Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 29, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general, Masters of the Universe in general, Peacemaker and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, season 3 of Foundation, Star Wars in general, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Alien Earth, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Invasion and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Julia Kitvaria Sarene shares her favourite self-published epic fantasy books. 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene shares her favourite self-published urban fantasy books. 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene shares her favourite self-published gimdark fantasy books.  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene shares her favourite self-published cosy fantasy books.   
• Logan Karlie shares five romantasy books where the love interest’s face is hidden  
• Peter Rosch shares five novels on the dark allure of our inner (and outer) demons  
• Rebecca Stone Gordon talks about archaeology in horror fiction 
• Lyndsey Faye finds some parallels between the legend of the golem and artificial intelligence.
• Mark Satta notes that George Orwell’s opposition to totalitarianism was rooted in his support for freeing workers from poverty and exploitation 
• Kat Tenbarge talks about a backlash against Harry Potter merchandise and marketing due to J.K. Rowling's transphobia. 
• Tom Tivnan reports that children's book author Julia Donaldson has become the first author to break the NielsenIQ BookScan 50-million-unit barrier 
• Science fiction fan and lawyer Guy H. Lillian III has died aged 76. 
• Rich Lynch remembers lawyer and science fiction fan Guy Lillian III who died aged 76. 
• The Guardian remembers Greg Iles  

 

Comics and Art:

• Michael Whelan shares his ideas and inspirations for the covers for the Del Rey editions of Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon on multi-floor bookstores.

 

Film and TV: 

• Petrana Radulovic lists all the SFF TV shows coming out in September.
• Petrana Radulovic lists all the SFF movies coming out in September. 
• Camestros Felapton notes that Sinners is very good. 
• Olivia Rutigliano talks about the environmental anxiety of the film adaptation of The Sisters Brothers  
• Phil Hoad calls Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing a garbled story of metaverse musicians based on a mobile game that leaves its audience little to grasp hold of 
• Catherine Bray praises the performances of Ella Balinska and Rob Delaney in the science fiction thriller The Occupant. 
• Ann Michelle Harris shares her thoughts on season 2 of the anime The Apothecary Diaries 
• Grimdark Magazine share their thoughts on Bring Her Back. 
• Isaiah Colbert shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Dan Da Dan. 
• Rich Pelley interviews Ridley Scott, director of Alien, Blade Runner and many others. 
• Danielle Directo-Meston interviews Craig Mazin, showrunner of The Last of Us. 
• Ellie Harrison interviews Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who played Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones.  
• Brian Davids interviews David DiGilio, screenwriter of The Terminal List and Tron Ares.  
• Simon Bland interviews the director and stars of the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. 
• Kayleigh Donaldson discusses how the animated film The Thief and the Cobbler was taken away from its director and turned into a cheap knock-off of Disney's Aladdin.  
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1967 Czech proto-Steampunk film The Stolen Airship and the 1967 experimental film Herostratus.
• Tim Ford revisits the 1995 French science fantasy film The City of Lost Children 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits season 3 of Babylon 5, which aired in 1995/1996. 
• Gillian Bennett revisits the 1999 science fiction TV series Roswell. 
• Ana Carpenter revisits the 2006 dystopian movie Children of Men. 
• Dan Persons revisits the 2008 animated science fiction film Wall-E. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2019 science ficiton horror movie Pandorum. 
• Mary Kate Carr reports that Harry Potter film director Chris Columbus is wondering "what's the point" of the reboot TV series. 
• Saloni Gajjar praises the Emmy-Nominated make-up design of Interview with the Vampire. 
• Isaiah Colbert reports that the animation studio Qzil.la has denied using generative AI for the anime Sekiro: No Defeat 
• Vanessa Armstrong reports that K-Pop Demon Hunters is now Netflix's most watched movie of all time.  
• Animator Phil Mulloy has died aged 76. 
• Actor and screenwriter David Ketchum, best known for playing Agent 13 in Get Smart, has died aged 97. 
• Actor Jerry Ader, best known for his appearances in The Sopranos, The Good Wife, Northern Exposure, Quantum Leap and many others, has died aged 96. 

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• The return of the fansite He-Man.org is announced.
• James Eatock revisits the 1985 Masters of the Universe illustrated readalong audio book "The Power of the Evil Horde" by Tim Kilpin with artwork by Bruce Timm.   

 

Comments on season 3 of Foundation: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “Foundation's End”, the latest episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on “Foundation's End”, the latest episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on “Foundation's End”, the latest episode of season 3 of Foundation. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Brandon P. Bell who plays Han Pritcher in Foundation.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Cherry Jones who plays Ambassador Quent in Foundation. 

Comments on Peacemaker and the DC Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Peacemaker.  
• Graeme Virtue declares that John Cena puts in an Emmy-worthy performance in Peacemaker.
• William Hughes declares that  with the one-two punch of Superman and Peacemaker season two, James Gunn seems to be deliberately rejecting the idea that his superhero universe will have any limits in either direction.
• Inspired by Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps, Mike Mariani notes that wholesome, noble superheroes are back in fashion, even if the world is anything but noble and wholesome. 
• J.L. Akagi compares different depictions of Lois Lane on screen. 
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Christin Milioti who plays Sofia Falcone in The Penguin.  

 

Comments on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Melody McCune shares her favourite quotes from “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng share their thoughts on “What is Starfleet?”, the previous episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• James Whitbrook ranks the various journalists who have appeared in Star Trek over the years.
• Jeff Spry interviews Valerie Weiss, director of several Star Trek Strange New Worlds episodes. 

 

Comments on Star Wars in general: 

• Ben Child wonders why the Star Wars sequel trilogy was so forgettable.
• William Hughes reports that Katee Sackhoff has declared that she could not identify with the character of Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian, in spite of voicing the same character in various Star Wars cartoon series. 

