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, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Lestat, The Odyssey, the live action Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, President Curtis, all the new reveals and trailers from the 2026 San Diego Comic Con, and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Cheryl Eddy shares 92 science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out in August
- Luc Hasbrock lists ten great science fiction novels that won both the Hugo and the Nebula Award.
- James Davis Nicoll asks if a terrible protagonist can still be likeable.
- James Davis Nicoll discusses science fiction solutions to population decline.
- Sam Reader shares seven horror books featuring freaky, frightening forests
- Natalie Moss talks about the outdated trope of nature as monstrous
- Imaginary Worlds asks if money is ruining fanfiction.
- Joel Miller discusses the most important questions in the works of Philip K. Dick.
Comics and Art:
Film and TV:
- Petrana Radulovic shares all the SFF movies premiering in August 2026
- Petrana Radulovic shares all the SFF TV shows premiering in August 2026
- Isaiah Colbert declares that season 2 of Batman: Caped Crusader ups the ante in all the right ways
- Sam Barsanti declares that the new Ghost In The Shell is proudly a cartoon
- Lucy Mangan calls The Rapture a timely apocalyptic drama.
- Leslie Felperin calls Tinsman Road a found footage haunted horror film.
- Jacob Oller calls The Devil's Mouth a weak shark film.
- Jesse Hassenger talks about the resurgence of the shark movie.
- Sam Adams notes that Netflix is to blame for their current woes, since they destroyed the traditional TV model of releasing episodes weekly to grow the viewership.
- Harriet Gibsone interviews Lena Headey, best known for her appreances in Game of Thrones, Masters of the Universe Revelation/Revolution, The Sarah Connor Chronicles and many others..
- Steve Rose interviews Sean Astin who played Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings.
- Vanessa Armstrong interviews Steve Arnold and Jennifer Engel, production designer and set decorator of Widow's Bay.
- Nick Romano interviews Mike Flanagan, director of the new Carrie and The Mist.
- Hollie Richardson interviews Sonya Walger and Henry Ian Cusick, who played Penny Widmore and Desmond Hume in Lost.
- Alex DiFrancesco revisits the 1964 Twilight Zone episode “Number 12 Looks Just Like You”.
- Valerie McElroy revisits the 1971 children's fantasy film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
- Kali Wallace revisits the 1984 time travel movie The Terminator.
- Keith Stuart revisits the 1986 science fiction action film Aliens and investigates its impact on video games.
- Monica Castillo revisits the 1995 Afrofuturist movie Welcome II The Terrordome
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 episode “Sleeping in Light”
- Leah Schnelbach revisits the 2017 historical horror film Pilgrimage.
- Jordan Moreau reports that Tomi Adeyemi, author of Children of Blood and Bone, is not at all happy about the upcoming film adaptation.
- Animation Magazine reports that Oscar-winning animator Glen Keane had to be rescued after going hiking near Phoenix, Arizona.
- Justin Carter reports that Paramount and Warner Bros have both announced a Nightmare on Elm Street revival.
- William Hughes reports that the reason that a Barbie sequel is still not in production is that Warner Bros and its much hated CEO David Zaslav are being stingy.
- Ryan Gilbey shares an obituary for Chuck Russell.
Comments on the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general:
- Emina Melonic declares that Masters of the Universe has accomplished something that’s been missing from the movies; it’s recovered the life of the soul.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the Masters of the Universe movie.
- Colt Crane interviews Sam C. Wilson who plays Trap-Jaw in Masters of the Universe.
- Josh Wilding interviews Lauren Saliu who appeared as She-Ra in a post-credits sequence in Masters of the Universe.
- He-Mania interviews Lauren Saliu.
- Alasdair Stuart praises Dolph Lundgren's cameo appearance in Masters of the Universe.
- With regard to the Masters of the Universe movie underperforming in the theater, Alex Wiggan notes that fans need to show up for the things that they love or they will risk not getting more of it.
- He-Mania reports that even though Masters of the Universe supposedly underperformed at the box office, it has been the number 1 movie on Amazon Prime worldwide for several days now and that even the 1987 movie has made it to number 9 worldwide.
- Colt Crane reports that Kevin Smith, showrunner of Masters of the Universe Revelation and Revolution, has said at San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California, that there are plans for a third instalment of the story which will include She-Ra.
- Stuart Heritage shares his thoughts on the documentary Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret about the extracurricular activities of the actor who plays Skeletor in Masters of the Universe.
- Watch "Who Will Be Skeletor's No. 1 Henchman?", the sixth 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 “The Griffin Incident”, the second episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “The Griffin Incident”, the second episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Alyse Wax shares her thoughts on “The Griffin Incident”, the second episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Sylas K. Barrett notes that Star Trek’s Christopher Pike is a horse girl
- Watch a video celebrating sixty years of Star Trek.
Comments on season 3 of House of the Dragon:
- Tyler Dean shares his thoughts on “Faceless Men”, the latest episode of season 3 of House of the Dragon.
- Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on “Faceless Men”, the latest episode of season 3 of House of the Dragon.
- Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on “Faceless Men”, the latest episode of season 3 of House of the Dragon.
- Saloni Gajjar declares that House Of The Dragon burst its own bubble and deflated a long awaited character death.
- Josh Wigler interviews Fabien Frankel who plays Ser Criston Cole in House of the Dragon.
Comments on Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender:
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will make you miss the animated series
- Arturo Serrano declares that Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender opens big questions, but being an interquel constrains how deeply it can explore them
- Justin Carter reports that Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender has gotten embroiled in a controversy about potential AI use after a slide shown at a panel at San Diego Comic included a Chat GPT watermark.
Comments on The Odyssey:
- Classicist and Odyssey translator Emily Wilson expresses her deep dislike for Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey.
- Catherine Shoard reports that Joyce Carol Oates has harshly criticised Emily Wilson for harshly criticising Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
- Jacob Oller also reports that Joyce Carol Oates has harshly criticised Emily Wilson for harshly criticising Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
- Roseanna Pendlebury shares her thoughts on The Odyssey.
- Readers of The Guardian share their thoughts on The Odyssey.
- Jesse Hassenger discusses how The Odyssey discourse has dominated this summer
- Inspired by the discourse surrounding The Odyssey, Molly Templeton points out that it's okay not to have an opinion on something.
Comments on Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Lestat:
Comments on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:
- Jesse Hassenger calls Spider-Man: Brand New Day Marvel's best crossover in ages.
- Germain Lussier declares that Spider-Man: Brand New Day raises the bar for what a Spider-Man movie can be
- Emmet Asher-Perrin calls Spider-Man: Brand New Day a reminder we could all use right now
- Peter Bradshaw calls Spider-Man: Brand New Day a sometimes shocking, occasionally sluggish new instalment
- Justin Carter notes that Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels almost like a reboot.
- The AV Club discusses if Spider-Man: Brand New Day reboots their interest in Marvel movies?
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on Spider-Man; Brand New Day.
- Tara Bennett interviews Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Wonder Man and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Jordan Moreau discusses Sadie Sink's character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Jordan Moreau discusses the post-credits sequence of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and what it means for future appearance of Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
- Jacob Oller discusses the post-credits sequence of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Germain Lussier discusses the ending and post-credits sequence of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Matthew Byrd reports that singer Steve Lacy, whose music appear on the soundtrack, may have accidentally spoiled the villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- The AV Club wonders why Spider-Man eats so much pizza in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
- Ben Francisco shares his thoughts on the latest episode of X-Men '97.
- Justin Carter and Germain Lussier report about the Marvel Cinematic Universe panel at San Diego Comic Con, which included several movie and casting announcements.
- Nadeem Badshah reports about one of the casting announcements made at the Marvel Cinematic Universe panel at San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
- Germain Lussier reports about some clips from Avengers: Doomsday shown at the Marvel Cinematic Universe panel at San Diego Comic Con.
- Justin Carter reports that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige insisted at the Marvel Cinematic Universe panel that there has not been a lack of build-up towards Doctor Doom before Avengers: Doomsday.
- Jarrod Jones notes that the biggest reveal at the Marvel Cinematic Universe panel at San Diego Comic Con was a lack of confidence.
- Germain Lussier reports that Ryan Reynolds dressed up as Deadpool and wandered around San Diego Comic Con unrecognised before invading the Marvel panel in Hall H.
- Nadia Khomani profiles David Jonsson, the British actor who will play the new T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther.
- Joe Otterson reports that Wonder Man has been cancelled in spite of an Emmy nomination and an earlier renewal.
- William Hughes shares Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's reaction to the surprised cancellation of the show.
- Derek Lawrence interviews Mahershala Ali about the Blade movie that was announced but never produced by Marvel.
- Justin Carter wonders what will happen now the Blade movie is cancelled for good.
Comments on President Curtis:
- Andrew Lawrence interviews Keith David, best known for his appearances in The Thing, Gargoyles, They Live, Masters of the Universe Revolution, Platoon, President Curtis and many others.
- Cheryl Eddy interviews Keith David and Jim Rash, who plays the titular preisdent and his vice president in President Curtis.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2026 Mythopoeic Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Dionysus Awards have been announced.
- The longlist for the 2026 Booker Prize has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 Dream Foundry Contest have been announced.
- The winners of the LACon V Film Festival have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 Ringo Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Inkpot Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 ENnie Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Diana Jones Award have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Julie Le Blanc shares writing tips and tricks for time-poor parents.
- Nancy Friedman explains what subtitles are good for.
- Leila Fadel and Reagan Jones report that there is a boom in small independent bookstore opening in the US
- Emma Loffhagen reports that the crime novel Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body by Jerry Falade has been pulled by Falade's agent after suspicions of AI use.
- Stephanie Convery reports about AI companies buying up used books to scan them as training data, destroying the books in the process.
- Frank Landymore also reports about AI companies buying up used books to scan them as training data and then destroy them.
