It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with political science fiction, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (spoilers mostly marked, but reader beware), Star Trek Discovery (spoilers again mostly marked, but reader beware), Black Mirror, Black Lightning, Hard Sun, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, tributes to Peter Wyngarde 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:
- Emily Asher-Perrin explains why she loves epic stories that stay personal.
- Sam Kates shares his favourite dystopian novels.
- Kathy Edens shares her essential science fiction and fantasy reading list.
- Brian Keene shares his top fifteen horror novels of 2017.
- Charles Payseur shares his favourite short stories of 2017.
- Joel Cunningham shares eleven science fiction and fantasy books with a powerful message of social justice.
- Abigail Nussbaum takes a look at how science fiction addresses political issues.
- Camestros Felapton wonders whether science fiction can be apolitical and why certain people insist that it is.
- Margaret Atwood wonders if she is a bad feminist.
- Jared Shurin shares his appreciation for the works of Jane Gaskell.
- Aliya Whitely shares her appreciation for Dawn by Octavia E. Butler.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1990 novel Winterlong by Elizabeth Hand.
- Alan Brown revisits C.L. Moore's Northwest Smith stories from the 1930s.
- Steven H. Silver revisits Clark Ashton Smith's 1933 novella The Maze of Maal Dweb.
- Balázs Farkas wonders whether the horror film Get Out also qualifies as a comedy, since it was classified as one for the Golden Globes.
- Ayana Underwood revisits a well-meaning, but highly problematic Superman story from 1970, where Lois Lane turns into a black woman to explain racism to white audiences.
- Booth Moore profiles Ruth Carter, costume designer for Black Panther.
- The Tor.com bloggers share their favourite science fiction and fantasy comfort viewing.
- Chris M. Barkley shares his thoughts on season 1 of The Orville.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his thoughts on the season finale of The Gifted.
- Robin Burks lists fifteen abandoned storylines Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would prefer viewers to forget about.
- Andrew Hageman takes a look at the various book tie-ins to Twin Peaks and how they enhance the narrative.
- Angelica Jade Bastien discusses the hilarity and horror of Ted Danson's performance in the afterlife sitcom The Good Place.
- Elsa Sjunneson-Henry talks about disability and The Shape of Water.
- Karen Han explains how Insidious changed the horror movie genre.
- Jason Cohen wonders what the point of The Walking Dead will be, when the character of Carl Grimes is written out, because actor Chandler Riggs is leaving the show.
- Valerie Ettenhofer explains how the 2017 adaptation of It is better the second time around.
- Don Kaye revisits the classic TV series The Twilight Zone, which premiered in 1959.
- Leslie Goldberg promises that the upcoming adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 will stay true to the book's central themes.
- Beth Elderkin discusses how the upcoming adaptation of Altered Carbon handles the whitewashing issue it inherited from the Richard K. Morgan novel it is based upon.
- Chris M. Barkley shares his thoughts on Twice Upon a Time, the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas Special.
- Ian Cardona reports that Jodie Whittaker who's playing the Thirteenth Doctor on Doctor Who designed the costume she'll be wearing herself.
- Actress Eliza Dushku, best known to SFF fans for her parts in Buffy - The Vampire Slayer, Tru Calling and Dollshouse, reports that she was sexually assaulted on the set of True Lies at the age of 12.
- Jamie Lee Curtis, who played Eliza Dushku's mother in True Lies, weighs in on the sexual assault allegations.
- Cinamon Hadley, whose appearance inspired the look of the character Death in Neil Gaiman's and Mike Dringenberg's Sandman comics, has died.
Comments on Star Trek Discovery:
- Katharine Trendacosta shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Kayti Burt shares her thoughts about the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Keith De Candido share his 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.
- Alexa Grave shares her thoughts on Star Trek Discovery so far.
- Ethan Siegel explains what Star Trek Discovery gets right and wrong about parallel universes.
- Carl Slaughter shares his appreciation for Star Trek in general and Jean-Luc Picard in particular.
Comments on Black Mirror:
- Angelica Jade Bastien takes another look at the Black Mirror episode "USS Callister".
- Kathryn VanArendonk discusses the ending of the Black Mirror episode "Hang the DJ".
- Ashley Nkadi shares her thoughts on the Black Mirror episode "Black Museum".
- Abraham Riesman explains why Black Mirror's digital prisons are so haunting,
- Balázs Farkas shares his thoughts on the entire season 4 of Black Mirror.
- Brian Tallerico wonders why Black Mirror is so divisive this season.
Comments on Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams:
- Jen Chaney wonders if Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, another British anthology series, is the new Black Mirror.
- James Poniewozik declares that the future presented in Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams feels outdated.
- Karen Han declares that Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams presents the best science fiction has to offer.
- Henry Farrell declares that Philip K. Dick's work seems so topical today, because we live in his dystopian future rather than in George Orwell's or Aldous Huxley's.
Comments on Star Wars: The Last Jedi:
- Filmmaker Kevin Smith attempts to explain why The Last Jedi was so divisive.
- Michael Moreci explains how The Last Jedi moves the characters and the Star Wars franchise forward.
- Mike Chen explains what Star Wars learned from literary fiction.
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt shares his thoughts on the portrayal of Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi.
- Teresa Jusino talks about emotional repression and toxic masculinity in the Star Wars films offers a long overdue apology to Luke Skywalker.
- Emily Asher Perrin theorises that the reason the rebellion initially won in Star Wars was that they treated droids like people.
- Ben McLeary reports that so-called men's rights activists have made a 46 minute cut of The Last Jedi, omitting or downplaying most of the women's roles.
