Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for November 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 best SFF books of 2021, tributes to Petra Mayer, Foundation, Dune, Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, Hawkeye and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Trek Discovery and  Star Trek in general, Doctor Who, the various DC Comics based TV shows, the live action Cowboy Bebop, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Wheel of Time, Yellowjackets, Encanto, the Harry Potter films at twenty and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares the best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror novels.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five messy time travel stories. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about living to see another day.
  
• Leah Schnelbach shares eight books putting an SFF spin on literary classics. 
• Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson talks about literature as a found text. 
• Molly Templeton wonders whether to read the book or watch the film/TV adaptation first.
  
• Caroline Wazer talks about experiencing history in the Assassin's Creed videogame series. 
• Meghan Ball recounts that there was a series of Dungeons and Dragons Choose Your Own Adventure fantasy romance novels in 1983. 
• Sara Foster asks why there are so many missing mothers in YA novels with empowered heroines. 
• Deuce Richardson remembers Jack Williamson.
• Michael Curtis shares his appreciation for the works of William Hope Hodgson.
  
• Kelly Jensen shares the best cities for book lovers. 
• Alison Flood reports that a fragment of the lost 12th century epic poem "Siege d'Orange" has been discovered inside the binding of another book.
• Petra Mayer, books and culture editor at NPR, has died aged 46.
• Locus remembers Petra Mayer.
  

Best of 2021:

• Kirkus share their favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2021.
• Amazon shares its favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2021. 
• Lavie Tidhar and Silvia Moreno Garcia share their favourite fantasy books of 2021.  

 

Comics and Art:

• Justin Carter reports that a new Iron Fist will take over the mantle from Danny Rand.
  
• Justin Carter reports that Mary Bromfield, sister of Billy Batson, will be taking over the mantel of Shazam.
  
• Mike Glyer reports about the Devil's Reign Marvel crossover event.
  
• James Whitbrook looks ahead at Radiant Black by Kyle Higgins and Marcelo Costa.
• G.W. Thomas revisits the 1974 Brak the Barbarian comic "The Unspeakable Shrine" by John Jakes, Doug Moench and Steve Gan. 
• Bill Ward shares the interior art from the Tales from the Magician's Skull magazine.
  
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the artwork of Ian Miller. 
• Rob Bricken reports that Dark Horse will be publishing Star Wars comics again.
  
• Michael Kan reports that comic book distributor Diamond has been hit by a ransomware attack. 

 

Film and TV:

• Arturo Serrano declares that the main problem of Finch is that it is scared of scaring its audience.
  
• Stephen Robinson calls Hit Monkey a rip-roaring comedic thrill ride.  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of La Brea.
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Invasion. 
• David Smith reports about the documentary Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time.
  
• The Guardian wonders why people lie about having watched TV shows they haven't actually watched. 
• Laura Martin traces how fan theories took over TV.
  
• Olivia Rutigliano discusses the portrayal of fathers in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
  
• Eve Taft offers a viewer's guide to the Halloween movie series. 
• Dan Persons shares twelve animated SFF series worth spending time with.
  
• Robert Repino shares six very bizarre made for TV SFF movies. 
• Cheryl Eddy lists the eleven scariest monsters in Christmas movies. 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1966 Space Patrol Orion episode "Battle for the Sun". 
• Nuts4R2 revisits the 1977 science fiction sex film Cinderalla 2000.
  
• Dan Persons revisits the 1979 dystopian classic Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. 
• Rogues in the House interviews Morgan King and Phil Gelatt, creators of The Spine of Night. 
• Mike Fleming Jr. interviews Ridley Scott, director of Alien, Blade Runner and many others. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Tony Todd, star of Candyman. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Vanessa Estelle Williams, who has the distinction of appearing in both the original Candyman and the 2021 remake.
  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, screenwriters of every James Bond movie released in the 21st century.  
• Cheryl Eddy interviews B-movie scholar Lars Nilsen.
  
• Justin Kroll reports that Shazad Latif, best known for playing Ash Tyler a.k.a. Voq in Star Trek Discovery, will play Captain Nemo in the new Disney Plus series Nautilus.
  

 

Comments on Foundation: 

• Nick Wanserski shares his thoughts on "The First Crisis", the latest episode of Foundation.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "The First Crisis".
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "The First Crisis".
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "The First Crisis".
• The Stars End podcast share their thoughts on "The First Crisis".
• Justin Carter explains how Foundation brought its different worlds and cultures to life.
  

