It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general, news from the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, Fantastic Four: First Steps and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Murderbot, Superman, season 3 of Foundation, The Sandman, Monster Island, Smurfs, I Know What You Did Last Summer, news from San Diego Comic Con and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about editing and storing memories
- A.B. Poranek shares five atmospheric SFF books that feel like dark fairy tales
- E.K. Johnston shares five YA SFF books with unexpectedly important animals
- Charlotte Tierney discusses weird girls, manic pixie dream girls and other myths of girlhood
- Jonny Thomson explains why J.R.R. Tolkien thought that “sub-creation” was the secret to great fantasy and science fiction
- Cora Buhlert discusses the remarkable one hundred year career of the body-hopping German supervillain Dr. Mabuse.
- Laura Miller profiles Chuck Tingle.
Comics and Art:
- George Goicochea reviews Dawnrunner by Ram V and Evan Cagle
- Paul Morton revisits the 2003 graphic novel Unstable Molecules by James Sturm, and Guy Davis
- Kris Vyas-Myall looks back on the seminal Green Lantern co-starring Green Arrow comics by Neal Adams and Denny O'Neill from the early 1970s.
- Simon Spurrier shares his favourite crime comics and explains why we need more crossover readers
- Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about packing too many books when going on holiday.
Film and TV:
- Alasdair Stuart shares his praise for Creature Commandos.
- Ciarra Crowe declares that the anime Wind Breaker is more than brutal brawls
- Dean E.S. Richard calls Predator: Killer of Killers all killer, no filler
- Catherine Bray calls Osiris a charmingly hokey space-horror film.
- Leslie Felperin calls Saint Clare a feminist revenge horror film
- Cath Clarke calls the animated heist film The Bad Guys 2 snappier, funnier and more relaxed than the first film.
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls The Home a crummy horror movie that's just nasty enough to stay awake through.
- Monita Roy Mohan shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Nautilus.
- 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.
- Ann Michelle Harris shares her thoughts on the latest season of Phineas and Ferb
- Stuart Jeffries shares his thoughts on the documentary An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine
- Germain Lussier shares early praise for the horror movie Weapons.
- James Whitbrook discusses the history of the Star Wars universe.
- Ben Child muses about the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia shares five suspense movies that writers should watch.
- The Radio Times interviews actor and writer Mark Gatiss, best known for his work on Sherlock, Doctor Who, Bookish and League of Gentlemen.
- Lauren Huff interviews Dan Trachtenberg, director of Prey and Predator Badlands.
- Germain Lussier interviews Noah Hawley, creator of Alien: Earth.
- Simon Bland interviews James Cromwell who played Farmer Hoggett in the 1995 fantasy movie Babe as well as special effects artist Neal Scanlan..
- Tyler Dean revisits the 1980 animated movie Return of the King.
- Caroline Siede revisits the 1985 sword and sorcery film Red Sonja.
- Kali Wallace revisits the 1986 Soviet science fiction comedy Kin-dza-dza!
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode“Walkabout”
- Former child actor Jimmy Hunt who appeared in Invaders From Mars, Cheaper By Dozen and many others, has died aged 85.
Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:
Comments on Murderbot:
Comments on season 3 of Foundation:
- Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “Shadows in the Math”, the second episode of season 3 of Foundation.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on “Shadows in the Math”, the second episode of season 3 of Foundation.
- Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on “Shadows in the Math”, the second episode of season 3 of Foundation.
Comments on Fantastic Four: First Steps and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:
- Justin Carter shares early reactions to Fantastic Four: First Steps.
- Jarrod Jones declares that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one giant leap forward for Marvel Studios
- Germain Lussier declares that The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t quite fantastic, but it’s pretty great
- Peter Bradshaw calls The Fantastic Four: First Steps review a wacky superhero family sitcom
- Jesse Hassenger declares that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the best Fantastic Four movie, but not quite good enough to escape the Marvel Cinematic Universe doldrums.
- Adam B. Vary interviews Matt Shakman, director of Fantastic Four: First Steps.
- Brian Davids interviews Ralph Ineson who plays Galactus in Fantastic Four: First Steps.
- Anthony Breznican reports that the main cast of the never released 1994 Fantastic Four has been given cameos in Fantastic Four: First Steps and were also invited to the premiere.
- Ben Child wonders whether Reed Richards a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic is being prepped as the leader of the Avengers.
- Lee Park reports that contrary to rumours, Mephisto was never supposed to appear in WandaVision.
Comments on Superman:
- Joe George declares that Superman embraces silliness — that’s why we take it seriously
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Superman gives audiences hope, but not as a straightforward savior narrative
- James Whitbrook declares that he loves that Superman loves journalism
- Paul Levinson declares that if you're a fan of Superman, you can't go wrong with this movie, and if you're a fan of democracy and a foe of fascism, you can go wrong with this movie. either.
- Lorinda Donovan shares a spoilerish review of Superman.
- Germain Lussier reports that director James Gunn restored an initially cut scene of Superman saving a squirrel in the middle of a giant battle.
