Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 9, 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, The Mummy, Book Expo America, a lot of space opera and post-apocalyptic fiction as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, a whole lot of con reports, crowdfunding projects, science articles and free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Book Advice shares 500 underrated science fiction novels. 
• Shaun Duke shares his five favourite space operas.
• Yoon Ha Lee explains why it's sometimes okay to defy the laws of physics when writing science fiction.
• Yoon Ha Lee also explains that epic screw-ups happen in his military science fiction, because epic screw-ups also happen in reality.
• Yoon Ha Lee also talks about worldbuilding and culture in the Hexarchate novels. 
• Yoon Ha Lee also talks about creating the popular culture of the hexarchate.
• DongWon Song discusses why depictions of food are so important for speculative fiction.  
• Weston Ochse discusses why trilogies are so popular in speculative fiction.
• Jeff Somers shares the ten oddest alternate histories ever.
• Matt Staggs shares recommendations for Dying Earth stories.
• Claire Colebrook attempts to discover why apocalyptic stories are so enduringly popular. 
• Anne Corlett shares five books with different takes on the apocalypse. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares twenty apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic novels every SFF fan should have on their shelves. 
• Rebecca Hawkes shares six eerily accurate predictions from Margaret Atwood's science fiction novels. 
• Liz Bourke discusses the fictional democracy portrayed in Infomocracy by Malka Older. 
• Alan Brown revisits Wasp by Eric Frank Russell.
• Rosemary Benton discusses Raiders from the Rings by Alan E. Nourse. 
• Paul Gibbs revisits Steven Spielberg's 1971 TV movie LA 2017. 
• Sam Reader shares seven science fiction and fantasy road trips you definitely don't want to join. 
• Jared Shurin attempts to explain why 2006 was such a landmark year for epic fantasy.
• Brian O'Sullivan explains how Irish mythology became a commodity for fantasy.
• Leah Schnelbach explains why sometimes horror is the only fiction that understands you.
• Evan Narcisses shares his thoughts on the horror movie It Comes At Night. 
• Paul MacInnes explains how American Gods rewrote the rules for taboo TV.
• Cecilia Nowell points out that Star Trek has always been political and that the new show Discovery promises to continue this trend. 
• Stina Leicht talks about Star Trek Discovery and the clueless.
• Josephine Livingstone explains why Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 film Stalker is the science fiction film we need right now.
• Camestros Felapton shares their thoughts on Iron Fist. 
• John Ostrander takes issue with Bill Maher blaming the rise of Donald Trump on the popularity of superhero movies.  
• Ross Johnson shares a guide to the female comic book characters that inspired The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente and Annie Wu. 
• Christian Holub reports that Batman will finally propose to Catwoman in an upcoming issue of Batman.
• Asher Elbein discusses the real reason for the woes of Marvel Comics. And no, it's not diversity. 
• Steve Sansweet reports that his parts of his huge collection of Star Wars memorabilia has been stolen. 
• Actor Peter Sallis who played the voice of Wallace in the Wallace and Gromit films among many other things has died aged 96. 

Comments on Wonder Woman:

• Caryn James declares that the Wonder Woman movie was well worth the long wait to get it made.
• Alex Brown calls Wonder Woman an experience that was long overdue.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books declares that Wonder Woman was everything they expected.  
• Josie Campbell declares that Wonder Woman has saved superhero movies.
• Gary Westfahl calls Wonder Woman a working model for superhero films. 
• David Edelstein praises the performance of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, but calls the rest of the movie rather clunky.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw takes issue with David Edelstein's review of Wonder Woman.
• David Edelstein clarifies his review of Wonder Woman following negative reactions.  
• Zoe Williams calls Wonder Woman a masterpiece of subversive feminism. 
• Christina Cauterucci wishes that Wonder Woman were as feminist as it thinks it is.
• Eileen L. Wittig declares that as a feminist, she enjoyed Wonder Woman.
• David Betancourt declares that Wonder Woman marks DC's return to great storytelling. 
• Ed Power shares ten reasons why Wonder Woman succeeds where the other DC movies failed.
• Tara Marie discusses what DC needs to learn from the success of Wonder Woman. 
• The Geekiary declares that the DCU has finally found its voice with Wonder Woman.
• Beth Elderkin, Katharine Trendacosta, Cheryl eddy and Alex Cranz discusses Wonder Woman. 
• Daniel Larison was very impressed with Wonder Woman. 
• Trish Matson urges everybody to see Wonder Woman.
• Corrina Lawson declares that Wonder Woman is a superhero movie only a women could have made. 
• Meredith Woerner explains why she cried during the fight scenes in Wonder Woman.
• Jenni Miller declares that director Patty Jenkins has nailed Wonder Woman.
• Emily Asher Perrin shares her appreciation for Robin Wright Penn's portrayal as the Amazon general Antiope in Wonder Woman and links it to Robin Wright Penn's other famous SFF role, Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride. 
• David Betancourt shares his appreciation for Chris Pine's performance as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman who shows that there is more than one way to save the day in a superhero movie.
• Doris V. Sutherland wonders whether Chris Pine's portrayal in the Wonder Woman movie is the best Steve Trevor ever.
• Michael Cavna asks if Gal Gadot and Chris Pine have the best romantic chemistry of any superhero movie. 
• Michael Cavna takes a look at the many versions of Wonder Woman there have been over the years and talks to director Patty Jenkins about her vision of the character. 
• Aaron Reese takes a look at the duality of Wonder Woman who has been portrayed both as an Amazon warrior and a princess of peace and emissary of love.
• Meanwhile, Beth Elderkin reports that some Fox News commentators are displeased that Wonder Woman is not wearing her star-sprangled banner costume in the movie.
• Brian Cronin digs into the history of Wonder Woman and reveals that Wonder Woman was supposed to defend an abortion clinic in 1973 story scripted by none other than Samuel R. Delany that was never published.
• Meanwhile, Michael Cavna feels reminded of the war in Syria by a certain scene in Wonder Woman. 
• Sarah Rense declares that Wonder Woman has the most powerful opening scene in superhero movie history.
• Keith DeCandido revisits the 2009 animated Wonder Woman movie.
• Dave McNarry reports that Wonder Woman has grossed more than 100 million US-dollars on its opening weekend.
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Wonder Woman is the highest grossing movie by a female director ever.
  

Comments on The Handmaid's Tale:

• Sam Wollaston calls the TV adaption of The Handmaid's Tale the best thing you'll watch all year.
• Marina Sofia explains why it's painful to watch The Handmaid's Tale.
• Rebecca Hawkes reminds us that the horrors of The Handmaid's Tale aren't just fiction, but that many of them have already happened.
• Sian Cain discusses why The Handmaid's Tale feels so timely.
• Julia Raeside offers a recap of episode one of The Handmaid's Tale. 

Comments on The Mummy: 

• Chris Nashawaty says that The Mummy feels stitched together from better movies like Frankenstein's monster.
• Chris Hunneysett calls The Mummy a lumbering monster that begs to be put out of its misery. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Mummy the poorly bandaged revived corpse of the Mummy franchise. 
• Stephen Whitty calls The Mummy a pyramid scheme wrapped in boredom.
• David Ehrlich declares that The Mummy is Tom Cruise's worst film ever.
• John DeVore calls The Mummy a limp and thrill-free start to a would-be franchise.
• Owen Gleiberman calls The Mummy too busy and not much fun.
• Tasha Robinson calls The Mummy a fun creature feature hampered by expectations.
  

