And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with commentary on Marvel's Ant-Man, lots of profiles of SFF luminaries as well as your regular dose of Hugo discussion.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Todd Mason offers an overview of American science fiction magazines in the early 1950s.
- M.D. Jackson shares their appreciation for Buck Rogers.
- Michael Arbeiter shares fifteen things you might not know about Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land.
- Tommy Muncie shares his appreciation for Iain Banks.
- Alison Flood profiles Stephen Baxter.
- Andrew Harrison profiles Michael Moorcock.
- Peter Berbegal profiles Samuel R. Delany.
- Noah Berlatsky profiles N.K. Jemisin.
- Brian Merchant takes a look at how medicine and healthcare are depicted in science fiction.
- Lawrence M. Schoen discusses the metaphors of Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence.
- Kelly Anderson shares her appreciation for Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series.
- Amal El-Mohtar discusses how all stories by women are considered the same by some reviewers.
- Troy L. Wiggins shares nine diverse fantasy books that will challenge received ideas about fantasy fiction.
- James Smalls talks about how he uses Star Trek in his college classes to discuss issues such as gender and race.
- Daniel J. Dombrowski asks if superhero movies are science fiction.
- Tansy Rayner Roberts shares her appreciation for retired superheroine Jessica Jones.
- Landon Porter discusses three superhero tropes that are better than they get credit for.
Comments on Ant-Man:
- Alex Abad-Santos was initially sceptical about Ant-Man, but now feels that the movie is great.
- Adam Holmes explains the background of the Quantum Realm mentioned in Ant-Man.
- Jim Wilding shares 10 Easter eggs in Ant-Man.
- Jim Slotek takes a look at the science of Ant-Man.
- Jack Giroux explains why Thomas the Tank Engine doesn't kill anybody in Ant-Man.
- Garrett Morris, the first actor to portray Ant-Man in a 1979 Saturday Night Live skit, has a cameo in the current movie.
Awards and Hugo debate:
- Sarah Lotz points out that the Hugo Awards will be the losers if politics take the prize.
- Hubert Prolongeau offers a French take on the Hugo debate (in French obviously).
- David Steffen explains why he values the Hugos.
- George R.R. Martin explains how he will be voting for the Hugos and wonders how the Hugo controversy will impact WorldCon.
- Aaron Pound discusses how he will be voting for the Hugos.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Helen Lowe talks about writing epic heroines.
- Karen Miller talks about writing villains.
- Elena Linville talks about worldbuilding.
- Chris Winkle shares the seven ingredients of an amazing climax.
- Marie Brennan talks about the risks of writing full time.
- Kelly Schuknecht shares an Instagram primer for indie writers.
Interviews:
- John H. Stevens interviews Samuel R. Delany.
- Alyx Dellamonica interviews Tina Connolly.
- Charlee Allden interviews Sharon Lynn Fisher.
- Mayra Calvani interviews Christopher Nuttall.
- Len Small interviews Jeff VanderMeer.
Reviews:
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Skinner by David Bernstein.
- Michal Patrick Hicks also reviews Left to Darkness by Craig Sauders.
- Rachel Cordasco reviews Memory by Teresa P. Mira de Echeverría.
- Floyd Looney reviews Bright Horizons by Wilson Harp.
Crowdfunding:
- Pedal Zombies, an anthology of feminist bicycle science fiction edited by Elly Blue, is looking for funding.
- The horror anthology series Creepy Campfire Quarterly is looking for backers.
- Bleed 2039, a graphic novel by Alan James Edwards is looking for funding.
- Grenade, a graphic novel by Will Kirkby, is looking for backers.
- Teslavision, a graphic novel by Zoran Pilot and Pedja Ginevski, is looking for funding.
- The Smithsonian Institute is looking for funding to preserve the spacesuits worn by Neil Armstrong and Alan Shepard.
- Robert L. Sawyer explains why he is not a fan of crowdfunding.
Con reports:
- John de Nardo shares his experiences at Armadillocon 2015 in Austin, Texas.
- Dallas Fan Girls report about problems at the Dallas Gaming Expo.
- Watch a video of Eileen Gunn reading at Readercon in Boston.
Science and technology:
- Why Saturn's moon Iapetus is half light and half dark.
- A physicist in Omaha is working on a warp drive in his garage.
Free online fiction:
- "Orbital PD: Show My Good Side" and "Playing Games with Planets" by Floyd Looney.
- "The singing of the whales, the rising of the waters, the harvest of tears" by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz.
- Listen to a radio dramatization of Iain Banks' novella The State of the Art.
- "We'll always have Paris", chapter 62 of Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts.
- Chapter 6 of "Descendants... in Space", part 87 of The Descendants by Landon Porter.
Odds and ends:
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