Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 15, 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 Punisher: One Last Kill and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general, Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord, The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars in general, Mortal Kombat II, Star Trek in general, the Good Omens finale, The Terror: Devil in Silver, Widow's Bay, Obsession, the final season of The Boys, tributes to Koji Suzuki and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares her favourite recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books. 
• Natalie Zutter takes a look at new romantasy novels coming out in May and June 2026. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for April 2026. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares two plot-friendly approaches to Generation Ships 
• Sam Reader shares seven uniquely memorable SFF books with multiple narrators 
• Lorna Wallace shares five horror stories about unstoppable, inescapable forces  
• Sam Beckbessinger shares a brief history of the female werewolf
• Judith Tarr talks about the universe appeal of talking animals.  
• SFF fan, filker and fibre artist Margret Rosenberg has died aged 72. 
• Japanese horror author Koji Suzuki has died aged 68. 
• Justin Carter remembers Koji Suzuki. 

   

Comics and Art:

• Isaiah Colbert reviews Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Madness by Bartosz Sztybor and Asano 
• James Whitbrook looks ahead at Marvel’s new Midnight Universe 
• Samantha Baskind profiles Jack Kirby. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about Chaucer’s first unboxing video 
• Movie poster artist Tony Stella has died aged 45. 

 

Film and TV:

• Jacob Oller calls Decorado a cartoon for the depressed and unemployed that evokes sweetness and existential absurdity alike.
• Isaiah Colbert calls season 2 of Devil May Cry both an objectively unfaithful video game adaptation and a pitch-perfect parody of Capcom's beloved hack-and-slash series. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Ciao UFO a Hong Kong tear-jerker that is less ET than a time-hopping chronicle of housing estate kids 
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Electric Kiss a belle époque seance comedy struggles to summon real magic 
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Testaments. 
• Nick Romano interviews Chris Mundy, showrunner of Lanterns.  
• Justin Carter interviews Bryan Cogman, one of the writers of Game of Thrones.  
• Isaiah Colbert interviews Emile Hirsch, star of Speed Racer. 
• Janica L. Newman revisits the 1971 fairytale movie The Frog Prince, Fiona Moore revisits the 1971 horror comedy The Abominable Doctor Phibes, George Pritchard revisits the 1971 avantgarde fantasy film Pink Narcissus and the 1971 horror movie Simon, King of the Witches and Cora Buhlert revisits the 1971 spy thriller cum melodrama And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow.    
• Dan Gentle revisits the 1979 time travel movie Time After Time 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1980 science fiction horror movie Altered States 
• Tyler Dean revisits the 1983 sword and sandal film Hercules.  
• Tobias Carroll revisits the 1993 near future noir series Wild Palms.  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 episode “Phoenix Rising”
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2012 dystopian movie The Hunger Games.  
• Jessica M. Goldstein asks if movies really are getting darker. 

 

 Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• Christopher Rudolph and Samantha Stutsman share everything viewers need to know about the upcoming Masters of the Universe live action movie. 
• Jukka Issakainen analyses the Masters of the Universe trailers to figure out where Prince Adam works on Earth.
• Colt Crane reviews Masters of the Universe #5 by Tim Seeley and Reilly Brown. 
• Watch a featurette about how Eternia was brought to life in the upcoming live action Masters of the Universe movie.  
• Watch a featurette about the Sword of Power in the upcoming live action Masters of the Universe movie.  

 Comments on The Punisher: One Last Kill and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that The Punisher: One Last Kill is a baffling, purge-like foray into… nothing much 
• Jarrod Jones declares that The Punisher: One Last Kill trades continuity for bloodshed and the promise of carnage yet to come. 
• Germain Lussier calls The Punisher: One Last Kill solid, but a little confusing  
• Nick Romano interview Oren Uziel, co-showrunner of Spider-Noir. 
• Josh Horowitz interviews Ebon Moss-Bachrach who played The Thing in Fantastic Four: First Steps.
• Cheryl Eddy reports that the WandaVision spin-off VisionQuest will air in October 2026. 

