Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 27, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Andor and Star Wars in general, news from the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, Doctor Who past, present and future, Ironheart and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Murderbot, Nautilus, Gundam GQuuuuuuX, 28 Years Later, M3GAN 2.0, Elio, season 3 of Squid Game, Jaws at fifty, the future of James Bond and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• John Mauro shares his favourite dark fantasy and science fiction books of 2025 so far
• Lorna Wallace shares five science fiction stories without human characters 
• Lee Mandelo shares five works of queer and trans futurity
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories featuring highly supportive parents 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about making amends for past mistakes. 
• Charlie Jane Anders shares eight enchanting novels about witches
• Ellery Weil notes that folk horror is having a moment right now. 
• Simon Toyne wonders why people are so fascinated by headless corpses. 
• Miranda Smith shares book recommendations based on your favourite horror film. 
• Charlotte Lillie Balogh recommends YA horror novels for fans of 1990s horror films. 
• Fleur Hopkins-Loféron looks back on French science fiction from the early twentieth century. 
• Kate Jackson explains how she approaches writing reviews. 
• C. Brandon Ogbunu reports how zine culture is experiencing a resurgence after being nearly replaced by social media.
• Joseph Bernstein wonders why fewer men are reading fiction.  
• Sam Leith explains how children’s books on male friendship could combat toxic masculinity 

 

Comics and Art:

• Rosa Dekking reviews Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A graphic novel adaptation by Manu Larcenet 
• Olivia Rutigliano wonders why the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker and turned him into Spider-Man never bit anybody else. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about choosing the perfect books for a summer holiday

 

Film and TV: 

• Adam Troy Castro calls Sinners a new horror classic. 
• Alex Wallace calls The Life of Chuck unabashedly humanist and unashamedly existentialist 
• Alex Wallace reviews Ballerina and notes that if you change the accoutrements, this movie would be low fantasy  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Revival. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Resident Alien.  
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Librarians: The Next Chapter.  
• Saloni Gajjar declares that current TV is tapping into our collective desire to rage against the machine 
• Leah Schnelbach shares fifteen Irish horror movies to enjoy this summer. 
• Anne Billson shares her favourite films by Mel Brooks. 
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, directors of K-Pop Demon Hunters.
• Germain Lussier interviews Gareth Edwards, director of Rogue One, Jurassic World Rebirth and Godzilla. 
• Andrew Pulver also interviews Gareth Edwards. 
• Kenneth Lowe revisits the 1988 science fiction horror film They Live.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “Ship of Tears”
• Leah Thomas revisits the 2003 anime Full Metal Alchemist. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2004 not-really science fiction movie 2046. 
• Avery Kaplan declares that the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode "Ad Astra Per Aspera" is a trans rights allegory 
• Ben Child wonders whether two different filmic versions of Batman can co-exist at DC. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the plans for a Jason Universe centered around Jason Vorhees from Friday the 13th. 
• Justin McCurry celebrates the fortieth anniversary of Studio Ghibli and wonders about its future.
• Jesse Hassenger reports about a potentially shocking moment in the season 36 finale of The Simpsons.

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• For Eternia chronicles Nicholas Galitzine's physical transformation into He-Man for the upcoming live action Masters of the Universe movie. 
• For Eternia discusses the evolution of Teela's outfit in more than forty years of Masters of the Universe. 
• The Eternia Four share their thoughts and speculations on the upcoming live action Masters of the Universe movie. 
• James Eatock takes a look at the final appearance of He-Man and Skeletor in the She-Ra episode "Assault on the Hive".

 

Comments on Andor and Star Wars in general: 

• Phoebe Wagner shares her thoughts on episode 8 of season 2 of Andor. 
• Ana Marie Cox reports how Andor became an unlikely muse for the Anti-Trump movement.
• Sabina Graves reports about the intense secrecy during the production of season 2 of Andor. 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the newly updated official map of the Star Wars galaxy 
• Germain Lussier shares Mark Hamill's ideas about Luke Skywalker's fate. 

 

 Comments on Murderbot:  

• Alex Brown shares their thoughts on “Complementary Species”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “Complementary Species”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on “Complementary Species”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• Beatrix Kondo interviews David Dastmalchian who plays Gurathin in Murderbot.
• Demet Koc interviews Andrew Miano, executive producer of Murderbot. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares producer David S. Goyer's comments about the future of Murderbot and Foundation. 

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future (spoilers): 

• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1970 Doctor Who serial "Inferno". 
• Nicholas Whyte recounts how Christopher Priest almost wrote for Doctor Who.
• Sabina Graves reports that the BBC has apologised for accidentally spoiling the finale of series 15 of Doctor Who. 
• Jake Kanter reports that the BBC has pledged to be “mindful” of spoilers after irate viewers complained about the Doctor Who reveal 

 

Comments on Ironheart and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Jarrod Jones declares that Ironheart gets off to a breezy and reasonably engaging start
• Trent Moore declares that Ironheart is a surprisingly solid Marvel mash-up, even if it does feel a bit late 
• Kathryn Porter declares that Ironheart tries its best to blast out of the Marvel Cinematic's Universe’s mold
• Lucy Mangan declares that the small screen can barely contain the energy of Ironheart. 
• Justin Carter declares that Ironheart has kinks to work out, but flies high enough  
• Monita Roy Mohan shares her thoughts on Ironheart. 
• James Whitbrook shares early reactions to Ironheart. 
• Germain Lussier notes that Ironheart has an unexpected link to the first Iron Man movie. 
• Germain Lussier reports that Jake Schreier has been confirmed as director of the upcoming X-Men movie. 
• Watch a trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps. 

