It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with feminist science fiction, Black Panther, Black Lightning season 2 of Jessica Jones, the last ever episode of The X-Files, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Isle of Dogs, Krypton, Ready Player One 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:
- Jeff Somers shares fifty essential science fiction novels by women.
- Elizabeth Bear remembers some largely forgotten works of feminist SFF of the 1970s and 1980s.
- Ian Sales revisits the 1978 feminist science fiction novel The Two of Them by Joanna Russ.
- Ian Sales also shares his appreciation for the works of Leigh Brackett.
- James Davis Nicoll takes a look at various fine SFF novels that are out of print.
- Maria Haskins shares ten recent SFF short fiction collections to read.
- Christina DesMarais shares the many reasons reading books is good for us.
- Rob Thornton shares sources for finding new science fiction and fantasy novels to read.
- Alison Flood explains how #MeToo is changing the romance genre.
- Everdeen Mason reports how YA author Keira Drake rewrote her upcoming novel The Continent following accusations of racism.
- Joe Haldeman explains how his experiences during the Vietnam War influenced his science fiction writing.
- Damien Walter explains how M. John Harrison enters a story.
- Charles Chu discusses Gene Wolfe's insights into the nature of innovation.
- Jo Walton shares her appreciation for the future world portrayed in Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer.
- Ada Palmer offers an overview of the various political fractions in her Terra Ignota series.
- Middle Earth Reflections takes a look at J.R.R. Tolkien's children's story Roverandom.
- Adam Whitehead takes a look at the dogs of science fiction and fantasy.
- Sam Reader shares six Japanese body horror books.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1956 science fiction novel Plague Ship by Andre Norton.
- Camestros Felapton and Timothy the Talking Cat share their not entirely serious thoughts on The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein.
- Kim Pruett revisits the 1954 science fiction story The Lava Seas Tunnel by F.G. Rayer and E.R. James, once billed by Brian W. Aldiss as the worst science fiction story ever.
- James Bradbury revisits the 1961 science fiction novel Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon.
- Corey Plante remembers the 1956 science fiction movie Forbidden Planet on its 62nd anniversary.
- John E. Price declares that Star Wars fans do not deserve The Last Jedi.
- John E. Price also wonders what the point of Star Trek Discovery was.
- Anne Bilson discusses how female directors broke into science fiction and fantasy film.
- Peter Foy shares his thoughts on Annihilation.
- Paul Levinson calls Hard Sun a hard crime drama, but soft science fiction.
- Adam Whitehead offers a preview of the TV adaptation of China Miéville's The City and the City.
- Nerds of a Feather review the movie Mute.
- Lucy Mangan calls the British docudrama Contagion an epidemic of tediousness.
- Leslie Felperin has nothing good to say about the British horror film Dark Beacon.
- Erin Horáková finds some unexpected echoes of the immigrant experience in Paddington 2.
- In the Radio Times, Christopher Eccleston finally reveals why he left Doctor Who after only one season.
- Actress Sarah Polley shares an open letter to Terry Gilliam about her experiences working on The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen as a child actress.
- Ben Rowen reports about the Jedi religion.
- Karen Anderson, filker, costumer, writer and widow of Poul Anderson, has died aged 86.
- Erik Viirre remembers Stephen Hawking.
Comments on Black Panther:
- Eric Anthony Glover meditates on Black Panther and the future of black superhero movies.
- Greg Doukas and Lewis Gordon discuss the philosophical underpinnings of Black Panther.
- James Peterson explains what Black Panther means to his black son.
- Charles Bramesco wonders whether Hollywood can maintain black visibility on screen following the success of Black Panther.
- Princess Weekes declares that Hollywood should embrace and not fear the success of Black Panther.
- Germain Lussier wonders how Avengers: Infinity War will impact the character of Okoye after the events in Black Panther.
- The Guardian reports that Black Panther becomes the most tweeted about movie ever.
Comments on Black Lightning:
- Brandon O'Brien views Black Lightning as a superpowered example of how the system dominates black people in the US.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the superhero TV show Black Lightning.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore declares that the Pierce family in Black Lightning is turning into a superhero team.
Comments on season 2 of Jessica Jones:
- Rebecca Nicholson calls season 2 of Jessica Jones a troubling follow-up to a stellar first season.
- Dave Richards shares his thoughts on episodes 5 to 7 of season 2 of Jessica Jones.
- Ilana Kaplan talks about Jessica Jones and the power of female rage.
Comments on The X-Files finale:
- Jill Pantozzi is very angry at what is apparently the last episode ever of The X-Files.
- Zack Handlen declares that the X-Files finale did offer closure, only that it was closure no one asked for.
- Yohana Desta wonders whether The X-Files finale is really how Dana Scully's journey ends.
- Amy Imhoff declares that Mulder and Scully deserved better than The X-Files finale.
- Darren Franish declares that The X-Files went bananas in the end.
- Brian Tallerico offers a recap of the finale of The X-Files.
Comments on Pacific Rim: Uprising:
- Benjamin Lee praises John Boyega's performance in Pacific Rim: Uprising.
- David Sims also praises John Boyega's performance, but otherwise felt that Pacific Rim: Uprising was derivative.
- Geoffrey Macnab calls Pacific Rim: Uprising headbanging havoc and also praises John Boyega's performance.
- Nick Schager calls Pacific Rim: Uprising a cartoony science fiction film.
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls Pacific Rim: Uprising an impersonal sequel.
- Chris Nashawaty calls Pacific Rim: Uprising a tedious second-rate sequel.
- David Ehrlich calls Pacific Rim: Uprising a bland sequel, though apparently didn't like the original either.
- Tasha Robinson declares that Pacific Rim: Uprising is only interested in the giant robot fights.
- Simon Hattenstone profiles John Boyega, star of Pacific Rim: Uprising and the Star Wars films.
- Germain Lussier profiles Emily Carmichael, screenwriter of Pacific Rim: Uprising.
- Vivian Kane reports that Charlie Day, who plays scientist Newton Geisler in Pacific Rim: Uprising, supports those shipping his characters with fellow scientist Hermann Gottlieb, as played by Burn Gorman.
- Kevin Melrose answers the question whether Pacific Rim: Uprising has a post-credits sequence.
- Clarisse Loughrey explains how Guillermo del Toro achieved the humanist blockbuster with the original Pacific Rim.
Comments on Isle of Dogs:
- A.A. Dowd shares his thoughts on Wes Anderson's new film Isle of Dogs.
- Princess Weekes finds an interesting conversation about cultural appropriation in Isle of Dogs.
Comments on Krypton:
- Evan Narcisse declares that Krypton is going to change what we know about Superman's past.
- Evan Narcisse also feels that the alien world of Krypton falls way too familiar.
- Aaron Sagers calls Krypton a prequel that refuses to be a prequel.
Comments on Ready Player One:
- Michael Moreci declares that Ready Player One is smarter and more insightful than most people think.
- Damien Walter declares that Ready Player One is not Black Panther for geeks.
- Gill Pringle profiles Ben Mendelsohn, one of the stars of Ready Player One.
- Germain Lussier reports that Ready Player One contains a reference to the 1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie The Last Action Hero, since both films share the same screenwriter.
Awards:
- The shortlist for the 2017 Kitschies has been announced.
- The full submission list for the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Awards has been announced.
- The nominees for the 2018 Saturn Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 Lord Ruthven Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2017 Brave New World Award has been announced.
- The winner of the 2018 Dell Magazine Award has been announced.
- The winner of the 2018 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award has been announced.
- The shortlist for the CLFA Book of the Year 2018 has been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- The Paris Review shares advice from twelve writers on tackling writers' block.
- Daniel Arenson talks about online bullying and how to avoid it.
- Caleb Kaiser shares fifty book marketing ideas every author needs to know.
Interviews:
- The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy interviews Vandana Singh.
- Nicole Hill interviews Josiah Bancroft.
- Joel Cunningham interviews Greg Keyes.
- The Qwillery interviews Rowenna Miller.
- The Qwillery interviews Jamey Bradbury.
- Michael Patrick Hicks interviews Chris Sorensen.
- Christian A. Coleman interviews Na'amen Gobert Tilahun.
Reviews:
- Mark Yon reviews Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon.
- Shira Glassman reviews Sparks Fly by Llinos Cathryn Thomas.
- Liz Bourke reviews Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear.
- Ardi Alspach also reviews Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear.
- Elsa Sjunneson-Henry reviews Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson.
- Mieneke van der Salm reviews Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft.
- The Qwillery reviews Pilgrimage to Skara by Jonathan S. Pembroke.
- Kelly Anderson reviews Lake Silence by Anne Bishop.
- Stuart Kelly reviews Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff.
- Shellie Horst reviews Firestorm by Lucy Hounsom.
- Bill Capossere reviews A Veil of Spears by Bradley P. Beaulieu.
- Colleen Mondor reviews The Wingsnatchers by Sarah Jean Horwitz.
- Kelly Anderson reviews The Queen of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton.
- Renay Williams reviews In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan.
- Alex Brown reviews The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan.
- Leah Schnelbach reviews Lacking Character by Curtis White.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado.
- Liz Bourke reviews Torn by Rowenna Miller.
- Joe Sherry reviews Dark State by Charles Stross.
- Nerds of a Feather reviews Dayfall by Michael David Ares.
- Adrienne Martini reviews The Genius Plague by David Walton.
- Russell Letson reviews Phoresis by Greg Egan.
- Ruth Scurr reviews Dreams Must Explain Themselves by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Crowdfunding:
- The Kugali anthology of African comics is looking for funding.
- The Fearless Collective is looking for funding to create a feminist street art movement in South Asia.
Con reports:
- Jamie Sugah shares some interviews with the cast of Shadowhunters from New York Comic Con in New York City.
- Mike Glyer shares the signing schedule of the Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Show in Glendale, California.
- The Geekiary looks ahead at ClexaCon 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Kate Heartfield explains what she learned about convention accessibility.
Science and technology:
- Jonathan Amos reports about a big harpoon that has been proposed as a solution for space junk.
- Jatan Mehta talks about space-grade electronics and explains how NASA's Juno space probe can survive near Jupiter.
- Jon Sharman reports that a mysterious purple aurora has been spotted in Scotland.
- Mike MacEacheran reports about the world's oldest functional planetarium in the town of Franeker in the Netherlands.
Free online fiction:
- "The Effluent Engine" by N.K. Jemisin in Lightspeed.
- "The War of Light and Shadow, in Five Dishes" by Siobhan Carroll in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "You Do Nothing But Freefall" by Cassandra Khaw and A. Maus in Lightspeed.
- "Princess Mine" by Darby Harn in Strange Horizons.
- "Three Petitions to the Queen of Hell" by T.A. Pratt in Apex Magazine.
- "Our King and His Court" by Rich Larson at Tor.com.
- "Trigger Snowflake and the Legal Clothes" by Ingvar in File 770.
Odds and ends:
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