 

Comments on Alien: Earth:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Alien Earth.
• Matt Schimkowitz shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Alien Earth. 
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Alien Earth.  
• James Hibberd interviews Noah Hawley, creator and showrunner of Alien Earth.
• Mike Hale reports about the filming of Alien: Earth in Thailand. 

 

Comments on Outlander: Blood of My Blood: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood. 
• Tara Bennett interviews Matt Roberts, showrunner of Outlander: Blood of My Blood.  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Kenneth Lowe revisits the 2013 Marvel TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.   
• David Canfield interviews Chloé Zhao, director of Eternals. 
• Justin Carter reports that according to actor Kumail Nanjiani, there were much bigger plans for Marvel's Eternals.  

 

Comments on Invasion: 

• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Invasion.
• Diana Keng visits the Brutalist Convocation Mall at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, which served as a filming location for Invasion. 

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Silver Falchion Awards have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2025 YA Book Prize has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 American Manga Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2025 Gamescom Awards have been announced.

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Tim Lebbon talks about creating villains. 
• S.J. Fleet explains how they went from writing non-fiction to legal thrillers. 
• Cerys Davis reports that the AI company Anthropic has agreed to a settlement in the class action lawsuit brought against them by multiple writers whose books were pirated to train Anthropic's large language model. 
• Annelise Levy also reports about the settlement of the class action lawsuit against Anthropic AI. 
• Sophia Stewart reports that US National Endowment for the Arts’ 2026 Creative Writing Fellowships have been cancelled due to the Trump government pulling funding. 
• Steven Poole lists twenty frequently banned books.
   

 Interviews:

• Scott Eldeman interviews Mur Lafferty. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews R.J. Barker.
• Lacy Baugher Milas interviews Maggie Stiefvater. 

 

Reviews: 

• Liz Bourke reviews The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by Megan E. O’Keefe 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz  
• Marlene Harris reviews Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz 
• Bill Capossere reviews Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Mary Picken reviews The Transcendent Tide by Doug Johnstone  
• Niall Harrison reviews Minds in Transit by Joan Slonczewski 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Alex Wallace reviews Children of Doro by M. L. Clark  
• Maya C. James reviews All the Ash We Leave Behind by C. Robert Cargill 
• Liz Bourke reviews Penric and the Bandit by Lois McMaster Bujold
• Rob Bedford reviews Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler.  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace 
• Daniel Dern reviews Stone & Sky by Ben Aaronovitch.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Bones & Betrayals - Silence of the Dead by Andi Ewington and Erica Marks
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Beggar’s Rebellion by Levi Jacobs 
• Marlene Harris reviews Making History by K. J. Parker 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Ain’t No Witch: The Wanderings of Mamma Lucy by John Linwood Grant 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta 
• Fiona Denton reviews The Last Vigilant by Mark A. Latham 
• Joanne Anderton reviews Fate’s Bane by C.L. Clark  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Tideborn by Eliza Chan  
• Arturo Serrano reviews The Raven Key by Harper L. Carnes  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews To Touch a Silent Fury by R. A. Sandpiper  
• Chris Kluwe reviews When They Burned the Butterfly by Wen-yi Lee 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent 
• Maura Krause reviews Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab  
• Jenny Hamilton reviews This Is My Body by Lindsay King-Miller 
• Ian Mond reviews Curandera by Irenosen Okojie 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Katabasis by R.F. Kuang  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews Katabasis by R.F. Kuang 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Polybius by Collin Armstrong 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr 
• Ali Karim reviews Whistle by Linwood Barclay  
• Archita Mittra reviews Cinder House by Freya Marske  
• Bill Capossere reviews Daedalus is Dead by Seamus Sullivan 
• Sam Byers reviews Good and Evil and Other Stories by Samanta Schweblin  
• Ali Karim reviews The End of the World As We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Sinopticon - A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction, edited by Xueting Christine Ni 
• Dana A. Williams reviews Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Morris 
• Jamie Sutcliffe reviews Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction And The Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll.

 

Classics reviews:

• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisit the 1859 supernatural story “The Lifted Veil” by George Eliot.  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1926 dark fantasy story “The Woman of the Wood” by A. Merritt 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1926 humorous fantasy novel Topper by Thorne Smith 
• Bobby Derie revisits the 1935 Jirel of Joiry sword and sorcerey story "Jirel Meets Magic" by C.L. Moore. 
• David L. Ulin revisits the 1950 science fiction fix-up novel The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1963 anthology Stories of Suspense, edited by Mary E. MacEwen 
• John Coulthart revisits the 1966 science fiction novel The Crystal World by J.G. Ballard. 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1970 weird fiction collection Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith. 
• Sam Reader revisits the 1974 time travel story  “A Little Something for Us Tempunauts” by Philip K. Dick
• Christopher Lockett revisits the 1990 Discworld fantasy novel Eric by Terry Pratchett.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1990 science fiction collection Facets by Walter Jon Williams 
• Fantasy Faction revisits the 1990 humorous science fiction novel Phule’s Company by Robert Asprin 
   
   

Reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington: 

• Grigory Lukin shares his experiences at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Chris M. Barkley shares his experiences at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Miri Baker shares her issues with the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, in particular and with Worldcon in general.

 

Other con and event reports:

• Sarah Waiswa shares several photos of the Otamatsuri Anime x Manga in Nairobi, Kenya. 
• Mike Glyer shares the program for the New York Science Fiction Film Festival in New York City. 
• Kaye Dee reports about the 1970 Expo in Osaka, Japan.
• Germain Lussier reports about a very science fictional Backstreet Boys concert at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, 

 

Science and technology:

• Ima Caldwell reports that the world's first osmotic power plants has opened in Fukuoka, Japan. 
• Hannah Devlin reports that the oldest known ankylosaur fossil has been found in Morocco 
• Anna Iovine explains why internet age verification laws are so problematic.
• Zachary Small discusses the impact of the Trump government's policies on museums across the US  
• Ellyn Lapointe reports that birds are singing longer than before due to light pollution. 
• The New York Times reports about silicon doodles found on older computer chips. 
   

