Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for September 8, 2017

It's time again for our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Dragon Con, the Dragon Awards, yet more WorldCon 75, criticism of the "Show, don't tell" advice, the controversy surrounding a proposed all female Lord of the Flies film, Inhumans, The Shape of Water as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, con reports, crowdfunding campaigns, science articles and free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Alexandra Rowland declares that the opposite of Grimdark is Hopepunk.
• Sarah Kuhn praises the inclusion of female sexual desire in science fiction and fantasy.
• Sam Reader shares a list of five confessional SFF novels written in the first person.
• Sam Kates shares his favourite horror novels. 
• Jeff Tanyard shares Clare Winger Harris' list of science fiction themes.
• Judith Tarr praises the hardworking horses of fantasy fiction. 
• Ted Gioia shares his appreciation for Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. 
• Gideon Marcus shares his appreciation for Eye of the Monster and Sea Siege by Andre Norton.
• Sandra Gisi shares her appreciation for The Claidi Journals by Tanith Lee.
• Katherine Cross declares that lowbrow pop culture gets even less respect when it's aimed at women.
• C.E. Murphy shares her thoughts on Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. 
• Angie Barry revisits the 1996 movie Barb Wire.
• Dave Nemetz is not impressed by the new science fiction TV show The Orville. 
• The G. shares his thoughts on season 7 of Game of Thrones. 
• David Cranmer discusses the season finale of the new Twin Peaks.  
• Sam Reader shares eight books for people missing Twin Peaks.
• The Nerdwriter analyses the use of shallow focus in the TV adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale.
• Hadley Freeman isn't quite sure why James Cameron's remarks on Wonder Woman in the interview she did with him last week caused such uproar. 
• Ben Child muses about the future of shared cinematic universes.
• Jeet Heer profiles Jack Kirby for his 100th birthday. 
• Writer H.A. Hargreaves has died aged 88.
• Actor Richard Anderson, best known for playing Oscar Goldman in the 1970s TV shows The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, has died aged 91.
• Hank Stuever remembers Richard Anderson.
  

Comments on the all-female Lord of the Flies film:

• Scott McGehee and David Siegel, two white men, are planning to adapt William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies with an all-female cast to much controversy.   
• Teresa Jusino doesn't mind an all-female Lord of the Flies adaptation per se, but worries about the fact that both the writer and director are men.
  
• Isabella Biedenharn shares some suggestions for books that already offer all-female takes on Lord of the Flies. 
• Libba Bray, whose novel Beauty Queens already offers a female take on Lord of the Flies, shares her thoughts about the planned adaptation.

Comments on Inhumans:

• Charles Pulliam Moore has mixed feelings about the Inhumans preview shown in IMAX theatres. 
• Brian Cronin explains the comic background of Eldrac, an Inhumans character who is a living doorway.
• Scott Huver interviews Scott Buck, showrunner of The Inhumans. 
• Albert Ching interviews actress Ellen Woglom who plays the character of Louise in Inhumans.

Comments on The Shape of Water: 

• Nicholas Barber calls The Shape of Water one of the best films of the year.
• Nancy Tartaglione reports that The Shape of Water was received very well at the Venice Film Festival, where it competes this year.
• John Horn interviews director Guillermo del Toro about The Shape of Water.
  

Awards:

• The winner of the 2017 Eugie Foster Memorial Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2017 Dragon Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2017 eFestival of Words have been announced.
• The winners of the 2017 Deutscher Phantastik Preis have been announced. 
• The winners of the Year's Best Military and Adventure SF Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2017 Hank Reinhardt Award has been announced.
• The winners of the 2017 Dragon Con Art Show Awards have been announced.
• Camestros Felapton reports about the entry of a new fraction into the debate about the Dragon Awards and also visualises the Dragon Awards controversy in a map. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her comments on the 2017 Dragon Awards.
• Doris V. Sutherland shares her comments on the 2017 Dragon Awards.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Cecilia Tan illuminates the hidden assumptions behind the old "Show, don't tell" advice and explains why it can be problematic.
• Namrata Poddar asks if "Show, don't tell" is an universal truth or a colonial relic.  
• Steven Barnes points out that people who write regularly will eventually succeed.
• Chris Mandeville shares some tips for writing short stories. 
• Joshua Palmatier discusses selecting stories for an anthology.
• Becca Mills reports that the subscription service Playster is rejecting LGBT books.
• Ivy Quinn also reports about the Playster issue.