 

Comments on 28 Years Later: 

• Leah Schnelbach calls 28 Years Later a weird and thrilling post-apocalyptic adventure 
• Matt Schimkowitz discusses the side characters that turn 28 Years Later into an infectious odyssey  
• Jesse Hassenger shares a spoilerish review of 28 Years Later. 
• Germain Lussier discusses the ending of 28 Years Later. 
• Rory Doherty explains how recent British history influenced 28 Years Later. 
• Xan Brooks interviews Danny Boyle, director of 28 Years Later. 
• Jem Aswad also interviews Danny Boyle. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, director and writer of 28 Years Later. 
• Jim Vorel declares that he does not envy Nia DaCosta who is set to direct the sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 
• Jim Vorel shares his fifty favourite zombie movies of all time. 

 

Comments on Nautilus:

• Monita Roy Mohan calls the series premiere of Nautilus a rollicking adventure. 
• Saloni Gajjar declares that Nautilus boasts style but lacks substance

 

Comments on M3GAN 2.0: 

• Anna McKibbin calls M3GAN 2.0 a scaled-up sequel that limps into the future
• Jesse Hassenger calls M3GAN 2.0 an eclectic, buggy upgrade  
• Sabina Graves calls M3GAN 2.0 an action-packed sequel that loses some of the first film's horror charms. 
• Brian Davids interviews Allison Williams, star and producer of M3GAN 2.0  
• Nick Romano interviews Allison Williams and James Wan, directo of M3GAN 2.0. 
• Adam Daniel discusses what film’s evil robots from HAL 9000 to M3GAN tell us about contemporary tech fears 

 

Comments on Gundam GQuuuuuuX:

• James Whitbrook declares that the Gundam GQuuuuuuX finale might be one of the most hopeful Gundam endings in years   
• James Whitbrook also reports how a real world scandal impacted the finale of Gundam GQuuuuuuX.
• James Whitbrook also notes that there has never been a better time to revisits the original Gundam. 

 

Comments on season 3 of Squid Game: 

• Shaad D'Souza explains how Squid Game’s brutal finale ramps up the barbarity
• Rhik Samadder notes that the show’s worst characters are back in season 3 of Squid Game … and they’re as unbelievably wooden as ever  

 

Comments on Elio:

• Ben Francisco declares that Elio grapples with loneliness on Earth and in the Communiverse
• Arturo Serrano reviews Elio and notes that Disney loves to write orphans, but doesn't seem to understand them 
• Sabina Graves declares that one of the most surprising moments in Elio feels right out of a horror movie 
• Sabina Graves discusses the post-credits scene of Elio. 
• Dee Jefferson reports that Elio gave Pixar its worst ever box-office opening despite positive reviews

 

Comments on the future of James Bond: 

• Sian Cain reports that Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond film. 
• Peter Bradshaw wonders what the hiring of Denis Villeneuve as the next James Bond will mean for the series. 
• Mark Sweney reports about a trademark battle involving James Bond.  

 

Comments on Jaws at fifty: 

• Natalia Keogan notes that shark movies existed before Jaws, but they were never the same after it arrived 
• Brent Lang chronicles the production woes of Jaws. 
• Don Kaye shares twelve things you didn’t know about Jaws
• David Smith interviews stars Richard Dreyfuss and Lorraine Gary and Wendy Benchley, widow of Peter Benchley on whose book Jaws was based for the fiftieth anniversary of the film.  
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Laurent Bouzereau, director of Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,  
• Andrew Shea shares a tour of the locations of Jaws on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. 

 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2025 Arthur C. Clarke Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Locus Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2025 British Fantasy Awards has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction have been announced. 
• The longlist for the 2025 Glass Bell Award has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Munsey Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Carnegie Medals for Children’s Writing and Illustration have been announced.  
• The winner of the 2025 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award has been announced.  
• Rich Horton shares his thoughts on the finalists for the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Novel. 
• Roseanna Pendlebury and Emily Tesh discuss the shortlist for the 2025 Arthur C. Clarke Award.
• Sam Kahn complains about writers he is not familiar with winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Carl Shuker explains how to write about the near future and recent past in a rapidly changing world. 
• Bianca Marais explains how to improvise a locked room murder mystery
• Caitlin Rother notes that when writing nonfiction, the research always takes you in a new direction. 
• Sara Hashemi wonders whether the semicolon is about to die out. 
• Heloise Wood reports about the well-known problem that Goodreads users can rate books that haven't even been released yet. 
• Decca Muldowney reports how fanfiction are fighting back against their work being scraped for AI purposes. 
• Ed Nawotka reports that a US Federal judge has ruled that AI training is fair use in the Anthropic copyright infringement case 
• Benj Edwards reports that Anthropic also destroyed millions of print books to build its AI models, though they at least legally bought them first.  

 

Interviews:

• Scott Edelman interviews Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
• Paul Weimer interviews Helen Marshall. 
• Joachim Boaz interviews Jaroslav Olša, Jr  

 

Reviews: 

• Lesa Holstine reviews All Systems Red by Martha Wells 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Chaos by Constance Fay   
• The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog reviews Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz.
• Bill Capossere reviews The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Older 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver
• Jen Lucas reviews Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver 
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman 
• Z.B. Steele reviews The Radiant King by David Dalglish  
• Liz Bourke reviews Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner.
• Alex Puncekar reviews Sometime Lofty Towers by David C. Smith 
• Chris Kluwe reviews The Only Song Worth Singing by Randee Dawn 
• Abigail Nussbaum reviews A Letter From the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall 
• John Mauro reviews By Blood, By Salt by J.L. Odom 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Private Rites by Julia Armfield 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews The Ice by Ryan Cahill
• Niall Harrison reviews Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel 
• Alexis Ong reviews A Thousand Natural Shocks by Omar Hussein  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Tensorate by Neon Yang 
• Alex Brown reviews Sọmadịna by Akwaeke Emezi 
• Marlene Harris reviews Death on the Caldera by Emily Paxman  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Adventures of Mary Darling by Pat Murphy
• Julie Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw 
• C.T. Phipps reviews Closing Time at the Sunny-Side-Up by David Niall Wilson  
• John Mauro reviews The Burial Tide by Neil Sharpson  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Jump Tribe by Clive Barker
• Bill Capossere reviews Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in the Franchise Era by Adam Kotsko 
  