- Kyle Buchanan also discusses the squirrel scene that was almost cut from Superman and why it's important.
- Adam Burke, Bobcat Goldthwait and Paula Poundstone interview James Gunn, director of Superman and head of DC Studios.
- Josh Horowitz interviews James Gunn.
- Brian Hiatt interviews James Gunn.
- Cheryl Eddy reports that James Gunn thinks that Anti-American sentiment is hurting Superman overseas
- Justin Carter reports that the success of Superman has revived interest in previous Superman movies.
Comments on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Shuttle to Kenfori”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Shuttle to Kenfori”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Shuttle to Kenfori”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “Shuttle to Kenfori”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Melody McCune shares her favourite quotes from “Shuttle to Kenfori”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng share their thoughts on “Hegemony, Part II”, the first episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng share their thoughts on “Wedding Bell Blues”, the second episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the first three episodes of season 3 of Star Trek; Strange New Worlds.
- Anthony Pascale interviews Akiva Goldsman, showrunner of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Avery Kaplan shares four Star Trek romances she enjoys.
Comments on The Sandman:
Comments on Monster Island:
Comments on Smurfs:
- Peter Bradshaw calls the latest incarnation of Smurfs an uninspired, unengaging kids’ animation
- Jacob Oller calls the latest Smurfs movie somewhere between a warped Rihanna concept album and a multiversal superhero knock-off
- Jesse Hassenger is bothered by the fact that even though Rihanna was billed as the star of Smurfs, James Corden voices the actual main character.
Comments on the new I Know What You Did Last Summer:
- Germain Lussier declares that the new I Know What You Did Last Summer betrays itself from the very start
- Jim Vorel declares that the new version of I Know What You Did Last Summer highlights that there was never anything particularly interesting about I Know What You Did Last Summer in the first place.
- Drew Gillis declares that the new I Know What You Did Last Summer knows exactly why it exists
- Natalie Zutter declares that the new I Know What You Did Last Summer will hook you
- Kimberly Pierce shares her thoughts on the new I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Brian Davids interviews Madelyn Cline, one of the stars of the new I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Awards:
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Gwynne Garfinkle talks about using pop culture as poetic inspiration.
- Cherie Priest talks about her journey as a writer and how the writing business has changed in the past 25 years.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch alerts writers to problems with the contracts of the new owners of Analog, Asimov's, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
- The SFWA shares a press release regarding recommendations they made to Must Read Publishing, the new owners of Analog, Asimov's, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.about contract language
- Natalie op de Beek reports that an organisation called EveryLibrary has released a report detailing the legal challenges facing libraries in the US
- Lucy Knight reports about services that sell books by the meter for interior design purposes.
- WSAW TV reports about a TARDIS shaped little free library in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Liz Bourke reviews The Folded Sky by Elizabeth Bear
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Folded Sky by Elizabeth Bear
- Camestros Felapton reviews Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch
- Marion Deeds reviews The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Engines of Empire by Max Carver
- Liz Bourke reviews The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The House on Utopia Way by Stefan Mohamed
- Adrian Collins reviews A City Dreaming by Daniel Polansky
- Gary K Wolfe reviews The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Marlene Harris reviews Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon
- Bill Capossere reviews The Memory of the Ogisi by Moses Ose Utomi
- Marlene Harris reviews The Memory of the Ogisi by Moses Ose Utomi
- Jenny Hamilton reviews Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel
- Ed Crocker reviews Seven Recipes for Revolution by Ryan Rose
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Orishas Among Mortals by Antoine Bandele
- Helen Rhee reviews Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi
- Chris Kluwe reviews The Blood Phoenix by Amber Chen
- Colleen Mondor reviews Kitemaster by Jim C. Hines
- Sasha Bonkowsky reviews Royal Gambit by Daniel O'Malley.
- Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Crystal Heir by Brendan Noble
- Fantasy Faction reviews Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence
- Grimdark Magazine reviews The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare
- Rebecca Fisher reviews Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Anne Pierce
- Lesa Holstine reviews A Trinket for the Taking by Victoria Laurie
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Bright Dead Star and Zoetrope Bizarre by Caitlín R. Kiernan
- Rob Bedford reviews One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Night Swimming by Aaron Stramer
- Mahvesh Murad reviews When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur
- Paul Di Filippo reviews Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor
- Doreen Sheridan reviews How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold
- Niall Harrison reviews This Is Not A Ghost Story by Amerie
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Several Worlds - A Middleoak Anthology, edited by Kate Macdonald
- Warner Holme reviews Tolkien in the 21st Century by Nick Groom
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee
Classics reviews:
- Brian Collins revisits the 1964 science fiction story “The Rules of the Road” by Norman Spinrad
- Brian Collins revisits the 1965 science fiction story “Shall We Have a Little Talk?” by Robert Sheckley
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1966 Gor sword and planet novel Tarnsman of Gor by John Norman.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the August 1970 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1970 science fiction collection A Harvest of Hoodwinks and the 1970 science fiction novel Masters of the Lamp by Robert Lory and Brian Collins revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Operation ARES by Gene Wolfe
- Winona Menezes revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Quest for the Future by A.E. Van Vogt, Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1970 fantasy novel The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock, Maureen Hogan revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Anti-Man by Dean Koontz and Amber Dubin revisits the 1970 science fiction novel A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick
- Arturo Serrano revisits the 1970 non-fiction book Scientology: The Now Religion by George Malko.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 fantasy anthology Basilisk, edited by Ellen Kushner
- Alan Brown revisits the 1986 alternate history novel The Crystal Empire by L. Neil Smith
- Alissa Burger revisits the 1990 YA horror novel Missing by R.L. Stine, the 1991 YA horror novel Sister Dearest by D.E. Athkins and the 1993 YA horror novel The Stepdaughter by Carol Ellis.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 2003 YA fantasy novel Forgotten Truth by Dawn Cook
- Kat Hooper revisits the 2004 YA fantasy novel Lost Truth by Dawn Cook
Con and event reports:
- Arley Sorg reports about the 2025 Nebula conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
- Arley Sorg reports about the virtual 2025 WisCon.
