It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with the best SFF of 2025, the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general, The Bride, season 2 of the live action One Piece, Project Hail Mary, Hoppers, Elio and Pixar in general and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Emily C. Hughes shares horror novels coming out this month.
- Jo Walton shares her reading list for February 2026
- Amritesh Mukherjee talks about the history of Indian feminist science fiction.
- Alex Brown shares five SFF books that deserve a film or TV adaptation
- Lorna Wallace shares five speculative stories to cure or inspire an existential crisis
- Kirsten Kaschock imagines a new landscape for the gothic
- Stephanie Ellis attempts to define folk horror.
- Matthew Cheney talks about horror in theory.
- Cheryl Eddy shares a quick and dirty primer on Aegon Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros
- Steve Davidson celebrates the 100th anniversary of Amazing Stories.
- SFF fan Alina R. Chu has died aged 69.
- SFF writer and editor Lee Martindale has died aged 76.
Best of 2025:
Comics and Art:
- Judith Tarr reviews The Space Between by Corinna Bechko and Danny Luckert
- Lesa Holstine reviews Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Deborah Tang
- David Harth lists ten DC Comics Retcons that make no sense
- Isaiah Colbert reports that the manga Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto is ending.
- Teklemariam Bekit reports that Eritrean cartoonist Biniam Solomon has been released after spending fifteen years in prison without charge.
- Tom Gauld shares a cartoon on haters.
- DC Comics colourist Tatjana Wood, best known for her work on Swamp Thing, Camelot 3000 and Animal Man, has died aged 99.
Film and TV:
- Jonathan Cowie wonders if Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die could be the mainstream science fiction film of the year.
- Erika Hardison talks about Sinners, the Great Migration and Rust Belt gothic.
- Phil Hoad declares that the anime Scarlet turns Hamlet into tale of prowling knights and deep nothingness.
- Catherine Bray calls Bad Voodoo an escaped-convict horror film worthy of a theme park ghost train
- Catherine Bray calls Bodycam a low-budget chiller that oozes with supernatural menace
- Katie Rife calls the horror film undertone a surreal nightmare.
- Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the season 8 premiere of Outlander.
- Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Paradise.
- Cheryl Eddy lists ten essential episodes of The Orville
- Leah Thomas shares her thoughts about the anime Aria.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on OBEX.
- Leah Schnelbach shares a brief survey of concerns expressed by the films of 2025
- Kali Wallace revisits the 1950 science fiction film Destination Moon
- Cora Buhlert revisits the 1970 East German science fiction film Signals - A Space Adventure.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 episode “The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari”
- Isaiah Colbert revisits the 2006 anime Origin: Spirits of the Past
- Scott Neitlich explains how the Vietnam War influenced US pop culture.
- Actress Jennifer Runyon, best known for her appearances in Ghostbusters, A Very Brady Christmas, Another World, Magnum PI, Quantum Leap and many others, has died aged 65.
Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:
- Colt Crane reviews Masters of the Universe: The Sword of Flaws #4 by Tim Seeley and Freddie Williams II.
- Adam McCombs remembers the late Michael Halperin who wrote the series bible for the Filmation He-Man cartoon as well as several mini-comics and also worked on the 200X cartoon.
- The late Michael Halperin explains how his Jewish faith influenced Masters of the Universe.
Comments on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Rubincon”, the season 1 finale of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Rubincon”, the season 1 finale of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "300th Night”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
- Matthew Byrd reports that Paul Giamatti and Tatiana Maslany, who play Nus and Anisha respectively, won't return for season 2 of Starfleet Academy.
- James Whitbrook explains the most dangerous molecule in Star Trek history.
- Meredith Jacobs interviews Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, executive producers of Starfleet Academy.
- Samantha Coley also interviews Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau.
- Anthony Pascale interviews Jonathan Frakes who played Commander William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation and has directed many Star Trek episodes in various series since then.
Comments on The Bride!:
- Hope Madden calls The Bride! a feminist Frankenstein reboot and a punk rock triumph
- Arturo Serrano calls The Bride! a smart, visceral, unapologetic cry of rebellion
- Rachel Tolleson calls The Bride! the embodiment of female rage
- Caroline Siede declares that The Bride! mistakes female rage for female depth
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that The Bride! can’t decide which revolution it wants to power
- Leah Marilla Thomas declares that people who think The Bride! is the worst movie of all time need to watch more movies.
- Kirsten Chuba interviews Maggie Gyllenhaal, writer and director of The Bride!
- Anthony D'Alessandro attempts to explain why The Bride bombed.
- Rebecca Rubin shares five reasons The Bride! was dead on arrival at the box office
Comments on Project Hail Mary:
Comments on season 2 of the live action One Piece:
Comments on Hoppers, Elio and Pixar movies in general:
- Arturo Serrano declares that Hoppers is totally not like Avatar, but both more and less than that
- Matt Schimkowitz declares in reference to Hoppers that even Pixar's originals are starting to feel like sequels
- Ben Fritz interviews Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar.
