It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, season 4 of The Handmaid's Tale, The Nevers, Shadow and Bone, Mortal Kombat, Yasuke, Stowaway, Doctor Who past and future, Things Heard and Seen, a third Worldcon bid for 2023, Disney's continuing failure to pay writers and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Cheryl Eddy shares forty-two new science fiction and fantasy books coming out in May.
- Martha Wells recommends her ten favourite recent science fiction and fantasy novels.
- James Davis Nicoll sings the praises of the Internet Speculative Fiction Database ISFDB.
- Ken MacGregor wonders why horror has such a bad reputation.
- Kurt Schiller explains how architecture, particularly ruined buildings has influenced gothic and horror fiction.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction books featuring floating habitats.
- C.L. Clark wonders why fantasy is so obsessed with war.
- Maggie Stiefvater shares five SFF books about the magic of creativity.
- Alex Acks shares five SFF books about the positive power of anger.
- Gretchen Busl explains what speculative fiction taught her about grief and possible worlds.
- Catriona Silvey wonders about the counterintuitive appeal of timeloop stories.
- The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog points out that alternative facts make for bad alternate history.
- Christina Sweeney-Baird takes a look at novels and movies that seem to predict the covid pandemic, including her own.
- Chris Kluwe shares five SFF books about gaming culture.
- K.T. Howard explains how reading fanfiction helped her find appreciation for the romance genre.
- Sarah Tolfe shares sixteen very different fictional versions of William Shakespeare.
- C.D. Covington takes a look at the relationship between humans and Atevia in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series.
- Brian Murphy talks about the books which introduced him to sword and sorcery.
- Ryan Harvey shares his appreciation for the Jirel of Joiry stories by C.L. Moore.
- Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten also take a look at C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry and her importance to the sword and sorcery genre.
- Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten also wonder about H.P. Lovecraft's influence on Robert E. Howard's Conan story "The Tower of the Elephant".
- James Davis Nicoll praises the humanist science fiction of Clifford D. Simak.
- Michael Curtis shares his appreciation for the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series of the 1960s and 1970s.
- Michael Kellermeyer shares his twelve favourite nautical horror stories by William Hope Hodgson.
- Max Weinstein recounts how Clive Barker found inspiration in Harlan Ellison's home.
- Erika Kanda shares her appreciation for the art of Susan Seddon Boulet.
- Kira Wronska Dorward profiles Richard Thomas.
- Dierck Wittenberg profiles Cora Buhlert (in German).
- German science fiction writer Carlos Rasch has died aged 88.
Comics:
- Christian Holub reports that Marvel has revealed the results of a fan poll to select the newest member of the X-Men.
- Scott Edelman interviews comic editor and writer Jim Salicrup.
- Hannah Flint interviews comics writer Mark Millar.
- Mike Glyer reports that the 2021 Free Comic Book Day will take place on August 14, 2021.
- Dan Solomon reports that a thief in McAllen, Texas, has stolen 400 US-dollars worth of Spider-Man comics.
Film and TV:
- Natalie Zutter declares that Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is definitely a fantasy film about two bards on a quest.
- Cheryl Eddy declares that season 2 of Creepshow keeps getting better and better.
- Leslie Felperin wonders whether The Resort is an inane horror movie or a sophisticated meta-joke.
- Leslie Felperin calls Threshold a cruddy horror movie.
- A.A. Dowd calls Separation a lousy divorce drama pretending to be a crappy horror movie.
- Jude Rogers calls Sisters with Transistors a fascinating documentary about the forgotten female pioneers of electronic music.
- Jeff Foust shares his thoughts on the documentary The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O'Neill.
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Supergirl.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Debris.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the season 2 finale of For All Mankind.
- Richard Edwards wonders whether Babylon 5 is the most influential TV show of the last 25 years.
- Phil Harrison shares the ten best twists on TV.
- Natalie Zutter declares that Made for Love allows Cristin Milioti to break out of the SFF Dream Girl role as which she has been typecast since her appearance in How I Met Your Mother.
- Alex Brown takes a look at the best and the worst teen horror movies of the 1990s.
- Joe George shares ten horror movies that will make you permanently suspicious of the great outdoors.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Barge of the Dead" and "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy".
- Timothy S. Brannan revisits the 1981 fantasy movie Clash of the Titans.
- Leah Schnellbach revisits the 1984 fantasy film The Neverending Story and explains why it is well worth rewatching as an adult.
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky revisits the 1995 adventure film Congo.
- Rowan Righelato revisits the 1995 cyberpunk movie Johnny Mnemonic.
- Germain Lussier revisits the 1996 horror movie The Craft for its 25th anniversary.
- Jason Shawhan revisits the 1997 horror movie Relic.
