Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for September 5, 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, Masters of the Universe in general, Peacemaker and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, season 3 of Foundation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Alien Earth, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Invasion, season 2 of Wednesday, Guillermo Del Toro's take on Frankenstein, Somnium,The Conjuring: Last Rites,The Toxic Avenger, tributes to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy shares 100 new science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out this September.  
• Reactor shares all the new science fiction books arriving in September 2025 
• Reactor shares all the new fantasy books arriving in September 2025  
• Reactor shares all the new horror, romantasy and genre hybrid books arriving in September 2025   
• Reactor shares all the new YA SFF books arriving in September 2025   
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene shares her ten favourite self-published dystopian science fiction books. 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene shares her ten favourite self-published LitRPG books.  
• Camestros Felapton talks about science fiction edge cases. 
• The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog discusses aesthetic changes in speculative fiction since the turn of the millennium. 
• Camestros Felapton attempts to define the subgenre of science realism. 
• G.W. Thomas talks about the flexibility of sword and sorcery. 
• Alison Flood shares her favourite fictional robots. 
• Kiersten White shares five SFF books with abilities you absolutely do not want. 
• Alex Brown shares five underrated books set in an alternate twentieth century 
• Tessa Gratton talks about the slippery slope between fan and pro.
• John Hood profiles Edgar Rice Burroughs. 
• Nicholas Whyte profiles Northern Irish early science fiction fan Hugh Carswell.  

 

Tributes to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro:

• Horror, science fiction and mystery writer Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has died aged 82. 
• Tom Whitmore remembers Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. 
• Molly Tenmpleton remembers Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Charlie Jane Anders chronicles how Superman fought the Klu Klux Klan in 1946 in response to a real life attempt of the Klan to make a comeback post World War II:
• Reuben Baron discusses the legal and 'soft' censorship affecting manga in the US 
• Arturo Serrano reviews the manga Before You Go Extinct by Takishi Ushiroyato and Kanato Abiko, translated by Yuki Tejima 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five longrunning SFF webcomics. 
• The Anthony Burgess Foundation takes a look at the many different covers of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about surviving on books.

 

Film and TV: 

• Germain Lussier shares science fiction, fantasy and horror movies and TV-shows to watch this September. 
• James Grebey shares his favourite alien invasion movies. 
• Elizabeth Curtis shares her eleven favourite anime parents. 
• Germain Lussier calls The Long Walk stunningly brutal and powerful. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls A House of Dynamite a terrifying, white-knuckle nuclear war thriller.  
• Josh Pearce calls Together like if The Thing were a romance
• Trent Moore callls season 3 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon over the top. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Row a twisty if murky horror thriller 
• Leslie Felperin calls Above the Knee a gory horror film about body dysmorphia. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Invasion. 
• Germain Lussier reports from the set of Tron: Ares. 
• Steve Rose takes a look behind the scenes of Francis Ford Coppola's disastrous science fiction epic Megalopolis. 
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1970 science fiction musical Toomorrow. 
• Germain Lussier shares his ten favourite moments in the 1975 shark movie Jaws.
• Geoffrey Macnab revisits the 1977 horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic and explains why it was such a disaster. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1995 fantasy film Jumanji. 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 2008 horror movie The Strangers. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2013 science fiction movie Europa Express.  
• Nadia Khomani interviews Kim Novak, star of Vertigo, Bell, Book and Candle and many others. 
• Ryan Gilbey profiles Pierce Brosnan, former James Bond as well as star of Remington Steele, The Thursday Murder Club and many others. 
• Mike Lawler profiles Clarence Nash who provided the voice of Donald Duck in many Disney cartoons.
• Jazz Tagcay interviews singer and songwriter EJAE, who wrote and performed the hit song "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters. 
• Pamela Hutchinson profiles Chinese American actress Anna May Wong. 
• Shirley Li explains why the Chinese animated film Ne Zha II has made more money than any Star Wars sequel 
• Leah Thomas shares her appreciation for the character of Kamaji in the anime Spirited Away 
• Winston Cho reports that there is a class action lawsuit against Amazon Prime, because movies purchased via Amazon Prime are just licenced and not purchased. 
• Dominic Patten reports that Alisa Clairet, former co-head of Disney's legal department, is sueing her former employer for gender discrimination. 
• Actor Graham Greene, best known for his appearances in Dances With Wolves, Northern Exposure, Reservation Dogs, Twilight, Echo, Longmire, American Gods and many others, has died aged 73. 
• Dee Jefferson remembers Graham Greene. 

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Dad-at-Arms interviews Tim Seeley and  Freddie Williams III, writer and artist of the Masters of the Universe comic mini-series The Sword of Flaws.
• He-Mania announces that there will be an animated prequel series to the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action movie 
• James Eatock discusses the confusion surrounding the character of Delora in Masters of the Universe, who is Stratos' wife in some piece of media and his sister in others.

