It's time again for our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with It, Inhumans, The Orville, Outlander, Indiana Jones, tributes to Len Wein and Jerry Pournelle as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, con reports, crowdfunding campaigns, science articles and free online fiction.
Speculative fiction in general:
- James Davis Nicoll shares twenty Cyberpunk novels every true fan should have on their shelves.
- Mercedes Lackey shares five groundbreaking urban fantasies with unique settings.
- Joseph Brassey discusses seven SFF heroes who reject toxic masculinity.
- Krista D. Ball takes a look at the gender breakdown of authors of books reviewed on the r/fantasy subreddit.
- N.K. Jemisin recommends current science fiction and fantasy releases.
- David Gerrold declares that science fiction is the research and development lab of the human race.
- Lawrence Krauss explains why science fiction is so bad at predicting developments like the Internet.
- Tom Hunter implores publishers to challenge genre boundaries and welcome science fiction readers.
- Sarah Gailey explains how Harry Potter can help readers deciding how to evaluate authority.
- Sam Reader ranks dystopian novels from the least to the most likely.
- Politico profiles Margaret Atwood and analyses the current relevance of her 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale.
- Jo Walton shares her appreciation for The Day Before the Revolution by Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Ceridwen Christensen shares her appreciation for The Hainish Novels and Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Matthew Keeley shares his appreciation for Gloriana by Michael Moorcock.
- Max Gladstone points out that Indiana Jones isn't actually that bad as an archaeologist.
- Leigh Butler revisits Raiders of the Lost Ark and finds it still a great movie.
- Alex Gabriel explains why the end of the film Wonder Woman makes no sense.
- Larry Klaes discusses the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet.
- Mark Mancini shares eleven facts about the 1953 movie The Beast From 20000 Fathoms.
- Echo Ishii remembers the 1984/85 British science fiction TV series The Tripods.
- The Tor.com staff ranks filmic Robin Hood adaptations.
- Liz Bourke shares her appreciation for the TV series Wynonna Earp.
- Vance Kortla compares the new Twin Peaks to poetry.
- In the face of the many debates about Star Trek: Discovery, Katharine Trendacosta wonders whether everybody has forgotten what Star Trek is supposed to be.
- James Berardinelli reviews the science fiction movie Anti-Matter.
- Canadian poet Pierre DesRuisseaux has been accused of heavily plagiarising his poems from a variety of sources.
- Jaideep Unudurti shares his tribute to the late Brian Aldiss.
Comments on It:
- Germain Lussier calls the latest adaptation of Stephen King's It a great movie that is much more than just a horror film.
- Ross Johnston declares that It understands the horrors of growing up.
- Leah Schnelbach calls It terrifying and the perfect lesson in how to use nostalgia.
- Ross Johnston takes a look at the general popularity of 1980s nostalgia in current pop culture.
- Meanwhile, Grady Hendrix revisits Stephen King's original 1986 novel.
- The Economist attempts to explain why Stephen King's novels still resonate.
- Ben Child wonders whether the success of It will lead to a Stephen King Renaissance in Hollywood.
- Alasdair Stuart revisits the original 1990 TV adaptation of It.
- E. Alex Jung reports that Stephen King himself is baffled why a scene of underage sex in It is considered more controversial than several scenes of childrne being murdered.
- E. Alex Jung also discusses how the movie handles the controversial sex scene.
- Charles Pulliam Moore reports that the next chapter of It will be darker and introduce new demons.
- Mack Lamoureurx reports that real life clowns are protesting outside theatres showing It against the negative stereotypes peddled by the film.
Comments on Inhumans:
- C.E. Murphy declares that Inhumans is not as bad as the reviews say, but that no one should mistake it for good.
- Daniel Rasmus declares that even IMAX can't make Inhumans impressive.
- Rob Grubaugh calls Inhumans filmmaking at its worst.
- Looper explains in a video why Inhumans flopped.
Comments on The Orville:
- Dominic Patten declares that The Orville is neither a comedy nor a drama and that it feels lost in space.
- Marissa Martinelli declares that The Orville is more earnest Star Trek homage than Family Guy in space.
- Samuel R. Delany declares that every single situation in The Orville is a cliche.
- Caroline Framke is baffled by The Orville.
- Liz Shannon Miller believes that The Orville would be better, if it were a half hour comedy.
- Chaim Gartenberg shares some ideas for improving The Orville.
- Ray Rahman interviews Seth MacFarlane, star, creator and showrunner of The Orville.
Comments on the season 3 premiere of Outlander:
- Nicole Cliff offers a recap of the season 3 premiere of Outlander.
- Eleanor Fye is not overly thrilled with the season 3 premiere of Outlander.
- Kathryn Van Arendonk explains why the birth scene in the season 3 premiere of Outlander was so unusual and something rarely seen on TV.
- Joanna Robinson explains that a crucial scene in the season 3 premiere of Outlander was entirely improvised.
Tributes to Len Wein:
- Len Wein, comic book writer and editor who is best remembered for relaunching the X-Men in 1975 and co-creating Wolverine and Swamp Thing, has died aged 69.
- Tim Adams shares an obituary for Len Wein.
- Evan Narcisse shares his tribute to Len Wein and explains how Wein made superhero comic universes bigger, broader and better.
- Ernie Estrella shares a tribute to Len Wein.
- Mike Glyer shares a tribute to Len Wein.
- Glen Weldon remembers Len Wein.
