Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for September 18, 2026

 

 

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,  Spider-Noir and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, Coyote vs. Acme, Practical Magic 2, Parasomnia, Chronovisor, an uproar inside the HWA, tributes to Tim Curry, Peter Cullen and Dolly Parton, the 2026 Worldcon and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy shares 144 new science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out in September 
• Reactor shares all the new science fiction books arriving in September 2026
• Reactor shares all the new fantasy books arriving in September 2026 
• Reactor shares all the new horror books arriving in September 2026 
• Reactor shares all the new romantasy books arriving in September 2026 
• Reactor shares all the new young adult SFF books arriving in September 2026 
• Reactor shares all the new SFF crossover books arriving in September 2026 
• Natalie Zutter shares romantasy novels coming out in September and October 2026. 
• Alex Brown lists their most anticipated young adult SFF for September and October 2026. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for August 2026. 
• Justin Young shares his five favourite time travel books of all time. 
• Lorna Wallace shares five science fiction stories set in sandy places. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories featuring dubious schemes and terrible ideas  
• Nicole Field talks about polyamory in young adult speculative fiction 
• Sam Reader shares eight versions of fairy tales that tell a different story 
• Matthew Byrd talks about the rise of LitRPG. 
• Rebecca Stafford talks about the entrancing moral quandaries of dark academia
• Molly Templeton talks about finding your recipe for literary comfort food 
• BBC Witness History profiles Octavia Butler. 
• Stuart Cripps-Schnoor shares a guide to the Warhammer books. 
• David Gerrold talks about the issues and ethics of still buying Harry Potter merchandise, visiting theme parks and watching the new show in 2026.  
• Sylas K. Barrett discusses the surprising similarities between the Wheel of Time character Perrin Aybara and the X-Men character Wolverine.  
• Emma Loffhagen reports that classicist Emily Wilson will retranslate The Odyssey from scratch 
• Locus remembers David Kopaska Merkel. 
• Groundbreaking feminist writer and campaigner Gloria Steinem has died aged 92 
• Pulp and comic writer Will Murray has died aged 73. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Audris Candra explains what the graphic novel Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo says about the realities of queer experience in the Global South
• The Phantom talks about eighty years of Phantom publishing history in Australia. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about methods for encouraging a reluctant young reader 

  

Film and TV:

• Josh Pearce reviews Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
• Steve Vertlieb reviews The End of Oak Street 
• Germain Lussier declares that season 3 of Silo goes out with a bang  
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on The Vampire Lestat. 
• Philip Oltermann calls Jupiter a French thriller about nuclear war fears. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Scherzetto a dithering Neapolitan ghost story
• Joshua Rivera declares that The Dog Stars is just as tired of post-apocalyptic stories as we are
• Steve Erickson calls Buddy refreshingly original filmmaking that delivers as many laughs as scares
• Leslie Felperin calls Hungry a horror film about a rampaging hippo that forgets that hippos are vegetarian.  
• Leah Schnelbach declares that the documentary Boorman and the Devil will make you want to create art and it might make you reassess The Exorcist II. 
• Simran Hans interviews Maisie Williams, who played Arya Stark in Game of Thrones.  
• Rich Pelley interviews Alex Winter who played Bill in the Bill and Ted movies.  
• Miles Klee interviews Richard Kelly, director of Donnie Darko.  
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Na Hong-jin, director of Hope and The Wailing.   
• Kiaran Fisher reports that H.G. Wells intensely disliked the 1927 science fiction movie Metropolis. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1931 horror movie Frankenstein. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1932 horror film  Island of Lost Souls
• Jason Sacks revisits the 1971 horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death 
• Darren Richman revisits the 1976 The Muppets Show for its fiftieth anniversary. 
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1982 sword and sorcery movie Conan the Barbarian. 
• Dan Larsen revisits the 1986 animated superhero series Defenders of the Earth. 
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1987 satirical science fiction film RoboCop. 
• Leah Thomas revisits the 1998 anime Serial Experiments Lain 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1999 Babylon 5 TV movie A Call to Arms 
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2002 anime The Cat Returns 
• Fawzia Khan revisits the 2015 science fiction mini-series Childhood's End. 
• James Hibbs shares Mark Gatiss' ideas on how Doctor Who should handle the Billie Piper cliffhanger. 
• Niall Gray lists five great superhero movie sidekicks that deserved their own movies 
• Anna Billson ranks her favourite giants in movies. 
• Maya Phillips discusses the latest horror trend of movies about inescapable places.  
• Jamie Grierson and Steven Morris report that according to Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park, Gromit was almost a cat. 

 

Tributes to Peter Cullen, Tim Curry and Dolly Parton:

• Frank Welker, who voiced Megatron in Transformers among many others, shares a tribute to his friend and co-star Peter Cullen who voiced Optimus Prime. 
• Tyler Dean lists his ten favourite Tim Curry roles. 
• Mya Copeland reports that Tim Curry's cause of death has been revealed. 
• Olivia Rutigliano shares a guide to the crime movies of Dolly Parton. 

 

Comments on the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general:

• The Masters Cast wonders if Masters of the Universe will get a sequel. 
• He-Mania reports that the 4K release of the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie will include several deleted scenes.  
• He-Mania reports that the voice cast of the video game Masters of the of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction has been unveiled.  
• Watch "Man-at-Arms and Trap Jaw Are Trapped", the latest episode of the Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia animated series.  
• Watch "Beware Ram-Man!", the latest episode of the Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia animated series.  

Comments on season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek at 60 and Star Trek in general:  

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on “Off-Hour”, the previous episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass…”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass…”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Alyse Wax shares her thoughts on “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass…”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Orders of Magnitude”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.     
• Joshua M. Patton interviews Rhys Darby who plays Trelane in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 
• Ryan Britt interviews John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who are supposed to write the next Star Trek movie. 
• Arturo Serrano celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of Star Trek.  
• Mark Yon celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of Star Trek. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1986 Star Trek movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
• Lynnette Rice reports that the cast of the medical drama The Pitt has done a live reading of the script for the 1966 pilot episode of Star Trek to benefit the Writers Guild Foundation. 
• Cheryl Eddy reports that Star Trek fans are planning to gather at the Science Museum in London, UK, for an attempted Guinness World Record in Vulcan salutes. 

