Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for July 10, 2015

And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Usman T. Malik talks about the importance of science fiction, fantasy and the imagination. 
• Renay talks about the weight of genre history and what it takes to be an SF fan.
• Dana Stevens and Leslie Jamison wonder whether genre labels matter anymore.
• Jessica E. Subject talks about reinventing the alien for science fiction romance. 
• Nicola Griffith shares an open letter to Alice Sheldon a.k.a. James Tiptree Jr.
• At the SF Signal Mind Meld, several authors share their favourite science fiction mysteries/detective novels.  
• Frederic Jameson looks back on Neuromancer for its 30th anniversary.
• Zen Cho discusses Malaysian Cyberpunk. 
• Judy Heflin talks about Chinese science fiction.
• James Blaylock talks about writing Steampunk.
• Gail Z. Martin talks about Steampunk beyond Victorian England. 
• J.A. McLachlan wonders whether ethics and science fiction are asking similar questions.
• Victor Milán wonders why dinosaurs are so enduringly popular.
• Laura Miller praises Kelly Link.
• John Dugdale wonders about the appeal of fairytales and myths. 
• Paul Tremblay discusses the politics of horror.
• K. Tempest Bradford challenges everybody to support and signal-boost marginalised voices.
• Michael Nordine takes a look at the first Ethiopian science fiction film.
• Marc Sollinger points out that we are living in the science fiction future of Star Trek and Blade Runner.
• Ryan Lambie takes a look at the soft reboots of Mad Max, Jurassic World and Terminator.
• Patrick Bromley insists that Sarah Connor is the heart and soul of the Terminator franchise. 
• Disney and Lucasfilm have announced that they will be making a Star Wars spin-off film about the adventures of a young Han Solo to premiere in 2018.
• Graeme McMillan shares the history behind the influential French SF comic Valerian.
• Michael Cipley and Brooks Barnes take an inside look at the corporation that runs San Diego Comic-Con.
  

Awards:

• The nominees for the 2015 World Fantasy Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2015 Utopiales Awards have been announced.

Hugo debate:

• Doctor Science explains how Hugo voting works.
• Mike Resnick takes a look back at the history of WorldCon and points out that uproars and bitter fights are nothing new.
• David Gerrold has had enough of slate-mongering and boycotts and namecalling and the fact that the entire genre has been plunged into a war and wishes to go back to just talking about science fiction.
• Malcolm Cross points out that there is no such thing as unpolitical SFF and has never been. 
• Bob R. Milne laments how the Hugo uproar has made him reconsider reading certain authors.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• P.J. Manney shares five tips for writing science fiction, while keeping non-fans engaged.
• Rayne Hall explains the appeal of flawed heroes.
• Peter Clines talks about technobabble. 
• Tony Foti shares some tips for designing futuristic clothes.
• S.B. James discusses what it means to be an indie writer.
• Mercia McMahon weighs in on the recent changes to e-book subscription services Scribd and Kindle Unlimited. 
• Katie Cross talks about increasing her sales at Kobo. 
• Elizabeth Ann West discusses why authors should consider selling e-books direct to readers. 
• Martyn V. Halm talks about dealing with negative reviews.
  

Reviews:

• E.P. Beaumont reviews Heart of Fire by J. Damask and 25 Ways to Kill a Werewolf by Jo Thomas.
• Rachel Cordasco reviews Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson.
• Mark Gardner reviews The Siege of Praetor by David Kristoph.
• Bookworm Blues reviews The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor.
• John De Nardo reviews Yesterday's Kin by Nancy Kress.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Dark Man by Desmond Doane.
• Michael Patrick Hicks also reviews The Harvest by Chuck Wendig.
  

Interviews:

• Mark Oshiro interview David Gerrold.
• Aidan Moher interviews James L. Sutter.
• Mark Gardner interviews David Kristoph.
• Deborah Stanish interviews E. Lily Yu.
• Sandra Odell interviews Carrie Vaughn.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Speculative Relationships Volume 2, a science fiction romance comic by Tyrell Cannon, is looking for funding. 
• Strange Monsters, a CD compilation of music and poetry by Bonnie Stufflebeam and Peter Brewer, is looking for backers.

Con reports:

• E.P. Beaumont shares a few impressions from CONvergence in Bloomington, MN.
• Arianne Tex Thompson also discusses her experiences at CONvergence.
• Martha Wells also shares a brief report as well as some photos of CONvergence. 
• Mike Willmoth and Lisa Hayes share some impressions and videos from Westercon 68 in San Diego, CA. 
• Damon Sasser talks about the 2015 Howard Days celebrating Robert E. Howard in Cross Plains, Texas.

Science and technology:

• A researcher has built an organic computer using four wired together rat brains.
• The New Horizons probe has confirmed that Pluto is red.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Tarshis, Queen of the Mountain", "First Encounter" and "Texas 2121" by Floyd Looney.
• "Fanged" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
• "Grandma's Tricks" by Margrét Helgadóttir at In-flight Magazine.  
• "Islands of the Coast of Capitola, 1978" by David Herter at Tor.com.
• "After the Fall", chapter 1 of Lee-Lack's Gold by Andrew Ashling.
• "The House of Athos", part 59 of Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts.
• Chapter 3 of "Descendants... in Space", part 87 of The Descendants by Landon Porter.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a teaser trailer for the Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
• Enjoy the characters of Mad Max: Fury Road protrayed as Muppets.