Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 18, 2021

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with The Bad Batch and Star Wars in general, Loki, Black Widow, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, the various DC Comics based TV shows,, Star Trek in general, the season 4 finale of The Handmaid's Tale, In the Earth, Censor, A Quiet Place Part II, Luca, Lisey's Story, Raiders of the Lost Ark at forty, trouble at Fireside Magazine, a debate about content warnings, the 2021 Robert E. Howard Days and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle offers a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy novels. 
• Christina Orlando shares the most anticipated science fiction and fantasy books for the rest of 2021.
  
• Jo Walton shares the SFF books she read in April and May. 
• Jennie Ivins shares an incomplete list of LGBTQIA+ SFF authors for Pride Month. 
  
• The latest Mind Meld at nerds of a feather asks various SFF author for which world they would program a holodeck, if they had access to one. 
• Aigner Loren Wilson shares five thrilling SFF books to pump you up.
  
• Chris Farnell discusses how science fiction ensemble stories humanise space. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction books about interplanetary trade.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction books featuring sublight space travel.
  
• F.T. Lukens shares five SFF books that set sail for adventure.
• Carly Silver shares eleven modern fantasies based on classic mythology.
  
• Natalie Mae shares five YA fantasies set in the desert.
  
• Christine Mangan talks about the evolution of the female driven gothic novel.   
• Emma Leff wonders whether a future without queerphobia is possible.
  
• Journey Press celebrates Pride Month. 
• Remco van Straten and Angeline B. Adams profile the pioneering lesbian SFF poet and LGBTQ+ activist Tigrina. 
• Michael Dirda profiles Robert E. Howard on the 85th anniversary of his death. 
• Brian Murphy shares his thoughts on the Bran Mak Morn stories of Robert E. Howard.
• Ngo Vinh-Hoi shaes his appreciation for the works of Lin Carter. 
• Steve J. Wright shares his thoughts on Unknown and its target audience. 
• Brenton Dickieson explains how to find open source academic research on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings.
  
• Walker Caplan wonders whether Elon Musk is a fan of Philip K. Dick. 
• Alison Flood reports that English Heritage recognises the xenophobia and racism inherent in the works of Rudyard Kipling and Enid Blyton and acknowledges this on its website, but will not remove the plaques honouring them.
  
• Irish women's fiction author Lucinda Riley has died aged only 55.
  

 

Comics and Art: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin discusses whether superheroes have sex. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also reports about the controversy whether Batman should have sex.
  
• Clark J. Holloway shares a 1957 newspaper comic adaptation of Nevil Shute's post-apocalpytic novel On the Beach.  
• Deuce Richardson discusses Roy Thomas, Namor the Submariner and Conan.
  
• Mike Avila interviews J. Michael Straczynski about his new comic Telepaths.
  
• Watch a 1977 interview with Stan Lee. 
• Modular Comics interviews Marc Jackson.
  
• Carolyn Turgeson interviews photographer Anastasiya Dobrovolskaya.
• Heidi MacDonald reports how libraries are handling the rise in popularity of graphic novels.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Cheryl Eddy declares that the British time travel comedy Timewasters is definitely not a waste of time. 
• Benjamin Lee calls Infinite a reincarnation thriller that's stuck in the past. 
• Cath Clarke calls Superdeep a muddled superhero film set during the Soviet era.
• A.A. Dowd calls Gaia elevated horror in a different sense. 
• Sophie Monks Kaufman shares the story behind George Romero's lost 1973 movie The Amusement Park. 
• Nicole Glover revisits the 1989 fantasy anime Kiki's Delivery Service.
  
• Tom Breihan revisits the 2013 dystopian movie The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 
• Victoria Zelvin discusses the issue of the death of fan favourite character Lexa in The 100. 
• Andrew Pulver shares his favourite movies of 2021 to date.  
• The Guardian shares their favourite TV shows of 2021 to date.
  
• Eva Taft shares some international horror movies to enjoy. 
• Joe George lists the best fathers in superhero TV shows and movies.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Kevin Smith, showrunner of Masters of the Universe: Revelation. 
• Anne Billson interviews Jeffrey Reddick, director of the Final Destination series and Don't Look Back.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong discusses the fandom for Ships of the Northern Fleet, a TV show which never existed. 
• Sam Barsanti points out that the "miracle baby" from Blade Runner 2049 was born on June 10, 2021.
• Andrew Pulver reports that actor Riz Ahmed had called for changing the toxic portrayals of Muslims in film and TV.
• Steve Rose chronicles how Disney became embroiled in the culture wars.
  
