It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week again with the best books of 2017 and a look ahead at books coming out in 2018, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (spoilers mostly marked, but reader beware), Star Trek Discovery (spoilers again mostly marked, but reader beware), Black Mirror and particularly the episode "USS Callister", the return of The X-Files, Hard Sun, the Golden Globes, an uproar involving WorldCon 76 as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, con reports, crowdfunding campaigns, science articles, free online fiction and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Joel Cunningham shares 95 science fiction and fantasy novels coming in 2018.
- Joe Sherry shares 24 books he's looking forward to in 2018.
- Rob Bedford, Mark Chitty and Mark Yon sharetheir favourite science fiction and fantasy novels as well as SFF movies and TV shows of 2017.
- Dina of SFF Book Reviews shares her top seven books of 2017.
- Renay Williams shares her favourite older books she read in 2017.
- Paul Weimer recalls his formative science fiction experiences.
- James Davis Nicoll shares a brief history of the big dumb object in science fiction.
- Tobias Carroll takes a look at regressive science fiction.
- Janice Bradbeer profiles Judith Merril and traces her connection to the Toronto Public Library.
- The Little Red Reviewer revisits the 1968 science fiction novel Nova by Samuel R. Delany.
- Paul Weimer revisits Against the Fall of Night and The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke.
- Christopher Nuttall revisits the 1966 science fiction novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein.
- David Williams, author of the dystopian novel When the English Fall, is troubled by the fact that a Florida schoolboard tried to ban Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury for alleged profanity and wanted to replace it with Williams' novel.
- Steve Vertlieb remembers Ray Bradbury.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1985 novel Forerunner: The Second Venture by Andre Norton.
- Alex Brown shares her appreciation for Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series.
- Adam Whitehead takes a look at the origins of Wheel of Time and Robert Jordan's original pitch.
- Greg Daugherty revisits In the Deep of Time, an 1896 science fiction novel by George Parsons Lathrop based on ideas and notes by Thomas Alva Edison.
- Kayla Randall profiles Jason Reynolds.
- Gareth L. Powell explains why his Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy is not as crazy as it sounds at first.
- Pony Regrets explains why Ready Player One is not about fan fiction.
- Holly Black shares five books about faeries for people who hate faeries.
- Freire Barnes reminds us that Finnish artist Tove Jansson was more than just the creator of the Moomins.
- Chloe N. Clark talks about violence in horror.
- Bob Pastorella discusses how modern television influenced storytelling in the horror genre and elsewhere.
- Ben Child takes a look ahead at the cutting science fiction and fantasy movies of 2018.
- io9 looks ahead at all the science fiction and fantasy TV shows coming out in 2018.
- Jonathan Ringer reviews the TV series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
- William Earl reports that Ridley Scott already has plans for a third Blade Runner movie.
- Jeff Sneider reports that Marvel is finally planning to make a Black Widow movie and has hired a screenwriter.
- Clarkisha Kent talks about the importance of Black Panther.
- Julie Muncy reports that Guardians of the Galaxy and Stranger Things have led to the unlikely revival of the cassette tape.
- Actor and musician Jon Paul Steuer, who played Worf's son Alexander in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died aged 33.
- Astronaut John Young has died aged 87.
- British screenwriter David Fisher, who wrote scripts for Doctor Who and Hammer House of Horror among others, has died aged 88.
- Danish actress Greta Thyssen, who appeared in several B-movies, died aged 90.
- Canadian actor Donnelly Rhodes, who appeared in Battlestar Galactica, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, The X-Files and other many TV shows, has died aged 80.
Comments on Star Trek Discovery (spoiler warning):
- John E. Price shares some predictions for the remaining episodes of season 1 of Star Trek Discovery.
- John E. Price also shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Gavia Baker Whitelaw shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Keith DeCandido shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- James Hunt shares his thoughts about the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Angel Wilson shares her thoughts about the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Gavia Baker Whitelaw also discusses a problematic character death in Star Trek Discovery and why fans should be patient.
- Adam B. Vary reports that the Star Trek Discovery showrunners defend the problematic character death.
- Camestros Felapton shares some speculations about the character of Captain Gabrial Lorca in Star Trek Discovery.