  

 Classics reviews:

• Dave Hook revisits the 1949 science fiction collection The Cosmic Geoids: and One Other by John Taine 
• French Montana revisits the 1963 generation ship novel Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1966 science fiction story “When I Was Miss Dow” by Sonya Dorman 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the July 1970 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1977 science fiction novel The Delikon by H M Hoover 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1988 Drake Majistral space opera novel House of Shards by Walter Jon Williams 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1991 science fiction mystery Space Cops: Mindblast by Diane Duane and Peter Morwood  
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1992 YA horror novel The Train by Diane Hoh. 
• Mark Yon revisits the 2007 Star Wars novel Star Wars: Death Star by Michael Reeves and Steve Perry
   

 Con and event reports:

• Cora Buhlert shares her experiences at the 2025 Los Amigos Masters of the Universe convention in Neuss, Germany. 
• Geek Dad Live discusses the 2025 Joefest in Augusta, Georgia.
• Locus shares a photo of the Hexagon XVI writers retreat in Crozet, Virginia. 
• James Whitbrook reports that the Alamo Drafthouse Valley Fair cinema in Santa Clara, California, is completely Godzilla themed. 

 

Crowdfunding:

• The reedition of the sword and sorcery novel Sometimes Lofty Towers by David C. Smith is looking for funding.

 

Science and technology:

• Mark Thompson reports about the hunt for the ninth planet of our solar system. 
• McKenzie Prillaman reports about ESA's Proha-3 mission to create an artificial solar eclipse to analyse the sun's corona. 
• Ian Sample shares images of a distant galaxy captured by the Vera C. Rubin observatory in Chile. 
• Robert Lea reports that astronomers have found the universe's missing matter. 
• Tim Jonze reports about the iconic golden record attached to the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes and wonders what we would put onto such a record today. 
• Dave S. Brody asks whether it's possible to raise children in space. 
• Gideon Marcus reports about the Soviet Soyuz 9 space flight in 1970 which set a record for the longest time humans spent in space. 
• Emily Newton explains how augmented reality and BIM are revolutionizing construction 
   

Gaming: 

• Isaiah Colbert calls the video game Death Stranding 2 Hideo Kojima’s most refined and relentless vision yet  
• Keith Stuart declares that Hideo Kojima created yet another weird, wonderful world in Death Stranding 2
• Justin Carter celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Deus Ex series of video games.
• Alex Weprin reports about the upcoming video game 007 First Light 
• Dom Peppiatt interviews Yoko Shimomura who composed the scores for popular video games like Street Fight and Final Fantasy. 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• James Whitbrook shares a look at the Mattel Jurassic Park San Diego Comic Con exclusive. 
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the Mattel Hot Wheels Back to the Future and Jaws San Diego Comic-Con exclusives. 
• Adam McCombs revisits the 1991 Mattel New Adventures of He-Man action figure Quakke,
• James Whitbrook notes that we are entering a golden age of action figures inspired by the Marvel Capcom fighting games. 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at some new X-Files and Wallace & Gromit themed Lego sets 
• Sabina Graves wonders if the Labubu hype will last or is a passing fad. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "My Mother, the Supervillain" by Benjamin Blattberg in Lightspeed.  
• "All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" by Marissa Lingen in Lightspeed.  
• "The Feather Tree" by K.J. Kabza in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "A Crow on the Corpse Road" by Betsy Aoki in Beneath Ceasless Skies. 
• "The Sack of Burley Cottage" by Rich Larson in Reactor.  
• "Why We Sing" by C.C. Finlay in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "The Last to Survive" by Rita Chang-Eppig in Clarkesworld.
• "Outlier" by R.L. Meza in Clarkesworld.
• "The Cephalophore" by Thomas Ha in The Dark.
• "The Ferryman" by Krista Farmer in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Soul Shepherds" by Joshua Lim in The Deadlands. 
  
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Xeno. 
• Watch a trailer for Weapons.
• Watch a trailer for How It Ends. 
• Watch a trailer for The Strangers, Chapter 2. 
• Watch a video about how the death scenes in Final Destination: Bloodlines came to be. 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 20, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Andor and Star Wars in general, news from the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, Doctor Who past, present and future, Star Trek in general, Murderbot, Superman, Predator: Killer of Killers, The Phoenician Scheme, 28 Years Later, Elio, the live action How to Train Your Dragon and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares her favourite recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books 
• Alex Brown shares her favourite speculative short fiction for May 2025. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for April and May 2025. 
• Jordan S. Carroll talks about reactionary futurism. 
• Zahra Huselid shares ten science fiction books readers at the beginning of their SF journey should avoid. 
• Alex Brown shares five underrated science fiction books about escaping Earth. 
• Laura Elliott talks about writing horror from the margins.
• Becky Stafford explains who horror writers are crucial in the right for the freedom to read. 
• Jenny Hamilton talks about subverting the common trope of the protagonist and their love interest breaking up in romance and romantasy. 
• Keith Woodhouse wonders about the future of climate fiction. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF approaches to calendars. 
• Lincoln Michel praises unlikeable characters. 
• Gideon Lewis-Kraus profiles Martha Wells.
• Cora Buhlert profiles German audio drama producer and director Cora Buhlert  
• Michael Willis reports about the 1946 all-women fanzine Black Flames. 
• Iris Zhao reports that the Chinese police is cracking down on mostly young and female writers of m/m romantic fiction for alleged obscenity. 
• Science fiction and horror writer and editor Al Sarantino has died aged 72. 
• Rodger Turner, conrunner, bookseller and co-founder of SF Site, has died aged 77. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Lesa Holstine reviews Raymond Chandler’s Trouble is My Business by Arvind Ethan David, Ilias Kyriazis and Cris Peter  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon of an author’s visit to the lost property office

 

Film and TV:

• Ben Child wonders whether Thunderbolts* was always doomed at the box office 
• Monita Roy Mohan calls the series premiere of Nautilus a rollicking adventure.
• Germain Lussier discusses the ending of The Life of Chuck. 
• Z.B. Steele shares his thoughts on season 2 of Attack on Titan. 
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on The Gorge. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Resident Alien. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Librarians: The Next Chapter 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on the penultimate episode of Gundam GQuuuuuuX 
• Ann Michelle Harris calls Bet a live-action version of the quirky anime
• Cheryl Eddy declares that Best Wishes to All proves that Japanese horror can still find new ways to freak you out 
• Leslie Felperin calls I Heart Willie the latest horror schlock made from newly expired copyright
• Radheyan Simonpillai shares his thoughts on Sally, a documentary about Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
• Cheryl Eddy lists everything to remember before season 3 of Foundation. 
• Sabina Graves shares everything to remember before season 2 of Wednesday.
• Juno Dawson explains how she found safety in slasher films as a teenager. 
• Olivia Rutigliano shares strange international film posters for classic crime and horror movies.  
• Cheryl Eddy shares Charlize Theron’s six best genre roles  
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Arden Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo, stars of K-Pop Demon Hunters.
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1985 post-apocalyptic film The Quiet Earth. 
• Germain Lussier revisits the 1990 science fiction horror filmn Predator 2. 
• Dylan B. Jones revisits the 1993 dinosaur movie Jurassic Park and explains why it is belowed among gay men. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “A Late Delivery From Avalon”  
• Justin Carter revisits the 2005 superhero movie Batman Begins. 
• Chris McPherson shares Michael Sheen's comments about season 3 of Good Omens being truncated into a single 90-minute movie following the sexual abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman. 
• Dani Anguiano reports that actors and filmmaker Tyler Perry has been accused of sexual harassment and workplace gender violence. 

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Justin Carters shares a glimpse of Nicholas Galitzine in costume as He-Man in the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action movie. 
• Ryan Britt interviews Dolph Lundgren who played He-Man in the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie. 
• James Eatock takes a look at some of the oddities of the title cards of the Filmation He-Man and She-Ra cartoons.

 

Comments on Andor and Star Wars in general: 

• Phoebe Wagner shares her thoughts on episode 7 of season 2 of Andor. 
• Toussaint Egan shares the real world inspirations for some of the settings of Andor.
• Drew Taylor interviews Tony Gilroy, showrunner of Andor. 
• Maggie Lovitt inerviews Temuera Morrison who plays Boba Fett and Jango Fett in the various Star Wars movies and TV series. 
• Germain Lussier shares Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy's thoughts on the future of Star Wars. 
• Molly Edwards reports that the first print of the original Star Wars has been screened for the first time in decades. 
• James Hibberd watched the screening of the original 1977 Star Wars print and finds that it looks like a completely different movie. 

 

 Comments on Murderbot:  

• Alex Brown shares their thoughts on “Command Feed”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “Command Feed”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on “Command Feed”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• Carl Ayers interviews Noma Dumezweni who plays Dr. Mensah in Murderbot. 

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future (spoilers): 

• Melody McCune shares her favourite episodes from series 15 of Doctor Who.
• James Whitbrook reports that showrunner Russell T. Davies remains vague about the future of Doctor Who following the end of series 15. 

 

Comments on Superman: 

• Brian Hiatt interviews James Gunn, director of Superman and head of DC Studios. 
• Amanda Seyfried interviews Rachel Brosnahan who plays Lois Lane in Superman. 
• Nick Romano interviews Edi Gathegi who plays Mister Terrific in Superman.
• Alix Strauss interviews Dana Schneider who designed the jewellery worn by Lois Lane in Superman. 
• Zack Sharf shares James Gunn's response to Zack Snyder fans planning to review-bomb Superman. 
• Wesley Yin-Poole reports that the Subreddit where Zack Snyder fans posted a call to review bomb Superman have distanced themselves from this. 

 

Comments on Star Trek in general: 

• Elijah Gonzales calls season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fun, pulpy and thoroughly itself
• Jeremy Mathai interviews Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, producers and showrunners of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds..
• Avery Kaplan revisits the 1992 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Outcast". 

 

Comments on 28 Years Later: 

• Germain Lussier calls 28 Years Later an incredibly tense, thoroughly fascinating zombie tale
• Peter Bradshaw calls 28 Years Later a badass threequel
• Jacob Oller declares that 28 Years Later necessarily expands in scope as a coming-of-age saga seen through the eyes of a generation born into a ruined world
• Jesse Hassenger declares that 28 Years Later isn’t too long for a super-sized zombie sequel
• The AV-Club lists 28 movies inspired by 28 Days Later  

 

Comments on The Phoenician Scheme:

• Haley Zapal calls The Phoenician Scheme a solid, well composed entry in the Wes Anderson canon, though it lacks the emotional depth of some of his older films
• Tanjil Rashid declares that The Phoenician Scheme is fantasy, but also a remarkable engagement with the real-life conflict in the Middle East  
• Kimberly Pierce shares her thoughts on The Phoenician Scheme.  

 

Comments on the live action How To Train Your Dragon: 

• Ashley Spencer reports how the live action version of How To Train Your Dragon came to be,
• Justin Carter reports that in spite of bad reviews, the live action How To Train Your Dragon is a box office success. 

