Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 27, 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 and Masters of the Universe in general, the cancellation of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, Project Hail Mary, For All Manking, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, Paradise, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, tributes to Chuck Norris, Nicholas Brendon, Valeria Perrine and Sam Keith and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Tobias Carroll shares indie SFF for March and April 2026 
• Cecile Pin shares seven novels with astronaut protagonists 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five stories about surviving and adapting on Mars 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about the dangerous business of truth-telling 
• Casey Scieszka shares five SFF books where time can’t be trusted
• Molly Odintz shares horror novels featuring worms.
• Emma Cleary talks about writing a psychological horror novel influenced by film stills
• James Whitbrook asks who was the worst Targaryen to rule Westeros.  

   

Comics and Art:

• Paul Weimer reviews Free Planet #1 by Aubrey Sitterson and Jed Dougherty
• Isaiah Colbert reviews Wanted: Eiichiro Oda Before One Piece by Eiichiro Oda.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Flip by Ngozi Ukazu   
• Isaiah Colbert reviews Wicked Spot by Sal Jiang. 
• Isaiah Colbert explains what the manga Chainsaw Man and Evangelion share in their endings  
• Isaiah Colbert lists six magic school anime and manga to discover instead of thinking about Harry Potter ever again   
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about insensitivity readers
• Film poster and album cover artist Philip Castle has died aged 83.

 

Tributes to Sam Kieth: 

•  Comic artist Sam Kieth, best known for his work on Sandman and The Maxx, has died aged 63. 
• Justin Carter remembers Sam Kieth. 

 

Film and TV:

• Phuong Le calls The Last Blossom an affecting anime about a yakuza facing his final reckoning  
• Dan Persons declares that Civil War captures what journalists do, like it or not 
• Catherine Bray notes that the horror film The Mortuary Assistant at least gets the morgue work right, 
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Magic Faraway Tree and adaptation of children’s classic that is boasting lively performances and some sharp gags 
• Josh Pearce shares his thoughts on Slanted
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Invincible. 
• Cheryl Eddy lists everything to remember about The Handmaid’s Tale ahead of The Testaments  
• Klaudia Amenabar recommends recent anime series. 
• Cheryl Eddy lists eight horror movies to enjoy this spring. 
• Ellery Weil notes that we’re in the midst of a horror comedy renaissance and wonders why now. 
• Judith Tarr shares her appreciation for the animal sidekicks of KPop Demon Hunters. 
• Don Kaye revisits the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet. 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1970 Czech children's fantasy series Pan Tau. 
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1971 Timeslip serial "The Day Of The Clone"  
• Samira Ahmed revisits the 1975 science fiction series Space 1999. 
• Jacob Oller revisits the 1983 nuclear war movie Testament. 
• Keith R.A.DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 episode “A View from the Gallery” 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2009 science fiction film Moon. 
• Caroline Siede revisits the 2011 fantasy film Sucker Punch. 
• Fiona Sturges interviews Cary Elwes, star of The Princess Bride, Dead Man's Wire, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Saw and many others.
• Katie Mulgrew explains how her autistic son saw himself reflected in David Tennant's take on Doctor Who 
• James Whitbrook ranks the many different legs that Darth Maul has had over the decades. 
• Jack Dunn reports that a new Lord of the Rings film is in development and will be written by former late night show host and comedian Stephen Colbert.
• The Guardian reports that a C-3PO head used in The Empire Strikes Back has been sold for more than one million USD at auction 
• Nick Robins-Early reports that actor Bill Cosby has been found guilty of sexual assault
• Jamie Blanks, director of Urban Legend, Valentine, Storm Warning, Long Weekend, Crawlspace and others, has died aged 54. 
• Actress Carrie Anne Fleming, best known for her roles in Supernatural and iZombie, has died aged 51 
• Actress Valerie Perrine, best known for her roles in Superman, Slaughterhouse Five, The Last American Hero and Lenny, has died aged 82. 