Gaming: 

• Susan Dennard shares five video games for every type of SFF reader 
• James Davis Nicoll lists five SFF book series adapted into roleplaying games. 
• Alex Taylor profiles British gamer and Twitch streamer Alyce Rocha 
• C.T. Phipps reviews the video game Lies of P 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse Vintage Collection Stratos action figure.  
• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe x Transformers Megatron Armor Skeletor and Bumblebee Armor Man-at-Arms. 
• James Whitbrook reports that the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series Revenge of the Sith Anakin and Obi-Wan figures, which were released as a two-pack as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive, will receive individual releases, but without some of the additional accessories of the two-pack.
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the Bandai S.H. Figuarts Spider-Man action figure. 
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Black Pearl set.
• Jessica Leigh Hester reports about memorabilia inspired by the Soviet canine cosmonauts Laika, Belka and Strelka. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Hungry Mouth at the Edge of Space and the Goddess Knitting at Home" by Renan Bernardo in Reactor. 
• "A Dream of Twin Sunsets" by Ryan Cole in Clarkesworld.
• "Vwooom!" by Uchechukwu Nwaka in Clarkesworld. 
• "To Access Seven Obelisks, Press Enter" by V.M. Ayala in Lightspeed.  
• "Anti-Capitalism vs. the Man of Flowers" by Naomi Kanakia in Lightspeed.  
• "Little Trinkets" by A. J. Sharpe in The Deadlands. 
• "Soft Edges" by Elizabeth Bear in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "Denizens of My Face" by Emil Morrell in Apex Magazine.
• "The Capture" by Raja'a Khalid in Strange Horizons.  
• " Yesterday" by A.M. Barrie in Strange Horizons. 
• "The Taint" by Anne Wilkins in The Dark.

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Deathstalker. 
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Alice in Borderland. 
• Watch a trailer for Robin Hood. 
• Watch a trailer for Arco.
• Watch a trailer for The Toxic Avenger. 
• Watch a trailer for 100 Nights of Hero. 
• Watch a trailer for Night of the Reaper. 
• Watch a trailer for V/H/S Halloween. 
• Watch a trailer for Return to Silent Hill. 
• Watch a trailer for Bone Lake. 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 22, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2025 Hugo Awards, the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, 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, Peacemaker and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, season 3 of Foundation, Star Wars in general season 2 of Wednesday, Alien Earth, Nautilus, Ne Zha 2, Revival, tributes to Terence Stamp and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Auralee Wallace talks about the joy of unexpected genre mash-ups
• Elizabeth Bear talks about the shifts in popularity of fantasy subgenres. 
• Cora Buhlert talks about why women fantasy writers tend to be forgotten more quickly than men, even if they were influential and popular in their day. 
• Melissa Pace shares five speculative fiction novels with feminist themes. 
• Hannah Nicole Maehrer shares five SFF books about forced proximity and its romantic ramifications 
• Alexandra Alter reports about the rise of Romantasy and its connection to Harry Potter fanfiction. 
• Scott Simon and Rachel Kurzius talk about how fan fiction is changing publishing and reading 
• Ratika Deshpande shares five stories featuring dragons great and small 
• Elisa Shoenberger shares six SFF books about astronomical oddities 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction works about repurposing organs and other body parts
• Ania Ahlborn talks about terrifying mothers in horror fiction and real life. 
• Ella Creamer shares five hopeful novels about climate change. 
• Rachel Ayers shares five retellings of "Thumbelina". 
• Joe Hernandez chronicles how the word "nerd", which was popularized by Dr. Seuss, went from geeky insult to mainstream 
• Wendy Xu talks about Bridge to Terabithia, The Boy and the Heron and A.I. “Art” 
• Charlie Jane Anders discusses Possession by A.S. Byatt as a precursor to the dark academia subgenre.  
• Nick Evershed wonders whether men have really stopped reading. 
• John Keenan ranks the novels of Thomas Pynchon. 
• Susana M. Morris takes a look at the early writings of Octavia E. Butler. 
• Hua Hsu profiles R.F. Kuang. 
• George Beahm remembers the late Terry Allan Murray. 
• Science fiction and thriller writer Greg Iles has died aged 65. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Aaron Jones reviews System Preference by Ugo Bienvenu 
• Locus interviews SFF artist Michael Blank. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the perfect representative for an author's book.

 

Film and TV: 

• Leah Schnelbach calls Boys Go To Jupiter a sweetly surreal anti-capitalist coming-of-age first contact adventure 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood. 
• Catherine Bray calls The Home a horror film that falls short on internal logic and feels like a subpar Get Out  
• Cath Clarke calls Grand Prix of Europe a safe but satisfying animated film. 
• Tim Lowery calls Ren Faire a stylish documentary series. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1975 cult horror musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 
• Sean Fennell revisits the 1984 horror movie The Toxic Avenger.
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1985 fantasy movie Legend. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “Z’ha’dum”  
• Ashley Cullins looks back on the making of the 1996 horror movie Scream. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1997 science fiction horror movie Event Horizon. 
• Jesse Hassenger revisits the 2000 virtual reality thriller The Cell.  
• Germain Lussier revisits the 2001 science fiction film AI: Artificial Intelligence  
• Germain Lussier lists twenty movies coming out in the rest of 2025 that he is excited about. 
• Michael Brooke shares ten great East European science fiction films. 
• Leah Thomas shares a round-up of absurdist anime. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Elijah Wood, star of the Lord of the Rings movies and the new Toxic Avenger. 
• John Bleasdale interviews Saul Hudson a.k.a. Slash, Guns 'n Roses guitarist and producer of the new Deathstalker.  
• Nick Romano interviews Amy Madigan, who plays Aunt Gladys in Weapons. 
• Tony Maglio interviews Dan Erickson, creator and showrunner of Severance. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares her favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror roles played by Timothy Olyphant. 
• Sian Cain shares Quentin Tarantino's ranking of his own movies. 
• Olivia Rutigliano shares a quiz about which actors almost appeared in famous movies.  
• Ben Child wonders about the future of the Terminator franchise. 
• Lauren Cochrane wonders whether set photos are ruining movies. 
• Yixuan Tan, Eve Qiao and Mithil Aggarwal report about the growing popularity of Chinese mini-dramas.
• The Guardian reports that child actor Jeffrey Vorhees is still getting residuals for a single brief scene in Jaws, where he is eaten by the shark. 
• Jake Kanter reports that according to the BBC, Doctor Who isn't going anywhere - with or without Disney. 
• Joe Caroff, designer of the James Bond logo and countless movie posters, has died aged 103. 