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Marlene Harris reviews Return to Dark Earth by Anna Hackett
- Maya C. James reviews The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass by Leslye Penelope
- Marlene Harris reviews The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon
- Chris Kluwe reviews We Interrupt This Program by Randee Dawn
- Niall Harrison reviews The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
- Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews Murder at the End of the World by Akane Araki
- Saif Shaikh reviews Makerborn by Daymon Ashcord
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
- Sasha Bonkowsky reviews The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden.
- Tom Joyce reviews A Forest of Vanity and Valour by A. P. Beswick
- Abigail Nussbaum reviews The Heart of the Nhaga by Lee Young-do, translated by Anton Hur
- Bill Capossere reviews Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
- Eddie Clark reviews A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
- Z.B. Steele reviews Dust of the Dead by Michael R. Fletcher
- Rob Bedford reviews The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager.
- Molly Templeton reviews The Children by Melissa Albert.
- Jenny Hamilton reviews Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez
- Niall Harrison reviews The Mulai by Munir Hachemi, translated by Julia Sanches
- Krstle Matar reviews Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell
- Grimdark Magazine reviews Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm
- Ian Mond reviews Monster Capital, edited by Ra Page and David Sue.
Classics reviews:
- Camestros Felapton revisits the 1980 children's science fiction tale The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch.
- Alex Brown revisits the 1990 fantasy novel The Element of Fire by Martha Wells.
- Alissa Burger revisits the 1992 YA horror novel The Fever by Diane Hoh and the 1994 YA horror novel Bad Dreams by R.L. Stine.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2005 Dread Empires Fall space opera Conventions of War by Walter Jon Williams
The 2026 San Diego Comic Con:
- Drew Gillis shares a round-up of the biggest reveals and announcements from San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
- io9 shares a round-up of the eight winners and four losers of the 2026 San Diego Comic Con.
- Germain Lussier explains how and why the team behind Spaceballs 2 brought the notoriously reclusive Rick Moranis to San Diego Comic Con.
- Germain Lussier reports about the Lanterns experience at San Diego Comic Con.
- Cheryl Eddy reports about the Carrie panel at San Diego Comic Con.
- Jen Lennon shares her favourite cosplay photos from San Diego Comic Con.
- Jen Lennon shares more of her favourite cosplay photos from San Diego Comic Con.
Other con and event reports:
- The programm for the 2026 Worldcon in Los Angeles, California, is now online.
- Mike Glyer shares a report about the virtual first main WSFS business meeting of LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon.
- Octothorpe discuss the virtual 2026 WSFS business meeting
- Jane Wilkinson interviews Bernie Bubnis who organised the first ever Comic Con in New York City in 1964.
- Doug's Home on the Web discusses how to proceed when banning someone from a furry con.
Science and technology:
- Pallab Ghosh reports that the iconic Jodrell Bank Observatory in the UK has lost its funding and may have to shut down.
- Kadin Mills reports about SkoBot, a robot intended to teach indigenous children the language of their ancestors.
- Olivia Rutigliano talks about the George Foster who murdered his family and was executed in 1803 and subsequently became the subject of an experiment to use electricity to bring him back to life.
- Paul Arnold explains why the future of fashion might involve wearing live fungi.
- Zachary Thomas attempts to explain who the so-called Sea People, who are often blamed for the collapse of various bronze age empires, truly were.
- Catherine Ryan Howard talks about the fascination with so-called murder houses.
Toys and collectibles:
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on several of the new Masters of the Universe and other toys revealed at San Diego Comic Con.
- Pixel Dan shares a walk-through of the GI Joe Classified display at the Hasbro booth at San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
- Jen Lennon shares a look at several Avengers Doomsday action figures by Hot Toys.
- Jamie Rogers lists the ten biggest Lord of the Rings Lego sets ranked by piece count.
- Germain Lussier shares a look at some VisionQuest Funko Pops.
Free online fiction:
- "A Thousand Forbidden Weddings and a Song for Dead Darlings" by Ai Jiang in The Dark.
- "This Is an Emergency Broadcast" by R.S.A. Garcia in Clarkesworld.
- "A Bargain Made in the Monster’s Shadow" by Sam W. Pisciotta in Nightmare Magazine.
- "If a Discarded God Can Change, So Can I" by V.M. Ayala in Lightspeed.
- "Concerto For Wartime" by Sean Williams in Lightspeed.
- "Seventeen Beats, the Chirping Stopped" by Christian Ramirez Ramos in Apex Magazine.
- "To Meet Death Standing" by William Adcock in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "Prompts for a Perfect Daughter" by Ai Jiang in Future Tense Fiction.
Trailers and videos:
- Watch a trailer for Children of Blood and Bone.
- Watch a trailer for Jumanji: Open World.
- Watch a trailer for Wicker.
- Watch a trailer for Victorian Psycho.
- Watch a trailer for Onslaught.
- Watch a trailer for Below.
- Watch a trailer for Carrie.
- Watch a clip from Street Fighter.
- Watch a trailer for Boorman and the Devil.
- Watch a trailer for That Polish Guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment