Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 1, 2020

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek in general, series 12 of Doctor Who, The Witcher, Avenue 5, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Color Out of Space, Joker and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Liz Bourke lists the 2020 SFF books she is looking forward to. 
• AudioFile Magazine shares the best new science fiction and fantasy audio books for winter 2020.
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction works about epic space journeys. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares classic science fiction books set on futuristic space habitats.
• James Davis Nicoll also shares five science fiction stories about global cooling. 
• Andrew Hunter-Murray explains how to end the world in five easy steps.
• Tor.com shares their favourite stories featuring Groundhog Day type time-loops
• Tor.com shares seven SFF books which reimagine beloved literary classics. 
• Marissa Meyer shares five YA SFF books that blur the line between good and evil.
• J.C. Kang, Rob J. Hayes,Virginia McClain, M. L. Wang, K. Bird Lincoln and Devin Madson discuss Asian fantasy.  
• Medleyana shares their appreciation for the works of Henry Kuttner. 
• Erika Harlitz-Kern shares her appreciation for The Centenal Cycle by Malka Older. 
• James A. Moore shares his appreciation for the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander.
• Sam Kates shares his appreciation for the works of Enid Blyton. 
• Jo Reed interviews Jim Dale, narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks.
• Bryan Cronin reports that Superman's S-logo may have been inspired by a 1920s/30s fanzine called The Planet.
• Gudrun Pausewang, German writer of post-apocalyptic and dystopian YA among others, has died aged 91.
  

Film and TV:

• Peter Bradshaw calls The Lighthouse a sublime maritime nightmare.
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Turning a contrived and spiritless disappointment. 
• Kevin Fallon calls Underwater the year's first batshit crazy movie.
• Cath Clarke calls the latest version of The Grudge the franchise that refused to die. 
• Benjamin Lee calls His House an effective haunted house thriller.
• Katie Rife calls Gretel and Hansel spellbinding and eerie. 
• Jordan Hoffman calls Wendy a version of the Peter Pan story that never grows up into an interesting film. 
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the Scandinavian supernatural drama Ragnarok.
• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Outsider.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the season 1 finale of Emergence. 
• Bilge Ebri revisits the 1964 nuclear war movies Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
• Austin Gilkeson revisits the 1977 animated Lord of the Rings film. 
• Anthony Breznican reports from the set of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. 
• Rosanna Greenstreet interviews Gemma Whelan who appears in White House Farm and played Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones. 
• Jessica Murray interviews Daniel Kaluuya, star of Get Out, Black Panther and Queen and Slim.
• Lora Jones interviews Hanna Brar, props assistant on the Star Wars movies. 
• James Greeby reports that Dolittle was a massive flop and wonders what this means for the career of Robert Downey Jr.
• Leah Schnelbach shares a tribute to Terry Jones. 
• Actor John Karlen, best known for his parts in Dark Shadows and Cagney and Lacey, has died aged 86.

Comments on Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek in general (warning, possible spoilers):

• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Rememberance", the first episode of Star Trek: Picard. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Rememberance". 
• Erik Henriksen shares his thoughts on "Rememberance".
• Jack Seale shares his thoughts on "Rememberance".
• Kevin Fallon discusses the political implications of Star Trek: Picard.
• Ali Plumb interviews Sir Patrick Stewart and Jeri Ryan, who play Jean-Luc Picard and Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Picard. 
• Tim Baysinger reports that a crossover between the Star Trek TV shows and movies seems possible.
• Ryan Britt wonders if Data's evil brother Lore will appear in Star Trek: Picard.
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 2002 film Star Trek Nemesis.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits "Caretaker", the first episode of Star Trek Voyager as well as "Parallax", the second episode.
• Ross A. Lincoln points out that the logo for Donald Trump's new US Space Force bears an uncanny resemblance to the Starfleet logo.
  

Comments on series 12 of Doctor Who (major spoilers):

• Sylas K. Barrett and Emmet Asher-Perrin share their thoughts on "Fugitive of the Judoon", the latest episode of Doctor Who. 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Fugitive of the Judoon". 
• Dan Martin shares his thoughts on "Fugitive of the Judoon". 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Fugitive of the Judoon". 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "Fugitive of the Judoon".
• Ryan Britt muses about recent revelations in Doctor Who and what they might mean for the Doctor. 
• Martin Belam also discusses a recent revelation in Doctor Who.
• Constance Gibbs is pleased about some recent diverse casting decisions on Doctor Who, but declares that this is only the beginning.
• Huw Fullerton interviews John Barrowman who played Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and Torchwood. 
• Ryan Britt also interviews John Barrowman.
• Nicola Methven interviews Chris Chibnall, showrunner of Doctor Who (major spoilers).
  

Comments on The Witcher:

• Joelle Monique interviews Lauren  Schmidt Hissrich, showrunner of The Witcher.
• Henry Cavill, star of The Witcher, explains everything you need to know about the Witcher's swords. 

Comments on Avenue 5:

• Kate Kulzick shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Avenue 5.
• Marah Eakin interviews Ethan Phillips and Leonora Circhlow, two stars of Avenue 5. 
  