 

Tributes to Terence Stamp:

• British actor Terence Stamp, best known for his appearances in Superman, The Phantom Menace, Modesty Blaise, The Limey, Smallville, Last Night in Soho, His Dark Material, Alien Nation, The Hit, The Collector and many others, has died aged 87. 
• Director Neil Jordan remembers Terence Stamp. 
• Director Stephan Elliott remembers Terence Stamp 
• Xan Brooks remembers Terence Stamp. 
• Andrew Pulver remembers Terence Stamp. 
• Paul Andrew Williams remembers Terence Stamp. 
• Justin Carter remembers Terence Stamp's many genre roles. 
• Ronald Bergan shares an obituary for Terence Stamp. 
• Greg Whitmore shares photos from Terence Stamp's lengthy career. 

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Borys Kit reports that Kristen Wiig will be voicing Roboto in the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action movie. 
• James Eatock shares the explanation from the British Masters of the Universe Magazine why Snake Mountain looks different as a toy and in the Filmation cartoon, 

 

Comments on season 3 of Foundation: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “The Shape of Time”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on “The Shape of Time”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on “The Shape of Time”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation. 
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Lou Llobell, who plays Gaal Dornick in Foundation.  
• Diana Keng visits the Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, which stands in for the Imperial Library on Trantor in Foundation. 

Comments on Peacemaker and the DC Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Trent Moore says that season 2 of Peacemaker shows that James Gunn is more than capable of using all that power to still tell weird, wild stories far outside the pantheon of any potential blockbuster Justice League saga to come.
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Peacemaker. 
• Isaiah Colbert shares his thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Peacemaker.  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Peacemaker.  
• Matthew Byrd lists what you need to remember ahead of season 2 of Peacemaker. 
• GQ interviews John Cena, star of Peacemaker. 

 

Comments on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “What is Starfleet?”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “What is Starfleet?”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “What is Starfleet?”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “What is Starfleet?”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Melody McCune shares her favourite quotes from “What is Starfleet?”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng share their thoughts on “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail”, the previous episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Melody McCune shares her favourite quotes from “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail”, the previous episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on episodes 5 and 6 of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 
• Justin Carter notes that the TARDIS put in a cameo appearance in an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
• Avery Kaplan shares her appreciation for the character of Kira Nerys in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.    

 

Comments on Star Wars in general: 

• Scott Feinberg interviews Tony Gilroy, showrunner of Andor. 
• Sabina Graves interviews Nina Gold and Martin Ware, casting directors of Andor.
• James Whitbrook discusses the original history behind the Mandalorians’ wars against the Jedi  
• Cody Hamman recounts how the 1978 Star Wars tie-in novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster was initially planned to become the basis of a low budget Star Wars sequel. 

 

Comments on Alien: Earth:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Alien Earth.
• Matt Schimkowitz shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Alien Earth. 
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Alien Earth.  

 

Comments on Wednesday: 

• Ann Michelle Harris calls season 2 of Wednesday clever, funny and full of horror mayhem and lots of family drama  
• Christian Zamora interviews Billie Piper who plays Isadora Capri in Wednesday.  

 

Comments on Ne Zha 2: 

• Isaiah Colbert declares that the Ne Zha II hype was undersold, since it’s one of the best animated films of all time   
• Tara Bennett calls Ne Zha 2 an overstuffed yet eye-popping piece of animation.  
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Michelle Yeoh who voices Lady Yin in Ne Zha 2. 
• Watch a trailer for Ne Zha 2. 

 

Comments on Nautilus: 

• Tim Ford declares that Nautilus could have become a fun adventure series... if it had only gotten there a little sooner. 
• Monita Roy Mohan shares her thoughts on the penultimate episode of Nautilus. 
• Monita Roy Mohan shares her thoughts on the season finale e of Nautilus.  

 

Comments on Revival: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season finale of Revival. 
• Melody McCune shares eight questions she hopes will be answered in season 2 of Revival. 

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Hugo Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Nommo Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Sidewise Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Endeavour Award have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Aldiss Award have been announced.  
• The finalists for the 2025 Ringo Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the Single Pattern Contest at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, have been announced. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2025 Hugo winners,  
• Mike Glyer shares a look at the 2025 Hugo base designed by Joy Alyssa Day.
• Ella Creamer reports that the Polari Book Prize was cancelled this year, following an uproar about TERF writer John Boyne making the longlist. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Martin Edwards talks about writing short stories. 
• Amie Schaumberg talks about writing neurodivergence in crime fiction. 
• Victoria Strauss explains how writers can determine if they can join the class action lawsuit against Anthropic AI.
• Camestros Felapton talks about an experiment conducted by Mark Lawrence comparing AI-written and human written stories. 
• Rich Johnston shares the terms of the legal settlement between Image Comics and the bankrupt Diamond Comics Distributors. 
• Benjamin Lee reports that according to a recent study, reading for pleasure has fallen by twenty percent in the US in the past twenty years. 
• Jim Milliot also reports about the study confirming the decline of reading for pleasure in the US in the past twenty years. 
• Miranda Bryant reports that Denmark is abolishing VAT on books in an effort to get more people reading 
• Sarah Butler reports that young people are embracing reading, which benefits Waterstones and other bookstores. 
   

