It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general, season 4 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, The End of Oak Street, It Ends, Insidious: Out of the Further, tributes to Hayden Panettiere and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Grimdark Magazine share their favourite dark fantasy and science fiction books of 2026 so far
- Alex Brown shares must read short speculative fiction for July 2026
- James Davis Nicoll shares five classic SFF covers featuring potential health and safety issues
- Sam Reader shares seven SFF books featuring modern takes on folkloric monsters
- Fiona Denton shares her favourite monster hunting books.
- Hannah Whitten shares eight horror novels that use the ocean as their setting
- Clay McLeod Chapman explains why horror and romance work so well together
- Tara Menon explains why we need climate fiction.
- Nicole Brooks recommends five climate fiction novels and ecological thrillers.
- Isabelle Spotts shares five mysteries that reimagine death and the afterlife
- J.R. Dawson explains how speculative fiction makes the afterlife less lonely
- Ellie Blackwood shares three Ted Chiang science fiction stories that broke her brain
- Shelley Streeby discusses how Ursula K. Le Guin channeled her environmentalism into fiction
- Olivia Tauber reports that rumours that Wattpad was about to ban sexuall explicit fanfiction has sent many users to AO3.
- Locus remembers Robin Johnson.
Comics and Art:
Film and TV:
- Peter Bradshaw calls Coyote Vs Acme a quirky comedy that returned from the dead to flip Wile E Coyote’s slapstick-violent world
- Ben Child notes that more gore will not bring The X-Files: I Want to Believe back to life.
- Lucy Mangan calls The Terror: Devil in Silver a psychiatric hospital horror series that is scary on so many levels
- Monica Castillo finds plenty of expressionist style and little narrative sense in the science fiction film Hot Spot.
- Chris Garcia calls Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting one of the most beautiful short films he has ever seen, with effects that are on-par with Hollywood’s best, and a story that is equal parts heartbreaking and breathtaking.
- Peter Bradshaw calls Snapshot a fun found-footage horror film that follows amateur Jack the Ripper hunters in the 1880s
- Leslie Felperin calls Match a gory and slyly satirical catfishing horror film for the age of Hinge
- Colleen McMillan shares her thoughts on the anime The Summer Hikaru Died
- Chloe Walker calls The Magic Faraway Tree nearly as charming as the stories it influenced
- Judith Tarr calls Hoppers a surprisingly gritty and fierce animated film about talking animals.
- Cath Clarke calls David an upbeat animated religious musical film.
- Justin Carter interviews Jake Wyatt and Brendan Clogher, showrunners of My Adventures with Superman.
- Rory O'Connor interviews legendary special effects make-up artist Rick Baker.
- Ethan Millman interviews Dan Romer, composer for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
- Kate Erbland interviews Kate O'Flynn who plays Patricia in Widow's Bay.
- Marcus James Dixon interviews Jeff Hiller who appeared in Widow's Bay and Pluribus among others.
- Faith Roswell shares her favourite TV robots.
- Matthew Byrd shares eight dystopian movie worlds built on one weird rule
- Kayleigh Dray wonders why TV shows featuring vampires are so popular.
- Emily Temple declares that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, at its core, a show about grief.
- Fiona Moore revisits the 1970 TV show UFO.
- Tyler Dean revisits the 1982 sword and sorcery film The Sword and the Sorcerer
- Kali Wallace revisits the 1988 animated film The Land Before Time
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1998 Babylon 5 TV-movie Thirdspace
- James Hibbs reports that Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss has said in an interview that Doctor Who probably won't return for several years and that it is time for a break.
- Kyle Turner attempts to explain why movies look so washed out and murky these days.
- Fu Ting reports that the Chinese animated film Niu Lai, mocked as terrible and inept, is experiencing a surprising box office success in China.
Tributes to Hayden Panettiere:
- Actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, A Bug's Life, Tiger Cruise, several Scream movies and many others as well as former partner of boxer Wladimir Klitschko, has died aged only 36.
- Zoe Williams remembers Hayden Panettiere.
- Anthony Hayward shares an obituary for Hayden Panettiere.
- Richard Luscombe shares the tribute of boxer Wladimir Kltischko to his former partner and mother of his daughter Hayden Panettiere.
- Tim Kring, creator and showrunner of Heroes, remembers Hayden Panettiere who played Claire Bennet in the show.
- Jennifer Hassan shares tributes by co-stars and directors to Hayden Panettiere.
- Jesse Hassenger declares that Hollywood continues to fail child stars and that Hayden Panettiere was only the latest victim.
- William Hughes reports that cosmetics company Neutrogena has apologized for its treatment of Hayden Panettiere, who was their brand ambassador.
- The Guardian shares photos from Hayden Panettiere's short but memorable life.
Comments on the Masters of the Universe live action film and Masters of the Universe in general:
- The Podcasters of the Universe interview motion capture actor James Unsworth, who portrayed Beast-Man in Masters of the Universe.