- James Whitbrook revisits the 1999 anime movie G-Saviour.
- Tom Breihan revisits the 2010 animated movie Toy Story 3.
- Germain Lussier revisits the 2011 superhero movie Thor.
- Seth Abramovitch interviews Ewan MacGregor who plays the younger Obi-Wan in the Star Wars films.
- Charles Pulliam Moore interviews Enrico Casarosa, director of Luca.
- Ryan Gilbey interviews Dominic Monaghan, star of Lord of the Rings and Lost.
- Rich Pelley interviews Joanna Lumley, star of Sapphire and Steel, The New Avengers, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Absolutely Fabulous and much more.
- Ammar Kalia interviews Don Warrington, star of Death in Paradise and The World According to Grandpa.
- Will Harris interviews Colm Feore, who appeared in The Umbrella Academy, Face-Off, The Chronicles of Riddick, Thor and many others.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw recounts the surprising history of Dracula's iconic cape from the movies.
- Adam Rogers discusses Pixar's use of colour in its animated films.
- Nellie Andreeva reports that actor Finn Wittrock will play Guy Gardner in a proposed live action Green Lantern series.
- Terry Nguyen discusses the proliferation of streaming and subscription services.
- Patrick Wintour reports that Disney claims not to be responsible for thanking the Chinese Communist Party in the credits of their live-action version of Mulan, but will not apologise either.
Comments on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers):
- Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "One World, One People", the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Sulagna Misra shares her thoughts on "One World, One People".
- Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "One World, One People".
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "One World, One People".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "One World, One People".
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "One World, One People".
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "One World, One People".
- Font Folly shares his thoughts on "One World, One People".
- Sam Barsanti declares that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stumbles under the weight of Captain America's legacy.
- Arturo Serrano points out that it shouldn't need a whole TV series to justify the existence of a black Captain America.
- Chaim Gartenberg declares that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier provides a blueprint for the next decade of Marvel heroes.
- Monita Mohan talks about Bucky Barnes' experiences as an expat in Wakanda and how they are portrayed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin talks about Bucky's terrible date with Leah in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Kaila Hale-Stern declares that the rapid character shifts of John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier make no sense.
- James Whitbrook wonders what will happen with the character of Sharon Carter after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore explains the reasoning behind the fate of the character of Battlestar in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that a subplot was deleted from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but that it did not involve a deadly virus, as has been suspected.
- Anthony D'Alessandro interviews Malcolm Spellman, showrunner of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Germain Lussier interviews Kari Skogland, director of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Stephen Colbert interviews Anthony Mackie who plays Sam Wilson a.k.a. the Falcon a.k.a. Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Jimmy Kimmel interviews Emily VanCamp who plays Sharon Carter in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
- Borys Kit and Aaron Couch report that a fourth Captain America is coming, created by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman and starring Anthony Mackie.
- Ben Child wonders whether Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings can solve Marvel's Asian problem.
- Joe Otterson reports that Chinaka Hodge has been hired as the head writer on Marvel's upcoming Ironheart TV series.
- Cory Chichizola reports that Marvel fans have rented a billboard to campaign for Iron Man to be brought back.
Comments on season 4 of The Handmaid's Tale (spoilers):
Comments on The Nevers:
Comments on Shadow and Bone:
- Danette Chavez calls Shadow and Bone a lush fantasy series.
- Lucy Mangan declares that Shadow and Bone is not the next Game of Thrones.
- Sylas K. Barrett declares that Shadow and Bone has a rushed opening, but eventually manages to find its voice.
- Phoebe Wagner declares that Shadow and Bone could have been a fun fantasy series, but became mired in unnecessary racism that wasn't even in the books.
- Stuart Heritage interviews Jessie Mei Li, star of Shadow and Bone.
- Jill Pantozzi wonders why so many Shadow and Bone viewers are enamoured with the character of General Kirigan.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw traces the career of Ben Barnes who plays General Kirigan in Shadow and Bone and explains why he has such a great online fandom.
- Rachel Leishman also reports about Ben Barnes and how he connected with the rest of the Shadow and Bone cast.
- Thea James rereads Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, the novel upon which the eponymous series is based.
- Zoraida Córdova also takes a look at Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse novels.
- Sadie Gennis shares eleven fantasy novels to read after watching Shadow and Bone.
Comments on Mortal Kombat:
- Andrew Tejada declares that Mortal Kombat is chock full of characters, clichés and cool fights.
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls Mortal Kombat a death match with boredom.
- Matthew Jackson interviews Greg Russo, writer of Mortal Combat.
- Cameron Scheetz interviews the cast of Mortal Kombat.
- Sam Barsanti reports that Mortal Kombat is a success at the box office.
