Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 17, 2019

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the final season of Game of Thrones, Avengers: Endgame,  Detective Pikachu, season 4 of Lucifer, season 6 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Dead Don't Die, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, The Wandering Earth, Years and Years, The Society, the Tolkien biopic, the Stoker Awards and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Eric Brown offers a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy. 
• Maria Haskins lists thirteen recent SFF anthologies to celebrate short story month.
• James Davis Nicoll shares science fiction works that show the downsides of technology.
• Tor.com share their favourite fantasy pirates.
• Malinda Lo looks back on ten years of LGBT YA speculative fiction since her YA fantasy Ash was released. 
• Anya Johanna DeNiro talks about the portrayal of friendship in Martha Wells' novella Artificial Condition.
• Tom Hunter and Suw Charman-Anderson discuss thirteen years of submission data for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and why there are still fewer books by women than by men submitted.  
• Cora Buhlert points out that the golden age of science fiction was more diverse than most people think. 
• Mike Chomko remembers science fiction and screenwriter Charles Beaumont.
• Mark W. Tiedemann responds to Ian McEwan's rank cluelessness about science fiction. 
• Tina Jordan weighs in on the controversy caused by Ian McEwan.
• Camestros Felapton traces the unusual popularity of stories about dinosaurs on the Hugo ballott over the years.
• Jeff Somers lists ten very strange detective protagonists from science fiction and fantasy crime novels.
• Simon Ounsley recalls the early years of Interzone. 
• Michael Gonzales shares his appreciation for the art of Jim Steranko. 
• Ryan Parker reports that Stan Lee's former manager Keya Morgan has been charged with elder abuse.
• Jonathan Cowie remembers biologist and science fiction writer Jack Cohen.
• Science fiction and horror writer Tommy Donbavand has died aged 52.
  

Film and TV:

• Shannon Miller declares that See You Yesterday cleverly blends science fiction, youthful charm and the harsh reality of police brutality. 
• Paul Levinson declares that the disaster docudrama Chernobyl feels like a horror movie, but is made all the more horrible by the fact that everything depicted really happened.
• Peter Bradshaw calls the Brazilian movie Bacarau a disquieting horror-style near future western.   
• Peter Bradshaw calls Atlantique a supernatural mystery from Senegal. 
• Christopher East takes a look at the latest adaptation of Watership Down.
• Katie Rife shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In The Shadows.
• Noel Murray shares his thoughts on the latest episode of the new Twilight Zone.
• Natalie Devitt takes a look at episodes 29 to 32 of season 1 of the original Outer Limits. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits Stanley Kubrick's 1964 nuclear war satire Dr. Strangelove , Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb and finds that it's still as good as ever.
• Ryan Britt wonders whether an Easter egg in season 3 of Star Trek Discovery suggests that the far future Federation is evil.  
• Flora Carr reports that Neil Gaiman fought for keeping the character of Agnes Nutter in the TV adaptation of Good Omens.
• Julie Muncy reports that The Orville has been renewed for a third season.
• Screenwriter Alvin Sargent, who wrote the screenplays for Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, died aged 92.
• Comedian Tim Conway, who provided the voice of Barnacle Boy in SpongeBob Squarepants, has died aged 85.  
• Actor Isaac Kappy, who appeared in Thor, Terminator Salvation and Breaking Bad has died aged 42.
• Actress Peggy Lipton, best known for her roles in The Mod Squad and Twin Peaks, has died aged 72.
• Actress Doris Day, best known for her parts in The Man Who Knew Too Much and Midnight Lace, has died aged 97.
  

Comments on Avengers: Endgame and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (warning: spoilers):

• Alexa Grave shares her thoughts on Avengers: Endgame.
• Chris Bower, who has never seen a single Marvel movie, explains Avengers: Endgame from the POV of a Marvel virgin (spoilers).
• Patrick Shanley interviews screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely about various Avengers: Endgame fan theories.
• Sam Stone shares directors Joe and Anthony Russo's comments regarding the major deaths in Avengers: Endgame (spoilers).
• Adam-Troy Castro weighs in on the portrayal of Thor in Avengers: Endgame. 
• L.D. Nolan shares some insight into Thor's videogame antagonist NoobMaster69 in Avengers: Endgame.
• Graeme McMillan declares that it's time for Marvel to leave its past behind. 
• Inspired by the success of Avengers: Endgame, David Cox asks if sequels are destroying US cinema.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore declares that Avengers: Endgame has some nerve making fun of time travel movies.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore declares that the soul stone was the least interesting Marvel McGuffin. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore also reports that according to Kevin Feige, Marvel has future plans for the Mandarin and the Ten Rings. 
• Zach Vasquez reveals what was cut from Avengers: Endgame.
• James Whitbrook reports that a Twitter account supposedly tweeting the always correct prophecies of the Good Omens character Agnes Nutter has apparently tweeted an Avengers: Endgame spoiler before the movie came out.
• Mike Pesca interviews Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Avengers: Endgame.
• Germain Lussier interviews Russell Earl, special effects supervisor for Avengers: Endgame.
• Mike Fleming Jr. interviews James Gunn about his firing and rehiring from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Comments on the final season of Game of Thrones (spoilers):

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "The Bells", the latest episode of Game of Thrones. 
• Theresa DeLucci shares her thoughts on "The Bells". 
• Sarah Hughes shares her thoughts on "The Bells".
• Joe Brosnan shares his thoughts on "The Bells". 
• Myles McNutt shares his thoughts on "The Bells".
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on "The Bells".
• Angel Wilson shares her thoughts on "The Bells".
• Ben Van Iten shares his thoughts about "The Bells". 
• Cheryl Eddy and Beth Elderkin share their thoughts on "The Bells".
• David Stubbs shares his thoughts on "The Bells" and wonders whether Game of Thrones has turned on its bloodthirsty fans.
• Aaron Brady shares his thoughts on "The Bells" and declares that Daenerys was right.
• Rob Bricken is not pleased with the development of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. 
• Melissa Leon is also bothered by the portrayal of Daenerys Targgaryen. 
• Josh Wigler declares that the seeds for the development of Daenerys have been laid early in the series.
• Beth Elderkin also declares that Daenerys Targaryen's behaviour in "The Bells" is consistent with her portrayal in earlier episodes.
• Damien Walter declares that what Daenerys Targaryen did is no different from what the US did in multiple wars. 
• Michael Livinston talks about war crimes and the missing character arc of Daenerys Targaryen.
• Kevin Fallon feels that Game of Thrones failed its female characters.
• Piya Sinha-Roy interviews Nathalie Emmanuel who plays Missandei in Game of Thrones.
• Graeme Virtue discusses how Game of Thrones enraged its audience. 
• Cora Buhlert finds another problem with "The Bells" that few people talk about.
• Inspired by "The Bells", Brian Menegus wonders whether dragons ever run out of fire.
• Tyler Dean wonders whether "Only death can pay for life" is the ultimate message of Game of Thrones. 
• Bob Mayer makes a prediction regarding the end of Game of Thrones.
• Alison Herman declares that the problems with Game of Thrones are largely due to the show being forced to capitulate to the rules of television.
• Brian Philips declares that the current problems with Game of Thrones show that George R.R. Martin deserves much more respect than he often gets. 
• Alison Flood reports that contrary to claims made by actor Ian McElhinny, George R.R. Martin has not finished writing the final two volumes of A Song of Ice and Fire.
• Joel Cunningham lists all the books to read to discover the full story behind Game of Thrones. 
• Dan Neilan reports that there is a petition to "fix" Game of Thrones that already has 500000 signatures. 
• Luke Holland implores fans to stop nitpicking, because he believes that season 8 of Game of Thrones is marvelous.
• Sam Jones reports about a Spanish dubbing gaffe in a recent episode of Game of Thrones.
• Ben Child wonders whether Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff can breathe new life into Star Wars.
  

Comments on season 4 of Lucifer: 

• LaToya Ferguson offers episode by episode reviews of season 4 of Lucifer.  
• The Geekiary points out that season 4 of Lucifer is emotionally intense. 
• Narayan Liu asks how much violence and nudity really add to Lucifer.
• Christina Radish interviews Tom Ellis who plays Lucifer Morningstar in Lucifer.

Comments on season 6 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: 

• Alan Brown shares his thoughts on "Missing Pieces", the season 6 premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Kate Kulzick shares her thoughts on "Missing Pieces". 

Comments on Detective Pikachu:

• Joshua Yehl calls Detective Pikachu super effective.
• Emily Asher Perrin declares that Detective Pikachu is this generation's Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
• Ali Plumb enjoyed Detective Pikachu a whole lot, even though the movie makes no sense. 
• Brian Ashcraft reports that amazingly, Detective Pikachu is a good movie.
• Brian Ashcraft also discusses how Hollywood did not screw up Detective Pikachu.
• Vincent Acovino declares that enjoyment of Detective Pikachu largely depends on one's familiarity with the Pokémon franchise. 
• Anthony Gramuglia explains how Detective Pikachu and the much maligned Sonic the Hedgehog trailer show why Pokémon endures, while Sonic has faded.
• Jon Del Arroz notes a resemblance between a villain in Detective Pikachu and far right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos and smells a cospiracy.
• Mike Bloom interviews Rob Letterman, director of Detective Pikachu. 
• Baraka Kaseko and Marah Eakin interview Justice Smith and Kathryn Newton, human stars of Detective Pikachu.
• Inspired by Detective Pikachu, Clara Mae asks why there are so few good movies based on videogames.
• Chris Godfrey explains how Pokémon became the highest grossing media franchise of all time.
• Borys Kit report that a Detective Pikachu sequel is already in the works.
  

Comments on The Dead Don't Die: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls The Dead Don't Die a stumbling zombie comedy.
• A.A. Dowd calls The Dead Don't Die a zombie comedy for the Trump era.
  

Comments on The Wandering Earth:

• Karen Han calls the Chinese science fiction movie The Wandering Earth a thrilling mix of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Armageddon and Gravity.  
• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on The Wandering Earth.
  

Comments on Godzilla: King of the Monsters:

• Christian Long shares some early reactions to Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
• Eric Diaz reports that Godzilla's head bursts out of the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California, as part of a promotion for Godzilla: King of Monsters.
• Katie Rife interviews Scott Chambliss, production designer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
  

Comments on Years and Years:

• Lucy Mangan calls Years and Years a brilliant near future drama by Russell T. Davies. 
• Hugh Montgomery takes a look at Years and Years and wonders why dystopian near future TV shows are so popular at the moment.
  

Comments on The Society:

• Lucy Mangan calls The Society a deeply silly science fiction take on Dawson's Creek or The Breakfast Club. 
• Josh Bell declares that The Society is plagued by whiny characters and doesn't live up to its potential.  
• Haleigh Foutch calls The Society binge-worthy and surprisingly smart.

Comments on Tolkien: 

• Rosie Knight calls Tolkien a sweet, thoughtful and unabashedly romantic biopic.  
• Alexandra August calls Tolkien a sweet story about the creation of a masterpiece. 
• Diane Lynn Gardner calls Tolkien a sensitive biopic.
• Jeff LaSala declares that the Tolkien biopic informs and inspires.
• Glenn Kenny has mixed feelings about Tolkien.
• Caitlin Penzey Moog muses about the difficulties of translating J.R.R. Tolkien's popularity into a movie, as the Tolkien biopic shows.
• Alison Crist reports that US TV personality Stephen Colbert has hosted the first public screening of Tolkien with the director and stars in attendance. 

Awards: 

• The winners of the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2018 This Is Horror Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Premio Italia have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2019 Prix Imaginales have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2019 Tomorrow Prize have been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2019 Nommo Awards has been announced.
• The nominees for the 2019 Premio Ignotus have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2019 Premios Kelvin 505 have been announced.
• The finalists for the 10th Annual Xingyun Awards have been announced.
• Mike Glyer shares the results of a poll regarding the top science fiction awards.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Danielle Steel explaims to Samantha Leach how she manages to be so prolific. 
• Michael Blumlein explains how he researched the biological and medical aspects of his fiction. 
• Jo Walton discusses the inspiration behind her medieval fantasy novel Lent.
• Hafsah Faizal explains how her Arabic roots inspired her fantasy novel We Hunt the Flame.
• Caroline Humes shares a list of books for fantasy and science fiction writers.
• Chuck Wendig declares that reviewers really shouldn't tag authors in their negative reviews.
  

Interviews:

• Jen Zink and Paul Weimer interview Ann Leckie.
• Jeff Somers interviews Rudy Rucker.
• Deanna Destito interviews Christopher Priest.
• John DeNardo interviews Grady Hendrix and Will Errickson.  
• Paul Weimer interviews David Quantick.
• The Qwillery interviews Simeon Mills.  
• The Qwillery interviews Henry Thomas.
  

Reviews:

• Rob Bedford reviews The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling. 
• C. Gockel reviews Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair.
• Beth Mowbray reviews The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. 
• Tadiana Jones reviews Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs.
• Ceridwen Christensen reviews Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs. 
• Carolyn Cushman reviews Terminal Uprising by Jim C. Hines and Circle of the Moon by Faith Hunter.
• Liz Bourke reviews The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons.
• Colleen Mondor reviews Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee. 
• Ross Johnson reviews Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
• Ian Mond reviews Luna: Moon Rising by Ian McDonald. 
• Bill Capossere reviews Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson.
• Kat Hooper reviews The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. 
• Aidan Moher reviews A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay. 
• Niall Alexander reviews A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay.
• Alex Brown reviews The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig. 
• The Qwillery reviews Out of Nowhere by Patrick LeClerc.
• The Qwillery reviews The Anointed by Keith Ward. 
• Marion Deeds reviews Soulbinder by Sebastien de Castell. 
• Adri Joy reviews Shadowblade by Anna Kashina.
• The Qwillery reviews Sowing by Angie Grigaliunas.
• The Qwillery reviews We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson. 
• The Qwillery interviews Symphony of the Wind by Steven McKinnon. 
• Benjamin Evans reviews The Farm by Joanne Ramos.
• Diyah Nayeri reviews The Farm by Joanne Ramos.
• Katharine Coldiron reviews The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull. 
• Christobel Kent reviews Lost Property by Laura Beatty.
• Kat Hooper reviews Inspection by Josh Malerman. 
• Matt Brandenburg reviews Tamer Animals by Justin M. Woodward.
• Suzy Michael reviews A Taker of Morrows by Stephen Paul Sayers.
• Alec-Nevala Lee reviews The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein by Farah Mendlesohn.
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Science Fiction Fanzine Reader: Focal Points 1930-1960, edited by Luis Ortiz.

