It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with tributes to Ursula K. Le Guin, Jack Ketchum and Mort Walker, Star Trek Discovery (spoilers again mostly marked, but reader beware), Black Panther, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, The Maze Runner: The Death Cure 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:
- Locus has issued its 2017 recommended reading list.
- Marina Berlin shares five ways to build a more believable future military.
- James Davis Nicoll takes a look at science fiction concepts and settings that deserve a better execution.
- Meghan Ball shares ten SFF supporting characters who deserve their own stories.
- Ana Marie Cox takes a look at the most important pets in science fiction and fantasy.
- Oren Ashkenazi and Vectober explain why the term "Mary Sue" is sexist.
- Mimi Mondal shares a short history of South Asian speculative fiction.
- Stephen Aryan discusses the link between beer and fantasy books.
- Marc Turner shares five magical weapons you don't want your enemy to bring to a fight.
- John Tuttle shares four reasons why everybody loves Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings.
- Doris V. Sutherland revisits the 1930 space opera Tarrano the Conqueror by Ray Cummings.
- Doris V. Sutherland also takes a look at how the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher works as urban fantasy.
- Ryan W. Mueller shares his appreciation for the Harry Potter books.
- Leah Schnelbach shares her appreciation for the 1984 film adaptation of Michael Ende's The Neverending Story.
- Jeanette Ng explains how much she loves The Last Jedi.
- Graeme McMillan shares a complete guide to all Easter eggs in The Last Jedi.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on The Shape of Water.
- Alasdair Stuart explains why Jordan Peele's horror film Get Out is Oscar-worthy.
- David Annandale talks about his love for horror movies.
- Phil Harrison discusses the resurgence of British folk horror.
- William Meikle revisits the 1956 science fiction horror film X - The Unknown.
- Cheryl Eddy is not pleased with the portrayal of Scully's son William in The X-Files.
- Evan Narcisse share his thoughts on episodes 1 and 2 of the parallel universe spy thriller series Counterpart.
- Justina Ireland shares her hot take on The Good Place.
- Zack Sharf reports that the upcoming movies The Crimes of Grindelwald will ignore the fact that Albus Dumbledore is gay.
- Steve Vertlieb remembers film composer Miklos Rozsa.
- Foz Meadows offers her thoughts on the latest uproar in the SFF community as well as some personal background.
- Jim C. Hines offers a summary of the latest SFF uproar.
- Comic writer and editor Bill Harris died aged 84.
- Cartoonist Mort Walker has died aged 94.
- Michael David Wilson shares a tribute to Dallas Mayr a.k.a. Jack Ketchum.
Tributes to Ursula K. Le Guin:
- Neil Gaiman shares his memories of Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Marie Brennan remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Alma Alexander remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Phoebe Wagner shares a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
- George R.R. Martin shares a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Nancy Jane Moore shares a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Michael Dirda explains why Ursula K. Le Guin matters.
- Victoria Varga shares her appreciation for Ursula K. Le Guin and particularly for her novel The Dispossessed.
- Gabrielle Bellot shares her appreciation for Ursula K. Le Guin's story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" and also wonders whether it is science fiction, fantasy or something else altogether.
- Peter S. Beagle remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Amy Sterling Casil remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Lisa Goldstein explains what Ursula K. Le Guin meant for other female science fiction writers.
- Cora Buhlert remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Katherine Brooks remembers the night Ursula K. Le Guin was named SFWA Grand Master and promptly pranked the patriarchy.
- Cara Giaimo reminds us that Ursula K. Le Guin also wrote a genuine space opera entitled Rigel 9 together with composer David Bedford.
Comments on Star Trek Discovery:
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Swapna Krishna shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Katharine Trendacosta continues to be very annoyed with episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Zack Handlen is also annoyed with episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Liz Shannon Miller shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Keith DeCandido shares his thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Kayti Burt shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Ethan Siegel shares his thoughts on episode 11 and episode 12 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also explains some historical connections to the Roman Empire in recent episodes of Star Trek Discovery.
- James Whitbrook finds some parallels between Star Trek Discovery and The Last Jedi in how both seem to undemining cornerstones of their own franchises.
- J.J. Nattrass shares their appreciation for the character of Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek Discovery.
- Ryan Britt interviews Jason Isaacs who plays Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek Discovery.
- Liz Shannon Miller also interviews Jason Isaacs.
- Nate Jones profiles Doug Jones who plays Saru in Star Trek Discovery.
