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,, Alien Earth, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, season 2 of Gen V, Marvel Zombies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Wars in general, Him, All of You, Wayward, the suspension and reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel, tributes to Claudia Cardinale and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Fiona Denton shares horror novels coming out this fall.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about travel
- Bookmarkedone lists SFF works featuring older female protagonists.
- James Davis Nicoll wonders whether romance can be hard science fiction.
- Jenny Hamilton discusses the recent trend of taking fanfiction and publishing it as original work, often romantasy, after filing the serial numbers off.
- Rachel Ayers shares six retellings of the story of Tam Lin
- Rob Thornton shares some of the songs mentioned in the John the Balladeer stories by Manly Wade Wellman.
- Charles T. Rubin discusses William Gibson's vision of the city of the future.
- Emily Temple profiles Maggie Bradbury, wife of Ray Bradbury.
- Ed Simon talks about Miguel de Cervantes' years of slavery in Northern Africa and how they influenced his fiction.
- Science fiction writer Jon Lasser has died aged 49.
Comics and Art:
Film and TV:
- Petrana Radluvic shares all the SFF movies premiering in October.
- Petrana Radluvic shares all the SFF TV shows premiering in October.
- Matthew Jackson calls Deathstalker a goofy and mayhem-filled remake.
- Justin Carter notes that Knights of Guinevere offers some good, surreal science fiction
- Leah Schnelbach calls Rabbit Trap a compelling dark fairy tale that’s light on horror
- Cheryl Eddy declares that the season 13 finale of Futurama is the perfect exploration of futility and chaos
- Ann Michelle Harris declares that the anime Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle offers stunning animation and nonstop action
- Phul Hoad declares that Please Don’t Feed the Children combines 1970s exploitation with a YA fairytale
- Arturo Serrano calls T.I.M. a tediously imitative science fiction movie
- Phil Hoad reports that Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback juggles byzantine intrigue, spies and cop rivalries with stylish flair
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is refreshingly clear-eyed about love
- Germain Lussie calls Primate the first big horror movie of 2026
- Germain Lussier calls Obsession a simple, perfect mix of scares, gore and uncomfortable laughs.
- Germain Lussier declares that Shelby Oaks puts a satisfying, scary spin on the found footage genre
- Cheryl Eddy calls Night of the Reaper a retro babysitter slasher with a mystery twist
- Jack Seale calls Haunted Hotel a bland addition to the teetering pile of landfill comedy
- Germain Lussier declares that Black Phone 2 is everything you want in a horror sequel
- Germain Lussier declares that the Silent Night, Deadly Night remake doesn’t ring in the holiday cheer
- Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Invasion.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on the Dan Da Dan finale.
- Catherine Bray calls the documentary Sane Inside Insanity: The Phenomenon of Rocky Horror a joyous fan history of the cult classic
- Jacob Oller declares that the documentary Chain Reaction gives The Texas Chain Saw Massacre the autopsy it deserves.
- Jacob Oller declares that the documentary MegaDoc is the Rosetta Stone for appreciating (if not understanding) Megalopolis
- Lauren Huff shares a look behind the scenes of the horror film Good Boy.
- Paste Magazine share their thirtx favourite coming of age horror movies.
- Nate Richard interviews Zach Cregger, director of Weapons.
- Rebecca Liu interviews Sandra Oh, star of Killing Eve, Can I Get a Witness?, Grey's Anatomy and many others.
- Sean David interviews Michael Dudikoff, star of the American Ninja movies and many others.
- Steve Rose interviews Chris Sarandon, star of The Princess Bride, Fright Night, Dog Day Afternoon, Child's Play, A Nightmare Before Christmas and many others.
- Rich Pelley interviews Nick Offerman, star of The Last of Us, Sovereign and many others.
- Nick Romano interviews the stars of The Witcher.
- Ryan Gilbey interviews Frank Dillance who played Nick Clark in Fear the Walking Dead.
