Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for July 29, 2016

Here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with lots of news and trailers from San Diego Comic Con, a lot of debate about the new Ghostbusters, Star Trek: Beyond and the streaming video show Stranger Things as well as the usual mix of writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, con reports, crowdfunding projects and free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• The participants of the B&N Mind Meld discuss the boundaries between literary and genre fiction and how to dissolve them.
• Lynn Neary discusses the rise of serialized fiction.
• Sam Reader shares ten things you should never do while time travelling.
• Ken Murphy lists novels set in near Earth space and on the moon from the 1950s to the 1980s and from the 1990s to today.
• Lynne M. Thomas discusses how by creating inclusive SFF, she accidentally sparked a culture war.  
• Brian J. White of Fireside Fiction shares a special report on the state of black speculative fiction.
• Ardi Alspach shares seven books that define Afrofuturism. 
• Daniel Heath Justice shares a list of speculative fiction by indigenous writers. (PDF file)  
• Martin Cahill shares his appreciation for Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence. 
• Jeff Somers shares his appreciation for The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
• Paige Orwin talks about optimism versus cynism in superhero narratives.
• Jessica King and Oliver Lyttelton share their fifty best science fiction films of the twenty-first century.
• Germain Lussier reports about Luc Bresson's upcoming science fiction epic Valerian, adapted from Jean-Claude Mezieres comic series.
• io9 reports about a controversy surrounding the animated adaptation of the Batman graphic novel The Killing Joke.
• Alison Flood reports that Roxane Gay will write a Black Panther spin-off series for Marvel.
• Evan Narcisse reports how the TV series Preacher handles the introduction of the Saint of Killers.
• Illustrator and cartoonist Richard Thompson died aged 59.
• Cartoonist Jack Davis died aged 91.
• Actor Jerry Doyle, best know for his role in Babylon 5, had died aged 60.
  

Comments on Star Trek: Beyond: 

• John Scalzi shares his thoughts on Star Trek: Beyond.
• Gary Westfahl shares his thoughts on Star Trek: Beyond. 
• Keith DeCandido shares a spoilerish review of Star Trek: Beyond.
• Matthew Gault declares that Star Trek: Beyond saves the franchise's soul. 
• Time Magazine explains why aliens are so important to Star Trek.  
• Thomas Vinciguerra explains why Star Trek's uniforms haven't changed very much in fifty years.

Comments on the new Ghostbusters: 

• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviews the new Ghostbusters.
• Peter Suderman declares that the original Ghostbusters was political, the new one not so much.
• Maddy Myers explains why the new Ghostbusters movie is political. 
• Alyssa Rosenberg declares that the new Ghostbusters isn't exactly a victory for feminist pop culture.

Comments on Stranger Things: 

• Thea James shares eleven reasons to watch Stranger Things.
• Nerds of a Feather wonders what the success of the retro horror streaming video show Stranger Things says about the future of serialised drama.
• Cheryl Eddy calls Stranger Things a must-watch show.

Awards:

• The winners of the 2016 Will Eisner Awards have been announced (and presenter John Barrowman had some cosplaying fun).
• The winners of the 2016 Scribe Awards have been announced (sans cosplaying John Barrowman, unfortunately).
• The winners of the 2016 Prism Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2016 Manly Wade Wellman Award has been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2016 Geffen Awards has been announced.
• The finalists for the 2016 Munsey Award nominees have been announced.
• David Saunders has been named the recipient of the 2016 Lamont Award.
• George R.R. Martin urges every eligible WorldCon member to vote for the Hugo Awards, for the deadline is fast approaching.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• C.M. Subasic explains the difference between a series of events and a story. 
• C.M. Subasic also talks about writing compelling antagonists.
• Thu-Huong Ha takes a look at the indie romance boom. 
• Megan Abbott, Blake Crouch and James Patterson discuss how to write a thriller. 
• Benjamin L. Clark shares some historical research tips for authors. 
• Joan Aiken shares some tips for writing books for children. 
• C.J. Brightley shares some tips for writing fight scenes.
• Debra Purdy Kong talks about the importance of solitude for the writing process.
• Melissa Gilbert shares some tips for choosing the right editor. 
• Penelope Redmont shares five editing tips.
• Kameron Hurley shares strategies for dealing with professional jealousy.
• Cat Rambo explains what SFWA offers game writers. 