 

Comments on Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "OutKast”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Dennis Perkins shares his thoughts on "OutKast”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "OutKast”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "The Weenie”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Joshua Rivera asks whose show Lanterns is anyway 
• Nick Romano interviews the actor who plays the Manhunter in Lanterns.  
• Ronda Racha Penrice interviews Vanessa Baden Kelly, writer of "OutKast"  
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Stephanie Economou, composer of Lanterns.
• Cheryl Eddy reports that Lanterns is getting more popular with each new episode  
• Zack Sharf interviews Gal Gadot who played Wonder Woman in the previous iteration of the DC Cinematic Universe.   

 

Comments on Coyote vs. Acme: 

• Arturo Serrano calls Coyote vs. Acme the little movie that could
• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Coyote vs. Acme has a lot to say and only so many signs
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Coyote Vs. Acme won its case, but still loses to the legacy of Looney Tunes 
• Alan Siegel shares an oral history of Coyote vs. Acme. 
• Olivia Rutigliano recounts the struggle Coyote vs. Acme faced to reach movie theaters.

 

 Comments on Spider-Noir and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Nellie Andreeva reports that Spider-Noir has been cancelled after a single season.
• Nellie Andreeva shares the reaction of Nicholas Cage who played Ben Reilly in Spider-Noir to the series' cancellation. 
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Chloe Zhao, director of Eternals, defends comic book and superhero movies.  
• Watch a trailer for Avengers: Endgame Encore. 

 

Comments on Practical Magic 2:  

• Adrian Horton calls Practical Magic 2 an odd sequel that still casts a spell 
• Katie Edwards wonders whether Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s seeming agelessness is the real trick of Practical Magic 2. 
• Liz Parker lists twenty witchy books to read if you love Practical Magic 

 

Comments on Parasomnia:

• Phil Hoad calls Parasomnia a horror film that suffers from an overly complex plot
• Cheryl Eddy calls Parasomnia convoluted, but oddly compelling.

  

Comments on Chronovisor: 

• Jacob Oller declares that Chronovisor turns a research rabbit hole into must-see cinema
• Leah Schnelbach calls Chronovisor a film about libraries, time travel and the joy of research:   

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2026 Dragon Awards have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2026 Eugie Foster Memorial Award has been announced. 
• The winner of the 2026 Mike Resnick Memorial Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 Emmy Awards have been announced with lots of love for Widow's Bay, Pluribus and Spider-Noir.  
• The longlist for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction has been announced.
• The Queensland Writers Center shares an open letter to the Australian speculative fiction writing community regarding the Aurealis Awards.
• Mike Glyer reports that Baen Books has established the David A. Drake Memorial Award. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2026 Hugo Award winners. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2026 Dragon Award winners.  

 Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Linwood Barclay talks about writing ordinary characters in extraordinary situations
• Angela Boord asks if trope marketing is ruining literature.
• Sean Delone discusses the collapse of the non-fiction book market. 
• Lois McMaster Bujold talks about printer errors happening to her and other books. 
• Katy Hershberger reports about widespread problems as author begin to receive their Anthropic AI settlement payments. 
• Lee Hae-rin reports about the popularity of literary collectibles in South Korea. 

 

Comments on controversies inside the HWA:

• Mike Glyer reports that the Horror Writers Association has dissolved its executive director position amid a series of controversies 
• Michael Patrick Hicks discusses what he describes as the HWA's neverending August 2026 shitshow. 

 

Interviews:

• Nathan Alderman interviews Alix E. Harrow. 
• Avery Kaplan interviews Charlie Jane Anders. 
• Arley Sorg interviews Cadwell Turnbull.
• Arley Sorg interviews Peter Watts.   
• Scott Edelman interviews Alex Jablokov. 

 

Reviews:   

• Lesa Holstine reviews Fury in Death by J.D. Robb 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews An Empire in the Clouds by Ai Jiang 
• Marlene Harris reviews Engines of Reason by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Abigail Nussbaum reviews The Felicity Complex by August Clarke 
• Paul Du Filippo reviews Testament of Leaves by Carolyn Ives Gilman 
• Marion Deeds reviews Smoke Season by Carrie-Edmund Laben 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Slow Burn by Amal Singh 
• Beejay Silcox reviews Under Story by Chloe Benjamin   
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews The End of Everything by M. John Harrison  
• Ian Mond reviews Valet by J.P. Lacrampe 
• Marlene Harris reviews Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher 
• Tom Joyce reviews Ironbound by Andrew Givler 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Black Doe by Cleland Smith 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews One Last Prayer by Mosha Winter 
• Paul Weimer reviews A Dubious Clamor by Marissa Lingen   
• Bill Capossere reviews Portrait of a Witch Undone by K.S. Shay 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Wednesday Witches Book Club by Sarah Beth Durst 
• Jen Lucas reviews Witchcraft For Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix 
• Colleen Mondor reviews The League of Dangerous Young Ladies by J.A. Morgenstein 
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Spiritualists by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb
• Marlene Harris reviews The Whitechapel Full Moon Society by Elizabeth DeLozier 
• Stew Hotston reviews Make Me A Monster by Kalynn Bayron  
• Ed Crocker reviews Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison 
• Alex Brown reviews Find My Way Down to You by Julian Winters 
• Aaron Jones reviews Valhalla Burning by Michael Pogach 
• Saif Shaikh reviews Upon the Forge of Battle by Anthony Ryan
• Eddie Clark reviews The Dungeon Book by Gareth Hanrahan  
• Krystle Matar reviews Dreamland by Olivie Blake 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Somnium by Eden Apelbaum 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews No More Levels by Benjamin Barreth  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Odessa by Gabrielle Sher 
• Alex Brown reviews The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett 
• Alex Brown reviews That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Filth Eaters by Ito Romo
• Clara Cohen reviews Spread Me by Sarah Gailey  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Bad Things Happen Here by Mark Morris 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Sweetside Motel by E. L. Chen  
• Hache Pueyo reviews City Like Water by Dorothy Tse. 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Book of Bots by James Patrick Kelly 
• Arley Sorg reviews Africanfuturism Short Stories, edited by Chinelo Onwualu. 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Lovecraft’s Brood, edited by Ellen Datlow 

