Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 12, 2021

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with tributes to Christopher Plummer, the many iterations of Star Trek, WandaVision and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Space Sweepers, Bliss, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, the season finale of The Stand, Charisma Carpenter's abuse allegations against Joss Whedon, the firing of Gina Carano from The Mandalorian following problematic social media posts and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Adri Joy and Joe Sherry discuss the 2020 Locus Recommended Reading List. 
• Aigner Loren Wilson offers a guide to Afrofuturist science fiction. 
• Roberto Causo talks about science fiction in Brazil.
  
• Gita Trelease shares five intrusive fantasy novels to enjoy. 
• Zoraída Córdova shares SFF books about hot royals.
  
• Hafzah Faisal shares five YA fantasy books where enemies become lovers. 
• Brigid Kemmerer shares five SFF books with broody male characters.
  
• David Arnold shares five SFF fathers who fell cosmically short. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF books inspired by RPGs. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction books which showcase humanity's talent for self-extinction.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five reasons why we haven't been visited by aliens yet according to science fiction novels. 
• Dan Frey talks about the four types of time travel.
  
• Wendy Whitman Cobb discusses the influence of science fiction on the United States Space Force. 
• Charlie Jane Anders declares that The Expanse transformed space opera for a new generation. 
• Andrea Hull explains why she would like to see more older women in SFF. 
• Sylvain Neuvel talks about ambiguous characters and downright villains.
  
• Katie Lowe talks about the rise of the digital gothic. 
• Foz Meadows talks about some issues with Locus reviews.
  
• Remco van Straten and Angeline B. Adams discuss how to deal with works by problematic authors.
  
• Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz wonder whether J.K. Rowling has destroyed Harry Potter.
• CBC Radio reports how contemporary writers are subverting the legacy of H.P. Lovecraft.
• Alison Flood shares her love for the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.
  
• The latest issue of Journey Planet, which is all about King Arthur and the Arthurian myths, is available now.
  
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the works of cover artist Robert McGinnis.
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the work of comic artist Tim Conrad. 
• Robert Ito reports about the boom in Afrofuturist comics that are not Black Panther.
  
• Aaron Couch reports about Steve Levine's enormous collection of Spider-Man comics and memorabilia and the sad circumstances under which it's being sold.
• Steven Heller reports that a near-mint copy of Batman No. 1 from 1940 has sold for the record price of 2.2 million US-dollar.
• Matt Jarvis reports about the high popularity of the Call of the Cthulhu RPG in Japan.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Kath Leroy shares her ten favourite science fiction movies under 90 minutes. 
• Dan Persons shares ten zombie comedies that won't rot your brain.
  
• Arturo Serrano discusses what went wrong with Wonder Woman 1984. 
• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on Outside the Wire.
• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on Greenland.
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls A Glitch in the Matrix brain-bending. 
• Germain Lussier calls How It Ends a smart, small end of the world comedy. 
• Leslie Felperin calls School's Out Forever a gloriously gory YA science fiction horror film.
  
• Leslie Felperin calls Willy's Wonderland a gory horror movie. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Sator a deeply creepy cabin in the woods horror movie.
  
• Cath Clarke calls Anti-Life a low budget would-be Alien. 
• Phil Hoad calls Broil a stylish but overstuffed fantasy thriller.
  
• Andrew Liptak calls Decommissioned a delightfully spooky short film set aboard the ISS. 
• Matt Zoller Seitz shares his thoughts on the time travel movie Synchronic. 
  
• Arielle Bernstein shares her thoughts on the animated series Devil May Care.
• Brigid Delaney calls the documentary The Witch of King's Cross a portrait of a fascinating woman. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Breeder a muddled torture porn horror. 
• Cath Clarke calls Dragon Rider a bland animated fairytale.
  
• Kyle Fowley shares his thoughts on the season 4 premiere of Black Lightning.
  
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Snowpiercer. 
• Jessica Holmes shares her thoughts on the 1965/66 Doctor Who serial "The Daleks' Master Plan". 
  
• Katie Rife revisits the 1990 vampire movie Def by Temptation.
• Zach Vasquez revisits the 1996 adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau and finds it less bad than its reputation. 
  
