Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for Oktober 7, 2016

Here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with discussion of the series Luke Cage and Westworld and the movie Godzilla Resurgence, the debate about the new Best Series Hugo Award and other awards news as well as the usual mix of writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, con reports, crowdfunding projects, science articles and free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• The participants of this month's Mind Meld discuss whether they prefer near or far future science fiction.
• Brian Knack offers an overview of twenty science fiction subgenres and their most notable works and authors. 
• Gail Z. Martin reports about #HoldOnToTheLight, a project where SFF authors blog about depression, suicide and PTSD, and links to many of the posts.
• Drew Hayden Taylor explains why indigenous science fiction is important. 
• Jen Williams shares her favourite fictional rogues.
• Sarah Gailey explains why witches are so popular in speculative fiction. 
• Rosemary Benton shares her appreciation for Catseye by Andre Norton. 
• Gideon Marcus shares his appreciation for Dark Universe by Daniel F. Galouye.
• Alan Brown shares his appreciation for Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen by H. Beam Piper.
• Hampus Eckerman that the Swedish science fiction opera Aniara by Karl-Birger Blomdahl, based on the eponymous epic poem by Harry Martinson, will be filmed. 
• Justin McCurry takes a look at the box office topping Japanese anime film Your Name. 
• Angelica Jade Bastién discusses the racist and sexist backlash facing particularly women of colour in fandom.
• Wendy Ross Kaufman discusses the differences between costuming and cosplay and why the latter term is offensive to some. 
• Editor and fan Kate Yule, wife of writer David D. Levine, died of cancer aged 55.
• Reviewer and critic D. Douglas Frantz died aged 64. 

Comments on Luke Cage: 

• Evan Narcise declares that Luke Cage is the unapologetically black superhero show people have been waiting for.
• Evan Narcise also shares seven things he loved about Luke Cage and two things he didn't.
• Abigail Nussbaum claims that real world issues play second fiddle to a standard superhero origin story in Luke Cage. 
• Monique Jones discusses how black America is reflected through the lens of Luke Cage.
• Cheryl Lynn Eaton, David Brothers, Jamie Broadmax and Evan Narcise discuss how Luke Cage uses blackness.  
• Charles Pulliam-Moore and Tahirah Hairston wonder whether Luke Cage is really the black superhero many have been waiting for.  
• Claire Light argues that Luke Cage is the most feminist show on TV.
• Debbie Encalada reports that some people feel the relative lack of white characters in Luke Cage is racist. 
• Adam Fitch reports that Quentin Tarantino doesn't like the Luke Cage series, because he once wanted to make a Luke Cage film as a 1970s set period piece.
  

Comments on Westworld:

• Tim Dowling claims that the new Westworld is a seamles marriage of robotic cowboys and corporate dystopia. 
• Richard Lawson calls the new Westworld a strange and troubling wonder.
• Paul MacInnes offers a recap of the first episode of the new Westworld.  
• Theresa DeLucci also shares her thoughts on the first episode of the new Westworld.
• Joanna Robinson wonders whether the new Westworld can follow up on a promising beginning.
• James Hibberd reports about a debate surrounding rape scenes in the new Westworld. 
• Nick Statt discusses how the new Westworld addresses videogame violence.
• Tim Grierson attempts to explain why the original Westworld was important.
• Watch the first episode of the new Westworld online for free. 

Comments on Godzilla: Resurgence:

• Anna Fifield looks at the political implications of Godzilla: Resurgence.
• Mike Toole shares his thoughts on Shin Godzilla a.k.a. Godzilla: Resurgence.
  

Comments and suggestions for the Best Series Hugo:

• Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, Finland, has announced that they will run a special "Best series" Hugo Award. 
• Posters at File 770 are compiling a list of eligible series here. 
• Tor.com posters are also suggesting their favourite series.
• Sharon Lee shares her thoughts on the Best Series Hugo. 
• John Scalzi also shares his thoughts on the Best Series Hugo.
• Sami Sundell also shares his thoughts about the Best Series Hugo.

Awards:

• The winners of the 2015 Cóyotl Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2016 Coppy Cylinder Awards have been announced.
• Gregory Benford has won the 2016 Forrest J. Ackerman Award for Service to Science Fiction. 
• The film adaptation of Dan Wells' novel I Am Not a Serial Killer has won the Silver Méliès Award at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival. 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Oren Ashkenazi discusses six ways flight changes a fantasy setting.
• Fran Wilde and Cindy Pon talk about worldbuilding.
• R.A. MacAvoy talks about the major importance of minor characters. 
• Alex Bledsoe discusses his favourite characters and why they are his favourites.  
• Alexandra Engellmann shares five steps to break out of a writing slump.
• David B. Coe a.k.a. D.B. Jackson shares his interpretation of the "Write what you know" mantra. 
• Matthew Drzymala shares his approach to writing comedy.
• Susan Boulton explains what inspired her novel Hand of Glory.
• Brian J.W. Lee shares five things that improve your writing space.
• Bobby Treat shares some workflows for Scrivener users.
• Diana Deverell explains how she increased her Kobo sales.

Interviews:

• Kevin Wei interviews N.K. Jemisin.
• Tobias Carroll interviews Laurie Penny.  
• Heather Massey interviews Anne Renwick. 
• Dag Rambraut interviews Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. 
• Kay Kenyon interviews Louise Marley. 
• David Kempf interviews Lisa Morton.
• Carl Slaughter interviews Michael Cassutt.
• Adam Ganong interviews Anthony Ryan.
  

Reviews:

• Ceridwen Christensen reviews Cloudbound by Fran Wilde. 
• Tadiana Jones reviews Bright Blaze of Magic by Jennifer Estep. 
• Mieneke van der Salm reviews The Apothecary's Curse by Barbara Barnett.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Corpse Rider by Tim Curran. 
• Sam Reader reviews The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu.
• Meghan Bell reviews Feedback by Mira Grant. 
• Rich Rosell reviews Into the Guns by William C. Dietz.
• nerds of a feather review The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley.
• Joshua Holland reviews Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek by Manu Saadia.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Strange California, a speculative fiction anthology edited by J. Daniel Batt and Jaym Gates, is looking for funding. 
• Catalysts, Explorers and Secret Keepers: Women of SF, an anthology organised by the Museum of Science Fiction, is looking for funding.  
• The Waukegan Public Library is looking for funding to erect a statue in honour of Ray Bradbury.

Con reports:

• Lesley Goldberg reports how much money stars make at for-profit conventions.
• John King Tarpinian reports about the Pasadena Book, Print, Photo and Paper Fair in Pasadena, California.
• Watch a video of Ted White's guest of honour speech at PulpFest 2016 in Columbus, Ohio. 

Science and technology:

• Space X and its plan to colonise Mars.
• Parcel delivery robots are currently being tested in Germany and Switzerland.
• The Nobel Prize for chemistry has been awarded to the creators of tiny molecular machines.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Three Lives of Sonata James" by Lettie Prell at Tor.com.
• "That Particular Savagery" by Matthew Lyons in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Hyrmnal" by Jonathan Laidlow in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Blanchefleur" by Theodora Goss.
• "Good things, small packages" by T.S. Paul.
  

Odds and ends:

• Watch a trailer for The Space Between Us.
• Watch a trailer for Ghost in the Shell.
• Watch a trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.