Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 16, 2020

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with season 3 of Star Trek Discovery and the various iterations of Star Trek, Lovecraft Country, the season 2 finale of The Boys, Raised by Wolves, Helstrom, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Walking Dead and its spinoffs, the reactions to the first trailer for The Watch, all the latest panels and trailer for the virtual New York Comic Con, problems with the program of the virtual World Fantasy convention, the impact that the repeated delays of various blockbusters have on movie theatres worldwide, a lot of horror and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• AudioFile Magazine shares the best new SFF audiobooks of autumn 2020. 
• Carly Silver shares six SFF novels by Jewish authors.
  
• Rebecca Roanhorse shares five indigenous SFF authors you should read. 
• Larissa Irankunda shares ten fantasy novels featuring witches and magicians of colour.
  
• Anne Mai Yee Jansen shares eight post-apocalyptic novels by authors of colour. 
• Cory Doctorow talks about the dangers of overly cynical dystopian or post-apocalyptic novels. 
• Cory Doctorow also talks about the intersection of technology and science fiction.
  
• Christopher Brown laments how dystopian science fiction and the real world tend to blend into each other.
  
• Anne Elise Brinich offers an ode to the infodump. 
• Linda H. Codega recommends tabletop games to match your favourite science fiction books. 
  
• Renee Ahdieh shares five badarse vampires from literature and pop culture. 
• Rachel Brittain recommends vampires books for fans of What We Do in the Shadows.
  
• Rin Chupeco shares five SFF books about flawed gods. 
• C.J. Tudor talks about novels featuring children with supernatural powers.
  
• Philip Pullman looks back at twenty-five years of His Dark Materials. 
• The Strange Horizons staff discuss twenty years of reviewing SFF.
  
• Chris Boros talks about science fictional music in general and filk in particular. 
• Mark Benedict offers a guide to the works of Karen Russell.
  
• Jaroslav Olsa Jr. remembers Czech born science fiction writer Miles J. Breuer. 
• Sarah Kozloff talks about the modern problem of spoilerphobia.
  
• C.J. Cherryh reports that she is cancer free now. 
• Ashlynn Sparrow shares some issues with Ada Palmer's ExoTerra game.
  
• Harriet Sherwood reports that Soviet spies targeted Eric Arthur Blair a.k.a. George Orwell and his wife Eileen during the Spanish Civil War.
  
• Alison Flood reports that several North American writers have signed an open letter in support of trans rights in response to the J.K. Rowling a.k.a. Robert Galbraith transphobia controversy.
• Literary agent Janet Freer has died aged 89.
• Chris Meadows, journalist and editor of TeleRead, has died aged 47 following a bicycle accident.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Mike D'Angelo shares his thoughts on the post-apocalyptic romance Love and Monsters. 
• Cath Clarke calls Carmilla a clever but bloodless take on Sheridan Le Fanu's classic vampire novel.
  
• Lucy Mangan calls The Right Stuff "Mad Men in space". 
• Lydia Kiesling shares her thoughts on Raised by Wolves.
  
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Supernatural. 
• Monica Castillo shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Third Day.
  
• Dwayne A. Day shares his thoughts on season 2 of For All Mankind.
  
• Shannon Miller shares her thoughts on the final season of the animated show Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. 
• Cath Clarke shares her thoughts on the animated movie Over the Moon.
  
• Phil Hoad shares his thoughts on the horror movies Nocturne and Evil Eye. 
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on "The Double Date", the latest episode of Archer. 
  
• Vance Kotrla shares his thoughts on the Iranian horror movie A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. 
• Ali Karjoo-Ravary is annoyed that the upcoming adaptation of Dune ignores that islamic content of the novel.
  
• Josh Malerman lists five horror movies that would have been excellent novels. 
• Cullen Gallagher revisits the 1940 horror movie The Ape.
  
• Dan Greenfield revisits the 1950 superhero serial Atom Man versus Superman. 
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1965 Doctor Who episode "Mission to the Unknown". 
• Noah Berlatsky revisits the original 1973 Westworld. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1973 horror movie Love Me Deadly.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1974 horror movie It's Alive. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1982 Polish science fiction movie Chronopolis
  
• Paul Michael Anderson revisits the 1991 horror movie Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 2006 horror movie Bug.
  
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 2013 action movie Fast and Furious 6 and finds that it is actually a fantasy film.  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Kevin Bacon who was in everything. 
• Marshall Julius interviews John Carpenter, director of The Thing, Escape From New York, Christine, Halloween and many others.
  