Interviews:

• Katelyn Mae Petrin interviews Ann Leckie. 
• Max Gladstone interviews Sarah Gailey.
• Carl Slaughter interviews David Gerrold. 
• The Qwillery interviews Robert Brassey.
• Carl Slaughter interviews Rob Dircks. 
• Dag Rambraut interviews Jesper Schmidt. 
• Farid Ul-Haq interviews Andrew Wheeler.
• Steven McKenzie interviews several Scottish women involved with comic books. 

Reviews:

• Corrina Lawson reviews Skyfarer by Joseph Brassey.
• Camestros Felapton reviews Raven Strategem by Yoon Ha Lee. 
• Allison Brennan reviews Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb.  
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books also reviews Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb. 
• Rob Bedford reviews Injection Burn by Jason M. Hough.
• Niall Alexander reviews Sea of Rust by C. Robert Gargill.
• Ceridwen Christensen revies Sea of Rust by C. Robert Gargill.
• Ceridwen Christensen reviews Call of Fire by Beth Cato. 
• Tadiana Jones reviews Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis.
• Liz Bourke reviews The Black Tides of Heaven and The Red Threads of Fortune by J.Y. Yang. 
• Greg Hersom, Kat Hooper and Tim Scheidler review Red Sister by Mark Lawrence.
• Rob Bedford reviews Halls of Law by V.M. Escalada. 
• Mark Yon reviews Tomorrow's Kin by Nancy Kress.
• Niall Harrison reviews Acadie by Dave Hutchinson.
• For winter nights also reviews Acadie by Dave Hutchinson. 
• Thea James reviews Warcross by Marie Lu.
• Ross Johnson reviews Uploaded by Ferrett Steinmetz.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Subhuman by Michael McBride.
  

Crowdfunding:

• The Book Smugglers are looking for funding for a new season of short fiction, new paid contributors to the blog, a new look and much more. 
• The Razor's Edge, Guilds and Glaives and Second Round: The Return to the Ur-Bar, three anthologies edited by Joshua Palmatier, is looking for funding.
• Vlad's First Fang, a children's book by Mykayla Fontaine and Nora Erwin, is looking for funding. 
• Carribbean born SFF writer Tobias Buckell shares link to charities helping the victims of Hurricane Irma in the Carribbean.

Con reports:

• C.E. Murphy shares her experiences at WorldCon 75 in Helsinki, Finland, as well as several photos in a multi-part post. 
• Susanna Shore shares her experiences at WorldCon 75 as well as several photos.
• Tiffani Angus and Chris Butler share their experiences at WorldCon 75. 
• Mur Lafferty shares some photos of WorldCon 75.
• Marcin Klak reports about Polcon 2017 in Lublin, Poland, and shares some photos. 
• Brandilyn Carpenter and Ralph Gallagher report about a John Barrowman performance at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia, and share some photos. 
• Nelson Hicks shares some photos of the Dragon Con Parade in Atlanta. 
• Jonathan Phillips also shares some photos of the Dragon Con Parade.
• Rikki Klaus reports about an incident where chairs were thrown from a hotel in Atlanta and injured two Dragon Con attendants.
• Ellen Eldrige also has a report about the chair attack at Dragon Con as well as a few photos.
• Mike Glyer also reports about the chair attack at Dragon Con. 
• Matthew Jacobsen profiles the founders of Salt Lake City Comic Con in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Mike Glyer shares a report about MagiCon, the 1992 WorldCon in Orlando, Florida, as well as several photos.
• Jess Nevins reports about the results of a survey regarding sexual harrassment at SFF conventions.
  

Science and technology:

• In 1.3 million years, the solar system will briefly contain two stars.
• Microscopic lasers may be used to halt the spread of cancer.
• What does the future of food look like?
• How prepared are we for nuclear war?
• How would a real post-apocalyptic scenario play out?
  

Free online fiction:

• "Angel of the Blockade" by Alex Wells at Tor.com. 
• "Wise Child" by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller at Baen.com.
• "The Girl Who's Going to Survive Your Horror Movie" by Barbara A. Barnett in Flash Fiction Online. 
• "Metal and Flesh" by Marie Vibbert in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Blue Ribbon" by Marissa Lingen in Lightspeed.
• "Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand" by Fran Wilde in Uncanny Magazine.
• "The Last Cheng Bang Gift" by Jaymee Goh in Lightspeed. 

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a sneak peek at Inhumans.
• Watch a trailer for Infinity Chamber. 
• Watch a trailer for The Crucifixion.
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of Star Wars: Rebels.
• Watch a live action trailer for the videogame Destiny 2.