Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for April 8, 2016

Here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with comments on Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Wynonna Earp, recommendations for SFF books for people who don't like SFF, awards news, con reports as well as the usual mix of writing advice, interviews, reviews, con reports and crowdfunding projects as well as free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Noah Berlatsky points out that cutting edge science fiction does not equal cutting edge science and that it is often written by marginalised writers.
• Esther Inglis-Arkell shares nine great science fiction books for people who don't like science fiction.
• Tracy Mumford shares eleven science fiction and fantasy books for people who don't like science fiction and fantasy.
• A.D. Shrum talks about science fiction military technology.
• Jadah McCoy talks about the singularity. 
• Alma Alexander talks about historical fantasy, alternate history and the differences between them.
• Helen Lowe discusses her love affair with the long names of fantasy fiction. 
• Charlie Jane Anders shares ten authors who wrote gritty fantasy before George R.R. Martin.
• Mari Ness revisits Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
• The participants of the SF Signal Mind Meld share books they would love to reread, as if it was the first time.
• Charlie Jane Anders has strong words for The Vampire Diaries about killing off two lesbian characters.
• Jennifer Stasak shares twelve female TV characters who redefine the hero's journey. 
• Jordana Lipsitz shares her appreciation for the Lone Gunmen of X-Files fame.  
• Kim Petersen wonders if Star Trek's utopia is achievable.
• Ryan Britt wonders whether Star Wars fans actually care about Rogue One. 
• Mike D'Angelo shares his appreciation for the movie War Games. 
• Sarah Kurchak discusses Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation shows in the context of the Cold War.
• Tom O'Neil explains how the Cold War saved Marvel and birthed a generation of superheroes. 
• Corrina Lawson shares nine feminist comics everyone should read.
• Science fiction author Justin Leiber, son of Fritz Leiber, died aged 77.
• Swedish writer and avid SFF fan Lars Gustafsson has died aged 79.
  

Comments on Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice: 

• Isaac Rouse analyses the flaws of Batman vs. Superman.
• David Sims discusses Batman vs. Superman's empty obsession with grimness.
• Jacob Brogan thinks that the dumbest thing about Batman vs. Superman is its obsession with sounding smart.
• Landon Porter explains why he hopes people won't go to see Batman vs. Superman.
• Kyle Buchanan complains about the stupid subplots Batman vs. Superman gives to Lois Lane. 
• Alasdair Stuart revisits Man of Steel in the wake of Batman vs. Superman. 
• Brogan Morris shares ten reasons why Batman vs. Superman can't top the Dark Knight trilogy.
• Director Zack Snyder explains why he felt the need to show the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne again.  
• Ben Silverio reports that director and fan Kevin Smith is not happy with Batman vs. Superman.
• Bob Shipman wonders whether Batman vs. Superman proves that critics are snobs or whether the movie is simply bad.
• Zachary Crockett claims that the bad reviews of Batman vs. Superman prove that blockbusters are getting worse.
• Ben Kendrick wonders whether superhero fandom is ruining the golden age of comic book movies.
• At Slate, various critics wonder whether it's too late to save the superhero movie.
  

Comments on Wynonna Earp:

• Genevieve Valentine shares her thoughts on Wynonna Earp.
• Jeff Spry interviews Emily Andras, showrunner of Wynonna Earp.
  

Awards:

• The winners of the 2016 Tiptree Awards have been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2016 Aurora Awards has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2016 Prometheus Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2015 Coyotl Awards have been announced.
• Dragon Con has launched its own SFF awards, the Dragon Awards. Voting is open now.
• Steve Davidson makes the case for the lifetime achievement Hugo Award.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Deborah J. Ross talks about original vision vs. compromising with the market and how to reconcile the two.
• Patty Jansen shares some writing advice she wishes someone had told her when she started out and shares what the most important thing new writers should do is.
• Debra Purdy Kong talks about joy and purpose in solitude. 
• Jim C. Hines talks about working for exposure. 
• Jadah McCoy explains why character agency is so important.
• Charles Stross shares some worldbuilding advice. 
• Rachel Swirsky shares the difference between a first and a final draft, with examples.
• David Neth talks about matching your cover to your genre. 
• Joan Marie Verber explains how Kindle Scout works.
• Patty Jansen talks about selling on Non-Amazon platforms. 