- Swapna Krishna interviews Wilson Cruz who plays Dr. Culber in Star Trek Discovery.
- Danette Chavez reports that the Star Trek Discovery producers have promised that the rest of season 1 and season 2 will be more trek-like.
- Ethan Siegel takes a look at how Star Trek Discovery incorprates new theories regarding what alien life might look like.
- Alvaro Zinos-Amaro points out that Star Trek becomes more human the more aliens there are in the main cast.
- Chris Lough takes a look at the eight best alternate realities from Star Trek.
Comments on Black Mirror and the episode "USS Callister":
- David Sims calls "USS Callister" much more than a Star Trek parody.
- Charles Bramesco says that the "USS Callister" episode of Black Mirror illuminates the dark side of fan fiction.
- Cora Buhlert declares that "USS Callister" is about the successful mutiny against toxic masculinity.
- Jackson McHenry takes a look at the making of "USS Callister".
- Jackson McHenry also interviews Cristin Milioti, star of "USS Callister".
- Anoosh Chakelian considers the Black Mirror episode "Hang the DJ" an unlikely vindication of dating apps.
- Sophie Gilbert views "Hang the DJ" as a story about dystopian dating.
- Charles Bramesco ranks every episode of Black Mirror from worst to best.
- Ross Johnson also ranks every episode of Black Mirror from worst to best.
- Natalie Zutter notes that Black Mirror seems to be set in a shared universe, since several episodes are connected.
- Dan Stubbs interviews Charlie Brooker, creator of Black Mirror.
Comments on The Last Jedi and Star Wars in general (spoiler warning):
- Foz Meadows shares her thoughts about The Last Jedi.
- John E. Price shares three takeaways from The Last Jedi.
- John E. Price also shares three mistakes in The Last Jedi.
- Gavia Baker Whitelaw declares that The Last Jedi has no respect for nostalgia and that is a good thing.
- Emily Asher Perrin notes that people are really mad at Poe Dameron, following the events of The Last Jedi.
- Leah Schnelbach discusses the evolution of religious iconography in Star Wars.
- Michael Moreci points out that The Phantom Menace also defied Star Wars expectations.
Comments on The X-Files:
- Tara Lynne shares her thoughts on the season 11 premiere of The X-Files.
- Cheryl Eddy declares that the second episode of season 11 of The X-Files reminded her why she loves Mulder and Scully.
- Matt Fowler also prefers episode 2 of the latest season of The X-Files to the season premiere.
- Kelly Connolly is also more pleased with episode 2 than with the season premiere of The X-Files.
- Johanna Schneller declares that the warmed over X-Files leave her in disbelief.
- Gillian Anderson, who plays Dana Scully, has confirmed that she is leaving both The X-Files and American Gods after the current season.
Comments on Hard Sun:
- Rebecca Nicholson calls Hard Sun a gutsy apocalyptic drama.
- Ben Dowell calls Hard Sun a brutal but gripping watch.
- Jasper Rees calls Hard Sun an unbelievable apocalyptic thriller.
- Stacia Riggs calls Hard Sun bonkers and bloody.
- Georgia Humphreys profiles Agyness Deyn and Jim Sturgess, the stars of Hard Sun.
- Ben Dowell reports that Hard Sun creator Neil Cross wants to make five seasons of the apocalyptic drama.
- Inspired by Hard Sun, Randall Colburn wonders why apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic TV dramas are so popular.
- Also inspired by Hard Sun, David Robson takes a look at other filmic apocalypses.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2018 Golden Globes have been announced.
- The nominees for the 2018 Philip K. Dick Awards have been announced.
- The finalists of the 2017 Self-published Fantasy Blog-off have been announced.
- The longlist for the 2018 BSFA Awards has been announced and voting is open for the shortlist.
- Voting is open for The Qwillery's Cover of the Year award for 2017.
- The Horror Writers Association has named Linda Addison the winner of their 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Travis Elborough shares writing tips from famous authors.
- Jared A. Brock shares writing advice from several bestselling authors.
- Darryl Ucheya shares a writing tip that will get you through a slump.
- A.J. Goode talks about writing for love rather than for money.
