Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for January 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 upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film, the movie toys and Masters of the Universe in general, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general, Sinners, Wonder Man and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Greg Ketter of Dreamhaven Books versus ICE and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Molly Odintz shares ten speculative mysteries and thrillers to check out in 2026   
• Annalise Ryan talks about monsters, myths and our desire to be scared
• Maria Tureaud talks about turning the trauma of colonialism into horror fiction. 
• Gemma Amor lists entomological horror novels to make your skin crawl 
• Lorna Wallace shares five SFF stories set during a frozen apocalypse 
• Adriane Leigh explains why we are living in the age of the unreliable narrator 
• Louise Perry notes that it's time to ditch Harry Potter. 
• The Times explains how Terry Pratchett’s novels have shed new light on dementia 
• Jason Sanford and Earl Kemp discuss how so many SFF writer came to have a second career writing erotic fiction under pen names.
• Science fiction writer, editor and reviewer James Sallis has died aged 81. 

 

Comics and Art:

• Isaiah Colbert declares that Absolute Batman is the Batman we deserve in 2026  
• Adam Rowe shares his favourite books of vintage science fiction art. 
• Jason Sacks revisits the 1971 comic book New Gods No. 1 by Jack Kirby. 
• Isaiah Colbert wonders about the future of  Dragon Ball after the death of its creator Akira Toriyama 
• Charlotte Beach interviews Katie Dimond, Melissa Scott and Chelsea Scheller who restore vintage posters. 
• Heidi McDonald reports that the latest Amazon layoffs may have shut down what remains of Comixology 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about writing in January. 
• Marvel comic artist Sal Buscema has died aged 89. 
  
  

 

Film and TV: 

• Petrana Radulovic shares all the SFF movies premiering in February 
• Petrana Radulovic shares all the SFF TV-shows premiering in February  
• Arturo Serrano declares that if you had to endure ninety minutes of garbage like Mercy, you’d legalize summary executions too 
• Cath Clarke calls the anime Another World a kaleidoscopic afterlife fairytale with the dark fury of a Greek tragedy 
• Isaiah Colbert declares that Arco is as close to an instant animated classic as it gets 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Rabbit Trap an eerie fairy folk rock horror film. 
• Matt Larkin calls the Indian film Aranyak well worth a watch for those who enjoy gritty mysteries with potential supernatural angles 
• Leslie Felperin calls Witchboard a fun occult thriller 
• Benjamin Lee calls Wicker an inventive but uneven fantasy film. 
• Justin Carter notes that season 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen keeps looking so damn good  
• Rai Furniss-Greasley calls the latest incarnation of The Running Man well-paced and visually slick 
• Jacob Oller calls Return To Silent Hill the series' worst film adaptation yet
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Fallout.  
• Justin Carter is happy to see Darth Maul return once again. 
• Lucy Mangan shares her thoughts on the documentary Mission to Space with Francis Bourgeois and wonders whether we really needed to see him be sick in zero gravity? 
• Rich Pelley interviews Nick Frost, star of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Attack the Block and many others. 
• Michael Hogan lists ten TV characters who died and came back. 
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1971 Doctor Who serial "Terror of the Autons". 
• Leah Thomas revisits the 1982 anime series Magical Princess Minky Momo and why the final episode is believed to be cursed. 
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits the 1984 science fiction film The Terminator. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1987 science fiction satire RoboCop. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1997 Babylon 5 episode “Between the Darkness and the Light”  
• Yvonne Lime, star of I Was A Teenage Werewolf, High School Hellcats, Speed Crazy, Dragstrip Riot, Father Knows Best and many other has died aged 90.
• Roger Allers, director, storyboard artist and writer for many animated Disney films such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, has died aged 76. 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• The Spirit of Grayskull Podcast shares their thoughts on the Masters of the Universe trailer. 
• Todd Luck shares his thoughts on the Masters of the Universe trailer. 
• Former Filmation writer and storyboard artist Robert Lamb shares his thoughts on the Masters of the Universe trailer. 
• Former brand manager Scott Neitlich shares his thoughts on the Masters of the Universe trailer.  
• Pixel Dan shares his thoughts on the Masters of the Universe trailer. 
• Ben Child laments that the Masters of the Universe movie appears to be taking itself too seriously and once again proves that he has no idea what Masters of the Universe is all about. 
• Wesley Stenzel reports that some far right would-be culture warriors are upset about pronoun gag in the trailer in Masters of the Universe live action movie.
• Marcus Wratten also reports that some far right would-be culture warriors try to stroke an uproar about Adam's pronouns in the Masters of the Universe trailer.  
• James Eatock shares fifty things about Frosta. 

 

Comments on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general: 

• Ann Michelle Harris declares that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy hits the sweet spot for youthful adventure mixed with Gen X cynicism 
• Liz Barr shares her appreciation for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Vox in Excelso”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.  
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Vox in Excelso”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.  
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Vitus Reflux", the third episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.   
• Jeff Spry interviews Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, showrunners of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. 
• Jacob Hall interviews Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau
• Samantha Coley interviews Robert Picardo who plays the Emergency Medical Hologram in Star Trek: Boyager and Starfleet Academy. 
• James Whitbrook shares a brief history of fictional Star Trek sports 
• James Whitbrook revisits the 1996 Star Trek Voyager episode "Threshold", often considered one of the worst episodes of that series and all of Star Trek. 

 

Comments on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: 

• Tyler Dean shares his thoughts on “Hard Salt Beef”, the latest episode of  A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. 
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on “Hard Salt Beef”, the latest episode of  A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.  
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Ira Parker, showrunner of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
• Katie Campione reports that the premiere of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has gotten respectable ratings. 

 

Comments on Wonder Man and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:

• Germain Lussier declares that Wonder Man may be Marvel’s best show yet 
• Stephen Robinson calls Wonder Man a mostly pleasant binge with some unexpectedly moving moments 
• Lucy Mangan calls Wonder Man a Marvel TV show with almost no superhero action... and it’s all the better for it 
• Germain Lussier shares nine things he liked and three he didn’t about Wonder Man. 
• Sydney Bucksbaum interviews Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, creators of Wonder Man. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Watch a video of Doctor Doom advertising holidays in Latveria.  

 

Comments on Sinners: 

• Lanre Bakare interviews Delroy Lindo, one of the stars of Sinners.  
• Trevor Hogg interviews Michael Ralla, visual effects supervisor for Sinners. 

 

Comments on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: 

• Alasdair Stuart shares his appreciation for 28 Years Later. The Bone Temple.
• Amy Wild discusses why US cinemagoers are dressing as Jimmy Savile to see 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 

 

Awards:

• The preliminary ballots for the 2025 Bram Stoker Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2026 Tähtivaeltaja Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 ALA Youth Media Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2026 Audie Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Bafta Film Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Saturn Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Writers Guild Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2026 Eddie Awards have been announced. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Val McDermid talks about her writing rituals and routines. 
• L.A. Stratton talks about being a crossgenre writer. 
• The Authors Guild share their concerns about the Amazon Kindle’s new “Ask This Book” AI feature
• Mike Glyer reports that a video of Greg Ketter, founder of Dreamhaven Books in Minneapolis, Minnesota, standing amidst teargar clouds and cursing ICE agents after the murder of nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents.  
• Nick Lunemann and Erin Hassanzadeh interview Greg Ketter and report that Dreamhaven Books has seen an uptick of sales after its owner went viral on social media.
• Carson Hartzog also profiles Greg Ketter. 
• Greg Ketter shares a statement about the viral video and his anger at ICE agents murdering Alex Pretti. 
• Claire Kirch reports that both Dreamhaven Books and Comma Bookshop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have seen sales spike after they made their opposition to ICE operations in Minneapolis public.  
• Publisher and anti-racism activist Eric Huntley has died aged 96. 

 

Interviews:

• Betsy Aoki interviews Marie Brennan. 
• Michael Coulombe interviews Jendia Gammon. 
• Ali Karim interviews Dean Koontz  
• Locus interviews Michael Kelly.
• Alex Puncekar interviews Johnny Compton. 

 

Reviews: 

• Mark Yon reviews Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Pioneers by Allen Stroud 
• Marlene Harris reviews Boy with Accidental Dinosaur by Ian McDonald 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Daughter Who Remains by Nnedi Okorafor 
• John Hertz reviews The Mills of the Gods by Tim Powers.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Ring the Bells by C.K. McDonnell   
• Alex Brown reviews Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells. 
• Fiona Denton reviews Paralyze by S.K. Putt
• Paul Weimer reviews The Sleep of Empires by David Annandale   
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Envoys of War by Dave Lawson
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Threadlight Series by Zack Argyle 
• Christine D. Baker reviews City of Others by Jared Poon 
• Alex Brown reviews City of Others by Jared Poon  
• Colleen Mondor reviews The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews The Tower of the Tyrant by J. T. Greathouse
• Alexandra Pierce reviews No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan 
• Marlene Harris reviews Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire 
• Jenny Hamilton reviews The Last Vampire by Romina Garber 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews I, Medusa by Ayana Gray 
• Alex Brown reviews An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole 
• Chris Kluwe reviews Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson 
• Bill Capossere reviews Hum by Helen Phillips 
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Salvage by Anbara Salam 
• Maya Gittelman reviews The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo 
• Rob Bedford reviews On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield.
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews A Dark Forgetting by Kristen Ciccarelli 
• Ian Mond reviews Song of Spores by Bogi Takács
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Positive Obsession - The Life And Times of Octavia E Butler by Susana M. Morris
  
