Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 19, 2021

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2020 Nebula finalists, the many iterations of Star Trek, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Superman and Lois, the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League, Chaos Walking, The Walking Dead, Slaxx, tribute to Yaphet Kotto and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle offers a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy novels. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five recent science fiction novels for fans of classic space opera adventures. 
• Tor.com shares five fascinating spaceship societies from science fiction.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories in which kindness prevails. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares classic science fiction stories about extremely long naps.
  
• G.W. Thomas discusses the philosophy of fantasy. 
• Ashley Poston shares five genre-crossing masterpieces.
  
• Jeff Somers talks about the origin of Cyberpunk. 
  
• Kristian Macaron explains why she loves time travel stories.
• The spring 2021 issue of Vector is available, focussed on Chinese science fiction.
• Adrienne Tooley shares five Sapphic fantasy novels. 
• Allison Saft discusses wealth, class and villainy in YA gothics.
• Elizabeth Brooks talks about gothic fiction and its fascination with incestous sibling relationships. 
  
• Elizabeth Knox talks about metaliterary worlds and books within books.
• Charlie Jane Anders shares seven wrong lessons creators learned from Game of Thrones. 
• Brittany Callan finds some unexpected parallels between the characters of Eowyn in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Gawyn in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.
  
• Aliette de Bodard explains how to make some of the foods mentioned in her novella Fireheart Tiger.
  
• Ryan Harvey profiles Leigh Brackett.
  
• Scott Woods shares a guide to H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos for black people. 
• Bradley K. McDevitt shares his appreciation for the works of Algernon Blackwood. 
• Bradley K. McDevitt profiles Arthur Machen.
  
• M. Arbeiter shares fourteen things you might not know about George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.
• Keith Rice shares Stephen King books that are not strictly horror.
  
• Nick Cornwell a.k.a. Nick Harkaway remembers his mother Jane, crucial but unsung collaborator to his father David cornwell ak.a. John Le Carré.  
  
• Cynthia Pelayo explains that fairy tales are dark for a reason.
• Alison Flood wonders why so many people misquote Lewis Carroll. 
  
• Richard Marpole shares his favourite SFF podcasts and YouTube channels. 
• Joe Tysom shares ten songs inspired by science fiction.
  
• Karen Chernick shares her appreciation for the work of 1940s comic artist Lily Renee Phillips, who worked on the Senorita Rio comic series amongst others.
• Alison Flood reports that the first gay character will soon take on the mantle and shield of Captain America. 
• Alison Flood reports that the heirs of cartoonist Georges Remy a.k.a. Hergé have sued artist Xavier Marabout for inserting Tintin into Edward Hopper paintings, having adventures with women.
• Frank Thorne, artists of the Red Sonja comic, has died aged 90.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Phuong Le calls Reunion a slow burn horror movie from New Zealand.
  
• Lucy Mangan calls The One a vapidly stylish science fiction thriller.  
• Leslie Felperin calls Stay Out of the F**king Attic an efficient, if unintentionally funny horror film. 
• Phil Hoad calls Nest of Vampires a bloodless horror film and contender for the title of the worst movie ever. 
• James Bacon shares his thoughts on Noughts and Crosses.
  
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Snowpiercer. 
• Scott von Doviak shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Flash.
  
• Ani Bundel shares her thoughts on the latest episode of American Gods.
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the episodes 2 and 3 of Debris. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of For All Mankind.
• Ben Child declares that superhero movies are becoming more diverse.
• Nuts4R2 revisits the 1966 thriller The Brides of Fu-Manchu. 
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1966 supernatural anthology series Mystery and Imagination. 
• Dan Persons revisits the 1976 dytopian movie Logan's Run and declares that it killed off the fashion for dystopian science fiction films in the first half of the 1970s.
  
• Vance Kotrla revisits the 1983 dystopian movie Born in Flames.
  
• Charles Bramesco revisits the director's cut of the 1990 movie Nightbreed.
• Germain Lussier revisits the 2006 comic book adaptation V for Vendetta.
  
• Alasdair Stuart revisits the 2008 horror film The Midnight Meat Train. 
  
• Stuart Heritage interviews Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who plays Sherlock Holmes in The Irregulars. 
• Minyoung Lee talks about Shonen anime and the myth of meritocracy.
  
• Andrew Liptak reports that Outlander has been renewed for a seventh season.
  
• William Hughes reports that Avatar is once again the highest grossing film of all time due to a re-release in China. 
• Mark Sweney reports that Disney Plus may take Netflix's crown as the world's biggest streaming service. 
• Swedish actress Gunnel Lindbloom, best known for her appearances in The Seventh Seal and The Virgin Spring, has died aged 89.
  
• Yaphet Kotto, star of Alien, Live and Let Die and Homicide: Life in the Streets, has died aged 81.
• Alex McLevy remembers Yaphet Kotto. 
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Course: Oblivion" and "The Fight".
  
• Lindsay Blake visits the Japanese garden in Van Nuys, California, where several Star Trek episodes have been filmed over the years.
  
• Paramount Plus announces that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has started production and also announced several new cast members.
  

 

Comments on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:

• Benjamin Lee declares that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is off to a sturdy start.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is already a political quagmire. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Malcolm Spellman, showrunner of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Jomi Adeniran shares a guide to which Marvel movies to watch before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares a brief history of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier in the comics.
  

 

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

• Eric Eisenberg interviews Jac Schaeffer, showrunner of WandaVision.  
• Germain Lussier shares thirteen facts about WandaVision revealed in the Making of documentary.
  
• Yahoo reports that several older Marvel comics are being reprinted due to the success of WandaVision. 
• Germain Lussier reports that no one really knows when and where Black Widow will be released.
  
• Victoria Zelvin is angry about the way Black Widow was treated in Avengers Endgame.
• Marah Eakin interviews Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of several Marvel movies, 21 Bridges and Cherry.

 

Comments on Superman and Lois: 

• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Superman and Lois.
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Superman and Lois.
  

 

Comments on the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League:

• A.A. Dowd calls the so-called "Snyder cut" a much longer Justice League, but not a better one. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League dull, overstuffed and only for hardcore fans.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League four hours of geek-pleasing grandeur. 
• James Whitbrook calls the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League better and stranger than Joss Whedon's version. 
• Courtney Enlow shares some early reactions to the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw wonders what the Jared Leto version of the Joker is doing in the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League. 
• Anthony Breznican interviews Zack Snyder, director of Justice League. 
• Germain Lussier interviews the team of Weta Digital who supplied special effects for Justice League.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that at least the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes seem to prefer the so-called "Snyder cut" to the original Justice League.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Zack Snyder's hardcore fans want Snyder to be placed in control of DC's cinematic universe again following the release of the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League.
  

 

Comments on Chaos Walking:

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Chaos Walking struggles with its science fiction concept. 
  
• Cassie Schulz wonders whether the Chaos Walking movie can live up to the YA trilogy by Patrick Ness.
  

 

Comments on The Walking Dead:

• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
• Rob Bricken shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
  

 

Comments on Slaxx:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Slaxx a silly but fun horror satire on the fashion industry.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the horror comedy Slaxx. 

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2020 Nebula Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2020 Coyotl Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2021 CLIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals has been announced. 
  
• The finalists for the 2021 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2021 NAACP Image Awards have been announced with a bit of love for genre fiction. 
• The winners of the 2021 Spur Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards have been announced. 
  
• The nominations for the 2021 Razzie Awards have been announced.
• The nominations for the 2021 Academy Awards have been announced with little love for genre film, but at least Chadwick Boseman gets a posthumous nod.
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2020 Nebula Award finalists. 
• File 770 lists where to find the 2020 Nebula Award finalists for free online.
  
• Chris M. Barkley shares his recommendations for the Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Awards.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Emma Stonex talks about retelling history as fiction. 
• Kim Neville explains how reading mysteries made her a better fantasy writer. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch explains how Kickstarter can be a gamechanger for writers.
  
• Geoffrey A. Fowler discusses how Amazon is impacting libraries.
• Mike Glyer reports about bad behaviour from Longshot Press.
  
• Victoria Strauss warns about Paper Bytes Marketing Solutions.
• Julie Alexander reports that bookbinders are turning fanfiction into physical editions.
  

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Aliette de Bodard.
  
• Locus interviews Jonathan Carroll.
  
• Angela Chan and Mia Chen Ma interview Chen Qiufan.
• Kellie Doherty interviews Joshua Phillip Johnson. 
  
• Jen Gheller interviews Kristin Hooker. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Dan Coxon. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews the contributors to the Out of the Darkness anthology.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Gil Roth. 
• The Odyssey Writing Workshop interviews John Joseph Adams.
  
• Cora Buhlert interviews Paul Weimer.
• Cora Buhlert interviews James Davis Nicoll.
  

Reviews: 

• Paul Weimer reviews Out Past the Stars by K.B. Wagers. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. 
• Lis Carey reviews Change State by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. 
• Marion Deeds reviews Weaver's Folly by Sarah Madsen. 
• Chris Kluwe reviews Escaping Exodus: Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden.
  
• Mark Chitty reviews A Hole in the Sky by Peter F. Hamilton. 
• Arturo Serrano reviews A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel.
  
• Sean Dowie reviews Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Transgressions of Power by Juliette Wade. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Witherward by Hannah Mathewson. 
  
• J.C. Kang reviews Testament of Steel by Davis Ashura.
  
• Mark Yon reviews The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu. 
• Rachael McKenzie reviews The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel.
  
• Alex Brown reviews The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore. 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews Birds of Paradise by Oliver K. Langmead. 
• Ian Mond reviews Live; live; live by Jonathan Buckley.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. 
  
• Paraic O'Donnell reviews The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Redder Days by Sue Rainsford.
  
• Michal Schick reviews Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes.
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Robot Artists & Black Swans: The Italian Fantascienza Stories by Bruce Sterling.  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Hag - Forgotten Folktales Retold, edited by Carolynne Larrington.

Classics reviews:

• Can't Explain revisits the 1904 ghost story "Count Magnus" by M.R. James.
  
• Bill Ward revisits the 1908 horror novel The House on the Borderland by William Hopem Hodgson. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1949 science fiction short story "Cold War" by Kris Neville. 
  
• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisits the 1952 horror story "The Birds" by Daphne Du Maurier.
  
• James Malizewski revisits the 1954 fantasy story "Naturally" by Fredric Brown.
  
• Mark R. Kelly revisits the 1956 science fiction novel The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson.
• Matt Mikalatos revisits the 1956 Narnia novel The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. 
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1960 anthology The Year's Best S-F, edited by Judith Merril. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1960 contemporary fantasy novel A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1962 science fiction novel Planet of the Damned by Harry Harrison. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the March 1966 issue of Worlds of Tomorrow.
  
• Keith Henson revisits the 1966 science fiction novels The Brains of Earth and The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph by Jack Vance and John Boston revisits the 1966 science fiction novel The Tree Lord of Imeten by Tom Purdom. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Moon Zero Two by John Burke.
  
• Alan Brown revisits the 1973 science fiction novel Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke.
  
• Terhali's Particular Satisfaction revisits the 1976 time travel novel The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the Twentieth Century by Michael Moorcock
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1982 science fiction novel Mercanter's Luck by C.J. Cherryh. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1983 science fiction novel Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C.J. Cherryh.
  
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1990 science fictional men's adventure novel Psi Man by David Peters a.k.a. Peter David.
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1993 science fiction novel Brother to Shadows by Andre Norton.
  

Con and event reports:

• Ellen Gutoskey reports that David Bowie tried to turn George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four into a musical.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• DreamForge Anvil magazine is looking for funding.
  
• The Terminator RPG by Nightfall Games is looking for funding.
• Prosperitea: A Game of Artisanal Tea Blending by Metha Designs is looking for funding.
• Science fiction fan Katrina Templeton is about to lose her Mom and needs help with funeral expenses.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Wayne Eleazar reports about a dispute between SpaceX and the FAA about the safety of SpaceX's Starship.
• Laura Griffith reports that the company Orbex wants to build rocket engines using a large 3D printer. 
• George Dvorsky reports that there may be water hidden underneath the surface of Mars.
  
• Jeff Spry reports that French researchers believe that it's possible to farm fish on the surface of the Moon.
• Lucas Aykroyd profiles Donna Shirley, the first woman to manage a NASA program.
• Kaye Dee reports about the Gemini 8 mission in 1966.
• Felicia Yap talks about the use of predictive algorithms in policing.
• Ian Sample reports that scientists may have solved the mystery of the Antikythera mechanism.
  

Free online fiction:

• "And Now, a Preview of Coming Attractions" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed. 
• "A Place for Hiding Precious Things" by Amber Sparks in Lightspeed. 
• "Those We See at the Twilight Bridge" by Wendy Nikel in Fireside Magazine. 
• "We Are Not Phoenixes" by John Wiswell in Fireside Magazine.
  
• "A Cold Yesterday in Late July" by David Tallerman in The Dark.
• "55 Plaque" by Isabel Lee in Clarkesworld.
• "The Dragon Hunter's Daughter" by Gabrielle Roselynn Dina in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "Black Box of the Terraworms" by Brandon Aikman in Apex Magazine.
• "There Are Ghosts Here" by Dominique Dickey in Anathema Magazine.
• "Close Enough to Divine" by Doyae Coles in Fantasy Magazine.
• "The Modern Witch's Recipe for Enemy Pie" by Elizabeth Cobbe in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Inoculation" by Dawn Sperber in Daily Science Fiction.
• "It Accumulates" by Joanna Parypinski in Nightmare Magazine.
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Irregulars.
• Watch a trailer for The Yellow Wallpaper.