• Raymond Zhong reports that Chinese film censorship laws have expanded to include Hongkong with potential implications for the worldwide film industry. 
• Actor Ben Roberts who appeared in The Bill, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and many others, has died aged 70. 
• Moses Ginsburg, director of The Werewolf of Washington, has died aged 86.
  
• Actress Lisa Banes, who appeared in Gone Girl, The Orville and many others, has died aged 65 following a hit and run accident.  
• Actor Ned Beatty, best known for his appearances in Homicide, All the President's Men, Superman, The Execution of Private Slovik, Deliverance and many others, has died aged 83.
• Matt Schimkovitz shares his appreciation for Ned Beatty's performance as Lex Luthor's henchman Otis in the 1978 Superman movie.
  
• Claudia Barrett, star of Robot Monster, White Heat and The Great Jewel Robbery, has died aged 91.
• Actress Damaris Hayman, who appeared in Doctor Who among many others, has died aged 91.
  

 

Comments on Loki, Black Widow and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers):

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares his thoughts on "The Variant", the latest episode of Loki. 
• Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "The Variant".
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "The Variant". 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "The Variant".  
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "The Variant".
  
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "The Variant".
  
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Glorious Purpose", the first episode of Loki.
  
• Melinda Snodgrass shares her thoughts on Loki and discusses what makes a fascinating villain.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw explains how Loki became a genderfluid icon. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore discusses Loki's powers.
  
• William Hughes finds some parallels between Loki and Daffy Duck.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw discusses a new character played by Sophia di Martino in Loki.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares some theories regarding a new character in Loki. 
• Sam Barsanti shares some fan theories regarding Loki and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Ben Child notes that death in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is overrated and usually only temporary anyway. 
• Joe Otterson discusses how WandaVision, Harley Quinn and The Umbrella Academy subvert the superhero genre.
  
• James Whitbrook interviews Kate Herron, director of Loki. 
• Marah Eakin interviews Michael Waldron, showrunner of Loki. 
• James Whitbrook interviews Gugu Mbatha-Raw who plays Rovanna Renslayer in Loki. 
• Marah Eakin interviews Wunmi Mosaku who plays Hunter B-15 in Loki. 
  
• Taylor Ferber interviews Cate Shortland, director of Black Widow.  
• Andrew Pulver reports that Scarlett Johansson has criticised the hypersexualisation of Black Widow in her first appearance in Iron Man 2 in 2010. 
• Ben Child wonders about the portrayal of female characters as sex objects in the Iron Man movies. 
• Germain Lussier shares some early reactions to Black Widow.
  
• Andrew Liptak shares some casting news for the upcoming She-Hulk series.
  

 

Comments on the various DC Comics based movies and TV Shows:

• Andrew Tejada shares his thoughts on the latest episodes of the various DC Comics based superhero TV shows.
  
• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Legends of Tomorrow. 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Superman and Lois. 
• Scott von Doviak shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Flash. 
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League.
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Stargirl.
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Titans.
  

 

Comments on the season 4 finale of The Handmaid's Tale (spoilers):

• Natalie Zutter is quite pleased with the fate of Commander Fred Waterford in the season 4 finale of The Handmaid's Tale.
  
• Ines Bellina shares her thoughts on the season 4 finale of The Handmaid's Tale. 
• Lauren Huff interviews Bruce Miller, showrunner of The Handmaid's Tale.
  

 

Comments on The Bad Batch and Star Wars in general:

• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on "Battle Scars", the latest episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "Battle Scars".
  

 

Comments on the many iterations of Star Trek: 

• James Whitbrook introduces the young alien heroes of Star Trek Prodigy.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Collective" and "Spirit Folk".
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Star Trek Picard.
  

 

Comments on Censor:

• Jason Shawhan calls Censor a terrific debut that makes horror feel dangerous again.
• Valerie Complex wonders whether Censor is the future of giallo horror.
  

 

Comments on A Quiet Place Part II:

• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on A Quiet Place Part I and II.
  
• Sam Barsanti reports that A Quiet Place Part II is the first movie in more than a year to earn more than 100 million US-dollar at the box office.
  

Comments on Lisey's Story: 

• Juan Barquin shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Lisey's Story. 
• Matthew Jackson explains why Lisey's Story is one of Stephen King's most important novels.
  
• Matthew Jackson interviews J.J. Abrams, producer of Lisey's Story.
  
• Eric Piepenburg interviews Stephen King on whose eponymous novel Lisey's Story is based. 
• Jane Pauley interviews Stephen King about Lisey's Story. 

 

Comments on In the Earth: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls In the Earth a trippy folk horror film.
• Tim Lewis interviews Ben Wheatley, director of In the Earth. 
  

