Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for January 17, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars in general, Masters of the Universe in general, Star Trek in general, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, season 5 of Harley Quinn, season 2 of Silo, Wolf Man, season 2 of Severance, season 2 of Squid Game, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the latest sexual abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman, the British government's new AI copyright legislation, tributes to David Lynch and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books. 
• Reactor lists all the new science fiction books arriving in January 2025 
  
• Reactor lists all the new fantasy books arriving in January 2025 
• Reactor lists all the new romantasy, horror and genre hybrid books arriving in January 2025 
  
• Reactor lists all the young adult SFF books arriving in January 2025  
• Wole Talabi shares his favourite African speculative fiction stories of 2024.
  
• Alex Brown shares their favourite speculative short fiction from December 2024. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for December 2024.
  
• James Davis Nicoll discusses how subgenres wax and wane in popularity. 
• Brandon O'Brien explains what speculative poetry is.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about fighting fate. 
• Sara Sligar shares techno thrillers rooted in the ever-mounting tensions between technology and human nature.
• Layne Fargo shares nine books combining the gothic and the glamorous.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF works about rivers 
  
• Ratika Deshpande shares five beguiling SFF stories about merchants and shopkeepers
  
• Cole Rush lists five fantasy bookstores and libraries he’d love to explore 
  
• Rachel Cordasco takes a look at Perry Rhodan.
• Rachel Cordasco profiles French SFF writer Nathalie Henneberg. 
• Alexandra Alter profiles Nnedi Okorafor.
  
• Mark Roth-Whitworth shares his appreciation for C.J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe.
  
• John Grayshaw wonders what will happen to the remaining orphan stories from The Last Dangerous Visions, which were not included in the much belated publication of the anthology last year. 
• Jacob Simmons reports about the mutual admiration between Ray Bradbury and Steven Spielberg.
  
• Bobby Derie discusses the correspondence between August Derleth and Weird Tales editor Dorothy McIlwraith and how they shaped the Cthulhu Mythos. 
• Kameron Hurley explains why art connects people across space and time.
  
• Daniel Dern shares a round-up of tributes to the late Barry Malzberg.
  

 

Discussion of the latest sexual abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman:

• Lila Shapiro has a detailed exposé about the sexual abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman (warning: graphic descriptions). 
• Dominic Patten reports that J.K. Rowling, herself no stranger to controversy, has compared Neil Gaiman to Harvey Weinstein. 
• Neil Gaiman responds to the allegations against him.
• Lucy Knight reports that Neil Gaiman's current wife (for now) Amanda Palmer has claimed that she is disturbed by the allegations against Gaiman, but refuses to say anything more due to ongoing divorce proceedings. 
• Sophia Stewart traces how Neil Gaiman's publishers have responded to the allegations against him.
  
• The Bookseller notes that Neil Gaiman's publishers have remained silent regarding the allegations against him.
  
• Matthew Boroson finds parallels between Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics and Tanith Lee's Flat Earth series, even though Gaiman never acknowledged Lee as an inspiration. 
  

 

 Comics and Art:

• Michael Whelan recounts how he broke into professional cover illustration in 1975.
• Jim Milliot reports that Diamond Comic Distributors have filed for bankruptcy. 
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon offering an alternate ending to Sleeping Beauty.
  
  

Film and TV:

• Germain Lussier looks ahead at science fiction, fantasy and horror films coming out in 2025.
• Isaiah Colbert calls season 2 of Castlevania: Nocturne bloody brilliant
  
• Gavia Baker Whitelaw talks about the lackluster eroticism of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu
  
• Ann Michelle Harris calls Dead Boy Detectives an entertaining horror comedy which packs a lot of emotion into a short series. 
• Arturo Serrano calls Creature Commandos a raunchy, visceral, uncompromising statement of intention 
• Nathan Rabin notes that Shazam! Fury Of The Gods lacked most of what made the first Shazam! movie so compelling and probably would have flopped, even if star Zachary Levi had not felt the need to utter his controversial political views.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido declares that Hellboy: The Crooked Man does not live up to the previous movies or the original comic.  
• Leslie Felperin calls Werewolves a post-apocalyptic lupine horror film.
• Peter Bradshaw calls the latest adaptation of William Tell an enjoyably daft action epic 
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Mayfair Witches.
  
• Leslie Felperin shares her thoughts on the animated film Panda Bear in Africa  
• Emine Saner interviews Lucy Liu, star of Kill Bill, Charlie's Angels, Elementary and many others. 
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Fuga Yamashiro, director of Dan Da Dan. 
  
