10 Splendid Sci-Fi Movie Villains—and More SFF Links

Can Science Fiction Help Us Envision a Better Future?

Annalee Newitz kicked off a new series called “Sci X Sci-Fi” at Yale, discussing science fiction and the future. They talked a bit before the event about science fiction, robots, and the future.

“I think the best fiction offers us a practical picture of a future world where things might be going better — we might have carbon-negative energy sources, or sustainable agricultural practices — but at the same time we’ll still be dealing with hard problems around governance and resource allocation. I think what science fiction offers is a safe sandbox where we can game out possible future scenarios, imagining unexpected secondary and tertiary effects of new technologies and policies. “

Newitz’s newest book, a cozy sci-fi novella called Automatic Noodle, will be out August 5, 2025 from Tordotcom. It’s about robots who run a noodle shop and what happens when their restaurant starts being hate-bombed with one-star reviews. (Each time I see the book mentioned online, my brain starts singing “Automatic Buffalo” by The Sheila Divine. Which I don’t mind, because it’s a really good song.)

10 Sci-Fi Movie Villains Who Were So Great, They Even Outshone The Hero

A good villain can make or break a story, and the scenery-chewers are often the best ones. This list of excellent sci-fi movie villains might be my favorite list that I have shared so far. I agree with so many of them!

First, there’s Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from The Fifth Element, played by Gary Oldman. Love Oldman or hate him, he is an amazingly talented chameleon. I love this movie so much, I made myself a Leeloo Dallas multipass. And I haven’t heard anything recently to dispute this fact: The Fifth Element is the only big commercial film release in which the hero and the villain do not share the screen for a single second.

There’s also Roy Batty from the 1982 original Blade Runner, played with such weird joy by the late, great Rutger Hauer. I wasn’t that excited about David in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, but I do love him being included because this (NSFW) video pointing out all the problems with Prometheus still makes me laugh. (Another problem—they spelled the title wrong in the article.)

And then I have to shout out Immortan Joe from Mad Max: Fury Road, simply because he looks like Bane and Debbie Harry had a baby. Who are your favorite sci-fi villains?

The Sequel to BOOK OF NIGHT by Holly Black is Coming in 2025!

The sequel to Holly Black’s adult fiction debut Book of Night has been announced! It’s called Thief of Night, and continues the adventures of con artist Charlie Hall.

From the publisher: “There’d always been something wrong with Charlie Hall. Crooked from the day she was born. Never met a bad decision she wasn’t willing to double down on. She may be good enough to steal a shadow from a tower, but will she be good enough to steal back a heart?”

People recently revealed the cover and talked to Black about the book. “With Thief of Night,” she tells People exclusively, “I wanted to push Charlie Hall even further — into darker places, deeper magic and confronting her own shadow self. I loved exploring shadows not just as the monstrous Blights that live in this world, but as secrets, as hunger, as the parts of ourselves we pretend don’t exist until they rise up to consume everything.”

Thief of Night (Book of Night) by Holly Black will be out September 23, 2025 from Tor Books.

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Ayana Gray’s Adult Debut I, MEDUSA Takes on a Mythical Monster

Getting back to villains, Ayana Gray will release her first novel for adults, I, Medusa, at the end of the year. She’s taking on one of mythology’s greatest monsters, Medusa, whose visage causes people to turn to stone when they look at her. But like a lot of recent popular books, including Circe and Kaikeyi, Gray is taking a much-maligned figure from lore and telling her side of the story.

From the publisher: “In Athens’ colorful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena’s favored acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy’s promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.

Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity—not as a victim but as a vigilante—and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.

Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the crosscurrents between her heart’s deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.

People recently revealed the cover of Gray’s book as well, and she talked about the Medusa in its pages. “Medusa is an iconic but often one-dimensional figure in classical Greco-Roman mythology,” Gray tells People. “She is often portrayed as a villain, but I’ve learned the best villains never think of themselves that way and wanted to explore that.” She adds, “I was inspired to write a story that forces readers to decide for themselves whether she truly deserves to be called a monster.”

I, Medusa will be out November 18, 2025 by Random House

The 10 Most Disturbing Sci-Fi Shows

No surprise, I am wrapping up with another list! Collider has a list of the 10 most disturbing sci-fi shows. Disturbing is my favorite flavor, so I was disappointed in myself after reading this list, because I have only seen one of the shows listed, The X-Files, plus a few episodes of Black Mirror and the “Time Enough at Last” episode of The Twilight Zone. (Every book lover’s dream!) Which of these shows do you love? Which sci-fi show would you add?