Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 2, 2023

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Masters of the Unvierse: Revolution, Star Trek in general, Star Wars in general, Doctor Who past, present and future, Avatar: The Last Airbender in animation and live action, Argylle, Orion and the Dark, Dario Argento Panico, Dr. Strangelove at sixty, the perceived Oscar subs of Barbie, the debate about AI-generated writing and art, tributes to Brian Lumley and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Locus shares its 2023 recommended reading list. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares new science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out in February.
  
• Christina Orlando shares thirty SFF book to look forward to in 2024 
  
• Molly Odintz shares fifteen speculative crime novels and mysteries coming out in 2024.  
• Andrea Tang explains how she managed to combine fantasy and mysteries. 
• Maureen Lee Lenker points out that romantasy in general and the books of Sarah J. Maas in particular deserve more respect.
  
• Ann-Marie Cahill shares the most influential fantasy books of the 1980s. 
• G.W. Thomas wonders what the single best sword and sorcery anthology is.
  
• Shubnum Khan points out that gothic fiction is a universal story, not a western one. 
• Ratika Deshpande shares seven SFF stories featuring food and cooking
• James Davis Nicoll discusses five ways science fiction authors motivate characters to leave Earth behind. 
  
• Wang Yao and Luo Xuemei report about the Tianwen Project, which is intended to promote Chinese science fiction in the West. 
• James Davis Nicoll talks about the science fiction books he read when he was twelve. 
• Molly Templeton takes issue with the way that reading is often framed as an elitist activist for the wealthy.
  
• David Agranoff shares his appreciation for the work of Judith Merril 
• Dave Hook remembers the largely forgotten SFF author Winona McClintic. 
• CBC Radio profiles Wilkie Collins.
  
• Bobby Derie takes a deep dive into H.P Lovecraft's relationship and correspondence with writer, editor and amateur journalist Edith May Dowe Miniter.
• Deuce Richardson reports that the condition of Robert E. Howard scholar Rusty Burke is improving after suffering a head injury due to a fall. 
• George R.R. Martin notes that many of his peers and his generation of writers are dead now. 
• Steven H. Silver shares a list of all the people the SFF community lost in 2023.
  
• SFF and horror writer Brian Lumley died aged 86. 
• Molly Templeton remembers Brian Lumley.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• The Cromcast interviews Jim Zub, writer of the Conan comics. 
• Locus interviews SFF artist Winona Nelson.
  
• Rachel Cooke reviews Aya: Claws Come Out by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about what happens to Christmas gift books.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Lucy Mangan calls Domino Day a fun supernatural show that is Buffy for a new generation 
• Hoai-Tran Bui calls Love Me a surprisingly gentle version of the apocalypse. 
• Lyvie Scott calls I Saw the TV Glow a haunting horror masterpiece
  
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on the horror comedy Renfield.
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls Handling the Undead the most somber zombie movie you'll ever see 
• Cheryl Eddy declares that the horror film The Moogai puts a monstrous spin on generational trauma.
• Phuong Le calls Blue Giant an electrifying anime that captures the ecstasy of live music
  
• Leslie Felperin calls The Tiger’s Apprentice an animated comfort food fantasy film. 
• Cath Clarke calls Migration a zany animated adventures about a family of ducks in the big city.
  
• Alex Needham shares a spoilerish review of All of Us Strangers. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Quantum Leap.  
• Light On, Light Through hosts a roundtable discussion of season 4 of For All Mankind.
• J.P. Mangalindan interviews Alaqua Cox who plays Maya Lopez in Echo.
  
• Devan Coggan interviews Dakota Johnson, star of Madame Web
• Ryan Britt declares that Tr3n can either fix the Tron series or ruin it. 
  
• Odie Henderson revisits the 1972 blaxploitation horror film Blacula.
• Ryan Britt celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of Babylon 5 and recounts how difficult it was for that show to get greenlit in the first place. 
• Matthew Jackson recounts how the 1964 Twilight Zone episode  "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" won an Oscar for best live action short film. 
• Sabina Graves shares star Kurt Russell's take on the ending of the 1982 science fiction horror movie The Thing.
  
• Ben Child wonders why Netflix cancelled the almost completed science fiction film The Mothership.
• Katie Kilkenny reports that visual effects artists working on the Avatar movies are unionising.
  
• Callum Jones reports about troubles and power struggles inside Disney's board of directors. 
• Sabina Graves shares an update on the legal battle between Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis,
  
• Christian Angeles reports that the man who committed an arson attack on the Kyoto Animation studio in 2019, killing 36 people, has been sentenced to death.  
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe: Revolution (spoilers): 

•  Todd Luck shares a non-spoilerish review of Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
• Todd Luck also shares a spoilerish review of Masters of the Universe: Revolution. 
• For Eternia shares a spoilerish review of Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
  
• Mega Jay Retro discusses Masters of the Universe: Revolution with spoilers.
• Renaldo Matadeen explains the ending of Masters of the Universe Revolution.
  
• Joshua M. Patton discusses the long brewing romantic relationship between Adam and Teela in Masters of the Universe.
  
• Jay Glatfelter interviews Ted Biaselli, producer of Masters of the Universe Revolution and the voice of Gwildor and Griffin Newman, who voices Orko.
  
• Dan Larsen and Pixel Dan interview Griffin Newman who voices Orko in Masters of the Universe: Revolution. 
• Dad-at-Arms interviews Griffin Newman. 
• Word Balloon interviews Tim Sheridan, one of the writers of Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
  
• Zack Zagranis discusses the influence of Jack Kirby's New Gods on the 1987 Masters of the Universe live action movie  
  

 

Comments on Star Wars in general:

• Devan Coggan interviews Natasha Liu Bordizzo who plays Sabine Wren in Ahsoka. 
• Dalton Ross interviews Wes Chatham who plays Captain Enoch in Ahsoka and Amos in The Expanse. 
  
• Chris McPherson interviews Daisy Ridley who played Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
  
• Andrew Pulver reports that Daisy Ridley is still upset about the backlash against The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.
  
• James Whitbrook explains the history of the Katana Fleet, Grand Admiral Thrawn's secret invasion weapon, in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Galactic Journey revisits the 1969 Star Trek episode "That Which Survives". 
• James Whitbrook revisits the infamous Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Sub Rosa". 
  
• James Whitbrook revisits the infamous Star Trek Voyager episode "Threshold".
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise series finale "These Are the Voyages..."
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future:  

• Louise Griffin reports that Millie Gibson who plays new companion Ruby Sunday has not been fired or left and will still appear in series 15 of Doctor Who, albeit in a reduced role. 
• Morgan Cormack interviews Sylvester McCoy who played the Seventh Doctor in Doctor Who.
  

 

Comments on the Oscar snubs for Barbie: 

• Benjamin Lee shares Margot Robbie's diplomatic statement about not winning an Oscar nomination for Barbie.
  
• James Hibberd reports about the backlash against the Oscar snubs for Barbie.
• Pamela Paul declares that Barbie is a bad movie and doesn't deserve any Oscar nominations. 
• Zeeshan Aleem also finds that Barbie doesn't deserve any Oscars, because it's just a toy commerical.
  
• Imogen West-Knights points out that Barbie got plenty of Oscar nominations and that the internet seems to have lost its mind over the perceived snubs. 
• Kevin Fallon wonders whether the anger over the Oscar snubs for Barbie is deserved.
  
• Rebecca Sun delcares that not all Oscar snubs are created equal, since the snubbed are "only" white women. 
• Kelas Lloyd wishes people would talk less about the snubs Barbie and more about how the Oscar nominees are mostly white once again. 
  

 

Comments on Avatar: The Last Airbender in animation and live action: 

• Nick Romano interviews Albert Kim, showrunner of the live action Avatar: The Last Airbender.
• Nick Romano shares a behind the scenes look at the live action Avatar: The Last Airbender.
  

 

Comments on Argylle:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Argylle an unbearably self-satisfied, smirking spy caper.
• Manuel Betancourt calls Argylle an overstuffen and exhausting meta-spy action comedy. 
• Germain Lussier declares that Argylle feels like several movies in one
• Maggie Lovitt calls Argylle a chaotic spy romp.
  

Comments on Orion and the Dark:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Orion and the Dark a surprising animated movie by Charlie Kaufman 
• Luke Y. Thompson is stunned that Charlie Kaufman would write an animated children's film like Orion and the Dark.
  

 

Comments on Dario Argento Panico: 

• Leslie Felperin shares her thoughts on the documentary Dario Argento Panico
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the documentary Dario Argento Panico
  

 

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb at sisxty:

• Scott Tobias revisits Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb for its sixtieth anniversary and wonders if it's still the greatest screen satire of all time.
• Mark Hill revisits Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb for its sixtieth anniversary and finds it still the best response to a climate of doom.
  

 

Awards:

• Nominations for the 2023 Hugo Awards have opened. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Audie Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Golden Poppy Awards have been announceds. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Clarkesworld Readers Poll have been announced.
  
• The Speculative Literature Foundation has announced the 2024 Illustration of the Year winner.
• British artist and writer Posy Simmons has won the has won Grand Prix at the International Comics festival in Angoulême, France.
  
• The winner of the inaugural Lance Reddick Legacy Award has been announced.
• The winners of the 2024 Family Film and TV Awards have been announced. 
• A.J. West explains what winning the HWA Debut Crown Award means to him. 
• Nerds of a feather share their recommendations for the fiction categories for the 2024 Hugo Awards. 
• Nerds of a feather share their recommendations for the dramatic presentation and graphic story categories for the 2024 Hugo Awards.  
• Nerds of a feather share their recommendations for the various individual person categories for the 2024 Hugo Awards.   

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• James Woolf talks about striving for verisimilitude in your writing.
• Ashley Tate talks about setting as a character.
  
• Eliot Pattison discusses how to handle nature in fiction. 
• Zachary C. Solomon talks about writing a Brutalist novel.
  
• Adam Plantinga explains how he went from writing non-fiction to writing novels.
• Chris Cander talks about fictionalizing real trauma as a means of healing 
  
• Alaina Demopoulos reports that the so-called Generation Z is rediscovering public libraries for socialising as well as reading. 
• Sophia Stewart reports that horror author J.D. Barker has come under fire for offering to pay TikTokers for making sexually suggestive videos featuring his upcoming novel.  
• Daysia Tolentino has more about the J.D. Barker scandal. 
• Ella Creamer talks about a conflict between the audio streaming service Spotify and the UK Society of Authors over audiobook royalties.
  
• Katie Kilkenny reports that the Onion Union, which represents writers at The Onion, The AV-Club, The Takeout and other sites, has reached a tentative agreement with their publisher.
  
• Laura Pappano shares a brief history of book banning in the US.
  
• Jordyn Burrell reports that the bookstore Deadtime Stories in Lansing, Michigan, fell victim to an organised gang of thieves. 
  

 

Comments on the debate about AI-generated writing and art:

• Malcolm F. Cross talks about AI, algorithms and the attention economy.
• The US Federal Trade Commission announces that they have launched an inquiry into generative AI investments and partnerships. 
• Cecilia Kang reports that the US Copyright Office unexpectedly finds itself at the centre of the battle over AI. 
• Dominic Patten reports that the estate of comedian George Carlin has sued the producers of an AI generated comedy special featuring the late comedian.
  

 

Interviews:

• Runalong the Shelves interviews Wole Talabi. 
• Arley Sorg interviews Wole Talabi. 
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury interviews Tiffany Morris.
• Fabienne Schwizer interviews Andrew Caldecott.
• Roseanna Pendlebury interviews Selena Middleton. 
• Arley Sorg interviews Bogi Takácz. 
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan
• Kevin Durkin interviews Lois Rosson. 
• Ethan Sabatella interviews several writers of contemporary sword and sorcery.
  

 

Reviews:

• John Mauro reviews Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones 
• Camestros Felapton reviews House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
  
• Gary Romeo reviews The Shadow of Vengeance by Scott Oden 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Star Pattern Traveller by Joyce Chng
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Ethera Grave by Essa Hansen
  
• Maya St. Clair reviews Orbital by Samantha Harvey. 
• Lis Carey reviews Snipers by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
  
• Paul Weimer reviews A Curse of Krakens by Kevin Hearne.
• Joe Sherry reviews Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Graveyard Watch by R.J. Eason 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K.J. Parker 
• Carrie Chi Lough reviews The Traitors We Are by Michael Roberti
  
• Lis Carey reviews The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin.
• Tobias Carroll reviews The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers.
  
• Alex Brown reviews Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Labyrinth’s Heart by M.A. Carrick
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee and Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
  
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Forcing by Paul E. Hardisty
• Mary Picken reviews The Knowing by Emma Hinds   
• Kat Hooper reviews UnDivided by Neal Shusterman
  
• Alex Brown reviews Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine 
• Lesa Holstine reviews To Conjure a Killer by Clea Simon 
  
• Trish Matson reviews What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Where The Dead Wait by Ally Wilkes
• Judith Tarr reviews Below by Laurel Hightower. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Hours of Our Lady by David Frankel
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman
• Alex Brown reviews Skin Thief: Stories by Suzan Palumbo
  
• Warner Holme reviews Ursula K Le Guin’s Collected Poems, edited by Harold Bloom
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Ecoceanic: Southern Flows, edited by Tarun K. Saint and Francesco Verso      
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Year’s Top Robot and AI Stories: Fourth Annual Collection, edited by Allan Kaster
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Women of Horror and Speculative Fiction In Their Own Words - Conversations with Authors, Editors and Publishers, edited by Sebastien Doubinsky and Christina Kkona
  
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Horror Unmasked: A History of Terror from Nosferatu to Nope by Brad Weismann
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Matthew Pungitore revisits the 1927 horror story "Pickman's Model" by H.P. Lovecraft. 
• David J. West revisits the 1932 weird western story “The Horror From the Mound” by Robert E. Howard.
• Brian Collins revisits the 1954 fantasy story “The Agony of the Leaves” by Evelyn E. Smith 
  
• Mark Yon revisits the February 1969 issue of New Worlds. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the February 1969 issue of Analog.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1974 post-apocalyptic novel Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1974 science fiction crime novel Web of Everywhere by John Brunner 
• Sam Reader revisits the 1975 horror story "Belsen Express" by Fritz Leiber. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1976 science fiction novella “The Samurai and the Willows” by Michael Bishop.
• Paul Weimer revisits the 1980 dystopian story “The World Science Fiction Convention of 2080” by Ian Watson.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1980 horror story “The Automatic Rifleman” by David Drake  
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1986 urban fantasy anthology Borderland, edited by Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold 
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1987 sword and sorcery novel Bard IV: Ravens' Gathering by Keith Taylor.
• C.T. Phipps revisits the 1989 vampire novel Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy A. Collins
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Alyssa Mercante shares her favourite cosplay photos from the 2024 Holiday Matsuri convention in Orlando, Florida.
• Dogpatch Press reports about some issues behind the scenes of the furry convention Garden State Fur the Weekend in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
  
• The 2024 European Fan Fund race has begun.
  
• Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter report about Gathering the Ghosts, a convention of ghostwriters in Manhattan, New York.
  
• Justin Carter reports that the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, which served as the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining, will now house the Blumhouse horror exhibition. 
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Letters to the Stars: An Epistolary RPG by W.M. Akers is looking for funding.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Kantaro Komiya reports that Japan's SLIM Moon probe has regained power more than a week after landing.
• NASA shares striking photos of spiral galaxies taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
  
• Reuters reports that Elon Musk's company Neuralink has managed to successfully implant a chip in a human brain for the first time.
  
  

Gaming: 

• C.T. Phipps reviews the Vampire: The Masquerade supplement Blood-Stained Love
• C.T. Phipps reiews the video game The Division 2
  
• Megan Farokhmanesh reports that mass lay-offs are causing massive problems in the video game industry.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masterverse Masters of the Universe Revolution King Keldor figure. 
• Toy Habits reviews wave 1 of the McFarlane DC Retro The New Adventures of Batman line
  
• Camille Alexa reviews the Folkmanis Baby Dragon puppet.
  
• Germain Lussier reports that Super 7 is reissuing its Godzilla action figure in grayscale colouring for the black and white re-release of Godzilla Minus One.
• We Want More Thundercats interviews Brian Flynn of Super 7. 
• Ethan Anderton reports that Funko has released a series of Funko Pop figures based on the 1999 cult science fiction film Galaxy Quest.  
• Germain Lussier shares a look at the new HasLab crowdfunded Transformers Omega Prime figure. 
  
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the 25th Anniversary Star Wars LEGO Sets  
• James Whitbrook takes a look at several upcoming Dune themed LEGO sets.
  
• Sabina Graves shares her favourite movie tie-in toys from the children's meals of various US fast food chains.
  
• Germain Lussier reports that the team behind thelimited-edition posters and limited-edition vinyl records issued by Mondo have found a new home at a company called Mutant, after Funko gutten Mondo.
• Amanda Bartlett reports that the beloved toystore Jeffrey's Toys in San Francisco, California, is closing after 86 years in business.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Hell's Bells" by Cassie Sims Knight in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "The Empty Throne" by Benjamin C. Kinney in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  
• "Fireflies in Jericho" by Stewart A Shearer in Side Quest. 
• "Companion Animals in Mahō Shōjo Kira Kira Sunlight" by Stewart C. Baker in Lightspeed.
• "A Sojourn in the Fifth City" by P.H. Lee in Lightspeed.
  
• "Showtime on Sandstone Lane" by Tiffany Michelle Brown in Wyldblood.
• "Some There Be That Shadows Kiss" by James Bennett in The Dark.
  
• "The Flowers That We Intend To Share" by Rajeev Prasad In Clarkesworld.
• "Scalp" by H.H. Pak In Clarkesworld.
• "The Man Who Fed Dilophosaurs" by M.M. Olivas in Apex Magazine.
• "Evan: A Remainder" by Jordan Kurella in Reactor.
• "A Contract of Ink and Skin" by Angela Liu in Uncanny Magazine
  
• "Sad Robot" by E.R. Ramzipoor in Slate Future Tense. 
• "The Questing Mind" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 
  
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Monkey Man. 
• Watch a trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. 
• Watch a trailer for Parallel. 
  
• Watch a trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
• Watch a trailer for You'll Never Find Me.
  
• Watch a trailer for History of Evil.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Space Race. 
• Watch a trailer for Tarot.