Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 10, 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, 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, season 6 of The Expanse, Nightmare Alley, The Wheel of Time, Don't Look Up, Chucky and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Amal El-Mohtar shares her favourite new science fiction and fantasy books.
• Matthew Angelo attempts to explain why science fiction matters in literature. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction novels featuring novel approaches to powering faster-than-light travel. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five extremely pessimistic science fiction classics.
  
• Meghan Ball lists fifteen SFF books that deserve their own soundtracks.
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for November 2021.
• Abaki Beck talks about indigenous horror authors.
  
• Alex Thomson shares seven ingenious languages in speculative fiction. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF books in which valuable does not mean powerful. 
• Leslie Vedder shares five SFF books with twisty curses at their heart. 
• Kiersten White shares five young adult SFF books where compassion is strength.
  
• Peter White discusses blindness in science fiction. 
• Robert Repino shares the unexpected connections to SFF of George Harrison of The Beatles. 
  
• Vector hosts a roundtable on the global appeal of J.R.R. Tolkien's work. 
• Lawrence Block shares his appreciation for the works of Fredric Brown. 
  
• Barbara Barrett talks about Robert E. Howard and theorises about his experiences with prostitutes.
• Deuce Richardson profiles Scottish poet James MacPherson and his influence on early fantasy writers.
• Michael R. Brown profiles the long-running pulp magazine Blue Book.
• Alison Flood reports that the Orwell estate has approved Julia by Sandra Newman, a feminist retelling of Nineteen Eighty-Four from the perspective of Winston Smith's lover Julia.
• Science fiction and media tie-in writer Diana G. Gallagher has died aged 75.
  

Best of 2021:

• The Tor.com reviewers share their favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2021. 
• Amal El-Mohtar shares her favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2021.
  
• Adam Roberts shares his favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2021.
• Runalong the Shelves shares his favourite science fiction novels of 2021. 
• Runalong the Shelves shares his favourite horror novels of 2021.
• Runalong the Shelves shares his favourite SFF anthologies of the year.
• The io9 reviewers share the SFF characters who gave them joy in 2021.
  
• The io9 reviewers share the best SFF works they revisited in 2021.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Brad Hawley reviews B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Volume 4: The Devil’s Engine and The Long Death by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tyler Crook and James Harren.
• M.J. Kejera reviews The History of Science Fiction in comic form by Xavier Dillo and Djibril Morissette-Phan, translated by Mark Bence.  
• Locus interviews artist Gary Villarreal.
  
• Jen Gheller interviews artist Jana Heiderdorf.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that legendary comics artist George Peréz has cancer.
• Doctor Who novelisation cover artist Chris Achilléos has died aged 74.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Leah Schnelbach thinks part 2 of Masters of the Universe: Revelation is great and particularly praises the character of Evil-Lyn. 
• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Lost in Space veers wildly off course in its final season.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Lamb an outrageous horror comedy and praises the performance of Noomi Rapace. 
• James Balmont explains how the time travel thriller Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes became a breakout success.
• Phil Hoad calls Death Valley a gross out monster mayhem creature features. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Slumber Party Massacre a horror remake that's mostly fun.
  
• Cath Clarke declares that Project Space 13 delivers some easy satire.
• Leslie Felperin calls Clifford the Big Red Dog a watchable and occasionally amusing fantasy film for children.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on The Suicide Squad. 
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Invasion. 
• Leila Latif shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
  
• Michael Ronel discusses American Christmas movies set in Ruritanian kingdoms and wonders if Hollywood even knows what Europe looks like. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore revisits the 1942 horror movie Cat People.
  
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1966 Space Patrol Orion episode "The Space Trap".
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 2002 science fiction TV series Firefly. 
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the 1987 Soviet adaptation of Isaac Asimov's The End of Eternity.
• Paul Levinson discusses the filmic adaptations of Foundation, The Man in the High Castle and The End of Eternity. 
• David Agranoff lists several golden age and New Wave SFF classics that should be adapted right now.
  
