And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week lots of Star Wars discussion and speculation, more Back to the Future, more Crimson Peak, debates about convention harassment and thoughts on Supergirl.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Danielle Palecek wonders what makes a book dystopian.
- RoAnna Sylver talks about solarpunk.
- Jeff Somers shares some books with a Star Wars vibe.
- Andrew Liptak shares five generation ship novels.
- David Mitchell shares his appreciation for A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
- John Plotz discusses Ursula K. Le Guin's anarchist aesthetics.
- Vin Diesel talks about his love for J.R.R. Tolkien.
- Damien Walter discusses the re-engineering of classic fantasy tropes.
- Damien Walter also shares his appreciation for The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks.
- Catherynne M. Valente discusses the ideas behind her new novel Radiance.
- Andrew Liptak remembers Playboy's history as a venue for short science fiction.
- Lola Rogers profiles Johanna Sinisalo.
- Robert Pranzatelli shares his appreciation for Jean Giraud a.k.a. Moebius.
- Tansy Rayner Roberts shares her appreciation for Joanna Russ.
- Aya de Leon reports about sexism in science and science fiction.
- Jennre points out that women have always been part of the science fiction genre from the beginning.
- Thom Dunn finds a curious commonality among YA books that are challenged or banned.
- Tom Hawking praises literary monsters that defy description.
- Jenny Trout reports about a new plagiarism case.
- Natalie Zutter views Supergirl as a metaphor for being a modern woman.
- Abigail Nussbaum shares her thoughts on Crimson Peak.
- Sarah Doran has the theory that Doc Brown from Back to the Future is a time lord.
- Chewbacca has been arrested after campaigning for Darth Vader in the Ukrainian elections. Yes, really.
- Also in Ukraine, Emperor Palpatine has been voted onto the city council of Odessa. Because you have to start somewhere, when you want to rule the galaxy.
- Stephen Murphy discusses various theories about the identity of Kylo Ren, the black-clad villain from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- Meridith Woerner shares plenty of fan theories and plot speculation inspired by the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- J.J. Abrams responds to remarks about Luke's conspicuous absence from the trailers for The Force Awakens by pointing out that this was his plan all along.
- Nivenus shares five things the Star Wars prequels did right.
- K. Thor Jensen shares ten science fiction movies of the 1970s he thinks are better than Star Wars.
- Eric Kohn discusses Embers by Claire Carré, which he considers the best science fiction film of the year.
- Calla Cofield thinks that The Martian may be the most realistic space movie ever made.
- James Whitbrook points out that we are living in a new golden age for space movies.
- Gerard Gilbert discusses the new Jekyll and Hyde TV series.
- Matt Zoller Seitz thinks that Supergirl is a smart, feminist series.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2015 British Fantasy Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2015 Deutscher Phantastik Preis have been announced.
- The winners of the 2015 Pegasus Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2015 Green Slime Awards have been announced.
- Greg Hullender analyses and compares the Locus Recommended Reading List with the nominees for the Hugo Awards.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Juliet E. McKenna explains how she writes.
- Julie E. Czerneda talks about writing how she used to.
- Rebecca Rogers Maher explains why she writes shorter books on purpose.
- M. Harold Page discusses which writing advice is mostly useless and why.
- Greg Hullender offers an introduction to NaNoWriMo.
- Richard C. Wright shares some tips for fantasy worldbuilding.
- Leigh Perry shares some tips for writing a haunted house.
- Elena Linville talks about outlining.
- Darren Shan discusses the joy of a great cliffhanger.
- Jon Courtenay Grimwood talks about writing sex scenes.
- Cecilia Tan talks about writing sex in science fiction.
- Gail Z. Martin shares five reasons why authors do blog tours.
- Gail Z. Martin also compares small press versus self-publishing.
- Nancy Fulda explains what to expect when you start an internet kerfluffle.
- Guido Henkel discusses the horrors of Kindle format X.
Interviews:
- John Plotz interviews Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Angela S. Allan interviews Stephen King.
- Scott Timberg interviews David Mitchell.
- Lev Grossman interviews Gregory Maguire.
- Fantasy Book Café interviews Julie Czerneda.
- Juli D. Revezzo interviews Annie Douglass Lima.
- Emily Hughes interviews Fran Wilde.
- Dag Rambraut interviews Clay and Susan Griffith.
- Kellie Sheridan interviews K.N. Lee.
- A.C. Wise interviews Marlee Jane Ward.
- Alex Townsend interviews Jenny Trout.
- Nate Jones interviews actor Christopher Lloyd.
Reviews:
- Renay Williams reviews Black Wolves by Kate Elliott.
- Faren Miller reviews The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.
- Rob H. Bedford reviews Maplecroft and Chapelwood by Cherie Priest.
- Heather Rose Jones reviews Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold.
- Ysabeau Wilce reviews Archangel by Marguerite Reed.
- Angela Blackwell reviews Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace.
- Sam Reader reviews Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen.
- Angela Blackwell also reviews Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman.
- Karen Burnham reviews Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds.
- Siobhan Carroll reviews the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer.
- James Nicoll reviews The Northern Girl by Elizabeth A. Lynn.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews One Year After by William R. Forstchen.
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky reviews the film adaptation of Jem and the Holograms.
- Lesley Coffin reviews the film The Last Witch Hunter.
- James Thomas reviews the dystopian movie Air.
Crowdfunding:
- The Stars Beneath, a new novel by Judith Tarr, is looking for funding.
- The comic book series Super! Volume Two: The Secret Is Out is looking for funding.
- Apocalypse Rising: The Coming Darkness, a novel by Brian Swett, is looking for funding.
- Mechcraft, a science fiction novel by Brian Fitzpatrick, is looking for funding.
- Iapetus Rising, an illustrated novel by Glenn B. Fleming, is looking for funding.
- The Clarion Writers Workshop is running a fundraiser.
- The Functional Nerds podcast is looking for backers.
- The Ripped Bodice, a romance focussed bookstore operated by Bea and Leah Koch, is looking for funding.
Con reports:
- Nivenus shares his experiences at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon.
- Andrea Johnson talks to Regina Carpinelli, co-founder of Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles.
- SXSW Interactive, a gaming convention in Austin, Texas, cancelled two panels due to threats.
- Maddy Myers also reports on the panel cancellations at SXSW Interactive.
- Caroline Sinders reports about the panel cancellations from the POV of a participant in one of the cancelled panels.
- Alex Hern reports that as a reaction to criticism of the panel cancellations, SXSW Interactive is now planning an all-day event on harassment.
- Natalie Luhrs reports about the harassment policy or lack thereof of the 2015 World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs, New York.
- John Scalzi also weighs in on the harassment policy of the 2015 World Fantasy Convention.
- Watch a PBS documentary about cosplay.
Science and technology:
- Does the International Space Station have an on-call doctor?
- The ESA probe Rosetta has detected oxygen on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
- How South Korea imagines the future of cars.
Free online fiction:
- "All in a Hot and Copper Sky" by Megan Arkenberg in Lightspeed.
- "This Chance Planet" by Elizabeth Bear at Tor.com.
- "Some Gods of El Paso" by Maria Dahvana Headley at Tor.com.
- "The Devil Is Beating His Wife Today" by Sandra McDonald in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight" by Aliette de Bodard in Clarkesworld.
- "The Keepers" by Floyd Looney.
- Chapter 2 of "Just Us Sidekicks", part 90 of The Descendants by Landon Porter.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a trailer for Jessica Jones.
- Watch a trailer for The Man in the High Castle.
- Watch a trailer for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
- Watch a trailer for The Fifth Wave.
- Watch the first four minutes of Ash vs. Evil Dead.
- Watch a Welsh Corgi dress up as all 12 Doctors (plus the War Doctor) to date.
- Watch Battle Beyond the Stars, a science fiction film from 1980, in full.
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