And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with commentary on the Fantastic Four movie, diversity in comics, reports from GenCon as well as your regular dose of Hugo discussion.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Jen Doll explains how A Wrinkle in Time changed science fiction forever.
- Tor.com shares their 15 favourite time travel novels.
- John Bardinelli offers a newbie's guide to Dune on the event of its 50th anniversary.
- John Scalzi explains which ten SFF characters he wanted to be.
- Matt Staggs shares his appreciation for Poul Anderson.
- Andrew Liptak discusses Margaret Atwood and her complicated relationship to the SFF genre.
- Ahrvid Engholm discusses Stieg Larsson and his history as an SF fan.
- Duncan Campbell remembers Edgar Wallace, prolific crime writer as well as creator of King Kong and The Ringer.
- Cora Buhlert also shares her appreciation for the works of Edgar Wallace.
- Damien Walter takes a look at some science fiction apocalypses.
- Traci Loudin explains the difference between dystopian and apocalyptic fiction.
- Theodora Goss takes a look at late 19th century monsters and the world that birthed them.
- Alistair Cross talks about sex and vampires.
- D.B. Jackson a.k.a. David B. Coe talks about genre and community and calls for more respect between writers and fans of different subgenres.
- Adam Sternbergh asks whether characters belong to their creators or fans.
- Chris Lough is not impressed by the new Fantastic Four movie.
- Alex Pappademas wonders whether the new Fantastic Four movie will spell the end for the Fantastic Four.
- M.D. Jackson compares Marvel and DC at the movies and wonders why Marvel is so much more successful.
- Michael R. Underwood points out that the superhero comics published by Marvel and DC have much more diverse casts than the movies based on those comics.
- Caitlin Rosberg says that representation matters and that comics should embrace change and diversity.
- Germain Lussier explains how the various species in Guardians of the Galaxy understand each other.
- Sanford Allen shares his reappreciation for The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec.
- Toni McIntyre shares her reappreciation for Sucker Punch.
- Genevieve Valentine explains why the horror movie It Follows is an allegory for rape culture.
- Katherine Trendacosta takes a look at the lessons learned from Mad Max: Fury Road, Terminator Genisys and Jurassic World.
- Foz Meadows shares her thoughts about Sense8.
- Katherine Trendacosta claims that Stargate didn't become a great universe until the various TV shows.
- Noah Smith discusses the economics of Star Trek.
- Fantasy writer Adrienne Martine-Barnes died aged 73.
- John Hertz shares his appreciation for the late Adrienne Martine-Barnes.
Awards and Hugo debate:
- The winners of the 2015 Mythopoeic Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2015 Gen Con EN World RPG Awards have been announced.
- Sasquan, the 2015 WorldCon, has announced that they have received a record number of Hugo ballots.
- Cheryl Morgan implores Hugo voters not to give up hope.
- Camestros Felapton attempts to analyse the Sad Puppy mindset.
- Adam Roberts shares his take on the Hugo controversy.
- David B. Coe a.k.a. D.B. Jackson offers his take on the Hugo debate.
- Chris M. Barkley shares his perspectives on the 2015 Hugo Awards debate.
- John Scalzi offers his final word on the Hugo controversy.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Chuck Wendig shares 100 random storytelling thoughts and tips.
- Ursula K. Le Guin answers the question "How do you make something good?"
- N.K. Jemisin shares some tips and an excercise on worldbuilding (PDF link).
- Paula S. Jordan talks about creating reasonable aliens.
- S. Andrew Swann discusses seven things you will find in every SFF story.
- Tim Waggoner shares his list about the most common mistakes beginning authors make.
- Django Wexler talks about avoiding middle book syndrome.
- Wicked Red explains what serialised fiction is.
- Elisabeth Grace Foley explains why writing is like arranging flowers.
- BookBub share their ultimate guide to book marketing.
- Robert J. Sawyer complains that "bestselling author" has become a meaningless term.
- Julie Ann Dawson explains how to create discount codes with Createspace.
Interviews:
- John H. Stevens interviews Samuel R. Delany.
- Sherwood Eliot Wirt interviewed C.S. Lewis (in 1963).
- Diana Biller interview Andrew and Ilona Gordon a.k.a. Ilona Andrews.
- Deborah Stanish interview Delilah S. Dawson.
- Kathryn Allan interview Joyce Chng.
Reviews:
- Lauren Naturale reviews Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor.
- Renay Williams reviews The End of All Things by John Scalzi.
- Elena Linville reviews Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig.
- Jackie Dana reviews Brother Frankenstein by Michael Bunker and The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree by S.A. Hunt.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Darkness Rising by Brian Moreland.
- Ursula K. Le Guin reviews Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.
- Sigrid Ellis reviews the TV series Killjoys.
Crowdfunding:
- Hugo Broyler, a science fiction noir graphic novel, is looking for funding.
- If, a science fiction anthology by 36 comic creators, is looking for backers.
- Asphodel, a space opera comic by Alex Kane and Gale Galligan, is looking for funding.
- Alternate Hilarities: Weirder Science, an anthology edited by Giovanni Valentino, is looking for backers.
- Mythic Indy, a collection of new myths and legends about Indianapolis intended to support creative writing programs for kids, is looking for backers.
- A project to create new Thunderbirds episodes based on 1960s recordings and using the original supermarionation techniques is looking for funding.
Con reports:
- Carolyn Cox reports about a controversial panel on the subject "women in comics" at GenCon in Indianapolis.
- Chuck Wendig shares his experiences at GenCon in Indianapolis.
- Aaron Pound also shares his experiences at GenCon.
- Artist Bob Eggleton worries about the future of the WorldCon art show.
- John Wiswell shares seven tips for better conventions.
Science and technology:
- More than 1000 robotics researchers and other experts have signed an open letter calling for a ban of military artificial intelligence.
- George Dvorsky explains why the argument for a ban on autonomous killer robots falls flat.
- HitchBot, the cute robot who has been hitchhiking all over Canada and Europe met his demise at the hands of robot haters while attempting to travel across the US.
- How robots could build a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon.
- Airbus is planning to patent an ultra-rapid aircraft that can reach speeds of up to Mach 4.5.
- What would happen if a black hole met an antimatter black hole?
- How to make 3-D holograms with your smartphone.
Free online fiction:
- "Fabulous Beasts" by Priya Sharma at Tor.com
- "Night of the Salamander" by Michael Swanwick at Tor.com
- "Midnight Hour" by Mary Robinette Kowal in Uncanny Magazine
- "New Moon Wolf" by David B. Coe.
- "The Shoulder of Orion" by Eric Garside in Nature.
- "Tender" by Sofia Samatar in OmniVerse.
- "To See Pedro Infante" by Sylvia Moreno Garcia in Lightspeed.
- Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of "Oasis" by Floyd Looney.
- Chapter 1 of "Tome of Battle", part 88 of The Descendants by Landon Porter.
Odds and ends:
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