It's time for another somewhat truncated weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Chapter 2 of It, Joker, GamerGate five years later, The Testaments by Maragret Atwood, WorldCon 77, NecronomiCon, DragonCon, debates about the Campbell/Astounding Award and the Tiptree Award, the 2019 Dragon Award winners and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Shaun Duke wonders why space opera, though the most popular subgenre of science fiction, gets so little academic attention.
- Katy Rose Pool discusses the chosen one trope in science fiction.
- James Wallace Harris explains why he reads outdated science fiction.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five collections of classic science fiction to rediscover.
- Jeff Somers shares nine novels that prove that time travel would solve most of our problems.
- Annalee Newitz shares seven books about geological science fiction.
- David Barnett wonders why so many people still love movie and TV novelisations.
- Sam Reader wonders whatever happened to Mark Z. Danielewski's multi-volume magnum opus The Familiar.
- Isabella Kapur talks about the importance of fanzines for keeping the SFF community connected with a particular focus on the WWII era fanzine Futurian War Digest and the feminist fanzine Janus.
- James Davis Nicoll lists SFF works linked to the University of Waterloo, Canada.
- John Vercher takes a look at graphic novels and social justice.
- Graeme McMillan reports that authorities in Brazil have banned an Avengers comic, which contains a gay kiss.
- The BBC reports that there were attempts to steal the unpublished manuscript of The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
Film and TV:
- Ryan Gilbey declares that the extended director's cut of Midsommar is more flawed than the original.
- Jack Seale declares that The I-Land is not a spoof, but that it really is that bad.
- Mike D'Angelo shares his thoughts on the indie superhero movie Freaks.
- Katie Rife shares her thoughts on the horror movie Depraved.
- Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Preacher.
- Emily Asher-Perrin points out that all technology in the Star Wars universe is designed for death.
- Tom Beasley discusses the symbolism of lightsabres in the Star Wars series and wonders what Rey's new lightsabre in the trailer for The Rise of Skywalker means.
- Ben Child wonders whether Terminator: Dark Fate can overcome its negative buzz.
- Daniel Tures revisits The Wizard of Oz for its 80th anniversary.
- Rosemary Benton takes a look at several SFF television debuts for the 1964/65 TV season.
- Rebecca Nicholson interviews Gillian Anderson, star of The X-Files and The Fall.
- James Whitbrook revisits Star Trek: The Motion Picture for its fortieth anniversary.
- Sopan Deb interviews US senator Cory Booker about his love for Star Trek.
- Lesley Goldberg reports that Walter Mosley has quit the Star Trek Discovery writers' room after he allegedly said the n-word.
- Walter Mosley explains why he resigned from Star Trek Discovery.
- The BBC wonders what Disney and Netflix leasing most of the Pinewood Studios for the next decade means for the British film industry and the James Bond films.
- Rhonda Richford reports that former James Bond Pierce Brosnan feels that the next James Bond should be a woman.
- Actress Carol Lynley died aged 77.
Comments on Chapter 2 of It:
- Charles Pulliam-Moore declares that chapter 2 of It wants to make you laugh in the face of death.
- Alex McLevy calls chapter 2 of It a bad horror movie, but a pretty decent comedy.
- Angelic Jade Bastien calls chapter 2 of It sentimental and declares that it needed more Pennywise.
- Scott Tobias declares that chapter 2 of It treads water.
- Andy Crump asks if It is a new kind of horror franchise.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that chapter 2 of It includes a homophobic attack that occurs in the novel but was omitted for the 1990 miniseries.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore also discusses the hints that one of the characters in It is gay.
- Ryan Parker interviews Gary Dauberman, screewriter of chapter 2 of It.
- Germain Lussier interviews Andy and Barbara Muschietti, director and producer of chapter 2 of It.
- Alex McLevy reports that chapter 2 of It tops the US cinema charts, though it grossed less than its predecessor so far.
Comments on Joker:
- A.A. Dowd calls Joker derivative, but declares that it brings something new to superhero cinema.
- Xan Brooks wonders what Joker winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival means.
- Dave Itzkoff profiles Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Philips, star and director of Joker.
- Ethan Alter interviews Todd Phillips, director of Joker.
GamerGate Five Years Later:
- Charlie Warzel asks what GamerGate is.
- Noah Berlatsky points out that yes, GamerGate was a misognynist hate campaign.
- Cathy Young believes that almost everything people say about GamerGate is wrong.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2019 Inky Awards have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2019 Insight Investment Science Book Prize has been announced.
- The winners of the 2019 Digital Book World Awards have been announced.
- Joker has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
- James Davis Nicoll looks at the gender distribution of the Hugo Award finalists over time.
- Alex Marshall reports about the security measures to which this year's Booker Prize judges were subjected to preserve the secrecy surrounding Margaret Atwood's shortlisted novel The Testaments, which only comes out this week.
Debates about awards name changes:
- The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction has announced that it will change the name of its annual conference and that changing the name of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel is under consideration as well.
- John Scalzi weighs in on the impending name change of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and the reassessment of John W. Campbell in general.
- Nancy Jane Moore weighs in on the Campbell Award name change.
- Mimi Mondal weighs in on the name change of the Campbell Award and the changes in the science fiction genre in general.
- Due to pressure, the Tiptree Award Motherboard has reversed its previous decision and will remove the name of the award after all.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Tor.com shares writing advice from Rachel Aaron a.k.a. Rachel Bach.
- Cat Rambo explains how you can learn how to write fiction.
- Arkady Martine talks about narratology and why stories need to make sense.
- Lauren Sapala explains how writers can stop being consumed by the fear of not being good enough.
- Robert Lee Brewer shares some tips for writing a science fiction novel.
- Ken Pelham talks about the slang and jargon of the fantastic.
- Joe Abercrombie talks about his revision process.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about licensing out.
- David Gaughran wonders about how to tackle the rampant scamming in the self-publishing community.
- Patty Jansen talks about the state of indie publishing in 2019.
Interviews:
- Alexandra Alter interviews Margaret Atwood.
- Martha Teichner interviews Margaret Atwood.
- Scott Simon interviews Margaret Atwood.
- Marion Deeds interviews Alix E. Harrow.
- The Los Angeles Public Library interviews Alix E. Harrow.
- Nick Harrow interviews Alix E. Harrow.
- Xan Brooks interviews Stephen King.
- Locus interviews Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
- J.C. Kang interviews Lian Hearn.
- Locus interviews William Gibson.
- The Odyssey Writing Workshop interviews Erin Roberts.
- Arley Sorg interviews Derek Künsken.
- Arley Sorg interviews L.X. Beckett.
- Paul Weimer interviews Brian Naslund.
- Rob Newton interviews Sarah Cruddas.
- The Qwillery interviews Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga.
- The Qwillery interviews Tyler Hayes.
- The Qwillery interviews Grant Price.
- The Qwillery interviews Phil Williams.
Reviews:
- Michiko Kakutani reviews The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (potential spoilers).
- Anne Enright reviews The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
- Alex Clark reviews The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
- Holly Williams reviews The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
- Adri Joy reviews Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
- Kelly Chiu reviews Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
- Lee Mandelo reviews Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
- Aidan Moher reviews The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews.
- Meghan Ball reviews A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker.
- Janet Webb reviews Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb.
- Corrina Lawson reviews Shrouded Loyalties by Reese Hogan.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The City and the Cygnets by Michael Bishop.
- Ceridwen Christensen reviews Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh.
- S. Qiouyi Lu reviews Cry Pilot by Joel Dane.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Deep by Rivers Solomon.
- Clare Clark reviews The Second Sleep by Robert Harris.
- Ceridwen Christensen reviews The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Song of the Sycamore by Edward Cox.
- Corrina Lawson reviews A Sword Named Truth by Sherwood Smith.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt.
- Ceridwen Christensen reviews The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark.
- Mark Yon reviews Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie.
- Kat Hooper reviews Priest of Bones by Peter McLean.
- Kat Hooper reviews Priest of Lies by Peter McLean.
- Katharine Coldiron reviews No Country For Old Gnomes by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne.
- Kat Hooper reviews The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall.
- Linda H. Codega reviews The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga.
- Ross Johnson reviews The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes.
- Hepzibah Anderson reviews The Confession by Jessie Burton.
- Rachael McKenzie reviews The Confession by Jessie Burton.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Million Mile Road Trip by Rudy Rucker.
- Amy Goldschlager reviews Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez.
- Colleen Mondor reviews When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds.