Classics reviews:

• Sara Light-Waller revisits the June 1929 issue of Science Wonder Stories. 
• Mark Yon revisits the 1943 horror novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber Jr. 
• Paul Fraser revisits the November 1943 issues of Astounding Science Fiction.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1954 science fiction mystery The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov.
• John Boston shares his thoughts on the June 1964 issue of Amazing Stories. 
• Jason Sacks revisits the 1964 science fiction novel Ten Years to Doomsday by Chester Anderson and Michael Kurland.
• Hephzibah Anderson revisits the 1968 dystopian novel Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner. 
• Paul Fraser revisits the April 1976 issue of Science Fiction Monthly.
• Will Errickson revisits Emergence, a 1981 horror novel by Robert D. San Souci.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1984 YA fantasy novel The Changeover by Margaret Mahy.
• Paperback Warrior revisits Road War, a 1985 novel in The Traveler post-apocalyptic adventure series, by D.B. Drumm a.k.a. John Shirley.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Kristine Kathryn Rusch discusses that Kickstarters can be stressful.
  

Con and event reports:

• Caroline Humes shares her experiences at Ytterbium, the 2019 Eastercon in London, UK.
• Craig W. Chrissinger reports about the 2019 Williamson lectureship in Portales, New Mexico.
• Mike Glyer offers an update about the latest developments in the Jon Del Arroz vs. WorldCon 76 lawsuit. 
• Mike Glyer shares a look behind the scenes of Balticon in Baltimore, Maryland. 
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of StokerCon in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Rob Jackson offers some recordings of the Saturday program at Corflu 36 in Rockville, Maryland.
• The Geekiary shares ten things to do at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida besides panels.
  

Science and technology:

• Ethan Siegel declares that the multiverse is inevitable and that we are living in it. 
• Jeremie Harris declares that we are probably living in an alternate universe and explains why this is so.
• Elizabeth Rayne takes a look at some of the stranger moons of Saturn as depicted by the probe Cassini. 
• Jonathan Amos reports about the people who are learning how to control the Rosalind Franklin Rover on Mars.
• Paul Rincon reports that the Chinese moon rover Chang'e-4 has confirmed some theories regarding lunar craters. 
• The BBC reports that Jeff Bezos has just unveiled a moon lander concept.
• Sam Scott explains what the Bikini Atoll looks like today. 
• Rebecca Morelle reports that American explorers have found a new species of crustaceans and a plastic bag at the bottom of the Mariana trench.
• Sarah Sloat reports that sea monsters reportedly seen by people started to look more and more like dinosaurs as fossil finds and knowledge about dinosaurs increased.
• The BBC reports that the tomb of an Anglo-Saxon prince has been excavated in Southend, UK, between a pub and an Aldi supermarket.
• UFO researcher Stanton Friedman has died aged 84.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Convexity of Our Youth" by Kurt Fawver in Lightspeed. 
• "Truth Is Like the Sun" by Matthew Kressel in Lightspeed.
• "Long is the Way" by Carrie Vaughn and Sage Walker at Tor.com. 
• "The Lonely Dark" by Deborah L. David in Compelling Science Fiction.
• "Green is for Wishes and Apples" by Kathryn McMahon in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "Ten Excerpts from an Anotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island" by Nibedita Sen in Nightmare Magazine.
• "Ten Reasons Aliens Just Can't Get Enough of This Small West Virginia Town" by Shae Davidson in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Empress in Glass" by Cory Skerry in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Wiley" by Sara Saab in The Dark.
• "Fugue State" by Steven Barnes and Tanarive Due in Apex Magazine.

Odds and ends:

• Watch a trailer for season 5 of Black Mirror.
• Watch a trailer for Batwoman. 
• Watch a trailer for Swamp Thing. 
• Watch a trailer for The Runaway, a virtual reality Doctor Who story. 
• Watch a trailer for Midsommar.
• Watch a trailer for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. 
• Watch a trailer for Motherland: Fort Salem.
• Watch a trailer for neXt.
• Take a quiz about science fiction planets.