• Tom Breihan revisits the 2004 animated fantasy movie Shrek 2. 
• Jenny Colgan and her kids revisits the 2007 TV show Lost. 
• James McMahon reports about the Spanish language version of the 1931 Dracula and how it is actually superior to the famous Bela Lugosi version. 
• Anne Billson ranks the twenty best Frankenstein films.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether James Gunn can save Suicide Squad.  
• Stuart Heritage remarks that since most movies come out on streaming services these days due to the pandemic, B-movies suddenly compete on the same playing field as A-list features.
• Stuart Heritage also wonders what the covid pandemic means for the future of pandemic movies.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether the latest attempt to reboot The Wizard of Oz will fail like all the others.
• Huw Fullerton wonders why there are always so many speculations about the next Doctor and why they are almost always wrong. 
• Naomi Gordon interviews Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall.
  
• Phil Hoad interviews director Roger Corman and actress Jane Asher about making The Masque of Red Death.
  
• Alex Godfrey interviews gym chain owner turned horror movie director Barry Jay. 
• Ale Russian reports that actress Lux Pascal, sister of The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal, just came out as a trans woman.
  
• Lou Armagno celebrates the 92nd birthday of actor James Hong, who played Charlie Chan's No. 1 son among many others.
  
• Steve Vertlieb celebrates the 89th birthday of legendary film composer John Williams.
  
• Germain Lussier reports that actress Gina Carano, who plays Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, has been fired following antisemitic and other problematic remarks. 
• Aaron Couch and Ryan Parker shares some more information about the firing of Gina Carano and that Disney was planning to give her own show, before her problematic social media remarks. 
• Scott Roxborough reports about the coming out of 185 German actors as LGBTQ. 
  
• Actor Mike Henry, who appeared in Tarzan, Smokey and the Bandit and Soylent Green among others, has died aged 84. 
• Producer and screenwriter Cy Chermak who worked on CHiPs, Ironside, Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Star Trek: The Next Generation among many others, has died aged 91.
  

 

Tributes to Christopher Plummer:

• Christopher Plummer, star of The Sound of Music, Knives Out, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Sherlock Holmes, Starcrash and many others, has died aged 91.
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Christopher Plummer.
• Germain Lussier remembers Christopher Plummer.
• Nardine Saad remembers Christopher Plummer.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Renn Tan praises the indelible queerness of Captain/Empress Philippa Georgiou in Star Trek Discovery.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Infinite Regress" and "Nothing Human".
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine tie-in novel I, the Constable by Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann.
• Arturo Serrano reviews the Star Trek Picard tie-in novel The Dark Veil by James Swallow.
• Cora Buhlert interviews the team behind the Women at Warp podcast.
  

 

Comments on WandaVision and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Andrew Ellard shares his thoughts on "On a Very Special Episode", the latest episode of WandaVision.
• Stephen Robinson shares his thoughts on "On a Very Special Episode".
• Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his thoughts on "On a Very Special Episode".
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares his thoughts on "On a Very Special Episode".
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "On a Very Special Episode".
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "On a Very Special Episode". 
• Font Folly shares his thoughts on "On a Very Special Episode".
  
• Courtney Enlow dissects the opening sequence of "On a Very Special Episode". 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw discusses a surprise cameo appearance in "On a Very Special Episode".
  
• James Whitbrook points out that the twist at the end of "On a Very Special Episode" may not mean what we think it does. 
  
• Matt Miller declares that the real genius of WandaVision is hiding in plain sight.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore interviews Jac Schaeffer, creator and showrunner of WandaVision.
• Molly Templeton reports that the upcoming Blade movie will be written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who previously worked on the Watchmen TV series.
  

 

Comments on Space Sweepers:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Space Sweepers might be the best science fiction blockbuster of the 21st century so far.
  
• James Whitbrook calls Space Sweepers a meandering space action movie.

 

Comments on Bliss: 

• Cheryl Eddy call Bliss a science fiction fantasy about hitting rockbottom.
• Paul Levinson finds the music and acting in Bliss a lot more enjoyable than the movie itself.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Bliss a science fiction drama that doesn't quite stick the landing.
  

 

Comments on The Map of Tiny Perfect Things:

• Adrian Horton calls The Map of Tiny Perfect Things a charming time loop romantic comedy.
  
• A.A. Dowd calls The Map of Tiny Perfect Things yet another time loop movie. 

