Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for November 15, 2024

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Trek Lower Decks and Star Trek in general, Star Wars in general, season 2 of Arcane, What We Do in the Shadows, The Penguin, The Franchise, Red One, Dune Prophecy, Heretic, A Nightmare on Elm Street at forty, a minor scandal involving misprinted toy packaging, tributes to Tony Todd, Tim Sullivan and June Spencer and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of her favourite recent science fiction, fantasy and horror novels.
• Lacy Baugher Milas shares her favourite new fantasy book coming out this November. 
• Tobias Carroll shares indie speculative fiction books coming out in November and December.
  
• Waterstones share their favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2024. 
• Waterstones share their favourite romantasy books of 2024.
• Jo Walton talks about the difficulties of selecting her ten favourite SFF books of the twenty-first century to date. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for October 2024.
  
• Preston Grassmann talks about science fiction in Japan.
• James Davis Nicoll shares five thinly veiled versions of Rome in science fiction. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF books about discovering lost civilisations.
  
• Margot Harrison shares five books about fictional mind-altering drugs.  
• Lily Anderson lists five books where the real horror is high school.
  
• James Davis Nicoll looks back on the Star Science Fiction anthologies edited by Frederik Pohl.
  
• Kate van der Borgh talks about our complex relationship with ghosts 
• Marie Tierney shares seven thrillers and horror novel in which children and teenagers take charge of difficult situations.
  
• Robyn Gigl explains how fiction can make cis people empathise with trans people. 
• Wen-Yi Lee talks about the comfort and discomfort of retellings.
  
• Vivian Shaw is fed up with condescending articles about fan fiction.
  
• Issue 87 of Journey Planet with the theme "Mina - Dracula's Destroyer" is now available. 
• Mike Glyer reports that two of the allegations against Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki have been disproven, while others are still open.
  
• Science fiction author as well as film director and actor Tim Sullivan has died aged 76. 
• Locus remembers Tim Sullivan. 
• SFF writer and poet Bruce Boston has died aged 81.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #16 by Jim Zub and Doug Braithwaite 
• Brad Hawley reviews Poison Ivy: Thorns by Kody Keplinger and Sara Kipin
  
• Steve Heller interviews Igor Karash.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon on a library robbery.
  
• Terence Towles Canote remembers Greg Hildebrandt.
  
• Manga artist Kazuo Umezu has died aged 88.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Brianna Ziegler declares that Elevation is not an elevated creature feature 
• Cheryl Eddy calls Black Cab a murky horror film.
  
• Jim Vorel calls Meanwhile on Earth a mesmerizing and confounding extraterrestrial drama.
• Adrian Horton calls Hot Frosty a sexy snowman romance that's as silly as expected  
• Isaiah Colbert declares that the anime Dan Da Dan just keeps getting better and better 
  
• Leslie Felperin calls Piper a cheesy rat-based folk horror film. 
• Jarrod Jones calls The Creep Tapes a killer expansion of the found-footage horror series.
  
• Tania Chen shares her thoughts on Longlegs. 
• Arturo Serrano shares his thoughts on the adaptation of Pedro Páramo
  
• Peter Bradshaw shares his thoughts on Paddington in Peru.
  
• Isaiah Colbert shares early reactions to Nosferatu. 
• Cheryl Eddy declares that the documentary The J-Horror Virus revisits a film movement that is still sparking nightmares 
  
• Josh Tyler calls the titular spaceship from The Ark the first spaceship ever. 
  
• Ben Child wonders whether we really need the Game of Thrones movie that has recently been announced.
• Michele Jordan takes a look at the cinematic history of The Wolfman. 
• Benjamin Lee reports that the next James Bond will be in his thirties and not necessarily white.
  
• Leah Thomas explains why anime is so obsessed with hands. 
• Liz Shannon Miller explains why Gillian Anderson does not want to return to The X-Files.
  
• Glenn Garner reports that actor and comedian Tim Dillon, who played a prison guard in Joker: Folie à Deux, calls the movie the worst thing he's ever seen, 
• Germain Lussier interviews Graham Yost, showrunner of Silo.
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1956 and 1978 science fiction horror films Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
  
• Kayleigh Donaldson revisits the 1994 historical horror film Interview With the Vampire.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido rewatches the 1995 Babylon 5 episode “A Race Through Dark Places” 
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2007 fantasy movie The Water Horse.
  
• Michael Sun revisits the 2014 horror film The Babadook. 
• Animator Nick Wade has died aged 50. 
• South Korean actor Song Jae-lim, best known for his appearances in Moon Embracing the Sun and Queen Woo has died aged 39.
  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general: 

• Gordon Jackson shares ten things he learned from Agatha All Along‘s "Making of" documentary 
  
• The AV Club ranks all the Marvel TV shows to date.
  
• Watch a trailer for Thunderbolts.
  
• Watch a trailer for Captain America: Brave New World.
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of What If?
  

 

Comments on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Starbase 80?!”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Starbase 80?!”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. 
  
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “Starbase 80?!”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
• Avery Kaplan shares her nine favourite Klingon episodes from across various Star Trek series.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars in general: 

• Matt Schimkowitz notes that Disney still doesn't know what to do with Star Wars. 
• Borys Kit also wonders where Star Wars is going now and that Rey remains its only cinematic asset.
  
• James Whitbrook misses the potential that The Mandalorian had when it debuted in 2019. 
• Brian Davids interviews Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy 
• RTE reports that the British Board of Film Classification has reclassified Return of the Jedi 41 years after its release.  

 

Comments on season 2 of Arcane: 

• Elijah Gonzales declares that Arcane maintains its magic in a spellbinding second season  
• Jenna Scherer calls season 2 of  Arcane brilliant and brutal
  
• Isaiah Colbert calls season 2 of Arcane deliciously good television 
  
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on act 1 of season 2 of Arcane.
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on "Heavy Is the Crown", the first episode of season 2 of Arcane.
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on "Watch It All Burn", the second episode of season 2 of Arcane.
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on "Finally Got the Name Right", the third episode of season 2 of Arcane.
• Tom Power interviews Alex Yee and Christian Linke, showrunners of Arcane.
  

 

Comments on What We Do in the Shadows: 

• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In the Shadows.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In the Shadows.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In the Shadows.
  

 

 Comments on Red One:

• Jesse Hassenger calls Red One a Christmas caper which has a few moments of inspiration, but is mostly a slog.  
• Jacob Oller calls Red One a knock-off Marvel movie
  

 

 Comments on Dune Prophecy:

• Vanessa Armstrong declares that Dune: Prophecy weaves a tale of two timelines 
  
• Tim Lewis interviews Emily Watson, one of the stars of Dune Prophecy.
• Rebecca Nicholson interviews Olivia Wilson, one of the stars of Dune Prophecy.

 

Comments on The Penguin: 

• Joshua M. Patton shares his thoughts on the season finale of The Penguin.
  
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the season finale of The Penguin.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the season finale of The Penguin.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on the season finale of The Penguin.
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Lauren LaFranc, showrunner of The Penguin. 
• Tamera Jones and Steve Weintraub interviews Colin Farrell, star of The Penguin.
  
• Mary Kate Carr reports that according to star Colin Farrell, the Penguin will appear in the next Batman movie.
  

 

Comments on Heretic: 

• Leah Schnelbach calls Heretic a charming entry in the religious horror genre 
• Rory Doherty declares that Heretic flips the script on how horror plays with the Christian persecution complex
  
• Jesse Hassenger praises the performances of Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East in the horror movie Heretic. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, writers and directors of Heretic.   
• Adrian Horton discusses how Mormons react to Heretic, which features their faith in a not particularly flattering light.
  

 

Comments on The Franchise: 

• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Franchise.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts about the latest episode of The Franchise.
  

 

A Nightmare on Elm Street at forty:

• Scott Tobias revisits the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street. 
• Matthew Jackson revisits the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street. 
  

 

Tributes to Tony Todd:

• Actor Tony Todd, best known for his appearances in Candyman, The Crow, the Final Destination movies, Platoon, multiple Star Trek series, Masters of the Universe Revelation/Revolution and many others, has died aged 69. 
• Glenn Garner shares the tribute of Virgina Madsen to her Candyman co-star Tony Todd.
• William Hughes remembers Tony Todd.
• Justin Carter remembers Tony Todd. 
• James Whitbrook praises Tony Todd's performance as an older Jake Sisko in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode "The Visitor".
  
• For Eternia remembers Tony Todd and particularly his performance as Scare Glow in Masters of the Universe Revelation and Revolution.
  

 

Tributes to June Spencer:

• British actress June Spencer, longtime star of the radio soap opera The Archers, has died aged 105
• Charlotte Higgins remembers June Spencer.

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2024 Ignyte Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2024 Booker Prize has been announced and it's a science fiction novel. 
• The first round finalists for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards in the science fiction category have been announced.   
• The first round finalists for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards in the fantasy category have been announced. 
• The first round finalists for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards in the horror category have been announced.   
• The first round finalists for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards in the romantasy category have been announced. 
• The first round finalists for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards in the YA fantasy category have been announced. 
  
• The winners of the 2024 Premio Ignotus have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2024 Premio Italia have been announced. 
  
• The winners of the 2024 Prix ActuSF de l’Uchronie have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2024 Wonderland Book Awards have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize has been announced and it's a science fiction novel as well.
  
• The shortlist for the 2024 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize has been announced
  
• The shortlists for the 2024 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year have been announced. 
  
• The 2024 National Toy Hall of Fame inductees have been announced.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Keza MacDonald asks if AI can replace translators. 
• Lucy Knight reports that several Hachette employees have quit in protest over the launch of the conservative Basic Liberty imprint.
  
• Gregory Steiner explains how Dashiell Hammett sued Warner Bros over the rights to Sam Spade in 1940 and thus influenced modern copyright law.

 

Interviews:

• Sam Leith interviews Michael Moorcock.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Paul Cornell. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Jeremy Szal.
  
• Lacy Baugher Milas interviews Alexis Henderson. 
• Locus interviews R.S.A. Garcia. 
• Lisa Allardice interviews Samantha Harvey.
  
• Eric Olson interviews Neal Stephenson.
• Spells & Spaceships interviews Genevieve Gornichec
  
• The Red Hot Chilli Writers interviews Erin E. Adams.  
• Jane Ciabattari interviews Marguerite Sheffer 
  

 

Reviews:

• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Sentence by Gautam Bhatia
  
• Camestros Felapton reviews The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey 
• Melissa A. Watkins reviews Countess by Suzan Palumbo
  
• Sasha Bonkowsky reviews The Great When by Alan Moore
  
• Adrian Collins reviews Time’s Agent by Brenda Peynado
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Fire Heart by Joyce Chng
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton 
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent
  
• Paul Weimer reviews the Saevus Corax Trilogy by K.J. Parker.
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig 
• Alana Joli Abbott reviews Vilest Things by Chloe Gong. 
• Adrian Collins reviews Grave Empire by Richard Swan 
• Martin Cahill reviews The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart 
• Carrie Chi Lough reviews Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The City in Glass by Nghi Vo 
• Alex Preston reviews The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews Before the End by John Palladino 
• Phoebe Wagner reviews Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer
  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Drown Deep by Phil Williams
  
• Alex Brown reviews Bringer of Dust by J.M. Miro
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Reformatory by Tananarive Due 
• Alex Puncekar reviews House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh 
  
• Carrie Chi Lough reviews The Queen by Nick Cutter 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Blood by Sarah Pinborough 
• Rob Bedford reviews Monstrous Nights by Genoveva Dimova
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Wilding by Ian McDonald
  
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Kree by Manuela Draeger, translated by Lia Swope Mitchell
• Mark Yon reviews Night and Day by John Connolly. 
• Jen Lucas reviews Haunted Tales by Adam Macqueen
  
• Niall Harrison reviews Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Fu­ture of Art, edited by Indrapramit Das 
• Jess Maginity reviews Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll.

 

Classics reviews:

• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1892 horror story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
  
• Alan Brown revisits the 1931 space opera novel Spacehounds of IPC by E.E. Smith
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1943 science fiction novella “Attitude” by Hal Clement
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1953 post-apocalyptic fix-up novel Mutant by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1960 horror novel Doctors Wear Scarlet by Simon Raven
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1961 science fiction novel The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1962 science fiction novel Hothouse by Brian W. Aldiss.
  
• Victoria Silverwood revisits the December 1969 issue of Fantastic.
• Gideon Marcus revisits the December 1969 issue of Galaxy.
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the December 1969 issue of Visions of Tomorrow and the 1969 anthology The New S.F., edited by Langdon Jones 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1994 YA horror novel The Mind Reader by R.L. Stine and the 1996 YA horror novel Second Sight by Sinclair Smith. 
  
• Runalong the Shelves revisits the 2000 fantasy novel Galveston by Sean Stewart
   
  

Con and event reports:

• Camestros Felapton reports that a group calling itself Gays Against Groomers complains about DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia, for allegedly overly sexual cosplay and LGBTQ panels.
• Steve Davidson wonders whether the US is still a suitable place to hosr a Worldcon after Donald Trump has been elected US president.
• Locus reports about the virtual 2024 Indian Association for Science Fiction Studies Conference 
• The Tolkien Society shares the program for the virtual Christopher Tolkien Centenary Conference.  
• Mega Jay Retro shares his experiences at the 2024 Legions Con in Whippany, New Jersey. 
  
• Locus shares a photo of the latest Brooklyn Books and Booze event in Brooklyn, New York.
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest edition of the Fantastic Fiction eading series at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring James Patrick Kelly and Teel James Glenn
  
• Sonja Anderson reports about the exhibition “The World of Tim Burton” at the Design Museum in London, UK
  
• Sarah Bahr reports about the science fiction musical Maybe Happy Ending by Hue Park and Will Aronson, which is currently playing in New York City, 
• Alasdair Stuart reviews the Pontypool Stage Show by Hefin Robinson, which is currently playing in Cardiff, Wales.

 

Crowdfunding:

• Asian Pirate Musical, which is playing in London,UK, is looking for funding to produce a full cast recording of their show.
• The Clarion West writing workshop is looking for funding.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Connor Feeley points out that the International Space Station is actually quite noisy. 
• Victor Tangermann reports that NASA's Artemis mission to the Moon might get cancelled among funding cuts of the Trump administration.
  
• Brian Koberlein explains how to build a home radio telescope to detect clouds of hydrogen in the Milky Way
• Greg Daugherty takes a look at nuclear powered concept cars from the 1950s and 1960s.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Joe DelFranco reviews the videogame Persona 3 Reload
  
• Christopher Bird profiles Ian Dallas, founder and creative director of the video game studio Giant Sparrow
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Sian Cain reports that Mattel apologised for accidentally printing the link to a porn site rather than the official movie site on the packaging of tie-in dolls for a movie Wicked.
• For Eternia points out that Mattel is no stranger to typos and errors on packaging, but that few were as impactful as this one.
• Scott Neitlich explains how mistakes likes accidentally putting the wrong link on a toy package could happen.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "In Memory of the Daihani Revolution" by Miranda Rain in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Another Tide" by Will Greatwich in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
  
• "Woodmask" by Adrian Tchaikovsky in Uncanny Magazine 
• "A Hoard of Infinite Meanings" by Abby Roberts in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "The Sky Unseen" by Michelle Muenzler in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  
• "The Night Will Let It In" by Michael Kelly in The Dark.
• "The Three Books of the Philosopher Clown" by Lisa Carreiro in Trollbreath Magazine. 
• "The Oracular Manifestation of Human Consciousness Offers Three Provocative Verbs Separated by Commas" by Aimee Ogden in Lightspeed. 
  
• "Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being" by A. W. Prihandita in Clarkesworld. 
• "Luminous Glass, Vibrant Seeds" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires in Clarkesworld.
• "Become of Me" by Veronica Roth in Reactor.
  
• "And She Had Been So Reasonable" by Rachel Bolton in Apex Magazine.
  
•  "Lawbringer" by H. H. Crom in Swords and Heroes.
  
• "Here’s Why a Second Death Star Won’t Be That Bad" by Carlos Greaves in McSweeney's Internet Tendency.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for The Return. 
• Watch a trailer for On Becoming A Guinea Fowl 
  
• Watch a trailer for Mufasa.
• Watch a trailer for Secret Level.