It's time again for our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Star Trek Discovery, Blade Runner 2049, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, Runaways, The Orville, the geography of fantasy, New York Comic Con, lots of new trailers 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:
- N.K. Jemisin and Ann Leckie discuss what makes a classic work of science fiction.
- The participants of this month's Mind Meld share their favourite books featuring werewolves and giant monsters.
- Rob Little shares his top ten post-apocalyptic books.
- James Davis Nicoll shares twenty science fiction and fantasy books featuring redheads.
- Ginn Hale shares five alternate histories that embrace diversity.
- Claudie Arsenault introduces the aromantic and asexual speculative fiction database.
- Epic Reads shares some not entirely serious charts for book lovers.
- Alexa Grave talks about Stephen King's Dark Tower series and how it influenced her writing.
- Alex Acks discusses the perplexing river systems of Tolkien's Middle Earth.
- Camestros Felapton discusses the plot elements and even more plot elements of fantasy maps.
- Julie E. Czerneda talks about the science behind her Clan Chronicles series.
- Doris V. Sutherland revisits the 1928 space opera The Skylark of Space by E.E. Smith.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1959 science fiction novel The Enemy Stars by Poul Anderson.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1981 novel Horn Crown by Andre Norton.
- Molly Templeton revisits the 1974 novel The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip.
- The Fantasy Café also revisits The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip.
- Margaret Atwood shares her appreciation for Ray Bradbury and his work.
- Lucas Siegel shares a list of 25 creators of colour that changed the SFF genre over the past twenty years.
- Alexandra Alter profiles Nnedi Okorafor.
- Tobias Carroll shares his appreciation for the works of Nigerian SFF writer Deji Bryce Olukotun.
- Robert Greene II revisits the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense".
- Cheryl Eddy explains that she cannot stand Seth MacFarlane, but really enjoys The Orville.
- Nick Wanserski declares that The Orville has significantly improved.
- James Berardinelli shares his thoughts on the Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.
- Curt Oglesbee shares ten facts about horror movies that you probably don't know.
- Aja Romano reports that the author of the infamous fanfiction story My Immortal probably hasn't been revealed after all.
- NASA Scientist Dr. Yoji Kondo who also wrote science fiction under the name Eric Kotani has died aged 84.
Comments on Star Trek Discovery:
- Zack Handlen reviews the two-part pilot and the first regular episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- David Sims believes that Star Trek Discovery is a bold evolution of the franchise.
- Ethan Siegel shares five real world issues he feels Star Trek Discovery should address.
- Ethan Siegel also expresses his displeasure with how Star Trek Discovery actually did address those and other issues and feels it has turned into "War Trek".
- Ethan Siegel is also displeased with the science of Star Trek Discovery.
- Cora Buhlert talks about redemption arcs and shares yet more of her complaints about Star Trek Discovery.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw points out that Star Trek Discovery needs to find its moral heart.
- Keith DeCandido shares his thoughts about episode 4 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Katharine Trendacosta also shares her thoughts about episode 4 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on episode 4 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Angel Wilson shares her thoughts about episode 4 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Zach Handlen was not thrilled with episode 4 of Star Trek Discovery.
- Kevin Melrose wonders whether the titular ship in Star Trek Discovery is part of the shadowy Section 31.
- Kevin Melrose also reports about the (disgusting) final fate of Captain Philippa Georgiou, as portrayed by Michelle Yeoh.
- Katharine Trendacosta shares showrunner Alex Kurtzman's explanation for why the Klingons look and behave so differently in Star Trek Discovery.
- Emily Asher-Perrin reports that Michelle Yeoh, who played Captain Philippa Georgiou in Star Trek Discovery, put in a surprise appearance at new York Comic Con and had some advice for her successor.
- Jon Arvedon reports that the cast and crew of Star Trek Discovery hope Donald Trump will watch the show.
- Angel Wilson discusses the results of a poll at The Geekiary regarding whether fans prefer Star Trek Discovery or The Orville and finds that the fact that Star Trek Discovery is only available on a subscription channel might be killing the show before it had the chance to find its feet.
Comments on Blade Runner 2049:
- Caryn Jones is quite pleased with Blade Runner 2049 and particularly praises Harrison Ford's performance.
- Theresa DeLucci shares her thoughts on Blade Runner 2049.
- Damien G. Walter calls Blade Runner 2049 an artificial diamond of a movie in a spoilerish review.
- Ryan Lambie offers a spoiler-filled discussion of Blade Runner 2049.
- Ian Cardona attempts to explain the ending of Blade Runner 2049.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Blade Runner 2049 visually stunning and subtly sexist.
- Helen O'Hara is bothered by the sexist future presented in Blade Runner 2049.