- Octothorpe discusses the issues with the 2027 Worldcon bid for Montreal, Quebec.
- Mike Glyer announces that the 2027 Worldcon bid for Montreal, Quebec, has announced two co-chairs.
- Nicholas Whyte points out that a decision made at the virtual 2025 WSFS Business Meeting has the unintended consequences of excluding many WSFS members from voting for the Hugos.
- Matthew Byrd lists some interesting panels at the 2025 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
- Germain Lussier shares the coolest things he saw at San Diego Comic Con.
- Cheryl Eddy reports about a Doctor Who experience at San Diego Comic Con.
- Sabina Graves reports about a Peacemaker experience at San Diego Comic Con.
- Isaiah Colbert reports about the Invincible panel at San Diego Comic Con
- Pixel Dan takes a look at the Mattel booth at San Diego Comic Con.
- Lois Beckett visits Disneyland in Anaheim, California, for its seventieth anniversary and shares her favourite rides.
- Sabina Graves reports that the Star Wars Launch Bay attraction in Disney World in Orlando, Florida, has been shut down.
- Tadej Znidarcic discusses the popularity of armoured combat in New York City.
- James Whitbrook reports that Bandai has asked Japanese politicians not to dress up as Gundam characters, while campaigning.
Crowdfunding:
Science and technology:
- Hrvoje Tkalčić and Weijia Sun report that evidence is growing that there may be an underground ocean of liquid water under the surface of Mars.
- Robbie Wojciechowski discusses how the US Space Shuttles were given better names thanks to Star Trek.
- Kenneth Chang reports that hundreds of NASA employees past and present have signed a Letter of Formal Dissent about the budget cuts of the Trump government.
- James Davis Nicoll talks about Barnard's Star.
- Margherita Bassi reports that some Android phones can detect earthquakes before the ground starts shaking
- Deena Prichep discusses how pastors and priests are grappling with the ethics of using AI to write sermons.
- Justin Spike reports how a medieval library in Pannonhalma, Hungary, is struggling to save books from a beetle infestation.
Toys and collectibles:
- Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse New Eternia Teela action figure.
- Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse New Etheria Hordak action figure.
- Toy Habits reviews the Formo Toy Warriors of the Galaxy Huk action figure.
- Isaiah Colbert shares a look at the Hot Toys Fantastic Four Galactus action figure.
- Toy Habits shares a look at the Masters of the Universe Origins figures and playsets revealed at the 2025 San Diego Comic Con.
- Toy Habits shares a look at the Masters of the Universe Masterverse figures revealed at the 2025 San Diego Comic Con.
- Toy Habits shares a look at the Masters of the Universe 200X figures and playsets revealed at the 2025 San Diego Comic Con.
- James Whitbrook shares a look at upcoming Nacelle Star Trek action figures on display at San Diego Comic Con.
- James Whitbrook shares his favourite 2025 San Diego Comic Con exclusives.
Free online fiction:
- "Finding Love in a Time Loop: A How-To Guide" by Leah Cypess in Lightspeed.
- "You Knit Me Together in My Mother’s Womb" by Paul Crenshaw in Lightspeed.
- "Songs for Obsidian" by Rosemary Claire Smith in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Woman Like Stone Like Water" by Malda Marlys in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Sisters" by E.M. Linden in The Dark.
- "Quazaar the Eliminator" by Stephen L. Antczak in Swords and Heroes.
- "For Those Who Stay Buried" by Amanda Cecelia Lang in The Deadlands.
- "Up the Road" by Daniel A. Rabuzzi in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "A Land Called Folly" by Amal Singh in Clarkesworld.
- "A Rare and Exceptional Delicacy" by G.M. Mitchell in Apex Magazine.
Trailers and videos:
- Watch a trailer for Predator: Badlands
- Watch a trailer for season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
- Watch a trailer for Good Fortune.
- Watch a trailer for Keeper.
- Watch a trailer for Five Nights at Freddy's 2.
- Watch a trailer for Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu
- Watch a trailer for Pokémon Concierge
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