 

Classics reviews:

• Alan Brown revisits the 1897 science fiction novel The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells 
• Mark Yon revisits the 1967 science fiction novel Hawksbill Station by Robert Silverberg. 
• Arturo Serrano revisits the 1968 science fiction anthology Farewell, Fantastic Venus!, edited by Brian W. Aldiss and Harry Harrison. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the September 1971 issue of Analog. 
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1971 science fiction anthology New Worlds Quarterly #2, edited by Michael Moorcock. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1995 YA horror novel Switched by R.L. Stine. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2004 science fiction collection The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh by C J Cherryh  
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2007 Pip and Flinx space opera Patrimony by Alan Dean Foster 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2009 Pip and Flinx space opera Flinx Transcendent by Alan Dean Foster
• Polly Stewart and Abby Dunn revisit the 2012 ghost novel I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdadottir 

 

Crowdfunding:

• New Edge Sword and Sorcery are looking for funding for their 2026 novellas. 
• Lightspeed and Nightmare Magazine are looking for funding. 
• Seasons Gone Bye, a narrative urban fantasy podcast set in 1990s Seattle, is looking for funding.  

 

Comments on LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon:

• Sydney Gaw reports about LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon in Anaheim, California. 
• Sarah Gulde and Isabel Shechter report about LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon in Anaheim, California. 
• Pickled Okra shares his experiences at LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon, in a multi-part post. 
• Francis Hamit shares his experiences at LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon, as someone who is disabled.
• Francis Hamit reports about the panel "Catching a Criminal: Forensics for SF/Mystery Writers" at LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon in Anaheim, California. 
• File 770 shares photos of LACon V. 
• Richard Man shares photos from LACon V. 
• Mike Glyer shares a photo of past, present and future Worldcon chairs taken at LACon V. 

 

Other con and event reports:

• Kendall Murry reports about Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia, from the POV of a black fan. 
• Hinse Mutter reports about the 2026 Dutch Fantasticon in n Nieuw-Vennep, the Netherlands 
• Lavie Tidhar reports about RichmondCon in Richmond-upon-Thames, UK.
• Arley Sorg reports about the 2026 Gen Con Writers Symposium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Jimmy Diaz shares his terrible experiences trying to pick up his badge at the 2026 Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. 
• Adam Christopher Smith reports about the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, China. 

 

Science and technology:

• Felix Tamsut reports that the Bavarian company Isar Aerospace has successfully launched its Spectrum rocket into orbit. 
• Stephen Clark reports that ESA will run the Envision Venus probe alone after the US pulled out unexpectedly. 
• Madeline Martin profiles Matthew Hopkins, the seventeenth century Witchfinder General, and his deadly witch hunts.
• Tom Tapp reports that the Trump government has shown off the uniform designs for its newly created Space Force, which turn out to be inspired by the 1997satirical military science fiction movie Starship Troopers.  

 

Gaming: 

• Joe DelFranco reviews the video game Tunic by Isometricorp Games 
• Daniella Lucas reports that mail thieves in the UK are targetting mail order sales of Pokemon cards. 
• Keith Stuart is frustrated that mainstream journalism focusses too much on the expected blockbuster release of Grand Theft Auto VI and ignores what else the gaming world has to offer. 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Pixel Dan discusses where the Masters of the Universe Origins toyline from Mattel will go in 2027. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares a look at an upcoming Wallace and Gromit Lego set 
• Cheryl Eddy shares a look at a  Lego PlayStation set.
• Nostalgia Rewind explains that Tonka's GoBots toyline actually predates Hasbro's Transformers, though it is viewed as a Transformers copy today. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Eldest Bird of Paradise" by Denzel Xavier Scott in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Seneschal of Shattered Tor" by Abhijeet Sathe in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Red Veil" by Daniel Roop in Nightmare Magazine.  
• "Red Riding Wolf" by Suzan Palumbo in The Sunday Morning Transport.  
• "Water-Eaters" by Beth Goder in Clarkesworld. 
• "To Walk This Distant Shore with You" by A.D. Sui in Clarkesworld.
• "Where the Wild Things Grow" by Osahon Ize-Iyamu in Future Tense Fiction. 
• "Audit of the Collapse and Convalescence of Minds" by Renan Bernardo in Reactor.  
• "Long Goodbyes" by Anya Ow in Lightspeed. 
• "The Chrysalis of Moth One" by V.M. Ayala in Lightspeed.  
• "Ticky-Tacky" by Kristi DeMeester in The Dark.