- Isaiah Colbert interviews Bryson Baugus and Christopher Wehkamp, two voice actors for the anime Gachiakuta.
- Noel Murray revisits the 1962 Twilight Zone episode "Nothing in the Dark", starring the late Robert Redford as Death.
- Leslie Felperin revisits the 1965 Thunderbirds episodes "Trapped in the Sky" and "Terror in New York City"
- Todd Gilchrist revisits the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service,
- Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1981 science fiction thriller Scanners.
- Alasdair Stuart revisits the 1992 technothriller Sneakers.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “The Summoning”
- Kali Wallace revisits the 2018 dystopian science fiction film Aniara.
- Nadeem Badshah reports that Noel Clarke, who played Mickey Smith in Doctor Who and wrote and starred in Kidulthood, has been arrested in his home in London, UK.
- Jill Goldsmith reports that cinema owners in the US have spent 1.5 billion US-dollar upgrading their theatres in the past few years.
- Screenwriter Ron Friedman, who developed the backstory for the 1980s incarnation of GI Joe and killed off Optimus Prime in Transformers The Movie, has died aged 93.
Tributes to Claudia Cardinale:
- Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, star of Cartouche, The Pink Panther, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Leopard and many others, has died aged 87.
- Jordan Mintzer remembers Claudia Cardinale.
- Peter Bradshaw remembers Claudia Cardinale and notes that Hollywood just couldn't do her justice.
- Greg Whitmore shares photos of Claudia Cardinale's long career.
Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:
Comments on Peacemaker and the DC Cinematic Universe in general:
Comments on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido discusses the latest season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Avery Kaplan and Diana Keng discuss the latest season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Surekha Davies explains why the Borg Collective is the perfect Star Trek monster for our times.
- Avery Kaplan wonders if the upcoming animated series Star Trek Scouts is connected to Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Comments on seaosn 2 of Gen V:
Comments on Alien: Earth:
- Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the season finale of Alien Earth.
- Matt Schimkowitz shares his thoughts on the season finale of Alien Earth.
- Brian Tallerico shares his thoughts on the season finale of Alien Earth.
- Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the season finale of Alien Earth.
- Daniel D'Addario interviews Noah Hawley, showrunner of Alien Earth.
- Stuart Heritage praises the tentacled eyebal alien from Alien: Earth.
- Jim Vorel revisits the 1986 movie Aliens.
- Caroline Siede shares her appreciation for the character of Ellen Ripley in Alien and Aliens.
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.
- Diana Keng pays a visit to Doune Castle in Stirling, Scotland, a filming location for Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
Comments on All of You:
Comments on the Marvel Zombies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:
Comments on Star Wars in general:
- Naman Ramachandran shares actor John Boyega's ideas about improving the Star Wars sequel trilogy
- Ben Child shares some speculations about the upcoming Star Wars Starfighter movie.
- James Whitbrook shares a brief history of muscular Hutts in the Star Wars universe.
- Watch a trailer for Volume 3 of Star Wars Visions.
- Watch a trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Comments on Him:
Comments on Wayward:
Comments on the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel:
- Steve Vertlieb talks about the silencing of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.
- Dan Gilroy, writer of Andor, speaks out about the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel and the boycotts organised by viewers.
- Tom Tapp reports that actress Tatiana Maslany, star of She-Hulk and Orphan Black, and other actors have called for boycotting Disney properties following the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
- Erica Gerald Mason shares actor Patton Oswalt's comments about the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel
- Cynthia Littleton and Brian Steinberg discuss that there are discussions going on between Disney/ABC and Jimmy Kimmel's representatives to find a solution and bring back Jimmy Kimmel Live.
- Peter White reports that following pressure and boycotts, Jimmy Kimmel Live will return this Tuesday.
- Dominic Patten shares some background on the negotiations that brought back Jimmy Kimmel Live.
- Adrian Horton and Anna Betts report that Jimmy Kimmel called the attempt to silence him "unamerican" in his return to the airwaves.
