Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 3, 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 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, The Sisters Grimm, KPop Demon Hunters, V/H/S Halloween, Good Boy, A House of Dynamite, the suspension and reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel, the controversy surrounding the AI generated actress Tilly Norwood and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy shares 116 new science fiction, fantasy and horror books arriving in October   
• Natalie Zutter highlights some science fiction and fantasy books coming out in October. 
• Yume Kitasei shares five SFF books about searching for a missing sibling 
• Lorna Wallace shares five speculative novels told through interviews  
• Stephen King shares his appreciation for the works of Daphne du Maurier 
• Alex Przybyla shares his appreciation for the Ijon Tichy stories by Stanislaw Lem.
• Andrew Pulver reports that J.K. Rowling continues to be a terrible person and has attacked actress Emma Watson for her support of trans rights.
• Kel Lyle remembers the late Jon Lasser.

 

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #24 by Jim Zub and Fernando Dagnino 
• Jonathan Cowie celebrates the 35th birthday of the Judge Dredd Megazine,
• James Whitbrook reviews Star Trek: The Last Starship by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, with art by Adrian Bonilla and Heather Moore
• Kathleen Jennings reviews Burger Force by Jackie Ryan. 
• Rich Johnston reports that Image Comics' plan to settle with Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. has been approved by the bankruptcy courts 
• The Guardian shares an overview of film posters designed by the late Renato Casaro. 

 

Film and TV: 

• Phil Hoad calls Devil in the Dust an impressive weird west film. 
• Ann Michelle Harris calls Bon Appetit, Your Majesty an addictive time travel K-drama romantic comedy. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Severed Sun a folk-horror nightmare that harks back to The Crucible 
• Alex Wallace calls Him a far smarter film than many critics give credit.  
• Phil Hoad declares that Scurry is a crawlspace nightmare thriller that turns into apocalyptic insect horror
• Catherine Bray calls The Drowned an atmospheric horror film about three art thieves holed up on the sea shore 
• Isaiah Colbert is not happy with season 3 of Alice in Borderland. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror a new approach to silent cinema that is like trying to watch a movie while your neighbour has their music on too loud 
• Phuong Le calls Knit's Island an inventive film, made entirely inside the multiplayer game DayZ 
• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on Knights of Guinevere. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Invasion. 
• James Whitbrook notes that the seeming return of the Razor Crest in The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer is indicative of the problem with latter installments of The Mandalorian. 
• Michael Weyer shares fifteen science fiction movies that are better for not having a sequel. 
• Michael Wehunt lists horror film franchises that refuse to die 
• Cheryl Eddy explains how found footage films helped Blumhouse build its horror empire  
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1957 horror film The Curse of Frankenstein
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1972 science fiction mystery Probe. 
• Justin John Doherty shares a look behind the scenes of the 1973 horror film Don't Look Now. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1986 science fiction film Flight of the Navigator 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1995 James Bond movie GoldenEye 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “Falling Toward Apotheosis” 
• Rachel Kessler revisits the 2005 science fiction film Serenity. 
• Kenneth Lowe revisits the 2015 superhero spy show Agent Carter.  
• Demet Koc interviews DeWanda Wise who plays NavigationUnit in Murderbot. 
• Nick Romano interviews Zach Cregger, director of Weapons. 
• Don Kaye shares his appreciation for the Professor Quartermass serials and movies. 
• Morgan Jeffery shares former producer Philip Hinchcliffe's ideas about how he would change Doctor Who. 
• Stephen Stafford remembers Thunderbirds co-creator Sylvia Anderson. 
• Andrew Pulver reports that according to a new study the right-wing claim "Go woke, go broke" is mostly nonsense. 
• Jill Goldsmith reports that Disney has sent a cease and desist letter to Character.ai for copyright infringement 

 

Comments on the AI actress Tilly Norwood:

• Stuart Heritage reports about the controversial AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood.
• Andrew Pulver reports about a backlash against Tilly Norwood from flesh and blood actors. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares actor Ralph Ineson's response to AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood. 
• Peter Bradshaw declares that AI ‘actress’ Tilly Norwood is a symptom of blandified film culture.
• Catherine Shoard declares that actors criticise AI actress Tilly Norwood, but resort to plastic surgery and insane exercise regimes themselves.   

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Cora Buhlert reviews the comic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Sword of Flaws No. 1 by Tim Seeley and Freddie Williams II 
• James Eatock explains why Man-at-Arms doesn't speak in the Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode "To Save Skeletor".