 

Comments on Elio:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Elio a goofy, giddy guide to the galaxy that offers charm and vulnerability  
• Jesse Hassenger calls Elio an inventive science fiction mash-up
• Sabina Graves declares that Elio shines with science fiction sincerity and heart  
• Amy Amatangelo calls Elio a lightweight summer diversion 

 

 Awards:

• The winners of the 2024 Bram Stoker Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2025 Robert E. Howard Awards have been annunced, 
• The shortlist for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction has been announced.  
• The finalists for the 2025 Mythopoeic Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Premios Kelvin 505 have been announced.
• The longlist for the 2025 Sunburst Award has been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2025 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize has been announced 
• The winners of the winners of the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival have been announced.  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Lauren Myracle explains how writing for kids taught her exactly what she needed to know to write for adults, especially when it came to thrillers.
• Gerri Lewis talks about the craft of creating and incorporating background details that enrich a mystery. 
• Lee Cole explains what it means to be a working class writer at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop? 
• Jason Sanford has expanded his Genre Grapevine column with a column focussed on generative AI.
• Jim Milliot reports that audiobook sales have risen by thirteen percent in 2024. 
• Ella Creamer reports that the revenue from audio books in the UK has risen by almost a third in 2024. 
• Ed Nawotka reports that three British aerospace executives have formed the science fiction publisher Factorial Books. 
• Anthony Aycock explains how a single court case could determine the future of book banning in America  
• Dalya Alberge reports that the British Library will symbolically reinstate Oscar Wilde’s reader pass, 130 years after it was cancelled following Wilde's conviction for "gross indecency".

 

Interviews:

• Alex Dueben interviews Malka Older. 
• Mark Yon interviews Peter F. Hamilton. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Natania Barron
• Z.B. Steele interviews James Lloyd Dulin 

 

Reviews: 

• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Rebel’s History of Mars by Nadia Afifi 
• James Wallace Harris reviews The Last Astronaut by David Wellington. 
• Alex Brown reviews Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Esperance by Adam Oyebanji  
• Marlene Harris reviews Esperance by Adam Oyebanji 
• Abigail Nussbaum reviews Circular Motion by Alex Foster
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Transmentation | Transience by Darkly Lem 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Lady, The Tiger And the Girl Who Loved Death by Helen Marshall  
• Marlene Harris reviews Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler 
• Raven Crime Reads reviews Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver.  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab  
• Alex Brown reviews When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley 
• Niall Harrison reviews City of All Seasons by Oliver K. Langmead and Aliya Whiteley
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews We Seek No Kings by T. Thorn Coyle 
• Fiona Denton reviews A Song of Legends Lost by M. H. Ayinde 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl by Lisa Hall   
• Arley Sorg reviews The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancrum  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Vianne by Joanne Harris  
• Archita Mittra reviews Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews A Bitter Drink by Azalea Forrest 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Of War and Ruin by Ryan Cahill 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Anima Rising by Christopher Moore 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Annie Bot by Sierra Greer 
• Marlene Harris reviews Behooved by M. Stevenson 
• John Mauro reviews Hostile by Luke Scull 
• Marion Deeds reviews The Crimson Road by A.G. Slatter 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Maryneal 1962 by Abigail F. Taylor 
• Alex Wallace reviews  Manchukuo 1987 by Yoshimi Red 
• Ian Mond reviews Exit Zero: Stories by Marie-Helene Bertino 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Disgraced Return of The Kap’s Needle by Renan Bernardo 
• Bill Capossere reviews Penelope’s Bones: A New History of Homer’s World Through the Women Written Out of It by Emily Hauser
  
  

 Classics reviews:

• Sam Reader revisits the 1893 horror story  “The Damned Thing” by Ambrose Bierce
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1925 lost world novel The Living Death and the 1927 lost world novel Drome by John Martin Leahy 
• Dave Hook revisits the 1949 anthology From Off This World: Gems of Science Fiction Chosen from “Hall of Fame Classics“, edited by Oscar J. Friend and Leo Margulies 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1959 horror story "The Howling Man" by Charles Beaumont.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1967 Conan sword and sorcery collection Conan the Usurper by Robert E. Howard.  
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the July 1970 issue of Vision of Tomorrow. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1970 science fiction novels The Ships of Durostorum by Kenneth Bulmer and Alton's Unguessable by Jeff Sutton, George Pritchard revisits the 1970 post-apocalyptic novel Tiltangle by R.W. Mackelworth, Gideon Marcus revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Year of the Quiet Sun by Wilson Tucker, Fiona Moore revisits the 1970 translation of the Polish science fiction novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, translated from the French by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox and Maureen Hogan revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Indoctrinaire by Christopher Priest
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1975 science fiction collection Homeward and Beyond by Poul Anderson  
• Bobby Derie revisits the 1986 memoir One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Price Ellis and attempts to answer the question how fictional her account of her relationship with Robert E. Howard is.
• Christopher Lockett revisits the 1988 Discworld fantasy novel Sourcery by Terry Pratchett. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1990 cyberpunk story “Fool to Believe” by Pat Cadigan 
• Matt Schimkowitz revisits the 1995 horror movie Demon Knight. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1997 Company time travel novel In The Garden of Iden by Kage Baker 
   

 Con and event reports:

• Locus reports about the 2025 Norwescon in Seattle, Washington.
• Preston Grassmann reports about the 2025 Hal-Con in Kawasaki, Japan.
• Archipelacon 2, the 2025 Eurocon in Marieham, Finland, has posted its program 
• Nathan Grayson reports about the 2025 Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, California, and the surreal experience of attending a con while massive protests are going on all over the city. 
• Funduk TV shares a video of the 2025 Fancon in Kiev, Ukraine. 
• The British Fantasy Society announces an online convention as a preview for the 2025 World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, UK. 
• Mike Glyer reports that Terry Fong, bid chair for the 2027 Worldcon bid for Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has stepped down for personal reasons.   
• Isabel Dempsey reports that the publisher Hodderscape and Lucy's Book Club are launching a series of fantasy book events.  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Strange Horizons is looking for funding for 2026. 

 

Science and technology:

• Andrew Liszewski reports that Honda has successfully launched and landed its own reusable rocket  
• Sonja Anderson reports that archaeologists are recreating the long-lost recipe for Egyptian Blue, the world’s oldest known synthetic pigment
• Jerry C. Drake reports about the never solved 1908 murder of Hazel Drew in upstate New York, which inspired the TV-show Twin Peaks.  
   