- Sarah Emerson points out that the future of Cyberpunk in general and the Blade Runner franchise in particular looks very Asian, even though there are hardly any Asians about, let alone Asians with speaking roles.
- Stephen Humphries talks about Blade Runner 2049 in the context of the current popularity of dystopian science fiction.
- Maria Bustillos finds some parallels between Blade Runner 2049 and the 1962 novel Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov.
- Sunny Moraine talks about memories and emotions and how they are portrayed in Blade Runner 2049.
- Germain Lussier shares nine questions he has after watching Blade Runner 2049.
- Sara Vilkomerson interviews Martin Green, one of the screenwriters of Blade Runner 2049.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw explains why Blade Runner 2049 is considered a box office flop.
Comments on Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams:
- Rob Leane discusses the anthology TV series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
- Rob Bricken declares that Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams looks amazing.
- Beth Elderkin reports that Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams is not so much a TV show but a series of ten standalone movies.
Comments on Runaways:
- Charles Pulliam Moore calls Runaways a dynamic spin on the classic teen drama.
- Natalie Zutter calls Runaways a solid teenage superhero drama.
Awards:
- The winner of the 2017 WSFA Small Press Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2017 MacArthur Foundation fellowships have been announced.
- The nominees for the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Award have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Michael Sendrow talks about his relationship with creativity.
- James Dowd explains how to infuse passion and energy into your work.
- Rosalyn Kelly shares six writing tips.
- Damien G. Walter talks about the importance of change for stories.
- Glory Anna reminds writers not to put story above character.
- Ginn Hale talks about the inspiration behind The Long Past and Other Stories.
- Alex Acks talks about research and getting it right.
- John Allen shares some tips for writing a great horror story.
Interviews:
- Dag Rambraut interviews Jacey Bedford.
- Dag Rambraut also interviews Matthew S. Williams.
- Paul Weimer interviews Alex Acks.
- Brigid Alverson interviews Saladin Ahmed.
- Randy Dotinga interviews John Joseph Adams.
- Carl Slaughter interviews Dean Wesley Smith.
- Shellie Horst interviews R.J. Barker.
- S.A. Soule interviews Julie Ann Dawson.
- The Qwillery interviews Rivers Solomon.
- The Qwillery also interviews Jeanette Ng.
- Juliana Spink Mills interviews Gwendolyn Kiste.
Reviews:
- Paul Weimer reviews The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor.
- Niall Alexander reviews The Power by Naomi Alderman.
- Amal El-Mohtar reviews An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan.
- Aidan Moher reviews The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear.
- Kate Sherrod reviews The Trials by Solomon Parker by Eric Scott Fischl.
- Ardi Alspach also reviews The Trials of Solomon Parker by Eric Scott Fischl.
- Mark Chitty reviews The Bastard Legion by Gavin Smith.
- Nicole Hill reviews A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne.
- Rob Bedford reviews The Core by Peter V. Brett.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Halloween Carnival, Volume 1, edited by Brian James Freeman.
- Ross Johnson reviews the Star Wars anthology From A Certain Point of View.
Crowdfunding:
Con reports:
- Rob Bedford shares his experiences at New York Comic Con in New York City.
- The Geekiary offers a summary of the "Women of Marvel" panel at New York Comic Con.
- The BBC reports that Marvel has cancelled a joint event with weapons manufacturer Northrop Grumman at New York Comic Con, following criticism.
- Beth Elderkin shares the best cosplay photos from New York Comic Con.
- Black Nerd Problems reports about Geek Girl Con in Seattle, Washington, and shares some photos.
- James Bacon reports about the Irish Disworld Con 2017 in Cork, Ireland, and shares some photos.
Science and technology:
- Mercury experiences micro-meteor showers every morning.
- The serach for a potential ninth planet on the outer edges of the solar system.
Free online fiction:
- "Light and Shadow" by Catherine Asaro.
- "At Cooney's" by Delia Sherman in Uncanny Magazine.
- "The Walk Up Nameless Ridge" by Hugh Howey in Lightspeed.
- "Every Black Tree" by Natalia Theodoridou in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "ZeroS" by Peter Watts at Tor.com.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
- Watch a trailer for Pacific Rim: Uprising.
- Watch a trailer for Justice League.
- Watch a trailer for season 3 of Legends of Tomorrow.
- Watch a trailer for season 6 of Arrow.
- Watch a trailer for Runaways.
- Watch a trailer for Raising Dion.
- Watch a trailer for Replicas.
- Watch a trailer for Beyond Skyline.
- Watch a trailer for season 11 of The X-Files.
- Watch a trailer for Castle Rock.
- Watch a trailer for season 4 of Black Mirror.
- Watch a clip from season 3 of The Man in the High Castle.
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