 

Comments on Dune:

• Bob Mayer declares that Dune and The Expanse are examples of good literary adaptations, Foundation is not.
  
• Talking Pulp revisits David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Dune.
  

 

Comments on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Hawkeye, Eternals and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Rob Bricken shares a real-life San Francisco bus driver's thoughts on the bus fight scene in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
  
• Guy Lodge shares great martial arts films to watch after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an indictment of toxic masculinity. 
• Jennifer Ouellette notes that researchers have pointed out that Thanos couldn't have snapped his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. 
  
• Germain Lussier explains how the Hawkeye TV series came to be.
  
• Aaron Couch interviews Ryan and Kaz Firpo, screenwriters of Eternals.
  
• Marah Eakin interviews Jeremy Renner, star of Hawkeye and Mayor of Kingstown. 
• Benjamin Lee reports that Jane Campion has become the latest art house director who feels the burning need to declare their hatred for superhero movies.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong shares all the Marvel news announced on Disney+ Day.
• Watch a trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
• Watch a teaser trailer for Ms. Marvel.
• Watch a trailer for She-Hulk.
• Watch a trailer for Moon Knight.
• Watch a featurette about the making of Hawkeye.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Kobayashi Maru", the season 4 premiere of Star Trek Discovery.
• Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on "Kobayashi Maru".
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Kobayashi Maru".
  
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1966 Star Trek episode "The Corbomite Maneuver".
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Broken Bow".
• Dominic Patten reports that Paramount pulled Star Trek Discovery off Netflix internationally, leaving non-American audiences without a legal way to watch the show, only two days before the premiere of season 4.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past and present:

• Martin Belam shares his thoughts on "Once Upon a Time", the latest episode of Doctor Who.
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "Once Upon a Time". 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "Once Upon a Time". 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Once Upon a Time". 
  
• Huw Fullerton wonders whether the current "Flux" storyline of Doctor Who might be an adaptation of the unproduced 1980s story "Lungbarrow".
  
• Lidia Molina-Whyte shares some speculations about the upcoming second Russell T. Davies era of Doctor Who.
• Actor Clifford Rose, who appeared in the Doctor Who serial "Warrior's Gate" and many others, has died aged 92.
  

Comments on the live action Cowboy Bebop:

• Charles Pulliam-Moore declares that the live action Cowboy Bebop has plenty of style and substance, but the rhythm is way off.
  
• Sam Barsanti calls the live-action Cowboy Bebop a bloodless substitute for the real thing.
• Christina Tucker calls Cowboy Bebop another underwhelming live action anime adaptation.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that the live action Cowboy Bebop won't satisfy fans of the original anime.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore interviews John Cho, Daniella Pineda and Mustafa Shakir, stars of the live-action Cowboy Bebop.
  

 

Comments on Ghostbusters: Afterlife: 

• Marah Eakin interviews Paul Rudd, star of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
• Germain Lussier interviews Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, director and co-writer of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. 
• Marah Eakin interviews Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace, two of the stars of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. 
• Alex McLevy theorises that the original Ghostbusters is deliberately gross and actually quite gruesome, which is precisely why it became a cult classic. 
• Germain Lussier shares fifteen movies to watch after Ghostbuisters: Afterlife.
  

 

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

• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Legends of Tomorrow.
  
• Scott von Doviak shares his thoughts on the season 8 premiere of The Flash.
  
• Matt Webb Mitovich interviews Grant Gustin who plays Barry Allen in The Flash.
  

 

Comments on The Wheel of Time: 

• Rob Bricken calls The Wheel of Time TV series better, worse and different than the books. 
• Sylas K. Barrett is sure that viewers are going to love The Wheel of Time.
  
• Billy Todd shares an open letter to old and new fans of The Wheel of Time.
• Caroline Perry talks about The Wheel of Time, trailers and hope.
• Marah Eakin interviews Rafe Judkins, showrunner of The Wheel of Time. 
• Rob Bricken interviews Daniel Henney, one of the stars of The Wheel of Time.
  
• Alison Flood points out the less than ideal depiction of women in The Wheel of Time novels.
  