Gaming: 

• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on the tabletop RPG When The Walls Fall by Molomoot Games.
• Keith Stuart reports that Ian Proulx, cofounder of 1047 Games, caused some controversy with a tone-deaf promotion for the first person shooter Splitgate 2. 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe x Thundercats action figure Lion-O. 
• Jay Glatfelter reviews the Mondo Real Ghostbusters Peter Venkman and Samhain action figures. 
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series Revenge of the Sith Anakin and Obi-Wan duel two-pack, which will be an exclusive for San Diego Comic Con.
• Abe Apfel shares a look at a fan-built LEGO MC80 Mon Calamari Cruiser  
• James Whitbrook reports that Lego is making an official godzilla set 
• Andreas Wiseman reports that Mattel and OpenAI have partnered to develop AI-powered toys. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "A Week at the Raven Feather Salon" by Carrie Vaughn in Lightspeed.
• "See Now the Misfortune of the Thinking Tenax" by Lowry Poletti in Lightspeed.  
• "The Hero of Glasire" by Becca Dwight in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "The Skull of Siyaj Kek" by Greg Mele in Swords and Heroes.
• "We are the Abikus" by Ogochukwu Bibiana Ossai in The Dark. 
• "Faces of the Antipode" by Matthew Marcus in Clarkesworld. 
•  "The Last Lunar New Year" by Derek Künsken in Clarkesworld.
• "Highway 1, Past Hope" by Maria Haskins in The Deadlands. 
• "All the World Is Fog" by DaVaun Sanders in Uncanny Magazine  
• "Because I Held His Name Like a Key" by Aimee Ogden in Strange Horizons. 
• "The Name Ziya" by Wen-Yi Lee in Reactor. 
• "Edgar Addison, the Author of Dévorer (1862-1933)" by Ben Peek in Nightmare Magazine.  
  
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the new I Know What You Did Last Summer. 
• Watch a trailer for In Your Dreams.
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Squid Game. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Sandman. 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 13, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Andor and Star Wars in general, the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, news from the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, Doctor Who past, present and future, Star Trek in general, Murderbot, War season 4 of Reisdent Alien, The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, Superman, Predator: Killer of Killers, The Life of Chuck, Revival, the live action How to Train Your Dragon and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lorna Wallace shares five stories about being stranded on an alien planet 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction stories about time travel on a limited scale 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF books about oddballs resisting conformity 
• Otho Eskin shares five novel about the end of democracy. 
• Farah Mendlesohn profiles Joanna Russ. 
• Sylas K. Barrett explains what people can learn from Rand al’Thor’s mental health journey in The Wheel of Time. 
• Fendy S. Tulodo finds unexpected science fiction elements in traditional Indonesian puppet theatre. 
• Alissa Burger talks about a new series remixing classic novels to tell trans stories. 
• Ella Creamer reports that according to a recent survey children’s reading enjoyment has fallen to the lowest ever recorded level in the UK

 

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian: Scourge of the Serpent by Jim Zub and Ivan Gill.
• Jeet Heer reviews Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life by Dan Nadel. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the sounds of writing. 
• SFF artist David Schleinkofer died aged 74.

 

Film and TV:

• Leah Schnelbach declares that All You Need Is Death puts the "folk" in folk horror  
• Leslie Felperin calls Mythica: Stormbound a low-budget but reasonably competent fantasy film.
• Catherine Bray calls Consecration a well-crafted horror movie 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Librarians: The Next Chapter. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season finale of Surrealestate. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Gundam GQuuuuuuX 
• Saloni Gajjar declares that the dramatic stakes in The Walking Dead: Dead City are practically non-existent.
• Katie Rife calls Dangerous Animals a thrilling trip to the sea. 
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on Furiosa. 
• Jim Vorel shares his thoughts on the Japanese horror movie Best Wishes to All  
• Stuart Heritage talks about transhumanism and immortality in movies. 
• Jim Vorel shares an ode to shark movies. 
• Cheryl Eddy notes that movies featuring angels were popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 
• Don Kaye lists horror movies based on books. 
• Leah Thomas takes a look at Isekai anime. 
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1968 surrealist movie If...
• Jason Sacks revisits the 1970 science fiction film Beneath the Planet of the Apes. 
• Jon Harvey revisits the 1975 shark movie Jaws. 
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story. 
• Germain Lussier revisits the 1985 adventure movie The Goonies and realises that the central premise makes no sense. 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1997 science fiction horror film Event Horizon and the 2007 science fiction disaster movie Sunshine. 
• C.T. Phipps revisits the 2015 post-paocalyptic film Mad Max: Fury Road 
• Adam Fleet revisits the 2015 dystopian film Elysium. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2019 Laotian horror film The Long Walk. 
• Maya Yang reports that multiple women have accused actor and musician Jared Leto of inappropriate sexual behaviour and harassment. 
• Andrew Pulver reports that actress Kate Beckinsale is sueing the producers of the thriller Canary Black over ‘unsafe conditions’  
• Stuart Heritage reports that the stars of the planned new Harry Potter TV-show are already facing massive criticism before the show has even started to film. 
• Thomas Doherty shares likely candidates for a potential Best Stunt Performance Oscar from 98 years of Oscar history. 
• Actress Mara Cordey, who appeared in several monster movies in the 1950s, has died aged 95. 

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:

• Scarlett Johansson, who plays Natasha Romanov a.k.a. Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, interviews David Harbour, who plays Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Thunderbolts* lost millions of US-dollars despite great reviews and wonders where Marvel will go next. 
• Watch a trailer for Ironheart.

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• James Eatock reveals where Prince Adam hides the Sword of Power in his bedroom in Eternos Palace in the Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon.
• Matt Donnelly wonders whether the sexual misconduct allegations against Jared Leto, who will play Skeletor in the upcoming Masters of the Universe live-action movie, will impact Masters of the Universe as well as Tron Ares.  
• Adam McComb shares the script for a never published Masters of the Universe mini-comic called "The Ring of Dreams". 