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.  
• Adam B. Vary interviews James Gunn, showrunner of Peacemaker and head of DC Studios  
• Brian Davids interviews James Gunn. 
• Alex Pappademas interviews James Gunn. 
• Justin Carter reports that the Peacemaker emote has been disabled in the game Fortnite, following the reveal of the latest episode.  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general: 

• Camestros Felapton revisits the 2001 TV show Star Trek Enterprise. 
• Avery Kaplan shares ten Star Trek references in Futurama.
• Tracy Brown shares a look at a Star Trek themed float at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. 

 

Comments on seaosn 2 of Gen V: 

• Manuel Betancourt shares his thoughts on the latest episode of season 2 of Gen V.  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of season 2 of Gen V.

 

Comments on Alien: Earth:

• Arturo Seraano declares that Alien: Earth passes stellarly the prequel test that Alien: Romulus failed 
• Germain Lussier declares that the big swings of Alien: Earth made it great  
• Alex Zalben interviews Sydney Chandler who plays Wendy and sound editor/designer Lee Gilmore about the xenomorph language in Alien Earth.
• Matthew Byrd shares some tips for what to watch after Alien Earth.

 

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.

 

Comments on The Sisters Grimm: 

• Diana Keng declares that the animated series The Sisters Grimm fulfills everything it promises
• Diana Keng interviews Michael Buckley and Amy Higgins, creators of The Sisters Grimm.
• Diana Keng interviews Ariel Winter who voices Sabrina in The Sisters Grimm. 
• Diana Keng interviews Billy Harris who voices Puck in The Sisters Grimm. 
• Diana Keng interviews Laraine Newman who voices Relda in The Sisters Grimm.  
• Diana Keng interviews Abubakar Salim who voices Mayor Charming in The Sisters Grimm.   

 

Comments on KPop Demon Hunters: 

• Sabina Graves interviews Maggie Kang and EJAE, director and songwriter of KPop Demon Hunters. 
• Aja Romano wonders what the massive success of KPop Demon Hunters means for KPop artists and fans. 

 

Comments on Good Boy: 

• Jim Vorel declares that Good Boy is much more than its doggy gimmick
• Benjamin Lee calls Good Boy ingenious but repetitive
• Matt Schimkowitz interviews Ben Leonberg, director of Good Boy.  

 

Comments on V/H/S Halloween: 

• Jarrod Jones declares that V/H/S Halloween has enough standouts to be more treat than trick.
• Cheryl Eddy calls V/H/S/Halloween gruesome and fun but not a new series best  

 

Comments on A House of Dynamite: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls A House of Dynamite a terrifying, white-knuckle nuclear endgame thriller. 
• Jesse Hassenger calls A House of Dynamite a scary yet impotent stockpile of duds 

 

Comments on the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel:

• Alex Weprin reports that Jimmy Kimmel Live has returned to the ABC stations owned by network operators Sinclair and Nexstar. 
• Lauren Arantani reports that Disney investors demand details about the company’s Jimmy Kimmel suspension

 

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Prix Aurora-Boréal have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Xingyun Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2025 Dwarf Star Awards have been announced. 
• Chris M. Barkley reports about his continued problems to receive the Hugo Award he won in 2022 from former Hugo administrator Dave McCarty. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Barbara DeMarco-Barrett talks about the strange perambulations of writing inspiration
• Michael Swanwick writes about an unusual piece of writing inspiration.  
• Ella Creamer reports that the independent bookstore platform Bookshop.org has launched in the UK. 
• Ayo Onatade also reports about the launch of Bookshop.org in the UK. 
• Jason Sanford reports about AI powered writing scams. 
• Victoria Strauss shares an update about the Anthropic AI settlement. 
• Andrea Bartz talks about the class action lawsuit against Anthropic AI, which she initiated. 
• PEN America reports about the normalisation of book banning. 
• Hillel Italie reports that Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools. 
• Elizabeth A. Harris reports that a court in Florida has rejected the free speech argument in a book banning case involving the children's book And Tango Makes Three. 

 

Interviews:

• Holly Lyn Walrath interviews Marie Brennan. 
• Alex Puncekar interviews Bryn Hammond.
• Alex Puncekar interviews Dariel R.A. Quiogue
• Scott Edelman interviews Eugenia Triantafyllou  
• Martin Cahill interviews Sarah Gailey. 
• Tim Hardie interviews S.A. Tholin. 
• Ella Creamer interviews SenLin Yu. 

