It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with Masters of the Universe in general, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Avatar: Fire and Ash, the series finale of Stranger Things, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general, All You Need Is Kill, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the exceedingly odd advertising campaign for Avengers: Doomsday, the battle for Warner Bros and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Lisa Tuttle shares a round of her favourite recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books.
- Christina Orlando shares thirty SFF books to look forward to in 2026
- Reactor shares all the new SFF crossover books arriving in January 2026
- Reactor shares all the new young adult SFF crossover books arriving in January 2026
- Tobias Carroll shares can’t miss indie press speculative fiction for January and February 2026
- Andrew Liptak shares his favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2025
- Alex Brown shares five underrated speculative anthologies
- Jo Walton shares her reading list for November 2025.
- Joanna Kavenna takes a look at SFF books which have predicted current trends.
- James Davis Nicoll side-eyes science fiction’s love of empires
- Charlie Jane Anders discovers a mini-trend of books about characters sharing memories with each other.
- Matthew Byrd discusses the evolution of the cryosleep trope from King Arthur to corpsicles.
- Lish McBride shares whimsical wintery SFF reads to enjoy.
- Dimitra Fimi explains how J.R.R. Tolkien's essay "On Fairy-stories" shaped the thinking of later fantasy writers
- Keith Roysdon shares his appreciation for the work of Richard Matheson.
- Adam Kirsch explains that being a reader means cultivating a relationship with the world that, by most standards, can seem pointless and counterproductive.
- Nathan Masters takes a look at the many science fiction writers, collection and sites in Los Angeles, California.
Comics and Art:
- Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #25 by Jim Zub and Alex Horley
- Frank M. Young talks about the decline and fall of newspaper comics
- The Hiveworks Guild shares a statement on problems with the webcomic publisher Hiveworks Comics
- Justin Carter reports that Ultimate Endgame #1 has potentially become Marvel’s top-selling comic in years due to Robert Downey Jr. contributing a cover.
- Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about performative reading
- Cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has died aged 68.
- Illustrator and cartoonish Dan Moynihan died aged 52.
Film and TV:
- io9 share their thirty most anticipated SFF films of 2026
- Isaiah Colbert declares that the animated series Primal is back and as gnarly as ever
- Keith R.A. DeCandido declares that in The Fantastic Four: First Steps superheroes may save the world, but can't defeat terminal blandness.
- Jacob Oller calls A Useful Ghost a hilarious and affecting ghost storyfrom Thailand.
- Peter Bradshaw calls Bulk a quirky science fiction film that brings small-budget charm to big questions
- Leah Thomas declares that the anime Frieren offers timeless life lessons from a tired mage
- Arturo Serrano declares that the new Anaconda feels like something captured by its titular monster: a regurgitated, half-digested lump that is hard to ignore but much harder to look at.
- Jacob Oller calls Greenland 2: Migration an arbitrary apocalypse
- Indrapramit Das talks about Pluribus, generative AI and Imperialism.
- William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Fallout.
- C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on It: Welcome to Derry.
- Ellen E. Jones and Mark Kermode take a look at the many Stephen King film adaptations.
- Cheryl Eddy looks ahead at horror movies coming out in 2026.
- Amber Dubin revisits the 1971 Night Gallery episodes "The Dead Man" and "The Housekeeper"
- Jessica Holmes revisits the 1971 Timeslip serial “The Year Of The Burn Up”,
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1997 Babylon 5 episode “The Face of the Enemy”
- Kali Wallace revisits the 2002 science fiction film Minority Report.
- Paul Hirons revisits the 2006 time travel cop show Life on Mars.
- Keith Roysdon shares a brief, disturbing history of the Universal monsters
- Germain Lussier interviews Matthew Wiatt, director of the documentary Saber.
- Justin Carter muses five years onwards whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s excursion into worked.
- Stuart Heritage is frustrated that disaster movies keep destroying the same landmarks over and over again.
- Germain Lussier reports that Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as the head of Lucasfilm and passing the reins to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan.
- Hannah Postlethwait reports that several Philip K. Dick adaptations are on the way.
- Actor T.K. Carter, best known for his appearances in The Thing, The Corner, Ski Patrol and Punky Brewster, has died age 69.
- Composer Guy Moon, who provided the music for many animated TV-series, has died aged 63.
Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:
- Colt Crane shares a profiles of the Masters of the Universe character Dekker.
- Cora Buhlert reviews He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Sword of Flaws No. 2 by Tim Seeley and Freddie Williams II
- Robert Labandeira discusses the possible fate of the 2018 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power cartoon, once it is pulled from Netflix at the end of the month.
- James Eatock recounts how an edit made for the UK airing of the He-Man episode "A Beastly Sideshow" actually made the episode better.