 

Comments on Andor and Star Wars in general: 

• Aaron Jones shares his thoughts on season 2 of Andor.
• Phoebe Wagner shares her thoughts on episode 6 of season 2 of Andor.  
• Maggie Lovitt interviews Tony Gilroy, showrunner of Andor. 
• ATX TV interviews Tony Gilroy and Beau Willimon, writer of Andor. 
• Leia Mendoza interviews Tony Gilroy and star Diego Luna about the Ghorman massacre in Andor. 
• James Whitbrook discusses what it took to build the Death Star. 
• Anthony Breznican discusses how the music from the wedding dance scene in Andor became an unlikely summer hit. 
• Ben Child wonders whether Star Wars can survive without Mark Hamill. 
• Readers of The Guardian remember watching the original Star Wars in the theatre for the very first time. 

 

 Comments on Murderbot:  

• Camestros Felapton notes that he is enjoying Murderbot. 
• Alex Brown shares their thoughts on “Rogue War Tracker Infinite”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “Rogue War Tracker Infinite”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on “Rogue War Tracker Infinite”, the latest episode of Murderbot.
• Steve Weintraub interviews Murderbot showrunners Paul and Chris Weitz and stars Alexander Skarsgård and Jack McBrayer.

 

 Comments on season 4 of  Resident Alien:

• Tara Bennett shares her thoughts on the season 4 premiere of Resident Alien.  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 4 premiere of Resident Alien. 

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future (spoilers): 

• Arturo Serrano declares that the clumsy finale of series 15 of Doctor Who should not overshadow a cleverly written season and a fantastic protagonist 
• James Whitbrook wonders where Doctor Who will go after the series 15 finale.
• Cheryl Eddy reports about rumours that David Tennant and Billie Piper will reunite for a Doctor Who special to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the revived series, only that they are both the Doctor now. 
• Max Goldbart reports that the BBC is planning to produce an animated Doctor Who series aimed at preschool children.  

 

Comments on Superman: 

• Nick Romano profiles the Justice Gang, a group of superheroes appearing in Superman.
• Nick Romano interviews Nathan Fillion who plays Guy Gardner a.k.a. Green Lantern in the upcoming Superman movie.  
• Watch a trailer for Superman.  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general: 

• Avery Kaplan discusses why the Trills in Star Trek are a trans analogy. 
• Tracy Brown interviews George Takei, best known for playing Sulu in Star Trek. 
• James Whitbrook revisits the 1993 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Duet". 
• Avery Kaplan shares her appreciation for the character of Jennifer "Jen’" Sh’reyan from Star Trek Lower Decks. 
• James Whitbrook reports that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will end with season 5. 
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

 

Comments on The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments: 

• Jackie Strause discusses how The Handmaid’s Tale sets up The Testaments sequel series 
• Jackie Strause interviews Samira Wiley who plays Moira in The Handmaid's Tale. 

 

Comments on Predator: Killer of Killers:  

• Toussaint Egan calls Predator: Killer Of Killers a gruesome animated battle for the ages
• Justin Carter declares that Predator: Killer of Killers just rules  
• Jim Vorel declares that Predator: Killer of Killers offers bloody action but iffy animation 
• Germain Lussier talks about the ending of Predator: Killer of Killers  

 

Comments on the live action How To Train Your Dragon: 

• James Grebey declares that the live action How To Train Your Dragon remake trades animated magic for money-hungry mediocrity
• Radheyan Simonpillai calls the live action How to Train Your Dragon a faithful yet utterly soulless remake 
• Jesse Hassenger declares that the live-action How to Train Your Dragon offers a DreamWorks version of the Disney process to remake their animated classics as inferior live action versions, 
• Sabina Graves calls the live action How to Train Your Dragon a dazzling fantasy epic  
• Sabina Graves interviews Dean DeBlois, director of How To Train Your Dragon. 

 

Comments on Revival:

• Jarrod Jones calls Revival a rural noir series heavy on drama and light on thorny questions 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the first episode of Revival. 
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Luke Boyce and Aaron B. Koontz, showrunners of Revival. 
• Melody McCune also interviews Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce  

 

Comments on The Life of Chuck: 

• Leah Schnelbach declares that The Life of Chuck reminds us to dance while the sun shines
• Germain Lussier declares that The Life of Chuck may change the way you look at movies and yourself  
• Matthew Jackson declares that Mike Flanagan's particular style of storytelling is honed to a fine point in The Life Of Chuck 
• Anna McKibbin declares that  The Life of Chuck contains somewhat less than multitudes

  

 Awards:

• The winners of the 2024 Nebula Awards have been announced 
• The finalists for the 2024 Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced.
• The shortlists for the 2025 Ignyte Awards have been announced.
• The longlist for the 2025 Manly Wade Wellman Award has been announced. 
• The recipient of the 2025 Infinity Award has been announced. 
• The recipients of the 2025 Bill Finger Awards have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2025 Maine Literary Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Colorado Book Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2025 Tony Awards have been announced. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Lucy Clarke shares eight tips for how to get the most out of your research trip 
• Victoria Strauss reports about the bankruptcies of Unbound and Albert Whitman & Co and the impact on the affected authors. 
• C.T. Jones reports how fear of AI scraping is ruining the fanfiction community.

