It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, Spider-Noir and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars in general, The Testaments, For All Mankind and Star City, The Boroughs, Backrooms, Obsession, I Love Boosters, the final season of The Boys, tributes to Marcia Lucas and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Natalie Zina Walschots explains why villains are often more interesting than heroes.
- James Davis Nicoll lists five mostly helpful mentors in science fiction and fantasy
- Leslie Baird talks about surveillance in society and fiction
- Nick Cutter offers an ode to the mad scientist.
- Helen Lewis shares her appeciation for the work of Terry Pratchett
- Judith Tarr takes a look at the talking animals in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis.
- Nicholas Brooks ranks the ten most powerful non-human Lord of the Rings characters,
- Pope Leo XIV releases an encyclical about AI and quotes Gandalf.
- Molly Templeton talks about rediscovering rereading.
- Mike Glyer reports that the City of Milwaukee has agreed to pay a large settlement to science fiction author Patrick Tomlinson and his wife after multiple swatting attempts perpetrated by trolls harassing Tomlinson.
- SFF romance author Lalana Dararutana a.k.a. Piper J. Drake a.k.a. P.J. Snyder has died aged 49.
Comics and Art:
- William Hughes explores the wildly convoluted and surprisingly heartbreaking history of Supergirl
- James Portis III discusses the persistent lack of diversity and black superheroes at DC Comics.
- Andrea Casteneda shares her appreciation for the works of Frank Frazetta.
- Gideon Marcus takes a look at manga and anime in 1971.
- Locus interviews Alyssa Winans.
- Tara Anne Dalbow reports that painted book covers are making a comeback.
- Ayesha Rascoe reports about the legal battle surrounding the comics and other merchandise in the warehouse of Diamond Comic Distributors at the time of their bankruptcy.
Film and TV:
- Petrana Radulovic shares all the SFF TV shows premiering in June 2026.
- Petrana Radulovic shares all the SFF TV movies premiering in June 2026.
- Anne Jamison calls the Good Omens finale a love letter to fandom and fanfiction.
- Helen Pilcher complains about bad science in Project Hail Mary and the Jurassic Park movies.
- Jacob Oller calls Passengers a ridiculous ghost story.
- Alex Brown shares their thoughts on "A Number in the System", the latest episode of The Terror: Devil in Silver.
- Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Widow's Bay.
- Ann Michelle Harris shares her thoughts on season 2 of the anime Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
- Isaiah Colbert calls season 2 of Dorohedoro the apex of macabre anime chaos and whimsy
- Elisabeth Garbee explains why Star Trek Voyager and Captain Kathryn Janeway are more important than ever.
- Germain Lussier shares early reactions to Disclosure Day.
- Charlotte Edwardes interviews Hannah Murray who played Gilly in Game of Thrones.
- Cheryl Eddy interviews Rick and Morty showrunner/executive producer Scott Marder and executive producer Dan Harmon
- Dan Larsson takes a look at some of the more obscure and forgotten cartoons of the 1980s.
- Jason Sacks revisits the 1971 science fiction movie Escape from the Planet of the Apes
- Muse from the Orb revisits the 1976 dystopian film Logan's Run.
- Isaiah Colbert revisits the 1990 fantasy anime Record of Lodoss War
- Kali Wallace revisits the 1998 science fiction noir film Dark City.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 episode “The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father”
- Radha Vatsal revisits the 2017 horror movie Get Out!
- Nadia Khomani reports that Hammer will rerelease the 1958 Dracula with long-lost footage added
Tributes to Marcia Lucas:
Comments on the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general:
- Pixel Dan shares his experiences at the Masters of the Universe premiere in Hollywood, California, and his spoiler-free thoughts about the movie.
- Michael Breitmeir reports about the German premiere of the Masters of the Universe movie in Berlin, Germany.
- Maggie Lovitt reports about a visit to the set of the Masters of the Universe live action film.
- Michael Breitmeier reports about a visit to the set of the live action Masters of the Universe film.
- Nagier Chambers praises Idris Elba's performance as Duncan/Man-at-Arms in the live action Masters of the Universe film.
- CastleMania Games interviews Travis Knight, director of the live action Masters of the Universe film.
- TNM Backstage interviews Travis Knight.
- He-Mania interviews Travis Knight.
- HeyUGuys interviews Travis Knight.
- Wilson Morales interviews Travis Knight as well as the cast of Masters of the Universe.
- Lauren Veniziani interviews Travis Knight as well as the cast of Masters of the Universe.
- Paul McGuire Grimes interviews Travis Knight as well as the cast of Masters of the Universe.
- Steven Pape interviews Travis Knight.