- He-Mania reports how actor Noah Centineo was cast as Adam/He-Man in 2019 and the movie got to the preproduction stage, before it was cancelled.
- Rick Porter reports that Masters of the Universe was the most streamed movie or TV series on all streaming services in the US in its debut week.
- He-Mania reports that Masters of the Universe is the most streamed program on Amazon Prime for the fourth week in a row.
- Watch "He-Man and Skeletor…Work Together?!", the latest episode of the Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia animated series.
Comments on season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Level-Five Transporter Accident”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on “Level-Five Transporter Accident”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Alyse Wax shares her thoughts on “Level-Five Transporter Accident”, the latest episode of season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Joe Otterson shares a behind the scenes look at how "Level Five Transporter Accident" was made.
- Meredith Jacobs also shares a behind the scenes look at "Level Five Transporter Accident".
Comments on Lanterns and the DC Cinematic Universe in general:
- Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on the first episode of Lanterns.
- Dennis Perkins shares his thoughts on the first episode of Lanterns.
- Siddhant Adlakha notes that Lanterns is “for the fans” in refreshing ways
- Lucy Mangan does not like Lanterns and proves that she doesn't really understand superheroes.
- Vanessa Armstrong interviews Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy and Tom King, co-creators of Lanterns.
- Vanessa Armstrong shares Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof's explanation why audiences should care about space cops.
- Brian Davids interviews Damon Lindelof.
- Sam Nelson interviews Damon Lindelof.
- Justin Carter reports that Hal Jordan and John Stewart almost didn't wear their Green Lantern suits in Lanterns.
- Erik Adams talks about how seeing Hal Jordan on a football field evokes memories of Hal Jordan actor Kyle Chandler's role as an American football coach in Friday Night Lights.
- Joe Otterson reports that Lanterns had the best opening of all DC shows and is the fifth most watched show on HBO Max of all time.
- Germain Lussier reports that the next DC TV show will be a Jimmy Olsen focussed true crime show called The People v. Gorilla Grodd
Comments on Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma:
Comments on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:
- Owen Gleiberman asks why people love Spider-Man so much.
- Jeremy Fuster reports that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed two billion US-dollars at the box office.
- Ben Child discusses some speculation about Avengers: Doomsday.
- William Hughes reports that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who plays Simon Williams in Wonder-Man wants to know why the show was abruptly cancelled after first being renewed.
Comments on The End of Oak Street:
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that The End of Oak Street might be the return of good bad movies
- Jacob Oller notes that the end of The End Of Oak Street is even kookier than its premise
- Arturo Serrano discusses The End of Oak Street in the context of the decline of Detroit in the 1980s.
- Joshua Rivera declares that the dinosaurs of The End Of Oak Street demand respect, not affection
- Erik Adams and Monica Castillo note that the popular low budget horror movies Backrooms and Obsession as well as The End of Oak Street are all inspired by The Twilight Zone
Comments on It Ends:
Comments on Insidious: Out Of The Further:
- Scott Tobias declares that Insidious: Out of the Further pushes a once-promising horror franchise further from what it once was
- Jesse Hassenger declares that Insidious: Out Of The Further throws a surprisingly fun ghoul party
- Germain Lussier calls Insidious: Out of the Further the best Insidious movie since the original.
- William Earl interviews Jacob Chase, director of Insidious: Out of the Further
Awards:
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Birdie Horne talks about writing sex scenes.
- Anjuli Patil reports that Canadian author Rachel Reid has donated 300000 CAD to support five rural libraries in Nova Scotia, Canada.
- Locus reports that the antiquarian bookseller Lloyd Currey Booksellers in Elizabethtown, New York, has been targeted by thieves for the third time this year.
- Emma Loffhagen reports that several Ukrainian publishers have asked for support after Russian missile strikes destroyed warehouses with millions of books.
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Martin Cahill reviews The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Final Chronicle of Yeneh by Jo Miles
- Marlene Harris reviews The Wizard Who Kept Himself Suspicious by Scott Lynch
- Rob Bedford reviews Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter.
- Alex Brown reviews The Dragon Has Some Complaints by John Wiswell
- Maura Krause reviews Pasha the Storm by Linda H. Codega
- Robin Marx reviews Cormac Mac Art: Isle of Swords by Matthew John
- Lydia Harris reviews He Who Fights With Monsters by Travis Deverell.