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Godzilla Minus Zero. 
• Watch a trailer for Avatar: Seven Havens. 
• Watch a trailer for Wildwood. 
• Watch a trailer for Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom 
• Watch a trailer for Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 
• Watch a trailer for Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu 
• Watch a clip from Optimus Prime: Awakening.  
• Watch a trailer for Street Fighter. 
• Watch a trailer for Clayface. 
• Watch a trailer for City of Blood. 
• Watch a trailer for Sunrise of the Reaping.  
• Watch a trailer for Ghosts: The Possession of Button House 
• Watch a trailer for Whalefall.  
• Watch a trailer for Below. 
• Watch a trailer for the latest adaptation of Carrie.  
• Watch a trailer for American Horror Story 13. 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 28, 2026

 

 

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,  Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, Coyote vs. Acme, Doctor Who past, present and future, The Dog Stars, Dark Matter, Buddy, tributes to Tim Curry, Peter Cullen and Dolly Parton, the 2026 Worldcon and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Joanna Nelius-Free discusses the importance of reading (and teaching) cyberpunk in the age of AI 
• Ruthanna Emrys talks about ESP in science fiction. 
• Leslie Vedder shares five SFF books about queer love on the high seas 
• Lish McBride shares six surprisingly hopeful post-apocalyptic stories. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five classic science fiction tales of the nanny state gone mad. 
• Matthew Sorrento talks about the connection between horror and crime. 
• Judith Tarr discusses how actual humans fit into the fictional worlds of talking animals.
• Jared Shurin shares his appreciation for the works of Philip K. Dick. 
• Max Gladstone remembers John Crowley. 
• Science fiction fan and con runner Rick Katze has died aged 81. 
• SFF poet David Kopaska-Merkel has died aged 69. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Alex Dueben talks about lettrism and comics
• Christopher Chiu-Tabet reports that Jack Kirby has received commemorative plaque at Disney's California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the end of the summer books season 
• Science fiction artist Len Brown, creator of the Mars Attacks trading cards, has died aged 84. 

  

Film and TV:

• Petrana Radulovic shares all the genre movies premiering in September 
• Petrana Radulovic shares all the genre TV premieres in September 
• Arturo Serrano calls Ann Droid a touching comedy about the search for meaning in the age of AI
• Leah Schnelbach calls The Magic Faraway Tree uneven but often charming 
• Lucy Mangan calls Revival the most moving zombie show ever  
• Laurence Phelan calls Colony a frenzied zombie movie from South Korea. 
• Christopher Lockett finds some parallels between House of the Dragon and Succession. 
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the penultimate episode of season 3 of Silo. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw asks why so many horror movies are set at summer camp.
• Ben Child notes that he is not interested in any more Alien Covenant movies. 
• Simon Abrams interviews Joe Dante, director of the troubled 2003 animated/live action movie Looney Tunes: Back In Action 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1993 dinosaur movie Jurassic Park. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 TV movie The River of Souls   
• Emma Madden revisits the 2004 horror movie Saw. 
• Angelica Jade Bastien shares her appreciation for Miss Piggy.
• Tatiana Siegel takes a look at the actors who are rumoured to be in the running to play the next James Bond. 
• Justin Carter reports that stop motion animator Phil Tippett, who worked on various Star Wars movies, Jurassic Park and many others, has sold off his studio and is retiring.  

 

Tributes to Peter Cullen:

• Canadian actor Peter Cullen, who voiced Optimus Prime in many incarnation of Transformers over more than forty years as well as Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, Venger in Dungeons and Dragons, K.A.R.R. in Knight Rider, Red Skull in Spider-Man, the titular characters in Predator and King Kong, Ramrod and Commander Eagle in Saber Riders and the Star Sheriffs, Thaedus in Invincible and many others, has died aged 85. 
• Isaiah Colbert remembers Peter Cullen. 
• Devin Meenan remembers Peter Cullen. 
• Justin Carter remembers Peter Cullen's forty-two year career as the voice of Optimus Prime. 
• Witney Seibold remembers Peter Cullen's final role as Thaedus in Invincible. 
• Cora Buhlert remembers Peter Cullen, Tim Curry and Dolly Parton. 

 

Tributes to Tim Curry:

• British actor and singer Tim Curry, best known for his role as Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show as well as for his roles in It, Legend, Annie, Clue, The Hunt for Red October, The Shadow, The Three Musketeers, Muppets Treasure Island, Home Alone 2, The Hunt for Red October, Loaded Weapon, Criminal Minds and many others, has died aged 80. 
• Jeremy Mathai remembers Tim Curry. 
• Laurence Phelan shares his five favourite Tim Curry roles. 
• The AV-Club list their favourite Tim Curry performances. 
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Tim Curry's most famous role as Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 
• Jeremy Smith remembers Tim Curry's role as Darkness in Legend. 
• The Guardian shares photos from Tim Curry's lengthy career. 

 

Tributes to Dolly Parton:

• Dolly Parton, American singer, actress, literarcy advocate, philanthropist, theme park owner and all around wonderful person, has died aged 80. 
• Alexis Petridis notes that Dolly Parton turned country music clichés in their head. 
• Joe Stone remembers Dolly Parton as an LGBTQ icon. 
• Margaret Sullivan shares a tribute to Dolly Parton. 
• Dave Simpson and Owen Myers share tributes to Dolly Parton from fellow singers and musicians. 
• Jonathan Klotz remembers Dolly Parton's memorable guest appearance on The Orville. 
• The fashion editors of The Guardian remember Dolly Parton's unique fashion sense.  
• The AV-Club follows Dolly Parton through the decades.  
• The Guardian shares photos from Dolly Parton's long life and career. 
• Emma Joyce reports that Dolly Parton gave permission to test experimental cancer drugs on her, hoping that even if she could not be saved, her death would help others.  
• Becca Andrews reports that mourners are flocking to Dollywood, Dolly Parton's theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. 
• The Guardian shares photos of fans remembering Dolly Parton around the US. 
• Watch a video tribute to Dolly Parton from her family. 

 

Comments on the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general:

• The Masters Cast asks if the Masters of the Universe movie gets He-Man right. 
• Mike Holz explains why people should give Masters of the Universe a chance. 
• The Eternia Four discuss the performence of Masters of the Universe at the box office, on streaming and in the toy aisle, discuss toy reveals and their hopes for a movie sequel. 
• Watch "Swap Meet", the latest 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 “Off-Hour”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Off-Hour”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Alyse Wax shares her thoughts on “Off-Hour”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Emmet Asher-Perrin notes that the fashion of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds tells a far deeper story than you think 
• Matthew Byrd discusses what we know about the uncertain future of Star Trek on TV. 
• Mark Yon reviews The Star Trek Archive: 100 Objects and Stories From The Final Frontier by Ben Robinson

 

Comments on Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "Trust Fall”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "Trust Fall”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Dennis Perkins shares his thoughts on "Trust Fall”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "Trust Fall”, the latest episode of Lanterns. 
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Aaron Pierre who plays John Stewart in Lanterns. 
• Jarrod Jones explains the comic history of the Manhunters, who appear to be the main antagonists in Lanterns.  

 

Comments on Coyote vs. Acme: 

• Dann Todd shares a modest review of Coyote vs. Acme.  
• Germain Lussier shares messages from Dave Green and Will Forte, director and star of Coyote vs. Acme, celebrating the fact that the movie got released. 
• A Martinez interviews Will Forte, star of Coyote Vs. Acme. 
• Brent Lang reports that Coyote vs. Acme reached No. 1 at the US box office and performed better than projected.
• Ryan Scott explains what Coyote Vs. Acme's box office means for the future of the Looney Tunes franchise

 

 Comments on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Justin Carter reports about the suspicion that generative AI was used for concept art for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. 
• Watch a Lego recreation of the Avengers Doomsday trailer. 

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future:

• Camestros Felapton takes a look at the Fourth Doctor's robotic dog K9. 
• Jesse Whitlock reports that Doctor Who may be moving to Amazon Prime. 
• Jarrod Jones reports that Billie Piper has confirmed that she is not playing the next Doctor.  

  

Comments on Dark Matter: 

• Cheryl Eddy declares that Dark Matter expands its world and emotional depth in season 2
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Joel Egderton and Jennifer Connelly, stars of Dark Matter. 

  

Comments on The Dog Stars: 

• Benjamin Lee calls The Dog Stars a lethargic postapocalyptic drama 
• Ryan Scott shares five reasons why The Dog Stars bombed at the box office. 

 

Comments on Buddy: 

• Leah Schnelbach declares that Buddy takes Barney’s premise to a hilariously bloody conclusion
• Monica Castillo declares that the horror comedy Buddy takes its "killer Barney" premise to its delightfully unhinged conclusion 

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2026 Hugo Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2026 Sidewise Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Nommo Awards have been announced. 
• The recipient of the 2026 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award has been announced. 
• The recipients of the 2026 First Fandom Awards have been announced. 

 Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Dorthe Nors talks about striving to write emotionally resonant fiction
• John Self shares some tricks of the book trade to create bestsellers. 

 

Interviews:

• Marissa van Uden interviews Anj Baker.
• Scott Edelmen interviews Todd Sanders. 

 

Reviews:   

• Adrian Collins reviews This Machine Kills Billionaires by T.R. Napper 
• Marlene Harris reviews On a Barbarian World by Anna Hackett 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews This Is Where The Future Bleeds by Mike Brooks 
• Ian Mond reviews Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay  
• Chris Kluwe reviews All We Have Is Time by Amy Tordoff 
• Mark Yon reviews Scion by James Islington. 
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Scion by James Islington. 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Ice Vegas by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Lemuria 7 by Allen Steele 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Young World by Soman Chainani 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews The Deep and the Drowned by Ian Green  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow 
• Marlene Harris reviews A Fellowship of Curses and Cats by J. Penner
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews A Coup of Tea by Casey Blair 
• Marlene Harris reviews A Labyrinth of Honeybees by Heather Fawcett
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson 
• Vanessa Fogg reviews An Impossibility of Crows by Kirsten Kaschock 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman 
• Bill Capossere reviews Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske 
• Niall Harrison reviews Animal Spiral by Luis Othoniel Rosa, translated by Katie Marya 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Weird Fishes by Rae Mariz  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Tainted Cup and A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett 
• Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds review Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett 
• Adrian Collins reviews The Godsblood Tragedy by Bill Adams 
• Sarah McCarry reviews The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews The Brides by Charlotte Cross 
• Mike Parker reviews The Burn Line by Jonathan Sims  
• Rob Bedford reviews The Winter Folk by Jen Julian. 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Carrion Saints by Hiyodori  
• Tobias Carroll reviews She Haunts Me Still by De Elizabeth.
• Michael Swanwick reviews The Book of Bots by James Patrick Kelly 
• Tobias Carroll reviews Offerings for Ordinary Gods by Ali Trotta. 
• Karen Haber reviews Icons of the Fantastic: Illustrations of Imaginative Literature from the Korshak Collection by David M. Brinley and Amanda T. Zehnder 

 

Classics reviews:

• Matthew de Abaitua revisits the 1930 science fiction novel Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1953 time travel novel The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski  
• George Pritchard revisits the 1971 science ficiton anthology Quark/4, edited by Samuel R. Delany and Marilyn Hacker. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1976 horror novel Moths by Rosalind Ashe 
• Joel Miller revisits the 1976 dystopian novel Don't Bite the Sun by Tanith Lee. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1990 Hyperion Cantos science fiction novel The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons   
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1997 YA horror novel The Rich Girl by R.L. Stine. 
• Alex Brown revisits the 1998 fantasy novel The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2006 Pip and Flinx space opera Trouble Magnet by Alan Dean Foster 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2009 Dagmar Shaw technothriller This is Not a Game by Walter Jon Williams 
• Anya Johanna DeNiro revisits the 2017 dystopian novel Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown.

 

Comments on LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon:

• Sydney Gaw reports about LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon in Anaheim, California. 
• Rich Lynch shares some photos of LACon V. 
• Mike Glyer reports about the site selection business meeting at LACon V, the 2026 Worldcon in Anaheim, California. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the co-chairs and Hugo administrators of the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, China, Ben Yalow, Shi Chen/Raistlin Chen, Dave McCarty and Joe Yao/Yao Chi have been officially censured and received limited and in case of Dave McCarty unlimited Worldcon bans.
• Mike Glyer reports about the “Many Mics, One Stage: Hugo Fancast Mashup” panel at LAcon V 
• Rich Lynch reports about the panel "From Fanzines to Social Media -How Fans Communicate" at LACon V. 