Comments on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina:

• Lisa Weidenfeld offers episode by episode reviews of the latest season of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. 
• Hannah Mylrea shares her thoughts on season 3 of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
• Abbey White explains the ending of season 3 of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
• Angie Martoccio interviews Kiernan Shipka, star of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
  

Comments on Color Out Of Space: 

• Katie Rife calls Color Out of Space a predictably wild mix of H.P. Lovecraft, star Nicholas Cage and director Richard Stanley. 
• Mark Jenkins calls Color Out Of Space a pulpy horror film with little craft and no love.

Comments on Joker:

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on Joker. 
• Katie Rife and A.A. Dowd declare that Joker's greatest trick is that we are still talking about the bloody film.
• Phil Hoad talks about the problematic portrayal of mental illness in Daniel Isn't Real and Joker.

Awards:

• The winner of the 2020 Dal Coger Memorial Hall of Fame Award has been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals have been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 Annie Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 DGA Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 American Library Association Youth Media Awards have been announced. 
• The 2020 Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable Lists have been announced. 
• The 2020 RUSA Year's Best in Genre Fiction Reading Lists have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2020 Golden Kite Award has been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 VES Awards have been announced.
  
• Radicalized by Cory Doctorow has been shortlisted for the Canada Reads Prize.
• The winners of the 2020 Grammy Awards have been announced with some winners of genre interest.
• Camestros Felapton offers a summary of the sad and rabid puppies saga.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Bethany Henry shares six ways to feed your muse. 
• Jana Oliver explains what to do when your muse is missing in action.
• Janice Hardy talks about things to consider when adding a POV character.
• Kathleen Jennings recounts how the Australian wildfires are affecting writers. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch explains how freeing it can be to realise that nobody cares.
• Rolland Kling talks about social media book marketing.
  

Interviews:

• Alison Flood interviews Nora Roberts a.k.a. J.D. Robb. 
• Leah Donella interviews Tomi Adeyemi.
• Jonathan McAloon interviews Francine Toon.
  
• The Qwillery interviews Chana Porter.
• The Qwillery interviews Brian D. Anderson.
• Scott Edelmann interviews Alexandra Erin.
  

Reviews: 

• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviews Strange Love by Ann Aguirre.
• Camestros Felapton reviews Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds. 
• Adrienne Martini reviews A Chain Across the Stars by Drew Williams and The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford. 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Night Train to Murder by Simon R. Green.  
• Jana Nyman and Tadiana Jones review An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris.
• Publishers Weekly reviews The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Paris Adrift by E.J. Swift.
• Nina Shepardson reviews The Outside by Ada Hoffman. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey.
• Gary K. Wolfe and Amy Goldschalger review The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
• Adri Joy reviews The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood. 
• Paul Weimer reviews The Bone Ships by R.J. Baker. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Highfire by Eoin Colfer.
• Nina Shepardson reviews The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt. 
• Lee Mandelo reviews Blood Countess by Lana Popovic. 
• Molly Templeton reviews Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. 
• Julie Kitvaria Sarene reviews Sorcery Reborn by Steve McHugh.
• Marion Deeds reviews Battle Mage by Peter A. Flannery.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Swordman's Lament by G.M. White.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry. 
• Juanita Giles reviews The Conference of Birds by Ransom Riggs. 
• Dan Kois reviews The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox. 
• Paul Weimer reviews Gamechanger by L.X. Beckett.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews A Very Scalzi Christmas by John Scalzi and Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw.
• Helon Habila reviews The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
• Lis Carey reviews The Base of Reflections by A.E. Warren.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed.
• Tobias Carroll reviews Sabbath by Nick Mamatas.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Reddening by Adam Nevill.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Agency by William Gibson.
• Ian Mond reviews The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu.
• Daniel Dern reviews The History of Soul 2065 by Barbara Krasnoff.
• Jonathan Thornton reviews Talk Like a Man by Nisi Shawl.
• Colleen Mondor reviews Ghosts of the Shadow Market, edited by Cassandra Clare.
• Logan Noble reviews Nox Pareidolia, edited by Robert S. Wilson.
• Bill Capossere reviews Batman and Ethics by Mark D. White.
• Dorian Lynskey reviews Orwell: A Man of Our Time by Richard Bradford.
• Janice M. Bogstad reviews Iain Banks by Paul Kincaid.
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson.
  