- Kevin Melrose finds a link between Star Trek Discovery and the upcoming superhero movies Ant-Man and The Wasp.
Comments on Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams:
- Paul Levinson offers an episode by episode review of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
- Evan Narcisse ranks all episodes of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
Comments on Black Panther:
- Germain Lussier reports about a visit to the set of Black Panther and offers some insights into the film.
- Hannah Collins explains why Shuri, the teenaged sister of T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther, is the genius movies need right now.
- Tom Chapman shares some audience reactions from the premiere of Black Panther.
- The BBC also shares some early reactions to Black Panther.
- Stephen Galloway profiles Lupita Nyong'o, one of the stars of Black Panther.
Comments on The Maze Runner: The Death Cure:
- Germain Lussier declares that The Death Cure doesn't give the Maze Runner trilogy the ending it deserves.
- Gary Westfahl calls The Death Cure a routine action thriller with some interesting aspects.
- Scott Tobias shares his thoughts on The Death Cure.
Awards:
- Nominations are open for the 2018 eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards.
- Nominations are open for the Booktube SFF Awards.
- Nominations are open for the 2017 Ursa Major Awards.
- The finalists for the 2018 Darrell Awards have been announced.
- The longlist for the 2018 Branford Boase Award has been announced.
- Charles Payseur awards the 2017 Sippy Awards.
- The longlist for the 2018 Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour has been announced.
- Ursula K. Le Guin's final essay collection No Time To Spare has been nominated for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Claudie Arsenault explains how she found new passions and hobbies via researching her novels.
- Patty Janssen explains that time is the secret ingredient to overnight success.
- Aidan Doyle shares his experiences crowdfunding a genre anthology.
- Tracy Cooper-Posey explains how distributing her books wide raised her sales.
- Patty Janssen shares some tips regarding what to look for in a book cover designer.
- The BBC takes a look at stereotypical book cover designs for various genres.
Interviews:
- The BBC interviews Hao Jingfang.
- Jim Curtis interviews Paul Levinson.
- The Qwillery interviews Andrew Valencia.
- Ilana C. Myer interviews David Mack.
Reviews:
- Camestros Felapton reviews The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera.
- Allison Brennan reviews Dark in Death by J.D. Robb.
- Amal El-Mohtar reviews Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon.
- Tom Whitmore reviews March of War by Bennett R. Coles.
- Rebecca Fisher reviews Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.
- Rachel Swirsky reviews The Fisher of Bones by Sarah Gailey.
- Shellie Horst reviews The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman.
- Kate Macdonald reviews La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman.
- Mark Yon reviews The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale.
- Nicole Hill reviews Starlings by Jo Walton.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson.
- Kev Harrison reviews Hardened Hearts, edited by Eddie Generous.
- Sam Reader reviews Sleep Over by H.G. Bells.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Off Season by Jack Ketchum.
- The Qwillery reviews Chaos Trims My Beard by Brett Herman.
Crowdfunding:
Con reports:
- Marissa Lingen talks about an experience with a disruptive audience member and the response of the con com at ConFusion in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Leah Schnelbach reports about the launch event for The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander and a discussion featuring Brooke Bolander, Maria Dahvana Headley and Amal El-Mohtar in New York City.
- Mike Glyer shares the line-up for the 2018 Philip K. Dick Film Festival in New York City.
- Martin Morse Wooster reports about a performance of the post-apocalyptic play The Dog Must Die by Madison Middleton in Silver Spring, Maryland.
- Carol Pinchefsky traces the history of cosplay from the very first WorldCon in 1939 onwards and shares plenty of photos of early cosplayers.
Science and technology:
- Ethan Siegel sheds some light onto the mysterious interstellar object Oumuamua that passed through our solar system.
- Ethan Siegel also explains what you would see if you fell into a black hole.
- Ethan Siegel also explains how Hawking radiation and relativistic jets can escape from a black hole.
- The Economist takes a look at the future of military robots.
Free online fiction:
- "The Ghost Stories We Tell Around Photon Fires" by Cassandra Khaw in Apex Magazine.
- "The Quiet Like a Homecoming" by Cassandra Khaw in Lightspeed.
- "Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance" by Tobias S. Buckell in Lightspeed.
- "The Starship and the Temple Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "El is a Spaceship Melody" by Maurice Broaddus in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Hydraulic Emperor" by Arkady Martine in Uncanny Magazine.
- "Conservation Laws" by Vandana Singh in Uncanny Magazine.
- "Dead Men Walking" by Jeremy Szal in Abyss & Apex.
Odds and ends:
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