• Joe Otterson reports that HBO Max is planning a Green Lantern series. 
• Jacob Oller reports that Robert Downey Jr. is not just returning to the role of Sherlock Holmes but is also planning a Marvel style shared universe.
  
• Actress Margaret Nolan, who was in Goldfinger, A Hard Day's Night, Witchfinder General and many others, has died aged 76.
  

Comments on season 3 of Star Trek Discovery and the many versions of Star Trek:

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "That Hope Is You, Part 1", episode 1 of season 3 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on "That Hope Is You, Part 1". 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "That Hope Is You, Part 1" 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "That Hope Is You, Part 1".
  
• Camestros Felapton looks ahead at season 3 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Kayla Iocavino reports about Grudge the cat, the newest star of Star Trek Discovery.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido offers an overview of the first season of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
• James Whitbrook interviews Mike McMahon, showrunner of Star Trek Lower Decks.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episode"Revulsion".
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro revisits the Star Trek Deep Space Nine tie-in novel Sacraments of Fire by David R. George III.
• Adam Gabbatt reports about Trek the Vote, a Joe Biden campaign event featuring several Star Trek actors.
  

Comments on Lovecraft Country: 

• Alex Brown shares her thoughts on "Rewind 1921", the latest episode of Lovecraft Country. 
• Ellen E. Jones shares her thoughts on "Rewind 1921". 
• Joelle Monique shares her thoughts on "Rewind 1921". 
• Michael Washburn notes that Lovecraft Country is not very Lovecraftian.
  
• Ellen E. Jones interviews Jonathan Majors who plays Atticus Freeman in Lovecraft Country.
  
• Reggie Ugwu takes a look at how the special effects of Lovecraft Country came about.
  

 

Comments on the season 2 finale of The Boys (spoilers):  

• Roxana Hadidi shares her thoughts on the season 2 finale of The Boys. 
• Kaila Hale-Stern shares her thoughts on the season 2 finale of The Boys and particular a twist at the end. 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on season 2 of The Boys.

 

Comments on Helstrom:

• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on the first episode of Helstrom. 
• Watch the Helstrom panel at the virtual New York Comic Con.  

Comments on The Haunting of Bly Manor: 

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls The Haunting of Bly Manor a worthy follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House.
  
• Lucy Mangan calls The Haunting of Bly Manor horror with a chilling lack of shocks.
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya calls The Haunting of Bly Manor the latest haunted house movie in TV.
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya also offers episode by episode reviews of The Haunting of Bly Manor.
  

 

Comments on The Walking Dead and its spin-offs:

• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
  
• Watch Fear the Walking Dead panel at the virtual New York Comic Con.
  
• Watch The Walking Dead: World Beyond panel at the virtual New York Comic Con.
  

 

Reactions to the trailer for The Watch:

• Chelsea Steiner shares reactions by Rhianna Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and others to the trailer for The Watch, loosely based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.  
• Alison Flood also reports about Rhianna Pratchett's reaction to the trailer for The Watch. 
• Watch the trailer for The Watch. 
  

Comments on the renewed delay of the James Bond film No Time to Die and other movies and its impact on the ailing movie theatre chains: 

• Elias Visontay talks about the impact of the corona pandemic on Australian cinemas. 
• The Guardian reports that the British cinema chain Vue will also shut a quarter of its theatres in the UK. 
• Mark Sweeney reports that a quarter of Odeon cinemas in the UK will only open on weekends. 
• Mark Sweeney reports that the ticket sales in UK cinemas in 2020 will be the lowest since records began in 1928. 
• Readers of The Guardian share their thoughts on the woes of British cinemas. 
• Marc Burrows wonders why the immerse film screening project Secret Cinema has received a bail-out from the UK government, when regular cinemas are dying.
  
• Ben Child declares that if cinemas still exist in 2021, they will be inundated with postponed blockbusters.  
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch muses about the future of movie theatres and the entertainment industry in general.
  
• Andrew Pulver reports that cinemas are shocked that Disney will be releasing its upcoming animated film Soul on its streaming service as well. 
• Naman Ramachandran also reports about the backlash against Disney's decision to release Soul on its streaming service.
  

Awards: 

• The Starburst Brave New Words and Star Burst Hero Awards winners have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2020 Harvey Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2020 Prix ActuSF de l'Uchronie have been announced.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Charlie Jane Anders asks writers to find their voice and make it loud.
  
