It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with more on the discussion surrounding the rise of AI writing and art bots, Star Trek Picard and Star Trek in general, The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general, The Last of Us, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, 65, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and the mess that is the DC Cinematic Universe, season 2 of Shadow and Bone, season 2 of Yellowjackets, Scream VI, tributes to Lance Reddick and Dina Norlund and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Kali Wallace wishes that there were more space horror.
- Paul Weimer talks about fantasy set beyond the walls of Europe.
- S.I. Rosenbaum explains why the multiverse can be a dangerously seductive idea.
- James Davis Nicoll lists five SFF authors he wishes had written more.
- Malka Older shares her five favourite comfort reads.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five vintage science fiction tales set in the asteroid belt.
- Martin MacInnes shares his ten favourite books about scientists searching for answer, including many science fiction novels.
- Brian J. Morra talks about a series of little known crisises that brought the world to the edge of nuclear war in 1983 and how fears about nuclear war were reflected in 1980s pop culture.
- Phoebe Wagner shares five SFF books about radical communities.
- Marion Deeds shares her five favourite fantasy heists.
- Fabienne Schwizer shares a list of SFF novels inspired by classic mythology.
- Gerardo Sámano Córdova talks about the relationship between horror and the body.
- Molly Templeton wonders how we know what dragons look like and where our ideas what dragons look like come from.
- Kevin Dickinson declares that surrounding yourself with books you haven't read and probably won't ever read can still be beneficial.
- Cole Rush declares that nothing makes him read faster than an underwhelming book.
- Jason Kehe attempts to profile Brandon Sanderson and manages to perform a hatchet job instead.
- Bradley K. McDevitt profiles Algernon Blackwood.
- Lila Shapiro profiles Kelly Link.
- Blair Crawford reports about the illness of MaryAnn Harris, wife of Charles de Lint.
- Steve Holland shares an obituary for Christopher Fowler.
- Locus remembers John Jakes.
- Eric Brown, writer of science fiction, mysteries and children's books as well as reviewer and critic has died aged 62.
Comics and Art:
- The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog reviews Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely.
- Bill Ward takes a look at the many different covers the works of J.R.R. Tolkien have had over the years.
- Jacob Kastrenakes reports that Adobe has developed its own AI image generator and claims not to have stolen artists' work to train it.
- Norwegian comic artist Dina Norlund has died aged only 27.
- Joe Grunenwald remembers Dina Norlund.
Film and TV:
- Tyler Dean declares that the second and final season of Carnival Row proves that being overly ambitious is better than playing it safe.
- Leila Latif calls Agent Elvis a hilarious and foul-mouthed animated adventure.
- Peter Bradshaw calls Infinity Pool an unnerving holiday horror and praises the performance of Mia Goth.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on The Lazarus Project.
- Peter Bradshaw calls The Five Devils a disquieting and intriguingly weird movie about a little girl with a sense of super smell.
- Cath Clarke calls The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future a thoughtful magical realist fable from Chile.
- Camestros Felapton compares the 1990s superhero animated series X-Men and Batman: The Animated Series.
- Cheryl Eddy shares ten horror movies that were inspired by true crimes.
- Cheryl Eddy interviews Amie Donald, star of M3GAN.
- Ryan Gilbey interviews Alexander Skarsgard, star of True Blood, The Northman, Big Little Lies, War on Everyone and many others.
- Dalya Alberge interviews Sir Derek Jacobi, British actor who played the Master in Doctor Who, starred in the Brother Cadfael mysteries and many others.
- Max Goldbart interviews Lisa Joy, co-creator of Westworld.
- Dad-at-Arms interviews Bryan Q. Miller, head writer of the CGI He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated TV show.
- Charles Bramesco profiles showman and horror film director Tod Browning.
- Molly Templeton reports that the Willow TV show might not be cancelled after all.
- Linda Codega also reports that according the writer and producer Jon Kasdan, Willow is not cancelled after all.
- Julie MacCarry reports that the frequent cancellations of TV shows on streaming services is altering viewer behaviour and makes viewers less likely to give a new show a chance for fear that it will only be cancelled.
- Lucy Clark reports that Sam Neill, who appeared in the Jurassic Park movies, Merlin, The Hunt for Red October, Event Horizon, Peaky Blinders and many others, is suffering from stage 3 blood cancer.
- Lucy Clark interviews Sam Neill.
- Borys Kit and Aaron Couch report that long-serving executive producer Victoria Alonso is leaving Marvel Studios.
- Actor Paul Grant, who appeared in Return of the Jedi, the Harry Potter movies, Labyrinth, Legend, Willow and many others has died aged only 56.
- Comics and animation writer Michael Reaves, who worked on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Real Ghostbusters, Transformers, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series and many others, has died aged 72.
Tributes to Lance Reddick:
Comments on Star Trek Picard and Star Trek in general (spoilers):
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thought on "Imposters", the latest episode of Star Trek Picard.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Imposters".
- Samatha Coley interviews Terry Matalas, showrunner of Star Trek Picard.
- Ted Anthony reports that some people are upset that Patrick Stewart uttered the f-word in Star Trek Picard.
- Galactic Journey revisits the 1968 Star Trek episode "Bread and Circuses".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "North Star".
Comments on The Last of Us:
Comments on season 3 of The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general:
- Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "The Foundling", the latest episode of The Mandalorian.
- Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "The Foundling".
- Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "The Foundling".
- James Whitbrook discusses a notable cameo in "The Foundling".
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on The Mandalorian episode "The Convert".
- Inspired by "The Convert", Rob Bricken wonders why Luke Skywalker and friends defeated the Empire for a barely better New Republic.
- Brian Davids interviews Benjamin Caron, director of Sharper and Andor.
- Molly Templeton shares the latest news on proposed Star Wars movies that may or may not happen.
Comments on 65:
Comments on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves:
- C.T. Phipps calls Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but recognizably and explicitly Dungeons and Dragons
- Watch a trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Comments on Shazam! Fury of the Gods and the mess that is the DC Cinematic Universe:
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Shazam! Fury of the Gods needs more joy and less bad mythology.
- Brian Lowry declares that Shazam! Fury of the Gods can't catch lightning in a bottle twice.
- Rob Bricken discusses the post-credits scenes of Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
- Germain Lussier interviews David F. Sandberg, director of Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
- Martina Rebecca Inchingolo interviews Adam Brody, who plays one of the Shazam family superheroes in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
- Armando Tinoco reports that David F. Sandberg, director of Shazam! Fury of the Gods was shocked by the negative reception the film received and will no longer direct superhero movies.
- Scott Campbell reports that Zachary Levi, who plays Shazam in Shazam! Fury of the Gods called out the toxic and overly negative "Snyderverse" fans for attacking the film.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also reports about the toxic discourse and fandom infighting affecting Shazam! Fury of the Gods and its cast and crew.
- Scott Mendelson and Umberto Gonzalez report that Dwayne Johnson vetoed Shazam focussed post-credits scene for Black Adam and thus likely harmed both Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Zachary Levi confirms that Dwayne Johnson did not want a Shazam post-credits scene to distance himself from a film he deemed "too kid-friendly".
- Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Shazam! Fury of the Gods is underperforming at the box office and tries to analyse why.
- Ben Child notes that James Gunn's Superman: Legacy film must do no less than usher in the second coming of the Man of Steel.
Comments on season 2 of Yellowjackets:
Comments on season 2 of Shadow and Bone:
- Linda Codega shares eight things she liked about season 2 of Shadow and Bone and five things she didn't.
- Sylas K. Barrett declares that Shadow and Bone stumbled on too much story in season 2.
- Linda Codega also notes that the Crows have always been the best part of Shadow and Bone.
- Benedetta Geddo shares her love for the character of Prince Nikolai in Shadow and Bone.
Comments on Scream VI:
Awards:
- The finalists for the 2022 Cóyotl Awards have been announced.
- The longlists for the 2023 Jhalak Prize have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Waterstones Children's Book Prize have been announced.
- The winner of the 2023 Story Prize has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2022 Foreword Indies Book of the Year Award have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Spur Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2023 First Fandom Awards have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2023 Yoto Carnegie Medals has been announced.
- The nominations for the 2023 Bafta TV Awards have been announced with little love for SFF TV.
- The winners of the 2023 Critics Choice Super Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 BBC Audio Drama Awards have been announced.
- The 2023 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Kristen Renee Miller explains how translating made her a better writer.
- Mona Simpson talks about the role of research in writing.
- Lincoln Michel shares tax tips for writers.
- Victoria Strauss reports about two new scams targeting writers.
- BBC HardTalk interviews James Daunt of Daunt Books, Waterstones and now Barnes and Noble
- Allegra Rosenberg reports how fandom is embracing Character AI, a chatbot which allows you to chat with fictional characters.
- Lincoln Michel finds some parallels between Jose Luis Borges' 1941 story "The Library of Babel" and the flood of AI generated trash.
- Disappointingly, the Writers Guild of America has issued a statement that it would tolerate the use of AI in scrweenwriting, as long as it does not affect their members' credits or residuals.
- Steve Inskeep interviews students at Vermont State University about the university's plan to remove all physical books from its library and only offer digital books.
Interviews:
- Elizabeth Tabler interviews Laurell K. Hamilton.
- Elizabeth Tabler interviews Jane Yolen.
- Runalong the Shelves interviews Anna Stephens.
- Crime Reads interviews Anna Biller.
- Elizabeth Tabler interviews Mia Tsai.
- The HWA interviews Jill Girardi.
- The HWA interviews John Gray.
- Nancie Clare interviews Alma Katsu.
- Locus interviews Ayize Jama-Everett.
- Runalong the Shelves interviews Pete W. Sutton and J.W. Anderson.
- D.M. Ritzlin interviews Glenn Rahman.
Reviews:
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.
- Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh.
- Judtih Tarr reviews Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold.
- Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee.
- Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews Juniper Wiles and the Ghost Girls by Charles de Lint.
- Marlene Harris reviews Knightmaster by Anna Hackett.
- Marlene Harris reviews Illuminations by T. Kingfisher.
- Molly Templeton reviews The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix.
- Alexandra Pierce reviews Nightwatch Over Windscar by K. Eason
- Russell Letson reviews The City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Blue Book Balloon reviews Hopeland by Ian McDonald.
- Fiona Denton reviews Arca by G.R. Macallister.
- Shellie Horst reviews Downfall by Louise Carey.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz.
- Jen Lucas reviews Beautiful Shining People by Michael Grothaus.
- Chris Kluwe reviews The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry.
- John Mauro reviews The Assassin of Grins and Secrets by K.E. Andrews.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi.
- Alex Brown reviews The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi.
- Colleen Mondor reviews The Wicked Remain by Laura Pohl
- Arturo Serrano reviews Feed Them Silence by Lee Mandelo.
- Trisha Low reviews Y/N by Esther Yi.
- Mark O'Connell reviews Dr. No by Percival Everett.
- Carrie Chi Lough reviews Cold West by Clayton Snyder.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
- Paperback Warrior reviews Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff.
- Sean Dowie reviews The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud
- Graham Thomas Wilcox reviews Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles, edited by Ellen Datlow
- Alex Brown reviews Infinite Constellations, edited by Khadijah Queen and K. Ibura
- Dave Brzeski reviews issue 0 of New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine.
Classics reviews:
- Bobby Derie revisits the 1931 horror story "Cassius" by Henry S. Whitehead.
- Brian Collins revisits the 1934 Jirel of Joiry sword and sorcery story "Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore.
- James Maliszewski revisits the 1936 sword and sorcery story "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" vy Clark Ashton Smith.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1948 YA science fiction novel Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein.
- Vintage Pop Fictions revisits the 1959 science fiction novel Virgin Planet by Poul Anderson.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1961 science fiction novel Far Out by Damon Knight.
- Robin Rose Graves and Jason Sacks revisits the 1968 science fiction crime novel Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
- The PorPor Books Blog revisits the 1968 post-apocalyptic novel Sos the Rope by Piers Anthony.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1968 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1968 non-fiction book The Population Bomb by Paul R. Ehrlich.
- Paperback Warrior revisits the 1972 sword and sorcery novel Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock.
- Lord Samper's Library revisits the 1984 heroic fantasy novel Legend by David Gemmell.
- Alissa Burger revisits the 1989 YA horror trilogy Remember Me by Christopher Pike.
- Joe Kenney revisits the 1990 horror novel Mark of the Werewolf by Jeffrey Sackett.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 2001 Discworld fantasy novel The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett.
- Dan Persons revisits the 2005 dystopian novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and its 2010 film adaptation.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2011 YA time travel novel The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman.
Con and event reports:
- The 2023 Furnal Equinox in Toronto, Ontario, reports about an incident that took place at the convention
- Fran Skene reports that the 2023 CUFF delegate has been chosen.
- Mike Glyer reports that First Fandom wonders where to go now that the last original First Fandom member Bob Madle has died.
- Abbas Abasi sounds a warning against Alexi Vandenburg, con artist and harrasser preying on geek communities.
- Kate Wyver calls Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison, which is currently playing in London, UK, a gently uncanny science fiction drama.
- LGBTQ Nation reports that Disney is hosting a huge LGBTQ+ conference in Disney World in Orlando, Florida, in defiance of the homo- and transphobic policies of Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
Crowdfunding:
Gaming:
Science and technology:
- Jennifer Ouellette reports that Virgin Orbit has paused all operations.
- Lewis Dartnell reports that the Jupiter moon Io probably has a subsurface magma ocean.
- Tamlin Magee reports about a cult that worships artificial intelligences.
- Martha Gill points out that women during the Middle Ages actually had a lot more economic and personal freedom than in later periods.
Free online fiction:
- "The State Street Robot Factory" by Claire Humphrey in Apex Magazine.
- "A Dream of Electric Mothers" by Wole Talabi in Tor.com.
- "Silicon Hearts" by Adrian Tchaikovsky in Future Science Fiction Digest.
- "The Ministry of Saturn" by Benjamin Peek in Lightspeed.
- "Four Years Minus Twelve Days" by Samantha Murray in Lightspeed.
- "The Void Door" by V.M. Ayala in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Blooms" by Grace Seybold in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Leaves Dead Are Driven" by F. Brett Cox in The Dark.
- "The Truth of Their Tunes" by Dawn Vogel in Wyngraf Magazine.
- "Tata Duende's Soothing Song" by Ian Martínez Cassmeyer in Wyngraf Magazine.
- "Answering the Call" by Laura Anne Gillman in The Sunday Morning Transport.
- "Moments of Doubt" by Aimee Ogden in Fantasy Magazine.
- "You Row and You Burn" by Elou Carroll in The Deadlands.
- "Laura Lau Will Drain You Dry" by Wen-yi Li in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Failure to Convert" by Shih-Li Kow in Clarkesworld.
- "Zeta Epsilon" by Isabel J. Kim in Clarkesworld.
- "Detriment" by Libby Heily in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "The City's Edge" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Trailers and videos:
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