- HeyUGuys interviews Chris Butler, screenwriter of Masters of the Universe.
- The Wrap interviews cast and crew of Masters of the Universe.
- Brian Particelli interviews Dolpk Lundgren and Nicholas Galitzine who play He-Man in the 1987 and the new Masters of the Universe live action movie respectively.
- Paul McGuire Grimes interviews Nicholas Galitzine.
- HeyUGuys interviews Nicholas Galitzine.
- Jana N. Nagase interviews Camila Mendes who plays Teela in Masters of the Universe.
- Jake Hamilton interviews Nicholas Galitzine and Camila Mendes.
- CastleMania Games interviews Alison Brie who plays Evil-Lyn in the live action Masters of the Universe movie.
- IMDB interviews Travis Knight, Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes and Alison Brie.
- Jana N. Nagase interviews Morena Baccarin who plays the Sorceress of Grayskull in Masters of the Universe.
- HeyUGuys interviews James Purefoy who plays King Randor in Masters of the Universe.
- HeyUGuys interviews Sam C. Wilson who plays Trap-Jaw in Masters of the Universe.
- HeyUGuys interviews James Wilkinson who plays Mekaneck in Masters of the Universe.
- Colt Crane interviews stunt performer Clayton Grover who plays Beast-Man in Masters of the Universe.
- HeyUGuys inrerviews Bill Bannerman, executive producer of Masters of the Universe.
- HeyUGuys interviews The Darkness, who provided some of the music for Masters of the Universe.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the latest trailers, clips and featurettes for the Masters of the Universe movie as well as on the marketing in general.
- Germain Lussier explains how the new Masters of the Universe pays tribute to the 1987 film
- Colt Crane reports that a new Masters of the Universe: Tales From Eternia animated series will debut this summer on YouTube
- MichaTVBerlin reports about the premiere of the Masters of the Universe live action film in Berlin, Germany.
- William Hughes notes that Jared Leto, who plays Skeletor, was nowhere to be seen during the Masters of the Universe premiere or other promotional events.
- Justin Carter also comments on Jared Leto's absence from any marketing for Masters of the Universe.
- He-Mania.com actually tried to interview Jared Leto about his role as Skeletor and received no response.
- Tyler Dean revisits the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie
- James Eatock takes a look at the various confrontations between Skeletor and Hordak in the She-Ra: Princess of Power cartoon.
- Watch a featurette called "Rebirth of a Franchise" about the live action Masters of the Universe movie.
- Watch a featurette about creating the Sword of Power for the live action Masters of the Universe movie.
- Watch a featurette about how Nicholas Galitzine trained to play He-Man.
- Watch a clip from the Masters of the Universe live action movie.
- Watch another clip from the Masters of the Universe live action movie.
Comments on Spider-Noir and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido calls Spider-Noir a superb pulp adventure
- Lucy Mangan calls Spider-Noir huge fun.
- William Hughes declares that Nicolas Cage is the unexpected worst part of Spider-Noir
- C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on The Punisher: One Last Kill
- Marcus Jones interviews Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays Simon Williams in Wonder Man.
- Ben Child wonders what might have been if Nicholas Cage had been cast as Norman Osborn a.k.a. The Green Goblin in Spider-Man in 2002.
- Watch a trailer for X-Men '97.
Comments on The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars in general:
- Emmet Asher-Perrin implores people that if they love 1980s fantasy films to go see The Mandalorian and Grogu right now
- Caroline Siede declares that The Mandalorian And Grogu works when it's not trying to be a blockbuster
- Jeffrey Harris calls The Mandalorian and Grogu an engaging, imaginative and fun film.
- Ben Child shares a spoilerish review of The Mandalorian and Grogu.
- Jacob Oller and Monica Castillo discuss whether the fact that The Mandalorian and Grogu has hardly any humans on screen is the reason why the movie underperformed.
- Ben Child declares that The Mandalorian and Grogu shows Star Wars is a cursed franchise – on the big screen at least
- Germain Lussier shares all the questions he has after The Mandalorian and Grogu
- Sean T. Collins fantasises about murdering poor Grogu.
- Matthew Byrd answers the question what happened to season 4 of The Mandalorian.
- Emlyn Travis interviews Jon Favreau, director of The Mandalorian and Grogu.
- Germain Lussier ranks every theatrical Star Wars movie.
- Caroline Siede declares that the world wasn't ready for Rey
- Anthony D'Alessandro reports that The Mandalorian and Grogu had a lower opening day box office than Solo.