 Interviews:

• Runalong the Shelves interviews Andrew Knighton. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews C.K. Hellisen.

 

Reviews: 

• Molly Templeton reviews Sky On Fire by E.K. Johnston.
• Marlene Harris reviews The Hungry Gods by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Kat Hooper reviews Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson 
• Fiona Denton reviews The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Inside Story of the British Bureau for the Arcane: The Dark Elf Dynasty File by Phil Parker 
• Adam Colclough reviews The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown 
• Ian Mond reviews The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death by Helen Marshall 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai 
• Alex Brown reviews Costumes for Time Travelers by A.R. Capetta 
• Alex Punceka reviews The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett 
• Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere review A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Bones and Betrayal: The Silence of the Dead by Marks Ewington 
• Martin Cahill reviews Saint Death’s Herald by C. S. E. Cooney 
• Marlene Harris reviews Wrath of the Dragons by Olivia Rose Darling 
• Alex Wallace reviews Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim, translated by Anton Hur. 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
• Paul Weimer reviews A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang  
• Mark Yon reviews Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler. 
• Molly Templeton reviews Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman. 
• Alex Wallace reviews No Sympathy by Eóin Dooley 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews VenCo by Cherie Dimaline 
• Adam Roberts reviews Circular Motion by Alex Foster   
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews How to Surf a Hurricane by Todd Medema 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Transcendent Tide by Doug Johnstone 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Incandescent by Emily Tesh 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Unseen by Ania Ahlborn. 
• Ed Crocker reviews The Extra by Annie Neugebauer 
• Niall Harrison reviews Animals by Geoff Ryman
• Colleen Mondor reviews It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest 
• Adrian Collins reviews It’s Not a Cult by Joey Batey 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews We Are Always Tender with Our Dead by Eric LaRocca 
• Arley Sorg reviews Not Your Papi’s Utopia: Latinx Visions of Radical Hope, edited by Matthew David Goodwin, Alex Hernandez and Sara Rivera 

 

Classics reviews:

• Richard Balir, son of Eric Arthur Blair a.k.a. George Orwell revisits the 1944 satirical fable Animal Farm by George Orwell. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1951 dying Earth novel City at World’s End by Edmond Hamilton 
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1956 children's fantasy Knight’s Castle by Edward Eager
• Gideon Marcus revisits the September 1970 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the September 1970 issue of Visions of Tomorrow. 
• Maureen Hogan revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Hour of the Horde by Gordon Dixon, Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1970 horror novel Gateway to Hell by Dennis Wheatley and Amber Dubin revisits the 1970 science fiction novel The Star Virus by Barrington J. Bayley and the 1970 science fiction novel Mask of Chaos by John Jakes.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 science fiction anthology Galaxy: The Best of My Years, edited by Jim Baen  
• Sean Guynes revisits the 1990 Wheel of Time epic fantasy novel The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1995 science fiction novel Project Farcry by Pauline Ashwell  
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1995 YA horror novel Deadly Visions by Diane Hoh and the 1996 YA horror novel The Face by R.L. Stine.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2010 biography Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century by William H. Patterson 
   

 

Reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington: 

• Shelf Awareness reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Juan Sanmiguel shares his experiences on the first day of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington.
• Juan Sanmiguel shares his experiences on the second day of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Juan Sanmiguel shares his experiences on the third day of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington.  
• Juan Sanmiguel shares his experiences on the fourth day of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington.  
• Juan Sanmiguel shares his experiences on the fifth day of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington.  
• Alan Boyle shares some panel highlights from the 2025 Worldcon. 
• Mia Tsai shares a summary of ConCurrent, the counter-programming to the 2025 Worldcon that she launched. 
• Mike Glyer shares a summary of the final WSFS Business Meeting of the 2025 Worldcon.
• Mike Glyer reports that Donald E. Eastlake III, chair of the WSFS Mark Protection Committee, chaired a meeting of that committee while testing positive for covid without wearing a mask.  

 

Other con and event reports:

• Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has won the site selection vote for the 2027 Worldcon. 
• Chris M. Barkley shares his reaction to being named Fan Guest of Honour of the 2027 Worldcon in Montreal, Canada.
• Joyce Lloyd, chair of LACon V, the 2025 Worldcon in Anaheim, California, apologises for the tone-deaf use of imagery and terms associated with westward expansion and the displacement and genocide of indigenous people on the convention homepage.  
• Mike Glyer shares a round-up of links regarding the LACon V controversy. 
• Chattacon in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is shutting down after fifty years.
• Mariana Dale reports about the Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim, California. 
• Keza MacDonald reports about the 2025 Gamescon in Cologne, Germany. 
• Kaye Dee reports about the Expo 1970 in Osaka, Japan. 

 

Science and technology:

• Adithi Ranakrishnan reports that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has found a new tiny moon around Uranus
• Hannah Richter reports that Saturn’s moon Enceladus might have weird “space rainbows”
• James Davis Nicoll notes that planets are actually very different from each other. 
• Matthew R. Francis reports that infrared instruments could spot exotic ice on other worlds
• Victor Tangerman reports that scientists created an entire social network where every user is a bot in order to test strategies to combat polarization and toxic behaviour, only to realise that none of them work.
   