Comments on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general:
- Ryan Britt declares that Starfleet Academy really isn't your parents' Star Trek
- Vanessa Armstrong notes that Starfleet Academy is the horniest Star Trek show in years
- Grame Virtue declares that Starfleet Academy is a hormone-fuelled tale of the training college for space voyagers that is like Grange Hill, with phasers – and it has a female lead unlike any captain before
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Kids These Days", the first episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Kids These Days" and "Beta Test", the first two episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
- James Whitbrook explains the state of the Star Trek universe at the time of Starfleet Academy
- Vanessa Armstrong interviews Holly Hunter who play Chancellor Nahla in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
- Jimmy Kimmel interviews Tig Notaro who plays Jet Reno in Star Trek: Discovery and Starfleet Academy.
- Ed Gross revisits a proposed 1989 movie that would have shown Kirk, Spock and McCoy at Starfleet Academy
Comments on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms:
Comments on the series finale of Stranger Things (spoilers):
- Haley Zapal shares her thoughts on the series finale of Stranger Things.
- James Whitbrook finds some unexpected parallels between the series finale of Stranger Things and the video game Mass Effect 3.
- Kate Arthur interviews Matt and Ross Duffer, creators of Stranger Things.
- Tony Maglio interviews Martina Radwan, director of the documentary One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5
- Cheryl Eddy shares elevan things she learned from the Stranger Things finale documentary
- Samantha Nelson reports that the Dungeons & Dragons terrain seen in the final episode of Stranger Things comes from the real world manufacturer Dwarven Forge.
Comments on All You Need Is Kill:
- Elijah Gonzales declares that the anime All You Need Is Kill avoids déjà vu and that colourful visuals and an introspective outlook ensure this adaptation isn't a brazen repeat of Edge of Tomorrow.
- Isaiah Colbert calls All You Need Is Kill a trippy, heart‑flecked time loop that only partially lands
- Isaiah Colbert interviews Kenichiro Akimoto,director of All You Need Is Kill.
Comments on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple:
- Peter Bradshaw calls 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple the best chapter yet of zombie horror series
- Jesse Hassenger declares that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple doesn't zig-zag as stylishly as its predecessor, but is still more than worthwhile.
- Germain Lussier calls 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple smaller, gorier and more fun than its predecessor
Comments on Avatar: Fire and Ash:
- Sam Adams is annoyed that people are still claiming that the Avatar movies leave no cultural impact, even though they are massively successful.
- Sam Adams also declares that the Avatar films are animated movies.
- Justin Carter reports that Avatar: Fire and Ash continues to sit at the top of the US box office.
Comments on the exceedingly odd advertising campaign for Avengers: Doomsday:
- Ben Child shares his frustration with the various teaser trailers for Avengers Doomsday which don't actually tell anything about the movie at all.
- Germain Lussier is also exceedingly baffled by the odd advertising campaign for Avengers Doomsday.
- Justin Carter attempts to explain why Avengers Doomsday is being marketed the way it is.
- Watch yet another teaser for Avengers: Doomsday.
Comments on the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount for Warner Bros:
- Jill Goldsmith reports that Paramount has filed a lawsuit to stop the merger of Netflix and Warner Bros.
- Joanna Partridge reports that Netflix has now switched to a multi-billion US-dollar all cash offer to purchase Warner Bros and pre-empt Paramount
- Alex Weprin predicts that the battle for Warner Bros might get even uglier.
Awards:
- The finalists for the 2026 Philip K. Dick Award have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 Splatterpunk Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Golden Globes have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 DGA Awards have been aannounced.
- The finalists for the 2026 ASC Awards have been aannounced.
- The finalists for the 2026 VES Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 NAACP Image Awards have been announced,
- The finalists for the 2026 2026 D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2026 Ark Prize has been announced
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- David Arndt shares five steps to a better writing process
- Ed Simon tallks about writers and their day jobs
- Kemi Cole shares a research guide for responsible SFF worldbuilding
- Paul Anthony Jones explains the most viral slang terms of 2025.
- Surina Venkat reports that publishers are taking a step back from LGBTQ books following Donald Trump's return to office.
- Mike Glyer reports that Must Reads Magazines, publishers of Analog, Asimov's and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, have changed their standard contract in response to cricitism by SFWA
- Michael Capobianco urgens writers who are part of the class action lawsuit against Anthropic AI to check whether their rights have reverted.
- Mike Glyer reports that Sheila Williams, editor of Asimov's Science Fiction, has been hospitalised following a brain aneurysm and that Emily Hockaday will serve as interim editor.
- Literary agent Patrick Delahunt has died aged 72.
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Adrian Collins reviews Wolfskin by Jeremy Szal
- Jonathan Cowie reviews Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds
- James Davis Nicoll reviews System Collapse by Martha Wells
- Marlene Harris reviews Intergalactic Waste Management LLC by Ash Bishop
- Paul Di Filippo reviews God’s Junk Drawer by Peter Clines
- Ainy Cormac reviews Immortal Aberration by Calum Lott
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Essence by Dave Hutchinson
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Private Rites by Julia Armfield
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Saint of Steel Series by T. Kingfisher
- Rob Bedford reviews Twelve Months by Jim Butcher.
