Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 17, 2023

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2023 Oscars and the remarkable triumph of Everything Everywhere All At Once, Star Trek Picard and Star Trek in general, The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general, the season 1 finale of The Last of Us, the season 1 finale of Poker Face, 65, Shazam! Fure of the Gods, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Mrs. Davis, season 2 of Shadow and Bone, Scream VI, a Nebula Awards uproar, tributes to John Jakes, Robert Blake and Chaim Topol and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy novels.
  
• Tobias Carroll shares indie and small press speculative fiction coming out in March and April 2023.
  
• Horror Spotlight share their favourite horror novels of 2022.
  
• David M. de León explains why multiverses are having a moment right now.
• Alex Brown shares ten post-apocalyptic books to read after The Last of Us. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five stories about young wizards not named Harry Potter.
  
• Rachel Ayers shares even Snow White retellings.
  
• Lee Mandelo discusses the scientific background of his SFF novel Feed Them Silence.
• James Wallace Harris shares ten reasons why he is becoming disillusioned with science fiction.
  
• James Davis Nicoll talks about the tricky art of derivative fiction. 
  
• Jason Ray Carney talks about pulp fiction, Robert E. Howard, sword and sorcery and the value of escapist literature. 
  
• Steven Erickson explains that not all fantasy stems from Tolkien and takes a look at the influence of Robert E. Howard. 
• Deuce Richardson profiles Peter Beresford Ellis a.k.a. Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. 
• Shelf Awareness remembers Suzy McKee Charnas.
  
• Japanese writer and Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe has died aged 88.
  
  

Tributes to John Jakes: 

• John Jakes, prolific author of historical fiction and SFF and creator of Brak the Barbarian, has died aged 90. 
• Robert D. McFadden remembers John Jakes. 
• Mike Barnes remembers John Jakes. 
• Cora Buhlert remembers John Jakes as an SFF writer.

Comics and Art:

• Matt Davis offers an overview of notable comics from February 2023.
• Justin Carter shares the line-up of DC Comics' new Dawn of DC line. 
• Rob Bricken shares DC Comics' plans for pride month. 
• Comic Book Dispatch reviews issue 2 of Masterverse by Tim Seeley, Eddie Nunez, E.J. Su and Victor Santos.
  
• Brad Hawley reviews Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, Vol. 2: It Only Hurts When I Pee by Ben Templesmith 
• Eric Diaz shares a history of Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
  
• Deuce Richardson profiles comics writer Doug Moench. 
• Bill Ward interviews fantasy artist Stefan Poag.
  
• Bill Ward takes a look at the cover art Tanith Lee's works have had over the years.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Paul Levinson calls Press Play a movie that combines two of his favourite things, time travel and music.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Pearl an extraordinary historical slasher horror film.
  
• Camestros Felapton calls Black Crab a tense dystopian war movie that does not explain what is going on. 
• C.T. Phipps calls Underwater a generic horror film. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Dead Bride a turgid haunted house horror.
  
• Cath Clarke calls The Magician's Elephant an unmagical adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's eponymous children's book. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Ark. 
• Benjamin Lee calls Tetris a mostly entertaining movie about the rise of the 1980s computer game.
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls Satan Wants You a fascinating and chilling documentary about the Satanic panic of the 1980s. 
• Hector DeJean talks about the difficulties and detective work required to find good pop culture before the Internet.
  
• Judith Tarr compares the various film adaptations of Who Goes There? a.k.a. The Thing.
  
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1968 Doctor Who serial "The Web of Fear".
• Kris Vyas-Myall and Fiona Moore revisit the 1968 science fiction spy series The Prisoner. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 2007 fantasy series Pushing Daisies.
  
• Chris Broughton interviews Neil Jordan and Micha Bergese, director and one of the stars of the 1984 fairytale film The Company of Wolves.
  
• io9 interviews Billy Crudup, star of Hello Tomorrow!
  
• Michael Hogan interviews several bands and musicians who wrote TV theme songs about their experience. 
• Sam Adams reports that "peak TV" and the golden age of streaming services is over and muses about what will replace it. 
• Director John Boorman is upset that films are mostly shot electronically and no longer on physical celluloid these days.
  
• Louise Griffin reports that a legal dispute about the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf has been resolved.
  
• Helena Horton reports that the BBC will not air a documentary on the decline of British wildlife by Sir David Attenborough for fears of a rightwing backlash. 
• Mark Lawson shares a list of British TV shows that were pulled because of controversies, censorship and other issues. 
• Nellie Andreeva reports that Willow has been cancelled by Disney Plus. 
• Max Goldbart reports that there will be a Doctor Who spin-off featuring UNIT.
  