 

Comments on Luca: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Luca a charming but flimsy animated story about friendship and sea monsters. 
• A.A. Dowd calls Luca sweet but shallow. 
• Germain Lussier calls Luca a lovely, funny movie that tries a little too hard.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren, director and producer of Luca.
• Marah Eakin interviews Jacob Tremblay and Jake Dylan Glazer, stars of Luca.
  

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark at forty:

• Scott Tobias shares his thoughts on the 1981 adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark for its 40th anniversary. 
• Amy Nicholson shares some behind the scenes facts from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2020 and 2021 Robert E. Howard Society Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2020 Australian Shadows Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Premios Kelvin 505 have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Prix Jeunesse des Univers Parallèles have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2021 Geffen Awards have been announced. 
  
• The winners of the 2020 Analytical Laboratory Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Bisexual Book Awards have been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2021 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award has been announced. 
• The winner of the 2021 Australian Fairy Tale Society Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced.
• The 2021 Hugo Voter Packet is now available.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Kellie Doherty talks about character voice. 
• Taylor Adams asks what makes a killer plot twist. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes about indie authors and the fear of missing out.
  
• Lincoln Michel talks about various examples of authors being under attack for supposedly harmful content in their books.
• Laura Miller reports that authors Elin Hilderbrand and Casey McQuiston have been pressured into changing two lines in their respective novels following a social media uproar. 
• The "We Need Diverse Books" initiative announces that they will no longer use the #OwnVoices hashtag, because it is wandered away from its original purpose.
  
• Max Florschutz discusses the issues with Royal Road, Vella and similar services. 
• Mike Glyer reports about some financial troubles at Fireside Magazine. 
• Andrew Liptak also reports about the issues at Fireside Magazine.
  
• The Horror Writers Association is taking applications for several scholarship grants.
• Alison Flood reports that several museums and libraries in the UK have united to save the Hornesfield Library, inaccessible since 1939, from being sold off to private buyers.
  

Interviews:

• Smart Podcast, Trashy Books interviews Lois McMaster Bujold. 
• Diana Rivera interviews Martha Wells.
  
• Andrew Sumner interviews Michael Moorcock. 
• The Odyssey Writing Workshop interviews P. Djèlí Clark.
  
• Andrea Johnson interviews Kerstin Hall.
  
• Locus interviews Charles Yu. 
• Locus interviews Reiko Murakami. 
• Noah Fram interviews Nghi Vo.
  
• The Qwillery interviews David Bowles. 
• K.X. Ronnie interviews Indra Das. 
• Kester Long interviews J.C. Kang.
  
• The HWA interviews Robert P. Ottone. 
• The Qwillery interviews Kathleen O'Neal Gear.
  
• The Qwillery interviews Marissa Levien.
  
• Jen Gheller interviews Laura Duerr. 
• Christie Yant interviews Cara Masten DiGirolamo.
  
• Emily Mah interviews Bejamin Rosenbaum.
  
• Mary Anne Mohanraj and Benjamin Rosenbaum interviews Liz Gorinsky. 
• Alan Petersen interviews Alma Katsu. 
  
• Ike Riva interviews Bobby Derie.
  

Reviews:

• Liz Bourke reviews Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston, Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace and Scandal in Babylon by Barbare Hambly.
  
• Maya Gittelman reviews Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta.
• Chris Kluwe reviews Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill.
  
• Adri Joy reviews The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. 
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Bleeding Hearts by Ry Herman. 
• Skye Walker reviews Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland. 
• Kat Hooper reviews Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots.
  
• Paul Di Filippo and Adrienne Martini reviews The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry. 
• Liz Ohanesian reviews The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo.
  
• Kat Hooper reviews Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. 
• Kat Hooper reviews Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.
  
• S.E. Lindberg reviews Turn Over the Moon by Ryan Harvey.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews How To Mars by David Ebenbach. 
• Martin Cahill reviews The World Gives Way by Marissa Levien. 
• Kat Hooper reviews War of the Maps by Paul McAuley.
  
• Steven Poore reviews Seven Deaths of an Empire by G.W. Matthews.
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson. 
• Molly Templeton reviews For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten. 
• Liz Bourke reviews The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Rabbits by Terry Miles.
  
• Kat Hooper reviews The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix.
  
• Tobias Carroll reviews Goblin by Josh Malerman. 
  
• Mark Yon reviews The Wood Bee Queen by Edward Cox. 
• Sean Dowie reviews Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker.
  