- Marlene Harris reviews The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz
- Jenny Hamilton reviews An Unlikely Coven by A.M. Kvita
- Marlene Harris reviews Sorcerous Plates by Tao Wong
- Doreen Sheridan reviews The Book Of Autumn by Molly O’Sullivan
- Russell Letson reviews Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Silencing of the North by G. R. Matthews
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Echo of Crows by Phil Rickman
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Asunder by Kerstin Hall
- Bill Capossere reviews The Blackfire Blade by James Logan
- Bill Capossere reviews The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
- Mark Yon reviews The Poet Empress by Shen Tao.
- Ian Mond reviews Playing Wolf by Zuzana Říhová, translated by Alex Zucker.
- Colleen Mondor reviews The Moss by Lisa Lueddecke
- Blue Book Balloon reviews House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
- Alexis Ong reviews Letters From an Imaginary Country by Theodora Goss.
- Joanne Anderton reviews Tailored Realities by Brandon Sanderson
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Acquired Taste by Clay McLeod Chapman
- Arley Sorg reviews the Beyond Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms, edited by Darcie Little Badger, Stacie Shannon Denetsosie and Kinsale Drake,
- Marlene Harris reviews We Will Rise Again, edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz and Malka Older
Classics reviews:
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1950 science fiction fix-up novel The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1963 dark fantasy collection Who Fears the Devil? by Manly Wade Wellman
- N.S. Ford revisits the 1968 Pern science fantasy novel Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
- Joachim Boaz and Rachel S. Cordasco revisit the 1970 dystopian short story "Slum" by Herbert W. Franke.
- Victoria Silverwolf revisits the February 1971 issue of Fantastic.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1988 fantasy anthology Unknown Worlds: Tales from Beyond, edited by Stanley Schmidt
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1995 science fiction mystery The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa, translated by Jesse Kirkwood.
Con and event reports:
- Ari Anderson reports about the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington.
- Jonathan Cowie wonders whether Worldcon has shot itself in the foot.
- Alexandra Witze reports that international scientists are increasingly avoiding conferences in the US due to Donald Trump's immigration policies.
- Guy D'Astolfo reports that the planned Museum of Science Fiction & Fantasy Arts in Warren, Ohio, has received a grant of 2.3 million US-dollar.
- Christian Thorsberg reports about “Paws on Parchment”, an exhibition about the depiction (and occasional paw prints) of cats in medieval manucripts in Baltimore, Maryland.
- Germain Lussier reports that the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, will also cover the original trilogy.
- Sarah Szabo reports about people who dress up as mermaids.
Crowdfunding:
Science and technology:
- Aaron Leong reports that astronomers have identified a baby galaxy cluster that's far hotter and more energetic than current cosmological models allow
- Lauren E. Low reports that the final steps are underway for NASA’s first crewed Artemis Moon mission
- Rachel Goodman reports that NASA will return the current ISS crew to Earth months early due to an astronaut’s illness
- Erin Morton reports about NASA’s Dragonfly mission to the Saturn moon Titan.
- John Scalzi is thrilled that an asteroid has been named after him.
- Justin Hughes reports that the Space Shuttle Discovery will remain at the Smithsonian Museum.
- Hilary Douwes explains how to build a handheld muon detector.
- Erich von Däniken, writer of popular non-fiction books about alleged visits of aliens to Earth, has died aged 90.
Toys and collectibles:
- ToyPix shares his five favourite action figures of 2025.
- Adam McCombs reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins Sketch Book Collection Mark Taylor style He-Man action figure.
- Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins Mark Taylor style Castle Grayskull.
- Anna Bawden reports that Mattel has launched the first autistic Barbie in the Fashionistas line.
- James Whitbrook notes that Hasbro's latest Star Wars Black Series reveals include many odder alien characters.
- James Whitbrook shares a look at some upcoming LEGO Pokémon sets.
- Amy Hawkins reports that the popular Labubu toys by Pop Mart are manufactured under exploitative conditions in China.
Free online fiction:
- "Doughnuts from the Daydream Network" by Julia Vee in The Sunday Morning Transport.
- "Bots All the Way Down" by Effie Seiberg in Lightspeed.
- "Where the Chicken-Footed Dwell" by Marisca Pichette in Lightspeed.
- "Donor Unknown" by Nika Murphy in Clarkesworld.
- "Je Ne Regrette Rien" by James Patrick Kelly in Clarkesworld.
- "Punks Don’t Die" by Kat Sedia in The Deadlands.
- "The Doorkeepers" by A. T. Greenblatt in Uncanny Magazine
- "Joiner and Rust" by Lavie Tidhar in Reactor.
- "Three on a Match" by Joanne Anderton in The Dark.
- "To Hear Herself Speak" by Gustavo Bondoni in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "Dregs" by R. Diego Martinez in Nightmare Magazine.
Trailers and videos:
- Watch a trailer for season 3 of Primal.
- Watch a trailer for season 2 of the live action One Piece.
- Watch a trailer for season 2 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- Watch a trailer for Lee Cronin’s The Mummy
- Watch a trailer for The Bride.
- Watch a trailer for This Is Not a Test.
- Watch a trailer for Starman.