- Ardi Alspach reviews The Nobody People by Bob Proehl.
- Alex Brown reviews Pet by Akwaeke Emezi.
- Philip Womack reviews The Institute by Stephen King.
- Matt Brandenburg reviews Hellrider by J.G. Faherty.
- Martin Cahill reviews The Mythic Dream, edited by Navah Wolfe and Dominik Parisien.
- Bill Capossere and Jana Nyman review Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee
Classics reviews:
- Paperback Warrior revisits Justice Inc., a 1939 Avenger novel by Kenneth Robeson a.k.a. Paul Ernst.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1954 science fiction novel The Stars Are Ours! by Andre Norton.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the October 1964 issue of Galaxy.
- John Boston revisits the October 1964 issue of Amazing Stories.
- Rich Horton revisits the 1965 science fiction novel Sleeping Planet by William R. Burkett Jr.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1965 apocalyptic novel A Wrinkle in the Skin a.k.a. The Ragged Edge by John Christopher.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1969 anthology Twenty Years of the Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Edward L. Ferman and Robert P. Mills.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1971 science fiction collection Future Without Future by Jacques Sternberg.
- Timothy the Talking Cat revisits the 1974 science fiction novel The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Joe Kenney revisits Kingdom of Royth, a 1974 novel in the Richard Blade fantasy adventure series by Jeffrey Lord a.k.a. Roland Green.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 science fiction collection The Trouble With You Earth People by Katherine MacLean.
- Rich Horton revisits the 1982 science fiction collection The Narrow Land by Jack Vance.
- Jana Nyman and Rebecca Fisher revisit the 1986 fantasy novel The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 1999 science fiction novel Starfish by Peter Watts.
Crowdfunding:
- Volume 5 of the Long List Anthology, which collects stories that just missed the Hugo ballot, is looking for funding.
- A Remnant of Magic: A Fairytale Anthology of Old Lady Heroes, edited by Emily McCosh, is looking for funding.
Reports about WorldCon 77:
- Cora Buhlert shares her experiences at WorldCon 77 in Dublin, Ireland.
- Sue Burke shares her experiences at WorldCon 77.
- Alex Weidemann shares his experiences at WorldCon 77.
- SteamTinkerer shares a video of WorldCon 77.
Other con and event reports:
- Michael Dirda reports about NecronomiCon in Providence, Rhode Island.
- Ruthanna Emrys reports about NecronomiCon.
- Doug Larkey reports about the Philip K. Dick Festival in Fort Morgan, Colorado.
- Andrew Liptak shares his experiences at DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Luke Plunkett shares the best cosplay photos from DragonCon.
- Mike Glyer reports that the 2019 VCON in Vancouver, Canada, has been cancelled.
- Jim Milliot reports about changes to BookExpo in New York City.
Science and technology:
- The BBC reports that India has lost contact with the Chandrayaan-2 moon lander.
- Mike Wall reports about the reactions to the loss of Chandrayaan-2.
- Pallab Ghosh reports that water has been found for the first time on a potentially habitable exo-planet.
- Pallab Ghosh reports that a team is planning to make a colour video of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy.
- Yahoo reports that Japanese scientists have identified a new species of dinosaur.
- Jonathan Amos reports about the day the dinosaurs died out.
- Kaye Dee takes a look at the latest satellite launches in 1964.
Free online fiction:
- "The Hundredth House Had No Walls" by Laurie Penny at Tor.com.
- "The Most Okay of All Possible Worlds" by Shannon Fay in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Dave's Head" by Suzanne Palmer in Clarkesworld.
- "Amorville" by Bella Han in Clarkesworld.
- "Mr. Sakrison's Halt" by Mildred Clingerman at Library of America.
- "About Time" by Elizabeth Bonesteel.
- "Sacrid's Pod" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed.
- "Flight of the Crow Boys" by Micah Dean Hicks in Lightspeed.
- "Dear Parents, Your Child Is Not the Chosen One" by P.G. Galalis in Diabolical Plots
- "Our Town's Talent" by Simon Strantzas in The Dark.
- "The Hungry Shores" by H.G.G. Allard in Crimson Streets.
- "The Great Silence" by Ted Chiang in Nautilus.
- "The Tiger" by Nina Allan in Nightmare Magazine.
Odds and ends:
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