  

 Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1899 lost world novel The Secret of the Earth by Charles Willing Beale 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1974 apocalyptic novel The Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1983 Hourse of Kendreth fantasy novel When Voiha Wakes by Joy Chant 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1997 Metropolitan fantasy novel City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams  
• Esmay Rosylne revisits the 2013 science fantasy novel The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
   
  
  

Con and event reports:

• The 2026 European Fan Fund Race to send a fan to Metropolcon in Berlin, Germany, the 2026 Eurocon, is now open. 
• Tom Regan reports about the opening of PokéPark Kanto, a Pokémon theme park in Tokyo, Japan.

 

Crowdfunding:

• Dubious Pleasures, a collection of original short stories of science fiction, fantasy and horror by Greg Cox, is looking for funding.
• Publishing for Minnesota has organised an auction to benefit the people in Minnesota affected by the ongoing ICE raids.  

 

Science and technology:

• Katrina Miller reports that astronomers have announced the discovery of a starless cloud of hydrogen gas, a pristine relic of the cosmos that is almost as old as time itself.
• Robert Lea reports that scientists just got the clearest picture of the dark universe yet
• Stephen Clark interviews former astronaut Kate Rubins about the lunar spacesuits for the upcoming Artemis mission.  
• Patrick McNameeKing remembers teacher and astronaut Christa McAuliffe who died aboard the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.  
• Scott Tong and Adam Higginbotham discuss what NASA learned from the Challenger disaster.  
• Kaye Dee shares a round-up of space news from 1971. 
• Yulija Talmazan reports that the earliest known hand-held wooden tools, used by our early human ancestors around 430 000 years ago, have been uncovered at an archeological site in Greece. 
• Ed Simon talks about the legends of the Brazen Head.
  
  

Gaming: 

• Fiona Denton reviews the video game Still Wakes the Deep
• Michael Thomsen talks about V.I.P. programs for phone and online games that keep gamers spending money.
• Salvador Hernandez reports that California has been hit by a wave of Pokémon card thefts and robberies of collectibles stores, 
• Jon Gann and Sarah McCammon report about a surge of interest in Mahjong 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the first few Masters of the Universe movie action figures revealed at Nuremberg Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany.  
• Gerrard Hall shares a look at the first wave of Masters of the Universe Chronicles movie tie-in toys.  
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the first wave of Masters of the Universe Chronicles movie figures. 
• Dade Hayes shares a look at some KPop Demon Hunters dolls and merchandise that was unveiled at Nuremberg Toy Fair. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares a look at the new Hot Toys KPop Demon Hunters action figures 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at some new Lego Star Wars Smart Play sets 
• Kimberlee Kruesi reports that Rhode Island is considering removing Mr. Potato Head from licence plates after Hasbro announced that they will be moving their headquarters from Rhode Island to Boston, Massachussetts.

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Skull of Francisco Xalbec" by Alan M. Fisher in The Deadlands. 
• "The Rat Queen" by Dan Maloney in Swords and Sorcerry Magazine.
• "I Met You on the Train" by J.R. Dawson in Uncanny Magazine 
• "The Earth Inside Us" by Abigail Kemske in The Dark.
• "Fingerprints on Glass and Clay" by Fernanda Coutinho Teixeira in Strange Horizons  
• "The Desolate Order of the Head in the Water" by A. W. Prihandita in Clarkesworld. 
• "Space is Deep" by Seth Chambers in Clarkesworld. 
• "A Brief Public Announcement" by Eli Brown in Lightspeed.  
• "The Moving Finger" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed. 
• "The Egg" by Andy Weir at GalactaNet.
• "Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation by K. N. Sirsi and Sandra Botkin" by Cameron Reed in Reactor. 

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Supergirl. 
• Watch a trailer for the latest attempt to revive The Muppets Show. 
• Watch a trailer for the final season of Outlander. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Paradise.  
• Watch a trailer for Dracula in Space.
• Watch a trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.