Interviews:

• Tansy Hoskins interviews Martha Wells. 
• Jason Kehe interviews N.K. Jemisin. 
• Matt Staggs interviews Chuck Wendig. 
• Melissa Albert interviews Blake Crouch.
• Matthew Drzymala interviews Steve Vernon.
• Steve Vernon interviews Matthew Drzymala.
• Mieneke van der Salm interviews Louise Gornall.
• Carl Slaughter interviews E.D. Walker.
• Evan Narcisse interviews Chadwick Boseman, the actor who plays Marvel's Black Panther.
  

Reviews:

• Paul di Filippo reviews Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine.
• Jana Nyman reviews Red Right Hand by Levi Black.
• Paul Weimer reviews Infomocracy by Malka Older. 
• Jonathan Thornton reviews Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer.
• Ethan Mills reviews The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. 
• James Nicoll reviews The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin.
• Ana Grilo and Thea James review The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. 
• James Nicoll reviews A Passage of Stars by Alis A. Rasmussen a.k.a. Kate Elliott. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Dreams of Distant Shores by Patricia A. McKillip. 
• Laura M. Hughes reviews Chains of the Heretic by Jeff Salyards.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Young Slasher by S. Elliot Brandis. 
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show reviews Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell.
• Blue Ink Reviews reviews Autonomy by Jude Houghton.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviews Feral Sins by Suzanne Wright.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books also reviews the movie The Legend of Tarzan.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Josh Roby and Anna Kreider are looking for funding for their Princess Charming series of children's books.
• Writer Lora Johnson a.k.a. Shane Johnson needs some help with medical expenses.

Con reports:

• Rob Bricken recaps the highlights of San Diego Comic-Con. 
• Tor.com sum up their coverage of San Diego Comic-Con.
• George R.R. Martin declares that he is not at the San Diego Comic-Con and expresses his bewilderment at people cosplaying him. 
• Gideon Marcus shares his experiences as well as some photos of San Diego Comic-Con from the POV of a time traveller from 1961. 
• Katy Buenneke explains why 2016 might be the last Comic-Con Cassandra Peterson will attend dressed as Elvira, mistress of the dark.
• Michael Crawford shares cosplay photos from San Diego Comic-Con. 
• Wesley Yiin reports about BronyCon in Baltimore, Maryland. 
• Mark L. Blackman reports about David D. Levine and Helen Marshall reading at the KGB Bar in New York City.
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the KGB Bar reading.
• Ellen Datlow also shares some photos of Readercon in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Angus Chen and Meredith Rizzo take a look at the psychology of cosplay.
  

Science and technology:

• The X-shape at the heart of the Milky Way.
• Sound and gravity waves combine to heat Jupiter's great red spot. 
• The world's fastest rocket launched a secret spy satellite.
• Chinese scientists are planning a pioneering gene-editing trial on humans.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Child Support of Cromdor the Condemned" by Spencer Ellsworth in Lightspeed. 
• "5x5" by Jilly Dreadful in Lightspeed.
• "The Art of Space Travel" by Nina Allen at Tor.com
• "Travels with the Snow Queen" by Kelly Link in Uncanny Magazine. 
• "The Words on My Skin" by Carolin M. Yoachim in Uncanny Magazine. 
• "Saladin at Jerusalem" by Jonathan Edelstein.
• Chapter 12 of Escape from the Free Republic by Floyd Looney.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Doctor Strange.
• Watch a trailer for Wonder Woman. 
• Watch a trailer for Justice League. 
• Watch a trailer for Suicide Squad.
• Watch a trailer for Kong: Skull Island. 
• Watch a trailer for Legends of the Hidden Temple.
• Watch a trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  
• Watch a trailer for Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (US only).
• Watch a trailer for the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods.  
• Watch a trailer for Luke Cage.
• Watch a teaser trailer for Iron Fist.
• Watch a teaser for The Defenders.
• Watch a compilation of the trailers for all Marvel Netflix series.
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of Sherlock.
• Watch a trailer for the TV series Legion (US only) 
• Watch a teaser for season 2 of The Expanse.
• Watch a trailer for the TV series The Exorcist.
• Watch a trailer for season 7 of The Walking Dead.