Gaming: 

• Alyssa Mercante wonders if  Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is just another ‘lazy’ addition to the franchise. 
• Watch a trailer for the game He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe: Dragon Pearl Of Destruction

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Still a Big Kid reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse Vintage Collection Skeletor action figure 
• Still a Big Kid reviews the Jada Toys Ultra Street Fighter 2 Sagat action figure. 
• James Whitbrook takes a look at the Hasbro Marvel Legends Iron Man (Extremis) and Mandarin Two-Pack 
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the Hasbro Marvel Legends Maximum Series Deadpool action figure. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Dream Quest of Well-known Kawtar" by Luana Saitta in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Postman, Soldier, Traitor" by Vijayalaxmi Samal in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Bloody Muddy Water" by Jonathan Louis Duckworth in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Sea of Fertility" by Bella Han in Clarkesworld. 
• "Heart of Thunder" by Raahem Alvi in Clarkesworld. 
• "Savannah and the Apprentice" by Christopher Rowe in Lightspeed.  
• "The Dream Tourists" by Sarah Langan in Lightspeed.  
• "In Connorville" by Kathleen Jennings in Reactor. 
• "Miles To Go Before I Sleep" by Beth Goder in The Deadlands. 
• "Maroon" by Meg Elison in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "Husk" by James Bennett in The Dark.
• "Eight Ball" by Martin Cahill in Nightmare Magazine.  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Fallout. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Devil May Cry. 
• Watch a trailer for season 13 of Futurama. 
• Watch a trailer for Good Boy. 
• Watch a trailer for Self-Help. 
• Watch a trailer for The Conjuring: Last Rights. 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 15, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, 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, Superman and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, season 3 of Foundation, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, season 2 of Wednesday, Alien Earth, Red Sonja, Witchboard, the latest adaptation of The War of the Worlds, Weapons and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of her favourite recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books.
• Alex Brown shares must read short speculative fiction from July 2025
• James Davis Nicoll notes that women have always written SFF, but it wasn't always easy to find. 
• Christine Orlando asks seventeen speculative fiction authors what their favourite SFF trope is and which trope needs to be reimagined. 
• Terry Pratchett talks about how magic and magic users are portrayed in fantasy fiction. 
• Sarah Fimm shares her ten favourite books with space battles. 
• Z.B. Steele recommends eight indie grimdark novellas. 
• Rachel Eve Moulton talks about female violence as power in horror fiction. 
• Tom Mead talks about the similarities between locked room mysteries and ghost stories.  
• Samantha Edmonds shares six stargazing books.. 
• Alissa Burger shares her favourite fictional amusement parks. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for July 2025. 
• Ray Tabler takes a look at author pen names. 
• Molly Templeton notes that we all miss mass market paperbacks. 
• David Agranaoff talks about the waking nightmares of Philip K. Dick
• Samantha Brown discusses the ongoing fascination with Octavia E. Butler, nineteen years after her death.
• Rich Eberwein ranks ten main characters from The Lord of the Rings for likeability. 
• Tobias Carroll shares his appreciation for the uncanny fiction of Joel Lane.  
• Clara Bullock reports that a rare first edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has sold for 43000 British pounds at auction.
• Science fiction fan and scholar Terry A. Murray has died aged 72. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Rachel Wang reviews Dark Night: A True Batman Story by Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about holiday hopes and dreams.

 

Film and TV: 

• Phil Hoad calls the anime Wolf Children a minor masterpiece. 
• Phil Hoad calls That Alien, Sound a kooky comedy about a disembodied alien inhabiting a young woman’s body in a surreal exploration of music, identity and disconnection 
• Luke Buckmaster calls One More Shot a pleasantly derivative time-loop comedy from Australia.
• Jim Vorel calls Went Up the Hill an emotionally powerful but ponderous queer ghost story 
• Natalie Zutter declares that Freakier Friday didn’t learn its lesson the first time around 
• Cath Clarke declares that animated film Super Charlie explores an important theme but doesn’t compare to Pixar in fun or heart
• Jim Vorel declares that the serial killer mockumentary Strange Harvest slashes with flair, but loses potency in the end 
• Monita Roy Mohan shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Nautilus. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the series finale of Resident Alien. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Revival. 
• Isaiah Colbert shares his thoughts on the latest episode of the anime Dan Da Dan. 
• David Agranoff talks about  Philip K. Dick themes in season two of Severance
• Ramin Zahed reports about how the new animated Peanuts special Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical came to be, 
• Paste Magazine shares their thirty favourite movies about witches. 
• Daisy Schofield interviews special effects experts about how various movie and TV monsters were created. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews  Mike P. Nelson and star Ally Ioannides, director and star of Friday the 13th: Sweet Revenge
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1965 Italian science fiction film Planet of the Vampires. 
• Jennifer Ouellette revisits the 1975 fantasy comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 
• Shaun Duke revisits the 1976 East German science fiction film In the Dust of Stars. 
• Mekishana Pierre shares an oral history of the 1995 fantasy series Xena: Warrior Princess and finally confirms that Xena and Gabrielle were gay.  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “Shadow Dancing” 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 2000 Toxic Avenger horror film Citizen Toxie. 
• Emma Keates revisits the 2005 horror show Supernatural. 
• John Mauro revisits the 2006 anime Black Lagoon.  
• Brittany Wong explains how "clanker", an anti-robot slur from Star Wars, escaped into the real world. 
• Germain Lussier reports how various US government agencies are comically misunderstanding Star Wars and are somehow harbouring under the impression that Darth Vader is a good guy. 
• Braedon Montgomery reports that AMC's commitment to Interview with the Vampire a.k.a. The Vampire Lestat and its other Anne Rice inspired shows proves that focussing on specific niches can be successful for TV channels. 
• Sabina Graves reports that actress Charithra Chandran has experienced racist abuse after being cast in One Piece as Nefertari Vivi a.k.a. Miss Wednesday. 
• Sabina Graves reports that James Cameron has announced that he will keep inflicting Avatar movies on the filmgoing public.  
• Gabriel V. Rindborg reports that piracy is on the rise again after streaming services became steadily more expensive and worse. 
• Lorna Raver, best known for her appearances in Drag Me To Hell, Freeway, Armored, The Caller and many others, has died aged 81. 