Classics reviews: 

• Little Red Reviewer revisits the 1818 gothic science fiction novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. 
• Howling Frog Books revisits the 1920 science fantasy novel The Metal Monster by A. Merritt. 
• Froodian Slip revisits the 1938 science fiction horror novella "Who Goes There?" by Don A. Stuart a.k.a. John W. Campbell. 
• Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 mythological novel The Golden Fleece by Robert Graves.
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1944 planetary romance novella "The Jewel of Bas" by Leigh Brackett. 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1944 science fiction story "Catch That Rabbit" by Isaac Asimov.
• Berthold Gambrel revisits the 1953 science fiction mystery The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov.
• Lydia Schoch revisits the 1953 science fiction novel Second Variety by Philip K. Dick.
• Howling Frog Books revisits the 1957 science fiction collection The Case Against Tomorrow by Frederik Pohl. 
• Bookforager revisits the 1963 science fiction collection The Airs of Earth by Brian Aldiss. 
• Mark Yon revisits the January/February 1965 issues of New Worlds and Science Fantasy. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the February 1965 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the February 1965 issue of Analog.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1965 YA science fiction novel The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'Engle. 
• Howling Frog Books revisits the 1966 science fiction novel Siege Perilous by Lester Del Rey.
• Howling Frog Books revisits the 1969 science fiction novel The Lotus Caves by John Christopher.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1972 non-fiction book Ignition! - An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants by John Drury Clark.
• Alan Brown revisits the 1973 military science fiction novel The Glory Game and the 1985 military science fiction novel End As a Hero by Keith Laumer.
• Paul Di Filippo revisits the 1974 science fiction anthology 2020 Vision, edited by Jerry Pournelle.
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1977 science fiction anthology Graven Images, edited by Edward L. Ferman and Barry N. Malzberg.
• Mark Kaedrin revisits the 1977 science fiction novel Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits Meave, a 1979 novel in the Diadem space opera series by Jo Clayton. 
• Little Red Reviewer revisits the 1979 science fiction novella "Sandkings" by George R.R. Martin.
• Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1987 humorous fantasy novel Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett.
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2000 fairytale retelling Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. 
• Mark Chitty revisits the 2001 military science fiction novel Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton.

Con and event reports:

• Daniel Dern reports that Arisia in Boston, Massachusetts, has managed to raise sufficient funds to pay off their hotel cancellation penalty fees.  
• The Geekiary discusses the state of accessibility at Baltimore Comic-Con in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Dale Arnold reports that the Baltimore Science Fiction Society BSFS has received a permit to build a ramp outside its headquarters to make the building more accessible for disabled people. 
• Nancy Coleman reports about Broadwaycon in New York City. 
• Janni Ylönen reports about the academic track at WorldCon 77 in Dublin, Ireland.
• Mike Glyer reports that WorldCon 77 in Dublin, Ireland, has been nominated as the best Irish Comic Related Event. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the OASIS convention in Orlando, Florida, has gone on hiatus.
• Mike Glyer offers an overview of the program of PaleyFest 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
• Angel Wilson reports that the Disney Parks in Hongkong and Shanghai have been closed down over coronavirus concerns. 
• Ollie Barder reports that a walking life-size Gundam will be unveiled in Yokohama, Japan, later this year.
• Kevin Morris profiles the 2020 TAFF winner Michael J. Lowrey.
  

Crowdfunding:

• The SFF collection The Lands of Passing Through by Alexandra Erin is looking for funding.
  

Science and technology: 

• Amos Zeeberg explains what we can learn about robots from Japan. 
• Matthew Hart reports that Adam Savage of Mythbusters will test Boston Dynamics' robot dog Spot. 
• Bruce Sterling talks about artificial intelligence.
• The BBC reports about Vyom, India's first robot astronaut. 
• David Welna reports about a spacewalk to repair the International Space Station's Alpha Magnetic Detector.
• The BBC reports about the first cookies baked in space. 
• Jessica P. Ogilvie remembers NASA's Spitzer Telescope, which will be retired next week. 
• Jonathan Amos shares some new detailed images of the surface of the sun.
• Daniel Dern reports about NASA's 3D printing initiative. 
• Gideon Marcus reports about the Gemini 2 mission and the launch of the TIROS 9 TV satellite in 1965.
• The BBC reports that Twitter has demanded that a company called Clearview stop collecting photos from the site for a facial recognition system. 
• The BBC asks if we could survive an extinction event.
• The BBC reports that the heat generated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD was so intense that it turned the brain of at least one citizen of Herculaneum into glass.
• Arkady Martine explains how to brew beer aboard a generation ship.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Devil Squid Apocalypse" by Alex Acks in GigaNotoSaurus.
• "The Case of the Somewhat Mythic Sword" by Garth Nix at Tor.com. 
• "Bone to Bleeding Bone" by Sarah McGill in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "Nora's Potion Jar" by Emilee Martell in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "Tell Me Something Good" by Nicole Lungerhausen in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "You Perfect, Broken Thing" by C.L. Clark in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "The AI That Looked at the Sun" by Filip Hajdar Drnovšek Zorko in Clarkesworld.
• "Forgive Me, My Love, for the Ice and the Sea" by C.L. Clark in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Moneylender's Angel" by Robert Minto in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Watching Rome Burn" by Veronica Brush in Fireside Magazine. 
• "Where They Went" by Joseph Halden in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "The Truth Is All There Is" by Emily Parker in Slate: Future Tense.
• "The Poop Thief" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch some test footage from the never produced TV show Star Wars Underworld.
• Watch a trailer for The Plot Against America.
• Watch a trailer for Locke and Key.