 

Tributes to Chuck Norris:

• Actor and martial artist Chuck Norris, best known for his roles in The Way of the Dragon, Delta Force, Missing in Action, Walker: Texas Ranger, Good Guys Wear Black, Lone Wolf McQuade, Firewalkers, Sidekicks, Invasion USA, The Expendables and many others, has died aged 86.  
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Chuck Norris. 
• Andrew Pulver remembers Chuck Norris. 
• Craig D. Lindsey looks back on Chuck Norris' series of action films for Cannon Studios in the 1980s. 
• Owen Myers shares photos from Chuck Norris lengthy career. 

 

 Tributes to Nicholas Brendon: 

• Actor Nicholas Brendon, best known for playing Xander in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, has died aged 54. 
• Maanvi Singh remembers Nicholas Brendon. 
• Justin Carter remembers Nicholas Brendon. 
• Harry Sekulich remembers Nicholas Brendon. 

 

Tributes to Valerie Perrine:

• Actress Valerie Perrine, best known for her roles in Superman, Slaughterhouse Five, The Last American Hero and Lenny, has died aged 82. 
• Drew Gillis remembers Valerie Perrine. 

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Jukka Issakainen analyses the trailer for the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action movie. 
• James Eatock explains how the Filmation villain Nephtu received his unique look.

 

Comments on the cancellation of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek in general: 

• Joe Otterson reports that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will end with season 2 
• James Whitbrook declares that Starfleet Academy deserved better than this  
• Brendan Morrow reports that William Shatner bemoans the end of Starfleet Academy and mocks the "woke" backlash 
• James Whitbrook lists everything we know about the future of Star Trek 

 

Comments on Ready or Not 2: Here I Come:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Ready or Not 2: Here I Come has a much larger stage than the first film.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, director of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come 

 

Comments on Project Hail Mary:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Project Hail Mary knows what makes humans special — and it’s not heroism 
• Leah Schnelbach declares that Project Hail Mary walks a thin tightrope over a bottomless void
• Arturo Serrano declares that Project Hail Mary pulls off a disturbing misdirection trick and ignores the billions of deaths happening offscreen 
• Astrophysicist Sara Webb breaks down the science in Project Hail Mary 
• Caroline Siede declares that Project Hail Mary is part of a long, proud lineage of science fiction films about the importance of collaboration and communication.  
• Germain Lussier discusses the ending of Project Hail Mary and a deviation from Andy Weir's novel. 
• Mike Miller explains how Project Hail Mary star Ryan Gosling persuaded his co-star Sandra Hüller to sing in the karaoke scene in Project Hail Mary. 
• Esther Zuckerman interviews Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, directors of Project Hail Mary. 
• Tara Bennett interviews Drew Goddard, writer of Project Hail Mary.
• James Whitbrook also interviews Drew Goddard. 
• Tasha Robinson interviews Andy Weir, on whose novel Project Hail Mary is based. 
• Germain Lussier reports that Project Hail Mary is poised to become a big hit  

  

Comments on season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:

• Jarrod Jones calls the season 2 premiere of Daredevil: Born Again promising.
• Leah Schnelbach declares that Daredevil: Born Again pulls no punches in its season 2 premiere 
• Germain Lussier calls season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again a slow burn that’s worth the wait 
• Jordan Moreau and Antonio Ferme interview the showrunner and stars of Daredevil: Born Again about some real world parallels in the series.
• Matthew Byrd explains how season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, Punisher: One Last Kill and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are all (supposedly) connected 
• Germain Lussier discusses the place of Daredevil: Born Again in the overall timeline of the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe. 
• Ben Child wonders whether some X-Men characters will appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.  

 

Comments on For All Mankind: 

• Saloni Gajjar declares that the fifth season of For All Mankind is off to a rocky start  
• Germain Lussier declares that season 5 of For All Mankind beautifully sets the series up for the future  
• Lacy Baugher-Milas calls For All Mankind television’s most underrated science fiction drama and declares that the show just keeps getting better with age 
• Germain Lussier interviews Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, showrunners of For All Mankind and the spin-off Star City. 
• Molly Templeton reports that For All Mankind will end with season 6 
• Watch a trailer for the For All Mankind spin-off Star City. 