 

 Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• For Eternia interviews Gary Goddard, director of the 1987 Masters of the Universe live action movie. 
• James Eatock takes a look at some script changes in the 1985 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode "Battlecat".

 

Comments on season 3 of Foundation: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “Where Tyrants Spend Eternity,”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on “Where Tyrants Spend Eternity,”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on “Where Tyrants Spend Eternity,”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation. 

 

Comments on Fantastic Four: First Steps and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Cheryl Morgan calls Fantastic Four: First Steps not a great movie, but a competent one.  
• Michael Chabon recounts how he pitched a script for a Fantastic Four movie back in 1995. 
• Matthew Byrd notes that there are conflicting reports regarding the future of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Watch some behind the scenes footage from the filming of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
  
  

Comments on Superman and the DC Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Ben Child takes a look at former Superman actor Dean Cain going off the rails, as the latest iteration of Superman becomes a huge success.
• Justin Carter reports that Robin will finally appear on screen again. 
• Sabina Graves reports that Krypto the Superdog will get his own animated series 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Peacemaker. 

 

Comments on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• James Whitbrook lists the worst ensign deaths in Star Trek.  
• Avery Kaplan shares her favourite Star Trek episodes about ancient alien civilisations.   
• Vanessa Armstrong reports about a proposed new Star Trek series featuring the return of Captain Jonathan Archer from Star Trek: Enterprise.
• James Whitbrook wonders what the future looks like for Star Trek after Paramount's merger with Skydance. 
• Ed Gross reports about the fan attempts to save the original Star Trek from cancellation. 

 

Comments on Outlander: Blood of My Blood:  

• Sarah Dempster calls Outlander: Blood of My Blood atrocious, unapologetically preposterous … and very watchable 
• Natalie Zutter declares that the Outlander: Blood of My Blood series premiere justifies its existence 
• Diana Keng interviews Maril Davis and Matthew B. Roberts, two of the stars of Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
• Diana Keng interviews Harriet Slater, Jamie Roy and Hermione Corfield, three more stars of Outlander: Blood of My Blood. 

 

Comments on season 2 of Wednesday: 

• Sabina Graves wonders about Lady Gaga's role in Wednesday. 
• Diana Keng visits Cantacuzino Castle in Bustemi, Romania, one of the shooting locations for Wednesday.
• Sabina Graves reports that the first half of season 2 of Wednesday has already matched the ratings of the complete season 1. 
• Watch a stop-motion animated "Tale of the Skull Tree" scene from Wednesday. 
• Watch a trailer for the rest of season 2 of Wednesday.  

 

Comments on Alien: Earth:

• Jack Seale calls Alien: Earth TV that bristles with bone-deep dread 
• Rhik Samadder calls Alien: Earth properly creepy
• Leah Schnelbach declares that Alien: Earth mixes Peter Pan and xenomorphs to extraordinary effect
• Matt Schimkowitz shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of Alien: Earth. 
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of Alien: Earth.  
• Vanessa Armstrong explains what to know before watching Alien: Earth
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Noah Hawley, creator of Alien: Earth. 
• Peri Nemiroff interviews Samuel Blenkin and Alex Lawther, two of the stars of Alien: Earth. 

 

Comments on Weapons: 

• Leah Schnelbach declares that Weapons lives up to the hype, then laughs at the hype and transcends it  
• Leah Schnelbach also notes that she can't stop thinking about Weapons. 
• Haley Zapal calls Weapons a scary-as-hell, deeply unsettling horror film 
• Matt Schimkowitz declares that tragedy doesn't actually bring anyone together in Weapons 
• Matthew Jackson declares that America weaponizes children and Weapons follows suit 
• Jesse Hassenger notes that Weapons doesn’t have a deeper meaning but that’s okay. 
• Mark Kermode reviews Weapons
• Germain Lussier interviews Zach Cregger, director of Weapons. 
• Anthony Breznican interviews Zach Cregger. 
• Justin Carter reports that Weapons had a good opening weekend. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares eight movies about freaky kids to watch after Weapons   

 

Comments on Red Sonja: 

• Leslie Felperin finds the odd glimmer of wit in an otherwise clunky Red Sonja. 
• Brian Davids interviews Matilda Lutz, star of the new Red Sonja movie.  

 

Comments on Witchboard: 

• Jim Vorel calls Witchboard a sultry and silly horror film. 
• Cheryl Eddy calls Witchboard a fun but uneven remake of a cult classic

 

Comments on the latest adaptation of War of the Worlds: 

• Isaiah Colbert declares that War of the Worlds is 2025’s definitive hate-watch movie
• Jacob Oller wonders whether the latest War of the Worlds might actually be Jeff Bezos' idea of a perfect movie. 
• Matt Schimkowitz revisits the 2005 adaptation of War of the Worlds. 

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Aurora Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2025 Munsey Awards have been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2024 Endeavour Award has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Harvey Awards have been announced. 
• The recipients of the 2025 David A. Kyle Big Heart Award have been announced. 
• The recipients of the 2025 First Fandom Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2025 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize has been announced. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Lincoln Michel implores people to continue making art even in the face of AI slop flooding the internet. 
• Tanya Scott finds surprising affinities between writing and medicine 
• Arjun Panickssery wonders why sentence lengths have decreased. 
• Jason Sanford explains why he does not use generative AI. 
• Nathalie op de Beek reports that public schools in Florida have removed hundreds of books with allegedly sexual content from their libraries, fearing the state's reprisal 
• Nathalie op de Beek reports that a Florida court has upheld the freedom to read in the decision PRH versus Gibson. 
• Jim Milliot shares an update on the class action lawsuit of several authors against Anthropic AI. 
• Writer Dave Barry reports how Google AI declared him dead and refused to correct its mistake, even though Barry is very much still alive.
   