 

Other con and event reports:

• James Bacon reports about MetropolCon in Berlin, Germany, the 2026 Eurocon.  
• Aussiecon5, the 2028 Worldcon in Brisbane, Australia, has announced its guests of honour. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the 2026 virtual WisCon has apologised for having two white guests of honour and has promised to increase the number of guests of honour to four.
• Josy Forsdike shares photos of the Otamatsuri comic-con festival in Nairobi, Kenya. 
• Amy Walker reports that three new theme parks, including a Dragonball Z inspired theme park, will be built near Paris in France.  
• James Hibberd reports that the popular X2 rollercoaster at the theme park Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, has been shut down after two riders suffered traumatic brain injuries. 

 

Science and technology:

• Mike Brown declares that Pluto still isn't a planet. 
• Lee Weinstein remembers neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks.

 

Gaming: 

• Joe DelFranco reviews the video game Nine Sols by Red Candle Games 
• Marisa Ingemi explains why Pokémon is gay as hell. 
• James Davis Nicoll lists four roleplaying games that did something right 
• Matthew Byrd lists eight low magic fantasy video games. 
• Jen Lennon shares some details about an upcoming Magic the Gathering and Masters of the Universe crossover.

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Germain Lussier shares a look at a massive Star Wars Super Star Destroyed Lego set. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Turned All To Silver Screens" by Madeline Ashby in Reactor. 
• "Ladd’s Robot Repair" by David Anaxagoras in Lightspeed. 
• "The Goddess of Not Enough" by Susan Palwick in Lightspeed. 
• "Portrait of a Woman in a Red Qipao" by Tina S. Zhu in The Dark.
• "Piece de Resistance" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Universal Human Happiness Program" by Y.M. Pang in Clarkesworld. 
• "Boys of the Fellwood" by David R. Hoffman in Apex Magazine. 
• "Inheritance" by Shobhita Narayan in The Deadlands. 

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Outlander: Blood of Me Blood.
• Watch a trailer for Pendulum. 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 21, 2026

 

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,  Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, The End of Oak Street, It Ends, Insidious: Out of the Further, tributes to Hayden Panettiere and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Grimdark Magazine share their favourite dark fantasy and science fiction books of 2026 so far 
• Alex Brown shares must read short speculative fiction for July 2026  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five classic SFF covers featuring potential health and safety issues 
• Sam Reader shares seven SFF books featuring modern takes on folkloric monsters 
• Fiona Denton shares her favourite monster hunting books.
• Hannah Whitten shares eight horror novels that use the ocean as their setting 
• Clay McLeod Chapman explains why horror and romance work so well together
• Tara Menon explains why we need climate fiction. 
• Nicole Brooks recommends five climate fiction novels and ecological thrillers.  
• Isabelle Spotts shares five mysteries that reimagine death and the afterlife  
• J.R. Dawson explains how speculative fiction makes the afterlife less lonely 
• Ellie Blackwood shares three Ted Chiang science fiction stories that broke her brain 
• Shelley Streeby discusses how Ursula K. Le Guin channeled her environmentalism into fiction 
• Olivia Tauber reports that rumours that Wattpad was about to ban sexuall explicit fanfiction has sent many users to AO3. 
• Locus remembers Robin Johnson. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Sophie McBain interviews Art Spiegelman. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the library of the forbidden tomes 

  

Film and TV:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Coyote Vs Acme a quirky comedy that returned from the dead to flip Wile E Coyote’s slapstick-violent world 
• Ben Child notes that more gore will not bring The X-Files: I Want to Believe back to life.  
• Lucy Mangan calls The Terror: Devil in Silver a psychiatric hospital horror series that is scary on so many levels 
• Monica Castillo finds plenty of expressionist style and little narrative sense in the science fiction film Hot Spot. 
• Chris Garcia calls Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting one of the most beautiful short films he has ever seen, with effects that are on-par with Hollywood’s best, and a story that is equal parts heartbreaking and breathtaking.  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Snapshot a fun found-footage horror film that follows amateur Jack the Ripper hunters in the 1880s
• Leslie Felperin calls Match a gory and slyly satirical catfishing horror film for the age of Hinge 
• Colleen McMillan shares her thoughts on the anime The Summer Hikaru Died 
• Chloe Walker calls The Magic Faraway Tree nearly as charming as the stories it influenced
• Judith Tarr calls Hoppers a surprisingly gritty and fierce animated film about talking animals. 
• Cath Clarke calls David an upbeat animated religious musical film.  
• Justin Carter interviews Jake Wyatt and Brendan Clogher, showrunners of My Adventures with Superman.    
• Rory O'Connor interviews legendary special effects make-up artist Rick Baker. 
• Ethan Millman interviews Dan Romer, composer for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. 
• Kate Erbland interviews Kate O'Flynn who plays Patricia in Widow's Bay. 
• Marcus James Dixon interviews Jeff Hiller who appeared in Widow's Bay and Pluribus among others. 
• Faith Roswell shares her favourite TV robots. 
• Matthew Byrd shares eight dystopian movie worlds built on one weird rule 
• Kayleigh Dray wonders why TV shows featuring vampires are so popular. 
• Emily Temple declares that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, at its core, a show about grief. 
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1970 TV show UFO. 
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1982 sword and sorcery film The Sword and the Sorcerer 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1988 animated film The Land Before Time 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 TV-movie Thirdspace 
• James Hibbs reports that Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss has said in an interview that Doctor Who probably won't return for several years and that it is time for a break. 
• Kyle Turner attempts to explain why movies look so washed out and murky these days. 
• Fu Ting reports that the Chinese animated film Niu Lai, mocked as terrible and inept, is experiencing a surprising box office success in China. 