 

Tributes to Chaim Topol and Robert Blake:

• Actor Robert Blake, the final surviving member of Our Gang as well as star of Baretta and In Cold Blood and accused of murdering his wife in real life, has died aged 89. 
• J. Kingston Pierce remembers Robert Blake. 
• Douglas Martin remembers Robert Blake. 
• Ryan Gilbey shares an obituary for Robert Blake.
  
• Israeli actor Chaim Topol, star of Flash Gordon, For Your Eyes Only and Fiddler on the Roof has died aged 87.  
• Siam Goorwich remembers Chaim Topol. 

 

Comments on Star Trek Picard and Star Trek in general (spoilers): 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "No Win Scenario", the latest episode of Star Trek Picard.
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "No Win Scenario". 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the first four episodes of season 3 of Star Trek Picard.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that Patrick Stewart adlibbed the word "fuck" in "No Win Scenario".
• Samantha Coley interviews Terry Matalas, showrunner of Star Trek Picard. 
• Maggie Lovitt interviews Terry Matalas. 
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1968 Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer". 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Twilight".
  
• Sckylar Gibby-Brown reports about the upcoming Star Trek musical Khan!!! The Muscial!: A Parody Trek-tacular.

 

Comments on The Last of Us:  

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "Look for the Light", the season 1 finale of The Last of Us.
• David Cote shares his thoughts on "Look for the Light".
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "Look for the Light". 
• Theresa DeLucci shares her thoughts on "Look for the Light". 
• Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "Look for the Light". 
  
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Look for the Light". 
• Kyle Anderson shares his thoughts on "Look for the Light". 
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman, showrunners of The Last of Us.
  
• io9 interviews Merle Dandridge who plays Marlene in The Last of Us.
• Cheryl Eddy reports that the season finale of The Last of Us set a ratings record for HBO.
  

 

Comments on season 3 of The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "The Convert", the latest episode of The Mandalorian. 
• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "The Convert".
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "The Convert".
  
• The Hot Ones interviews Pedro Pascal, star of The Mandalorian and The Last of Us.
• Dade Hayes shares the statements of Disney CEO Bob Iger about the future of Marvel and Star Wars. 
  

  

Comments on Everything Everywhere All At Once:

•  Angela Watercutter talks about the history-making multiverse of Everything Everywhere All At Once.
• Michael Zee reports that Everything Everywhere All At Once has passed Return of the King as the most awarded movies ever and that before the Oscars. 
• Ben Child wonders whether Everything Everywhere All At Once will open the doors for more SFF films to be nominated for and win Oscars.   
  

 

Comments on 65: 

• Benjamin Lee calls 65 an almost fun enough time travel thriller with dinosaurs and Adam Driver.
• Manuel Betancourt calls 65 a prehistoric survival thriller that takes itself too seriously for its cool but silly premise. 
• Matt Donato calls 65 a movie about a space dad fighting dinosaurs.
  

 

Comments on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: 

• Owen Gleiberman calls Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves an irresistable mash-up of everything that inspired the eponymous RPG. 
• Lex Bricuso calls Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves a hilarious fantasy epic and a total blast. 
• Lovia Gyarkye calls Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves a buoyant and accessible adaptation of the eponymous game.
  
• Brian Tallerico declares that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will probably appeal more to fans of the game than to general audiences.
  
• Justin Carter shares early reactions to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
  
• Adam B. Vary interviews Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, writers and directors of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
• Katherine Schaffstall interviews Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.
  

 

Comments on Shazam! Fury of the Gods: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Shazam! Fury of the Gods a fun and zetsy superhero movie that doesn't quite manage to break the formula. 
• Matthew Jackson calls Shazam! Fury of the Gods a sequel that rarely takes flight.
  
• Chris Godfrey interviews Djimon Hounsou, who appears in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, several Marvel movies, Blood Diamond and many others.
  

 

 Comments on Poker Face: 

• Saloni Gajjar declares that Poker Face ends its first season in a blaze of glory.
• Justin Hairston offers a road map of season 1 of Poker Face.
• Camestros Felapton ranks the episodes of season 1 of Poker Face.
  

 

Comments on Mrs. Davis:

• James Hibberd calls Mrs. Davis a perfectly timed warning about AI madness. 
• Jacob Hall calls Mrs. Davis the most audacious new science fiction series since Westworld.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Shadow and Bone: 

• Sarah Shaffi declares that season 2 of Shadow and Bone has less filler and more characters and plot than season 1. 
• Linda Codega declares that season 2 of Shadow and Bone is full of melodrama.
• Linda Codega interviews Ben Barnes who plays General Kirigan in Shadow and Bone. 
  