 

Comments on Star Wars: Maul: Shadow Lord, The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars in general: 

• James Dillon talks about queer villainy in Maul — Shadow Lord 
• Molly Edwards interviews Jon Favreau, director of The Mandalorian and Grogu. 
• Perri Nemiroff interviews director Jon Favreau as well as Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver, stars of The Mandalorian and Grogu.  
• Dan Gentle interviews Anthony Daniels who played C-3PO is various Star Wars movies. 
• Katie Canpione reports that season 2 of Ahsoka is coming in early 2027. 
• Alex Wallace reviews the Star Wars tie-in novel Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson. 
• Watch a clip from The Mandalorian and Grogu. 

 

Comments on Mortal Kombat II: 

• Jacob Oller shares a spoilerish review of Mortal Kombat II. 
• Brian Davids interviews Jeremy Slater, writer of Mortal Kombat II.  
• Pamela McClintock reports that Mortal Kombat II lost out at the box office to The Devil Wears Prada 2 of all things. 

 

Comments on Star Trek in general: 

• Jennifer Ludden talks about the real world influence on Star Trek's U.S.S. Enterprise 
• Marco Vito Oddo lists  five  science fiction characters that would cross over perfectly into Star Trek
• Don Kaye explains what Gene Roddenberry did between the end of the original Star Trek in 1969 and Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.   

 

Comments on the Good Omens finale: 

• Cheryl Eddy notes that season 3 of Good Omens feels rushed, since it has been condensed to a 90 minute movie following the sexual abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman. 
• Jack Seale declares that the Good Omens finale has a heavenly cast, but a script from flaming TV hell  

 

Comments on the final season of The Boys:  

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Boys. 
• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Boys.  
• Justin Carter notes that The Boys also became an unlikely Supernatural reunion. 

 

Comments on Widow's Bay: 

• Matthew Byrd talks about Widow’s Bay, Jaws, and the terror of municipal monsters 
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Kate O'Flynn who plays Patricia in Widow's Bay.   

 

Comments on The Terror: Devil in Silver: 

• Alex Brown shares their thoughts on "Disturbed", the latest episode of The Terror: Devil in Silver.  
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Chris Cantwell and Karyn Kusama, co-showrunner and director of The Terror: Devil in Silver.   

 

Comments on Obsession: 

• Monica Castillo calls Obsession a blistering horror film. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Curry Barker, director of Obsession. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette, stars of Obsession.  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2026 Kurd Laßwitz Preis have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 BSFS Annual Poetry Contest have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 British Book Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2026 Bafta TV Awards have been announced.

 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• The Authors Guild shares their AI best practices for authors 
• Micah Nathan talks about realising that the students in his writing workshop used AI and how he responded to this.
• Emma Loffhagen reports that UK Children's Poet Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce has called for children’s reading to be treated as a right. 

 

Interviews:

• Jeremy Comeaux interviews Lois McMaster Bujold  
• Mat Kaplan interviews Becky Chambers. 
• Locus interviews Emily Tesh. 
• Ed Crocker interviews R.J. Barker. 
• Scott Edelman interviews Paul McAuley. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Barry Nugent.
• Roseanna Pendlebury interviews Jordan Kurella. 
• Grimdark Magazine interviews Heba Al-Wasity.
• Alan Bailey and Cat Rambo interview Beatrice Winifred Iker 

 

Reviews:   