Awards:

• The Power by Naomi Alderman has won the Bailey's Prize for Women's Fiction.
• The winners of the 2017 Sir Julius Vogel Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2017 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire have been announced.
• The winners of the 2017 Audie Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2017 Mythopoeic Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2017 John W. Campbell Memorial Award have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2017 Manly Wade Wellman Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2017 Diana Jones Award have been announced.
• Paul Weimer shares some photos of the Sir Julius Vogel Awards ceremony.
• Voting is open for the Year's Best Military and Adventure SF Readers' Choice Award.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• John Grisham shares his do's and don't's for writing popular fiction.
• Lauren Sapala talks about writing from your wounds. 
• Hilary Mantel explains why she became a historical novelist.
• Steven Smith shares five tip for anyone starting to write a novel.
• John Connolly talks about his writing process.
• Madeleine E. Robins talks about the art of reading to an audience.
  

Interviews:

• Pinter Bence interviews Jeff VanderMeer.
• Katrina J.E. Milton interviews Lynne M. Thomas. 
• ShelfAwareness interviews John Kessel.
• CrimeHQ interviews A.J. Hartley.
• Carl Slaughter interviews the filk group Vixy and Tony.
  

Reviews:

• Liz Bourke reviews The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett.
  
• The Hugo Award Book Club reviews A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. 
• Jonathan McCalmont reviews Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee. 
• Mark Kaedrin reviews Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer.
• Daniel Haeusser reviews Everfair by Nisi Shawl. 
• Sam Reader reviews Grim Expectations by K.W. Jeter.
• Mahvesh Murad reviews Carnivalesque by Neil Jordan.
• Mark Yon reviews The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The End of the Day by Claire North. 
• Adrienne Martini reviews Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson. 
• Vance Kortla reviews The Bones of the Past by Craig A. Munro. 
• Aidan Moher reviews The Black Elfstone by Terry Brooks.
• Kate Sherrod reviews Wilders by Brenda Cooper. 
• Niall Alexander reviews Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott.
• Ross Johnson reviews The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente and Annie Wu.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Shark Island by Chris Jameson.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Can I Pet Your Werewolf?, an anthology of cute, sweet and fluffy werewolf stories edited by Kel McDonald and Molly Muldoon, is looking for funding.
  

Con reports:

• Andrew Porter reports about Book Expo America in New York City and shares some photos. 
• Andrew Porter shares even more photos of Book Expo America.
• Leah Schnelbach reports about a panel on women in science fiction featuring Charlie Jane Anders, Annalee Newitz und Malka Older at the 2017 Book Expo America in New York City. 
• Lauren Sarner reports about a panel on politics in science fiction at Book Expo America.
• Brenda Clough reports about the 2017 SFWA Nebula Conference in Pittburgh, Pennsylvania. 
• Sigrid Ellis reports about Wiscon 41 in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest edition of the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings series in Brooklyn, New York, featuring Lara Elena Donnelly and Sam J. Miller. 
• John VanStry shares his experiences at Biggest Little Fur Con in Reno, Nevada.
• Jonathan Crowe asks whether conventions are necessary.
  

Science and technology:

• Astronomers have found a planet that is hotter than most stars. 
• Humans travelling to Mars could face an extremely high cancer risk.
• The US military is training soldiers for extraterrestrial combat.
• The oldest homo sapiens fossils ever have been found in Africa. 
• Five surprising ways holograms are revolutionising the world.
• How air conditioning changed the world.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Paradox" by Naomi Kritzer in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Bourbon, Sugar, Grace" by Jessica Reisman at Tor.com.
• "World of the Three" by Shweta Narayan in Lightspeed.
• "When Nenek Disappeared" by Joyce Chng in Fair Folk. 
• "After Burning" by Wren Wallis in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Elena's Angel" by Aimee Ogden in Apex Magazine. 
• "Invasive" by Thomas Diehl.
• "Alamo Drafthouse Apologizes For Starting Manpocalypse With Women-Only Screening" by Bethy Squires in Medium. 
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a teaser trailer for Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. 
• Fritz Hahn reports about a Game of Thrones themed pop-up bar in Washington DC.