• Steve Vertlieb shares his appreciation for the work of Brian De Palma. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1974 historical horror film Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter 
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1995 Babylon 5 episode “And Now for a Word” 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2007 Spanish time travel film Timecrimes. 
• Matthew Jackson shares ten underrated werewolf movies.
  
• Kali Wallace shares a selection of amazing South Korean dramas about monsters, mayhem and murder
  
• Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen recounts how the bestselling Australian picture book Magic Beach by Alison Lester became an animated film.
• Matt Schimkowitz reports that according to director Andy Muschietti, The Flash failed because audience don't care about the character and don't know who he is, in spite of a successful ten season TV series devoted to the same character. 
  
• Actors Austin St, John and Walter Jones explain how they were exploited on the set of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and earned very little money in spite of the show's huge success. 
• Ryan Coleman reports that Disney has been sued for copyright infringement about Moana and its sequel. 
• Amelia Tait traces the sound effect of a meowing cat that has been used in dozens of films.
  
• William Earl reports that the directors of the horror movie It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This plan never to release their movie on DVD or streaming but only theatrically, thus drumming up interest in the film  
• Alex Whitman reports that actor Warwick Davis will receive a BAFTA fellowship. 
• Brooks Barnes reports that Hollywood filmmaking continues in spite of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, since very few films and TV shows are actually shot in Los Angeles these days. 
• Actor Paul Danan, best known for his role in the British soap opera Hollyoaks, has died aged 46.
  
• Cinematagrapher Roger Pratt, who worked on Brazil, Batman, 12 Monkeys, two Harry Potter movies and many others, has died aged 77. 
• Animator Mike Toth who worked on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Bravestarr, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Beauty and the Beast and many others, had died.
  

 

Tributes to David Lynch:

• David Lynch, director of Twin Peaks, Eraserhead, Dune, Lost Highway, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive and many others, has died aged 78.
• Erik Pedersen and Anthony D'Alessandro share an obituary for David Lynch.
  
• Peter Bradshaw remembers David Lynch.
• Pete Hammond shares a tribute to David Lynch. 
• Jim Vorel remembers David Lynch. 
• Cheryl Eddy remembers David Lynch.
  
• Benjamin Lee shares tributes to David Lynch from fellow actors and directors. 
• Kyle MacLaghlan, star of Twin Peaks, Dune and Blue Velvet, remembers David Lynch.
  
• Nicholas Cage, star of Wild at Heart, remembers David Lynch. 
• Naomi Watts, star of Mulholland Drive, remembers David Lynch. 
• Laura Haring, star of Mulholland Drive, remembers David Lynch. 
• Patricia Arquette, star of Lost Highway, remembers David Lynch.
• Lara Flynn Boyle, who played Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks, remembers David Lynch.
• Mädchen Amick, who played Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks, remembers David Lynch.
  
• Mark Frost, co-creator of Twin Peaks, remembers David Lynch. 
• Gary Levine, executive producer of Twin Peaks, remembers David Lynch. 
• Disney CEO Bob Iger remembers David Lynch.
  
• Matt Fidler shares photos from David Lynch's lengthy career. 
• E.C. Flamming ranks every movie David Lynch ever made.
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Project Reylo shares a summary of what we know about the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film as well as some speculation. 
• Joey Paur finds some parallels between the suspected plot of the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and 2012 John Carter movie.
  
• James Eatock notes that voice actress Melendy Britt based the voice of Castaspella in She-Ra: Princess of Power on Catherine Hepburn.
• Allison Troy remembers the obscure She-Ra: Princess of Power villain Colonel Blast and explains his connection to the popular Masters of the Universe character Rio Blast.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars in general:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on “The Real Good Guys”, the season finale of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 
• Rafael Motomayor shares his thoughts on ,“The Real Good Guys”, the season finale of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.  
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on “The Real Good Guys”, the season finale of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.   
• Haley Zapal calls Star Wars: Skeleton Crew a fun romp through the Star Wars universe with kids, pirates, aliens, robots, and a gigantic homage to The Goonies
• Germain Lussier shares all the questions he has after season 1 of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 
  
• Germain Lussier wonders about the future and ultimate fate of the character of Jod Na Nawood in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 
• Dalton Ross interviews Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, showrunners of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
  
• James Whitbrook wonders what we actually know about the Old Republic in the Star Wars universe.
  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Saloni Gajjar discusses how Marvel's TV offerings have evolved over the years. 
• Ben Child discusses rumours that Marvel is planning to recast T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther after Chadwick Boseman's untimely death. 
• Ben Travis interviews Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of several Marvel movies. 
• Watch a trailer for Daredevil: Born Again.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Avery Kaplan shares five reasons people should watch Star Trek: Lower Decks. 
• James Whitbrook shares his favourite moment in the Star Trek Voyager premiere "The Caretaker".
  