 

Interviews:

• Paul Krugman interviews Ada Palmer. 
• Harriett Gilbert interviews N.K Jemisin 
• Locus interviews Joan Slonczewski 
• Garrick Webster interviews Linwood Barclay.
• Jennie Ivins interviews A.A. Freeman. 
• Alexandra Penth interviews Cora Buhlert 

 

Reviews: 

• Paul Weimer reviews The Immeasurable Heaven by Caspar Geon  
• Tobias Carroll reviews Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Transitive Properties of Cheese by Ann LeBlanc 
• Marlene Harris reviews Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove 
• Camestros Felapton reviews Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott   
• Liz Bourke reviews Point of Hearts by Melissa Scott
• Ian Mond reviews The Antidote by Karen Russell 
• Melissa A Watkins reviews Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil  
• Marlene Harris reviews It Takes a Psychic by Jayne Castle 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews A Charm of Magpies by K. J. Charles  
• Marlene Harris reviews Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis 
• Rachel Cordasco reviews The Proposal by Bae Myung-Hoon, translated by Stella Kim. 
• Z.B. Steele reviews The Price of Power by Michael Michel 
• Sasha Bonkowsky reviews Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay.  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Sairo’s Claw by Virginia McClain 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Red Sword by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett 
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou 
• Colleen Mondor reviews They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran 
• Marion Deeds reviews The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar 
• Z.B. Steele reviews Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson. 
• Rebecca Fisher reviews Utterly Dark and the Tides of Time by Philip Reeve
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin 
• James Vella-Bardon reviews War Cry by Ian Ross 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Anima Rising by Christopher Moore 
• Michael Donkor reviews Muckle Flugga by Michael Pedersen  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Numamushi by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh 
• Alexis Ong reviews Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata.  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough    
• Colleen Mondor reviews Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson 
• Jenny Hamilton reviews The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Devils by Joe Abercrombie 
• Mary Picken reviews Whistle by Linwood Barclay 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews (S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi 
• John Mauro reviews ITCH! by Gemma Amor 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Heartwood - A Mythago Wood Anthology, edited by Dan Coxon 
  
  

 Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1923 science fiction novel Draconda by John Martin Leahy
• Dave Hook revisits the 1949 science fiction mystery collection John Carstairs: Space Detective by Frank Belknap Long 
• Dave Hook revisits the 1949 science fiction collection A Martian Odyssey and Other Stories by  Stanley G. Weinbaum  
• Cal Newport revisits the 1950 science fiction fix-up I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.
• Joachim Boaz revisits the October 1950 issue of Galaxy. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1957 science fiction novel City on the Moon by Murray Leinster and the 1958 science fiction collection Men on the Moon, edited by Donald A. Wollheim 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the July 1970 issue of Galaxy. 
• John Boston revisits the July 1970 issue of Amazing. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1972 post-apocalyptic novel The Heirs of Babylon by Glen Cook 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1977 science fiction collection From This Day Forward by John Brunner 
• Christopher Lockett revisits the 1987 Discworld fantasy novel Mort by Terry Pratchett. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2002 YA fantasy First Truth by Dawn Cook a.k.a. Kim Harrison. 

 

 Con and event reports:

• Octothorpe discusses Reconnect, the 2025 Eastercon in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 
• The agends and instructions for the virtual WSFS Buisness Meeting of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, is now online. 
• Locus reports about the latest Brooklyn Books and Booze event in Brooklyn, New York.
• Alyssa Mercante and Keza MacDonald report about the 2025 Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, California. 
• Severin Carrell reports about the line-up for the Edinburgh International Book Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. 
• Germain Lussier reports about an exhibition of Jaws inspired posters and artwork in Red Bank, New Jersey

 

Science and technology:

• Ellyn Lapointe reports that astronomers have found a hidden volcano on Mars   
• Paul Voosen reports that Trump government's budget cuts would mean the end for dozens of active and planned NASA missions and spacecraft.  
• NPR reports that the Japanese private lunar lander Resilience has crashed into the Moon during a failed mission 
• Elizabeth Gibney reports about the establishment of the African Space Agency. 
• Dee Jefferson interviews Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. 
• Sy Boles wonders whether 75 years after Fermi's paradox, we are any closer to finding alien life 
• Sarah Durn explains how quickly New York City would decay in a world without people. 
• Noor Al-Sibai reports that a 1976 Atari 2600 Console has beaten ChatGPT at chess. 
• Raechal Shewfelt reports that Disney and Universal are sueing the AI company Midjourney over its use of copyrighted characters
• Ella Creamer reports that researchers at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, have identified a method to quickly identify arsenic containing pigments in nineteenth century books. 
• Software designer Bill Atkinson, who developed the modern desktop, has died aged 74.
   

Gaming: 

• Keza McDonald reviews the Nintendo Switch 2 console. 
• Keith Stuart and Keza MacDonald share their fifteen favourite games presented at the 2025 Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, California. 
• Katie Notopoulos reports that the Roblox "Grow A Garden" game, which was developed by a sixteen-year-old, is breaking popularity records.
• Justin Carter reports that Electronic Arts cancelled a proposed Black Panther game.  
• Tiffany May reports that the videogame Reversed Front: Bonfire has been banned in Hong Kong for allegedly promoting an armed revolution. 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• The KnightWolf reviews the Formo Toys Legends of Dragonore Ignytor action figure. 
• Germain Lussiers shares a look at the Hasbro Marvel Legends SDCC exclusive Savage Land three-pack.
• Sabina Graves shares a look at a Godzilla Minus One Funko Pop figure. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Multi-Spatial Apartment Complex Malfunction Results in Body Horror" by Reyes Ramirez in Lightspeed. 
• "When the Faerie King Toured the Human Realm" by Vanessa Fogg in Lightspeed.  
• "Let the Gods Drown With Us" by R.K. Duncan in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Not a Fish" by Andrew Dykstal in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Eighth Pyramid" by Louis Inglis Hall in Clarkesworld. 
• "In the Shells of Broken Things" by A. T. Greenblatt in Clarkesworld. 
• "Eleven Songs for Another Lover" by V.H. Chen in Nightmare Magazine.  
• "Howl Rising" by Kirsty Campbell in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "The Death of Abigail Goudy" by Neil Williamson in The Dark.
• " Hi! I’m Claudia" by Delilah S. Dawson in Uncanny Magazine
  
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Foundation.
• Watch a trailer for Freakier Friday.
• Watch a trailer for The Institute. 
• Watch a teaser for Spaceballs 2.