Tributes to Jerry Pournelle:
- Science fiction writer Jerry Pournelle has died aged 84.
- Andrew Liptak shares an obituary of Jerry Pournelle.
- Mike Glyer shares a tribute to Jerry Pournelle.
- John Scalzi shares a tribute to Jerry Pournelle.
- George R.R. Martin shares a tribute to Jerry Pournelle.
- Norman Spinrad remembers Jerry Pournelle.
- James Whitbrook remembers Jerry Pournelle.
- Randy Cassingham remembers Jerry Pournelle.
- The SFWA remembers Jerry Pournelle.
- Keith Kato reports how the death of Jerry Pournelle has effected the Heinlein Society.
Awards:
- Director Guillermo del Toro has won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival for his movie The Shape of Water.
- The winners of the 2017 Dwarf Star Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2017 Creative Emmy Awards have been announced.
- Mike Glyer reports about the state of the Sputnik Awards.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Michael J. Martinez shares tips for writing while the world burns.
- P.Z. Myers responds to claims that SFF magazines are discriminating against white men by tearing a particularly stupid post making that claim apart.
- Damien Walter declares that storytelling is a crucial skill, because stories are the operating system of the human consciousness.
- Steven McIntosh shares seven screenwriting tips from Aaron Sorkin.
- Ana Grilo and Thea James share what they learned from starting a short fiction line from scratch.
- Kelly Robson talks about the dream of writing full time.
- Annalee Newitz explains how she made the leap from science journalist to science fiction writer.
- Kristina Adams shares seven ways to stop yourself from editing as you write.
- Reedsy offers an overview of book promotion services.
Interviews:
- Ed Finn interviews Margaret Atwood.
- Shana DuBois interviews Malka Older.
- John Williams interviews Stephen Baxter.
- Chris Urie interviews Charles Stross.
- Erin Underwood interviews Nat Segaloff.
- The Qwillery interviews Brad Abraham.
- Farid Ul-Haq interviews E.M. Hamill.
- Alix Adale interviews S.T. Sanchez.
- S.T. Sanchez interviews Alix Adale.
- Carl Slaughter interviews Gordon Van Gelder.
- Aaron Reese interviews Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie.
- David Harper interviews Sana Takeda.
Reviews:
- Martin Cahill reviews Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey.
- Aidan Moher also reviews Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey.
- Rob Bedford reviews Skyfarer by Joseph Brassey.
- Paul Weimer also reviews Skyfarer by Joseph Brassey.
- Andrea Johnson reviews The Emperor and the Maula by Robert Silverberg.
- Morgan Moore reviews Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis.
- Sam Reader reviews The Man in the Tree by Sage Walker.
- Brit Mandelo reviews The River Bank by Kij Johnson
- Dave Richards reviews Magicians Impossible by Brad Abraham.
- Niall Alexander reviews The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente.
- John H. Carroll reviews Upon the Ashes of Empire by Stephen L. Nowland.
- Andrea Smith reviews The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch.
- Corrina Lawson reviews An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King.
- Jeff Somers reviews The God Peak by Patrick Hemstreet.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Strange Weather by Joe Hill.
- Sam Reader reviews Sleeping Beauties by Stephen and Owen King.
- Thea James reviews Noumenon by Marina J. Lostetter.
- Bence Pintér reviews Artemis by Andy Weir.
- Mark Yon reviews Acadie by Dave Hutchinson.
- Emily Asher-Perrin reviews Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson.
Crowdfunding:
- Sisters, Volume 5 of the Ladies' Night comic anthology series, is looking for funding.
- Writer Lezli Robyn needs help to pay for surgery to keep her eyesight from deteriorating even further.
- Comedian Rebecca O'Neal needs help to be able to move to another state to escape a particularly persistent stalker.
Con reports:
- Jeremy Szal shares some photos of WorldCon 75 in Helsinki, Finland.
- Victor Fernando R. Ocampo reports about the panels about "Surreal Worlds of South East Asia" and "Your Mythology is Much Like My Mythology" at WorldCon 75 and also posts some photos of the Hugo Awards ceremony.
- Susan from Lady Business shares her experiences at WorldCon 75.
- Susan from Lady Business also shares her experiences at Nine Worlds Fan Fest in London, UK, in a two part post.
- Lee Murray, Darian Smith and Dan Rabarts share their experiences at LexiCon 2017 in Taupo, New Zealand.
- Claire Napier reports about some problems at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon.
- Martin Morse Wooster reports about the dystopian play Noah Apocalypse by Amanda Quain as performed at the DC Reynolds Bar in Washington DC.
Science and technology:
- The space probe Cassini has started its final descent towards Saturn.
- Offshore windpower is now cheaper than new nuclear power stations.
- The seven deadly sins of predicting the future of artificial intelligence.
- Artificial wombs and the future of reproductive technology.
- The rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere cause nutrient levels in plants to drop with unknown consequences.
Free online fiction:
- "They Will Take You From You" by Brandon O'Brien in Strange Horizons.
- "An Ever Expanding Flash of Light" by Timothy Mundie in Lightspeed.
- "The Secret Life of Bots" by Suzanne Palmer in Clarkesworld.
- "Breaking Borders/The Fortean Limes" by Yoss, translated by Lawrence Schimel in Litro.
- "Henosis" by N.K. Jemisin in Uncanny Magazine.
- "The Magician's Apprentice" by Tamsyn Muir in Lightspeed.
Odds and ends:
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