- Alex Brown reviews The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty
- Sally Berrow reviews Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion by T. Kingfisher
- Marlene Harris reviews The Silver Hand by Shawn Carpenter
- Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka
- Marlene Harris reviews A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
- Nina Allan reviews Sunrise by Téa Obreht
- Niall Harrison reviews Heaven’s Graveyard by Grace Curtis
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Curve of the World by Vonda N. McIntyre
- James Davis Nicoll reviews A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-Young, translated by Sophie Bowman
- Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
- Alex Brown reviews Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Harbour of Hungry Ghosts by Eliza Chan
- Ed Crocker reviews Harbour of Hungry Ghosts by Eliza Chan
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Ghosts of Chanterlands by Catherine Cavendish
- Marlene Harris reviews Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist
- Jen Lucas reviews The Residency by C.D. Major
- Gabino Iglesias reviews I Know a Place by Nat Cassidy
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Find Me Where It Ends by Cassandra Khaw
- Esmay Rosalyne reviews Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle
- Colleen Mondor reviews That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall
- Alexandra Pierce reviews The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed
- Paul Weimer reviews Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- C.T. Phipps reviews Xenos by Dan Abnett
- Hache Pueyo reviews If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop.
- Arley Sorg reviews Forged in FIYAH, edited by DaVaun Sanders
Classics reviews:
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1960 space opera novel The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
- Gideon Marcus revisits the September 1971 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- David Levinson revisits the 1971 Mabinogion fantasy novel The Children of Llyr by Evangeline Walton and the 1971 time travel novel The Dancer from Atlantis by Poul Anderson, S.J. Groenewegen revisits the 1971 alternate history novel Battle of Sydney by John Vader, Fiona Moore revisits the 1971 time travel novel The Authentic Touch by Jack Wodhams and the 1971 psychedelic adventure novel The Invisibles by Bernhardt J. Hurwood
- Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1971 mythological fantasy novel The Forest of Forever by Thomas Burnett Swann, Amber Dubin revisits the 1971 science fiction novel Chapayeca by G.C. Edmondson and Winona Menezes revisits the 1971 science fiction novel Margaret and I by Kate Wilhelm
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1974 media tie-in novel Star Trek Log One by Alan Dean Foster
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1976 horror novel The Auctioneer by Joan Samson
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1977 science fiction anthology New Voices I, the 1979 science fiction anthology New Voices II and the 1980 science ficiton anthology New Voices III, all edited by George R.R. Martin.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1979 Dracula horror novel An Old Friend of the Family by Fred Saberhagen
- Camestros Felapton revisits the 1984 Cyberpunk novel Neuromancer by William Gibson.
- Joe Sherry revisits the 1995 Recluce epic fantasy novel The Order War by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
- Alan Brown revisits the 2002 space opera The Duke of Uranium by John Barnes
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2012 horror novella A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
Con and event reports:
- James Bacon reports about the 2026 Dublin Comic Con in Dublin, Ireland.
- Alice Strandman reports about the 2026 Readercon in Burlington, Massachussetts.
- Locus shares a photo of the 2026 Sycamore Hill Writers Conference in Little Switzerland, North Carolina.
- Germain Lussier lists seven things he loved at Disney's D23 event in Anaheim, California, and three things he didn't.
- Germain Lussier shares the most exciting Disney Parks updates revealed at Disney's D23 event in Anaheim, California.
- Amelia Emberwing notes that Disney's glittering D23 event distracts from mass layoffs across the company,
- Mridula Amin reports about one of the last drive-in cinemas in Coburg, Australia.
Science and technology:
- Osmond Chia and Lauren Cress report that the streaming platform Twitch is facing a backlash when users learned that their content has been used to train Amazon's AI.
- Dan Milmo reports that used booksellers in the UK and Ireland report mysterious large bulk orders they suspect may be linked to AI training.
- Inka Romero-Ortells Labrada, Jon Andoni Duñabeitia and Manuel Perea explain what con-languages can teach us about the human brain.
- Neil Vigdor reports that two billy goats tried to board a bus in Portland, Oregon, without a valid ticket.
- A. Rushby shares her favourite spooky places in London, UK.
Toys and collectibles:
- Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins Snake Lair playset.
- Toy Habits reviews the Hero H.A.C.K.S. Zorro action figure by Boss Fight Studios.
- Cheryl Eddy shares a look at an Alien: Earth inspired sheep and eyeball plushie.
- Germain Lussier shares a look at the Hot Toys Avengers: Doomsday Professor X action figure.
- Germain Lussier shares a look at the Lego Batman Returns Batmobile set.
Free online fiction:
- "What Do You Mean the Nanobots Formed a Union??" by Joel W. D. Buxton in Lightspeed.
- "Of All Who Dream" by Adelehin Ijasan in Lightspeed.
- "Precogs in the Machine" by Nat Katz in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Fall of Father Anatolio" by Lars Wehman Dabney in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "All the Ruined Doorways of the Moon" by Eilis O’Neal in Clarkesworld.
- "Room 602 at the Hotel In-Between" by Georgina Kamsika in Nightmare Magazine.
- "The Long March of the Bones" by Malena Salazar Maciá in The Dark.
- "The Only Way Is Forwards" by Joel Glover in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "When I Heard Calypso" by Rob Cameron in Apex Magazine.
- "Chorus for Solo Voice" by Marie Brennan in The Sunday Morning Transport.
Trailers and videos:
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