• Linda Codega interviews Patrick Gibson who plays Prince Nikolai in Shadow and Bone. 

 

Comments on Scream VI: 

• J.R. Forasteros notes that the Scream series has run out of things to parody and has to venture into new territory with Scream VI.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and producer Chad Villella,
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Scream VI is about to have a record-breaking opening weekend.
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2022 Aurealis Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2023 Kurd Laßwitz Preis have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 SERAPH have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2022 Australian Romance Readers Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Lambda Literary Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2022 Japan Grand SF Prize have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award have been announced. 
• The longlist for the 2023 International Booker Prize has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Razzie Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Academy Awards have been announced with lots of love for Everything Everywhere All At Once and some love for crappy WWI dramas.
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2023 Oscar winners.
  
• Rob Bricken shares 35 nerdy Oscar nominated movies that failed to win Best Picture.
• Steve Rose talks about several cases where Oscars were sold or stolen.
  
• Mike Glyer reports about a minor kerfuffle surrounding the Nebula Award nominations. 
• Camestros Felapton reports about the Nebula Awards uproar.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• J.A. Jance talks about creating believable characters.
  
• Connor Sullivan talks about the joys of researching your next novel. 
• Frederick Weisel explains what he learned from book clubs reading his books. 
• Jason Sanford discusses the devastating impact that Amazon ending Kindle Newsstand could have on genre magazines. 
• Neil Clarke weighs in on the impending end of Kindle Newsstand. 
• Theo Downes-Le Guin reports that a few words in the children's books written by his mother Ursula K. Le Guin have been altered. 
  
• Lucy Knight explains what sensitivity readers really do.
  
• Zoe Dubno claims that publishers are using sensitivity readers to protect their bottom lines.
  
• Jennifer Schuessler shares tips from rare book librarians for handling rare and valuable books.
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the perfect café for writers.
• Sarah Shaffi reports that Filippo Bernadini, who stole several unpublished manuscripts, just wanted to read the books before anybody else did. 
• Curtis Evans remembers Rupert Heath, the late publisher of Dean Street Press.  

 

Interviews:

• Lisa O'Kelly interviews Margaret Atwood.
• Johny Pitts interviews Margaret Atwood.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Walter Jon Williams.
  
• The HWA interviews Rachel Harrison.
• Locus interviews Nisi Shawl.
  
• Marco della Cava interviews James Patterson.
  
• The HWA interviews Jo Kaplan. 
• Mayookh Barua interviews P.H. Low. 
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Robert Poyton.
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Jack Massa.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Brian Collins.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Petréa Mitchell.
  
• Locus interviews Jake Brown.
  

Reviews:

• Adrian Collins reviews The Ascendancy War by Richard Swan.
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews Meru by S.B. Divya. 
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Noumenon Infinity by Marina Lostetter 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone.  
• Becky LeJeune reviews The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone. 
  
• D.M. Ritzlin reviews Track of the Snow Leopard by Dariel R.A. Quiogue
• Runalong the Shelves reviews A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson. 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon 
  
• Maya C. James reviews Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra
• Marlene Harris reviews The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
  
• Mark Yon reviews The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Tuyo by Rachel Neumeier.
  
• Robin Marx reviews The Viking Gael Saga by J.T.T. Ryder. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
• Alex Brown reviews Soul of the Deep by Natasha Bowen
  
• Rai Furniss-Greasley reviews A Shade of Madness by Thiago Abdalla 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Grave Things Like Love by Sara Bennett Wealer
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Beautiful Shining People by Michael Grothaus. 
• Percy Zvomuya reviews Dazzling by Chikodili Emelumadu
• Adrienne Martini reviews Illuminations by T. Kingfisher
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace.
  
• Ian Mond reviews Empathy by Hoa Pham
• Tobais Carroll reviews Hospital by Han Song, translated by Michael Berry.
  
• Laura Miller reviews Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton. 
• Kelly Lasiter, Skye Walker and Marion Deeds review Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling.
  
• John Mauro reviews Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward.
  
• C.T. Phipps reviews The Last Ritual by S.A. Sidor.  
• Jennie Ivins reviews Tethered Spirits by T.A. Hernandez.  
• Wen-yi Lee reviews She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran.
• Colin Grant reviews Fire Rush by Jacqueline Brooks.
  
