Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 8, 2025

 

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, Superman, season 3 of Foundation, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, season 2 of Wednesday, Alien Earth, Resident Alien, Boy Go to Jupiter, the latest adaptation of The War of the World, Freakier Friday, Weapons, The Bad Guys 2, K-Pop Demon Hunters, The Librarians: The Next Chapter and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy shares eighty new science fiction, fantasy and horror books arriving in August   
• Reactor shares all the new science fiction books arriving in August 2025 
• Reactor shares all the new fantasy books arriving in August 2025 
• Reactor shares all the new horror, romantasy and genre hybrid books arriving in August 2025  
• Reactor shares all the new young adult SFF books arriving in August 2025  
• Alyssa Villaire shares five warm weather fantasy books to enjoy this summer. 
• Amanda Wakaruk and Olav Rokne talk about the depiction of labour, employment and worker's rights in science fiction and its relationship to the real world. 
• Alex Brown shares five underrated SFF books set in an alternate nineteenth century 
• Lorna Wallace shares horror novels for each of the five stages of grief 
• Claire M. Andrews shares seven novels that reimagine classic stories 
• Naomi Kanakia discovers that she enjoys Robert E. Howard's Conan stories quite against her will. 
• B.E. Allatt explains how growing up and living in the Pacific Northwest influenced Frank Herbert's work. 
• Marian Womack lists five female Spanish speculative fiction writers to enjoy. 
• Cora Buhlert talks about the West German Larry Brent horror dime novels   
• Maureen Dowd attempts to debunk the claim that men don't read fiction and notes that quite a few of them do. 
• Rachel Kurzius notes that fan fiction is everywhere, if you know how to look for it.
• Charlie Jane Anders explains why the worst people are so keen to wreck art and culture  
• Brandon O'Brien asks people to embrace speculative poetry beyond the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Amelia Nierenburg reports that a rare first edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has been found in Bristol, UK. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #22 by Jim Zub and Fernando Dagnino. 
• Former Spider-Man writer J.M. DeMatteis explains what Spider-Man means to him.
• James Whitbrook reports about the latest developments in Peter Parker's troubled love life. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon inspired by The Salt Path scandal. 

 

Film and TV: 

• Robert Repino declares that A Samurai in Time beautifully defies our expectations of a science fiction comedy 
• Leah Thomas talks about the anime The Summer Hikaru Died and the desperate terror of queer adolescence  
• Lucy Mangan calls Promethea a stylishly creepy supernatural drama from France.  
• Leah Schnelbach calls Happyend a teenage dystopia with a dash of hope 
• Monita Roy Mohan shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Nautilus. 
• 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. 
• Josh Pearce reviews the horror film The Shrouds 
• Aaron Jones shares his thoughts on season 3 of Squid Game.
• Kai Young lists all sixty Doctor Who companions from 1963 to 2025. 
• Chris O'Falt interviews Michael Shanks, director of Together.
• Tatiana Siegel interviews Finn Wolfhard, one of the stars of Stranger Things. 
• Zack Sharf interviews James Cameron, director of Terminator, Aliens, Avatar, The Abyss and many others. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1958 science fiction horror film It! The Terror from Beyond Space 
• Steve Vertlieb revisits the 1979 science fiction horror movie Alien. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place”
• Chris McMullen revisits the 1997 space opera TV series Lexx. 
• Ryan Britt revisits the 2010 Caprica episode "Ghosts in the Machine" 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 2018 horror movie Gags the Clown and its marketing campaign. 
• Adam Symchuk shares ten science fiction movies that are too complex for non-SFF-fans. 
• Alasdair Stuart discusses the gentler and geekier depiction of masculinity in various movies coming out this summer and beyond 
• Ben Child notes that there are no new superhero movies coming out in the next six months and wonders whether this signals the end of the superhero boom or just a reorganisation. 
• James Whitbrook notes how the in-universe Star Wars slur "clanker" for droids has invaded the real world to be used as an anti-AI term. 
• James Whitbrook reports that Disney planned to use AI for the live action Moana and Tron: Ares and relented because of copyright worries and fear of the public backlash. 
• Hollie Richardson notes that historical and period dramas contain a lot more sex scenes these days than they did thirty years ago. 
• Benjamin Lee reports that Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, will write the next James Bond movie. 
• Cheryl Eddy reports that Disney CEO Bob Iger insists that Disney’s focus is on original movies, but doubts whether this really is the case.
• Liam Stack reports that actor Gary Busey has pled guilty to sexual misconduct at the Monster-Mania convention in Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania. 
• Katcy Stephan reports that Disney and actress Gina Carano have settled the lawsuit over Gina Carano being fired from The Mandalorian. 
• Edward Segarra reports that actor Dean Cain, best known for playing Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman in The Adventures of Lois and Clark, has joined the anti-immigrant force ICE.  
• Actress Loni Anderson, best known for her appearances in Stroker Ace, WKRP in Cincinnati, Partners in Crime, All Dogs Go to Heaven and many other,s has died aged 79. 