 

Tributes to Hayden Panettiere:

• Actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, A Bug's Life, Tiger Cruise, several Scream movies and many others as well as former partner of boxer Wladimir Klitschko, has died aged only 36.
• Zoe Williams remembers Hayden Panettiere. 
• Anthony Hayward shares an obituary for Hayden Panettiere. 
• Richard Luscombe shares the tribute of boxer Wladimir Kltischko to his former partner and mother of his daughter Hayden Panettiere. 
• Tim Kring, creator and showrunner of Heroes, remembers Hayden Panettiere who played Claire Bennet in the show. 
• Jennifer Hassan shares tributes by co-stars and directors to Hayden Panettiere.  
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Hollywood continues to fail child stars and that Hayden Panettiere was only the latest victim. 
• William Hughes reports that cosmetics company Neutrogena has apologized for its treatment of Hayden Panettiere, who was their brand ambassador.  
• The Guardian shares photos from Hayden Panettiere's short but memorable life. 

 

Comments on the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general:

• The Podcasters of the Universe interview motion capture actor James Unsworth, who portrayed Beast-Man in Masters of the Universe.  
• He-Mania reports how actor Noah Centineo was cast as Adam/He-Man in 2019 and the movie got to the preproduction stage, before it was cancelled. 
• Rick Porter reports that Masters of the Universe was the most streamed movie or TV series on all streaming services in the US in its debut week.  
• He-Mania reports that Masters of the Universe is the most streamed program on Amazon Prime for the fourth week in a row.  
• Watch "He-Man and Skeletor…Work Together?!", the latest 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 “Level-Five Transporter Accident”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Level-Five Transporter Accident”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Alyse Wax shares her thoughts on “Level-Five Transporter Accident”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.    
• Joe Otterson shares a behind the scenes look at how "Level Five Transporter Accident" was made.
• Meredith Jacobs also shares a behind the scenes look at "Level Five Transporter Accident". 

 

Comments on Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on the first episode of Lanterns. 
• Dennis Perkins shares his thoughts on the first episode of Lanterns. 
• Siddhant Adlakha notes that Lanterns is “for the fans” in refreshing ways 
• Lucy Mangan does not like Lanterns and proves that she doesn't really understand superheroes. 
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy and Tom King, co-creators of Lanterns. 
• Vanessa Armstrong shares Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof's explanation why audiences should care about space cops. 
• Brian Davids interviews Damon Lindelof. 
• Sam Nelson interviews Damon Lindelof. 
• Justin Carter reports that Hal Jordan and John Stewart almost didn't wear their Green Lantern suits in Lanterns.  
• Erik Adams talks about how seeing Hal Jordan on a football field evokes memories of Hal Jordan actor Kyle Chandler's role as an American football coach in Friday Night Lights. 
• Joe Otterson reports that Lanterns had the best opening of all DC shows and is the fifth most watched show on HBO Max of all time. 
• Germain Lussier reports that the next DC TV show will be a Jimmy Olsen focussed true crime show called The People v. Gorilla Grodd

 

Comments on Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma: 

• Haley Zapal calls Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma a meta narrative on slasher films, queerness, the media that shapes us, and desire.
• Richard Brody declares that in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma desire and terror meet

 

 Comments on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Owen Gleiberman asks why people love Spider-Man so much.  
• Jeremy Fuster reports that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed two billion US-dollars at the box office.
• Ben Child discusses some speculation about Avengers: Doomsday.  
• William Hughes reports that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who plays Simon Williams in Wonder-Man wants to know why the show was abruptly cancelled after first being renewed. 

 

Comments on The End of Oak Street:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that The End of Oak Street might be the return of good bad movies 
• Jacob Oller notes that the end of The End Of Oak Street is even kookier than its premise
• Arturo Serrano discusses The End of Oak Street in the context of the decline of Detroit in the 1980s. 
• Joshua Rivera declares that the dinosaurs of The End Of Oak Street demand respect, not affection
• Erik Adams and Monica Castillo note that the popular low budget horror movies Backrooms and Obsession as well as The End of Oak Street are all inspired by The Twilight Zone 

  

Comments on It Ends: 

• Reuben Baron declares that It Ends Uses a simple story to ask big existential questions 
• Monica Castillo calls It Ends a half-baked Twilight Zone premise. 
• Monica Castillo finds parallels between the horror movies It Ends, Exit 8 and Backrooms. 

  

Comments on Insidious: Out Of The Further: 

• Scott Tobias declares that Insidious: Out of the Further pushes a once-promising horror franchise further from what it once was
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Insidious: Out Of The Further throws a surprisingly fun ghoul party
• Germain Lussier calls Insidious: Out of the Further the best Insidious movie since the original. 
• William Earl interviews Jacob Chase, director of  Insidious: Out of the Further

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2026 Silver Falchion Awards have been announced. 
• Runalong the Shelves shares his thoughts on the winners and finalists of the 2026 Arthur C. Clarke Award.
• Chris Garcia takes a look at the Best Pro and Fan Artist Hugo Awards 

 Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Birdie Horne talks about writing sex scenes.
• Anjuli Patil reports that Canadian author Rachel Reid has donated 300000 CAD to support five rural libraries in Nova Scotia, Canada.  
• Locus reports that the antiquarian bookseller Lloyd Currey Booksellers in Elizabethtown, New York, has been targeted by thieves for the third time this year.
• Emma Loffhagen reports that several Ukrainian publishers have asked for support after Russian missile strikes destroyed warehouses with millions of books. 