• Dwyer Murphy shares crime fiction writer James Crumley's rules for writing. 
• Heather Young shares five tips for writing a dual narrative mystery.
  
• Anthony Anaxagorou shares his ten favourite creative writing books.
• Criminal Element interviews cover designer David Rotsein.
• Jeffrey Meitrodt reports that a dispute over parking places delays the rebuilding of the Uncle Edgar's and Uncle Hugo's bookstores, which were burned down during the riots in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  

Interviews:

• The Guardian interviews Neil Gaiman.
• Tom Grater interviews Alan Moore. 
• Scott Edelman interviews Priya Sharma.
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Aliya Whiteley.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Barry Nugent.
  
• Ian Tucker interviews Cory Doctorow.
  
• Cat Rambo interviews Shoshana Edwards.
  
• Book Marks interviews Karen Russell. 
• Alison Flood interviews Bernard Cornwell.
  
• Jen Gheller interviews Victoria Zelvin.
• David McNeill interviews Sayaka Murata.
• The Imagination Desk interviews Ytasha Womack.
  

Reviews: 

• Paul Weimer reviews Seven Devils by Laura Lam.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee. 
• Emily VanDerWerff reviews A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson. 
• Angela Maria Spring reviews Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. 
• Mark Chitty reviews Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor.
  
• Adri Joy reviews The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis. 
• Sean Dowie reviews An Unnatural Life by Erin K. Wagner.
  
• Mark Yon reviews The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix. 
• Alex Brown reviews The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk.
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Deeplight by Frances Hardinge. 
• Katharine Coldiron reviews Drowned Country by Emily Tesh.
  
• Alex Brown reviews Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Greensmith by Aliya Whiteley.
  
• Alexis Ong reviews Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. 
• Holly Williams reviews Earthlings by Sayaka Murata.
  
• Bill Capossere and Kelly Lasiter review Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston. 
• Tadiana Jones and Rebecca Fisher review King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Last Girl Scout by Natalie Ironside.
  
• Mahvesh Murad reviews A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. 
• Beejay Silcox reviews The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Richard Flannagan.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Song for Quiet by Cassandra Khaw.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry. 
• Randy Money reviews The Good House by Tanarive Due.
  
• Tobias Caroll reviews Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones. 
• Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds review The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of the Stapletons by James Lovegrove.
• Leah Schnelbach reviews Get in Trouble by Kelly Link.
  
• Paula Guran reviews Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles, edited by Ellen Datlow.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Tiny Nightmares, edited by Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Disease by Sarah Tolmie.
  
• Randy Money reviews Perchance to Dream by Charles Beaumont.
• Sandy Ferber reviews Allison V. Harding: The Forgotten Queen of Horror by Allison V. Harding.
  

Classics reviews:

• Grognardia revisits the 1929 Solomon Kane story "Rattle of Bones" by Robert E. Howard.
• Steve J. Wright revisits the May 1940 issue of Unknown. 
• Steve J. Wright revisits the June 1940 issue of Unknown.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1959 post-apocalyptic novel We Who Survived by Sterling Noel.
  
• Paul Fraser revisits the January 1966 isuee of New Worlds. 
  
• Matthew J. Constantine revisits the 1971 sword and sorcery novel The Knight of Swords by Michael Moorcock.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1973 post-apocalyptic novel Hiero's Journey by Sterling E. Lanier.  
• Sean Guynes revisits the 1976 short fiction collection Orsinian Tales by Ursula K. Le Guin. 
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits the 1978 children's supernatural mystery The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1979 gothic novel Snow Shadow by Andre Norton.
  
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1994 fantasy novel Storm Warning by Mercedes Lackey.
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1995 fantasy novel Storm Rising by Mercedes Lackey.
  

Con and event reports:

• James Comtois reports about the Doctor Who panel at the virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Leah Schnelbach reports about the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology panel at the virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Leah Schnelbach reports about a worldbuilding panel at the virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Molly Templeton reports about the research panel at the virtual New York Comic Con.
  
• Leah Schnelbach reports about a media tie-in panel at the virtual New York Comic Con.
  
• Watch the Dresden Files twentieth anniversary panel at the virtual New York Comic Con featuring Jim Butcher, James Marsters and Jim Butcher's cat. 
• Watch the Shadow and Bone panel at the virtual New York Comic Con featuring Leigh Bardugo and Eric Heisserer who is supposed to adapt the books for TV.
  