- Inspired by the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, Jesse Hassenger chronicles how Disney first found and then lost its backbone.
- Eric Berger reports that Disney is raising the prices for its streaming services in the wake of the boycotts and cancellations that followed the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
Awards:
- The winner of the 2025 WSFA Small Press Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2025 Premio Ignotus have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2025 Prix Aurora-Boréal have been announced.
- The winners of the 2025 Jerzy Żuławski Award have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2025 British Audio Awards a.k.a. The Speakies have been announced.
- The winners of the 2025 Alberta Book Publishing Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2025 New York Science Fiction Film Festival have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2025 Booker Prize has been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Rebecca Kanner explains how to surprise everyone with your plotting... even yourself.
- Guy Windsor lists three tips for writing sword fights.
- Joan O'Leary discusses the parallels between fiction writing and television production
- Leslie Budewitz discusses how maps, cast lists, epigraphs and recipes can add to your fiction.
- Molly Templeton talks about collecting favourite sentences.
- Claire Kirch reports that actor and reading activist LeVar Burton has been named indie bookstore ambassador by the American Association of Booksellers.
- Miranda Bryant is concerned that young people in Finland are chosing to read in English over their mother tongue.
- Joe Stein talks about the Anthropic AI settlement.
- Jim Milliot shares an update on the Anthropic AI settlement.
- Nathalie op de Beeck lists eight book banning court cases in the US to watch.
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Jenny Hamilton reviews A Rebel’s History of Mars by Nadia Afifi
- Gayle Surrette reviews Framed in Death by J.D. Robb
- Mark Yon reviews Extremity by Nicholas Binge
- Marlene Harris reviews Extremity by Nicholas Binge
- Liz Bourke reviews Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon
- Z.B. Steele reviews Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio
- Mark Yon reviews Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews No One Hears The Last Shot by Lavie Tidhar
- Runalong the Shelves reviews If The Stars Are Lit by Sara K Ellis
- Marion Deeds reviews Stone & Sky by Ben Aaronovitch
- Liz Bourke reviews Queen Demon by Martha Wells
- Paul Weimer reviews Queen Demon by Martha Wells
- Fantasy Faction reviews The Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes
- Marion Deeds reviews The Adventures of Mary Darling by Pat Murphy
- Abigail Nussbaumj reviews The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
- Alex Brown reviews Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen
- Marlene Harris reviews The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish
- Marlene Harris reviews Love at First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi
- Colleen Mondor reviews The Whisperwood Legacy by Jo Schulte
- Mandie Griffiths reviews Broken Ghosts by J.D. Oswald
- Z.B. Steele reviews Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Castaway and The Witch by Ioanna Papadopoulou
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Sabrena Swept Away by Karuna Riazi
- Ian Mond reviews Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews By Blood, By Salt by J. L. Odom
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Death’s Emissary by Emily Devereux
- Rob Bedford reviews King Sorrow by Joe Hill.
- Ed Crocker reviews Body of Water by Adam Godfrey
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Wreckage and What Happens in Hello Jack by Peter Straub
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Great Deception by Syd Moore
- Z.B. Steele reviews The Will of the Many by James Islington
- Robert Mammone reviews Old Gods and Other Tales by Scott Oden
- Abigail Nussbaum reviews The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
- Hamish Johnston reviews Do Aliens Speak Physics? by Daniel Whiteson and Andy Warner
Classics reviews:
- Ilana Masad revisits the 1929 science fiction novel Out of the Void by Leslie F. Stone
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1948 YA science fiction novel Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein.
- Dave Hook revisits the 1954 anthology 6 Great Short Novels of Science Fiction, edited by Groff Conklin
- Gideon Marcus revisits the October 1970 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the 1970 science fiction novel The Guns of Terra 10 by Don Pendleton, Winona Menezes revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Dread Companion by Andre Norton and Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1970 science fiction novel The Methuselah Enzyme by Fred Mustard Stewart
- Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1970 science fiction anthology The Disappearing Future, edited by George Hay.