- Liam Nolan shares the reactions of director Rian Johnson and actors Mark Hamill and John Boyega to the 46 minute cut of The Last Jedi omitting must of the women's roles.
- Mark Cassidy shares The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson's explanation for why there wasn't more explanation of Supreme Leader Snoke's backstory.
- Chris Hewitt interviews Rian Johnson, director of The Last Jedi.
Comments on Black Lightning:
- Kayti Burt share her thoughts on episode 1 of Black Lightning.
- Salim Akil shares his thoughts on episode 1 of Black Lightning.
- Tim Adam declares that Black Lightning raises the bar for other superhero shows.
- Daniel Fienberg calls Black Lightning a smart and relevant superhero show.
- Adam Fitch offers an overview over the characters of Black Lightning.
- Meagan Damore interviews Nafessa Williams, who plays Anissa Pierce a.k.a. Thunder in Black Lightning.
- Meagan Damore also interviews China Anne McClain who plays Jennifer Pierce a.k.a. Lightning in Black Lightning.
- Meagan Damore also interviews Christine Adams who plays Lynn Pierce in Black Lightning.
Comments on Hard Sun:
- Ben Dowell offers an overview over the cast and characters of Hard Sun.
- Louisa Mellor reviews the latest episode of Hard Sun.
- Antonia Blyth reports that Hard Sun creator Neil Cross believes that post-apocalyptic dramas are reassuring.
- Josh Weiss profiles Neil Cross, creator of Hard Sun.
Tributes to Peter Wyngarde:
- British actor Peter Wyngarde, best remembered for starring in the 1970s crime drama Jason King and many other programs, has died aged 90.
- Gavin Gaughan shares an obituary for Peter Wyngarde.
- Mike Glyer remembered the SFF roles of Peter Wyngarde.
Awards:
- The nominees for the 2018 Philip K. Dick Award have been announced.
- The nominees for the 2017 RT Book Reviews awards have been announced. File 770 also has a compilation of all nominees in the SFF categories.
- The preliminary ballot for the 2017 Bram Stoker Awards has been announced.
- The winners of the 2017 Stabby Awards have been announced.
- Nominations are open for the 2018 WSFA Small Press Awards.
- The shortlist for the 2018 TA First Translation Prize has been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 Critics Choice Awards have been announced.
- The nominees for the 2018 BBC Audio Drama Awards have been announced.
- The nominees for the 2018 Annie Awards have been announced.
- Stephen King will receive the PEN America Literary Service Award.
- Voting is open for the 2017 FAAn Awards.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Atomic Scribbler shares the results of their survey of writers.
- Lauren Sapala declares that writing is messy.
- Anthony Johnston shares his organisation system for writers.
- Joseph Malik talks about his writing process.
- Tyrell Johnson talks about what inspired him to write The Wolves of Winter.
- Patty Jansen talks about marketing and that it doesn't have to be a chore.
Interviews:
- Joel Cunningham interviews Rebecca Roanhorse.
- Michael Gingold interviews Rob Galluzzo.
- Patrick King interviews Jenna Lyn Wright and Karl Slominski.
Reviews:
- Ross Johnson reviews Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor.
- Alex Brown also reviews Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor.
- Jamie Sugah reviews Black Star Renegades by Michael Moreci.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Black Light Express by Philip Reeve.
- For Winter Nights reviews Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds.
- Mark Yon reviews Aurora Rising by Alastair Reynolds.
- Shellie Horst reviews Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng.
- Bridget McKinney reviews Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire.
- Camestros Felapton reviews The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher.
- Nicole Hill reviews Mad Hatters and March Hares, edited by Ellen Datlow.
- Bridget McKinney reviews Robots vs. Faeries, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe.
- Ceridwen Christensen reviews An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon.
- Liz Bourke reviews Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh.
- Jana Nyman reviews Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra.
- Rachel Swirsky reviews Madame Zero by Sarah Hall.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Cry Your Way Home by Damien Angelica Walters.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews Iron Gold by Pierce Brown.
- Jeff Somers also reviews Iron Gold by Pierce Brown.
Crowdfunding:
Con reports:
- Jim C. Hines shares some light on the past behaviour of Jon Del Arroz, following Del Arroz being preemptively banned from WorldCon 76 in San Jose, California.
- Deborah Lindsay Williams reports about a performance of Toshi Reagon's opera Parable of the Sower, based on the eponymous novel by Octavia Butler, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Science and technology:
- Jeff Landa celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Rocket Research Institute in Glendale, California.
- Ethan Siegel explains how spinning affects the shape of pulsars.
Free online fiction:
- "The Ghoul Goes West" by Dale Bailey at Tor.com.
- "The Eyes of the Flood" by Susan Jane Bigelow in Lightspeed.
- "Divine Madness" by Roger Zelazny in Lightspeed.
- "The Minnesota Diet" by Charlie Jane Anders in Slate.
- "The Iphtian Crystal, Part 1" by Jon Vassa in Crimson Streets.
- "A Storm Trooper Reconsiders His Support For Snoke" by Teddy Wayne in The New Yorker.
- "Trigger Snowflake and the No-Platformers" by Ingvar in File 770.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Handmaid's Tale.
- Watch a trailer for Altered Carbon.
- Watch a trailer for Fahrenheit 451.
- Watch a trailer for Scorched Earth.
- Watch a trailer for Cold Skin.
- Watch a trailer for Tomb Raider.
- Watch a trailer for Hellraiser: Judgment.
- See photos of cats sleeping on works of science fiction and fantasy.
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