• Watch the Ready Player Two panel from the virtual New York Comic Con featuring Wil Wheaton and Ernest Cline.
• Watch the Resident Alien panel at the virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Watch the American Gods panel at the virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Watch the M.O.D.O.K. panel at the virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Emmet Asher-Perrin reports about the Animaniacs panel at the virtual New York Comic Con.
  
• Leah Schnelbach reports about the Steven Universe panel at the virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Leah Schnelbach reports about the Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts panel at the virtual New York Comic Con.
  
• Josh Weiss reports about the virtual cosplay championship at the equally virtual New York Comic Con. 
• Kellie Doherty shares her experiences at the virtual San Diego Comic Con.
  
• K. Tempest Bradford discusses the continuing issues with the World Fantasy Convention in general and the virtual 2020 World Fantasy Convention in particular.
• Mike Glyer also reports about the continuing drama surrounding the virtual 2020 World Fantasy Convention.
• Chris M. Barkley weighs in on the many issues with the World Fantasy Convention and explains why he believes the convention may be redeemable. 
• Cheryl Morgan weighs in on the latest World Fantasy debacle and asks people to hold the World Fantasy board accountable, not the individual con runners.
  
• Mike Glyer reports that the virtual World Fantasy Convention has updated its program in response to the ongoing criticism and that there will be changes on the organisational level as well. 
• DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon in Washington DC, has lauched its Capitalize! Fan Fund to offer sponsored memberships to people from marginalized communities.
  
• Mike Glyer reports that the 2023 Worldcon bid for Chengdu, China, has named several new ambassadors. 
  
• Mike Glyer reports that Capclave in Washington DC is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a virtual convention.
• The 2020 Life, the Universe and Everything will be a free virtual one day event. 
• Josh Weiss reports that L.A. Comic Con in Los Angeles, California, has been cancelled due to the corona pandemic and will now take place in September 2021. 
• The schedule for the virtual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is online. 
  
• Lise Andreasen offers an annotated rundown of the 2020 Hugo ceremony.
• Rob Hansen offers an overview of plays and dramatic presentations performed by fans at various conventions in the UK.
• Bonnie Nicol reports about a private science fiction museum in Allendale, UK, and its battle with the town council over a Dalek.
  

Science and technology:

• ABC News reports about the latest mission to the International Space Station. 
• Christian Davenport reports that the US and seven other countries have signed the Artemis Accords, regulating mining and other businesses on the Moon.
  
• Jack Dunhill reports about a new technology that allows for printing circuits directly onto human skin.
• Concepción de León reports that a man with a jetpack has been spotted twice flying over Los Angeles, California.
  
• Nature shares the grim truth behind eye witness accounts of sea serpents.
• Kaye Dee reports about the Sealab project of the 1960s.
• Melissa Tedone reports about the Poison Book project aimed at identifying toxic pigments used in vintage book bindings at the Winterthur Museum and Library in Winterthur, Delaware.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Shadow Prisoner's Dilemma" by Caroline M. Yoachim in Lightspeed. 
• "The Vampire of Kovácspéter" by P.H. Lee in Lightspeed.
  
• "The Space Beyound Cubicle Twenty Nine" by Chelsea Sutton in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "Wandering Rocks" by Gregory Feeley in Clarkesworld.
• "To Set at Twilight in a Land of Reeds" by Natalia Theodoridou in Clarkesworld.
• "Scallop" by J.L. Akagi in Strange Horizons.
• "Stretch" by Shari Paul in The Dark.
• "Cycle of the Eternal Witness" by Adelehin Ijasan in Omenana.
  
• "A Kept Species" by Jamie Wahls in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Teenage Neurogenesis" by Elizabeth A. Terhune in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Placed Into Abyss (Mise en Abyse)" by Rachel Swirsky at Tor.com.
• "Furtherest" by Kaaron Warren in Nightmare Magazine.
• "Patient X-5" by Cora Buhlert and "Trial in Majority" by Andrew Dibble in Simultaneous Times podcast.
• "Chimera" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 5 of The Expanse. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of His Dark Materials.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Snowpiercer. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of A Discovery of Witches. 
• Watch a trailer for Jiu Jitsu.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Stand.
• Watch a trailer for Monster Hunter. 
• Watch a trailer for Soul.
  
• Watch a trailer for Fatman.
• Watch a short film based on Blindsight by Peter Watts.