Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 14, 2025

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2024 Nevula Award nominations, Andor and Star Wars in general, Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, Masters of the Universe in general, season 3 of The Wheel of Time, season 2 of Severance, season 3 of Yellowjackets, season 3 of Invincible, Mickey-17, The Electric State, In the Lost Lands, Sisters Midnight, the live action Snow White, the future of James Bond and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares the best recent science fiction and fantasy books. 
• Lacy Baugher Milas shares the best new fantasy books coming out in March 2025. 
• John Wiswell talks about how fiction is in conversation with itself and how trends become genres.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction works that undermine their own thesis.
  
• Catriona Silvey shares five time travel romances about non-linear love  
  
• Alex Brown shares five underrated SFF books about bad-ass women. 
• Lorna Wallace shares six bone-chilling SFF stories set in the Arctic or Antarctic
  
• Cynthia Pelayo shares five novels about supernatural serial killers.  
• Molly Templeton talks about SFF stories that play with form.
  
• Brandon O'Brien explains why pop culture references in poetry are speculative. 
  
• Adrian Collins recommends music to go with several SFF books. 
• Terry Brooks has announced that he is going into semi-retirement and will hand the Shannara epic fantasy series over to Delilah S. Dawson.
  
• Michael Paulson reports that several theaters and other arts organisation have sued the US National Endowment of the Arts over a new executive order by Donald Trump requesting groups and projects applying for grants not to promote "gender ideology".

 

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #18 by Jim Zub and Danica Brine 
• James Whitbrook reviews Star Wars: Legacy of Vader by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and Nolan Woodard
  
• For Eternia interviews Christine Vergara, daughter of the late Disney and Filmation animator Mike Toth. 
• IX Gallery shares several pieces of art by the late SFF artist Stephen Hickman. 
• Vanessa Thorpe reports that comics and manga, including those aimed at children, are booming in the UK.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Tobias Carroll calls the Iranian movie Invasion the post-apocalyptic time-loop vampire movie you didn’t know you needed 
• Radheyan Simonpillai calls O’Dessa a clumsy science fiction musical 
• Jim Vorel calls The Rule of Jenny Pen a grotesquely gripping battle of wills 
• Cheryl Eddy praises the performance of Kelly Marie Tran in the horror film Control Freak. 
• Brianna Zigler calls Opus a scattered cult horror film.
  
• Phil Hoad calls Don’t Turn Out the Lights a cliched horror film. 
• Jim Vorel calls The Parenting a weak horror comedy 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Harley Quinn.
  
• Jesse Hassenger calls Plankton: The Movie a Spongebob spin-off movie that's for fans only 
• Daniel Fienberg calls the documentary Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror an affectionate, personal look at the cult movie phenomenon
  
• Adrian Horton calls The Age of Disclosure a provocative new documentary that argues for the existence of extraterrestrials
  
• Guy Lodge shares his favourite haunted house movies. 
• Connor Dougherty discusses how Silo and Paradise depict housing after the apocalypse.
  
• Constance Fay discusses how Farscape handles princesses. 
• Avery Kaplan shares eight Star Trek episodes where time is out of joint,
  
• James Whitbrook talks about the war that forms the background of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise 
• Xan Brooks interviews Gints Zilbalodis, director of Flow. 
• Sabina Graves interviews Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, composers for Moana 2, and Awhimai Fraser, who voices the titular character.
  
• Dan Larson revisits the 1987 science fiction western cartoon series BraveStarr and the failure of both cartoon and toyline.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits season 2 of Babylon 5, which aired in 1994/95. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1997 science fiction movie The Fifth Element  
• Holly Kybett Smith revisits the 2012 medical horror film Antiviral.
• Germain Lussier revisits the 2019 fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2019 supervillain movie Joker. 
• Brian Welk reports that Jon Bolerjack, who worked as an assistant to Stan Lee during the comic legend's last few years, is planning to release a documentary about the elder abuse allegedly suffered by Lee.
  
• Animation Magazine reports that Disney Animation production management workers have ratified their first union contract 
• Danya Issawi reports about a controversy surrounding the redesign of Shrek and Fiona's faces for Shrek 5.
  
• Victor Tangerman reports that Netflix has used AI to "upscale" the 1980s sitcom A Different World with terrible results.
  
• Winston Cho and Alex Weprin report that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are rapidly disappearing in Hollywood due to the Trump government cracking down on such initiatives and wonders whether they were ever more than windowdressing in the first place.
• Catherine Shoard reports that actress Ayo Edebiri was inundated with death threats and racist abuse after Elon Musk retweeted an unfounded rumour that she would be cast as the lead in a proposed Pirates of the Caribbean reboot. 
• Dani Aguiano explains how and when Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa likely died.
  