• Several writers explain how they would continue the James Bond series.  
  
• Hadley Freeman interviews Mel Brooks, comedian and director of Spaceballs, The Producers, Blazing Saddles and many others. 
• Jonathan Romney interviews horror director Prano Bailey-Bond. 
• Paul Levinson interviews Rufus Sewell, one of the stars of The Man in the High Castle.
  
• Dani Anguiano and Andrew Pulver share the highlights of the first interview Alec Baldwin gave after accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. 
• David Robb reports that the contract negotiations of the Animation Guild have been put on hold until 2021.
  

 

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

• Annika Rollock shares her thoughts on "Partners, Am I Right?", the latest episode of Hawkeye.
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "Partners, Am I Right?"
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "Partners, Am I Right?"  
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "Partners, Am I Right?"
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Partners, Am I Right?"
  
• Tor.com points out that Alaqua Cox who plays Maya Lopez a.k.a. Echo in Hawkeye has never acted before.
  
• Watch an interview with William Defoe, Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx, who play the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Electro in Spider-Man: No Way Home. 
• Brian Davids interviews Jon Bernthal, star of The Punisher. 
  
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is getting a sequel and that director Destin Daniel Cretton will also helm a Disney Plus series. 
• Sean O'Connell reports that we might see Charlie Cox as Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe again. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that showrunner Steven DeKnight has no idea if Netflix's Daredevil is theoretically part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or not.
  
• Savannah Sanders reports that according to star Tatiana Maslany, the She-Hulk in the upcoming Disney Plus series will be fully CGI. 
• James Hanton reports that Marvel movies are not doing as well as they used to and wonders whether Spider-Man: No Way Home can return the studio to its former heights.
  
• Watch a trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. 

 

Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Choose to Live", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
• Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on "Choose to Live".
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Choose to Live".
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Choose to Live".
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1966 Star Trek two-parter "The Menagerie".
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Unexpected".
  

 

Comments on Nightmare Alley:

• Katie Rife calls Nightmare Alley a stylish but uneven carnival noir. 
  
• Benjamin Lee calls Nightmare Alley a sumptious noir that didn't quite grip him.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past and present:

• Martin Belam shares his thoughts on "The Vanquishers", the series 13 finale of Doctor Who. 
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "The Vanquishers". 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "The Vanquishers". 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "The Vanquishers". 
• Arturo Serrano shares his thoughts on series 13 of Doctor Who and is happy that showrunner Chris Chibnall will be leaving.
  
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on series 13 of Doctor Who.
  
• Rebecca Nicholson interviews Jodie Whittaker who plays the Thirteenth Doctor. 
• Lauren Morris reports that Sony has acquired Bad Wolf, the company producing Doctor Who.
• Watch a trailer for "Eve of the Daleks", the 2022 Doctor Who New Year's Special.
  

 

Comments on season 6 of The Expanse: 

• Zack Handlen declares that season 6 of The Expanse offers the exhilarating mixture of brutal physics, impossible situations and wry humor that the series is known for.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, writers or showrunner of The Expanse. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Keon Alexander who plays Marco Inaros in The Expanse.
  

 

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

• Scott von Doviak shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Flash.
  
• Watch a trailer for Peacemaker.
  

 

Comments on The Wheel of Time (spoilers): 

• Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on "Blood Calls Blood", the latest episode of The Wheel of Time. 
• Sylas K. Barrett shares his thoughts on "Blood Calls Blood".
• Rogues in the House discuss The Wheel of Time.
• Amy Ratcliffe interviews Rafe Judkins, showrunner of The Wheel of Time.
• Denise Petski shares some casting news for season 2 of Wheel of Time.
  

 

Comments on Don't Look Up: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Don't Look Up a laboured apocalyptic satire that fails to be funny. 
• Jesse Hassenger calls Don't Look Up a despairing satire.
  

 

Comments on Chucky:

• Lucy Mangan declares that Chucky is resonant for our times, though based on a film from 1988. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Don Mancini, creator of Chucky. 

 

Awards: 

• The winners of the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced.
• Is Superman Circumcicsed? by Roy Schwartz wins the Diagram Prize for the oddest book title of the year. 
• The 2022 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award finalists have been announced.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Lincoln Michel points out that writing is about the right words, not the most words.
  
• Teresa Dovalpage talks about the balancing act of including non-English passages into English language fiction.
  
• Rosemary Claire Smith explains why writers should make an eligibility post.
  
• Jacqui Lipton discusses copyright and infringement. 
• Elizabeth A. Harris points out that large numbers of social media followers don't necessarily translate into high book sales. 
• Chuck Wendig tackles the question if social media sells books and says "It's complicated".
  
• Alison Flood reports how some UK bookstores use crowdfunding to support themselves during the covid pandemic.
• Alison Flood reports that UK library loan statistics show that some little known authors are unexpectedly popular.

Interviews:

• Paul Weimer interviews Valerie Valdes.
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Xueting Christine Ni.
  

Reviews:

• Leah Schnelbach reviews Network Effect by Martha Wells.
  
• Rob Bedford reviews Fortuna by Kristyn Merbeth. 
• Kat Hooper reviews Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron. 
• Kat Hooper reviews One Good Dragon Deserves Another by Rachel Aaron. 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Becoming by Nora Roberts. 
  
• Martin Cahill reviews Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman. 
  
• Arturo Serrano reviews Shadows of Eternity by Gregory Benford. 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Liar's Knot by M.A. Carrick. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Dinnusos Rises by Tej Turner.
  
• Wendy Chen reviews Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan. 
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews No Beauties or Monsters by Tara Goedjen. 
• J.C. Kang reviews Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Servant of the Lesser Good by Shaun Paul Stevens.
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury. 
  
• Alex Brown reviews Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier. 
• Marion Deeds reviews The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Mem by Bethany C. Morrow. 
• Sarah Lyall reviews The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier. 
• Carolyn Cushman reviews Even and Odd by Sarah Beth Durst and Better Together by Christine Riccio.
  
• Ian Mond reviews People from My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted Goossen.
• Bonnie McDaniel reviews Unchosen by Katharyn Blair. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Dracula - Curse of the Vampire by Jonathan Green and Hauke Kock. 
  
• Samantha Penn reviews House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Sherlock Holmes & Count Dracula - The Classified Dossier Vol 1 by Christian Klaver.
• Bobby Derie reviews Women Who Live Between Worlds by J. Lily Corbie. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Terralight Collection by Pamela Jeffs.
  
• J. Thomas Howard reviews issue 4 of Whetstone.
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Authors of Color by Joy Sanchez-Taylor.

 
Classics reviews:

• Michael Kellermeyer revisits the 1904 ghost story "Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James.
  
• Matthew Pungitore revisits the 1925 horror story "The Festival" by H.P. Lovecraft. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1934 space opera The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson.
  
• M. Porcius revisits the September 1935 issue of Astounding Stories. 
• Joe Kenney revisits Emperor of the Yellow Death, a 1935 novel in The Spider series by Grant Stockbridge a.k.a. Norvell Page.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1937 horror story "The Death of Ilalotha" by Clark Ashton Smith. 
• Bill Ward revisits the 1939 time travel novel Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague De Camp.
• Bill Ward revisits the 1951 sword and planet story "Witch of the Demon Seas" by A.A. Craig a.k.a. Poul Anderson. 
• MarzAat revisits the 1953 science fiction story "Home is the Hunter" by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1954 post-apocalyptic novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
  
• Matthew Sweet revisits the 1961 apocalyptic novel The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. 
  
• Michael Dirda revisits the 1965 science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert.
• David Levinson revisits the January 1967 issue of If - Worlds of Science Fiction.
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the January 1967 issue of Fantastic.
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1975 children's science fiction novel The Day of the Ness by Andre Norton and Michael Gilbert.
• James David Nicoll revisits the 1976 science fiction anthology The Best of If, Volume III, edited by James Baen.
• The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1980 science fantasy novel Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen.
• Brian Evenson revisits the 1983 science fantasy novel The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolf.
  
• Murray Ewing revisits the 1989 folk horror novel Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1992 time travel novel The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1995 science fantasy novel Crown of Stars by C.S. Friedman.
  
• The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1996 sword and sorcery collection Far Away and Never by Ramsey Campbell.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Blazing Blade of Frankenstein, a sword and sorcery comic sequel to Mary Shelley's classic novel, is looking for funding.
• The anthology Luminescent Machinations: Queer Tales of Monumental Invention, edited by Rhiannon Rasmussen and Dave Ring, is looking for funding.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer reports that Andrea Hairston will co-host the Hugo ceremony together with Sheree Renée Thomas at DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon in Washington DC. 
• Mike Glyer reports that DisCon III will have a program stream devoted to African SFF.
  
• DisCon III shares its membership statistics.
  
• Watch a video of the sword and sorcery panel at Windycon in Lombard, Illinois. 
• Mike Glyer reports that Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California, wasted more than 100000 US-dollars defending against the defamation lawsuit of Jon Del Arroz.
  
• Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports that an attendant at the 2021 Anime NYC Conference in New York City tested positive for covid and that other attendants are urged to get tested.   
• Lenny Bernstein, Frances Stead Sellers and Fenit Nirappil report that the attendant of the 2021 Anime NYC Conference who tested positive for covid, infected several others. 
  
• The Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand shares the SFF related programming of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of Arts in Wellington, New Zealand.
• Kenn Bates shares some photos of the Rotsler Awards exhibition at the 2021 Loscon in Los Angeles, California.
• James Bacon reports about the opening of the panel gallery in Northhampton, UK, Britain's first dedicated gallery for comic art.
• James Bacon reports about Smofcon Europe in Lisbon, Portugal.
  
• Smofcon Europe in Lisbon, Portugal, shares the replies of several Worldcon, Eurocon and Smofcon bids to their bidder questionnaires.
• The 2023 Worldcon bid for Winnipeg, Canada, share their replies to the bidder questionnaire.
• Ed Fortune chronicles the race to decide the site of the 2023 Worldcon.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Joey Roulette reports that NASA has announced ten new astronaut candidates.
• The Chinese Yutu 2 moon rover has discovered a mysterious object on the Moon.
  
• The Markup reports that the crime prediction software PredPol, which was supposed to be free of biases, actually perpetuates them.
• Sirin Kale discusses the inner life of cats.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Entanglement, or How I Failed to Knit a Sweater for My Boyfriend" by Carrie Vaughn in Lightspeed.
  
• "Fairy Tales for Robots" by Sofia Samatar in Lightspeed.
  
• "You Are Born Exploding" by Rich Larson in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Vegvísir" by David Goodman in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Missing Dolls Around the World" by Ai Jiang in The Dark. 
• "Warrior Mine" by Masimba Musodza in Omenana.
  
• "A Dragon's Post" by Gabrielle Bleu in Sword and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "To Seek Himself Again" by Marie Croke in Apex Magazine. 
• "24 Reasons You're Dreaming About Your Ex" by Dominica Phetteplace in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "The Plague Puller" by Manish Melwani in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Elemental" by Marlane Quade Cook in Mermaids Monthly.
  
• "Blessing" by Jennifer Lyn Parsons in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "The Old Man and the Angel" by Matt Krizan in Daily Science Fiction
• "Hero" by Frances Koziar in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Winter Peterson Breaks the Wall" by Jonathan Helland in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "The Taste of Miracles" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  
• "Revolt at the North Pole" by Cora Buhlert.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for The Book of Boba Fett.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Matrix: Resurrections.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Raised by Wolves. 
• Watch a trailer for The Pink Cloud.
  
• Watch a trailer for Studio 666.
• Watch a trailer for Hotel Transylvania: Transformania.
• Watch a trailer for Dragons: The Nine Realms.