It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, season 4 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general, season 3 of House of the Dragon, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, X-Men '97, Coyote vs. Acme, Lanterns, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, The Last House, The End of Oak Street, One Night Only, tributes to John Crowley, Jon Cypher, Dave Nee and Larry Brill and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Lisa Tuttle shares her favourite recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books.
- Joel Miller explains the history of Cyberpunk from counterculture to marketing category.
- Ellery Lloyd share their five favourite time travel stories.
- Wole Talabi shares five science fiction novels that flirt with the supernatural.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories featuring highly intelligent animals
- Lorna Wallace shares five horror novels about making (fictional) horror movies.
- Jo Walton shares her reading list for July 2026.
- Molly Templeton is a bit tired thast literary debates always seem to focus on the same few topics.
- Laura Miller shares her appreciation for the Ana and Din Mysteries by Robert Jackson Bennett.
- Benjamin Svetskey and Julian Sancton explain what Ian Fleming wanted James Bond to look like.
- Helena Horton reports that fans of Harry Potter have forced the relocation of a 430 million pound undersea cable between Ireland and Wales because it would pass through the ficitonal grave of the fictional house elf Dobby, whereas the new route of the cable passes close to actual bronze age tombs of actual archaeological value with actual humans buried in them.
- Rusty Foster reports that neither the actual beach in Wales nor the fictional tomb of fictional house elf Dobby were ever at any risk from the undersea cable and that Harry Potter fans were being overly dramatic.
- Brigid Alverson remembers Ted White.
Tributes to John Crowley, Dave Nee and Larry Brill:
- Speculative fiction writer John Crowley has died aged 83.
- Clay Risen remembers John Crowley.
- Eric Alper remembers John Crowley
- Fanzine publisher Larry Brill has died aged 94.
- Nana Muazin remembers Larry Brill.
- SFF fan and bookseller Dave Nee has died aged 73.
- Tom Whitmore remembers Dave Nee.
- Kalimac's Corner remembers Dave Nee.
Comics and Art:
- Isaiah Colbert reviews Lynx by Samuel Sattin and tokitokoro
- Charlie Jane Anders interviews Preeti Chhibber and Jodi Nishijima, writer and artist of House of Harkness
- Stew Hotston reviews w0rldtr33 Volume 1 by Fernando Blanco and James Tynion IV
- James Bacon talks about comic censorship in Ireland.
- John Dodge reports that the Marvel and Star Wars universes will have their first ever crossover in the limited comic series Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles by Kevin Smith and David Marquez
- Tom Gauld shares a cartoon on the military history dad’s holiday reading
Film and TV:
- Dyah Aru Larasati shares her ten favourite science fiction TV shows of the past thirty years.
- Isaiah Colbert calls the anime The Ribbon Hero an infectiously hopeful magical girl take on a classic
- Peter Bradshaw calls Out There a likeable teen comedy about a boy who thinks is father was abducted by aliens.
- Leslie Felperin calls Chum a deeply silly shark attack movie.
- Catherine Bray calls Hellcat a nasty survival horror film.
- Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the season 2 finale of Sugar.
- Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the final episode of The Rapture.
- Cheryl Eddy interviews Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files.
- Rebecca Nicholson interviews Bella Ramsey who plays Ellie in The Last of Us.
- Katie Rife shares a brief history of unauthorised movie sequels.
- Kali Wallace revisits the 1955 Czech time travel film Journey to the Beginning of Time
- Jason Sacks revisits the 1971 postapocalyptic horror film The Omega Man.
- The Phantom Fan revisits the 1986 animated superhero series Defenders of the Earth.
- Elizabeth Little revisits the 1991 time travel film Terminator 2.
- Isaiah Colbert revisits the 1997 Japanese horror movie Cure.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 TV-movie "In the Beginning".
- Matthew Jackson revisits the 2001 gothic horror film The Others.
- Simon Abrams revisits the 2004 slasher comedy Club Dread.
- Justin Carter revisits the 2011 cartoon Green Lantern: The Animated Series
- Judith Tarr revisits the 2016 animated film Zootopia.
- Martin Edwards revisits the 2022 folk horror movie Men.
- Rebecca Ford reports about the troubled production of Children of Blood and Bone.
- Leo Baraclough that directors Ally Pankiw and Kate Herron refused to work on the new Harry Potter TV series due to J.K. Rowling's transphobia.
- Eric Francisco reports about the post-apocalyptic action thriller One Second After, starring Josh Holloway, which will come to theaters in 2027.
- Animation Obsessive explains how Ray Harryhausen created the skeleton warriors from the 1963 mythological fantasy film Jason and the Argonauts.
- Steven Morris reports that Star Wars has been dubbed into Welsh for the first time ever.