 

Comments on Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen: 

• Rhik Samadder calls Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen an absolutely terrifying horror series. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen so scary it will send you hysterical 
• Noel Murray calls Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen an offbeat horror(ish) miniseries that turns bridal misgivings into an inescapable nightmare.  
• Lacy Baugher Milas declares that Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen really should have just been a movie 

 

Comments on season 2 of Paradise: 

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the penultimate episode of  season 2 of Paradise. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares five questions we need answered in the season 2 finale of Paradise. 

 

Comments on Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice: 

• Germain Lussier calls Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice a genre blending delight  
• Jesse Hassenger calls Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice an overworked and over-quirked time travel action-comedy 

 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2025 Otherwise Award has been announced. 
• The winner of the 2025 IAFA Crawford Award has been announced.
• The finalists for the 2026 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2026 Lord Ruthven Awards have been announced.  
• The finalists for the 2026 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award have been announced.
• The recipient of the 2026 NSS Arthur C. Clarke Memorial Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival Award have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 BBC Audio Drama Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Bafta TV Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2026 Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced. 
• Heather Rose Jones shares a history and analysis of the Best Related Work Hugo category 
• Heather Rose Jones shares even more history and analysis of the Best Related Work Hugo category  
• Mike Glyer reports how SFWA is administering the Nebula Awards policy against LLM-use 

 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Justin C. Key explains why medical school is the perfect training for writing a thriller 
• Ava Glass talks about writing spy fiction. 
• Lauren Reding explains how to get the most out of your setting in domestic suspense 
• Emma Loffhagen reports that the publisher Hachette has pulled the horror novel Shy Girl by Mia Ballard over suspected AI use.
• Alexandra Alter also reports about the cancellation of Shy Girl by Mia Ballard. 
• Andrea Bartz explains how the cancellation of Shy Girl by Mia Ballard also increases the risks of authors innocently being accused of using AI  
• Emma Loffhagen reports that Raynor Winn, author of the memoir The Salt Path, not only falsified parts of that memoir but also won a prize for debut authors, even though she had previously published another book under a pen name. 
• David Streitfeld discusses how The Washington Post’s now-defunct Book World transformed the careers of two giants of American literature. 
• Katie Dancey-Downs reports that school book banning escalates in the UK, as secondary school in Manchester censors scores of books 
• James Bacon takes a closer look at the books removed from the school library in Greater Manchester. 

 

Interviews:

• Molly Odintz interviews Bethany C. Morrow. 
• Locus interviews Makana Yamamoto 
• John Mauro interviews Mark Lawrence.
• Rai Furniss-Greasley interviews Eric LaRocca 

 

Reviews: 

• Runalong the Shelves reviews Wolfskin by Jeremy Szal 
• Sam Tyler reviews Jitterbug by Gareth L. Powell.  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Intergalactic Feast by Lavanya Lakshminarayan  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Edge of Oblivion by Kirk Weddell 
• Z.B. Steele reviews Voidverse by Damien Ober 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall  
• Daniel Dern reviews Twelve Months by Jim Butcher. 
• Ian Mond reviews The Misheard World by Aliya Whiteley 
• Niall Harrison reviews The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui
• Chris Kluwe reviews The Franchise by Thomas Elrod 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu  
• Niall Harrison reviews Saraswati by Gurnaik Johal
• Abigail Nussbaum reviews Pretenders to the Throne of God by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Murder at Martingale Manor by Jodi Taylor 
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Tattling Whisperwoods by Tilly Wallace  
• Arturo Serrano reviews The Blossoming of the Big Tree by Dilman Dila   
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Unwritten Rules of Magic by Harper Ross
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose
• Cassie Schulz reviews Queen of Faces by Petra Lord. 
• Bill Capossere reviews Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Echoes of the Past by JBJ  
• Molly Templeton reviews When They Burned the Butterfly by Wen-Yi Lee  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Mercy: Ill is The Fate by Chance Dillon 
• Mark Yon reviews No Man's Land by Richard Morgan. 
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn 
• Tobias Carroll reviews She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva.
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Sofa by Sam Munson 
• Ian Mond reviews Vigil by George Saunders 
• Rob Bedford reviews Wretch by Eric La Rocca. 
• Alexis Ong reviews Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran 
• Ed Crocker reviews The Hive by Ronald Malfi 
• Alex Brown reviews The Murderbot Short Stories by Martha Wells. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Bliss Montage by Ling Ma   
• Bill Capossere reviews Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Ada Palmer and Jo Walton 