 

Comments on Harley Quinn:  

• Jarrod Jones declares that Harley Quinn still warms the heart and grates the nerves 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 5 premiere of Harley Quinn.
  

 

Comments on Silo:

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.

 

Comments on season 2 of Squid Game:

• Sara Merican interviews Wi Ha-jun, who plays Hwang Jun-ho in Squid Game.
• William Hughes reports that Netflix is now claiming that Squid Game season 2 is its third-most-watched season of TV of all time, after the show's first season (and Wednesday), though there is no way to check.
  

 

Comments on Wolf-Man:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Wolf Man a fear-free update of the werewolf myth that lacks bite and believability
• Andy Crump declares that Wolf Man does right by the wolf, but lets down the man
  
• Jacob Oller calls Wolf Man a werewolf tale full of modern anxiety.  
• Sabina Graves calls Wolf Man a taut thriller that cleverly recontextualizes its monster  
• Cheryl Eddy offers an overview of the cinematic history of the Wolf Man.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Severance: 

• Cheryl Eddy shares everything to remember about season 2 of Severance.
  
• Rebecca Nicholson calls season 2 of Severance a gorgeously odd return for this surreal drama, if you can work out what’s happening
• Lucy Mangan calls season 2 of Severance a weird, wild show that is impossibly mesmerising 
  
• Ben Travers calls season 2 of Severance deeper, darker and worth the wait
  
• Kathryn VanArendonk declares that season 2 of Severance was worth the wait.
  
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on season 2 of Severance. 
• Jake Kleinman interviews Dan Erickson, creator of Severance.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Tramell Tillman and Patricia Arquette, two of the stars of Severance.
  

 

Comments on Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: 

• James Whitbrook explains how Aardman Animation made the non-speaking villain Feathers McGraw work in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2024 Philip K. Dick Award have been announced.
• The winners of the Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors short story contest have been announced 
• The winners of the 2024 Nero Book Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 WGA Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2025 PGA Awards have been announced. 
  
• The finalists for the 2025 VES Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2025 Art Directors Guild Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2025 D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced. 
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Mackenzie Reid explains how she went from writing songs to writing novels.
• Sandra Chwialkowska explains how to tell whether your idea works best as a novel or a screenplay. 
• Jessie Garcia shares six tips for pulling off a really good plot twist.
  
• Jason Sanford shares his latest genre grapevine column. 
• Locus reports that Fantasy Magazine will relaunch in June 2025 
• Jim Milliot reports that a new government report cites ongoing concern over pirate sites
  
• Robert Booth reports how several British writers, artists and musicians have criticised the British government's plan to allow AI companies to use copyrighted works as training data for their systems without compensating the artists. 
• Ed Newton-Rex declares that the British government's AI plan could be good for the British people – except the creatives it will throw under the bus 
  
• Nathalie op de Beeck and Claire Kirch recount how the Los Angeles wildfires have affected bookstore and publishers in Los Angeles.
  

 

Interviews:

• Matthew Jackson interviews Grady Hendrix.
  
• The Guardian interviews Stuart Turton.
• The Hugo, Girl! podcast interviews Ann Michelle Harris. 
• Locus interviews Tobi Ogundiran.
  

 

Reviews:

• Ian Mond reviews Interstellar MegaChef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan 
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Titanchild by Jen Williams 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  
• Paul di Filippo reviews Mechanize My Hands to War by Erin K. Wagner
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews We Lived on the Horizon by Erika Swyler 
• Clara Cohen reviews Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan 
  
• Bill Capossere reviews An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka  
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman 
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Scholar and the Last Fairy Door by H.G. Parry 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Bloodwoven by G.J. Terral 
• Adrian Collins reviews Tomorrow, The Killing by Daniel Polansky
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Vilest Things by Chloe Gong
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Lights! Camera! Mayhem! by Jodi Taylor
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Free as a Bird by Hailey Edwards
  
• Alex Brown reviews Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Stones of Landane by Catherine Cavendish
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Fourth Island by Sarah Tolmie
  
• Marion Deeds reviews The Spite House by Johnny Compton 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber
  
• Fiona Denton reviews The Crimson Road by A.G. Slatter
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Miserere by T. Frohock 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix. 
  