- British actor Tony Chadbon, best known for playing Duggan in the Doctor Who serial "City of Death" as well as for his roles in The Liver Birds, Casualty and Wire in the Blood, has died aged 80.
Tributes to Jon Cypher:
Comments on the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general:
- The Official Spirit of Grayskull Podcast discusses the Masters of the Universe live aciton film and the Masters of the Universe toy reveals at San Diego Comic Con.
- He-Mania.com reports that Masters of the Universe is still the number one movie worldwide on Amazon Prime for the third week in a row.
- Colt Crane reports that billboards advertising the Amazon Prime release of Masters of the Universe have been spotted in Los Angeles, California.
- Adam McCombs reports that an extended edition of the Masters of the Universe soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton is about to be released.
- Voice actor Michael Donovan, who voiced Roboto, King Randor and Hordak in the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon and General Nifel in The New Adventures of He-Man, has died aged 73.
- Watch "A Power Storm Disrupts Eternia's Magic", the eighth episode of the Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia animated series.
Comments on season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “A Case of Chiaroscuro”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “A Case of Chiaroscuro”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Alyse Wax shares her thoughts on “A Case of Chiaroscuro”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin points out that after the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, James Kirk does know Spock's greatest secret after all.
- Jorge Luis ranks Star Trek's five most iconic gadgets.
- Ryan Schwartz reports that the cast of the medical drama The Pitt will take part in a live reading of the script of the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap" to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of Star Trek.
Comments on Coyote vs. Acme:
- Kate Erbland calls Coyote vs. Acme a clever comedy about the evils of corporate greed that was thankfully rescued from corporate hell
- Jacob Oller declares that Coyote vs. Acme was worth the wait.
- Isaiah Colbert declares that Coyote vs. Acme proves that the movie *they* didn’t want you to see was always worth the fight
- Nick Duerden chronicles how Coyote vs. Acme came back from the dead.
Comments on Lanterns:
- Ben Travers calls Lanterns a superhero series as indebted to odd-couple police procedurals as it is determined to see them through the eyes of its systemically slighted protagonist, rather than the long-established perspective of the powerful.
- Daniel Fienberg calls Lanterns a clever action comedy and praises the chemistry between the stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre.
- Dennis Perkins calls Lanterns a compelling earthbound superhero drama.
- Germain Lussier declares that Lanterns is really, really good—for the most part
- Matt Stevens interviews Chris Mundy, showrunner of Lanterns.
Comments on season 3 of House of the Dragon:
- Tyler Dean shares his thoughts on “The Treasons at Tumbleton”, the season 3 finale of House of the Dragon.
- Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on “The Treasons at Tumbleton”, the season 3 finale of House of the Dragon.
- Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on “The Treasons at Tumbleton”, the season 3 finale of House of the Dragon.
- Aaron Jones shares his thoughts on season 3 of House of the Dragon.
- Callie Ahlgrim interviews Ryan Condal, showrunner of House of the Dragon.
- Cheryl Eddy interviews Emma D'Arcy who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
- Saloni Gajjar interviews James Norton who plays Ormund Hightower in House of the Dragon.
- Josh Wigler interviews James Norton, Freddie Fox and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who play Ormund Hightower, Gwayne Hightower and Aeron Targaryen respectively in House of the Dragon.
- Nick Romano interviews James Norton.
- Jennifer Maas interviews Phia Saban who plays Helaena Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
- Josh Wigler interviews Phia Saban
- Josh Wigler interview Steve Toussaint who plays Corlys Velaryon a.k.a. the Sea Snake in House of the Dragon.
- Michael Billington reports about the production of the Game of Thrones inspired stage play The Mad King in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, but seems mostly bewildered by the whole thing.
Comments on Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma:
- Cheryl Eddy calls Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma a gory, horny love letter to slasher flicks
- Luke Hicks declares that even the meta-movie inside Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma pushes boundaries
- Monica Castillo interviews Jane Schoenbrun and Hannah Einbinder, director and star of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
- Monica Castillo takes a look at the works of filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun, director of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
Comments on The Odyssey:
- Flint de Sol claims that The Odyssey is making a point about trans people.
- Elle Risbridger reports that the success of The Odyssey has increased the sales of all poetry in the UK, so it has at least one positive effect.
- Alfie Rackham and Jane Clinton interview readers of The Guardian who report feeling inspired to read classical epics after watching The Odyssey.
Comments on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, X-Men '97 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:
- Drew Taylor interviews Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, writers of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Brian Davids interviews Michael Mando who plays Scorpion in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Angelique Jackson interviews Sadie Sink, one of the stars of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Caroline Siede declares that the big twist in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is not the character Sadie Sink plays, but the role and arc she is given.