 

 Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• The Eternia Four podcast discusses the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and the many reveals at San Diego Comic Con. 
• James Eatock discusses the differing characterisation of the Masters of the Universe character Two-Bad in the Filmation cartoon and the British comics. 

 

Comments on season 3 of Foundation: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “The Stress of Her Regard”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on “The Stress of Her Regard”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on “The Stress of Her Regard”, the fourth episode of season 3 of Foundation. 

 

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

• Rui Zhong notes that The Fantastic Four: First Steps revels in its vintage comic and sitcom influences
• Zoe Williams interviews Ralph Ineson who plays Galactus in Fantastic Four: First Steps. 
• Derek Lawrence interviews Ioan Gruffudd who played Reed Richards a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie.
• Dennis Perkins declares that following Eyes Of Wakanda's playbook could help solve Marvel's problems
  
  

Comments on Superman: 

• Rachel Kessler declares that Superman fights for a better tomorrow — even for his enemies 
• Bill Rinehart reports that Cincinnati's Union Terminal, the inspiration for the Hall of Justice and filming location of Superman, is receiving more visitors due to the popularity of Superman 

 

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

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Through the Lens of Time”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Through the Lens of Time”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Through the Lens of Time”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “Through the Lens of Time”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng share their thoughts on “Through the Lens of Time”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng share their thoughts on "A Space Adventure Hour”, the previous episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Paul Levinson share his thoughts on "A Space Adventure Hour”, the previous episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.       
• Ann Michelle Harris shares her thoughts on season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to date. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw wonders why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is so obsessed with givign Spock a girlfriend.
• Lauren Coates interviews Jonathan Frakes who plays William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation and also directed multiple episodes of various Star Trek series. 
• Avery Kaplan shares six Star Trek episodes featuring holodeck malfunctions. 
• James Whitbrook declares that the documentary Lost Voyages shows us what might have been if Star Trek Phase II had been made in the 1970s.  

 

Comments on Outlander: Blood of My Blood:  

• Hunter Ingram declares that Outlander: Blood Of My Blood is a towering romance that wastes no time proving it has impressive command over its two-is-better-than-one setup.  
• Lacy Baugher Milas declares that Outlander: Blood of My Blood is an achingly romantic prequel that builds on the best elements of its predecessor   
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the first episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the second episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood.  
• Diana Keng interviews several castmembers of Outlander: Blood of My Blood. 

 

Comments on season 2 of Wednesday: 

• Sabina Graves calls season 2 of Wednesday a delightful mix of gothic whimsy and brutal horror  
• Whitney Friedlander calls season 2 of Wednesday a supernatural Veronica Mars
• Sarah Dempster declares that Jenna Ortega’s charisma could power a thousand hearses in season 2 of Wednesday.  
• Christina Izzo declares that so far, season 2 of Wednesday mostly wastes its splashy cast
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the first episode of season 2 of Wednesday.  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the second episode of season 2 of Wednesday.  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the third episode of season 2 of Wednesday.   
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the fourth episode of season 2 of Wednesday. 
• Sabina Graves shares nine things she loved and four things she didn’t about season 2 of Wednesday   
• Sabina Graves reports that the character of Xavier Thorpe will no longer appear in Wednesday, following sexual assault allegations against actor Percy Hynes White  

 

Comments on Alien: Earth:

• Terry Terrones calls Alien: Earth a smart, addictive expansion of the franchise’s terrifying universe 
• Germain Lussier declares that Alien: Earth is better than we ever dreamed possible   
• Vanessa Armstrong explains how Alien: Earth‘s focus on children reflects creator Noah Hawley’s fears 
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Noah Hawley, creator of Alien: Earth. 
• Germain Lussier lists everything to remember before watching Alien: Earth 

 

 Comments on Resident Alien:

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Resident Alien.  
• Saloni Gajjar declares that Alan Tudyk's weird and wonderful Resident Alien performance will be missed
• Diana Keng visits the Britannia Mine Museum in Britannia Beach, British Columbia, a filming location for Resident Alien. 