 

Comments on season 3 of Foundation: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on “Skin in the Game”, the latest episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on “Skin in the Game”, the latest episode of season 3 of Foundation.
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Jared Harris who plays Hari Seldon or rather his hologram in Foundation.

Comments on Peacemaker and the DC Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on the latest episode of Peacemaker.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Peacemaker. 
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Peacemaker. 
• Isaiah Colbert shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Peacemaker.  
• Germain Lussier reports that the next Superman movie will be called Man of Tomorrow. 

 

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

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Terrarium”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Terrarium”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Terrarium”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “Terrarium”, the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.      
• Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng share their thoughts on “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, the previous episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, the previous episode of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.      
• Avery Kaplan lists eight women of Vulcan who appeared in the various iterations of Star Trek.

 

Comments on seaosn 2 of Wednesday: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 5 of season 2 of Wednesday.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 6 of season 2 of Wednesday.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 7 of season 2 of Wednesday.
• Christina Izzo calls season 2 of Wednesday disjointed. 

 

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.  
• Marcus James Dixon takes a look behind the scenes of the latest episode of Alien: Earth and how it deliberately recalls the original 1979 Alien. 
• Carly Lane interviews Noah Hawley, showrunner of Alien: Earth. 
• Jeff Spry interviews Roger Christian, art director for Star Wars and Alien.

 

Comments on Outlander: Blood of My Blood: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood. 
• Melody McCune shares her favourite moments from the latest episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
• Melody McCune shares her appreciation for the character of Julia Beauchamp in Outlander: Blood of My Blood.  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Ben Child wonders how the X-Men will be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• Justin Carter takes a look at the evolution of the Avengers in video games and animated series in the past fifteen years. 

 

Comments on Guillermo Del Toro's take on Frankenstein: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Guillermo del Toro's take on Frankenstein a monstrously beautiful melodrama 
• Peter Debruge finds Guillermo Del Toro's take on Frankenstein overstuffed and unwieldy  

 

Comments on the new The Toxic Avenger: 

• Leah Schnelbach declares that The Toxic Avenger is the hero we need right now  
• Jarod Jones calls the new Toxic Avenger a reboot that functions quite well as a franchise starter.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Macon Blair, writer/director of the new Toxic Avenger, as well as star Peter Dinklage  

 

Comments on Somnium: 

• Phil Hoad declares that Somnium feels derivative, with plotlines that are forced together and cartoonish reductions that sell its characters short 
• Jim Vorel calls Somnium an overstuffed genre mishmash saved by compelling performances   

 

Comments on The Conjuring: Last Rites: 

• Mike McCahill calls The Conjuring: Last Rites a 1980s-set paranormal horror film that proves stubbornly resistant to change 
• Jacob Oller calls The Conjuring: Last Rites biblically boring and is glad the series is over. 
• Nick Romano interview Michael Chaves, director of The Conjuring: Last Rites, as well as stars Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith  

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Dragon Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 Ditmar Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2025 Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction has been announced. 
• The winner of the 2025 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award has been announced.
• The winner fo the 2025 Mike Resnick Memorial Award has been announced. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Gabino Iglesias encourages people to write. 
• Ken Jaworowski explains what boxing taught him about writing. 
• Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt share what they learned from an unexpected literary partnership 
• Dream Foundry explains how to create a poetry chapbook.
• Joshua Barnes discusses when books started being divided into chapters. 
• Victoria Strauss notes that several publishers did not register the copyright for many books in spite of promising to do so and urges authors to check. 
• Margaret Atwood speaks out about The Handmaid's Tale being banned from schools in Alberta, Canada. 
• Leyland Cecco reports that the Canadian province Alberta has paused its controversial book banning law.
• Dominic Patten reports that the Alberta book ban law was paused in response to Margaret Atwood making fun of it. 
   

 Interviews:

• Arley Sorg interviews Thomas Ha. 
• Arley Sorg interviews Martin Cahill.  
• The Guardian interviews Rebecca F. Kuang
• Z.B. Steele interviews Rob J. Hayes. 
• Scott Edelman interviews Karen Heuler. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Stefan Mohamed. 

 

Reviews: 

• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer 
• Marlene Harris reviews Framed in Death by J.D. Robb  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Framed in Death by J.D. Robb   
• Colleen Mondor reviews Last Chance to Save the World by Beth Revis 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Transcendent Tide by Doug Johnstone  
• Raven Crime Reads reviews The Transcendent Tide by Doug Johnstone   
• Rob Bedford reviews Veil by Jonathan Janz.  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Hungry Gods by Adrian Tchaikovsky  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Hungry Gods by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Acts of God by Kanan Gill 
• Marlene Harris reviews All the Ash We Leave Behind by C. Robert Cargill 
• Z.B. Steele reviews Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio  
• Niall Harrison reviews Moderation by Elaine Castillo 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Felix Yz by Lisa Bunker  
• Marlene Harris reviews Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater 
• Chris Kluwe reviews Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura, translated by Yuki Teijima 
• Fiona Denton reviews Daughter of the Otherworld by Shauna Lawless 
• Adrian Collins reviews Making History by K. J. Parker 
• Paul Weimer reviews The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Other Shore by Rebecca Campbell
• Ed Crocker reviews Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Black-Winged Angels by Angela Slatter 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff  
• Tobias Carroll reviews Curandera by Irenosen Okojie 
• Mark Yon reviews These Dreaming Spires, edited by Marie O. Regan and Paul Kane 
• Ed Crocker reviews Roots of My Fears - Stories of Ancestral Horror, edited by Gemma Amor  