- Sian Cain also reports that The Mandalorian and Grogu has lowest box office opening for a Star Wars film in the Disney era
- Matt Schimkowitz discusses the link between Star Wars and the US Memorial Day weekend as the start of the US summer movie season.
- Andrew Pulver reports that Gareth Edwards, director of Rogue One, has spoken out in favour of AI in filmmaking.
Comments on For All Mankind and Star City:
- Saloni Gajjar wishes that the rest of For All Mankind's fifth season were as solid as the finale
- Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the season 5 finale of For All Mankind.
- Ben Rosenstock declares that the For All Mankind spin-off Star City leans harder into paranoid-thriller elements with its peek behind the Iron Curtain.
- Lucy Mangan calls Star City a fascinating space race thriller
- Lacy Baugher-Milas calls Star City A For All Mankind spin-off for fans and newcomers alike
Comments on the final season of The Boys:
Comments on The Boroughs:
Comments on The Testaments:
- Saloni Gajjar declares that the youth of The Testaments reinvigorates the exhausted saga of The Handmaid’s Tale
- Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the season finale of The Testaments.
- Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the season finale of The Testaments.
- Rosy Cordero interviews Mattea Conforti, who plays Becka in The Testaments.
- Jennifer Maas interviews Chase Infiniti and Mattea Conforti, who play Agnes and Becka in The Testaments.
- Jackie Strause interviews Elisabeth Moss who plays June Osborne a.k.a. Offred in The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments.
Comments on Obsession:
Comments on Backrooms:
- Peter Bradshaw calls Backrooms an icily disturbing horror film that rewrites the genre rulebook
- Jacob Oller calls Backrooms a well-designed but stretched-thin adaptation that feels uncannily authentic, for what it's worth.
- Matt Shaw declares that Backrooms captures the horror of sinister architecture
- Simon Abrams declares that Backrooms brings liminal horror to the masses, and with it, a generation looking for a past that might not exist.
- Leah Schnelbach calls Backrooms the best nightmare you’ll ever have
- Germain Lussier calls Backrooms a total vibe
Comments on I Love Boosters:
Awards:
- The shortlist for the 2026 British Fantasy Awards has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2025 Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2026 Tähtivaeltaja Award has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 Premios Kelvin 505 have been announced.
- The winner of the 2026 Prix Jacques-Brossard has been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Tomorrow Prize and Green Feather Award have been announced.
- The winner of the 2026 Climate Fiction Prize has been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards have been announced.
- Zach Rabiroff reports that the Eisner Awards will implement an AI policy following a controversy about an AI generated story in a nominated anthology.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the 2026 Best Dramatic Presentation Long Hugo finalists.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Emily Rapp Black talks about the creative power of play
- Amanda West talks about the challenge of changing genres.
- Angela Mazza talks about the strange practice of updating cultural references in YA books.
- Scott Edelman interviews editor and literary agent John Jarrold.
- Sheila Limming laments university libraries throwing out books in favour of lounges and meeting spaces.
- Hillel Italie reports that independent bookstores are thriving and mutiplying rather than dying out, as many believe.
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Tar Vol On reviews Radiant Star by Ann Leckie.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin
- Marlene Harris reviews In a Dangerous Orbit by Anna Hackett
- Niall Harrison reviews The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Photonic Effect by Mike Chen
- Niall Harrison reviews The Many by Sylvain Neuvel
- Marion Deeds reviews We Burned so Bright by T.J. Klune
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews And Side by Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer
- Jake Casella Brookins reviews Transmentation | Transgression by Darkly Lem
- Esmay Rosalyne reviews An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields
- Paul Weimer reviews The Final Chronicle of Yeneh by Jo Miles
- Alex Wallace reviews Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez
- Lesa Holstine reviews Out Law by Jim Butcher
- Paul Weimer reviews Breath and Bone by K. V. Johansen
- Arturo Serrano reviews Open Sorcery by Rob Sheely
- Alex Brown reviews Witch King by Martha Wells.
- Alexandra Pierce reviews Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Mortedant’s Peril by R.J. Barker
- Blue Book Balloon reviews Mortedant's Peril by R.J. Barker
- Mahvesh Murad reviews The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
- James Davis Nicoll reviews To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose
- Matt Larkin reviews The Faithful Dark by Cate Baumer
- Abigail Nussbaum reviews The Dead Man’s Empire by W.P. Wiles
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Republic of Memory by El Mahmud Sayed
- Mark Yon reviews Nonesuch by Francis Spufford.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo
- Tom Joyce reviews The Last War by Mike Shackle
- Marlene Harris reviews It’s Hard to Be an Animal by Robert Isaacs
- Ed Crocker reviews Headlights by C.J. Leede
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Night Ship by Alex Woodroe
- Gabino Iglesias reviews The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu
- Rob Bedford reviews The Dorians by Nick Cutter.
- Chris Kluwe reviews The Dorians by Nick Cutter.
- Maya C. James reviews We Dance Upon Demons by Vaishnavi Patel
- Ali Karim reviews A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper
- Abigail Nussbaum reviews Rabbit Test and Other Stories by Samantha Mills
- Blake Morrison reviews Crossing the Wine Dark Sea by Emily Wilson
Classics reviews:
- Mark Yon revisits the 1952 YA science fiction novel David Starr Space Ranger by Isaac Asimov
- Paige Lewis revisits the 1956 epic science fiction poem Aniara by Harry Martinson.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1964 science fiction novel The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster
- Timothy Snyder revisits the 1962 alternate history novel The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick.
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1964 weird fiction anthology Weird Tales, edited by Leo Margulies
- George Pritchard revisits the 1971 Pern science fantasy novel Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews the spring 1980 issue of Destinies
- Ian Mackenzie revisits the 1987 science fiction novel Sphere by Michael Crichton.
- Alissa Burger revisits the 1989 YA horror novel Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike.
- Ainy Cormac revisits the 1990 science fiction novel The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1998 SFF collection Frankensteins and Foreign Devils by Walter Jon Williams.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 2003 Pip and Flinx space opera Flinx’s Folly by Alan Dean Foster
- Kat Hooper revisits the 2004 Pip and Flinx space opera Sliding Scales by Alan Dean Foster
Con and event reports:
- The Great Gambino reports about the Motuniverse convention in Redondo Beach, California.
- Rick Pullen reports how Elaine's Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, became a popular place literary events and writer meet-ups.
- Locus shares a photo of the latest Brooklyn Books & Booze reading in Brooklyn, New York.
- Philip Marcelo reports about a tour of Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York City.
- Justin Carter reports that Matt and Ross Duffer, creators of Stranger Things, have donated a costume worn by Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.
- Henry Godfrey-Evans reports that the police were called to a railway station in Rayleigh, Essex, because passenger were concerned about a cosplayer's prop sword.
Science and technology:
- NBC News reports that SpaceX has launched its most powerful Starship rocket yet, though it exploded upon landing - again.
- Richard Luscombe and Uwa Ede-Osifo report that a Blue Horizons New Glenn rocket exploded upon launch in Florida.
- Harry Baker reports that China has launched "human artificial embryos" into space in a bid to see whether human reproduction is possible off-world
- Leonard David reports that China is planning to send astronauts to the Moon.
- Space Daily reports about Soviet cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev who was stuck on the Soviet space station Mir, while the Soviet Union dissolved.
- Space Daily reports about the Soviet Lunokhod 1 rover which was lost on the Moon in 1971 and rediscovered by accident in 2010.
- Jamie Grierson reports about the recreation of the Kusuma Neolithic Hall near Stonehenge in England.
Gaming:
- Matthew Byrd lists ten hard science fiction video games
- Matthew Gault reports about the Library of Leng, an archive of writing about Magic the Gathering that would otherwise be lost to the vagaries of the Internet.
- Alasdair Stuart finds some parallels between the movie The Sheep Detectives and the video game Herdling.
- Jen Lennon reports that Dungeons & Dragons has released a new free adventure entitled "Borderlands Quest: Dagger Danger!".
- Koh Ewe reports that Xu Yao, who poisoned Chinese gaming tycoon and the holder of the adaptation rights for The Three Body Problem Lin Qi, has been executed.
- Simina Mistreanu also reports about the crime and execution of Xu Yao.
Toys and collectibles:
- SuperDave reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Chronicles Ram-Man and Fisto Two-Pack.
- Robert Ito talks about the relationship between the upcoming movies Masters of the Universe, The Mandalorian and Grogu and Toy Story 5 and their respective toy tie-ins.
- Germain Lussier shares a look at the Hot Toys Lobo action figure.
Free online fiction:
- "Red God Waiting" by Ai Jiang in The Dark.
- "Decimation Circles" by Raahem Alvi in Clarkesworld.
- "The Last Season of Your Life" by Christopher Barzak in Lightspeed.
- "The Test of Time" by Kristin Kathryn Rusch in Lightspeed.
- "What the Trees Took Back" by Marvin Garbeh Davis Sr. in The Deadlands.
- "The Voice and Her Knife" by AnaMaria Curtis in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Boxwood" by M.E. Bronstein in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Glass" by Beth Dawkins in Apex Magazine
- "The Glass City" by AnaMaria Curtis in Uncanny Magazine
Trailers and videos:
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