 

Comments on the season 1 finale of The Stand:

• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of The Stand.
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of The Stand.

 

Comments on Charisma Carpenter's abuse allegations against Joss Whedon:

• Adam B. Vary reports that actress Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia in Buffy and Angel, has accused Buffy and Angel showrunner Joss Whedon of abuse and unprofessional behaviour. 
• Adam B. Vary also points out that several other Buffy and Angel actresses have also come forward regarding Joss Whedon's toxic and problematic behaviour. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also shares reactions from several other Buffy and Angel co-stars to Charisma Carpenter's allegations. 
• Haroon Siddique also reports about the abuse allegations against Joss Whedon.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2021 RUSA Book and Media Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize has been announced with some love for genre novels.
  
• The nominations for the 26th Annual Critics' Choice Awards have been announced with some love for genre movies. 
  
• The nominations for the 2020 International Film Music Critics Association Awards have been announced with some love for genre film and TV.
• The finalists for the 2021 BBC Audio Drama Award have been announced with some love for genre works.
  
• The 2021 Radio Times Awards are open for voting.
• The 2021 Baen Adventure Fantasy Award contest is open for submissions.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Lou J. Berger shares some writing advice.
• Kellie Doherty explains how to write flash fiction.
  
• Rebecca Sacks explains how she keeps track of her large cast of characters with index cards, string and clothes pins. 
• Tiffany Yates Martin talks about point of view.
  
• Paul McAuley talks about worldbuilding. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch declares that writers should write about what moves them, including difficult topics.
  
• Kameron Hurley shares how to survive a decade in publishing.
• Katie Grant reports that dozens of new independent book shops opened in the UK during the pandemic.
  

Interviews:

• Yasmin Gagne interviews N.K. Jemisin.
  
• Dan Kois interviews Elizabeth Knox. 
• The Odyssey Writing Workshop interviews Melissa Scott.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Louise Carey.
  
• Colleen Anderson interviews Linda D. Anderson. 
• Veronica Henry interviews David James Brock.
  
• Janna Miller interviews Lisa Gregoire. 
• S.E. Lindberg interviews Byron Leavitt.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Alasdair Stuart.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Alan Bailey.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Gideon Marcus.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Alice Baker and Ann Spangler.
  

Reviews: 

• Blue Book Balloon reviews Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell. 
• Mark Yon reviews Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi.
• Tadiana Jones reviews Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard. 
  
• Maya Gittelman reviews Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard. 
• Maya Gittelman reviews Stormbreak by Natalie C. Parker. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Blackwing War by K.B. Spangler.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews Cathedral of Bones by A.J. Steiger.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed. 
• Molly Templeton reviews The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk. 
• Molly Templeton reviews City of the Uncommon Thief by Lynne Bertrand.
  
• Liz Bourke reviews Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
  
• Amy Goldschlager reviews Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. 
  
• Amy Goldschlager reviews The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu. 
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. Hackwith.
• Publishers Weekly reviews Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews Silence of the Soleri by Michael Johnston. 
• Richard Marpole reviews Infernal by Mark de Jaeger. 
• Sean Dowie reviews The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey.
  
• Martin Cahill reviews We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen. 
• Ian Mond reviews Zoe Punches the Future in the Dick by David Wong.
• Paul Weimer reviews Transgressions of Power by Juliette Wade.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu.
• LaShawn M. Wanak reviews On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu.
  
• Melissa Buehner reviews The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton.  
• Amy Goldschlager reviews Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley.
  
• Bidisha reviews Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan.
  
• Nina Shepardson reviews Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger.
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds. 
• Maya C. James and Gary K. Wolfe review Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow. 
• John Hertz reviews Forced Perspectives by Tim Powers.
  
• S.E. Lindberg reviews Issue 5 of Tales from the Magician's Skull. 
• Arley Sorg reviews The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: Vol­ume One, edited by Paula Guran
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Lady From the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara

Classics reviews:

• James Malizewski revisits the 1936 sword and sorcery story "Necromancy in Naat" by Clarke Ashton Smith. 
• Chris Farnell revisits the 1948 science fiction story "Flight of the Starling" by Chester S. Geier, which coined the term "Warp drive". 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1959 science fiction story "The Man Who Lost the Sea" by Theodore Sturgeon.
  