 

Interviews:

• Elaine Szewczyk interviews Jasper Fforde.
• Elaine's Literary Salon interviews Richard H. Smith 
• Molly Odintz interviews Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr 

 

Reviews:   

• Martin Cahill reviews The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Final Chronicle of Yeneh by Jo Miles  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Wizard Who Kept Himself Suspicious by Scott Lynch
• Rob Bedford reviews Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter. 
• Alex Brown reviews The Dragon Has Some Complaints by John Wiswell 
• Maura Krause reviews Pasha the Storm by Linda H. Codega 
• Robin Marx reviews Cormac Mac Art: Isle of Swords by Matthew John
• Lydia Harris reviews He Who Fights With Monsters by Travis Deverell. 
• Alex Brown reviews The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty 
• Sally Berrow reviews Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion by T. Kingfisher 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Silver Hand by Shawn Carpenter 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka 
• Marlene Harris reviews A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett 
• Nina Allan reviews Sunrise by Téa Obreht 
• Niall Harrison reviews Heaven’s Graveyard by Grace Curtis 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Curve of the World by Vonda N. McIntyre  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-Young, translated by Sophie Bowman 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez 
• Alex Brown reviews Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Harbour of Hungry Ghosts by Eliza Chan 
• Ed Crocker reviews  Harbour of Hungry Ghosts by Eliza Chan 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Ghosts of Chanterlands by Catherine Cavendish 
• Marlene Harris reviews Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Residency by C.D. Major  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews I Know a Place by Nat Cassidy 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Find Me Where It Ends by Cassandra Khaw  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle 
• Colleen Mondor reviews That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall 
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed 
• Paul Weimer reviews Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky  
• C.T. Phipps reviews Xenos by Dan Abnett 
• Hache Pueyo reviews If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop.
• Arley Sorg reviews Forged in FIYAH, edited by DaVaun Sanders 

 

Classics reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1960 space opera novel The High Crusade by Poul Anderson  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the September 1971 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.   
• David Levinson revisits the 1971 Mabinogion fantasy novel The Children of Llyr by Evangeline Walton and the 1971 time travel novel The Dancer from Atlantis by Poul Anderson, S.J. Groenewegen revisits the 1971 alternate history novel Battle of Sydney by John Vader, Fiona Moore revisits the 1971 time travel novel The Authentic Touch by Jack Wodhams and the 1971 psychedelic adventure novel The Invisibles by Bernhardt J. Hurwood
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1971 mythological fantasy novel The Forest of Forever by Thomas Burnett Swann, Amber Dubin revisits the 1971 science fiction novel Chapayeca by G.C. Edmondson and Winona Menezes revisits the 1971 science fiction novel Margaret and I by Kate Wilhelm
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1974 media tie-in novel Star Trek Log One by Alan Dean Foster
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1976 horror novel The Auctioneer by Joan Samson 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1977 science fiction anthology New Voices I, the 1979 science fiction anthology New Voices II and the 1980 science ficiton anthology New Voices III, all edited by George R.R. Martin.  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1979 Dracula horror novel An Old Friend of the Family by Fred Saberhagen  
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1984 Cyberpunk novel Neuromancer by William Gibson.  
• Joe Sherry revisits the 1995 Recluce epic fantasy novel The Order War by L.E. Modesitt Jr. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 2002 space opera The Duke of Uranium by John Barnes 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2012 horror novella A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck 

 

Con and event reports:

• James Bacon reports about the 2026 Dublin Comic Con in Dublin, Ireland. 
• Alice Strandman reports about the 2026 Readercon in Burlington, Massachussetts. 
• Locus shares a photo of the 2026 Sycamore Hill Writers Conference in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. 
• Germain Lussier lists seven things he loved at Disney's D23 event in Anaheim, California, and three things he didn't.  
• Germain Lussier shares the most exciting Disney Parks updates revealed at Disney's D23 event in Anaheim, California.
• Amelia Emberwing notes that Disney's glittering D23 event distracts from mass layoffs across the company, 
• Mridula Amin reports about one of the last drive-in cinemas in Coburg, Australia. 

 

Science and technology:

• Osmond Chia and Lauren Cress report that the streaming platform Twitch is facing a backlash when users learned that their content has been used to train Amazon's AI.
• Dan Milmo reports that used booksellers in the UK and Ireland report mysterious large bulk orders they suspect may be linked to AI training.  
• Inka Romero-Ortells Labrada, Jon Andoni Duñabeitia and Manuel Perea explain what con-languages can teach us about the human brain. 
• Neil Vigdor reports that two billy goats tried to board a bus in Portland, Oregon, without a valid ticket. 
• A. Rushby shares her favourite spooky places in London, UK.   

 

Gaming: 

• Keith Stuart wonders if the future of gaming will be powered by upstart indie developers? 
• Diego Nicolás Argüello reviews Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 
• Bex April May reviews Stupid Never Dies  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins Snake Lair playset. 
• Toy Habits reviews the Hero H.A.C.K.S. Zorro action figure by Boss Fight Studios.
• Cheryl Eddy shares a look at an Alien: Earth inspired sheep and eyeball plushie.  
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the Hot Toys Avengers: Doomsday Professor X action figure.  
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the Lego Batman Returns Batmobile set. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "What Do You Mean the Nanobots Formed a Union??" by Joel W. D. Buxton in Lightspeed.   
• "Of All Who Dream" by Adelehin Ijasan in Lightspeed.  
• "Precogs in the Machine" by Nat Katz in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Fall of Father Anatolio" by Lars Wehman Dabney in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.   
• "All the Ruined Doorways of the Moon" by Eilis O’Neal in Clarkesworld.
• "Room 602 at the Hotel In-Between" by Georgina Kamsika in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "The Long March of the Bones" by Malena Salazar Maciá in The Dark. 
• "The Only Way Is Forwards" by Joel Glover in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.  
• "When I Heard Calypso" by Rob Cameron in Apex Magazine. 
• "Chorus for Solo Voice" by Marie Brennan in The Sunday Morning Transport.

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Golden Axe. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Blue Eye Samurai.
• Watch a trailer for Wildwood. 
• Watch a trailer for Whalefall. 
• Watch a trailer for Ghost Soldier.