Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for November 6, 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, VisionQuest and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Godzilla Minus Zero, Avatar: Seven Havens, The Institute, The Rings of Power, The Cat in the Hat, tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart and Steve Davidson and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Reactor shares all the new science fiction books arriving in November 2026 
• Reactor shares all the new fantasy books arriving in November 2026 
• Reactor shares all the new horror books arriving in November 2026 
• Reactor shares all the new romantasy books arriving in November 2026   
• Reactor shares all the new SFF crossover books arriving in November 2026   
• Reactor shares all the new young adult SFF books arriving in November 2026   
• Alex Brown shares their most anticipated young adult speculative fiction for November and December 2026. 
• Publishers Weekly share their favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror novels of 2026
• Richie Narvaez hosts a roundtable discussion on genre mashups and shared worlds  
• Molly Odintz shares six mysteries set on generation ships.  
• Wole Talabi talks about the intersection of first contact stories and mysteries
• O.O. Songoyomi shares five fantasy books with magic derived from African diasporic folklore  
• Kennedy Cole talks about writing about race through invasion horror and parasitism 
• Sam Reader shares seven fantasy stories told from an animal’s perspective 
• Joanna Cosgrove shares her appreciation for romantasy in general and the books of Sarah J. Maas in particular. 
• Jerome Stueart shares what the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis mean to him. 
• Joel Miller shares his appreciation for the stories of James Tiptree Jr. a.k.a. Alice Sheldon. 
• Matthew Jackson discusses the modern Gothic legacy of Peter Straub 
• Tobias Grey reports that Jan Potocki, author of the eighteenth century novel The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, believed that he was a werewolf. 
• The Organisation for Transformative Works shares an update on the downtime of the Archive of Our Own.  
• Children's book author and illustrator Horst Eckert a.k.a. Janosch has died aged 95. 

 

Tributes to Steve Davidson:

• Steve Davidson, publisher of Amazing Stories, has died aged 68. 
• Frank Wu remembers Steve Davidson.
• Brianna Wu remembers Steve Davidson.   

 

 

Comics and Art:

• Locus interviews SFF artist Tithi Luadthong.

  

Film and TV: 

• Isaiah Colbert calls the animated steampunk western Bass X Machina black historical fiction at its finest 
• Ellery Weil wonders if Wicker has brought a sexy golem to theaters 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Ramayana: Rise of a Legend a spectacular, huge-scale epic and India’s most expensive film ever. 
• Leah Thomas calls the anime Goodbye, Lara a gorgeous, sapphic Little Mermaid retelling 
• Leslie Felperin calls Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant an amusing horror comedy from New Zealand. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Crawlers a witty creature feature. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Yaga an erotic witchy thriller
• Phil Hoad calls Dead Howling a moribund Australian werewolf film, which entirely lacks both bite and bark 
• Ann Michelle Harris shares her thoughts on the anime My Happy Marriage. 
• Ben Child declares that if Dune is this generation’s Star Wars, we are all in big trouble, apparently unaware that the original Star Wars trilogy was strongly influenced by Dune.  
• Emma Brockes interviews Michelle Yeoh, best known for her roles in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Star Trek Discovery, Blade Runner 2099, Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and many others. 
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Blake Crouch, creator of Dark Matter 
• Marco Errico interviews Drew Goddard, screenwriter of Project Hail Mary 
• Amber Dubin revisits the episodes of season 2 of Night Gallery, which aired in October 1971. 
• Jesse Hassenger revisits the 1976 horror film Carrie. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1997 horror movie Cube. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1999 Babylon 5 Crusade episode “Each Night I Dream of Home” 
• Olivia Rutigliano recounts the varied history of Erenst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond movies and novels.  
• Stuart Heritage reports that according to Dame Judi Dench, it was Daniel Craig's idea to kill off her version of M in the James Bond film Skyfall. 
• Amy Hawkins reports that Sanxingdui, China's first AI generated movie, has flopped badly. 
• Hannah J. Davies reports about Philippe Peythieu and Véronique Augereau, the French voices of Homer and Marge Simpson, who fell in love and got married while working on the series. 
• The Guardian reports that director Michael Mann has accidentally shot himself in the leg at a gun range

 

Tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart:

• Caroline Siede declares that Sir Patrick Stewart made morality seem cool 
• Christopher Lockett shares a tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart.
• Abigail Nussbaum remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Reactor share their favourite Sir Patrick Stewart roles and moments.  

 

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

• Die Wilden Hörer offer a scene by scene review of the live action Masters of the Universe movie. 
• Adam Arndt interviews Kevin Smith, showrunner of Masters of the Universe Revelation and Revolution about the chances for a third season.  
• Near Mint Condition reviews the Masters of the Universe Revolution Library Edition collection from Dark Horse Comics. 
• He-Mania reports that the Masters of the Universe movie is sitting at the tops of the sales charts for DVDs, BluRays and $K discs. 

  

Comments on VisionQuest and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Immolation", the latest episode of VisionQuest.  
• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on "Immolation", the latest episode of VisionQuest.  
• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "Immolation", the latest episode of VisionQuest.
• Nick Romano interviews Terry Matalas, showrunner of VisionQuest. 

 

Comments on The Institute:  

• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on season 2 of The Institute. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Ben Barnes, star of The Institute. 

 

Comments on Avatar: Seven Havens: 

• Jordan Farley shares his thoughts on the season 1 finale of Avatar: Seven Havens. 
• Alex Zalben shares his thoughts on the season 1 finale of Avatar: Seven Havens.  
• Arturo Serrano shares his thoughts on Avatar: Seven Havens  
• Morgan Pryor interviews Avatar co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino and Seven Havens executive producers Sehaj Sethi and Ethan Spaulding.
• Alex Zalben also interviews Michael Dante DiMartino, Sehaj Sethi and Ethan Spaulding

 

Comments on Godzilla Minus Zero:

• Leah Schnelbach calls Godzilla Minus Zero a dark, loud, and emotionally gutting Kaiju opera 
• Germain Lussier calls Godzilla Minus Zero the perfect sequel   
• Matt Schimkowitz calls Godzilla Minus Zero an ambitious sequel. 
• Takeshi Ishii interviews Takashi Yamazaki, director of Godzilla Minus Zero. 

 

Comments on The Rings of Power: 

• Cheryl Eddy interviews Patrick McKay, showrunner of The Rings of Power. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Daniel Weyman who plays Gandalf in The Rings of Power. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Robert Aramoyo who plays Elrond and Elros in The Rings of Power. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Jamie Campbell Bower who plays Celeborn in The Rings of Power. 

 

Comments on The Cat in the Hat:  

• Jacob Oller declares that the latest adaptation of The Cat In The Hat robs Dr. Seuss of his juice 
• Jesse Hassenger calls The Cat in the Hat a mess. 

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2026 Prix Utopiales have been announced.
• The winner of the 2026 Goldsmiths Prize has been announced. 
• The winner of the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize has been announced. 
• Emma Loffhagen reports that Philippe Jaenada, winner of the 2026 Prix Goncourt, has admitted that he used AI after another finalists was disqualified over AI use.   

 Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Several Booker Prize finalists share their writing process.  
• Adam Plantinga talks about writing gritty, tough-guy protagonists in modern fiction
• Emma Burnett recounts how her novel Ex Partum got caught up in the drama surrounding the small press Atthis Arts. 
• Joe Dunthorne takes a look at the background of the AI book club scam industry.
• Victoria Strauss shares some information on the Anthropic AI settlement that writers should know.  
• Emma Loffhagen reports that A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas has become the fastest selling adult fantasy novel ever in the UK 

 

Interviews:

• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Ken Liu and Caroline M. Yoachim
• Locus interviews Christopher Golden. 
• Locus interviews Lisa Wood. 
• John Valeri interviews Richard Chizmar. 
• Arley Sorg interviews Xueting C. Ni. 
• Arley Sorg interviews Diane L. Walton and Edward Willett 

 

Reviews:   

• Mark Yon reviews Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi
• Lesa Holstine reviews Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi
• Christine D. Baker reviews The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews A Wall Is Also a Road by Annalee Newitz 
• Alexis Ong reviews The End of Everything by M. John Harrison  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Gates of Midnight by Helene Wecker 
• Niall Harrison reviews The Angel at the Gates by Karen Lord 
• Fiona Denton reviews The Tarot Trials by Katee Robert  
• Saif Shaikh reviews The Bookshop Book by Mark Lawrence 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews Rottenheart by Kat Dunn 
• Charlie Weir reviews The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace.
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Door in Penrose Forest by Sean David Robinson 
• Alex Brown reviews To Our Untamed Core by Sonido Reyes
• Adrienne Martini reviews Mad Eden by Morgan Thomas 
• Niall Harrison reviews Alston Moor by Anne Charnock 
• Pete Barnable reviews The Wolves of War by John Gwynne 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Wolves of War by John Gwynne 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews To Touch a Silent Fury by R. A. Sandpiper  
• Krystle Matar reviews Thoughts be Bloody by Auden Patrick 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Her Bloody Vengeance by N.C. Scrimgeour
• Saif Shaikh reviews Herald by Rob J. Hayes 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Reliquary by Hannah Whitten 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Where The Roaches Are by C.C. Adams
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Visions and Hauntings - Tales of Women Wanting More by Karin J Robinson 
• Ian Mond reviews The Language of Knives by Haralambi Markov 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Hand-Me-Downs by Neil Williamson 
• Hache Pueyo reviews Palestine +100, edited by Basma Ghalayini  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction 10, edited by Allan Kaster 
• Mak Yon reviews The Art and Craft of Stephen King by Guy Astic and Frank Lafond 
• The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog reviews Sawyer on Science Fiction by Robert J. Sawyer. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Collective - The Collaborative Art of The Anthology, edited by Dan Coxon and Pete W Sutton 

 

Classics reviews:

• Gideon Marcus shares his thoughts on the November 1971 issue of Analog 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1971 historical YA fantasy Krabat by Otfried Preußler.  
• Mark Yon revisits the 1971 horror novel The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1973 Forerunner YA science fiction novel Forerunner Foray by Andre Norton 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1980 horror novel The Reaping by Bernard Taylor
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1998 urban fantasy novel Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2013 Haunted Guesthouse paranormal mystery The Thrill of the Haunt by E.J. Copperman 

 

Con and event reports:

• Julia Kitvaria Sarene shares her experiences at the 2026 BristolCon in Bristol, UK 
• Pixel Dan shares his experiences at the Los Amigos Masters of the Universe convention in Heidelberg, Germany.
• Eleanor Tromla reports about the Litquake Literary Festival in San Francisco, California, and shares some photos of the event.  
• The GUFF fan fund is looking for candidates.  
• James Barron reports that the original Winnie the Pooh and his friends will remain at the New York Public Library in New York City. 

 

Crowdfunding:

• The reissues of the sword and sorcery classics Dossouye and Dossouye: The Dancers of Mulukau by Charles R. Saunders are looking for funding.

 

Science and technology:

• W.L. Bolm explains how participatory science can make the world better. 
• Anna Rasche talks about the Hope diamond and the trope of cursed jewels in literature 

 

Gaming: 

• Joe DelFranco calls the video game Prey by Arkane Studios an overlooked gem 
• Sean Cole interviews Tomb Raider co-creator Paul Douglas and level designer Heather Stevens. 
• Catherynne M. Valente reveals that she was contracted to write the next Mass Effect game, at least until game studio BioWare was shut down by Electronic Arts. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the 1971 Origins of World War II wargame by Avalon Hill. 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Kyle Peterson reviews the Masters of the Universe Origins Laser Light Skeletor action figure from Mattel. 
• Pixel Dan wonders about the future of Mattel's various Masters of the Universe toylines. 
• Pime versus Pime reviews and compares the Hasbro Transformers Studio Series Energon Universe Optimus Prime and the Threezero MDLX Comic Edition Skybound Optimus Prime 
• Prime versus Prime reviews the Hasbro Transformers Age of the Primes Commander Class Armada Jetfire. 
• DorkLair reviews the Mythic Legions Legacies of Mythoss Sir Galeron 2 action figure from Four Horsemen Studios. 
• Germain Lussier shares a look at LEGO sets coming out in November.
• Germain Lussier shares a look at a new Godzilla LEGO set. 
• Germain Lussier shares his fifteen favourite new SFF Christmas tree ornaments of 2026 
• The 2026 inductees into the US National Toy Hall of Fame have been announced. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Selected Case Notes from the Judicial Oversight Council of the Gatarn Empire" by Ian Li in Lightspeed. 
• "The Oracle at Ikeja" by Tobi Ogundiran in Lightspeed. 
• "The ​Best of all Possible Solar Systems" by Dominica Phetteplace in Reactor. 
• "The Tower of Nightmares" by Mac Fenwick in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Twenty-Two Steps to Become Us" by Hannah Yang in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Meat Market" by Isabel J. Kim in Clarkesworld 
• "Last Season" by R.L. Summerling in The Dark.
• "Horse Girls" by Lyndsie Manusos in Nightmare Magazine. 

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Blue Eye Samurai. 
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 30, 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, VisionQuest and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Clayface, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, Wicker, tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart, Walter Koenig, Eric Bauza, Elke Sommer and Matt Howarth and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy shares ninety new science fiction, fantasy and horror books arriving in November 2026. 
• Stephanie Feldman shares five stories that display the best of what horror can do 
• Lish McBride lists eleven frighteningly funny books and movies that blend humor and horror
• Nick Medina shares five horror novels set in cabins in the woods  
• Matthew J. Cressler, Jack Lee Downey, Kathleen Holscher and Michael Pasquier talk about Catholic horror in the US. 
• Isabel Cañas explains why Latin America is the perfect gothic setting 
• Alix E Harrow, C.L. Clark and Tasha Suri discuss gender in medieval-inspired fantasy 
• Richie Narvaez shares a brief history of occult detectives
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite horror and dark fantasy novels featuring dysfunctional families. 
• James Davis Nicoll explains how science fiction planned to solve the energy crisis in the 1970s. 
• Clara Cohen talks about language and anti-language in The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed.
• Alan Brown shares his appreciation for the YA science fiction series The Adventures of Dig Allen, Space Explorer by Joseph Greene 
• Germain Lussier shares his appreciation with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.  
• Alexandra Schade talks about her experience living next door to YA horror writer R.L. Stine. 
• Camestros Felapton discusses the far right's sudden obsession with gender-swapped Harry Potter fan-fiction. 
• Samantha Cole reports that the fanfiction site Archive of Our Own will be down for several weeks, following a security breach.  
• Samantha Cole also shares reactions by fanfiction writers and readers to the Archive of Our Own outage. 
• Mike Glyer apologises for publishing an article by Jon Del Arroz 

 

Comics and Art:

• Katsuo Miyagi reports that the daily webcomic Baneusagi to Kamepan by Fumiya Yomigishi has now run for 7350 consecuative days and has become the longest running daily webcomic in the world.
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the modern romantasy novel
• Comic writer and artist Matt Howarth has died aged 72. 
• Michael Swanwick remembers Matt Howarth. 
• Locus remembers Matt Howarth. 

  

Film and TV: 

• Petrana Radulovic shares all the genre TV premieres airing in November. 
• Petrana Radulovic shares all the genre movies premiering in November.  
• Monica Castillo declares that Wildwood doesn't shy away from death, which makes it all the better for young audiences
• Tyler Dean declares that the latest adaptation of Carrie demands your empathy
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Crystal Lake is the horror prequel that Camp Miasma warned us about 
• Isaiah Colbert shares his thoughts on the season 1 finale of Avatar: Seven Havens. 
• Cath Clarke calls City of Masks a theatreland ghost story with a female phantom of the opera out for revenge 
• Leah Schnelbach calls Hokum a perfect fun-but-deep Halloween horror film. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Never After Dark an inventive Japanese horror film.
• Josh Pearce reviews the South Korean science fiction thriller Hope
• Isaiah Colbert calls the anime Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War an elegant, exhausting and fitting finale. 
• Catherine Bray finds that the animated film Arnie and Barney suffers from ugly designs and a lacklustre script 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Elon Musk’s AI Odyssey the dullest, most pointless riposte possible to Christopher Nolan’s take on The Odyssey.
• Scott Heller interviews LeVar Burton, best known for his roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Roots and also as the host of Reading Rainbow. 
• Geraldo Amartey interviews Denis Villeneuve, director of the Dune movies.  
• Mike Avila interviews Patrick McKay, showrunner of The Rings of Power.  
• Brian Davids interviews Callina Liang, who plays Chun-Li in Street Fighter.
• Monica Castillo declares that Nicolas Cage was made for horror movies 
• Writers of The Guardian share their scariest horror movies.  
• Saloni Gajjar wonders what it takes to make original horror work on TV. 
• Lorna Wallace celebrates the subtle horrors lurking in the background of your favourite scary movies
• Anne Billson ranks her favourite special effects from horror movies. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1960 horror movie The City of the Dead a.k.a. Horror Hotel.  
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1971 horror movie The Devils. 
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1984 horror comedy Ghostbusters. 
• Paul Weimer revisits the 1985 fantasy movie Return to Oz. 
• Matt Schimkowitz revisits the 1986 horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. 
• Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 1988 horror film Child's Play. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1999 Babylon 5: Crusade episode “Visitors from Down the Street” 
• Jacob Oller revisits the 2001 anime Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust  
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2006 dystopian film Children of Men.  
• Rachel Powers shares her experience living in the house that was the setting of the 1982 horror movie Poltergeist. 
• Deepa Parent reports that Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi has been given new prison sentence 
• Anthony Hayward shares an obituary for Tom Skerritt. 
• Peter Medak, director of The Krays and The Changeling, has died aged 88
• Film editor Hubert de la Bouillerie, who worked on Woodstock, And Justice for All, Rollerball, The Witches of Eastwick, two Police Academy movies, Tango and Cash and many others, has died aged 75.  

 

Tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart:

• Sir Patrick Stewart, best known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies, has died aged 86. 
• Wil Wheaton who played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation, remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Melinda M. Snodgrass, who wrote several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• William Hughes shares tributes from friends and co-stars to Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Germain Lussier shares tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart from friends, colleagues, directors and studios. 
• Joe Otterson shares tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart from several Star Trek co-stars. 
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Aaron Couch remembers Sir Patrick Stewart, 
• Adrian Horton and Benjamin Lee remember Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Justin Carter remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Greg Evans remembers Sir Patrick Stewart  
• Will Harris remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Cheryl Eddy remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Cora Buhlert remembers Sir Patrick Stewart, Walter Koenig and Eric Bauza. 
• File 770 remembers Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• The AV-Club share their favourite performances by Sir Patrick Stewart. 
• Josy Forsdike shares photos from Sir Patrick Stewart's long life and career. 

 

Tributes to Walter Koenig:

• Actor Walter Koenig, best known for playing Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Bester in Babylon 5, has died aged 90.
• J. Michael Straczynski, creator and showrunner of Babylon 5, remembers Walter Koenig. 
• Adrian Horton remembers Walter Koenig. 
• Cheryl Eddy remembers Walter Koenig. 

 

Tributes to Eric Bauza:

• Voice actor Eric Bauza, who voiced most of the various Looney Tunes characters in modern cartoons featuring them, has died aged 46. 
• Dennis Perkins remembers Eric Bauza as the voice acting heir to Mel Blanc 
• Kimberly Nordyke remembers Eric Bauza. 
• Justin Carter remembers Eric Bauza.
• Joel Nolfi shares tributes to Eric Bauza from co-stars. 

 

Tributes to Elke Sommer: 

• Actress Elke Sommer, best known for her roles in A Shot in the Dark, The Wrecking Crew, The Prize, And Then There Were None and Lisa and the Devil, has died aged 85. 
• Jordan Moreau remembers Elke Sommer. 
• Andrew Pulver remembers Elke Sommer. 

 

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

• Colt Crane reviews the comic mini-series Masters of the Universe The Wings of Fate by Tim Sheridan and Will Sliney. 
• Watch "Attack on Castle Grayskull, Part 2", the latest episode of the Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia animated series.  

 

Comments on Clayface, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general:

• Jarrod Jones notes that Clayface opens the lid on a near-limitless horror franchise 
• Justin Carter discusses a specific cameo in Clayface. 
• Nick Romano interviews James Watkins, director of Clayface. 
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on Lanterns. 
• Justin Carter reports that Clayface sits at the top of the US box office, even though it didn't do all that well. 

 

 Comments on VisionQuest and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Firewall" and "Deadlock", the latest two episodes of VisionQuest.  
• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on "Firewall" and "Deadlock", the latest two episodes of VisionQuest.  
• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "Firewall" and "Deadlock", the latest two episodes of VisionQuest.
• Germain Lussier discusses some revelations about Tony Stark from Vision Quest.

 

Comments on Wicker:  

• Alex Brown declares that Wicker is less scandalous than suggested, but full of heart
• Peter Bradshaw calls Wicker an intriguing folk horror romance. 
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Olivia Colman and Alexander Skårsgard, stars of Wicker 
• Chloe Mac Donnell shares reactions by actual basket weavers to Wicker. 
• Monica Castillo discusses the grassroots promotional campaign for Wicker.  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2026 World Fantasy Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 Dwarf Stars, Elgin and Rhysling Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2026 Protopian Prize have been announced. 

 Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Josh Heath talks about work for hire.
• Adam Morgan reports about AI use at the so-called Big 5 publishers, against the will of employees and authors. 
• Emma Loffhagen reports that the release of  A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas has caused a frenzy among fans.

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews James Islington. 
• Locus interviews Garth Nix. 
• Locus interviews Tananarive Due. 
• Locus interviews Paul Tremblay. 
• Locus interviews Keith Rosson. 
• Locus interviews Ellen Datlow. 
• Aida Edemariam interviews Jeanette Winterson. 
• Charlie Jane Anders interviews Ted Chiang. 
• Scott Edelman interviews Thomas Ha. 
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews qntm.
• Locus interviews K. Ancrum. 
• Locus interviews Justine Norton-Kertson  
• Locus interviews Dmitri Lincoln Mehlhorn 
• Erik Grove interviews Michael Wehunt. 

 

Reviews:   

• Adrienne Martini reviews As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers  
• Niall Harrison reviews Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel  
• Kat Hooper reviews Testimony of Mute Things by Lois McMaster Bujold 
• Tom Joyce reviews Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience by Stephanie Burgis 
• Jen Lucas reviews A Lady’s Guide To Vampire Hunting by Michelle Maxstoke 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst 
• Martin Cahill reviews Tempest by Victoria Aveyard 
• Helen Rhee reviews A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-Young, translated by Sophie Bowman. 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Shadow Before the Dawn by Alma Alexander 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews A Light From the Nether by Molly Dowd Sullivan  
• Kathryn VanArendonk reviews  A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas. 
• Stuart Cripps-Schnoor reviews Covenant of Steel by Anthony Ryan  
• Paul Weimer reviews Forged for Prophecy by Andrew Knighton  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Black Point by Jacqueline West
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Driven by Mason Coile 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Dead But Dreaming Of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay  
• Fiona Denton reviews The Deep and the Drowned by Ian Green 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
• Martin Cahill reviews The Calamities by Chuck Wendig
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Something In The Walls by Daisy Pearce 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Pictures of You by Josh Malerman 
• Krystle Matar reviews Crone by Keith Rosson 
• Jared Shurin reviews The Rouse by China Miéville 
• Kevin Tipple reviews Truth to Power by S.A. Cosby  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Iron Code, edited by Ian Whates
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Book of the Dead, edited by Jonathan Strahan 
• Maya C. James reviews Vaster Than Empires, edited by Jonathan Strahan 
• Joanne Anderton reviews Nostalgic Futures: The Reactionary Fantasies of Speculative Fiction Fandoms by Max Dosser 

 

Classics reviews:

• Kat Hooper revisits the 1964 Warlock planetary romance novel Ordeal in Otherwhere by Andre Norton  
• George Pritchard revisits the 1971 science fiction anthology Orbit 9, edited by Damon Knight. 
• Yoon Ha Lee revisits the 1975 historical YA fantasy novel The Wolf King by Ann Turnbull.  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1976 science fiction collection A Song for Lya by George R R Martin  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1993 horror novel A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny.
• James Latimer revisits the 2001 fantasy novel The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2008 science ficiton novel Anathem by Neal Stephenson 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2010 science fiction collection The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories by Walter Jon Williams  
• Alex Brown revisits the 2013 Ile-Rien fantasy novel The Ships of Air by Martha Wells. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2013 Haunted Guest House paranormal mystery Chance of a Ghost by E.J. Copperman 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2013 Haunted Guest House paranormal mystery An Open Spook by E.J. Copperman 

 

Con and event reports:

• Ellen Datlow shares a photo of the latest Fantastic Fiction Reading at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring Suzanne Palmer and Kailee Pedersen 
• Locus shares a photo of the latest Brooklyn Books & Booze reading event in Brooklyn, New York. 
• Scott H. Andrews shares a photo of the Hexagon XVIII writing retreat in Crozet, Virgina. 

 

Crowdfunding:

• Apex Magazine is looking for funding for 2027. 

 

Science and technology:

• Aaron Leong reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has found a hellish exo-planet so hot that its clouds are made of rock
• Dr. Brittney Hauke explains how ceramics could build the starships of tomorrow  
• David Adam wonders if scientists can reliably tell if a novel is written using AI. 

 

Gaming: 

• Stew Hotston reviews the video game Control Resonant by Remedy Entertainment 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Germain Lussier shares a look at some upcoming Avengers: Doomsday Sentinel action figures by Hot Toys.  
• Adam McCombs shares some background on the development of Mattel's Princess of Power toyline in 1985
• Germain Lussier remembers the 1998 Movie Maniacs horror action figure line from McFarlane Toys. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Congratulations on your Magic Sword™" by John Wiswell in Lightspeed.  
• "The Raspberry Manifesto of Professor Warana" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed.  
• "No Requiem Will Be Sung for the White Dahlia Movement" by Claire Jia-Wen in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Aspect of the Moth" by Jonathan Olfert in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Five Bottles in Memory of the Winemaker Petronius Finch" by Louis Inglis Hall in Clarkesworld.
• "Roams the Planet of Our Grief" by Natalia Theodoridou in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Rice Paper Bleed" by Tia Tashiro in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Night of the Grandmothers" by Malena Salazar Maciá in The Dark. 
• "Falling" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
• "Three Prayers for Entry" by Andrew Rodgers in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Hope is what carries a man through" by Joel Glover in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "An Eye for Property" by Tania Fordwalker in Reactor. 
• "An Unavoidable Consequence of ..." by Kurt Fawver in Nightmare Magazine.  
• "Critical Functions" by Troy L. Wiggins in Future Tense Fiction. 

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Dune: Part 3.
• Watch a trailer for Jumanji: Open World. 
• Watch a trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.  

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 23, 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, VisionQuest and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Clayface, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, Wildwood, Wicker, Klara and the Sun, season 2 of Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Crystal Lake, The Devils at fifty-five, the search for the next James Bond, tributes to Tom Skerritt and Ryu Murakami and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Emily C. Hughes shares her favourite recent horror novels. 
• Molly Odintz shares horror novels coming out this fall. 
• Alex Brown shares must read short speculative fiction for September 2026 
• Annalee Newitz explains why pronouns matter in science fiction 
• James Davis Nicoll shares four SFF books unjustly doomed by circumstances beyond their creators' control. 
• Olivia Blake shares her favourite Halloween themed novels. 
• Kevin Johnson shares his favourite holiday horror reading 
• Katherine Daniel shares five horror stories with settings just as creepy as their characters 
• Lorna Wallace shares five horror books told from the monster’s POV
• Dawn Kurtagich talks about wellness culture and horror fiction  
• Natalie Kikic explains how Croatian folklore inspired her gothic novel The Haunting of Lavender House 
• Nghi Vo shares her appreciation for The Adventures of Sindbad by Krúdy Gyula 
• Japanese horror and cult author Ryu Murakami has died aged 74. 
• Isaiah Colbert remembers Ryu Murakami. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Maxwell Pishny ranks the DC Comics Absolute series. 
• Ashley Land discusses what he thinks is the most important Batman comic.  

  

Film and TV:

• Justin Carter claims that Dune is the blockbuster the 2020s didn’t know they could have 
• Luke Buckmaster calls Gnomes a pulpy horror-comedy 
• Phil Hoad calls Vampire Carnival a horror romance with good looks but not much to chew on 
• Phil Hoad declares that the Indonesian movie Ghost in the Cell uses horror for social commentary as it skewers corruption and hypocrisy with likable silliness and raucous energy  
• Dante Luiz declares that the adaptation of My Sad Dead is a perfect introduction to Mariana Enriquez’s oeuvre
• Cath Clarke calls Ghosts: The Possession of Button House a spooky spin-off that unleashes new levels of giddiness.
• Kayleigh Donaldson calls Yaga a steamy and enjoyable supernatural thriller whose ambition exceeds its grasp 
• Ann Michelle Harris calls Kaiju Girl Caramelise a cynical, thoughtful, funny twist on the usual coming-of-age rom-com anime  
• Leslie Felperin calls Children of the Wicker Man a documentary about how the folk-horror classic haunted the family that made it 
• Cheryl Eddy declares that the documentary Boorman and the Devil explains how the legendary horror flop The Exorcist II: Heretic came to be  
• Ben Child notes that yet another proposed Star Wars movie has been put on hold and that Lucasfilm will have to make a movie eventually. 
• Devan Suber claims that movies have finally figured out survival horror
• Olivia Rutigliano shares her favourite folk horror movies. 
• Matthew Byrd and Leah Schnelbach share their fifteen favourite horror movies set in seaside towns 
• Cheryl Eddy lists fourteen upcoming adaptations of fantasy novels. 
• Leah Thomas shares spooky anime for Halloween. 
• Leah Thomas shares anime for fans of Philip K. Dick
• Matthew Byrd shares director James Gunn's favourite body horror films. 
• Kelly Robinson revisits the 1929 animated short film "The Skeleton Dance". 
• Ann Michelle Harris revisits the 1963 horror film The Birds. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1971 dystopian crime movie A Clockwork Orange 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1981 horror film Fear No Evil. 
• Haley Zapal revisits the 1986 horror movie Poltergeist 2. 
• Alex Wallace revisits the 1987 animated film  The Brave Little Toaster  
• Haley Zapal revisits the 1988 horror film Child's Play. 
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1996 horror movie Scream. 
• Judith Tarr shares her appreciation for the character of Salem in the 1996 TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1999 Babylon 5: Crusade episode “Racing the Night” 
• Rachel Sigee revisits the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest.  
• Chris McFeely talks about the Lovecraftian monster known as the Dweller in the Depths from Transformers lore 
• Actor Michael Gray, best known for playing Billy Batson in the 1974 superhero TV-show Shazam!, has died aged 75.
• Actress Leslie Parrish, best known for her roles in Star Trek, Batman, The Manchurian Candidate and The Giant Spider Invasion, has died aged 90.  

 

Tributes to Tom Skerritt:

• Actor Tom Skerritt, best known for his roles in Alien, Picket Fences, Contact, Top Gun, MASH and many others, has died aged 93.
• Benjamin Lee remembers Tom Skerritt. 
• Jen Lennon remembers Tom Skerritt. 

 

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

• David Canfield interviews Travis Knight, director of Masters of the Universe, Wildwood and Bumblebee. 
• Matthew Rudoy and Tatiana Hullender report that Travis Knight has said that he would love to make a Masters of the Universe sequel, but that the decision is out of his hands. 
• Digital Charcuterie muses if we will ever get to see the third season of Masters of the Universe Revelation/Revolution. 
• Watch "Mini He-Man?", the latest episode of the Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia animated series.  
• Watch "Attack on Castle Grayskull, Part 1", the latest episode of the Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia animated series.  

 

Comments on Clayface, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general:

• Jesse Hassenger declares that Clayface brings a Universal Monster sensibility back to the DC Universe 
• Jen Lennon declares that Clayface takes the revenge body to a whole new level 
• Leah Schnelbach declares that Clayface writes checks its body horror can’t quite cash 
• Benjamin Lee calls Clayface very gory but not very good  
• Jarrod Jones declares that Clayface's Gotham City reflects DC's focus on telling good stories in spaces created solely for them.
• Alex Brown shares their favourite scenes from Lanterns. 
• Ben Child muses whether a Zack Snyder DC Universe might not have been such a bad thing, after all

 

 Comments on VisionQuest and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Reboot" and "Malware", the latest two episodes of VisionQuest.  
• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on "Reboot" and "Malware", the latest two episodes of VisionQuest.  
• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "Reboot" and "Malware", the latest two episodes of VisionQuest.
• Matt Webb Mitovich interviews Terry Matalas, showrunner of VisionQuest.   
• Matthew Byrd discusses how the showrunners and actress kept the importance and identity of the character "Butcherbird" in VisionQuest secret. 

 

Comments on Wildwood: 

• Jen Lennon calls Wildwood a technical wonder, with an ambitious and moving story.  
• Frank Scheck calls Wildwood an ambitious stop-motion epic that is both a technical and emotional triumph  
• Monica Castillo declares that Laika tops itself with the stop-motion fantasy epic Wildwood 
• Andrew Osmond declares that Wildwood takes stop-motion animation to a new level. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Wildwood a pleasingly old fashioned stop-motion magic-forest odyssey
• Tara Bennett shares a look behind the scenes of Wildwood. 

 

Comments on Wicker:  

• Monica Castillo calls Wicker an odd affecting fairy tale.  
• Rebecca Aizin interviews Alexander Skarsgård who plays the Wicker Man in Wicker. 
• Lily Ford recounts how Wicker became the horniest, most tender film of the year 
• Rachel Handlen explains what would actually happen, if you tried to have sex with a wicker man.
• Watch a trailer for Wicker. 

 

Comments on season 2 of Cyberpunk Edgerunners:

• Isaiah Colbert declares that season 2 of Cyberpunk Edgerunners can’t quite outrun the long shadow cast by season 1.
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Bartosz Sztybor, showrunner of Cyberpunk Edgerunners. 

  

Comments on Klara and the Sun: 

• Jesse Hassenger declares that Klara and the Sun isn't as cutesy as it seems at first, nor does it ever transcend that cuteness.  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Klara and the Sun isn’t up to any task, least of all friendship 
• Xan Brooks interviews Taika Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder, What We Do In The Shadows, Jojo Rabbit, Klara and the Sun and many others.  

 

Comments on Crystal Lake:  

• Matthew Byrd discusses how Crystal Lake gaves Jason Voorhees a controversial origin story. 
• Jarrod Jones finds that Crystal Lake dulls Friday The 13th’s jagged edges 
• Daniel Kurland interviews Brad Caleb Kane, showrunner of Crystal Lake. 
• Rebecca Nicholson interviews Linda Cardellini, who plays Pamela Voorhees in Crystal Lake and Laura Barton in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
• Glenn Garner interviews Jonathan Tison who plays Jason Voorhees in Crystal Lake. 

 

Comments on The Devils at 55: 

• Isaiah Colbert calls the 1971 horror film The Devils a towering monument of pure filmmaking 
• Leah Schnelbach revisits the 1971 horror movie The Devils. 