 

Comments on Yellowjackets: 

• Leila Latif calls Yellowjackets an impressively nasty survival drama. 
• Cameron Scheetz interviews the cast of Yellowjackets.
  

 

Comments on Encanto: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Encanto a bland Disney fairytale. 
• Caroline Siede calls Encanto a visual feast with a family focus.
  

 

The Harry Potter Film Series at Twenty:

• Alex McLevy shares his experiences watching all the Harry Potter movies in rapid succession. 
• Nadia Khomani wonders what happened to the young stars of the Harry Potter movies. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that the Harry Potter stars face criticism for appearing in a Harry Potter twentieth anniversary special in spite of J.K. Rowling's well-documented transphobia.
  

 

Awards: 

• The opening round finalists for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced. 
  
• The winners of the 2021 Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards have been announced. 
• The nominees for the She Reads Best of 2021 Awards have been announced and voting is open.
  
• The winner of the 2021 sf-Lit Award has been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2021 Nyabola Prize in Science and Speculative Fiction in Kiswahili has been announced.
• The longlist for the 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Prize has been announced with some love for genre novels. 
• The winners of the 2021 National Book Awards have been announced.
  
• Adri Joy and Joe Sherry discuss the Hugo finalists for Best Videogame. 
• Future SFWA Grand Master Mercedes Lackey has clarified her stance on writing trans characters.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Lincoln Michel talks about fairytales, fiction and realism. 
• Thomas Perry explains how he learned to live with errors in his books. 
• Lincoln Michel explains that MFAs don't have nearly as much influence as many people think.
  
• Jaqui Lipton talks about avoiding infringing someone else's copyright. 
• Jack Whateley reports about Goodreads' Neonazi problem. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch discusses the US Department of Justice's anti-trust lawsuit against the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon and Schuster.
  
• Hillel Italie reports that bookstore workers are increasingly unionising.
• Cassandra Pollock reports that Texas governor Greg Abbott wants to banish "books with overly sexual content" (i.e. books about LGBTQ issues) from public school libraries in Texas.
• Alison Flood reports that Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk has been charged with insulting Turkishness - again.
  

Interviews:

• Scott Edelman interviews Suzanne Palmer.
  
• Adam Rogers interviews Neal Stephenson. 
• Matt Rosoff interviews Neal Stephenson.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Alys Earl. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Barry Nugent. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Robin Triggs.
  
• Andrea Johnson interviews Erin K. Wagner.
• Andrea Johnson itnerviews Marie Croke.
• Janna Miller interviews A.M. Faller.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Chloe Gong.
• Publishers Weekly interviews Jeff Smith.
• Francesca Myman interviews Betsy Wollheim.
  

Reviews:

• Mahvesh Murad reviews Noor by Nnedi Okorafor. 
• Paul Weimer reviews Obviously, Aliens by Jennie Goloboy.
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Midnight, Water City by Chris McKinney.
  
• Brenton Dickieson reviews The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal.
• Ian Mond reviews Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson.
• Mark Yon reviews Galaxias by Stephen Baxter. 
• Publishers Weekly reviews Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds.
  
• J.C. Kang reviews These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune.
• Bobby Derie reviews Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. 
• Marion Deeds reviews The Language of Power by Rosemary Kirstein. 
  
• Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere review The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart. 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart.
  
• Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman review Along the Saltwise Sea by A. Deborah Baker.
  
• Deana Whitney and Paige Vest review Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson.
  
• Natalie Zutter reviews Gilded by Marissa Meyer. 
• Hephzibah Anderson reviews Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi. 
• Laura Miller reviews Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews This Is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders.
• Natalie Zutter reviews Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Complete Short Fiction of Peter Straub by Peter Straub.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Terror Tales of the Home Counties, edited by Paul Finch.
  

 
Classics reviews:

• M. Porcius revisits the 1862 historical fantasy novel Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert. 
• The Cryptofictional Records Wing revisits the 1912 lost world adventure The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle.
• The Cryptofictional Records Wing revisits the 1918 lost world adventure The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
• Tobias Carroll revisits the 1920 dystopian novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin in a new translation by Bela Shayevich.  
• Chris Kluwe revisits the 1920 dystopian novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin in a new translation by Bela Shayevich. 
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1938 horror story "Mother of Toads" by Clark Ashton Smith. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1946 nuclear disaster story "Memorial" by Theodore Sturgeon.
  
• M. Porcius revisits the Fall 1950 issue of Planet Stories. 
• Bobby Derie revisits the 1951 fantasy poem "The Cup-Bearer" by Lilith Lorraine.
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the December 1966 issue of Galaxy. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1973 science fiction anthology Orbit 12, edited by Damon Knight.
  
• James McGlothlin revisits the 1973 anthology The Year's Best Horror Stories II, edited by Richard Davis,
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1977 science fiction satire Passing For Human by Jody Scott.
  
• Emily Tesh revisits the 1981 children's fantasy novel The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1991 YA horror novel The Invitation by Diane Hoh and the 1992 YA horror novel The Cemetery by D.E. Athkins.
• Bill Ward revisits the 1996 sword and sorcery collection Far Away and Never by Ramsay Campbell.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 2003 horror novel Come Closer by Sara Gran.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2004 historical fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2011 children's fantasy novel A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine.
  

Crowdfunding:

• The supernatural western comic The Few and the Cursed is looking for funding.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Ehud Maimon reports about the hybrid 2021 ICon, which was held partly in Tel Aviv, Israel, and partly online.
  
• Arley Sorg reports about the virtual 2021 FIYAHCON. 
• L.D. Lewis shares her experiences organising the 2021 FIYAHCON. 
• Arthur Chappell shares a three part report about Novacon in Buxton, Derbyshire.
  
• Chicon 8, the 2022 Worldcon in Chicago, Illinois, shares its second progress report.
  
• The 2021 World Fantasy Convention in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, alerts attendees that an attendee tested positive for covid.
  
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the 2021 World Fantasy Convention in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• Tyler Aquilina reports about actor Adam Driver's first and only visit to San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Isaac Schultz reports that the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, an early space telescope, may have spotted the missing ninth planet of our solar system (not Pluto) in 1983.
  
• Kristin Fisher and Pete Muntean report that Blue Origin astronaut Glen de Vries has died in a plane crash barely a month after his spaceflight.
• Kaye Dee reports about the Gemini 12 mission in 1966.
  
• Ernie Smith explores the long strange history of people filing patents for flying saucers.   
• Raffi Khatchadourian profiles genetic genealogist CeCe Moore who helps to crack cold cases among other things. 
  
• Maggie Downs reports that everything we thought we knew about the so-called hobo code is wrong.
• Emily Brightwell explains what we owe to the Victorians.
  
• Katherine Addison shares recommendations for non-fiction books.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Ten Scenes from a Typical Day in the Life of the All-Powerful Despot" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed. 
• "The Turnaround" by Charlie Jane Anders in Lightspeed.
  
• "Godfather Death, In His Own Words" by John Wiswell in Fireside Magazine.
  
• "The Language Birds Speak" by Rebecca Campbell in Clarkesworld. 
• "Between Zero and One There is Infinity" by Shari Paul in Clarkesworld. 
• "Deep in the Gardener's Barrow" by Tobi Ogundiran in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Source" by Mattias Carosella in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
  
• "The Silent Decades" by Olga Kolesnikova in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "The Catcher in the Eye" by Ai Jiang in The Dark. 
• "Flicker" by Daniel Lawlor in Anathema. 
• "Shouty Lads" by Charles E.P. Murphy in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "Bodies" by Chisom Omeh in Omenana.
• "Crossroads" by Tiffany Morris in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Cultureship" by Esther Alter in khoréo.
• "Whose Mortal Taste" by E.K. Wagner in Apex Magazine.
• "The Surrender of Dr. Menace" by Brian J. Hunt in Daily Science Fiction.
• "This Is Not the Beginning, That Is Not the End" by Wendy Nikel in Daily Science Fiction.
• "The Red Queen" by Shannon Fay in Daily Science Fiction.
• "The Tale of Declan, Disruptor of Doors" by Cora Buhlert.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 6 of The Expanse. 
• Watch a trailer for Nightmare Alley.
  
• Watch a trailer for Encounter. 
• Watch a trailer for Death Valley.
  
• Watch a trailer for Don't Look Up.
  
• Watch a trailer for Baymax!
  
• Watch a trailer for The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild. 
• Watch a trailer for Turning Red.
  
• Watch a teaser for Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.
• Watch a Behind the Scenes video of Squid Game.