It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with the Star Wars in general, Star Trek in general, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, X-Men '97, 3 Body Problem, Late Night With the Devil, Doctor Who part, present and future, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Passenger, Renegade Nell, Godzille x Kong: The New Empire, season 2 of Halo, the many woes of Disney, tributes to Vernor Vinge and James A. Moore and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
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- Gabino Iglesias shares recent horror novels to enjoy.
- Lindsay Starck shares her appreciation for domestic horror.
- Bobby Matthews talks about the growing diversity of southern gothic and rural noir fiction.
- María Alejandra Barrios Vélez shares six ghost stories from across Latin America.
- Camestros Felapton muses which elements define science fiction and horror.
- Arthur Liu, Sanfeng Zhang and Shaoyan Hu share their recommendations for Chinese science fiction published in 2023
- Dorian Lynskey wonders why apocalyptic tales continue to be so popular.
- Parker Adams talks about the evolution of the technothriller.
- Katie Moench shares four 1980s science fiction novels that aged badly and four that are still worth reading.
- Jennifer Thorne shares five SFF books that prove that travel is terrifying
- Richard Marpole asks why elemental fantasy is so popular.
- James Maliszewski talks about his biggest problem with Appendix N.
- Cora Buhlert takes a look at the non-Conan works of Robert E. Howard.
- Michael Dirda shares his appreciation for the works of Manly Wade Wellman and Avram Davidson.
- Bob Byrne shares his appreciation for the works of Terry Pratchett.
- Marion Deeds shares her appreciation for the Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L. Howard.
- Amer Sawan wonders why Dumbledore hired so many terrible teachers in the Harry Potter books.
- Molly Templeton explains that reading should be a joy, not a duty or a task.
- Arnie Fenner remembers Howards Waldrop.
- Editor and conrunner Deb Geisler has died aged 66.
- Laurent de Brunhoff, author of the Babar picture books, has died aged 98
Tributes to Vernor Vinge:
- Science fiction author Vernor Vinge has died aged 79.
- David Brin remembers Vernor Vinge.
- John Scalzi remembers Vernor Vinge.
- Rich Horton remembers Vernor Vinge.
- Locus remembers Vernor Vinge.
- The Hugo Book Club Blog shares a tribute to Vernor Vinge.
- Molly Templeton remembers Vernor Vinge.
- James Davis Nicoll shares a brief guide to the science fiction of Vernor Vinge.
Tributes to James A. Moore:
Comics and Art:
- Jason Ray Carney reviews Fire and Ice: Teegra by Bill Willingham and Gabriele Di Caro.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Asgardians 1: Odin by George O'Connor.
- Rachel Cooke reviews The Russian Detective by Carol Adlam
- Locus interviews SFF artist Richard A. Kirk.
- Bradley Powers interviews fantasy artist Caroline Jamhour.
- John Freeman wonders whether comics might be the answer to the literacy crisis the UK is facing.
- Michael Cavna reports that the Gannett newspaper chain has dropped many newspaper comic strips by women and creators of colour.
- Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the unexpected ending to a fantasy epic.
Film and TV:
- J.C. Kang calls Blue Eye Samurai Mulan meets Kill Bill
- Benjamin Espen shares his thoughts on Dune: Part 2.
- Molly Templeton declares that Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person presents a rather different kind of teen angst
- Phil Hoard calls Restore Point the Czech Blade Runner and a valiant attempt to satisfy cyber-noir cravings
- Arturo Serrano shares his thoughts on the animated film Robot Dreams and declares that it shouldn't be possible for such measured, minimal forms to contain all this wealth of feelings
- Haley Zapal calls Love Lies Bleeding a wildly entertaining look at revenge, body horror, and attraction
- Matthew Jackson calls Immaculate a bumpy nunsploitation horror film and praises the performance of Sydney Sweeney.
- Mustafa Yassar II calls The American Society Of Magical Negroes a movie that's afraid of itself
- Luke Y. Thompson declares that Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 offers a good gimmick, a twisted sense of humor and a healthy dose of irreverence
- Cath Clarke calls Kung Fu Panda 4 more miss than hit
- Catherine Bray calls the animated film Little Eggs: A Frozen Rescue a charmless debacle
- Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of Constellation.
- Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Resident Alien.
- Manuel Betancourt shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Regime.
- Meredith Hobbs Coons shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Shogun.
- Melody L. Simpson shares ten great SFF shows that will get a second season in 2024.
- Lorna Wallace shares nine movies which unexpectedly swerve into SFF territory.
- Ben Child wonders whether Alien: Romulus can return the Alien franchise to its glory days.
- Ryan Gilbey interviews Steve Martin, star of Only Murders in the Building, Pennies from Heaven, The Man With the Two Brains and many others.
- Ryan Gajewski interviews Melissa Barrera, star of Abigail who was famously fired from Scream 7.
- Simon Bland interviews John Carpenter, director of the 1982 science fiction horror film The Thing and Keith David who played Childs.
- Kali Wallace revisits the 1963 Czech science fiction film Ikarie XB-1
- Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1964 fantasy musical Mary Poppins.
- Martin Edwards revisits the 1976 horror movie Burnt Offerings.
- Beth Singler revisits the 1984 time travel movie Terminator.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1993 Babylon 5 episode “The Gathering”
- Sam Barsanti, Matt Schimkowitz and Drew Gillis revisit the 1997 anime The End Of Evangelion
- Leah Schnelbach revisits the 2013 science fiction horror film Under the Skin.
- Kristen Patterson traces how black female pop artists and actresses have adopted the look of the robot Maria from Metropolis.
- Cheryl Eddy shares her ten favourite SF performances by Carrie Ann Moss.
- Tim Jonze reports that a collector has acquired the storyboards for the Salvador Dali designed dream sequence in the 1945 Alfred Hitchcock suspense thriller Spellbound.
- Hannah Ellison-Peters reports about a flood of pro-government and Islamophobic Bollywood films.
Comments on X-Men '97:
- Camestros Felapton calls X-Men '97 bottled nostalgia.
- Ann Michelle Harris calls X-Men '97 a nostalgic return to the addictive X-Men adventures of the 1990s
- James Whitbrook discusses how X-Men '97 handles the story of Madelyne Pryor.
- James Whitbrook shares his appreciation for the portrayal of Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops in X-Men '97.
- James Whitbrook reports that X-Men '97 is one of the most successful animated series on Disney+.
Comments on Star Wars in general:
- Gregory Mysogland recounts how the celebrated film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel defended the original Star Wars trilogy against negative criticism.
- John Hodgman shares tips how to persuade who claim to hate science fiction to watch Star Wars.
- James Whitbrook shares a look at the history of the Star Wars villainess Asaji Ventress.
Comments on Star Trek in general:
- Adam B. Vary takes a look at the future plans for Star Trek.
- Steve Vertlieb celebrates the 93rd birthday of William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek, Keldor in Masters of the Universe; Revolution, the titular character in T.J. Hooker, Denny Crane in Boston Legal and many others.
- Jimmy Kimmel interviews William Shatner.
Comments on Late Night With the Devil:
Comments on 3 Body Problem:
- Lili Loufbourow calls 3 Body Problem a great drama and decent science fiction.
- Avery Kaplan shares episode by episode reviews of 3 Body Problem.
- Cheryl Eddy shares ten burning questions she has after watching 3 Body Problem
- Adam B. Vary interviews John Bradley who plays Jack Rooney in 3 Body Problem.
- Cheryl Eddy explains how the Panama Canal scene in 3 Body Problem was created.
- Nectar Gan reports that 3 Body Problem has sparked nationalistic outrage in China.
- Victor Mair also discusses the Chinese backlash against 3 Body Problem.
- Xu Wei reports that Xu Yao, an executive at the company Yoozoo Interactive, which used to own the film and TV rights for 3 Body Problem, has been sentenced to death for poisoning his boss Lin Qui.
Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future:
- Louise Griffin praises Steven Moffat's work on Doctor Who.
- Jessica Holmes shares her thoughts on the 1969 Doctor Who serial "The Space Pirates".
- Alexi Duggins reports that Doctor Who showrunner Russel T. Davies believes that the end of the BBC is imminent, which is why he partnered with Disney Plus to ensure the future of Doctor Who.
- Max Goldbart reports that the BBC will no longer use generative AI to promote Doctor Who, following a massive backlash.
- Watch a trailer for the new series of Doctor Who.
Comments on Renegade Nell:
Comments on season 2 of Halo:
Comments on Passenger:
Comments on Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire:
- Benjamin Lee calls Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire a breezy, forgettable monster sequel
- Manuel Betancourt calls Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire laughably absurd and a stale sequel.
- Germain Lussier declares that Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire never quite clicks
- Germain Lussier interviews Adam Wingard, director of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
- io9 interviews Rebecca Hall, one of the stars of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Comments on Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire:
- Damon Wise calls Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire a fun and scary sequel
- Germain Lussier explains how Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire sets the stage for more Ghostbusters
- Charles Moss explains why the Ghostbusters franchise needs to come to an end.
- io9 interviews Gil Kenan, director of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
- Louis Chilton interviews Ernie Hudson who plays Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters mories.
- io9 interviews Ernie Hudson.
- Brian Davids interviews Mckenna Grace who plays Phoebe Spengler in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
- Bruce Haring reprts that Leslie Jones who appeared in the 2016 Ghostbusters film has criticised Jason Reitman, director of Ghostbusters Afterlife for feeding into the backlash against the 2016 movie for its all female cast.
Comments on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live:
Comments of the woes of Disney:
- Todd Spangler reports that investor Nelson Peltz who is trying to force his way onto Disney's board of directors has complained about "woke" Marvel movies like Black Panther and The Marvels.
- Sabina Graves shares some background on Nelson Peltz and the struggle inside the Disney board of directors.
- Sabina Graves reports that the Walt Disney Company and Florida governor Ron DeSantis have settled their legal difficulties.
Awards:
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Charlie Jane Anders shares her thoughts on literary snobbery, creative experimentation, and how our preconceptions shape our reading experience
- Alexia Casale explains why the use of humor in fiction is important.
- Jesse Q. Sutanto shares tips for writing holiday mysteries.
- Michael Capobianco reports about the US Copyright Claims Board.
- Kelly Jensen reports about the app BookmarkED/OnShelf, which supports and reinforces book bans in Texas by collecting data about kids trying to borrow library books.
- Ella Creamer reports that several library services and museums in the UK have received 33 million pounds of funding altogether.
- Maniza Naqvi talks about saving Pioneer Book House, the oldest bookstore in Karachi, Pakistan.
Interviews:
- Runalong the Shelves interviews Premee Mohamed.
- John Lui itnerviews Liu Cixin.
- David Barnett itnerviews Liu Cixin.
- Runalong the Shelves interviews Eliza Chan.
- Stephanie McNeal interviews Sierra Greer.
- Scott Edelman interviews Julie Phillips.
- Stephen J. Golds interviews Steve Stark.
- D.M. Ritzlin interviews K.T. Elfering.
Reviews:
- Michael Dodd reviews System Collapse by Martha Wells
- Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds review System Collapse by Martha Wells
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone.
- Raven Crime Reads reviews The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone.
- Marlene Harris reviews The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein
- C.T. Phipps reviews Space Punks 2 by Anna Mocikat
- Chris Kluwe reviews Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Stars Turned Inside Out by Nova Jacobs
- Greg Mele reviews Immaculate Scoundrels by John R. Fultz.
- Fiona Denton reviews Dreams of Fire by Shauna Lawless
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed
- Vanessa Armstrong reviews Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
- Judith Tarr reviews Wild Life by Molly Gloss.
- Martin Cahill reviews Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
- Paul Weimer reviews March's End by Daniel Polansky
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo
- Alexandra Pierce reviews Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde
- Marlene Harris reviews Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- John Mauro reviews Necrotown by Alexander Nader
- Doreen Sheridan reviews Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa
- Blue Book Balloon reviews What Feasts at Night by T Kingfisher
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
- Ian Mond reviews The Briar Book of the Dead by A. G. Slatter
- Vanessa Armstrong reviews Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
- Jen Lucas reviews The Last Murder At The End Of The World by Stuart Turton
- Emily Wilson reviews Annie Bot by Sierra Greer.
- Holly Williams reviews Memory Piece by Lisa Ko
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Morningside by Téa Obreht
- Ian Mond reviews Walter Benjamin Stares at the Sea by C.D. Rose
- The Quick and the Read reviews The Haven by Fiona Neill
- Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Logical Fantasy: The Many Worlds of John Wyndham by John Wyndham
- John Mauro reviews All Who Wander Are Lost, edited by Gemma Amor
- Runalong the Shelves reviews For Tomorrow, edited by Dan Coxon
- Robin Marx reviews Neither Beg Nor Yield, edited by Jason M. Waltz
- Niall Harrison Reviews The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction 2022 edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Eugen Bacon and Milton Davis
Classics reviews:
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1947 space opera novel The Star of Life by Edmond Hamilton
- Brian Collins revisits the 1956 science fiction story “Steel” by Richard Matheson
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1957 science fiction story “Hunting Machine” by Carol Emshwiller
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1957 science fiction story “Between the Thunder and the Sun” by Chad Oliver
- M. Porcius revisits the March 1958 issue of Venture Science Fiction.
- The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1960 space opera The High Crusade by Poul Anderson.
- Mark Yon revisits the April 1969 issue of New Worlds.
- Sam Reader revisits the 1969 horror story “The Swords” by Robert Aickman
- Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1969 science fiction thriller Seven Seats to the Moon by Charlotte Armstrong
- Ken Lizzi revisits the 1970 science fantasy anthology Swords Against Tomorrow, edited by Robert Hoskins.
- The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1976 dystopian novel Shadrach in the Furnace by Robert Silverberg
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 science fiction novel Beyond Rejection by Justin Leiber
- William Stoddard revisits the 1982 science fiction novel Courtship Rite by Donald Kingsbury.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1987 post-apocalyptic novel The Sea and Summer by George Turner
Con and event reports:
- Rachel Léon reports about the Romantasy Literary Genre Festival in Chicago, Illinois.
- Louis Skye shares her experiences at the 2024 Toronto Comicon in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in a three part post.
- Rosie Knight reports about the 2024 Black Zine Fest in Los Angeles, California.
- Voting for the 2024 GUFF fan fund has begun.
- Vince Docherty discusses the history of cosplay at conventions
- Žarko Milićević reports about the celebration of the 55th anniversary of the Serbian science fiction magazine Kosmoplov in Belgrade, Serbia.
- Locus shares a photo of the inaugural Wayward Wormhole writing workshop at Castle de Llaés in Gurb, Spain.
- Jonathan M. Gitlin reports that the restored bridge set of the Enterprise D from Star Trek: The Next Generation will be displayed at the Sci-Fi World Musem in Santa Monica, California
- Sabina Graves shares a look at the new How To Train Your Dragon themed attraction at Universal Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Crowdfunding:
Science and technology:
- Robert Z. Pearlman reports that the proposed first crewed flight of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft will also include a collection of mementos by various atsronauts.
- Ian Sample reports that scientists are calling for protecting sites on the Moon perfectly suited for stationing astronomical instruments from other human activity on the Moon.
- Sarah Laskow explains how eighteenth century astronomer Edmond Halley popularised solar eclipses.
- Christina Anderson reports about a court case in Sweden about who owns a meteorite which fell to Earth.
- Lukas Ropek reports that Open AI CEO Sam Altman has been accused of being a megalomaniac.
- Alexis Ong and Arkady Martine talk about Singapore, city planning and the city of the future.
- Esther Brownsmith shares some background on the Book of Esther and the Jewish holiday Purim.
Toys and collectibles:
- ShortCircuit reviews the AI-powered talking toy Grok by Curio and finds it quite annoying.
- Iain Delaney reviews the Futurama Bender Robot Action Toy by Rocket USA Toys.
- Geek Dad Live shares an overview of all the new Masters of the Universe Origins figures coming later this year.
- Geek Dad Live shares an overview of all the new Masters of the Universe Masterverse figures coming later this year.
- Geek Dad Live shares an overview of all the new Turtles of Grayskull figures coming later this year.
- For Eternia wonders why Mattel Creations exclusive Masters of the Universe Origins figures keep selling out and the Masterverse figures don't.
- Germain Lussier shares a look at the custom action figures of Adam Perocchi.
- Eunice Braga talks about how making beaded friendship bracelets for a Taylor Swift concert reminded her of what's great about being a fan.
- Sabina Graves shares a look at upcoming collectible popcorn buckets for various blockbusters.
- Jody Serrano reports that the police department in Murrieta, California, will stop putting Lego onto the faces of suspects in photos after Lego asked them to stop.
Free online fiction:
- "Season of Weddings" by Sharang Biswas in Lightspeed.
- "Islands of Stability" by Marissa Lingen in Lightspeed.
- "The God, Descendant" by Amanda Helms in Uncanny Magazine
- "Your Sword, Your Trumpet" by Anjali Patel in The Deadlands.
- "Swarm X1048 - Ethological Field Report: Canis Lupus Familiaris, 6” by F.E. Choe in Clarkesworld.
- "Geminoid" by Malena Salazar Maciá in Clarkesworld.
- "The End of the Middle" by Andrew Kozma in Apex Magazine.
- "The Let Go" by E. Catherine Tobler in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Lanterns" by Manu Zolezzi in Interzone Digital.
- "Breathe, Blow, Burn" by Ai Jiang in The Dark.
- "For Out of Tai Shan the Torah Shall Go Forth" by Zohar Jacobs in The Sunday Morning Transport.
- "Little (Green) Women" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch,
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