Comments on Stowaway:
Comments on Doctor Who past and future:
- Huw Fullerton shares some speculations about series 13 of Doctor Who.
- Jessica Holmes revisits the 1966 Doctor Who episode "The Celestial Toymaker".
- Sam Warner reports that John Barrowman will be appearing as Captain Jack Harkness and David Bradley as the First Doctor in the Doctor Who immersive theatre event Time Fracture.
- Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne report that actor/director Noel Clarke, who starred in Doctor Who, Kidulthood and Bullet Proof, has been accused of sexual misconduct by twenty women.
Comments on Yasuke:
Comments on Things Heard and Seen:
Awards:
- The winners of the 2020 Xingjun Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2020 This Is Horror Awards have been announced and voting is open.
- The finalists for the 2021 Seiun Awards have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2021 Premio Italia has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2021 Hans Christian Andersen Award have been announced.
- The winners of the 2021 International Costumers' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction has been announced.
- The winners of the 2021 Razzie Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2021 Oscars have been announced with very little love for genre films.
- The nominations for the 2021 Bafta TV Awards have been announced with little love for genre TV.
- The Future Worlds Prize for Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers of Colour is open for submissions.
- Melinda Snodgrass explains how she plots.
- Lincoln Michel talks about metaphors.
- Solveig Pálsdóttir explains how she unwinds after finishing a novel.
- Wheezy Waiter shares his experience with bullet journaling.
- Francis Blagburn reports about scam audiobooks on Audible.
- J. Michael Straczynski shares the submission information for The Last Dangerous Visions.
- The SFWA has announced the results of its 2021 officer elections.
- Alison Flood reports that SFWA and several other writers' organisations have formed a taskforce to make sure that all writers who are owed money by Disney are paid.
- Mike Glyer has more about the #DisneyMustPay taskforce.
- Charlie Jane Anders discusses how bookstores adapted to the covid pandemic.
- Erin McCarthy shares seven author-owned bookstores to visit.
Interviews:
- Erik Pedersen interviews Martha Wells.
- Andrew Liptak interviews Martha Wells.
- Liz Bourke interviews Tasha Suri.
- Locus interviews Isabel Yap.
- Joyzel Acevedo interviews Lynell George.
- The Cromcast interviews John F. Mayer.
- Paul Weimer interviews Gareth Hanrahan.
- Kurt Schiller interviews Laird Barron.
- Andrea Johnson interviews Suyi Davies Okungbowa.
- Johnny Temple interviews Courttia Newland.
- Runalong the Shelves interviews Marian Womack.
- Kathryn Bromwich interviews Samata Schweblin.
- Cat Luria interviews Greta Hayer.
Reviews:
- Em Nordling reviews Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells.
- Sarah Wendell reviews Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells.
- Jana Nyman and Tadiana Jones review Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells.
- Ian Mond reviews Machinehood by S.B. Divya.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Pimp My Airship by Maurice Broaddus.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Black Water Sister by Zen Cho.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Yokohama Station SF by Yuba Isukari, translated by Stephen Paul.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
- Maya C. James reviews Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris.
- Bill Capossere and Jana Nyman review The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst.
- Chris Kluwe reviews The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst.
- Marion Deeds reviews The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso.
- Shellie Horst reviews The Chimera Code by Wayne Santos.
- Lee Mandelo reviews Defekt by Nino Cipri.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Defekt by Nino Cipri.
- Adri Joy reviews These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed, The Difficult Loves of Maria Makiling by Wayne Santos and Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley.
- Paul R. McNamee reviews Mark of the Witchwyrm by Steve Van Samson.
- Tobias Carroll reviews The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas.
- A.M. Justice reviews She Dreams in Blood by Michael R. Fletcher.
- Adri Joy reviews Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews Malice by Heather Walter.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews Near the Bone by Christina Henry.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter.
- The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviewer reviews The Last Ritual by S.A. Sidor.
- Fantasy Faction reviews The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Matryoshka by Penny Jones.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Cottingley Cuckoo by A.J. Elwood.
- Lee Mandelo reviews Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki.
- Paula Guran reviews Never Have I Ever: Stories by Isabel Yap.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Fox Spirit Book of Love, edited by C.A. Yates.
- MarzAat reviews Tales of Yog-Sothoth, edited by C.T. Phipps.
Classics reviews:
- James Malizewski revisits the 1931 fantasy story "Beyond the Singing Flame" by Clark Ashton Smith.
- Bill Ward revisits the 1939 Jirel of Joiry sword and sorcery story "Hellsgarde" by C.L. Moore.
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1949 science fiction collection The Cosmic Geoids and One Other by John Taine.
