A Story of the Days to Come by H. G. Wells
  
• Ted Chiang revisits the 1911 science fiction novel The Hampdenshire Wonder by J.D. Beresford.   
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1919 time travel novel The Heads of Cerberus by Frances Stevens
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1951 science fiction story “Self Portrait” by Bernard Wolfe
• Alan Brown revisits the 1954 humorous science fiction novel Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1968 science fiction novel Rogue Star by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson
• Gideon Marcus revisits the March 1970 issue of Analog. 
• David Levinson revisits the April 1970 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1970 science fiction anthology Nova 1, edited by Harry Harrison.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1970 Fafhrd and Gray Mouser sword and sorcery collection
  Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1970 Sybil Sue Blue science fiction crime novel The Waters of Centaurus by Rosel George Brown, Jason Sacks revisits the 1970 science fiction novel And Chaos Died by Joanna Russ and Winona Menendez revisits the 1970 science fantasy collection High Sorcery by Andre Norton
• Brian Collins revisits the 1971 science fiction mystery “To Fit the Crime” by Joe Haldeman
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1977 science fiction novel Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1979 Morgaine science fantasy novel Fires of Azeroth by C J Cherryh 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1990 science fiction novel Cowboy Feng’s Space Bar and Grille by Steven Brust  
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1995 YA horror novel  The Coffin and Kidnapped by Diane Hoh.
  
• Clara Cohen revisits the 1998 epic fantasy novel Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb. 
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2010 Temeraire historical fantasy novel Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Daniel Dern shares his experiences at the 2025 Boskone in Boston, Massachssetts. 
• Robert Tremblay reports about Vatican astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno's appearnace at Boskone as well as other SFF conventions.
  
• SFWA announces that the 2025 Nebula Conference will take place in Kansas City, Missouri.
• Maya St. Clair reports about the 2024 Locus Award ceremony in Oakland, California. 
• Germain Lussier shares some panel announcements for the 2025 Star Wars Celebration in Chiba, Japan.
  
• Rebecca Rubin and Ethan Shanfeld report about watching a marathon of all ten movies nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in New York City.     
  

 

Science and technology:

•  Firefly Aerospace reports that their Blue Ghost lunar lander has successfully landed on the Moon.
• Scott Dettrow reports about the upcoming launch of NASA's SPHEREx telescope 
• James Davis Nicoll talks about remotely detecting aliens from a distance.
  
• Nicola Davis reports that scientists trying to bring back the woolly mammoth accidentally created woolly mice.
  
• Kaja Seruga profiles Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, designer of the so-called Frankfurt kitchen, the first modern kitchen.

 

Gaming: 

• Lewis Gordon reviews the video game Monster Hunter Wilds  
• Patricia Hernandez reports how the award-winning poker game Balatro fell afoul of the European ratings board in spite of not being a gambling game.
  
• Geoffrey Bunting explains how people are finding new uses for Microsoft's Xbox Kinect system eight years after it was discontinued. 
• Keith Stuart remembers what it was like to work on video game magazines in the 1980s.
  
• Ernie Gygax Jr., son of Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax and playtester for early Dungeons and Dragons, has died.

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Toy Habits shares a look at the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins Fright Zone. 
• Toy Habits shares a look at upcoming Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection action figures.
• Toy Habits shares a look at upcoming Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse action figures.
• Toy Habits shares a look at the Mattel Masters of the Universe and Thundercats crossover action figures. 
• Toy Habits shares a look at upcoming Mattel Masters of the Universe vintage style Skeletor and He-Man figues.
• Matthew Aguilar shares a look at the upcoming MASK toyline from The Loyal Subjects.
• Joe Moore shares photos of the upcoming Jem and the Holograms dolls from The Loyal Subjects. 
• Pixel Dan shares a video about the upcoming Jem and the Holograms dolls from The Loyal Subjects.
  
• Toy Habits shares a look at the Formo Toys Legends of Dragonore and Warriors of the Galaxy display at Zolocon in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 
• Germain Lussier reviews the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series Emperor Palpatine action figure.
  
• Cheryl Eddy shares a look at Nacelle's new line of Star Trek action figures.
  
• Justin Carter shares a look at some upcoming Snow White dolls from Mattel.
• Justin Carter shares a look at the Lego Avengers: Endgame Final Battle set. 
• Sabina Graves shares a look at some new Bluey Lego sets.
  
• Germain Lussier shares photos from new toys on display at New York Toy Fair in New York City. 
  
• James Whitbrook shares a look at new Lego sets coming out in March. 
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Mattel has regained the DC Comics toy licence.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Mail-Order Magic" by Stephanie Burgis in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  
• "From Enceladus, with Love" by Ryan Cole in Clarkesworld. 
• "Pollen" by Anna Burdenko, translated by Alex Shvartsman, in Clarkesworld. 
• "Tea for Truth, Mango for Memory" by Nicole L. Soper Gorden in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Bind the Herbs to Bring the Shift" by R.Z. Held in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "The Spirit Path" by Logan D. Whitney in Swords and Heroes. 
• "I found an old god in the woods" by Monte Lin in Apex Magazine. 
• "Dekar Druid and the Infinite Library" by Cadwell Turnbull in Lightspeed. 
• "Pure of Heart" by Jake Kerr in Lightspeed. 
  
• "Landline" by Kelly Robson in Reactor.
• "The Tugwort" by Lincoln Michel in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Malo Malo Malo Malo" by Louis Inglis Hall in The Dark.

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the next season of Doctor Who.
• Watch a trailer for The Electric State.
• Watch a trailer for Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight
  
• Watch a trailer for The Woman in the Yard. 
• Watch a trailer for The Bondsman.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Parenting.