• Gene Winfield, who designed custom cars and other vehicles for Blade Runner, Star Trek, Robo-Cop, Get Smart, Batman, The Man from UNCLE and many others, has died aged 97.
  
• Actor Simon Fisher-Becker, best known for his roles in Doctor Who and the Harry Potter movies, has died aged 63.
  

 

Comments on Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Justin Carter shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  
• Joshua M. Patton shares his thoughts on “The Hollow of His Hand”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  
  
• Joshua M. Patton discusses the fates of Foggy Nelson and Karen Page in the Daredevil: Born Again premiere. 
• Joshua M. Patton talks about an Easter Egg which could hint at a character who died in Daredevil: Born Again getting better.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1986 Daredevil: Born Again comic story arc by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. 
• Anthony McGlynn reports that in spite of lackluster reviews, Captain America: Brave New World has outgrossed Captain America: The First Avenger at the box office.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether Groot might be getting a solo movie.

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Matthew Biggin shares some comments by Camila Mendes about being cast as Teela in the upcoming live action Masters of the Universe movie. 
• Mega Jay Retro interviews Joshua Sky, writer of the Masters of the Universe Origins mini-comics.
  
• James Eatock notes that Whiplash was serving the Demon King Kraal rather than Skeletor in an episode of the Filmation He-Man cartoon.

 

Comments on season 3 of Andor and Star Wars in general: 

• Joshua M. Patton declares that Andor is Star Wars for adults and there is a place for that. 
• Maggie Lovitt interviews Tony Gilroy, showrunner of Andor. 
• James Whitbrook interviews Tony Gilroy.
• Sabina Graves interviews Tony Gilroy.
  
• James Whitbrook explains how the Rebel Alliance was formed in the Star Wars‘ Expanded Universe
  
• Germain Lussier shares some background on the Star Wars Underworld TV show that was never produced.
• Zack Sharf shares more information about the unproduced Star Wars Underworld TV series.
  

 

Comments on season 3 of The Wheel of Time: 

• Lacy Baugher Milas calls season 3 of  The Wheel of Time an impressive if occasionally hollow fantasy spectacle
• Christina Izzo declares that The Wheel Of Time feels stuck in season 3. 
• Cheryl Eddy declares that season 3 of The Wheel of Time has magic but feels very much like a midway point 
• Jamie Parker declares that season 3 of The Wheel of Time brings fans further from the books, but maks for a better show
• Melody McCune calls season 3 of The Wheel of Time ambitious in scope and tone, 
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3 of season 3 of The Wheel of Time. 
  
• Sylas K. Barrett shares his thoughts on episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3 of season 3 of The Wheel of Time.
  
• Sylas K. Barrett recounts where the various characters were at the end of season 2 of The Wheel of Time.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Sophie Okenedo who plays Suian Sanche in The Wheel of Time.
• Melody McCune interviews Daniel Henney and Sophie Okenedo, who play Lan Mandragoran  and Siuan Sanche in The Wheel of Time.
  
• Melody McCune interviews Zoe Robins who plays Nynaeve al’Meara in The Wheel of Time. 
• Melody McCune shares her appreciation for the character of Egwene al’Vere in The Wheel of Time.

 

Comments on Mickey-17: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Mickey-17 offers catharsis in uncertain times 
• Jonathan Cowie shares his thoughts on Mickey-17
  

 

Comments on The Electric State:

• David Ehrlich calls The Electric State a joyless mockbuster that is only compelling as an argument for letting the movies die
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Electric State a soulless, muddled and derivative science fiction film. 
• David Rooney calls The Electric State a busy and boring science fiction film. 
• Clarisse Loughrey calls The Electric State completely incoherent. 
• Jim Vorel calls The Electric State the most banal way you can spend $320 million US-dollars
  
• Ellise Shafer interviews Millie Bobby Brown, star of The Electric State and Stranger Things.
  
• Justin Carter shares early, mostly negative reactions to The Electric State.

 

Comments on In The Lost Lands:

• Haley Zapal declares that In the Lost Lands feels like a dystopian video game that's all style and no substance  
• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls In the Lost Lands a typical Paul W.S. Anderson fantasy action film.  
• Jesse Hassenger discusses how the relationship between director Paul W. Anderson and actress Milla Jovovich shaped the Resident Evil movies and In the Lost Lands.

 

Comments on season 3 of Invincible: 

• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the season 3 finale of Invincible. 
• Isaiah Colbert shares four things he liked, and two he didn’t, about season 3 of Invincible. 
• Renaldo Matadeen explains the ending of season 3 of Invincible.
  