- Matt Mikalatos revisits the 1956 fantasy story "The Shoddy Lands" and the 1958 fantasy story "Ministering Angels" by C.S. Lewis.
- Mark Yon revisits the May 1966 issues of Impulse and New Worlds.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 1971 science fiction novel Android at Arms by Andre Norton.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1972 fix-up novel Pandora's Legions by Christopher Anvil.
- Timothy the Talking Cat revisits the 1974 science fiction novel The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Ken Lizzi revisits the 1975 anthology The Year's Best Fantasy Stories, edited by Lin Carter.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 1975 time travel novel Wraiths of Time by Andre Norton.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1979 science fiction story "Halfjack" by Roger Zelazny.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 1980 science fiction novel Voorloper by Andre Norton.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1981 science fiction novel Shuttle Down by Lee Corey a.k.a. G. Harry Stine.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1986 science fantasy novel Flight in Yiktor by Andre Norton.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1988 alternate history novel Moon of Ice by Brad Linaweaver.
Con and event reports:
- Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, is bidding for the 2023 Worldcon.
- Mike Glyer reports that Winnipeg in 2023 will be on the site selection ballot, even though the official deadline for filing Worldcon bids has already passed.
- Kevin Standlee weighs in on the Winnipeg in 2023 Worldcon bid.
- Cora Buhlert shares her experiences at the virtual Flights of Foundry convention.
- Josh Weiss reports that New York Comic Con in New York City and several other large media cons are planning for in-person events in late 2021.
- Flora Stagliano reports that the 2021 Eurocon in Fiuggi, Italy, will be an in-person convention.
- Mike Glyer reports that more court documents of Jon Del Arroz' defamation lawsuit against Worldcon 76 are now online.
- Camestros Felapton reports about an uproar involving Iguanacon, the 1978 Worldcon in Phoenix, Arizona, and Guest of Honour Halran Ellison.
- The 49th Pennsic War of the Society for Creative Anachronism in Cooper's Lake, Pennsylvannia, will not take place this year due to the pandemic. However, there will be a smaller event called Armistice instead.
Crowdfunding:
Science and technology:
- Adam Rosenberg shares the first colour photo NASA's Ingenuity copter has taken on Mars.
- Isaac Schultz reports about the HI-SEAS habitat in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, where atsronauts are preparing for Mars.
- George Dvorsky reports that Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to our own, has experienced unusually strong solar flares, which do not bode well for alien life.
- Amy Thompson reports that SpaceX has launched four astronauts into space and also managed to landing afterwards.
- Katherine Kornei wonders why so few craters on the Moon are named after women.
- George Dvorsky reports that Antarctica was hit by a devastating asteroid air burst 430000 years ago.
- George Dvorsky reports about an asteroid impact simulation conducted by NASA.
- James Vincent reports that Disney's R&D lab has developed a free-walking Groot robot.
- James Vincent reports that the NYPD is retiring its controversial robot dog after only a handful of deployments.
- Zoe Corbyn interviews AI ethicist Kate Darling.
- Kathleen Marple Kalb discusses female opera singers in male roles in the 19th century and how revolutionary that was.
- NASA astronaut Michael Collins has died aged 90.
Free online fiction:
- "Blood, Ash, Braids" by Genevieve Valentine in Lightspeed.
- "Complete Exhaustion of the Organism" by Rich Larson in Lightspeed.
- "How I Became MegaPunch, Or, Why I Stayed with Dylan" by Y.M. Pang in Fantasy Magazine.
- "Communist Computer Rap God" by Andrea Kriz in Clarkesworld.
- "A House Is Not a Home" by L. Chan in Clarkesworld.
- "The Graveyard Library" by Anastasiya Sukhenko in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Loyal Companion" by A. Rector in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Out Of the Box" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Shadows on a Brick Wall" by Tais Teng in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Fossilized" by Jessica Yang in Anathema Magazine.
- "To Hear Them Sing" by Rebecca Burton in Fireside Magazine.
- "Step on a Crack" by Paul Crenshaw in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Congratulations on Your Loss" by Catherine Lacey in Slate: Future Tense.
- "Jimmy Black" by Sea O. Weah in Omenana.
- "The Idol" by George Jacobs in Sword and Sorcery Magazine.
- "Fun House Mirrors" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Trailers and videos:
- Watch a trailer for season 6 of Legends of Tomorrow.
- Watch a trailer for season 5 of Lucifer.
- Watch a trailer for Yasuke.
- Watch a trailer for Sweet Tooth.
- Watch a trailer for In Search of Tomorrow.
- Watch a trailer for The Tomorrow War.
- Watch a trailer for season 4 of Castlevania.
- Watch a trailer for Siberia.
- Watch a trailer for Luca.
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