 

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1926 lost world novel The City of Desire by Juanita Savage
• Dave Hook revisits the 1930 planetary romance The Martian Trilogy by John P. Moore. 
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1945 ghost romance The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1953 science fiction novel Ring Around the Sun by Clifford D. Simak  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1971 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1991 essay How to Build a Planet by Poul Anderson and Stephen L. Gillett  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1991 science fiction novel The Silicon Man by Charles Platt   
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2002 fantasy novel Parade by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Allison Markin Powell 
• Hache Pueyo revisits the 2013 dystopian novella The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada.

 

Con and event reports:

• Scott A. Woodard shares a video of the 2026 Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Collectors Show and Sale in Glendale, California.
• Leah Thomas reports about Ghost in the Shell: The Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.

 

Crowdfunding:

• The family of the late Valerie Perrine needs help with funeral expenses

 

Science and technology:

• The Guardian reports that NASA is now planning to launch its Artemis 2 mission to the Moon on April 1.
• NASA reports that the Hubble space telescope has unexpectedly caught a comet breaking up 
• CERN reports that their experiment in transporting antimatter across the CERN site has succeeded.
• Eve Van Dyke talks about the deadly gender gap in car safety. 
• Neal Stephenson talks about the end of the Metaverse. 
• J.H. Market talks about five of the most terrifying islands in the world   

 

Gaming: 

• James Davis Nicoll shares four new superhero RPGs to watch out for
• C.T. Phipps reviews the video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance  
• Joe DelFranco reviews the video game Ghost of Yōtei by Sucker Punch Productions 
• Dean Smith-Richard reviews the video game Civilzation VII. 
• Keza MacDonald reports that the developers of the indie video game All Will Rise have returned funding given to them by Microsoft to protest Microsoft's cooperation with the Israeli Defence Forces. 
• Michael Levinson report that the video game company Epic Games is laying off more than 1000 employees 

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Adam McComb reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Chronicles Scare Glow action figure. 
• Adam Power reviews the Mythic Legions Scapular the Cryptbreaker 2 action figure from Four Horsemen Studios
• Adam Power reviews the Mythic Legions Uumbra action figure from Four Horsemen Studios 
• Colt Crane shares a look at upcoming Mattel Masters of the Universe movie action figures, Funko Pops, a He-Man and Teela Barbie and much more. 
• Colt Crane shares a look at other Masters of the Universe movie merchandise. 
• Pixel Dan shares his thoughts on the newly revealed Masters of the Universe movie toys. 
• James Whitbrook takes a look at the Mandalorian and Grogu action figures by Hot Toys.
• Tim Kohut reports about the new LEGO Star Wars Smart Play Millennium Falcon set.. 
• James Whitbrook takes a look at the LEGO Star Wars Yoda bust. 
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the LEGO Marvel SHIELD Helicarrier set. 
• Germain Lussier shares a look at a fan-made LEGO version of Rocky from Project Hail Mary. 
• Arthur Reeder talks about his collection of postboxes. 
• Amaris Encinas reports that a tie-in popcorn bucket for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is officially the World’s Smallest Popcorn Container. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Terms of Enlightenment" by Patrick Hurley in Lightspeed.  
• "When We Loved Giants" by Sara S. Messenger in Lightspeed. 
• "In Your Dreams" by Leah Cypess in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "The Black Die" by Walter J. Wiese in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Heritage, or This Body of Folklore" by Ayida Shonibar in Apex Magazine. 
• "Five Medicines You Found in the Garden of Unfinished Poems" by Jenna Hanchey in Strange Horizons.  
• "Those Who Left History" by Wanxiang Fengnian, translated by Stella Jiayue Zhu in Clarkesworld. 
• "When Things Went Bad" by Stephen Graham Jones in Uncanny Magazine  
• "R is for Remains" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark. 
• "Tatterdemalion" by Michael Cisco in Reactor. 

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for  Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 
• Watch a clip from Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord  
• Watch a trailer for The End of Oak Street 
• Watch a trailer for How It Ends.
• Watch a trailer for the live action Moana. 
• Watch a trailer for Forgotten Island