 Interviews:

• Rich Pelley interviews Stephen King. 
• Leah Schnelbach interviews Chuck Tingle. 
• Z.B. Steele interviews Anna Stephens.
• Scott Edelman interviews Benjamin Rosenbaum. 
• Locus interviews Alexander Boldizar. 

 

Reviews: 

• Paul Di Filippo reviews Haze by Katharine Kerr 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Planetfall and After Atlas by Emma Newman 
• Alex Wallace reviews Time's Agent by Brenda Peynado
• Colleen Mondor reviews Meet Me at Blue Hour by Sarah Suk 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz 
• Melissa A. Watkins reviews Mindscape by Andrea Hairston 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews New Tomorrow by Cody Goodfellow 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Divinity Games by Lou Gilmond 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Blackcap by Benjamin Aeveryn 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Executioner's Blade by Andrew Knighton  
• Kat Hooper reviews Knot of Shadows by Lois McMaster Bujold 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold   
• Suzi Feay reviews The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar 
• Marlene Harris reviews Which Witch? by Simon R. Green 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang
• Gayle Surrette reviews The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
• Kat Hooper reviews The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton 
• Kat Hooper reviews The Geographer’s Map to Romance by India Holton 
• Marlene Harris reviews Pearl City by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle 
• Ian Mond reviews The Red Labyrinth by Ben Peek 
• Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds review The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Of Empires and Dust by Ryan Cahill 
• Fantasy Faction reviews The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence 
• Sasha Bonkowsky reviews Sunbirth by An Yu. 
• Liz Bourke reviews The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Only a Grave Will Do by James Lloyd Dulin 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle, tanslated.by Barbara Haveland. 
• Beejay Silcox reviews Katabasis by R.F. Kuang 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Immeasurable Heaven by Caspar Geon 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones 
• Martin Cahill reviews The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones  
• Rob Bedford reviews House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama. 
• Eugen Bacon reviews Monsters and Other Tales of Humanity by Carla E. Dash
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca 
• Dorian Lynskey reviews Chasing the Dark: Encounters with the Supernatural by Ben Machell  

 

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1926 lost world novel The Devil’s Henchmen by John Oldrey 
• Robert Charles Wilson revisits the 1950 fantasy comedy play Bell, Book and Candle by John Van Druten. 
• John Boston revisits the September 1970 issue of Amazing. 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1970 historical fantasy novel Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz.  
• Winona Menezes revisits the 1970 fantasy anthology New Worlds of Fantasy 2, edited by Terry Carr. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1971 science fiction novel A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1972 science fiction novel Beyond Apollo by Barry N. Malzberg  
• Brian Murphy revisits the 1975 Cormac Mac Art sword and sorcery novel Sword of the Gael by Andrew J. Offutt 
• Sam Reader revisits the 1975 horror story “The Hospice” by Robert Aickman 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1980 fantasy story “The Storm King” by Joan D. Vinge 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1983 science fiction novel For Love of Mother-Not by Alan Dean Foster
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1983 sword and sorcery novel The Four Wishes by Charlotte Stone
• Christopher Lockett revisits the 1989 Discworld fantasy novel Guards, Guards! by Terry Pratchett. 

 

Reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington: 

• Alan Boyle reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• The 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, shares the demographics of its membership.  
• Alan Boyle reports about a panel on AI at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the representatives of the ConKigali 2028 Worldcon bid for Kigali, Rwanda, are unable to attend the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, due to not having their visa approved in time.  
• Elizabeth Klein-Lebbink shares some photos of the Rotsler Award exhibition at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 

 

Other con and event reports:

• Cheryl Morgan reports about Archipelacon 2, the 2025 Eurocon, in Mariehamn, Finland. 
• Locus reports about the 2025 Locus Awards weekend in Oakland, California. 
• Dean Simmons reports about an uproar and a threatened boycott at the Angoulême Comic Festival in Angoulême, France.
• Pádraig Ó Méalóid reports about the event Comics at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland.
• Joseph Earl Thomas reports about the 2025 North American International Pokémon Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Taylor Henderson reports that an Alien themed pop-up experienced called The Hunt will appear in several cities all over the world for a single day. 

 

Science and technology:

• Paul Sutter calls for preserving the Moon from commercial exploitation. 
• Paul Sutter also notes that the future of astronomy might be on the Moon. 
• Jo Wilkins reports that China has presented armed robotic wolves. 
• Jimmy Juliano remembers some phenomena of the early internet.  
• Molly Templeton reports about an election for the cat bike path mayor currently happening in Somerville, Massachusetts
• Astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, has died aged 97. 
   

Gaming: 

• Keith Stuart talks about the current popularity of cosy games. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five user-friendly rulesets for tabletop roleplaying games
• Gideon Marcus shares his thoughts on the 1970 medieval war game Feudal. 
• Keith Stuart reports about people bonding over and finding love via video games. 
• C.T. Phipps reviews the video game RoboCop: Unfinished Business 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Pixel Dan asks several toy designers about their favourite toy action features.
• Will Stern reports that a rare Kenner Star Wars Luke Skywalker action figure with a double telescoping lightsaber will go up for auction.  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Feast of Famine" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed.  
• "Dad Went Out to Get the Milk" by Osahon Ize-Iyamu in Lightspeed.  
• "With Only a Razor Between" by Martin Cahill in Reactor. 
• "Memories Are Only Valuable if They Can Be Lost" by Ai Jiang in Clarkesworld.
• "Sleeper" by R.T. Ester in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Ocean Vomits What We Discard" by J.A.W. McCarthy in The Dark.
• "As Ephemeral as Bubbles" by Akis Linardos in Apex Magazine. 
• "My Mother, Dragonslayer" by E. Rathke in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Witness" by James Patrick Kelly in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "Swallow Test" by Angela Liu in Nightmare Magazine.  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of the live action One Piece.
• Watch a trailer for Haunted Hotel. 
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of Upload. 
• Watch a trailer for Rabbit Trap.