• Miles Reid-Lobato reviews Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories by Eric LaRocca
• Arley Sorg reviews New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, edited by Nisi Shawl.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Eclectic Dreams - The Milford Anthology, edited by J.W. Anderson, Pete W. Sutton and Liz Williams
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Unquiet Spirits - Essays by Asian Women in Horror, edited by Lee Murray and Angela Yuriko Smith
  

Classics reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1908 collection Japanese Fairy Tales, edited and translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki
• Bobby Derie revisits the 1927 horror story The Last Horror by Eli Colter.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1929 space opera story "The Star Stealers" by Edmond Hamilton.
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1948 post-apocalyptic story "Quis custodiet...?2 by Margaret St. Clair and the 1955 post-apocalyptic story "Patterns for Survival" by Richard Matheson.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1955 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Road of Eagles" by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague De Camp.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1961 speculative fiction collection A Cupful of Space by Mildred Clingerman.
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1962 space opera novel The Super Barbarians by John Brunner.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1967 horror novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin.
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1967 science fantasy novel Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny and the 1968 heist novel Easy Go by John Lange a.k.a. Michael Crichton, Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1968 science fiction novels Out of the Sun by Ben Bova, The God Machine by Martin Caidin, The Reefs of Earth by R.A. Lafferty and The Final Programme by Michael Moorcock and Gideon Marcus revisits the 1968 science fiction novels The Youth Monopoly by Ellen Wobig and The Pictures of Pavanne by Lan Wright. 
  
• Bill Ward revisits the 1982 sword and sorcery collection Cyrion by Tanith Lee.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer reports that the furry convention Fur the More in Arlington, Virginia, has banned an unnamed individual for Code of Conduct violations.
  
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the latest edition of the Fantastic Fiction at the KGB Bar reading series, featuring Scott Lynch and Elizabeth Bear, in New York City. 
• Arturo Serrano reports about the 2023 conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs in Seattle, Washington.
• Sarah Shaffi shares the line-up of the 2023 Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
  
• Sarah Shaffi reports that the 2023 Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, will host the inaugural Eurovision Books Contest.
• Arifa Akbar calls the play Good Day by Daniel Bainbridge and Cam Scriven, which is currently playing in London, UK, a sleek science fiction romantic comedy. 
• Cheryl Eddy reports about Escape It, a new Stephen King themed escape room attraction in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
• Ryan Scott reports about some prototypes for the Disney theme parks shown at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.
  
• Sabina Graves shares the latest news from the various Disney Parks, Universal Studios Resorts and other US theme parks.  
• Rolly Crump who designed many of the attractions at Disneyland, has died aged 93. 

 

Crowdfunding:

• Swords in the Shadows, a sword and sorcery horror anthology edited by Cullen Bunn, is looking for funding.
  
• Small Wonder Magazine, a magazine of speculative flash fiction and poetry, is looking for funding.
  
• Wilted Pages: An Anthology of Dark Academia, edited by Ai Jiang and Christi Nogle, is looking for funding.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Elisha Sauers reports that NASA's Orion spacecraft was damaged during reentry following the Artemis I mission.
• Diana Logan reports that an official US government report does not rule out the possibility of an alien mothership hiding out somewhere in the solar system.
  

Free online fiction: 

• "The Final Girl's Daughter" by Ray Cluley in The Dark.
• "Vacancy for Vengeance" by Liam Hall in Wyngraf Magazine. 
• "Homecoming Gift" by Cora Buhlert in Wyngraf Magazine. 
• "Passings On" by Geoff Hart in Wyngraf Magazine.
  
• "Made for Better Days" by Jonathan Olfert in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "The Will of the God of Music" by P.H. Low in Fantasy Magazine.
• "Beautiful Poison in Pastel" by Beth Dawkins in Apex Magazine. 
  
• "To Put Your Heart Into a White Deer" by Kristiana Willsey in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "Bek, Ascendant" by Shari Paul in Clarkesworld.
  
• "The Spoil Heap" by Fiona Moore in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Found in a Hidden Cavern" by Colleen Anderson in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly. 
• "Alone" by E.M. Gaucher in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "The Watching Astronaut" by Wendy Nikel in Small Wonders.
  
• "The In-Between" by James Patrick Kelly in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "The Dark House" by A.C. Wise in Tor.com.
  
• "Terms of Service" by Dominica Phetteplace in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Our Exquisite Delights" by Megan Chef in Lightspeed. 
• "Contracting Iris" by Peter Watts in Lightspeed.
  
• "Fashion and the Snarkmeisters" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for American Born Chinese. 
• Watch a trailer for Mrs. Davis. 
• Watch a trailer for Chupa. 
• Watch a trailer for Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Little Mermaid. 
• Watch a trailer for Shin Masked Rider.
  
• Watch a trailer for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.
• Watch a trailer for Ninja vs. Shark.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Super Mario Bros Movie.