 

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1916 children's fantasy The Spring Song by Forrest Reid 
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1940 science fiction story "Robbie" by Isaac Asimov. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1956 science fiction novel Under Pressure by Frank Herbert   
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Always the Black Knight by Lee Hoffman  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the September 1970 issue of Analog. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1972 Pip and Flinx space opera novel The Tar-Aiym Krang by Alan Dean Foster 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1981 science fiction collection Sunfall by C J Cherryh 
• Z.B. Steele revisits the 1984 grimdark fantasy novel The Black Company by Glen Cook
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1993 YA horror novel The Cheater by R.L. Stine and the 1994 YA horror novel The Whisperer by Diane Hoh.
• Clara Cohen revisits the 2003 epic fantasy novel Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb. 
   
   

Reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington: 

• Seth Heasley shares his experience at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, as well as several photos.
• The Octothorpe podcast discusses the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, as well as the disastrous Hugo ceremony.
• A Meal of Thorns discusses the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Kathy Bond, chair of the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, as well as toastmasters K. Tempest Bradford and Nisi Shawl, apologise for the many issues with the Hugo ceremony. 

 

Other con and event reports:

• NBC News reports about Comic-Con Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa. 
• Rich Johnston reports that a vendor selling AI art was removed from the artists' alley at DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia, with police assistance. 
• Locus shares a photo of the 2025 Sycamore Hill Writers Conference in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. 
• Lau Skypainter shares her experiences at Toyplosion in Castrop-Ruaxel, Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany. 
• Adrienne Raphel reports about a Moomin exhibtion at the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, New York. 
• Kenna Hughes-Castleberry shares a photo of the USS Enterprise recreated in gourds at the pumpkin exhibition in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
• Joshua Letona reports that a new Norman the Werewolf statue has been set up in Altadena, California, after the original was destroyed by a wildfire. 

 

Crowdfunding:

• The estate of science fiction, horror and mystery writer Chelsea Quinn Yarbro needs help with medical expenses. 

 

Science and technology:

• Sara Hashemi reports that astronomers have discovered a rare quadruple star system in our galaxy. 
• Andrew Jones reports that the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will fly by Mars one month from now — and that ESA's Mars orbiters will be ready to observe it. 
• Jim Feltes reports about a new process which could extract metals from Martian soil more easily.
• Andrew J. Hawkins reports about a new start-up that plans to offer robotic mobile grocery stores. 
   

Gaming: 

• Keith Stuart calls Little Problems a cute detective game with no violence or victims

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Germain Lussier shares a look at the LEGO Gremlins Gizmo set. 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the latest LEGO Star Wars Death Star set. 
• James Whitbrook shares new LEGO sets coming out this September,
• Sabina Graves reports that LEGO will no longer ship individual pieces to the US thanks to the tariffs imposed by the Trump government.   
• New Elementary also reports that LEGO's Pick a Brick: Standard bricks service has been halted in North America   
• Jay's Brick Blog also reports that LEGO's Pick a Brick Standard elements service is no longer available in North America 
• The Toy Book reports that consumer sales of LEGO sets are up 13 percent in 2025.
• Japan Today reports that US vendors of anime and manga memorabilia have been hit bard by the tariffs imposed by the Trump government. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Abstraction Is When I Design Giant Death Creatures and Attraction Is When I Do It for You" by Claire Jia-Wen in Clarkesworld.
• "Wireworks" by Sheri Singerling in Clarkesworld. 
• "Last Meal Aboard the Awassa" by Kel Coleman in Lightspeed. 
• "Beginning Before and After the End" by Jake Stein in Lightspeed. 
• "Compass Rose, Running" by Julie Reeser in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Good Life and the Gaze of Staivash" by Jonathan Olfert in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The God Catcher’s Accomplice" by P. T. MacKim in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "The Light Over the Lake" by Malena Salazar Maciá in The Dark.  
• "Black Gold" by E.M. Kerkman in Apex Magazine. 
• "One More Episode" by Ashok Banker in The Deadlands.
• "The Middle" by Erin K. Wagner in Future Tense Fiction.
• "Autogas Ferryman" by Champ Wongsatayanont in Nightmare Magazine.  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Knights of Guinevere. 
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen. 
• Watch a trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. 
• Watch a trailer for House of Dynamite. 
• Watch a trailer for Talamasca. 
• Watch a trailer for Black Phone 2.