Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for January 12, 2023

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Doctor Who past, present and future, What If...?, Echo and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Trek in general, Destroy All Neighbors, season 4 of For All Mankind, the issues with Nazis on Substack, the debate about AI-generated writing and art, the Tor.com rebranding, tributes to Terry Bisson, Fred Chappell, Jennell Jaquays, Glynis Johns and David Soul and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Tor.com lists all the new science fiction books coming out in January 2024. 
  
• Tor.com lists all the new fantasy books coming out in January 2024. 
• Tor.com lists all the new horror, romantasy and other SFF crossover books coming out in January 2024. 
  
• Tor.com lists all the new YA SFF books coming out in January.
  
• Tobias Carroll shares indie and small press SFF coming out in January and Febraury 2024. 
• Erin Underwood shares her favourite science fiction and fantasy movies of 2023.
  
• Dave Truesdale shares his annual rants that politics and "cultural Marxism" are destroying science fiction.
• Olivie Blake shares five SFF books about regretting joining a cult.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five classic science fiction stories featuring fraudulent personas.
  
• Cole Rush shares his five favourite reptilian characters in SFF.
  
• Lorna Wallace shares five horror stories set during winter. 
• Ethan Sabatella talks about the connection between Celtic history and mythology and sword and sorcery.
  
• Matthew Ilseman compares Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. 
• Deuce Richardson shares an update regarding the health of Robert E. Howard scholar Rusty Burke.
  
• Elly Griffiths shares her appreciation for the works of Wilkie Collins for his two hundredth birthday. 
• CBC Radio profiles Wilkie Collins. 
  
• Brian Murphy revisits the Swain the Viking stories by Arthur D. Howden Smith
  
• Max Chapnick explains how he identified a previously unknown pen name of Louisa May Alcott.
  
• Ross Douthat finds some unexpected parallels between Donald Trump and The Mule from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares some strategies for taming an unruly TBR list.
  
• Lincoln Michel analyses the results of the latest reading survey, 
• Camestros Felapton also weighs in on the survey of US reading habits.
  
• Molly Templeton talks about reading traditions.
  
• Jim Milliot reports that women dominate the bestseller lists of 2023. 
• Ella Creamer reports that Keanu Reeves and China Miéville will release the collaborative novel The Book of Elsewhere
  
• Tor.com will rebrand as Reactor. 
• Tor.com answers some questions about their Reactor rebrand.
  
• Locus remembers the Swedish SFF writer and translator Bertil Falk. 
• Israeli editor and translator Emanuel Lottem died aged 79.
  
• Fantasy author and poet Fred Chappell has died aged 87. 
• Locus remembers Fred Chappell.
  
• Science fiction writer Terry Bisson died aged 81. 
• Vanessa Armstrong remembers Terry Bisson.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• James Davis Nicoll reviews the graphic novel Her Little Reapers by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda .
• Brad Hawley reviews the graphic novel Friday, Book One: The First Day of Christmas by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin
  
• Maya St. Clair remembers when Heavy Metal Magazine used to publish playlists to go with their comics.
• Brian Murphy shares his appreciation for the work of Boris Vallejo for his eightieth birthday.
  
• Jennifer Higgie talks about Victorian fairy paintings. 
• Ruben Bolling reports that comic artist Ramona Fradon, who worked on Aquaman, Metamorpho, Brenda Starr and Superfriends among other, is retiring aged 97.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Arturo Serrano calls Scavengers Reign a raw, bloodstained, oozy, slimy circle of life
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on Blue Beetle.  
• Charlotte Simmons declares that Rebel Moon proves that Zack Snyder needs to grow up.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Kitchen a high-energy drama about a near-future rundown housing estate
• Jarrod Jones calls Ted a profane, obvious lampoon of old sitcom tropes
  
• Murtada Elfadi calls The Book Of Clarence an adventurous homage to biblical epics
  
• Leslie Felperin calls the horror film Freaks vs the Reich an atrocious mash-up of circus fable and the Holocaust
  
• Manuel Betancourt shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Curse. 
• Maud Woolf shares her favourite femme fatales from SFF films and TV shows. 
• Keith Roysdon revisits the 1985 Twilight Zone reboot.
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2002 horror film The Mothman Prophecies.
  
• Olivia Rutigliano interviews Rian Johnson, director of Knives Out, Glass Onion, Poker Face, The Last Jedi, Looper and many others.   
• Germain Lussier ranks the movies produced by Kathleen Kennedy.
  
• Ben Child reports that Peter Jackson was pressured by producers to kill off one of the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings. 
• Max Evry reports that the script to a proposed sequel to David Lynch's adaptation of Dune has resurfaced.
  
• Matt Binder reports that Disney tried to get a YouTuber's redub of Steamboat Willie pulled for copyright violations, even though the cartoon is in the public domain now. 
• Lucas Manfredi reports that according to creator and star Seth McFarlane, The Orville is not cancelled yet. 
• Joe Otterson reports that the much beloved pirate series Our Flag Means Death has been cancelled by HBO Max.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, has finally met Natalie Portman, who played his on-screen mother Padme Armidala.
  
• Matthew Rodiguez reports that Faux Library Studio Props, who specialise in supplying furniture and books for movie and TV productions, are in financial trouble. 
• Gloria Oladipo reports that actor Vincent Gallo has been accused by several women of inappropriate behaviour during auditions. 
• Catherine Shoard reports that Bong Joon-ho, director of Snow Piercer and Parasite, has called for an investigation into the death of Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun, who committed suicide after being questioned by the police and subjected to blackmail.
  
• German American actor Christian Oliver, who appeared in Alarm for Cobra 11, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and many others, has died in a plane crash along with his two daughters, aged 51.
• British actress Georgina Hale, star of Ladykillers, T-Bag, The Devils and others, has died aged 80.
  
• Tracy Tormé, co-creator of Sliders and writer of Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died aged 64.
  
• Actress Cindy Morgan, best known for her appearances in Caddyshack and Tron, has died aged 69.
  
• Actress Glynis Johns, best known for her roles in The Court Jester, Mary Poppins, Miranda, Shake Hands With the Devil and many others, has died aged 100.
• Tim Pulleine shares an obituary for Glynis Johns.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future: 

• Zachary Cimaglio reports that a Doctor Who spin-off focussed on the Sea Devils is in the works.
• Watch a Doctor Who short film "Leela vs. the Time War: The Collection".
  

 

Comments on season 2 of What If...?, Echo and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:

• Sam Barsanti calls Echo a brutal and heartfelt mini-series. 
• Leila Latif calls Echo the bloodiest Disney Plus series yet and says that it proves that there is still life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Germain Lussier lists everything to remember before watching Echo.
  
• Leah Marilla Thomas ranks the episodes of season 2 of What If?
• Leah Schnelbach declares that season 2 of What If? gave us four great and five okay episodes.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Galactic Journey revisits the 1969 Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy".
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Demons".
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on Star Trek Prodigy.
  
• Rachel Leishman shares her love for the J.H. Abrams Star Trek reboot movies.  
• D.R. Medlen reports that Fox News host Emily Compagno proved herself to be extremely clueless about Star Wars and Star Trek and how both franchises have always been what she considers "woke".

 

Comments on Destroy All Neighbors: 

• Phil Hoad calls Destroy All Neighbors a prog-rock comedy horror film turned up to 11
• Cheryl Eddy calls Destroy All Neighbors a diabolical good time
  

 

Comments on season 4 of For All Mankind:

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of For All Mankind.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of For All Mankind.
  

 

Tributes to David Soul:

• Actor David Soul, best known for playing Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in Starsky and Hutch, has died aged 80. 
• Charlotte Gallagher and Mark Savage share an obituary for David Soul. 
• Alexandra Del Rosario shares an obituary for David Soul. 
• J. Kingston Pierce remembers David Soul. 
• Paul Hirons remembers David Soul.

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2024 Philip K. Dick Award have been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2023 Analog Award for Emerging Black Voices has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Cybils Awards have been announced.
• The Mystery Writers of America have announced the recipients of the 2024 Grand Master and Ellery Queen Awards. 
  
• The winners of the 2023 Creative Art Emmys have been announced with lots of love for genre TV.  
• The winners of the 2023 Golden Globes have been announced with almost no love for genre films and TV and lots of wins for dull movies and TV.
  
• The finalists for the 2024 Costume Designers Guild Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2024 Astra TV Awards have been announced with lots of love for genre TV.
  
• Germain Lussier lists genre films eligible for the 2024 Academy Awards. 
• Holly Chik reports that the AI-generated novel Land of Memories by Shen Yang has placed second in the Jiangsu Youth Popular Science Science Fiction Competition.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Gareth L. Powell explains where he gets his ideas. 
• Tiago Forte explains how to think creatively on command.
  
• Caz Frear talks about using multiple points of view in mysteries and thrillers. 
• Ian Hamilton talks about the joys and sorrows of finishing a series.
  
• David Barnett reports that the British Library suffered a massive cyberattack and that authors cannot be paid royalties for library lending as a result.
  

 

Comments on the issues with Substack:

• Catherynne Valente talks about recent developments at Substack and how she feels about them.
• Cass Morris discusses the issues with Substack. 
• Brian Keene discusses the issues with Substack. 
• Casey Newton reports that Substack has promised to remove some far right accounts from its platform. 
• Robin Ann Reid points out that Substack will only remove some far right accounts, not all of them.
  

 

Comments on the AI controversy:

• Chuck Wendig implores people to jsut say no to using AI in their creative pursuits.
  
• SFWA has issued a statement on the unauthorised use of published works to train AI systems.
  

 

Interviews:

• Ari Shapiro interviews Naomi Alderman.
  
• Paul Semel interviews Jennifer Brozek and Cat Rambo.
• Locus interviews Andrea Stewart.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Tashan Mehta.
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury interviews A.Z. Louise.
• Roseanna Pendlebury interviews Phoebe Wagner.
• Roseanna Pendlebury interviews Joan Tierney.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Paul Kane. 
  

 

Reviews:

• Paul Weimer reviews Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes 
  
• Warner Holme reviews Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
  
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews Redsight by Meredith Mooring
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Crown of Omens by E.J. Doble
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty 
• Liam's Lyceum reviews The Doom of Odin by Scott Oden. 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le
  
• John Mauro reviews Grievar’s Blood by Alexander Darwin 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Ashes of the Ancestors by Andrew Knighton 
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu 
• Lis Carey revieww Juniper Wiles by Charles de Lint.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Mislaid in Parts Half Known by Seanan McGuire
• Colleen Mondor reviews Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson
  
• Adrian Collins reviews Tomorrow’s Children by Daniel Polansky
  
• Niall Harrison reviews Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta 
• J.C. Kang reviews Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao 
• Marion Deeds reviews A Power Unbound by Freya Marske
• Haley Zapal reviews That We Maye with Free Heartes Accomplishe Those Thynges by Thomas M. Waldroon
  
• Joe Sherry reviews From the Forest and Contrarian by by L.E. Modesitt Jr. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Loki - Journey Into Mystery by Katherine Locke
  
• Mandie Griffiths reviews One by Eve Smith. 
• Aigner Loren Wilson reviews Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase 
• Mahved Murash reviews Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah  
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley
• Matt Pechey reviews Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley
  
• Kat Hooper reviews UnWholly by Neal Shusterman 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews HIM by Geoff Ryman 
  
• Jon Morgan reviews The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz  
• Rob Bedford reviews Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson.
  
• Paperback Warrior reviews Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones. 
• Paperback Warrior reviews Night Shoot by David Sodergren.
  
• John Mauro reviews Sawtooth by Steph Nelson 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano
  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Wolfe at the Door by Gene Wolfe
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Collected Ogoense and Other Stories by Rebecca Ore 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Reinvented Detective, edited by Cat Rambo and Jennifer Brozek
  
• Jason Ray Carney reviews Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews A Traveller in Time - The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid Speller, edited by Nina Allan
    
  

Classics reviews:

•  Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys revisit the 1914 horror story “A Victim of Higher Space” by Algernon Blackwood.
  
• Alan Brown revisits the 1930 space opera novel Skylark Three by E.E. Smith.
  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1930 gothic novel The Eternal Journey by Ethel Lina White.
• Eric Williamson revisits the 1932 Bran Mak Morn sword and sorcery story "Worms of the Earth" by Robert E. Howard. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1934 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Devil in Iron" by Robert E. Howard.
  
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1935 fantasy tnovel Mistress of Mistresses and its sequels by E.R. Eddison. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1952 post-apocalyptic novel Daybreak – 2250 A.D. a.k.a Star Man’s Son by Andre Norton  
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1956 science fiction story “The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov.
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1956 science fiction story “Compounded Interest” by Mack Reynolds
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1956 science fiction story “The Doorstop” by Reginald Bretnor
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1964 science fiction novel The Simulacra by Philip K. Dick.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits 1967 science fiction novel Stranger From the Depths by Gerry Turner
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the February 1969 issue of Galaxy.
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the February 1969 issue of Fantastic.
  
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1973 Kane sword and sorcery collection Death Angel's Shadow by Karl Edward Wagner. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1991 near future science fiction novel Fallen Angels by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Michael F. Flynn 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1995 YA horror novel The New Year's Party by R.L. Stine.
  
• Brian Murphy revisits the 1995 Arthurian novel The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. 
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Brian Keene shares the schedule for the House of Last Resort Weekend horror convention in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
• Steve Davidson notes that human rights concerns should be taken more into account when evaluating Worldcon bids. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the 2024 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland, has announced more special guests.
  
• Mike Glyer reports that the Texas Library Association has rescinded an invitation to Chuck Tingle to speak at their 2024 conference in San Antonion, Texas, and that fellow T.J. Klune has resigned in protest. 
• Shirley Robinson, director of the Texas Library Association, responds to their disinvitation of Chuck Tingle. 
• Arifa Akbar shares her thoughts on the horror stage play The Enfield Haunting, which is currently playing in London, UK.
  
• Vanessa Thorpe reports that several local theatres in the UK are facing massive funding cuts. 
  

 

Science and technology:

• Josh Dinner reports about the launch of the Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is supposed to bring a plander to the Moon for the first time in fifty years.
  
• Marcia Dunn reports that the first US Moon landing attempt in fifty years appears to be doomed after the Vulcan Centaur rocket developed a fuel leak. 
• Passant Rabie reports that NASA has finally mnaged to open the sample container the Osiris-Rex spaceprobe brought back from the asteroid Bennu.
  
• Isaac Schultz reports that scientists have formally invited aliens to visit Lexington, Kentucky.
  
• Jeffrey Rapaport reports that exo-skeletons are one step closer to becoming reality.
  
  

Gaming: 

• Joe DelFranco reviews the video game Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise
  
• James Whitbrook reports that Hasbro has used AI generated for Magic the Gathering promotional images - after promising not to use AI art. 
• Game developer Jennell Jaquays has died aged 68. 
• Goodman Games remembers Jennell Jaquays.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Turtles of Grayskull Mouse-Jaw figure.
• Pixel Dan shares his ten favourite toys of 2023.
  
• For Eternia rank their ten favourite Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse action figures of 2023.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Willow Wood" by Linda Niehoff in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Home Bread" by R.E. Dukalsky in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Across Bloody Skies" by Jay Requard in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "Stars Don't Dream" by Chi Hui, translated by John Chu, in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Binomial Nomenclature and the Mother of Happiness" by Alexandra Munck in Clarkesworld.
• "The Planet’s Gone to the Dogs" by Anna Vinogradov Neidle in Wyldblood.
  
• "Also, the Cat" by Rachel Swirsky in Tor.com.
• "Howard and the Golem" by Lisa Goldstein in Interzone.
  
• "Shadow Films" by Ben Peek in Lightspeed.  
• "In the Tree’s Hollow, a Doe" by Lowry Poletti in Lightspeed. 
  
• "Chase Scene" by Megan Kiekel Anderson in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Spread the Word" by Delilah S. Dawson in Apex Magazine.
  
• "Agni" by Nibedita Sen in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  
• "Klang Crow" by Joshua Lim in The Dark.
• "The Last Ride of Rivke Grinkin" by Reyzl Grace in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "Victims" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Masters of the Universe Revolution.
  
• Watch a clip from season 2 of Arcane.
• Watch a trailer for Orion and the Dark.
  
• Watch a trailer for Monolith. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Halo.
  
• Watch a trailer for 3 Body Problem.
• Watch a trailer for Abigail. 
• Watch a trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
• Watch a trailer for The Seeding.