- James Davis Nicoll revisitis the 1980 sword and sorcery novel Frostflower and Thorn by Phyllis Ann Karr
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2010 time travel duology Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
Crowdfunding:
Con and event reports:
- Hugo, Girl! report about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, the 2025 DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia and the 2025 ArmadilloCon in Austin, Texas.
- Watch a video of the panel "The Shifting Landscape of Epic Fantasy" with George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, Rebecca Roanhorse and Ryan Cahill at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington..
- Yume Kitasei has announced the launch of the 2025 Traveling Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Festival in eight cities in the northeastern US.
- Aaron Couch reports that an AI hologram of Stan Lee will speak to fans at LA Comic Con in Los Angeles, California.
- Keza MacDonald reports that the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, is having proclems because many international guests refuse to travel to the US.
- Jeff Lunden reports that an opera based on Michael Chabon's novel The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay by Mason Bates and Gene Scheeer will soon be opening in New York City.
- Sabina Graves reports about the Halloween Horror Nights event at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida.
- Alice Cunningham reports that a Steampunk cum tiki bar shed in Ipswich, UK, has won a competition for the best shed.
Science and technology:
- Monisha Ravisetti reports that NASA has found 6000 exoplanets.
- James Davis Nicoll reports that astronomers have discovered an exoplanet in the habitable zone of Alpha Centauri a, but it is a gas giant.
- Robert Lea reports that a doomed distant star system could soon explode in a supernova so bright it would be visible during the day
- Eric Lagatta introduces the latest class of NASA astronauts.
- Eric Lipton worries that the US might be losing the race to return to the Moon.
- Stephanie Brown reports that "invisible" asteroids near Venus may threaten Earth in the future
- Philip Ball talks about potential medical applications of nanobots and why they probably won't happen.
- Faisal Hogue reports that there isn't one AI bubble, there are three.
- Tereza Pultarova reports that the RT-70 radio telescope in Crimea has been destroyed by a Ukrainian drone attack.
- Matt Novak reports that two "flying cars" have collided during rehearsals for Changchun Air Show in Jilin, China
- Penny Warner talks about the history of the Ouija board.
Gaming:
- Austin Manchester reviews the video game Hades 2.
- Justin Carter declares that the videogame Ghost of Yotei is a stronger, self-assured sequel
- Keith Stuart investigates why random lines of video game dialogue get stuck in our heads
- Tom Lechem reports that the US Department of Homeland Security, ICE and other US government agencies have used Pokemon characters and imagery to promote their raids on suspected illegal immigrants - without permission by Nintendo.
Toys and collectibles:
Free online fiction:
- "The Lure of Stone" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia in Uncanny Magazine
- "The Heartbreak Hotel on Plutonic Planet" by Carolyn Zhao in Strange Horizons
- "A Fallen Angel Rings the Doorbell" by Jennifer Hudak in The Sunday Morning Transport.
- "Freediver" by Isabel J. Kim in Reactor.
- "Five Impossible Things" by Koji A. Dae in Clarkesworld.
- "City of One" by Stephen S. Power in Lightspeed.
- "Human Voices" by Isabel J. Kim in Lightspeed.
- "The Skull" by Eric Williams in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- " Prairie Teeth" by E.C. Dorgan in The Dark.
- "Mother Sun" by Amy Nagopaleen in Apex Magazine.
Trailers and videos:
- Watch a trailer for The Bride.
- Watch a trailer for It: Welcome to Derry.
- Watch a featurette about season 5 of Stranger Things.
- Watch a trailer for the latest incarnation of Robin Hood.
- Watch a trailer for Wicked For Good.
- Watch a teaser for The Dragon King.
- Watch another teaser for The Dragon King.
- Watch a trailer for The Astronaut.
- Watch a trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash.
- Watch a trailer for V/H/S Halloween
- Watch a trailer for Greenland 2: Migration.
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