Hello, my little chiropterans! In today’s round-up of recent sci-fi and fantasy links, I have stuff to share with you about exciting upcoming science fiction TV shows, a sci-fi writer’s thoughts on a place for authors in shaping our future, an excerpt from the Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology, and more!
The Future Is Unwritten…Unless You’re a Sci-Fi Writer
Emma Newman, author of many books including the Planetfall series and the upcoming novel The Vengeance (The Vampires of Dumas), recently wrote an interesting piece for The Guardian about how science fiction writers have been correctly portraying and predicting the future just as well as scientists. Newman cites examples of past correct portrayals of what was to come and argues that science fiction writers, as well as scientists, need to work on our very real future.
“I dearly wish we could be in the room with the decision-makers evaluating AI’s impacts on the UK’s prospects, because in the science-fiction world we have been considering the impact of machine learning, large language models and genuine AI for decades. And we aren’t trying to extract millions of pounds from decision-makers. I would ask dozens of questions about copyright, accuracy and biased algorithms. I would ask whether they have really considered the implications of companies, who only care about maximising profits, having access to information that could jeopardise the right to privacy. I would ask how they would deal with a Silicon Valley-based company, considering the current US administration, and whether they are willing to divert public money into businesses that are donating to that regime. I would ask a lot more besides. I imagine they would find me rather annoying.”
7 Brand-New Sci-Fi Shows To Watch in 2025
I am still working out my feelings about a Murderbot television series starring Alexander Skarsgård (who had a fantastic cameo in the final season of What We Do in the Shadows.) It’s nothing against him, I just don’t like people meddling with my favorite things. But that won’t stop me from watching the show when it hits Apple TV+. It’s also the only show I had already heard about out of the seven on this list of brand-new sci-fi shows to watch in 2025. It includes a few familiar franchises —Alien and Blade Runner are getting their first-ever TV shows—and a couple of original offerings, too! And Marvel. There’s always Marvel stuff.
(Related: In poking around for info on these shows, I learned that there was a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers miniseries in 1996 called Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. Which I totally would have named Mighty Xenomorphin Power Rangers.)
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The Next Book from the Author of Check, Please!
Ngozi Ukazu, author of the beloved comic Check, Please!, has announced her next book! Flip is a young adult sci-fi graphic novel about a high school senior named Chi-Chi Ekeh, whose crush, Flip, rejects her prom proposal in front of her whole school. As if that isn’t awkward enough, somehow Chi-Chi and Flip swap bodies. From the publisher description:
“Suddenly Chi-Chi is 6’1” and cool, while Flip gets a crash course on Chi-Chi’s life―that is, k-pop, hair-braiding, and being a poor kid of color at a rich white private school. With graduation looming and their body swaps lasting longer and longer, Chi-Chi and Flip must form the most unlikely friendship their school has ever seen. But will they survive senior year? And, most importantly, can they find a way back to themselves?”
Flip is out September 23, 2025, from First Second.
Read an Excerpt from Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology
Beam me up, Scotty: Reactor has an excerpt from the just-released YA collection Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology, edited by Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor. It’s a round-up of stories about alien interactions, in several different genres, with contributions from Alex Brown, Beth Revis, Emily Lloyd-Jones, Eric Smith, Julian Winters, Laura Pohl, Maya Gittelman, M. K. England, Rebecca Kim Wells, and S. J. Whitby. The excerpt is from the prologue, the story “No Strangers to Love” by the editors, Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor.
You can also read more about it and other exciting books in Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025 post!
But There are Some Things I Know for Certain: Lavender Cover Reveals
And is lavender the hot cover color for 2025? These two recent cover reveals make it seem like the answer is ‘yes.’ They went with purple for prose, and I am very excited about both of these! People Magazine shared A Steeping of Blood, the second book in Hafsah Faizal’s Blood and Tea YA vampire duology. It’s out September 23 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). And Paste had the reveal of An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating by Cecilia Edward, out August 5 from S&S/Saga Press. I am doubly excited about this one because this is the adult debut of Remy Lai, writing as Cecelia Edward. I am a big fan and can’t wait to read what she has in store for grown-ups!
(And a gold star for those of you who knew the intro reference. It’s a quote from Practical Magic: “But there are some things I know for certain: always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck, and fall in love whenever you can.”)
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the BR podcast All the Books! and on Bluesky and Instagram.
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