 

Comments on The Day the Earth Blew Up: 

• Jacob Oller declares that The Day The Earth Blew Up isn't as apocalyptic a Looney Tunes movie as it sounds 
• Sabina Graves interviews Eric Bauza and Candi Milo, who voice Porky and Petunia Pig in The Day the Earth Blew Up.
• Sabina Graves wonders whether The Day the Earth Blew Up could change the fate of Coyote vs. Acme.
• Tara Bennett hopes that The Day the Earth Blew Up will revive the fortunes of the Looney Tunes characters after Warner Bros all but abandoned the characters.
  

 

Comments on Sister Midnight: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Sister Midnight an Indian horror comedy which finds the terror in arranged marriage 
• Nadia Khomani interviews Karan Kandhari, director of Sister Midnight. 
  

 

Comments on season 3 of Yellowjackets:

• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 

 

Comments on season 2 of Severance: 

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
• Molly Templeton shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
  
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Severance. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the  latest episode of Severance.  
• Carly Lane interviews Patricia Arquette who plays Harmony Cobel in Severance.

 

Comments on the live action Snow White:

•  Sabina Graves wonders why Disney is burying the live action Snow White. 
• James Hibberd and Pamela McClintock report that Disney basically just wants to get the live action Snow White movie over with after a slew of controversies.
  

 

The future of James Bond:

• Alex Weprin and Borys Kit report that the sale of the James Bond rights to Amazon are part of a scramble for media companies to snap up valuable franchises and intellectual property.
• Robyn Vinter shares former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan's view on the future of 007.

 

 Awards:

• The finalist for the 2024 Nebula Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2025 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the Speculative Literature Foundation’s 2025 Illustration of the Year has been announced. 
• The shortlists for the 2025 Carnegie Medals have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2025 BAFTA Games Awards have been announced.  
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2024 Nebula finalists.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Kate Maruyama talks about writing across genres in a shelf-specific world
  
• Sanjena Sathian talks about breaking free of gendered literary expectations.
• Angela Liu talks about reader-to-character interactions and mixed reality storytelling 
  
• Stephen Holgate explains how his career as a diplomat informs his writing.
  
• Victoria Strauss asks if writers are uniquely vulnerable to scams.
  
• Kirk McElhearn explains how to handle online book reviews without losing your mind  
• Locus shares information of the new owners of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 
• Dan Milmo reports that Open AI has revealed a new version of ChatGPT that is allegedly good at creative writing.
  
• Stephanie Converry reports about silent book clubs, which are gaining popularity in Australia. 
• Jason Mojica explains how comic book shops manage to survive and even thrive in a changing retail world.
• The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program has had its funding cut by the US Department of Education.
• Malinda Lo responds to the proposal to ban her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club in South Carolina.
  
• Claire Kirch and Nathalie op de Beeck report that the American Booksellers Association is under fire for not offering support to bookstore which are being harassed for selling books about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and books by Palestinian writers.
  
• The Mysterious Galaxy SFF bookstore in San Diego, California, reports that their shop was flooded.

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Amal El-Mohtar. 
• Kelly Link and Silvia Park interview each other.
  
• Alex Clark interviews Kazuo Ishiguro.
• Sam Jones interviews Virginia Feito. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Yudhanjaya Wijeratne  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Pippa Goldschmidt
  

 

Reviews:

• Paul Di Filippo reviews Galaxy Raiders: Abyss by Ian Douglas
• Camestros Felapton reviews Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
  
• Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere review The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Idolfire by Grace Curtis
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Whispers of the Storm by Z. B. Steele 
• Kat Hooper reviews Into the West by Mercedes Lackey
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey
• Alasdair Stuart reviews One for All by Lillie Lainoff  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Zodiac Rising by Katie Zhao
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews We Lived on the Horizon by Erika Swyler 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Watermark by Sam Mills 
• Alex Brown reviews The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar.
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Legacy of Arniston House by T.L. Huchu
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Garden by Nick Newman 
  
• Adrian Collins reviews The Red Labyrinth by Ben Peek
• Runalong the Shelves reviews All The Hearts You Eat by Hailey Piper
• Lucy Powell reviews Lucy Undying by Kiersten White 
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits The Final Gate by Wesley Southard and Lucas Mangum  
• Melissa A. Watkins reviews The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses
  
• Marcel Theroux reviews Twist by Colum McCann 
• Abergale Shep reviews Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures, edited by Francesco Verso
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Year’s Best Science Fiction on Earth 2, edited by Allan Kaster
• Stuart Jeffries reviews A Brief History of the End of the F*cking World by Tom Phillips 
• Paul Weimer reviewsw Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll.
   
