Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 9, 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 Universe: 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, Lisa Frankenstein, tributes to Carl Weathers and Christopher Priest and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Reactor shares all the new science fiction books coming out in February. 
• Reactor shares all the new fantasy books coming out in February.
• Paul Kincaid shares his favourite SFF books of 2023. 
• Colleen Mondor shares her favourite SFF books of 2023.  
• Fantasty Faction share their favourite SFF books of 2023.
  
• Ella Creamer reports about the Romantasy boom. 
• Sebastian Milbank takes issue with the existence of Grimdark fantasy. 
• Cora Buhlert responds to Sebastian Milbank reviving the debate about Grimdark fantasy.
  
• Ethan Sabatella shares a sword and sorcery reading list. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for February 2024. 
• Rachel Ayers shares five Little Red Riding Hood retellings. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF works which explore the power of libraries. 
• Ratika Deshpande shares seven SFF stories about artists and creative struggles.
  
• Cole Rush shares a guide to surviving a fantasy maze.
  
• R.L. Thornton shares their appreciation for the Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton.
• Reverend Tom Emanuel points out that we should remove J.R.R. Tolkien from his pedestal and bring him back down to Earth. 
• Jeff Goad profiles Philip José Farmer.
  
• Bobby Derie investigates whether H.P. Lovecraft's claim that his acquaintance and correspondent Edith Miniter turned down the opportunity to edit Bram Stoker's Dracula is true. 
• Ella Creamer reports that House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas is now the third fastest selling SFF book of all time in the UK.
• Heath Row reports that the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society has cleaned out a storage unit that held its fanzine collection as well as other items such as William Rotsler's Hugo trophy and urn.
  

 

Tributes to Christopher Priest:

• British science fiction author Christopher Priest has died aged 80. 
• John Clute shares an obituary for Christopher Priest.
  
• Paul Kincaid remembers Christopher Priest. 
• Nicholas Whyte remembers Christopher Priest. 
• Lavie Tidhar remembers Christopher Priest.
  
• Molly Templeton remembers Christopher Priest. 
• SFCrowsNest remembers Christopher Priest.
  

Comics and Art:

• Phil Hoad reports that the already high popularity of comics and graphic novels in France has exploded since the covid pandemic.
  
• Robert Mammone reviews issue 5 of Creepshow.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews the graphic novel Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall 
• Jason Sacks talks about US comics of the late 1960s.
  
• Jake Rossen profiles legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about a writer's unorthodox attempts to improve his novel.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Haley Zapal calls The Kitchen a human focussed science fiction dystopia. 
  
• Xan Brooks reports about the Welsh near future drama The Way. 
• The Guardian asks what All of Us Strangers says about being gay. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on season 2 of Halo. 
  
• Phil Hoad calls Dagr a paganistic found footage horror film which lurches from social-media comedy to shaky-cam bloodletting 
• Phil Hoad calls The Seeding a redneck biblical horror thriller 
• Leslie Felperin calls Slotherhouse an unfunny comedy horror film.
  
• Judith Tarr calls the animated film Cryptozoo a trippy story about the fraught relationship between humans and the natural world 
• Cath Clarke calls The Jungle Bunch: World Tour a funny animal cartoon for under fives. 
• Cole Rush shares five animated series you shouldn't miss.
  
• Melody L. Simpson asks why there aren't more screen adaptations of SFF books by black authors.
  
• Stuart Heritage wonders why there are so many sweary, rude and sometimes evil puppets on TV and in movies.
• Ben Child wonders whether 28 Years Later will take zombie films to the next level.
• Catherine Shoard interviews Michael J. Fox, star of the Back to the Future trilogy and Teen Wolf. 
• io9 interviews Alex Winter, star of the Bill and Ted movies and Destroy All Neighbors. 
• Ellie Violet Bramley interviews Jacqueline Durran, costume designer for Barbie.
  
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Mike McMahan and Josh Bycel, executive producers of Solar Opposites.
  
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits Akira Kurosawa's 1957 Macbeth adaptation Throne of Blood. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1963 horror film Paranoiac.
  
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1969 fantasy film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. 
• Catherine Shoard reports that actor Kumail Nanjiani needed therapy after Eternals received such negative reviews.
  
• Dominic Patten shares another update on the legal battle between Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. 
  
• Animator and director Mark Gustafson has died aged 64. 
• Actor Don Murray, star of Bus Stop, Deadly Hero, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Peggy Sue Got Married, Knots Landing and many others, has died aged 94. 
  

 

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

• Cora Buhlert reviews Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
  
• Coffee & Toys reviews Masters of the Universe: Revolution. 
• The Next Issue Podcast reviews Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
  
• Geek the F Out interviews Masters of the Universe: Revolution producer and the voice of Gwildor Ted Biaselli and artist Nate Baertsch. 
• For Eternia explains who the fallen heroes of Preternia seen in Masters of the Universe: Revolution are.
  
• Renaldo Matadeen discusses how Masters of the Universe Revolution updates several characters. 
  
• Anthony Lund reports that according to showrunner Kevin Smith, the reason that Masters of the Universe: Revolution was only five episodes long is that Netflix claims that's the sweet spot for a series of this kind.
• Anthony Lund also reports that Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Revolution happen in a multiverse and that other Masters of the Universe continuities are only an interdimensional doorway away. 
• Joshua M. Patton explains why the Filmation He-Man and She-Ra cartoons are still so popular and beloved more than forty years later. 
• Dan Rice ranks the sexual appeal of Masters of the Universe characters.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars in general:

• Adam B. Vary reports that actress Gina Carano is sueing Disney about being fired from The Mandalorian following repeated problematic political remarks.
• Stuart Heritage discusses Gina Carano's lawsuit against Disney and the increasing frequency of actors getting fired for personal views, often with much less justification than Gina Carano. 
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Bill Coberly wonders whether the world has become too cynical for Star Trek. 
• Keith R.A DeCandido shares his thoughts on season 4 of Star Trek Enterprise. 
• Avery Kaplan shares seven romantic Star Trek episodes to enjoy.
  
• Anthony Pascale reports that the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation will receive a special lifetime achievement Saturn Award.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future:  

• Actor Michael Jayston, best known for playing The Valeyard in Doctor Who, has died aged 88.
• Doctor Who fan and creator of the Gallifrey One convention Tony Benoun has died.
  

 

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

• Alicia Venter declares that toning the sexism faced by Katara in the live action Avatar: The Last Airbender misses the point of the story.
• Laura Pollaco wonders whether the new live action Avatar: The Last Airbender has learned from the mistakes of M. Night Shyamalan's adaptation.
  

 

Comments on Argylle (spoilers):

• Rachel Leishman calls Argylle an action-packed ride full of mystery
  
• Arturo Serrano declares that Argylle is every cliché it thinks it's mocking 
• Cindy White discusses the final twist of Argylle.
  
• Rachel Leishman explains the ending of Argylle.
  
• Rachel Leishman discusses the post-credits scene of Argylle.
  

Comments on Lisa Frankenstein:

• Benjamin Lee calls Lisa Frankenstein a throwback comedy-horror film that is just monster mush
  
• Leigh Monson calls Lisa Frankenstein a triumphant teen girl horror movie. 

 

Tributes to Carl Weathers:

• Actor, director and American football player Carl Weathers, best known for his roles in the Rocky movies, Predator, The Mandalorian, Action Jackson and many others, has died aged 76. 
  
• Anthony Lund shares tributes to Carl Weathers from friends and co-stars.
• Melody McCune remembers Carl Weathers. 
• Rachel Leishman remembers Carl Weathers.
  
• SFCrowsNest remembers Carl Weathers' contributions to science fiction, fantasy and horror.
  
• The Guardian shares photos from Carl Weathers' lengthy career.
  

 

Awards:

• Susan Cooper has been named the 2024 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master
• The finalists for the 2024 SERAPH Award have been announced.
  
• The shortlist for the 2024 Tähtivaeltaja Award has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Saturn Awards have been announced.
• The nominations for the 2023 International Film Music Critics Association Awards have been announced.
• Nerds of a feather share yet more recommendations for the 2024 Hugo Awards.
• Adam Morgan reports about the 2023 Hugo nomination uproar.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Ethan Sabatella talks about using dreams as writing prompts. 
• Karen Outen declares that killing your characters is traumatic and should be.
  
• Teresa Dovelpage talks about writing in a second language.
• Bernadine Evaristo defends the UK Royal Society of Literature against criticism.
  
• Mark Sweeney reports that Spotify has reported a massive loss but more subscribers since adding audiobooks to the platform. 
• Lamorna Ash reports about the ongoing cyberattack on the British Library.
  

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Martha Wells.
  
• The Roddenberry Archives interviews David Gerrold in a two part video. 
• Fabienne Schwizer interviews Jay Kristoff
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury interviews Brent C. Lambert.
  
• John Mauro interviews Gemma Amor.
• Caroline M. Yoachim interviews Jordan Taylor.
• Ivar Leon Menger And Thomas Scholz interview each other. 
• Goodman Games interviews Harley Stroh.
  

 

Reviews:

• Janet Webb reviews Random in Death by J.D. Robb 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Furious Heaven by Kate Elliott
  
• Liz Bourke reviews Fallen by Melissa Scott
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis 
• Paul Weimer reviews Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Inversion by Aric McBay
  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Renia by Karl Forshaw
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Cocktails & Chloroform by Kelley Armstrong 
• Marlene Harris reviews That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming 
• Warner Holme reviews The Frugal Wizard’s Guide For Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson.
  
• Alex Brown reviews Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire
  
• Brian Muphy reviews The Shadow of Vengeance by Scott Oden. 
• James Reasoner reviews The Shadow of Vengeance by Scott Oden. 
  
• Mark Yon reviews The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. 
• Arturo Serrano reviews The Past Trader by A. M. Donohoo 
  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
• Martin Cahill reviews All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows
  
• Adri Joy reviews A Necessary Chaos by Brent Lambert  
• Ann Michelle Harris reviews To the Woman in the Pink Hat by LaToya Jordan,
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley   
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Disinformation War by S.J. Groenewegen 
• Fiona Denton reviews Faebound by Saara El-Arifi 
• Clara Cohen reviews The Briar Book of the Dead by A. G. Slatter 
  
• Alex Brown reviews Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews What Kind of Mother by Clay Macleod Chapman  
• Marion Deeds reviews The Void Ascendant by Premee Mohamed
  
• Clara Cohen reviews If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolatory Horror by Jacob Steven Mohr 
• Molly Templeton reviews Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart by GennaRose Nethercott.
  
• Ian Mond reviews The Wolfe at the Door by Gene Wolfe 
• Dave Brzeski reviews issue 1 of New Edge Sword and Sorcery.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews The Allure of the Multiverse: Extra Dimensions, Other Worlds, and Parallel Universes by Paul Halpern
  
• Stephanie Merritt reviews Magus: The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa by Anthony Grafton
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Bobby Derie revisits the 1926 vampire story “Bat’s Belfry” by August Derleth
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1940 historical fantasy novel The Reign of Wizardry by Jack Williamson
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1946 sword and planet novella “Lorelei of the Red Mist” by Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1954 science fiction novel The Star Beast by Robert A. Heinlein
  
• John Gradoville revisits the 1963 science fiction story "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" by Roger Zelazny. 
• Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1966 science fiction novel Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1968 science fiction novelette "The Sharing of Flesh" by Poul Anderson.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1968 anthology SF-12, edited by Judith Merril.
  
• David Levinson revisits the March 1969 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction. 
• John Boston revisits the March 1969 issue of Amazing.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1971 science fiction short story “The Human Operators” by Harlan Ellison and A. E. van Vogt
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1976 near future science fiction novel A Wreath of Stars by Bob Shaw
  
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1986 historical fantasy novel Cahena: A Dream of the Past by Manly Wade Wellman. 
• Brian Murphy revisits the 1989 sword and sorcery novel Death Dealer 3: Tooth and Claw
  
•  by James Silke.
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1992 science fiction novel "Ammonite" by Nicola Griffiths. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1992 YA horror novel First Date by R.L. Stine and the 1994 YA horror novel Last Date by Diane Hoh.
  
• Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1999 fantasy novel Indigo by Graham Joyce
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 2008 horror collection The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
  
  

Con and event reports:

• Elizabeth Minkel reports about Terror Camp, a virtual convention focussed on the TV show The Terror and polar exploration, which combines an academic conference with a fandom con.
• John King Tarpinian reports about the Rare Books LA antiquarian book fair in Pasadena, California.
  
• Atlas Obscura shares a look at the Vampire & Paranormal Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania 
• Darius Johnson and Adam Harrington report about a Groudhog Day cast reunion and Harold Ramis memorial day in Woodstock, Illinois, where the movie was filmed. 
• Sabina Graves reports about the Escape It escape room in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Sabina Graves reports about technological innovations at the various Disney theme parks.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Horror author Nancy A. Collins needs help with medical bills.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Andrew Jones reports that the core module of the Chinese space station Tiangong celebrates one thousand days in space. 
• Ian Sample reports that the Saturn moon Mimas may have a hidden ocean under its thick crust of ice.
  
• Dana Rubinstein reports that the Knightscope K5 robot who patrolled the New York subway has been retired after only a brief time in service.
  
• Sascha Pare reports that the mystery of some giant exploding craters found only in Siberia has been solved.
  
  

Gaming: 

• Riley MacLeod reports about the controversies besetting the video game Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
• Patricia Hernandez reports about Gary Bowser who helped to bypass anti-piracy protections on Nintendo games and was jailed and also sentenced to pay a fourteen million US-dollars in damages to Nintendo.  
• Jennifer Maas reports that Disney is investing 1.5 billion US-dollars into the video game studio Epic Games.
  
• Daniel E. Slotnik remembers the late game designer Jennell Jaquays.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• For Eternia reviews the Mattel Masterverse Masters of the Universe Revolution King Keldor action figure.
• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse Movie Evil-Lyn and Masters of the Universe Revolution Orko and Gwildor two-pack. 
• Cat Eldridge reviews the Marvel Femme Fatales Spider-Gwen statue
• James Whitbrook shares a look at the Hasbro Star Wars Vintage Collection E-Wing.
  
• Planet Eternia shares some impressions as well as a recording of Mattel's Kidult event at Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, Germany. 
  
• Jay Glatfelter shares a tour of the Boss Fight Studios booth at Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, Germany. 
• Sabina Graves shares the best Valentine's Day gifts for geeks.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Fleet of Lamvula" by Rab Foster in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "The Enceladus South Pole Base Named after V.I. Lenin" by Zohar Jacobs in Clarkesworld.
• "Kardashev's Palimpsest" by David Goodman in Clarkesworld.
• "Doctor Souvenir" by Elly Bangs in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Sunset Suite" by Matthew O. Fromboluti in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Dusk" by Angela Slatter in The Dark. 
• "Just You and Me, Now" by K.T. Bryski in Apex Magazine.
  
• "A Hundred Secret Names" by Margaret Ronald in The Sunday Morning Transport.
• "An Elegy of Soil" by Natalia Theodoridou in Uncanny Magazine
• "Of Flowing Stone, of Liquid Gold, of Justice, Ash, and Battle" by Malda Marlys in Strange Horizons.
  
• "Instar" by Karen Heuler in Reactor.
  
• "The Cut Cares Not for the Flesh" by George Sandison in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Living the Legend" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  
• "Trigger Snowflake and the Dequalifications" by Ingvar in File 770.
  
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin 
• Watch a trailer for Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Resident Alien.
• Watch a trailer for Late Night With the Devil.
  
• Watch a trailer for La Chimera.
  
• Watch a trailer for Imaginary. 
• Watch a trailer for The Animal Kingdom. 
• Watch a trailer for Lovely, Dark and Deep.
  
• Watch a trailer for Longlegs. 
• Watch a trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One. 
• Watch a trailer for The Regime.
  
• Watch a trailer for Despicable Me 4.
• Watch a trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.