- Molly Templeton reports that Rosario Dawson who plays Claire Temple a.k.a. Night Nurse in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had a cameo appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day that was cut.
- Roy Schwartz and Sean Carlson discuss why Spider-Man's story still resonates after more than sixty years and nine movies.
- McKinley Franklin reports that a movie theater in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, did not receive official Spider-Man: Brand New Day posters in time, so theater employee Drake Landon drew a substitute poster by hand.
- Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on Spider-Noir.
- Watch a trailer for VisionQuest.
- Watch a trailer for Avengers: Doomsday.
Comments on X-Men '97:
Comments on The End of Oak Street:
- Jacob Oller calls The End of Oak Street a pulpy dinsaur survival thriller.
- David Ehrlich calls The End of Oak Street the biggest surprise of the summer and the best dinosaur movie since 1993
- Germain Lussier calls The End of Oak Street the family versus dinosaur adventure you didn’t know you needed
- Peter Bradshaw calls The End of Oak Street more turkey than T-rex
- Germain Lussier discusses the end of The End of Oak Street.
Comments on The Last House:
- Monica Castillo calls The Last House a goofy horror thriller.
- Leah Schnelbach declares that The Last House wastes its premise, its actors and the end of the world as we know it
- Arturo Serrano declares that covid allegories in film are important, but The Last House is not the allegory we need.
- Summer Lin reports that a man is living inside a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, as part of a publicity stunt for The Last House.
Comments on One Night Only:
- Tobias Carroll calls One Night Only worldbuilding gone wrong.
- Monica Castillo calls One Night Only infuriatingly conservative given its premise.
- Monica Castillo wonders how the premise of One Night Only, a dystopian world where unmarried people are only allowed to have sex once a year, even works in practice.
- Jake Kleinman interviews Will Gluck, director of One Night Only.
- Rebecca Rubin interviews Will Gluck.
Awards:
- The winner of the 2026 Arthur C. Clarke Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Aurora Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 Endeavour Award have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2026 Premio Italia has been announced.
- The finalists of the 2026 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 SFRA Awards have been announced.
- The recipients of the 2026 World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Animation Emmy Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Reuben Awards have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Mike Glyer reports that the Horror Writers Association has removed Sèphera Girón from her position as a trustee, following a pro-AI article written by Girón in the HWA member newsletter.
- Ben Sigurdson interviews Didi Chanoch, owner of the science fiction bookstore Other Places Books in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
- Teah Dowling reports about the Dragon Press bookstore in Westport, New York, whose stock consists of the extensive SFF book collection of the late David Hartwell.
- Lana Lam reports that a library book borrowed 150 years ago in Kiama, Australia, has been found hidden in a fireplace and was returned to the library.
- Olena Harmash reports that a warehouse of the Ukrainian children's book publisher Ranok in Kharkiv was struck by a Russian drone, causing the warehouse to burn down with millions of books inside.
Interviews:
- Arley Sorg interviews Carolyn Ives Gilman.
- James Crawford interview M. John Harrison.
- Arley Sorg interviews James Patrick Kelly.
- Locus interviews James Patrick Kelly.
- Scott Edelman interviews Jamal Hodge.
- Asimov's interviews Robert Reed.
- Marissa van Uden interviews Anj Baker.
- James Machell interviews S.T. Joshi.
- Locus interviews Anand Gandhi and Zain Memon
Reviews:
- Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Fractured Dark by Megan E. O’Keefe
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Luminous by Silvia Park
- Molly Templeton reviews Heaven’s Graveyard by Grace Curtis
- Summer Hanford reviews The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J. R. Dawson
- In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths
- Martin Cahill reviews The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus
- Marlene Harris reviews Miss Gentle and the Case of the Very Flat Monk by Travis Baldree
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Three Coffin Problem by Lavie Tidhar
- Marion Deeds reviews Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry
- Alex Puncekar reviews Merynthia’s Master by Luana Saitta
- Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Weaver’s Tapestry by Jessi St. John
- Melissa A. Watkins reviews The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass by Leslye Penelope
- Arturo Serrano reviews Victory City by Salman Rushdie
- Christopher Keene reviews The Will of the Many amd The Strength of a Few by James Islington.
- Ian Mond reviews Dead Weight by Hildur Knútsdóttir, translated by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Dawn of Silence by Heiner de Wendt
- John Valeri reviews The Beginning of Everything by Charles Salzberg
- Marlene Harris reviews The Mulai by Munir Hachemi, translated by Julia Sanches
- Ed Crocker reviews The Other by Annie Neugebauer
- Alex Brown reviews Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
- Gabino Iglesias reviews I Was Alive Here Once: Ghost Stories, edited by Sarah Coolidge
- Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Jo Walton and Ada Palmer
Classics reviews:
- Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisits the 1910 weird fiction story "The Hungry Stones" by Rabindranath Tagore.