 

Comments on the search for the next James Bond: 

• Adrian Horton reports that the screentests for the next James Bond are expected to take place this week. 
• Stuart Heritage explains what the James Bond auditions might look like. 
• Alasdair Stuart talks about the search for the next James Bond as well as Slow Horses.  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2026 Bookseller/Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year have been announced
• The winners of the 2026 Arthur C. Clarke Awards (not the British literary award) have been announced.
• The Self-Published Science Fiction Competition has announced that they will no longer allow AI generated covers.  

 Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Lindsay Merbaum discusses the parallels between writing and practicing witchcraft.  
• Rebekah Faubion discusses how romance influences her horror and crime writing.
• The Guardian reports that the Canadian publisher Boréal have ended their relationship with novelist Thélyson Orélien over his alleged use of AI  
• Haroon Siddique and George Francis Lee report that all books by Irish writer Sally Rooney will be withdrawn from sale in the UK due to Rooney's support for Palestine Action, which is classified as a terror group in the UK 
• Emma Loffhagen reports that Sally Rooney's novels are selling out in UK bookstores prior to being withdrawn from sale in the UK over Rooney's support for Palestine Action, which is classified as a terror group in the UK 

 

Interviews:

• Krystle Matar interviews Alix E. Harrow.
• Emma Loffhagen interviews Marlon James and Nicholas Boggs

 

Reviews:   

• Gayle Surrette reviews Fury in Death by J.D. Robb 
• Beejay Silcox reviews Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger 
• Sasha Bonkowsky reviews Scion by James Islington.  
• Alex Wallace reviews The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by Chris Kempshall 
• Alexis Ong reviews A Compendium of Supernatural Entities Found in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School by Kuzhali Manickavel 
• Paul Weimer reviews Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots  
• Alex Brown reviews The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City by Susanna Clarke 
• Paul Weimer reviews Cello's Gate by Maurice Africh 
• Natalie Zutter reviews Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske.
• Adrian Collins reviews Voice of Command by Richard Swan 
• Z.B. Steele reviews Requiem of Dice by Timothy Wolff 
• Camestros Felapton reviews Pretenders to the Throne of God by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
• Grimdark Magazine reviews An Edge Sharp Enough by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• John Valeri reviews The Ghost and the Dead Librarian by Cleo Coyle  
• Alex Brown reviews The Unhaunting by Micaiah Johnson 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka 
• Melissa A Watkins reviews Where We Go at Night by Ikwo Ntekim 
• Isaiah Colbert reviews I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series by Daniel Dockery.

 

Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1943 horror story “Greenface” by James H. Schmitz 
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1971 literary fantasy novel Grendel by John Gardner, George Pritchard revisits the 1971 YA fantasy novel The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy by Penelope Lively, David Levinson revisits the 1971 science ficiton novel The Coins of Murph by Leo P. Kelley and the 1971 historical fantasy novel The Master of Miracle by Sulamith Ish-Kishor
• Gideon Marcus revisits the November 1971 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1989 science fiction story “Family” by Joyce Carol Oates  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mark R. Kelly shares his experiences at the 2026 World Fantasy Convention in Oakland, California. 
• Isaiah Colbert shares the program for the 2026 ICON Festival of Comic & Narrative Art in Los Angeles, California.

 

Science and technology:

• Justin McCurry reports that Japan has launched a historic mission to collect rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos
• Richard Luscombe reports that mysterious ‘black triangles’ have been spotted over a sensitive site in the western US.
• Olivia Rutigliano reports that the mystery of who was buried in a Roman sarcophagus found on the premises of Westminster Abbey in 1820 has finally been solved. 

 

Gaming: 

• C.T. Phipps reviews the video game A Plague’s Tale: Requiem 
• Nicole Carpenter reports that Electronic Arts is closing down the legendary video game studio BioWare and that hundreds of employees will be laid off.  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Jay Glatfelter reviews the DC Premium Batman: Hush Rooftop Bat-Signal Diorama set from Mattel Creations 
• Cybertron Sanity reviews the Hasbro Transformers Legacy Gears action figure. 
• Cybertron Sanity reviews the Hasbro Transformers Age of the Primes Venin action figure. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares a look at the Exorcist Regan MacNeil 1/6 scale figure by Sideshow

 

Free online fiction: 

• "A True and Faithful Chronicle of the Anglo-Saxon Voyage to the Moon in the Year of Our Lord 1261" by Jordon Jones in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Islands in the Styx" by James Morrow in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Sonatina of Sorcery" by J. VanZile in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "The Date" by Ian McDonald in Reactor.
• "Matters of the Heart" by Eric Schaller in The Dark. 
• "Shambling Groaning Brain-Dead Endocannibal on Exeter Street" by Ferdison Cayetano in Nightmare Magazine.  
• "The Job" by Elizabeth Bear in Clarkesworld. 
• "How Does One Person Kill a Mountain?" by Shi Heiyao, translated by Andy Dudak in Clarkesworld.
• "Ice Like Honey" by Rob Cameron in Lightspeed.  
• "All the Shapes We Have Ever Been" by Kehkashan Khalid in Lightspeed.  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 3 of The Rings of Power. 
• Watch a trailer for Slayground. 
• Watch a trailer for Above the Below.