- Sarah Welch-Larson talks about the loneliness of Elio and growing up queer in the US military
- Justin Carter slams Pixar for cutting an LGBTQ storyline from Elio, pointing out that they have never shrunk away from serious subjects before.
- Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Hoppers has done well at the box office, ending a dry streak for Pixar, while The Bride! has bombed.
Awards:
- The finalists for the 2026 Imadjinn Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 Audie Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 Zsoldos Péter Award have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 British Book Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Saturn Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 Writers Guild Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2026 British Film Designers Guild Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards have been announced.
- The 2026 finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Nick Petrie talks about the joys and challenges of writing a long-running series
- J.D. Brinkworth shares tips for cowriting with your partner.
- Dan Milmo reports that thousands of authors including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman have published an “empty” book to protest against AI firms using their work without permission.
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Jitterbug by Gareth L. Powell
- Marlene Harris reviews Nobody’s Baby by Olivia Waite
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell
- Trish Matson reviews Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall
- Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Sentient by Michael Nayak
- Marlene Harris reviews Sentient by Michael Nayak
- Niall Harrison reviews The Department of What It (Really) Means to be Human by M. Darusha Wehm
- Jim McLeod reviews The Hospital at the End of the World by Justin C. Key.
- Vanessa Armstrong reviews The Hospital at the End of the World by Justin C. Key.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Misheard World by Aliya Whiteley
- Roseanna Pendlebury reviews The Misheard World by Aliya Whiteley
- Marion Deeds reviews The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch
- Tobias Carroll reviews Ballad of the Bone Road by A.C. Wise
- Alexandra Pierce reviews The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison:
- Martin Cahill reviews The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
- Lesa Holstine reviews Once and Again by Rebecca Serle
- Jim McLeod reviews Between Two Fires Review by Christopher Buehlman
- Marlene Harris reviews Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo
- Vick Weisfeld reviews Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward
- Arley Sorg reviews Midnight Somewhere by Johnny Compton
- Grimdark Magazine reviews The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
- Z.B. Steele reviews Ironbound by Andrew Givler
- Esmay Rosalyne reviews Daggermouth by H. M. Wolfe
- Robert Mammone reviews The Dorians by Nick Cutter
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Crawl Space by Steve Toase
Classics reviews:
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1926 lost world novel When the Earth Swung Over by Alfred Colbeck
- John Boston revisits the March 1971 issue of Fantastic.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1971 issue of Galaxy.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 Heechee Saga science fiction novel Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
- Runalong the Shelves revisits the 2015 urban fantasy novel The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2017 space opera This Insubstantial Pageant by Kate Story
Con and event reports:
Crowdfunding:
Science and technology:
- Andy Tomaswick declares that terraforming Mars isn't a climate problem—it's an industrial nightmare
- Ethan Gudge reports that robotic "mice" have been developed to inspect the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
- Vitaly Shevchenko reports that armed robots are being used in Ukraine.
- Tereza Pulterova reports that a meteorite crashed through the roof of a house in Koblenz, Germany.
- Isaaq Tomkins reports that AI allows hackers to identify anonymous social media accounts.
- Richard Luscombe reports that new research suggests that stormy space weather may be garbling messages from aliens.
Toys and collectibles:
- D Amazing reviews the Mythic Legions Skapular the Cryptbreaker 2 action figure from Four Horsemen Studios.
- Germain Lussier reviews the Project Hail Mary LEGO set
- Justin Carter shares a look at the Bandai SH MonsterArts Godzilla Minus One action figure.
- Germain Lussier shares a look at the Hot Toys Neo action figure from The Matrix.
- James Whitbrook shares a look at LEGO’s new Luigi Mario Kart set
- Cheryl Eddy reports that LEGO will finally start producing the much fan-demanded Super Mario mini-figures.
- Geek Dad Live discusses US retailer Target slashing its toy selection and what this means for toy collectors and the industry.
Free online fiction:
- "Blade Through the Heart" by Carrie Vaughn in Reactor.
- "Where the Dream Train Goes, Pt. II" by Jason Sanford in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Book Collectors" by J.W. Halicks in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Nameless" by Aliya Whiteley in The Dark.
- "Saint Tibalt’s Night" by Robert Rhodes in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "The Tide Folk" by Jennifer Hudak in Lightspeed.
- "La Sirena’s Blessing of Belonging" by V.M. Ayala in The Sunday Morning Transport.
- "You Are Invited to Our SPRING CELEBRATION" by Thoraiya Dyer in Clarkesworld.
- "Scion: Afterword" by Thomas Ha in Clarkesworld.
- "Ascension" by P.L. McMillan in Apex Magazine.
- "The Doll Problem" by Angela Liu in Nightmare Magazine.
Trailers and videos:
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