Interviews:

• Andrea Johnson interviews Mike Allen.
• Andrea Johnson also interviews Alan Smale.
• Isabella Biedenharn interviews Jeff VanderMeer. 
• Rachel Swirsky interviews Fran Wilde.
• Daniel Berkowitz interviews Hugh Howey. 
• Brady Dale also interviews Hugh Howey.
• Matt Staggs interviews Myke Cole.
• Simon Bestwick interviews William Meikle. 
• Carl Slaughter interviews Mindee Arnett.
• Shellie Horst interviews Jo Zebedee.
• Shellie Horst also interviews Thaddeus White.  
• Kristin Centorcelli interviews Stacey Berg.

Reviews:

• Nalini Haynes reviews Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch.
• Adam Whitehead reviews Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold. 
• Bibliotropic reviews Fellside by M.R. Carey. 
• Ceridwen Christensen reviews Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie.
• Nicole Kastronis reviews Floodgate by Johnny Shaw. 
• Chris Taylor reviews Arkwright by Allen Steele.
• Niall Alexander reviews Long Dark Dusk by J.P. Smythe. 
• Greg Benford reviews Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings by Diana Pavlac Glyer.

Crowdfunding:

• Sunvault, an anthology of stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation edited by Bronte Wieland and Phoebe Wagner, is looking for funding. 
• The Pride Vol. 1, an LGBT superhero comic by Joe Glass, is looking for funding.
• Verdacomb, a dystopian graphic novel by Dan Berry, is looking for funding. 
• Liberty: Deception, a science fiction comic by Travis Vengroff and Raymund Bermudez, is looking for funding.
• Evil Inc Annual Report Vol. 9: Ruby of Ragnoor, a graphic novel by Brad Guigar, is looking for funding. 
• Lycans, a graphic novel series by Tazmon Sims, is looking for funding.
• Thelma, a short film of a gender-reversed Hamlet, is looking for funding.
• Science writer and longtime science fiction fan Ro Nagey needs some help to buy a wheelchair.
  

Con reports:

• Andrea Johnson and Lucy A. Snyder talk about AnimeKon in Barbados.
• Rob Cramer shares his experiences at SaltCon in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Mike Glyer reports about the 2016 Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Show in Los Angeles, California.
• The organisers of Anime Boston issue a statement regarding excessive lines at the convention. 
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest edition of the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings series in New York City, which also doubled as the launch party for the anthology Clockwork Phoenix 5.
• Boris Kachka reports about the AWP Conference in Los Angeles, California. 
• Peter Tyers reports about Sasquan, the 2015 World Science Fiction Convention.

Science and technology:

• Lessons from a bizarre new planetary system.
• Biological supercomputers will soon arrive.
• A neuroscientist explains why AI robots will never have consciousness like humans.
• Should life extension technology become available, will only the rich be able to afford it?
• An official UFO investigation in the Soviet Union, following an UFO sighting in 1977. 
• Are we heading towards a singularity of crime?

Free online fiction:

• "There Will Always Be a Max" by Michael R. Underwood at Tor.com.
• "Songbird" by Shveta Thakrar in Flash Fiction Online.
• "Balin" by Chen Qiufan, translated by Ken Liu, in Clarkesworld.
• "The Endangered Camp" by Ann Leckie. 
• "Recovery One" by Floyd Looney.
• "The Teratologist's Brother" by Brandon H. Hall in Apex Magazine.
• "From the Editorial Page of the Falchester Weekly Review", a Lady Trent story by Marie Brennan at Tor.com. 
• "Freedom is Space for the Spirit" by Glen Hirshberg at Tor.com.

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One.
• Watch a trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence.
• Watch a trailer for Swiss Army Man.
• Watch a trailer for The BFG. 
• Watch Loki from the Avengers announce the local weather for Chicago.