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1964 folk horror novel Day of the Arrow by Philip Loraine and its 1967 film adaptation Eye of the Devil.
- John Boston revisits the September 1971 issue of Amazing.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1978 sword and sorcery novel Swordsmistress of Chaos by Richard Kirk a.k.a. Robert Holdstock and Angus Wells
- Alissa Burger revisits the 1995 YA horror novels The Biker and Revenge by Diane Hoh.
Con and event reports:
- Mike Glyer shares a summary of the second main virtual 2026 WSFS Business Meeting
- Germain Lussier shares live updates from the film and TV panel at Disney's D23 event in Anaheim, California.
- Locus shares a photo of the previous Fantastic Fiction reading at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring Victor Manibo and Sam Rebelein.
- Ellen Datlow shares photos of the latest Fantastic Fiction reading at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring Kailee Pedersen and Suzanne Palmer
- Marigold Warner reports about a stage adaptation of the science fiction novel End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland by Haruki Murakami at the Barbican Theatre in London, UK.
- Nana Siegel reports about the exhibition “Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions” at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City.
- Audrey Tomlin reports that cosplayers dressed as superheroes have visited young patients at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Annie Moore reports that several companies have been fined by the City of San Diego, California, for illegally attaching advertisements to buildings and signs during the 2026 Sam Diego Comic Con.
Crowdfunding:
Science and technology:
- Michelle Starr reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has examined two stars suspected of harbouring Dyson spheres, only to find that the initial suspicion was due to a trick of the light.
- Will Dunham reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has found signs of an ancient disaster involving Neptune's moons
- Leonard David reports that the impact site where a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed onto the Moon has been survyed by the South Korean lunar orbiter Danuri.
- Jessica Lyons reports that according to former US National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, Isaac Asimov was right about the Three Laws of Robotics..
- Alan Finkel wonders what a modern day equivalent of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics might look like.
- Kohaya Mendelsohn reports about a robot recycler that salvages parts from broken machines
- Sydney Butler reports that people are 3D printing life-sized dinosaur skeletons with free Smithsonian models
- Space Daily reports about the Carrington Event, a massive solar storm that hit the Earth in 1859.
- Stewart Whittingham reports that more than 150 public figures have signed an open letter urging the UK government to save the iconic Jodrell Bank Telescope.
- Rob Schmitz reports about Switzerland's extensive network of nuclear bunkers.
- Lachlan Brown reports that wildlife is flourishing in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine.
- Pejman Faratin shares photos of the 2026 solar eclipse from throughout Europe.
- Cora Buhlert talks about watching the 2026 solar eclipse on Hoher Berg in Syke, Germany.
- Andrew Bartlett and Jamie Lewis discusse the surprisingly scientific methods employed by Big Foot hunters.
- John McWhorter shares three myths people like to believe about the English language.
- Olesya Lyuzua talks about various positive thinking cults and scams that flourished in the 1920s.
Gaming:
- Keith Stuart declares that the games industry’s obsession with visual fidelity is costing them money and talent
- Erik Soderstrom explains how Magic the Gathering cards are brought to life.
- Laura Cress reports that video game company Electronic Arts has been sold to a Saudi consortium.
- Chris Person reports that fan translations of video games are still being made by hand by enthusiastic fans and not with AI.
- Mike Didymus-True reports that the warehouse of Ukrainian boardgame publisher Rozum and their entire inventory was destroyed by a Russian missile strike
Toys and collectibles:
- Kyle Peterson reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Powers of Grayskull Undead Lady Slither action figure.
- Toy Bro reviews the Mondo Masters of the Universe 200X Skeletor action figure.
- D Amazing reviews the Mondo Masters of the Universe 200X Skeletor action figure.
- Graphic Policy reviews the Frazetta Girls Icon Collectibles John Carter action figure.
Free online fiction:
- "When You Give a Dokkaebi Taco Tuesday" by H.H. Pak in Clarkesworld.
- "Feed Them on Your Dreams" by E.N. Auslender in Clarkesworld.
- "Jubee’s First Hunt" by Jeff Reynolds in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "Jackrabbit Crunch" by E.C. Dorgan in The Dark.
- "The Fastest Martian Mile" by Thoraiya Dyer in Reactor.
- "Vessel, Skin, Daughter, Stranger" by Claire Jia-Wen in The Deadlands.
- "My Parts, Collected" by Melissa A Watkins in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Fragments of the Whole" by Brooke Bolander in Lightspeed.
- "And the Award Goes to . . ." by Curtis C. Chen in The Sunday Morning Transport.
Trailers and videos:
