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 2022, the discussion surrounding the rise of AI writing and art bots and the spamming of SFF magazines with AI-generated submissions, edits to the works of Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming, SFF writer Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki being refused entry into the US, edits Star Trek Picard and Star Trek in general, The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, The Last of Us, Poker Face, We Have a Ghost, Children of the Corn, Cocaine Bear, Squid Game: The Challenge and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Cheryl Eddy shares 55 new science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out in March.
- Natalie Zutter shares SFF books coming out in March.
- Alex Brown shares all the YA SFF books coming out in March and April.
- Molly Odintz shares eleven new SFF books that crime fiction fans will enjoy.
- Adri Joy and Joe Sherry discuss the 2022 Locus Recommended Reading List.
- Adrian Collins explains where to start reading dark fantasy.
- Scott Oden attempts to define sword and sorcery.
- New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine hosts a sword and soul roundtable with Milton J. Davis, Kirk A. Johnson and Sarah Macklin.
- Diane Callahan attempts to define a new fantasy subgenre which she calls curio fiction.
- Alex North talks about fictional forbidden texts.
- Holly Kybett Smith shares ten horror stories featuring haunted corridors and sinister spaces.
- Samantha Hind talks about plantlife in contemporary science fiction.
- Judy I. Lin shares five fantasy books to pair with a good cup of tea.
- G.W. Thomas celebrates one hundred years of Weird Tales.
- M.C. Tuggle finds some unexpected parallels between Robert E. Howard and Ernest Hemingway.
- Bradley K. McDevitt profiles August Derleth.
- Steve Vertlieb remembers Richard Matheson.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five works by Robert A. Heinlein with female protagonists.
- Sean Doolittle talks about writing a thriller about technology.
- Zoje Stage talks about unreliable narrators.
- Shaun Duke discusses the differences between fan fiction and tie-in fiction.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five extremely unscientific methods for picking your next read.
- Molly Templeton points out that you don't have to finish every book you start.
- Bridget McGovern declares that audiobooks have slowly taken over her life and that she loves it.
- Sarah Shaffi reports that some recently rediscovered stories Terry Pratchett wrote under the pen name Patrick Kearns will be republished.
Comments on the flooding of Clarkesworld and other SFF magazines with AI spam:
- Benj Edwards reports about the closure of Clarkesworld to submissions due to being flooded with AI spam.
- Front Row interviews Neil Clarke, editor of Clarkesworld.
- Mia Sato reports about the flood of AI-generated spam stories that have been deluging several SFF magazines.
- Jason Sanford weighs in on the flood of AI generated submissions to SFF magazines.
- Jetse de Vries points out - with examples - that AI generated art produces derivative drivel.
- Jack Doyle attempts to break down the ChatGPT controversy.
- Kari Paul reports that ChatGPT cannot create crochet patterns that make sense either.
- RPG publisher Paizo has declared that they will not use AI generated art or text in their products.
Comments on Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki being refused entry into the US:
- Mike Glyer reports that Nigerian SFF author Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki has been detained at Los Angeles airport on his way to the NAACP Image Awards ceremony.
- Mike Glyer reports that Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki has been sent back to Nigeria.
- Mike Glyer reports that Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki has arrived safely in Nigeria.
Comments on the edits to Roald Dahl's and Ian Fleming's works:
- Richard Charkin speaks out against the alterations of Roald Dahl's works.
- Sarah Shaffi and Lucy Knight report that the publisher of Roald Dahl's works will also release a sixteen book collection of unaltered "classic" edition of Dahl's works.
- Joanne O'Sullivan reports that other European publishers have no plans to change the texts of various of Roald Dahl's works.
- Dalya Alberge reports that according to his friend artist Francis Bacon, Roald Dahl threatened everybody who altered his books without authorisation with being gobbled up by an enormous crocodile.
- Naman Ramachandran reports that the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming have been edited to remove racist terms and references as well.
- Sarah Shaffi also reports about the edits to the James Bond novel by Ian Fleming.
- J. Kingston Pierce discusses the edits to the James Bond novels and wonders if this is what Ian Fleming would have wanted.
- John Cork shares his thoughts on the edited seventieth anniversary editions of the James Bond novels.
- Frank Cottrell-Boyce declare that the fact that fewer children are reading at all is a much bigger problem than edits to Roald Dahl's books.
Best of 2022:
Comics and Art:
- Leonard Pierce reviews the graphic novel The Exile by Erik Kriek.
- C.T. Phipps reviews the graphic novel Miskatonic by Mark Sable and Giorgio Pontrelli.
- Brad Hawley reviews the graphic novel Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (Volume 1): Birds, Bees, Blood and Beer by Ben Templesmith.
- Rachel Cooke reviews the graphic novel We're All Just Fine by Ana Penyas.
- G.W. Thomas recounrs the lengthy history of Flash Gordon in the comics.
- The PorPor Books Blog revisits the 1971 fantasy graphic novel Blackmark by Gil Kane.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1994 comic series Aldebaran by Léo, translated by Luke Spear.
- Deuce Richardson remembers SFF artist Roy G. Krenkel.
- Linda Codega reports that Kris Kashtanova was refused copyright for their AI-generated comic Zarya of the Dawn.
- Jon Passantino and Oliver Darcy report that the Dilbert comic strip as well as several books by Dilbert creator Scott Adams have been dropped by the distributor and publisher, after Adams engaged in racist rants.
Film and TV:
- Ann Lee explains why Everything Everywhere All At Once should win the Oscar for Best Picture.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Ark.
- Kieran Fisher explains why Robert E. Howard's Conan of Cimmeria is ideal for a TV adaptation and why the proposed Red Sonja movie could serve as a gateway.
- Steve Rose tries to persuade people that Avatar: The Way of Water should win the Best Picture Oscar.
- Allie Volpe and Cristel Russell explain why people rewatch TV shows.
- Chris Heasman shares the twelve coolest spaceships from science fiction movies.
- Alax Pappademas profiles Chris Pine, star of the Wonder Woman movies, the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, The Contractor, I Am the Night and many others.
- Cheryl Eddy interviews Maya Siegel, production designer for Hello, Tomorrow!
- Sabina Graves interviews Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, director of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
- Jon Burlingame interviews legendary film composer John Williams.
- Script Apart interviews Mike Flanagan, director of The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass.
- Michael Schulman recounts Stephen Spielberg's troubles making Jaws.
- Lee Weinstein revisits the 1938 science fiction serial Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1942 horror film Cat People and its 1982 remake.
- Martin Edwards revisits the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place.
- Ayomikum Adekaiyero reports that Dame Helen Mirren does not quite understand the plot of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, even though she plays the main villain in it.
- Pierra Willix reports that the BBC, ITV and Netflix no longer require actresses to wear corsets when filming period dramas, because some actresses complained about ill-fitting corsets causing pain.
- Charles Bramesco explains why film preservation needs to be prioritised.
- Aaron Couch and Borys Kit report that Warner Bros is planning to make new Lord of the Rings movies, whether anybody wants them or not.
- Deuce Richardson remembers Raquel Welch.
- Disney animator Burny Mattinson has died aged 87.
- Stuntman and actor Ricou Browning, who played the Gill-Man in The Creature from the Black Lagoon and also appeared in Thunderball, Never Say Never Again, Sea Hunt and Flipper, has died aged 93.
Comments on Star Trek Picard and Star Trek in general (spoilers):
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Disengage", the latest episode of season 3 of Star Trek Picard.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Disengage".
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "Disengage".
- Rob Bricken declares that the big twist at the end of "Disengage" has been set up for a long time.
- Nick Romano interviews Terry Matalas, showrunner of Star Trek Picard.
- io9 interviews Michelle Hurd who plays Raffi Muziker in Star Trek Picard.
- Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek Picard, talks about the premiere of season 3 and how the Next Generation cast has always felt like family to him.
- Charlie Jane Anders shares seven hot takes about Star Trek.
- Galactic Journey revisits the 1968 Star Trek episode "By Any Other Name".
- Jonathan Alexandratos revisits the Star Trek Deep Space Nine premiere "Emissary".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Exile"
Comments on The Last of Us:
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "Left Behind", the latest episode of The Last of Us.
- David Cote shares his thoughts on "Left Behind".
- Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "Left Behind".
- Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "Left Behind".
- Nick Romano interviews Storm Reid who plays Riley in The Last of Us.
Comments on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers):
- Camestros Felapton calls Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania a bit dull.
- Leah Schnelbach shares a not entirely serious conversation in which Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Terrence Malick and Brain De Palma discuss Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
- Rich Pelley and readers of The Guardian interview Michael Douglas who plays Hank Pym in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
- Brian Davids interviews Jeff Loveness, writer of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
- Germain Lussier interviews Jeff Loveness.
- Mary Kate Carr reports that Jeff Loveness was upset about the bad reviews Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania received.
- Germain Lussier explains how the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania post-credits scene was created.
- Inspired by the backlash against Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Gavia Baker-Whitelaw wonders how bad Marvel movies have to get before people stop watching.
- Alex Abad-Santos declares that Marvel is in a rut.
- Ben Child wonders whether Disney is spreading its Marvel and Star Wars ourput too thin.
Comments on season 3 of The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general:
- Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "The Apostate", the latest episode of The Mandalorian.
- Jack Seale shares his thoughts on "The Apostate".
- Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "The Apostate".
- Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "The Apostate".
- James Whitbrook talks about an Easter egg in "The Apostate".
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw discusses how the character of Cara Dune was written out of The Mandalorian, after actress Gina Carano was fired because of repeated offensive remarks.
- Molly Edwards interviews Jon Favreau, creator and showrunner of The Mandalorian.
- Germain Lussier interviews Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, showrunners of The Mandalorian.
- Germain Lussier interviews Dave Filoni.
- Anthony Breznican interviews Jon Favreau and reports about a visit to the set of The Mandalorian.
- Germain Lussier wonders about the timeline of The Mandalorian.
Comments on We Have a Ghost:
Comments on Children of the Corn:
Comments on Cocaine Bear:
- Charles Pulliam-Moore calls Cocaine Bear a movie that doesn't take anything seriously except being ridiculous.
- Lauren Coates declares that Cocaine Bear does exactly what it says on the tin.
- Zack Sharf shares the true story behind Cocaine Bear.
Comments on problems with Squid Game: The Challenge:
Awards:
- The final ballot for the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2023 Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2022 Ursa Major Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2022 Clarkesworld Reader's Poll have been announced.
- The first round nominations for the 2023 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2023 Premio Vegetti has been announced.
- The nominations for the 2022 Vincent Preis and the 2022 Rein A. Zondergeld Award have been announced.
- The winners of the 2022 Altísmo and Aspasia Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2023 Audie Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 SAG Awards have been announced with lots of love for genre film and TV.
- The winners of the 2023 Producers Guild Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Annie Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Golden Reel Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Golden and Silver Bears have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2023 Olivier Awards have been announced with lots of love for a stage adaptation of Hayao Miyasaki's My Neighbour Totoro.
- Nominations for the 2023 Hugo Awards are open.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Sarah Shaffi shares writing tips from bestselling British authors.
- Victoria Strauss shares red flags to watch out for in publishing contracts.
- Keith Roysdon wonders what makes used bookstores so wonderful.
- Ellie Violet Bramley explains how customers are saving bookshops in the UK.
- Georgia Valdez reports about the grand opening of the bookstore Octavia's Bookshelf in Altadena, California.
- BookRiot also reports about the opening of Octavia's Bookshelf.
- Sarah Shaffi reports that public spending on British libraries has fallen, even as in person visits of have soared.
- Ron Charles reports that the Vermont State University is planning to get rid of all physical books in its library.
- Anne Wallace Allen reports about protests against the Vermont State University's plans.
Interviews:
- Lillian Boyd interviews Premee Mohamed.
- Media Death Cult interviews Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
- Scott Edelman interviews Jennifer R. Povey.
- Runalong the Shelves interviews Louise Carey.
- Pitchfork Economics interviews Kim Stanley Robinson.
- Runalong the Shelves interviews Francesca T. Barbini.
- Mark Finn interviews Oliver Brackenbury.
- Oliver Brackenbury interviews Matthew X. Gomez.
- The HWA interviews Paula D. Ashe.
- Christie Yant interviews Malda Marlys.
- Robert Justice interviews Esme Addison.
- D.M. Ritzlin interviews Jon Zaremba.
Reviews:
- Adrian Collins reviews Reclamation by Richard Swan
- Fiona Denton reviews Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry.
- Maya C. James reviews Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
- Blue Book Balloon reviews A Wild and True Relation by Kim Sherwood
- Alex Brown reviews The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Jackal by Erin E. Adams.
- Alex Brown reviews Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Jaguar Path by Anna Stephens.
- Adrienne Martini reviews The Origin of Storms by Elizabeth Bear
- Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews Karma of the Sun by Brandon Ying Kit Boey
- Mark Yon reviews The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan.
- Marion Deeds reviews The Eidolon by K.D. Edwards.
- Maura Krause reviews Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
- Marlene Harris reviews The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry.
- Vanessa Armstrong reviews The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Iron Children by Rebecca Fraimow.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
- Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
- J.C. Kang reviews Pawn's Gambit by Rob J. Hayes.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Scarlet Circus by Jane Yolen
- Matt Davis reviews Fire Warrior by Simon Spurrier.
- Paul Kincaid reviews Cold Water by Dave Hutchinson
- Liz Bourke reviews Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes.
- Neil McRobert reviews The Deluge by Stephen Markley.
- Bridget Flanagan reviews City of Nightmares by Renecca Schaeffer.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews Victory City by Salman Rushdie
- Ian Mond reviews How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Wait for Me by Sara Shepard
- John Mauro reviews The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw.
- Bill Ward reviews A Book of Blades, edited by Matthew John.
- Natalie Zutter reviews Moira's Pen by Megan Whalen Turner.
- Sam Leith reviews Old Babes in the Woods by Margaret Atwood.
- Arturo Serrano reviews Muneera and the Moon, Stories Inspired by Palestinian Folklore by Sonia Sulaiman.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Song of the Mango and Other New Myths by Vida Cruz-Borja
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Turning of the Seasons - A Dark Almanac by JS Breukelaar and Seb Doubinsky
- Paul Di Filippo reviews High Concepts by Bill Pronzini
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Best of Catherynne M. Valente: Volume One by Catherynne M. Valente
- Deborah Hopkinson reviews A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak.
Classics reviews:
- Paperback Warrior revisits the 1933 horror novel Murgunstrumm by Hugh B. Cave
- Paperback Warrior revisits the 1935 Conan sword and sorcery story "Shadows in the Moonlight" by Robert E. Howard.
- David Owen revisits the 1958 children's science fiction novel Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1959 science fiction novel The World Swappers by John Brunner.
- Mark Yon revisits the March 1968 issue of New Worlds.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the March 1968 issue of Analog.
- David Levinson revisits the April 1968 issue of If - Worlds of Science Fiction.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1977 science fiction novel Midnight at the Well of Souls by Jack L. Chalker.
- The PorPor Books Blog revisits the 1979 Morgaine science fantasy novel Fires of Azeroth by C.J. Cherryh.
- Michael Swanwick revisits the 1980 lesbian love story On Strike Against God by Joanna Russ.
- Mark Lawrence revisits the 1984 heroic fantasy novel Legend by David Gemmell.
- M. Porcius revisits the 1984 science fiction novel The Ceres Solution by Bob Shaw.
- James Maliszweski revisits the June 1985 issue of White Dwarf.
- Roseanna Pendlebury and Elizabeth Fitzgerald revisit the 1995 YA fantasy Sabriel and its sequels Lirael and Abhorsen by Garth Nix.
Con and event reports:
- Nicholas Whyte shares his experiences as well as many photos of the 2023 Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles, California.
- The 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, China, informs members that the People's Republic of China has a 144-hour transit visa exception for travellers from certain countries,
- Germain Lussier explains why big media cons like San Diego Comic Con or Star Wars Celebration cannot livestream all their programming.
- Watch a panel about Hopepunk and optimistic futures from the virtual TBRCon.
- Kit Stubbs announces that Wiscon in Madison, Wisconsin, will take a break in 2024.
- The line-up for the 2023 New York Science Fiction Film Festival in New York City has been announced.
- Rob Bricken shares the line-up for the decentralised 2023 Ghibli Fest.
- Sarah Shaffi reports about the #MerkyBooks literature festival in London, UK, which is intended to inspire young creatives.
- Will Higginbotham talks about a trip to the Oxford of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
- Sam Anderson reports about their visit to Ghibli Park in Aichi, Japan, and how it differs from western theme parks.
- Vanessa Armstrong reports that Rogers: The Musical, the fake Broadway musical seen in the Hawkeye TV series, will come to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as an actual performance.
- Linda Codega reports about the Stranger Things stage play, which will debut in London, UK, later this year.
Crowdfunding:
Gaming:
- Alyssa Shotwell breaks down the controversy surrounding the videogame Atomic Heart.
- Carina Perreira shares eight cozy videogames that feel like reading a book.
- A. Martinez interviews Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto
- C.T. Phipps reviews the roleplaying game Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Masks of Nyarlathotep
Science and technology:
- Hannah Devlin reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has found evidence of ancient universe breaker galaxies.
- Brian Wang reports that Blue Origin is manufacturing solar cells from a simulation of lunar regolith in preparation for building a moon base from materials found on the Moon.
- Daniel Lavelle profiles theoretical physicist Ronald Mallett whose career was determined by trying to build a time machine to travel back to 1955 to save his father who died when Mallett was 10.
- Ed Pilkington reports that a giant lacewing, an insect thought extinct, has been found alive on the wall of a Walmart in Arkansas.
- Michael Levenson reports that a black fungus that feeds on alcohol fumes from the Jack Daniels whiskey distilllery is overgrowing trees and buildings in the Lincoln and Moore counties of Tennessee.
Free online fiction:
- "The Pyre of Laros" by Rab Foster in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "The Heavenly Dreams of Mechanical Trees" by Wendy Nikel in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "The Way Spring Arrives" by Wang Nuonuo, translated by Rebecca F. Kuang, in Tor.com
- "The Wreck of the Medusa" by Jordan Kurella in Apex Magazine.
- "Every Little Change" by Aimee Ogden in Lightspeed.
- "Crystalline" by Daniel H. Wilson in Lightspeed.
- "Jack O'Wraiths" by Phil Emery in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.
- "Ask a Necromancer" by Amanda Downum in The Deadlands.
- "Love in the Season of the New Dance" by Bo Balder in Clarkesworld.
- "A Princess With a Nose Three Ells Long" by Malda Marlys in Fantasy Magazine.
- "Prospect Heights" by Maureen McHugh in Uncanny Magazine.
- "To the Mean" by Rick Wilber in The Sunday Morning Transport.
- "Locavore" by Kim Harbridge in Strange Horizons.
- "Controlling the Sword" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Trailers and videos:
- Watch a trailer for Peter Pan and Wendy.
- Watch a trailer for Haunted Mansion.
- Watch a trailer for Monolith.
- Watch a trailer for Mrs. Davis.
- Watch a trailer for Agent Elvis.
- Watch a trailer for Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku.
- Watch a trailer for Attack on Titan: The Final Season.
- Watch a trailer for The Blackening.
Odds and ends:
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