• Marlene Harris reviews Platform Decay by Martha Wells  
• Molly Templeton reviews The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey.
• Stew Hotston reviews The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed  
• Alex Brown reviews The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu 
• Rob Bedford reviews All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan.   
• Mark Yon reviews Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth.  
• Maya C. James reviews The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao
• Sally Berrow reviews Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang 
• Aly Noel reviews Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Moonfall by Ed Crocker 
• Rich Horton reviews Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Christopher Keene reviews Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Jenny Hamilton reviews Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan 
• Eddie Clark reviews Mortedant's Peril by R. J. Barker  
• Jeff Ayers reviews Double Shadow by Andrew Ludington  
• Marlene Harris reviews For Better or Murder by Simon R. Green 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Dead First by Johnny Compton 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Vampyre Client by Jeri Westerson
• Jim McLeod reviews Femme Feral by Sam Beckbessinger 
• Liz Bourke reviews The Poet Empress by Shen Tao 
• Arley Sorg reviews The Quarter Queen by Kayla Hardy 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Girl With A Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean 
• Fiona Denton reviews Trollheim: A Tale of Sýstir by Georgia Summers 
• Marlene Harris reviews Palaces of the Crow by Ray Nayler 
• BOLO Books reviews Incarnate by Alma Katsu.
• Tobias Carroll reviews The Spoil by Maile Chapman
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews She is Here by Nicola Griffith  

 

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1953 YA science fiction novel The Mysterious Planet by Lester del Rey
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1956 cozy catastrophe novel The Death of Grass by John Christopher 
• Fiona Moore revisits the June 1971 issue of Fantastic.
• Alan Brown revisits the 1976 science fiction anthology Galactic Empires, Volume One, edited by Brian Aldiss 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1988 occult novel Unquenchable Fire by Rachel Pollack 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1993 YA horror novel The Roommate by Diane Ho and the 1997 YA horror novel The Runaway by R.L. Stine. 
• Dave Hook revisits the 2000 anthology Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, edited by Sheree Renée Thomas 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2002 science fiction novel Bones of the Earth by Michael Swanwick 

 

Con and event reports:

• Cora Buhlert shares her experiences at Iridescence, the 2026 Eastercon in Birmingham, UK. 
• Cora Buhlert shares more of her experiences at Iridescence.  
• Kelcey Bauer and Patrick White report about the 2026 Norwescon in Seattle, Washington.
• Lauren Collins reports about the exhibtion “Flops?!" at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, France. 

 

Science and technology:

• Mike Hall reports that SpaceX's Starship V3 megarocket finally has a debut launch date 
• Raphael Rashid reports that a humanoid robot has been inducted as a Buddhist monk in South Korea. 
• Frank Landymore reports that a hacker has been able to hijack a lawnmower robot and attempted to run over a man. 

 

Gaming: 

• Keith Stuart wonders if 007 First Light could be the best Bond game since GoldenEye.

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Cora Buhlert reviews the Masters of the Universe Chronicles He-Man, Man-at-Arms and Battle Cat action figures from Mattel
• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Core line He-Man, Teela, Mekaneck, Skeletor, Beast-Man and Skel-Knight action figures as as the Core line Battle Cat and Roton vehicles.  
• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Core Battle Cat action figure.  
• James Whitbrook takes a look at the Lego Lord of the Rings Minas Tirith set. 
• Amaris Encinas also reports about the Lego Lord of the Rings Minas Tirith set, which will apparently be the biggest Lego set ever..

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Slayer of Dreams" by Auston Habershaw in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.  
• "Through the Corpse Door" by R.I. Sutton in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Vault of Barazan Troth" by Ben Sperduto in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "A Magic Kingdom" by Bruce McAllister in Nightmare Magazine.   
• "The Aerialist" by Yoon Ha Lee in Lightspeed.   
• "The Star Where We Meet" by Sam W. Pisciotta in Lightspeed.   
• "This Is Not My Timeline" by J.R. Dawson in Reactor.  
• "The Scent of Memory" by Zhao Haihong, translated by S. Qiouyi Lu in Clarkesworld.
• "Aly" by Grace Chan in Clarkesworld. 
• "Obedient Son" by Kelsea Yu in The Dark.
• "The Dog" by Phoenix Mendoza in The Deadlands.

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 3 of My Adventures With Superman.  
• Watch a trailer for Wildwood.  
• Watch a trailer for The Uncertainty Principle.
• Watch a trailer for Minions and Monsters. 
• Watch a trailer for The Magic Faraway Tree.  
• Watch a trailer for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.