Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 23, 2017

Here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Wonder Woman, The Handmaid's Tale, American Gods, Doctor Who, Transformers: The Last Knight as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, con reports, science articles and free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Kevin Bankston explains how science fiction can help us create a better future. 
• Brenda Cooper explains why climate fiction is good for the genre and the world.
• Alex Acks discusses what The Hunger Games teaches us about climate change.
• Jenn Northington declares that Octavia Butler will change the way we look at genre fiction.
• Scott Oden shares five books inspired by Norse sagas. 
• Sarah Gailey talks about feasts and food in fantasy fiction.  
• Aidan Moher discusses the lasting legacy of Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy.  
• Elsa Sjunneson-Henry shares where to find disabled heroes in speculative fiction.
• Theodora Goss shares five monsters that explore gender, sexuality and race.
• Ruthanna Emrys shares five books that tell the monster's story. 
• Ardi Alspach shares five reasons to read Emma Newman's Split Worlds series.
• JJ also shares her appreciation for Emma Newman's Split Worlds series. 
• Victoria Lucas shares her appreciation for The Circus of Dr. Lao by Ray Bradbury.
• Margot Kinberg shares her appreciation for the 1978 paranormal noir thriller Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg.
• Speculiction revisits the 1984 novel Frontera by Lewis Shiner. 
• Agatha French presents nine famous writers whose children are also writers.
• Leigh Butler shares her appreciation for the 1987 parody Spaceballs.
• Echo Ishii remembers the little known British dystopian TV series 1990, which aired in 1977.
• Charlie Jane Anders discusses the portrayal of the character Missy a.k.a. the latest incarnation of the Master in Doctor Who.
• Liam Hogan delcares that the Doctor Who episode "Thin Ice" is an allegory for slavery.
• Graveyard Shift Sisters shares three new horror movie releases featuring women of colour. 
• Shamya Dasgupta takes a look at the Indian horror film industry. 
• Brent Lang reports that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been fired from the upcoming Han Solo movie after conflicts with producer Kathleen Kennedy and Lawrence Kasdan. 
• Stephen Graham Jones shares his appreciation for the 1984 Marvel Comics crossover event Secret Wars.
• Sandy Perez wonders who the worst father in the Marvel Universe is.
• Chris Sims wonders how Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman made all his money.
• Kelly Chiu shares seven butt-kicking shonen manga by women writers.
• Actor Stephen Furst, who portrayed Vir Cotto on Babylon 5, has died aged 63.
  

Comments on The Handmaid's Tale:

• Rebecca Nicholson explains how The Handmaid's Tale captures our age of fear.
• Evan Narcisse declares that the biggest problem of The Handmaid's Tale is how it ignores race.
• Margaret Atwood discusses the five biggest differences between her novel The Handmaid's Tale and the recent adaption. 
• Watch a parody video of The Handmaid's Tale for men. 

Comments on American Gods:

• Alex Brown declares that the season finale of American Gods is only the beginning. 
• Annalee Newitz calls American Gods the best show about religion on television.
• Joelle Monique declares that the changes to Bilquis' story are the best part about the TV version of American Gods. 

Comments on Wonder Woman: 

• Michi Trota wonders whether all the men in Wonder Woman are really necessary.
• Vivian Kane reports that DC apparently has no idea what people loved about Wonder Woman.

Comments on Transformers: The Last Knight:

• Owen Gleiberman calls Transformers: The Last Knight better than previous installments of the series, which isn't saying much. 
• Nick Schraeger calls Transformers: The Last Knight two and a half hours of racist robot torture.
• Oliver Jones calls Transformers: The Last Knight sloppy, stupid and quite possibly evil. 
• Peter Travers declares that Transformers: The Last Knight is the most toxic movie of 2017.  
• Tom Glasson calls Transformers: The Last Knight an abysmal waste of time.
• Christopher Lawrence declares that Transformers: The Last Knight makes very little sense. 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2017 John W. Campbell Memorial Award has been announced.
• The winner of the 2017 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2017 ESFS Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2016 Sidewise Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2017 Premio Ignotus have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2017 Russ Manning Award have been announced.
• The winners of the 2017 Bill Finger Award have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2017 James White Award have been announced. 
• Brian Keene and Wrath James White have announced the creation of a new Splatterpunk Award to be awarded at KillerCon.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Lauren Sapala explains why so many introverts are writers. 
• Ben Jeapes explains why all writers should be science fiction fans.
• Jason Sanford discusses writing advice he loathes and how he ignored it. 
• Robyn Paterson attempts to explain what makes a good story. 
• Chuck Wendig shares some thoughts on writing a scene.
• Yoon Ha Lee praises the beauty of physical writing. 
• Damien Walter explains why he avoids any kind of personal branding.
• Madeleine E. Robins talks about the art of reading to an audience.
  