• Brian Murphy revisits the 1964 sword and planet novel Warrior of Llarn by Gardner Fox. 
• John Boston revisits the 1966 space opera Empire Star by Samuel R. Delany and Gideon Marcus revisits the 1966 science fiction novel Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov. 
• David Levinson revisits the March 1966 issue of If - Worlds of Science Fiction.  
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1966 science fiction anthology Orbit #1, edited by Damon Knight.
  
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1967 sword and sorcery anthology The Fantastic Swordsmen, edited by L. Sprague de Camp. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1968 post-apocalyptic novel Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1970 science fiction anthology Infinity One, edited by Robert Hoskins.
  
• A Jagged Orbit revisits the 1971 Viriconium novel The Pastel City and its 1980 sequel A Storm of Wings by M. John Harrison.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1979 sword and sorcery shared world anthology Thieves' World, edited by Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey.
• James Malizewski revisits the September 1985 issue of Imagine.
• Rob Bedford revisits the 1985 urban fantasy novel Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm.
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1996 anthology Year's Best Science Fiction, edited by David G. Hartwell.
  

Con and event reports:

• Daniel Dern offers a pre-con report of the virtual 2021 Boskone. 
• The 2021 StokerCon has gone virtual.
  
• Katie Rife and A.A. Dowd discuss the virtual 2021 Sundance Festival. 
• Caitlin Kelly reports about costumers who specialise in recreating historical fashions.

 

Crowdfunding:

• The animated series World of Tomorrow is looking for funding to make the first three episodes available on Blu-Ray.
  
• Fantasy writer Melissa Olson needs some help to pay for the schooling for her daughter who's on the autism spectrum.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Amy Thompson reports that SpaceX is launching 60 Starlink satellites. 
• Mail.com reports that three space probes will reach Mars in quick succession next week.
  
• ScFi Radio reports that NASA's Firefly Aerospace Lander will be going to the Moon in 2023.
  
• Gideon Marcus shares the latest space exploration news from 1966.
• Bob McDonald reports that scientists have developed a type of transparent wood that's lighter and stronger than glass. 
• Daniel Victor reports about the latest status of the mystery monolith phenomenon. 
• Eight-year-old Leo Shidla interviews paleontologist Ashley Poust about dinosaurs.
  
• Susanna Calkins discusses how cryptography was used to encode everyday communications in 17th century London.
• C.J. Tudor reports about the burnings of Protestants at the stake in sussex during the reign of Mary I a.k.a. Bloody Mary.
• Tabitha Stanmore talks about the connection between cheese and witchcraft.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels" by Lavie Tidhar in Tor.com.
  
• "Distribution" by Paul Cornell in Uncanny Magazine. 
• "Bulletproof Tattoos" by Paul Crenshaw in Lightspeed. 
• "The Memory of a Memory Is a Spirit" by A.T. Greenblatt in Lightspeed. 
• "When Your Being Here Is Gentler Than Your Absence Hard" by Filip Hajdar Drnovšek Zorko in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.  
• "Rose Kissed Me Today" by Cori Hull in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Obelisker Adrift in the Desert" by K.H. Meridian in Clarkesworld.
• "Mercy and the Mollusc" by M.L. Clark in Clarkesworld.
• "The Yoke of the Aspens" by Kay Chronister in The Dark.
• "Gray Skies, Red Wings, Blue Lips, Black Hearts" by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor in Apex Magazine.
  
• "The Legend of Emma Sondheim" by Priscilla Kint in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "The Girl with the Voice Made of Stone" by Anuel Rodriguez in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "White Noise" by Kay Hudson in Anathema Magazine. 
• "Fair Trade" by Natalie Sifuma in Omenana.
• "Navigational Error" by Lucy A. Snyder in Fireside Fiction.
• "Generational" by Stephen C. Finlay in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Neither a Borrower" by Simon Stanford in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Kisser" by David James Brock in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "Hearts" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Watch a trailer for Superman and Lois. 
• Watch a trailer for The Devil Below. 
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of Wynonna Earp.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Witch of King's Cross. 
• Watch a trailer for Old. 
• Watch a trailer for Dickinson.
  
• Watch a trailer for Pacific Rim: The Black. 
• Watch a trailer for Raya and the Last Dragon.
• Watch a Edward Scissorhands inspired Superbowl car commercial.