 

Comments on Weapons: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Weapons a bumpy ride. 
• Jacob Oller calls Weapons delightfully nasty. 
• Jarrod Jones calls Weapons a ferociously wicked, heady brew
• Germain Lussier interviews Zach Cregger, director of Weapons and Barbarian.  
• Germain Lussier interviews Josh Brolin, one of the stars of Weapons. 

 

Comments on K-Pop Demon Hunters: 

• Charon Dunn shares her thoughts on K-Pop Demon Hunters.  
• Justin Carter declares that the success of KPop Demon Hunters and the video game Expedition 33 shows that people still appreciate originality. 
• Selome Hailu reports that K-Pop Demon Hunters has become Netflix’s fourth most popular English-language movie ever 

 

Comments on The Librarians: The Next Chapter: 

• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the season finale of  The Librarians: The Next Chapter. 
• Diana Keng shares her appreciation for the character of Elaine Astolat in The Librarians: The Next Chapter.  

 

Comments on the latest adaptation of War of the Worlds: 

• Arturo Serrano calls the latest adaptation of War of the Worlds a crime against humanity and shameless product placement.  
• Jesse Hassenger notes that the latest adaptation of War of the Worlds has emerged after five-year delay, but perhaps it should have stayed buried 
• Angel Diaz reports that the latest War of the Worlds adaptation has achieved the questionable feat of gaining a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

 

Comments on Boys Go To Jupiter:  

• Toussaint Egan declares that the hilarious science fiction film Boys Go To Jupiter coats gig economy ennui in pastel absurdism
• Jim Vorel calls Boys Go to Jupiter dreamy, beautiful but meandering and a unique curio 

 

Comments on Freakier Friday: 

• Peter Bradshaw declares that Jamie Lee Curtis saves Freakier Friday.  
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Freakier Friday desperately hopes to switch places with the original 
• Sabina Graves declares that Freakier Friday barely scrapes by on its nostalgic charms  
• Matt Goldberg declares that Freakier Friday adds more body swaps but keeps the original’s charming comedy

 

Comments on The Bad Guys 2:

• Matt Donato declares that the animatred The Bad Guys 2 is an even better gateway heist movie than the original  
• Jesse Hassenger dclares that The Bad Guys 2 gets louder, but duller 

 

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Mythopoeic Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2025 Dragon Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 WSFA Small Press Award have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2025 Diana Jones Award have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2025 ENnie Awards have been announced. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2025 Dragon Awards finalists. 
• Joe Stech shares his thoughts on the 2025 Hugo finalists for Best Novel. 
• Bill Mallardi discusses about how the first Hugo trophies were made and who designed them. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Vicky Delaney talks about the joy of real-world research when crafting a novel  
• Joy Fielding recommends five essential thrillers perfect for aspiring writers 
• Rhys Bowen talks about creating tension in historical crime fiction 
• Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt talk about writing a thriller in the surveillance age
• Victoria Strauss talks about a new scam aimed at writers. 
• Ed Nawotka reports that Canadian author J.B. MacKinnon is sueing four AI companies for copyright infringement. 
   

 Interviews:

• Locus interviews Silvia Moreno-Garcia. 
• Ed Crocker interviews Essa Hansen.
• Abir Mukherjee and Vaseem Khan interviews Nick Harkaway.   
• M.K. Franklin interviews Thea Guanzon. 
• Arley Sorg inteviews Brenda Cooper.
• Arley Sorg interviews Fran Wilde. 
• Matthew Turbeville interviews Joyce Carol Oates. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Olivia Waite. 
• Ed Crocker interviews Sara Omer. 
• Lincoln Michel interviews Benjamin Percy. 
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Christopher Golden and Brian Keene 

 

Reviews: 