 

Reviews: 

• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Fate's Bane by C. L. Clark 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews A Sword of Gold and Ruin by Anna Smith Spark.   
• Spells and Spaceships reviews A Sword of Gold and Ruin by Anna Smith Spark.  
• Marion Deeds reviews Winter’s Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala  
• Marlene Harris reviews A Fellowship of Games and Fables by J. Penner 
• Alex Brown reviews The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai 
• Mark Yon reviews Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Death of Mountains by Jordan Kurella 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Summer War by Naomi Novik 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Painted Devils by Margaret Owen 
• Xan Brooks reviews Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon 
• Mark Yon reviews Hearthspace by Stephen Baxter. 
• Alex Brown reviews The L.O.V.E. Club by Lio Min  
• Molly Templetron reviews Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle 
• Ian Mond reviews Dwelling by Emily Hunt Kivel 
• Marion Deeds reviews It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest 
• Niall Harrison reviews These Memories Do Not Belong To Us by Yiming Ma
• Rob Bedford reviews The Sundowner's Dance by Todd Keisling. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews DuMort by Michelle Tang 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews The Night Birds by Christopher Golden 

 

Classics reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1961 collection Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse  
• Alan Brown revisits the 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1964 science fiction novel The Graveyard Heart by Roger Zelazny and its 1990 sequel Elegy for Angels and Dogs by Walter Jon Williams  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the October 1970 issue of Analog. 
• David Levinson revisits the November/December 1970 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1970 anthology The Science Fiction Fall of Fame, Volume One, edited by Robert Silverberg. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1977 Pip and Flinx space opera Orphan Star by Alan Dean Foster
• Ainy Cormac revisits the 1980 dark fantasy novel The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1997 YA horror novel Twisted by R.L. Stine and the 1994 YA horror novel Sorority Sister by Diane Hoh.  
• Christopher Lockett revisits the 1990 Discworld fantasy novel Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1993 dystopian novel Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack 
• Clara Cohen revisits the 2009 epic fantasy novel Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb.
      

Crowdfunding:

• Apex Magazine is looking for funding for 2026.

 

Con and event reports:

• Zhang Rui reports about a conversation between Liu Cixin and an AI agent during a panel at the 2025 Science Fiction Nebula Carnival in Chengdu, China. 
• Kyle Orland attempts to explain why LA Comic Con in Los Angeles, California, thought making an AI-powered Stan Lee hologram was a good idea  
• Christian House reports about the exhibition "Ghosts: Visualising the Supernatural" at Kunstmuseum Basel in Basel, Swizerland, 
• See some photos of the Masquerade at the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. 
• Dodai Stewart reports that a dinosaur themed theme park in Leonia, New Jersey, is closing and that its dinosaur figures are available for sale.   

 

Science and technology:

• Josh Dinner reports about the effect of the US government shutdown on NASA. 
• Connie Loizos reports that according to roboticist Rodney Brooks, humanoid robots are not going to become viable any time soon.
• Primate researcher Jane Goodall has died aged 91. 
• Joanna Rugg shares photos from Jane Goodall's long life. 
   

Gaming: 

• Cole Rush shares six video games that capture the magic of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere 
• The Guardian reports that the video game company Electronic Arts has been taken over by the private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF and Affinity Partners
• Keza MacDonald explains why the enormous Saudi-led deal to acquire Electronic Arts matters, whether you play games or not

 

Toys and collectibles:

• James Whitbrook shares a look at the latest Star Trek figures from Nacelle.
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the Hot Toys Terminator 2: Judgment Day endoskeleton action figure. 
• Bricklist reviews the Lego Star Wars Gingerbread AT-AT Walker 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at new Lego releases coming out in October. 
• Peter Dibble remembers the defunct Lego Fabuland line, which ran from 1979 to 1989. 
• Camestros Felapton remembers the Japanese tin robots of the postwar era. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Last of Atlantis" by James Morrow in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Pools of Light at the Center of the World" by Will McMahon in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "A Reputation For Prudence" by Richard Swan in Grimdark Magazine.
• "A World of Their Own" by Robert Falco in Clarkesworld.
• "Ino’s Hideaway" by Mari Ness in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "The Way Out" by Pippa Goldschmidt in Future Tense Fiction.
• "Model Collapse" by Matthew Kressel in Reactor. 
• "The Devil's Herd, Part 1" by Bruce Arthurs in Cliffhanger Magazine.
• "Whale Fall of Yours" by M. M. Olivas in Uncanny Magazine  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Guillermo del Toro's take on Frankenstein. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Hazbin Hotel. 
• Watch a trailer for Mr. K. 
• Watch a trailer for The Carpenter's Son. 
• Watch a trailer for In Your Dreams.
• Watch a trailer for Zootopia 2. 
• Watch a trailer for Psycho Killer. 
• Watch a clip from the latest adaptation of Charlotte's Web.