• Rob Bedford reviews Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Queen by Nick Cutter 
• Ian Mond reviews The Way by Cary Groner
  
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Symbiote by Michael Nayak
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews A Conventional Boy by Charles Stross 
• Arley Sorg reviews Bestiary of Blood: Modern Fables and Dark Tales, edited by Jamal Hodge
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Sam Reader revisits the 1941 horror story “Smoke Ghost” by Fritz Leiber
  
• Dave Hook revisits the 1943 anthology The Pocket Book of Science-Fiction, edited by Donald A. Wollheim.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1969 science fiction novella “The Organleggers” by Larry Niven
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1969 science fiction crime anthology Crime Prevention in the 30th Century, edited by Hans Stefan Santesson, and the 1970 science fiction thriller Drug of Choice by John Lange a.k.a. Michael Crichton.
  
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the February 1970 issue of Fantastic.  
• David Levinson revisits the February 1970 issue of Venture. 
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the February 1970 issue of Vision of Tomorrow and the 1970 anthology New Writings in SF-16, edited by John Carnell.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1972 anthology Again, Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1985 Conan sword and sorcery novel Conan the Valorous by John Maddox Roberts 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1987 horror collection Dark Feasts by Ramsey Campbell
  
• Bogi Takács revisits the 1998 gay horror novella The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate, translated by David Bowles
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Leadie Flowers reports about Erasmuscon, the 2024 Eurocon in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
  
• Cora Buhlert shares her adventures at the Church of Eternia Masters of the Universe holiday event in Hanau, Hesse, Germany.
  
• Teresa Peschel reports about a visit to Vortex Books and Comics in Columbia, Pennsylvania.
  
• Manny Moreno reports that the building and archives of the Theosophical Society in Altadena, California, including a collection of paintings, have been completely destroyed by wildfires.
• Sam Lubbell reports about the many historically and architecturally important buildings destroyed by the Los Angeles wildfires, including the former homes of western writer Zane Grey, western star Will Rogers and map tyconn Rand McNally. 
  

 

Science and technology:

• Danny Fullbrook shares new photos of Mercury captured by ESA's BepiColombo spaceprobe.
• Kenneth Chang reports that the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will finally lift off this week. 
• Eric Berger reports that the New Glenn rocket has successfully reached orbit. 
• George Wright reposts that the latest test of SpaceX's Starship rocket has failed and the rocket exploded after launch.
  
• Margharita Bassi reports that NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Deep Space Mission Control in Pasadena, California, had to be evacuated due to the Los Angeles wildfires. 
• Zachary Small reports that the World Monuments Fund have put the Moon on their list of at-risk site due to the potential dangers of unregulated space tourism and billionaires treating space travel as their private toy.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Keith Stuart calls the video game Grunn part gardening sim, part survival horror thriller 
• Simon Parkin calls the video game Ballionaire an addictive, pinball-inspired strategy game
  
• Keith Stuart celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Resident Evil 4.
• Justin Carter also celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Resident Evil 4.
• C.T. Phipps revisits the 2015 video game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 
  
• Keza MacDonald explains that replaying video games from her past with her children has been a surreal and transformative experience.  
• James Whitbrook interviews Wes Schneider, principle game designer for Dungeons & Dragons.
  
• Stewart A. Shearer shares a Little D&D adventure entitled "The Forst Giant's Storm".
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Pixel Dan reviews several recent Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse New Eternia action figures.
• For Eternia share their ten favourite Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse action figures of 2024.
• Scott Neitlich shares his ten favourite Hasbro Marvel Legends figures of 2024. 
• Sir Dork shares his favourite action figures of 2024. 
• Germain Lussier takes a look at the Batman Forever action figures by Spin Masters
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the Cullen House Lego set from Twilight.
  
• Sabina Graves shares a look at some Nightmare Before Christmas themed merchandise. 
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Iron Bells of Xylinthia" by Jeffery Scott Sims in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "Wolf Moon, Antler Moon" by A.C. Wise in Reactor.
• "Kaiju Agonistes" by Scott Lynch in Uncanny Magazine  
• "The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe" by Tia Tashiro in Clarkesworld.
• "Bone and Marrow, Woven into Song" by Neon Yang in Lightspeed.  
• "The Exquisite Pull of Relentless Desire" by Will McMahon in Lightspeed.
  
• "One by One" by Lindz McLeod in Apex Magazine.
  
• "Lost You Again" by Ian Rogers in The Dark.
  
• "Prévoyance" by Tariro Ndoro in Omenana. 
• "They Bought a House" by Osahon Ize-Iyamu in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Sole Survivor" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Castlevania Nocturne.
• Watch a trailer for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. 
• Watch a trailer for Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Woman in the Yard.
  
• Watch a trailer for Presence. 
• Watch a trailer for The Monkey. 
• Watch a trailer for Until Dawn.