• Mark Yon reviews Lucid by Oraine Johnson
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Planetside by Michael Mammay 
• Russell Letson reviews Dark Diamond by Neal Asher 
• Kat Hooper reviews Constituent Service by John Scalzi  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Empathy by Hoa Pham 
• Kat Hooper reviews The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna 
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst. 
• Serena Labrecque reviews The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris 
• Alex Brown reviews Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens 
• Margaret Agnew reviews Thus With a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd. 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Summer Goddess by Joanne Hall 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Godblind by Anna Stephens  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews For The Road by Stark Holborn 
• Will McClelland reviews Cathedral of the Drowned by Nathan Ballingrud 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Those Who Dwell in Darkness by Steve McHugh 
• Tobias Carroll reviews It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest. 
• Alex Wallace reviews Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram  
• Archita Mittra reviews rekt by Alex Gonzalez 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Katabasis by R.F. Kuang 

 

Classics reviews:

• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1954 children's fantasy novel Half Magic by Edward Eager 
• Mayri Cooper revisits the 1961 science fiction novel Hothouse by Brian Aldiss. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1963 science fiction novel The Cosmic Computer a.k.a. Junkyard Planet by H. Beam Piper 
• David Levinson revisits the September/October 1970 issue of If - Worlds of Science Fiction.
• Gideon Marcus revisits the 1970 non-fiction collection The Glass Teat by Harlan Ellison. 
• Rich Horton revisits the 1975 feminist science fiction novel The Female Man by Joanna Russ. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1978 historical horror novel The Holmes-Dracula File by Fred Saberhagen 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1983 Ealdwood fantasy novel The Tree of Swords and Jewels by C J Cherryh 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1984 science fiction novel The Integral Trees by Larry Niven 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1990 YA horror novel Curtains and the 1994 YA horror novel I Saw You That Night! by R.L. Stine.
• Clara Cohen revisits the 2002 epic fantasy novel Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb. 
• Z.B. Steele revisits the 2018 space opera Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio 
  
  

Crowdfunding:

• The Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins Snake Lair playset is looking for funding.  
• Battleborn Magazine is looking for funding. 
• The Fantastic Fiction reading series at the KGB Bar in Manhattan, New York, is looking for funding.  

 

Con and event reports:

• Arley Sorg reports about the 2025 StokerCon in Stamford, Connecticut. 
• Chaitna Deshmukh reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Elizabeth Minkel shares a video and transcript of the Fansplaining panel at the 2025 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
• Miranda Barrientos reports about a performance of the musical A Wrinkle in Time in Washington, DC.  
• Ingrid Schmidt takes a look at the many projects financed by George R.R. Martin in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• John Kiesewetter reports that a historical marker dedicated to Rod Serling will be unveiled in Yellow Springs, Ohio. 
• David Petkiewicz reports about the unveiling of the Superman Tribute Plaza in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Matthew Byrd reports about the controversy surrounding the screening of an upscaled version of The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
• Jennifer Walshe talks about her opera Mars, which is currently playing in Dublin, Ireland. 

 

Science and technology:

• Daniel Clery reports that the little red dots spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope might be black hole stars. 
   

Gaming: 

• Mike Didymus-True reports that reviewers are boycotting the games publisher Czech Games Edition for releasing a Harry Potter themed game.

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the new Masters of the Universe toys revealed at the 2025 San Diego Comic Con. 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at new Lego sets coming out in August.
• James Whitbrook shares a look at some new Spider-Man themed Lego mini-figures. 
• Pixel Dan wonders why toy companies are so obsessed with collaborations and crossovers. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Brittle Terrain" by Stephen Case in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Forgotten" by Trae Hawkins in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Seven Souls" by Mike Graham in Swords and Heroes.
• "They Must Be Angels" by Elle Zi Dong in The Dark. 
• "Every Ghost Story" by Natalia Theodoridou in Reactor. 
• "Orion and His Moon" by J.S. Oriell in Apex Magazine. 
• "The Last Planet" by Naomi Kanakia in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "And The Planet Loved Him" by L. Chan in Clarkesworld.
• "A Shaky Bridge" by Marissa Lingen in Clarkesworld. 
• "Bunny Ears" by Kristina Ten in Nightmare Magazine.  
• "Five Dispatches from Conflict Zone W-924/B Regarding Post-Battle Deployment of A. Thanatensis" by David Anaxagoras in Lightspeed.  
• "It Might Be He Returns" by Fatima Taqvi in Lightspeed.  
• "Or, it might have ended thus..." by James Lecky in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Invasion. 
• Watch a trailer for Cold Storage. 
• Watch a trailer for Him. 
• Watch a trailer for Shelby Oaks.