• Kat Hooper reviews Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder. 
• Lee Mandelo reviews The Membranes by Chi Ta-Wei, translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich. 
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Planetbreaker's Son by Nick Mamatas. 
• Russell Letson reviews Robot Artists and Black Swans: The Italian Fantascienza Stories by Bruce Sterling.
• J. Thomas Howard reviews issue 3 of Whetstone Magazine.
• John Gradoville reviews Issues 1 to 4 of Savage Realms.
  

Classics reviews:

• Matthew Pungitore revisits the 1910 horror novella "The Wendigo" by Algernon Blackwood. 
• Bobby Derie revisits the 1933 Conan story "The Vale of Lost Women" by Robert E. Howard and its comic adaptation by Roy Thomas.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1935 Jirel of Joiry sword and sorcery story "Jirel Meets Magic" by C.L. Moore.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1951 science fiction novel Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke.
  
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1966 anthology New Writings in SF 8, edited by John Carnell.
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1966 science fiction anthology Orbit 1, edited by Damon Knight.
• James Davis Nicoll also reviews Orbit 1, edited by Damon Knight. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the July 1966 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1969 science fiction anthology First Step Outward, edited by Robert Hoskins. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1971 space exploration novel Countdown by Frank G. Slaughter.
  
• The Appendix N Book Club revisits the 1972 science fantasy collection Xiccarph by Clark Ashton Smith. 
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1979 science fiction story "Sandkings" by George R.R. Martin.
  
• G.W. Thomas revisits the 1981 horror novel Flowers of Evil by Robert Charles.
  

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer explains why DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon in Washington DC, is not posting a public member list.
• Adri Joy explains how the virtual CoNZealand Fringe event came together.
• Goodman Games reports about the 2021 Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas. 
• The Cromcast shares a recording of the panel "Robert E. Howard in the Comics" at the 2021 Robert E. Howard Day in Cross Plains, Texas.
  
• Mike Glyer reports that the program of the Tolkien Society's virtual summer seminar about Tolkien and diversity has drawn the ire of conservative Tolkien fans. 
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest edition of the virtual Fantastic Fiction at KGB Reading Series, featuring Seanan McGuire and Nadia Bulkin. 
• The Carnegie Hall in New York City will host an Afrofuturism Festival in February 2022. 
• James Gurney reports about the exhibition "Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration" in Stockbridge, Massachussetts.
  
• Deuce Richardson celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Frazetta Museum in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• The Wilds, a fantasy poetry comic about dealing with grief and loss by Russell Jones and Aimee Lockwood, is looking for funding.
  
• Calidar "Alfdaín Ascendant", an RPG campaign set by Bruce Heard, is looking for funding.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Kenneth Chang reports about NASA's Juno space probe and its mission to Jupiter. 
• The European Southern Observatory reports that the mystery of the dimming of Betelgeuse has been solved.
  
• Lita Martinez reports that the Mount Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles, California, is reopening to the public after being nearly destroyed by a wildfire.
  
• Mick West explains why he studies UFOs and doesn't believe the alien hype. 
• Mark Buchanan says that contacting aliens may not be a good idea, so we should stop.
• Amy Sood reports that the Maori may have discovered Antarctica 1300 years before western explorers.
• John Tresch reports about an 1844 balloon hoax committed by Edgar Allen Poe.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Cirque Mécanique" by Kel Coleman in Anathema. 
• "When You Die on the Radio" by Adam R. Shannon in Lightspeed. 
• "Inselberg" by Nalo Hopkinson in Lightspeed.
  
• "Forestborn" by Sylvia Heinke in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "My Mirror, My Opposite" by Y.M. Pang in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "A Flower Cannot Love the Hnad" by Aimee Ogden in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Doll Seed" by Michele Tracy Berger in Apex Magazine.
  
• "A Gift from the Queen of Faerie to the King of Hell" by Cara Masten DiGirolamo in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "The Shroud for the Mourners" by Yukimi Ogawa in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Face Changing" by Jiang Bo, translated by Andy Dudak in Clarkesworld.  
• "The Middening" by Allyson Shaw in Fireside Magazine. 
• "The Far Side of the Universe" by noc at Tor.com.
  
• "Lipopire" by Jack Klausner in The Dark. 
• "Claire de Lune" by D.J. Rozell in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Up-Up-Down-Left-Right" by R. Mac Jones in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "The Princess Gets to Choose" by Jenny Rae Rappaport in Daily Science Fiction.
• "The Life and Deaths of Rachel Long" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a teaser for season 2 of The Witcher. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of See. 
• Watch a trailer for The Tomorrow War. 
• Watch a trailer for How It Ends.
  
• Watch a trailer for Meander.
• Watch a trailer for A Classic Horror Story.
• Watch a trailer for Belle.
• Watch a trailer for Centaurworld.