Interviews:

• The Qwillery interviews Michael Johnston.
• Tony Jones interviews Leo Hunt.
• Dag Rambraut interviews Peter Telep.
  

Reviews:

• Ceridwen Christensen reviews The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett.
• Aidan Moher reviews The Wanderers by Meg Howrey. 
• Shana DuBois reviews Shattered Minds by Laura Lam.
• Mieneke van der Salm reviews Saint's Blood by Sebastien de Castell. 
• Laura M. Hughes reviews The Blood-Tainted Winter by T.L. Greylock. 
• Ardi Alspach reviews The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss. 
• Jana Nyman also reviews The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss.
• Emily Nordling reviews Firebrand by A.J. Hartley. 
• Marion Deeds and Kat Hooper review Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory.
• Bob Pastorella reviews Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman.
• Adam Rowe reviews Nothing Left to Lose by Dan Wells. 
• Martin Cahill reviews The Changeling by Victor LaValle. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Kangaroo Too by Curtis C. Chen. 
• Ross Johnson reviews Supreme Villainy by Matt D. Wilson.
• SFF Book Reviews reviews The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente.
• File 770 offers a round-up of reviews of 2017 Hugo finalists.
  

Con reports:

• Claire Light reports about WisCon in Madison, Wisconsin.
  
• Michael Cavna reports about Awesomecon in Washington D.C.
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald reports about Continuum 13 in Melbourne, Australia, and shares some photos. 
• Mike Glyer reports about a controversy that erupted at Fourth Street Fantasy in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Amelia Cook addresses the problem of Anime Expo not paying their interpreters. 
• Chris Trengenza and Jess Bennett share "The Secret of Box 42", an activity they organised at Lazlar Lyricon 3 in Stoke-on-Trent, UK. 
• David D. Levine remembers attending his first convention, X-Con 77 in Madison, Wisconsin, and celebrates forty years in fandom.
• En Liang Khong reports about the exposition Anime Architecture: Backgrounds of Japan in London, UK.  
• Kara Dennison explains what cons spend money on.
  

Science and technology:

• Memories of the moon landings are at risk of dying with the last remaining Apollo astronauts.
• The world's oldest ground edge axe has been discovered in Australia, changing assumptions about human evolution and migration. 
• IKEA designers are living in a Mars simulator to get inspiration.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Enemy States" by Karen Lowachee in Apex Magazine.  
• "Crossing the Threshold" by Pat Murphy in Lightspeed.
• "Small Changes Over Long Periods Of Time" by K.M Szpara in Uncanny Magazine.  
• "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" by Elizabeth Bear in Lightspeed. 
• "Can Anything Good Come" by Suyi Davies Okungbowa in The Dark.
• "This Is All The Internet's Fault" by Brooke Bolander.
• "The White-Throated Transmigrant" by E. Lily Yu at Tor.com.
• "Hans" by Ray Cluley in The Dark.

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for season 7 of Game of Thrones. 
• Watch a trailer for Valerian and the City of the Thousand Planets.
• Watch a featurette about Valerian and the City of the Thousand Planets.
• Watch a trailer for Blade Runner 2049.
• Watch a trailer for Seven Sisters.
• Watch a trailer for Mindgamers.
• Watch a trailer for iBoy.
• Watch a trailer for I Am Dragon.
• Watch a trailer for Dragonheart. 
• Watch a trailer for American Fable.
• Watch a trailer for Happy Death Day.