- Kelly Robson shares some advice for characterisation.
- Mladen Reljanovic talks about foreshadowing.
- Daniel Dern talks about a rejection he once received and how it eventually led to a special issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
- Karen DeBonis explains that editing is cheaper than therapy.
Interviews:
- Avni Sejpal interviews Nalo Hopkinson.
- Avni Sejpal also interviews Tanarive Due.
- Lila Shapiro interviews Dhonielle Clayton.
- Carol Hansson interviews Danika Stone.
- Andrea Johnson interviews Delilah S. Dawson a.k.a. Lila Bowen.
- Calisa Rhose interviews Kayelle Allen.
- Locus interviews Mike Allen.
- Carl Slaughter talks about his experiences interviewing SFF authors.
Reviews:
- Liz Bourke reviews Breach of Containment by Elizabeth Bonesteel.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt.
- Mark Chitty reviews Friendly Fire by Gavin Smith.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Starfang: Rise of the Clan by Joyce Chng.
- Carolyn Cushman reviews Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Altered Starscape by Ian Douglas.
- Ardi Alspach reviews Robots vs. Fairies, edited by Dominick Parisien and Navah Wolfe.
- The Qwillery reviews Sinless by Sarah Tarkoff.
- Jana Nyman also reviews Sinless by Sarah Tarkoff.
- Nicole Hill reviews Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft.
- Shellie Horst reviews One Cog Turning by Anthony Laken.
- Over the Effing Rainbow reviews Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire.
- Liz Bourke reviews Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer and Alysha's Fall by M.C.A. Hogarth.
- Phoebe Wagner reviews All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen.
- Leah Schnelbach reviews Ice by Anna Kavan.
- Sam Reader reviews Gnomon by Nick Harkaway.
- Leah Schnelbach reviews The Job of the Wasp by Colin Winnette.
- John Dodds reviews The Teardrop Method by Simon Avery.
- Liz Bourke reviews Dark State by Charles Stross.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Primitive by J.F. Gonzalez.
- Adam Roberts reviews Time Travel - A History by James Gleick.
Crowdfunding:
Con reports:
- Camestros Felapton has more on the banning of Jon Del Arroz from attending WorldCon 76 in San Jose, California.
- Camestros Felapton has even more on the WorldCon 76 uproar.
- Alex Acks reports on the WorldCon 76 uproar.
- Write.as has some background on Jon Del Arroz.
- John Scalzi uses the WorldCon 76 uproar to talk about obnoxious twits and cons in general.
- Tara Lynne shares her experiences at and some photos of MAGFest in National Harbor, Maryland.
- Donald W. Meyers reports that Central City Comic Con in Yakima, Washington, is considering changing its name after a recent infringement lawsuit involving another convention.
- Rob Hansen remembers "Bombcon", a science fiction convention held in London in 1941 in the middle of WWII bombings.
Science and technology:
- Ethan Siegel predicts that 2018 will be the year that humanity will directly see a black hole.
- Ethan Siegel also wonders if humanity is the only technologically advanced civilization in the universe.
- Gentry Underwood explains why Mars matters.
- See some new photos of Jupiter, taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft.
- Philip Ball explains how quantum computing will change the world.
Free online fiction:
- "Golubash, Or Wine-Blood-War-Elegy" by Catherynne M. Valente in Lightspeed.
- "The Substance of My Lives, the Accidents of Our Births" by José Pablo Iriarte in Lightspeed.
- "Suite for Accompanied Cello" by Tamara Vardomskaya in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "An Aria for the Bloodlords" by Hannah Strom-Martin in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Asylum of Cuckoos" by Lila Bowen in Apex Magazine.
- "The Curse of the Flying Skull" by Tim Frayser in Crimson Streets.
- "Matter of Time - A Fire and Bloodstone Story" by Naomi Muse.
Odds and ends:
- Listen to a BBC radio drama based on Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys.
- Watch a trailer for Godzilla.
- Watch a trailer for The New Legends of Monkey.
- Watch The Collection by Adam Roffman, a documentary about a unique collection of vintage film advertising art.
- Watch a trailer for Still/Born.
- Watch a trailer for Krypton.
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