  

 Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1952 science fiction story“The Snowball Effect” by Katherine MacLean 
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1953 science fiction story “A Bad Day for Sales” by Fritz Leiber
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1959 gothic novel Annalisa by Forbes Rydell  
• George Pritchard revisits the 1960 fantasy novel The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. 
• Alex Wallace revisits the 1965 near future dystopian thriller Night of Camp David by Fletcher Knebel  
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1967 Starwolf space opera novel The Weapon From Beyond by Edmond Hamilton
• Victoria Silverwood revisits the April 1970 issue of Fantastic.
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1970 issue of Galaxy. 
• Kris Vyas Myall revisits the 1970 science fiction anthology Orbit 6, edited by Damon Knight.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1976 science fiction anthologies Galactic Empires Volume One and Volume Two, edited by Brian W. Aldiss.
• Sam Reader revisits the 1977 horror story “Night-Side” by Joyce Carol Oates 
  
• Mark Yon revisits the 1980 Book of the New Sun science fantasy novel The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. 
• Julia Steiner revisits the 1983 horror series Blackwater by Michael McDowell.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Issue 3 of Roses & Wildflowers is looking for funding.
• Comic writer Peter David needs help with medical expenses.

 

Con and event reports:

• Chris M. Barkley reports about an author event at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, Ohio, featuring Amal El-Mohtar. 
  
• Arendse Lund reports about the Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition at the British Library in London, UK. 
• The line-up for the 2025 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival in New York City has been announced.
  
• Germain Lussier talks about the difficulties of getting tickets for the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan.
• Lucy Knight lists several guests announced for the 2025 Hay literary festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
  
• Steve Ahlquist reports about an anti book-ban rally in Providence, Rhode Island, in support of the proposed Rhode Island Freedom to Read act, which will protect libraries, bookstores and publishers from book banning attempts.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Jonathan O'Callaghan reports that 128 Saturn moons have been discovered, bringing its total number of moon to 274.
  
• Marcia Dunn reports that the private Athena Moon Lander may have fallen over shortly after landing.
• The Guardian reports that SpaceX’s latest Starship spacecraft has exploded minutes after lifting off from Texas 
  
• Passant Rabie reports that the asteroid mining startup AstroForge has lost its spacecraft Odin somewhere beyond the Moon
• Patrick Pester reports that Varda Space Industries' Winnebago capsule has become the first private spacecraft to successfully touch down in Australia.
  
• Michelle Starr reports that the Curiosity Mars rover has cracked open a rock and discovered brimstone inside. 
• Kenneth Chang reports that NASA has eliminated the position of chief scientist and other jobs at its headquarters due to the budget cuts of the Trump government.
  
• Margharita Bassi reports that the oldest known meteorite impact crater has been discovered in Western Australia.
• Alice Henderson talks about a haunted farmhouse in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
• Judith Tarr profiles a cryptid called Mokele-Mbembe, which is reported to live in the Congo river basin.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Keith Stuart reviews the video game Atomfall and traces its connection to classic British science fiction.
• Paul Weimer reviews the video game Civilization VII   
• Elliot Gardner wonders whether AI generated video games are on the horizon.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Geek Dad Life reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins He-Ro action figure. 
• For Eternia reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Leech action figure.
• Still a Big Kid reviews the Jada Toys Ultra Street Fighter 2 Cammy action figure.
• James Whitbrook shares a look at a new Lego Mario Kart set.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that a replica of Mara Jade's lightsaber is being sold at various Disney Parks. 
• James Whitbrook reports that CherryTree is offering a replica of the coffee mugs seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
• Sabina Graves shares a look at some Universal Monster merchandise that will be sold at the Universal Studios theme parks.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Shade, Skin, Heart" by Kevin Beckett in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "The Shape of Stones" by Hildur Knútsdóttir in Reactor.
• "Those Who Seek to Embrace the Sun" by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe in Lightspeed.   
• "Memories of Temperance" by Anya Ow in Lightspeed.  
• "10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days" by Samantha Mills in Uncanny Magazine
  
• "Someone to Feed You" by Abigail Kemske in Apex Magazine.
  
• "Mindtrips" by Tlotlo Tsamaase in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Get Away" by Ray Cluley in The Dark.
• "Sharp House" by Samir Sirk Morató in Nightmare Magazine  
• "Barbara" by Ashley Erwin in Shotgun Honey.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Last of Us.
• Watch a trailer for Devil May Cry. 
• Watch a trailer for season 7 of Black Mirror.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Poker Face.  
• Watch a trailer for The Life of Chuck. 
• Watch a trailer for All You Need is Kill.
  
• Watch a trailer for the live action Lilo and Stitch.
  
• Watch a clip from the season 3 premiere of Dark Winds featuring George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford.