Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 9, 2015

And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with diversity in SFF, realism in science fiction, reactions to the The Martian and Ancillary Mercy as well as discussion about High-Rise by J.G. Ballard.

Speculative fiction in general:

• The participants of the SF Signal Mind Meld talk about the books that made them love SFF.
• George R.R. Martin talks about science fiction's fascination with Mars.
• Holly Deese and Elizabeth Neus explain how space became increasingly important in pop culture. 
• Catherynne M. Valente points out that science fiction doesn't have to be realistic.  
• Cheryl Morgan talks about diversity in SFF. 
• Juliet E. McKenna also talks about diversity in SFF.
• Parul Seghal discusses cultural appropriation.
• Marianne de Pieres talks about Australian myths in contemporary SF.
• Erin Lindsey explains why epic fantasy doesn't have to be old-fashioned.
• Joan D. Vinge talks about The Snow Queen and the radical notion that women are people.
• Paul Weimer shares his appreciation for Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A McAvoy.  
• Scott A. Cupp shares his appreciation for Danger: Dinosaurs by Richard Marsden a.k.a. Ed McBain. 
• Kari Sperring remembers Evangeline Walton.
• Casey Sanchez profiles William Gibson. 
• Margaret Atwood explains why now is not the time for realistic fiction. 
• Barry Didcock wonders whether the world has stopped being afraid of the future and is falling in love with science fiction again. 
• Patrick Sisson discusses J.G. Ballard's novel High-Rise as well as the current film adaptation.
• Chris Hall also discusses High-Rise by J.G. Ballard as well as the film adaptation.
• Benjamin Bailey asks why people love horror.
• Katharine Schwab discusses the rise of Buffy studies. 
• Haleigh Foutch remembers Joss Whedon's Serenity for its 10th anniversary.
• Kayti Burt also remembers Serenity and shares seven ways the movie can inspire us to become better people.
• Maddy Myers shares her appreciation for Sigourney Weaver, whom she dubs "the queen of science fiction". 
• Alethea Kontis shares her love for Saturday morning cartoons. 
• Obsidian Wings discusses harrassment and assault in the comics industry.
• Anthony Vicino explains why Mr. Robot is the best show on TV.
• Patrick Ness talks about writing the Doctor Who spin-off Class.
• Is Doctor Who facing cancellation due to falling ratings?
• Gem Seddon discusses the hunt for the missing classic Doctor Who episodes.
  
• Swedish writer Henning Mankell died aged 67. 

Comments about The Martian: 

• Geek Girls Love Sci-Fi shares five reasons to watch The Martian.
• Kieran Dickson shares the nine best moments in The Martian.
• Gary Westfahl thinks that The Martian is the best movie he has seen in a long time. 
• Jason Koebler believes The Martian is an inevitable triumph.
• Abigail Nussbaum thinks that The Martian is enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable. 
• Lesley Coffin thinks that The Martian is joyful and smart cinema.
• Leah Schnelbach claims that The Martian will restore your faith in science.
• Janey Tracey liked The Martian except for that one stupid scene.
• Kelly Dickerson points out that the biggest scientific mistake in The Martian is also crucial to the plot. 
• Scientists discuss the relative accuracy of The Martian.
• Mika McKinnon also takes a look at the science of The Martian. 
• Brian Fung wonders about the implications of the extensive collaboration between NASA and the studio when filming The Martian. 
• Derek Austin Johnson shares his thoughts about The Martian.
• Frank Ochieng shares his thoughts about The Martian. 
• Ciara Byrne profiles Andy Weir, author of The Martian.
• Kyle Hill chronicles the differences between Andy Weir's novel and the film adaptation. 
• Angela Watercutter believes that The Martian proves that movies are now better than the books they're based on.

Awards:

• Belarussian writer Svetlana Alexievich wins the 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature.
• The winners of the 2015 Sunburst Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2015 Geffen Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the Phoenix, Rebel and Fleur de Fan Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2015 Kirkus Prize have been announced. 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• 35 authors share their inspiration.
• 18 authors share a day in their lives.
• Holly Messinger talks about writing short stories. 
• Neil Clarke shares the sad truth about short fiction magazines. 
• Steve Davidson disagrees with Neil Clarke.
• Charles Payseur also weighs in on the short fiction debate and points out that short fiction caters to readers who don't get what they like from novels.  
• Jeff Somers praises the novella.
• Nate Crowley shares some tips about how to do Twitter fiction.
• Chris Winkle shares some lessons from bad writing.
• Chris Holm talks about naming characters.
• Kali Amanda Browne talks about treating setting like a thing.
• Chuck Wendig talks about outlining.
• Gem Seddon shares her experience with NaNoWriMo.
• Leslie Belknap shares seven sources for free stockphotos.
  

Interviews:

• Mieneke van der Salm interviews Ann Leckie.
• Andrea Johnson interviews Jaime Lee Moyer.
• Liz Bourke also interviews Jaime Lee Moyer. 
• The Guardian interviews Philip Reeve.
• The Qwillery unterviews Erin Lindsey. 
• The Qwillery also interviews Sarah J. Schmitt. 
• Chris Urie interviews Catherynne M. Valente.
• Anthony Vicino interviews Ernie Luis.
• Brant David interviews S.H. Jucha.
• Paul Weimer interviews Marianne de Pierres. 
• Angela Blackwell interviews Kameron Hurley.
• Paul McInnes interviews George Miller.
• Henry Barnes interviews Tom Hiddleston. 

Reviews:

• Genevieve Valentine reviews Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. 
• Ana Grilo also reviews Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie.
• Adam Roberts reviews Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald.
• Liz Bourke reviews Empire Ascendant by Kameron Hurley.
• Marcel Theroux reviews Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie. 
• Robin Shantz reviews Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson.
• Elizabeth Hand reviews The Rim of Morning by William Sloane.
• Nick Mamatas reviews A Country of Ghosts by Margaret Killjoy.
• Timothy C. Ward reviews The Ninth Wind by Moses Siregar III.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews the audiobook version of The Red: First Light by Linda Nagata.
• Michael Patrick Hicks also reviews the audiobook edition of Failure by John Everson.
• Adam-Troy Castro reviews the movie Upside Down.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Chapter 6 of The Boston Metaphysical Society, a comic mini-series by Madeleine Holly-Rosing and Emily Hu, is looking for funding.
• Season 2 of the science fiction audio anthology series Red Shift is looking for funding. 
• Shade: The Dying World, a graphic novel by Nathan Heigert, is looking for funding.
• The second edition of the Mini Museum by Hans Fex is looking for funding. 
• Moonspike, a privately funded moon rocket, is looking for funding.
• Lunacon, the longest running SFF convention in New York, needs some help for their 2016 con.
  

Con reports:

• Read the minutes of the WSFS business meeting at Sasquan, the 2015 Worldcon in Spokane, Washington.
• The co-chairs of WisCon 40 have resigned. 

Science and technology:

• NASA shares some high resolution images of Pluto's moon Charon which reveal a violent history.
• Look at previously unseen photos from the Apollo missions. 
• Tomas Petrasek discusses free-floating interstellar planets.
• Stephen Hawking is worried that hostile aliens might conquer Earth.
• Why teleportation is no longer science fiction. 
• Genetic manipulation and getting cheaper and easier and no one is prepared for the consequences. 

Free online fiction:

• "Diary of an AssCan" by Andy Weir.
• "The Name of the Stars: A Tale of the Far Lands" by Robert Dahlen. 
• "The Amazing Quizmo" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
• "Broken-Winged Love" by Naru Dames Sundar in Strange Horizons. 
• "Hold-Time Violations" by John Chu at Tor.com
• Chapter 7, chapter 8 and chapter 9 of Second Front by Floyd Looney.
• Chapter 4 of "All That Glitters", part 89 of The Descendants by Landon Porter.

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for The Forest. 
• Watch a trailer for the James Bond movie Spectre.
• Watch a clip from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. 
• Watch a teaser for Jessica Jones.
• Watch several episodes of the 1962 TV series Space Patrol.
• Watch a trailer for Jaws 19, a fictional sequel playing in Back to the Future 2.