Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 1, 2024

 

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 Universe: Revolution, Star Wars in general, Dune: Part 2, the new Avatar the Last Airbender, Halo, the new Quantum Leap, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Shogun, the best SFF books of 2023, an underwhelming Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience, tributes to Brian Stableford and Kenneth Mitchell and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Gabino Iglesias shares four new horror novels coming out soon.
  
• Tobias Carroll shares indie and small press SFF for March and April 2024 
• Traci Thomas shares science fiction, fantasy and horror by black authors to check out.
  
• Laurie Penny talks about fandom and community.
  
• Danika Ellis shares eight science fiction novellas to read in a single setting.
  
• Alex Brown shares five underrated romantasy novels.
  
• Lorna Wallace lists five AI characters she's be proud to call friend.
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction ideas he's like to see in reality. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fictional strategies for dealing with overpopulation and creating more space.
  
• Constance Grady profiles Sarah J. Maas.
  
• John Hertz remembers Marilyn "Fuzzy Pink" Niven.
  
• Sharon Lee explains what she will do now that her writing and life partner Steve Miller has died.
  
• Mark Merlino, founder of furry and anime fandom in North America, has died aged 72. 

 

Tributes to Brian Stableford:

• British science fiction author, scholar, critic and translator Brian Stableford has died aged 75. 
• Vanessa Armstrong remembers Brian Stableford

 

Best of 2023:

• Russell Letsson shares his favourite SFF books of 2023. 
  
• Archita Mittra shares her favourite SFF books of 2023.
• Niall Harrison shares his favourite SFF books of 2023. 
• Graham Sleight shares his favourite SFF books of 2023.
  
• Jake Casella Brookins shares his favourite SFF books of 2023.
  

Comics and Art:

• Rob Siebert interviews comic and screenwriter Tim Sheridan
  
• Zach Rabiroff interviews comic writer Ed Brubaker.
• Rachel Cooke reviews the graphic novel Polar Vortex by Denise Dorrance 
• Dave Richards reports that Alex Segura and Michael Moreci are bringing back Dick Tracy. 
• Brian Cronin looks back on the debut of Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday in 1999.
  
• D.D. Degg reports that many US newspapers have dropped a lot of daily comic strips, including many strips by women creators. 
• Julia Webster Ayuso reports that France is experiencing a boom of non-fiction in comic form.
  
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the fantasy art of Frank Brunner. 
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about authorial misfortune. 
• Ramona Fradon, who worked on Aquaman, Metamorpho, Brenda Starr and many others, has died aged 97.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Cindy White declares that Godzilla Minus One could and should win an Oscar. 
• Jenna Scherer calls The Completely Made-Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin the long-lost twin of Our Flag Means Death.
  
• Manuel Betancourt declares that Spaceman fails to achieve lift-off.
  
• Aaron Jones calls The Creator a bold and entirely original science fiction film.  
• Cheryl Eddy calls Stopmotion a chilling psychological horror film. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Tropic a morally ambiguous science fiction film. 
• Leila Latif calls Iwájú and unabashedly optimistic and delightful coming-of-age adventure 
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy. 
• Aaron Jones shares his thoughts on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Resident Alien. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 1, episode 2 and episode 3 of Constellation.
  
• Cath Clarke calls Combat Wombat: Double Trouble a cartoon that feels bizarrely inappropriate for children under five.
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1969 Star Trek episode "The Way to Eden".
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1977 horror movie Snowbeast. 
• The Hugo Book Club Blog revisits the finalists for the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. 
• Dan Persons revisits the 1991 science fiction film Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• Tim Ford revisits the 1994 science fiction TV show Babylon 5 and attempts to explain what made it so unique.
  
• Tim Grierson talks about persistent fans of the 2020 science fiction thriller Tenet. 
• Justin Carter notes that it is time for a reappreciation of Tenet. 
  
• Alex Moshakis interviews Ray Winstone, star of The Gentlemen, Sexy Beast, Damsel and many others.  
• Diego Ramos Bechara interviews Dan Harmon and Scott Marder, showrunner and co-creator of Rick and Morty.
  
• Isambard Wilkinson reports that the new BBC SFF series The Ministry of Time seems to have borrowed liberally from the Spanish TV series El Ministerio del Tiempo. 
  
• Ben Child wonders what Marvel will do now that they have fied Jonathan Majors and are minimising the role of his character Kang the Conqueror. 
• Matt Grobar reports that actor Nick Offerman has slammed the homophobic hate aimed at the episode "Long, Long Time" of The Last of Us, where Offerman plays one half of a gay couple.
  
• Rebecca Keegan chronicles how Megan Ellison and her company Annapurna Pictures saved the animated fantasy film Nimona after it almost fell victim to being too LGBTQ for Disney.
• James Hibberd and Lesley Goldberg report that showrunner David S. Goyer is leaving Foundation in season 3. 
• Nicole Sperling reports that several film directors have purchased the historic Village Cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. 
• Canadian actor Chris Gautier, who appeared in Smallville, Once Upon a Time and Eureka among others, has died aged 48.
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe: Revolution (spoilers) and Masters of the Universe in general: 

• For Eternia interviews Adam Conarroe and Patrick Stannard, directors of Masters of the Universe Revelation and Revolution
• Dad-at-Ams interviews Adam Conarroe and Patrick Stannard
• He-Bro compares the Eternia playset to Preternia as it was depicted in Masters of the Universe Revelation and Revolution.
  

 

Comments on Dune, Part 2: 

• David Farr calls Dune: Part 2 bigger, bolder and better than Part 1
  
• Germain Lussier shares what to remember before watching Dune, Part 2.
• Tom Huddleston compares Denis Villeneuve's take on Dune to Frank Herbert's novel.
  
• Justin Carter shares Brian Herbert's, son of Frank Herbert, thoughts on Dune, Part 2. 
• Kara Kennedy compares the different filmic adaptations of Dune. 
• Manvir Singh discusses Dune and conlangs. 
• Christian Holub discusses how the sandworm scenes in Dune, Part 2 were achieved.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Denis Villeneuve, director of Dune: Part 2.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Stellan Skarsgård who plays Baron Harkonnen in Dune.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Dave Bautista who plays Rabban Harkonnen in Dune.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars in general:

• Ira Madison III interviews Amandla Stenberg, who is about to star in Star Wars: The Acolyte.
• Dominic Patten reports that The Mandalorian and Grogu has received one of the largest tax credits ever in California for shooting entirely in the state. 
  

 

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

• Arturo Serrano declares that the new Avatar: The Last Airbender isn't as good as the original, but not as bad as the 2010 live action adaptation either.  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin finds the new Avatar: The Last Airbender hamfisted. 
  
• Aidan Moher explains why the original animated Avatar: The Last Airbender is brilliant.
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Albert Kim, showrunner of the new Avatar: The Last Airbender.
  
• Cindy White interviews Dallas Liu who plays Prince Zuko in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender. 
• Selome Hailu reports that the new Avatar: The Last Airbender is considered a hit for Netflix.
  

 

Comments on Halo:

• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on season 1 of Halo.
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Halo. 
  

 

Comments on the new Quantum Leap:

• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the penultimate episode of season 2 of the new Quantum Leap.
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the season 2 finale of the new Quantum Leap.
  

Comments on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: 

• Noetta Harjo shares her thoughts on the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
• Saloni Gajjar declares that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has little new to offer and wishes that The Walking Dead franchise would die already.

 

Comments on Shogun:

• Rebecca Nicholson calls Shōgun a mesmerising epic that goes big on the gore
• Meredith Hobbs Coons calls the two-part premiere of Shōgun brutal and skillfully woven
• Alison Herman calls Shōgun the most transportive TV epic since Game of Thrones
  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Cosmo Jarvis, star of the new Shogun.  
  

 

Tributes to Kenneth Mitchell: 

• Actor Kenneth Mitchell, who played Aurelio in Star Trek Discovery as well as several other Star Trek roles and who also appeared in Captain Marvel, Jericho and Ghost Whisperer has died of ALS aged only 49. 
• Avery Kaplan remembers Kenneth Mitchell's Star Trek roles.
  
• Caroline Brew shares an obituary for Kenneth Mitchell.

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2023 Analog Analytical Laboratory Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced.
  
• The first round nominations for the 2024 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire have been announced.  
• The winner of the 2024 Japan SF Grand Prize has been announced.
  
• The recipient of the 2024 SFPA Grand Master and Lifetime Service Award has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 International Film Music Critics Association Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2024 SAG Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards have been announced.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Frank Theodat talks about the work ethic of pulp writers. 
• Jon Lindstrom discusses why writers keep returning to certain themes.
  
• Eleanor Parker-White explains how to write about medical phenomena and conditions without being offensive.
  
• Devin Murphy explains how building his own writing desk helped him to write better.
  
• Kate Sidley talks about writing in the aftermath of a home robbery.
• Joel Nedecky explains what drinking taught him about storytelling. 
• Thomas Mullen talks about the problems of writing about historical conspiracy theories in an era where conspiracy theories run rampant.
  
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch reports about an attempted rights grab by the audio book producer Findaway Voices.
  
• Victoria Strauss shares suggestions for changing your mindset in order to deal with scams targeting writers. 
• Anne Marble reports that some people are trying to profit of fanfiction by selling bound collection of fanfiction on Etsy - illegally and without the author's consent 
• Ella Creamer reports that book clubs are booming among young readers.
  
• Ella Creamer reports that lack of support for language, reading and communication skills will lead to a literacy crisis in the UK according to the recent study.
  
• Jonathan Thornton reports that Handheld Press is closing.
  
• Eva Wiseman talks about the trend of using books as interior design.
  

 

Interviews:

• Emily Hockaday interviews David Gerrold.
  
• Emily Gould interviews Kelly Link.
• Scott Edelman interviews Ray Nayler. 
• Locus interviews Ai Jiang.
• Nils Shukla interviews Tori Bovalino. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Bogi Takács 
  

 

Reviews:

• Bill Capossere reviews The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed  
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed   
• Liz Bourke reviews A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu 
• Tobias Carroll reviews Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Ruptured Sky by Jessica A. McMinn
  
• C.T. Phipps reviews The Ebon Mask by Richard Lee Byers 
• Marion Deeds reviews The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
  
• Nils Shukla reviews The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Mislaid in Parts Half Known by Seanan McGuire  
• Amal El-Mohtar reviews The Book of Love by Kelly Link  
• Molly Templeton reviews The Book of Love by Kelly Link 
• Natasha Pulley reviews The Book of Love by Kelly Link 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Book of Love by Kelly Link 
  
• Warner Holme reviews At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett 
• Liz Bourke reviews Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
  
• Mark Yon reviews Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan 
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
  
• S.J. Watson reviews Meet Me at the Surface by Jodie Matthews
• The Library Ladies review Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa
  
• Rob Bedford reviews A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
  
• Chris Kluwe reviews The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis
  
• The Hugo Book Club Blog reviews Julia by Sandra Newman.
  
• Ian Mond reviews Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase 
• John Mauro reviews The Way of Unity by Sarah K. Balstrup
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka 
• Ian Mond reviews Again and Again by Jonathan Evison
  
• R. Graeme Cameron reviews Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction Vol 1, edited by Stephan Kotowych
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews 2022 Best of Utopian Speculative Fiction, edited by Justine Norton-Kertson
   
  

 Classics reviews:

• Nancy Henshaw revisits the 1922 pirate adventure novel Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini.
  
• Echoes of Crom revisits the 1930 Solomon Kane dark fantasy story "The Hills of the Dead" by Robert E. Howard.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1951 science fiction novel Sentinels From Space a.k.a. The Star Watchers by Eric Frank Russell
• Jonathan Cowie revisits the October 1955 issue of New Worlds. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1958 science fiction story “Initiative” by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky  
• Mark Yon revisits the March 1969 issue of New Worlds. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the March 1969 issue of Analog.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1974 science fiction novel Total Eclipse by John Brunner
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1975 horror thriller The Auctioneer by Joan Samson. 
• Sam Reader revisits the 1978 horror story “If Damon Comes” by Charles L. Grant
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1988 science fiction story “Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance?” by Howard Waldrop. 
• C.T. Phipps revisits the 1994 vampire novel Dark Prince by Keith Herber 
• Joe Sherry revisits the 2000 Wheel of Time fantasy novel Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan. 
  
  

Con and event reports:

• File 770 reports that Los Angeles, California, has filed the only bid for the 2026 Worldcon.
  
• James Factora reports that the local police investigated the My Little Pony convention My Amore Fest in Moscow, Russian Federation, for alleged LGBTQ+ propaganda.
• Gavin Doyle reports about the latest expansion plans for Disneyland in Anaheim, California. 
• Sabina Graves reports about the Fantasy Springs attraction at DisneySea in Tokyo, Japan. 
• Sabina Graves shares a look at the Valley of the Witches attraction at Studio Ghibli Park in Nagoya, Japan.
  
• Libby Brooks reports about a very underwhelming event called Willy Wonka's Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, Scotland. 
• Julia Glassman reports that there was also a very strange AI generated script for the Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience. 
• David Mack interviews Kirsty Paterson, an actress hired to play the lone Oompa Loompa at the Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience.
  
• Inspired by the Glagow Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience, Stuart Heritage discusses several other underwhelming live experiences and attractions.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Elise Hammond and Jackie Wattles report that private moon lander Odysseus has become the first US spacecraft to land on the Moon in fifty years.
• Marcia Dunn reports that the Odysseus moon lander has sadly toppled over and is now lying on its side with some antennas inoperable. 
• The Guardian reports that the sidewise landing has cut short the mission of the Odysseus moon lander.
  
• Greg Brosnan reports that the Japanese moon lander SLIM has survived the lunar night and is sending signals again.
  
• David Nield reports that the first examination at the samples of the asteroid Bennu collected by the Osiris-Rex space probe hint that Bennu might be a fragment of a lost ocean world. 
• Kate Crawford reports that generative AI is consuming enormous amounts of energy. 
• Ashley Belanger reports that the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is removing several smart vending machines, after a student discovered that they were using illegal facial recognition technology.
  
• Natasha Singer reports that Florida has passed a bill banning under sixteen-year-olds from having accounts on social media platforms.
  
• Niklaus Wirth, inventor of the Pascal programming language, has died aged 89.
  
  

Gaming: 

• nerds of a feather host a roundtable discussion on the state of the video game industry,
  
• James Whitbrook shares what's coming for Magic: The Gathering in 2024.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Pixel Dan reviews the Mondo Masters of the Universe Scareglow figure.
• Pixel Dan reviews the Skeletron Action Force Red Shadows Wolf Trooper action figures. 
• Jack Merry reviews the Folkmanis Enchanted Tree puppet.
  
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the Hot Toys Star Wars Padawan Ahsoka figure. 
• io9 shares a look at The Real Ghostbusters Fantastic Fright Features action figures from Hasbro.
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the Sentinels Fighting Armor Cyclops figure. 
  
• Sabina Graves shares merchandise featuring the Pokémon Psyduck.
  
• Tristan Klinefelter reports that a rare 14-karat gold Lego piece found at a Goodwill store in Pennsylvania will be sold at auction.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "A Black Spot Among the Chaos" by A.T. Greenblatt in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Twice-Marked, Wild Against City" by R.Z. Held in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "You Don’t Belong Where You Don’t Belong" by Kemi Ashing-Giwa in Reactor.
  
• "Axandrjo, the Silvernosed Vagabond" by C.D. Crabtree in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly. 
• "The Three-Jeweled" by Kathy Chao in Strange Horizons.
  
• "Man From Mars" by Liam Hogan in Wyldblood. 
• "The Ghost on the Server" by Gregory Neil Harris in Interzone Digital.
• "Year of Shrines" by Tessa Gratton in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "Preamble to the Death of a Small God" by H.B. Menendez in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "An Elegy for the Former Things" by K.T. Bryski in Lightspeed.
• "But From Thine Eyes My Knowledge I Derive" by Phoebe Barton in Lightspeed.
  
• "W is for Whispers" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
  
• "For As Long As You Want It" by Kanishk Tantia in Apex Magazine.
• "Game Testing" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 5 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Watch a trailer for Borderlands.
• Watch a trailer for I Saw the TV Glow.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Interview with the Vampire.
• Watch a clip from season 2 of Interview with the Vampire. 
• Watch a trailer for The Watchers.