Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 11, 2018

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Avengers: Infinity War (spoilers mostly marked, but reader beware), The Handmaid's Tale, The Rain, the "cocky" trademark uproar, the Universal Fan Con debacle and Wicomicon as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, con reports, crowdfunding campaigns, science articles, free online fiction and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Gena-mour Barrett explains why black science fiction can no longer by ignored. 
• Gideon Marcus takes a look at women writers of science fiction and other notable women in the genre in the early 1960s.
• Marina J. Lostetter discusses her issues with the trope of the robot who wants to be human. 
• Meghan Ball shares eleven fictional science fiction and fantasy bands to rock your world.
• Victoria Nelson shares the ten scariest horror stories.
• Annie Neugebauer offers a visual overview of the horror genre, its subgenres and styles.
• Judith Tarr revisits Walter Farley's 1955 foray into science fiction The Island Stallion Races. 
• Nalo Hopkinson revisits the 1999 science fiction novel Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1998 time travel novel Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling.  
• Kelly Chiu explains why the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa is esential reading for every fantasy fan.
• Alison Flood reports that according to a recent study, books by women are priced 45% lower than books by men.
  
• Vanessa Thorpe, Jake Nevins and Steph Harmon report about sexual harrassment allegations against Junot Díaz.
• Abigail Nussbaum takes a look at both China Miéville's novel The City and The City and the BBC's film adaptation. 
• Kenneth Lowe declares that Rosemary's Baby is still chilling fifty years after it was made.
• Kenneth Turan report that director Christopher Nolan is restoring Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - A Space Odyssey to its original 70 mm glory. 
• Germain Lussier calls the futuristic thriller Hotel Artemis a throwback to a different era of filmmaking.  
• Xan Brooks calls the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's How to Talk to Girls at Parties a messy science fiction caper. 
• James Berardinelli shares his thoughts on the science fiction movie Anon.
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on Get Out!  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Crossing.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Timeless. 
• Germain Lussier shares some early reactions to Deadpool 2.
• Christina D.Z.A. Marie shares her favourite science fiction and fantasy movies that pass the Bechdel and Mako Mori tests.
• Liz Bourke is happy that there is so much good SFF television with female leads to watch at the moment.
• Veronica Wells reports that actress Nichelle Nichols, best known for playing Lieutenant Uhura in the original Star Trek, is suffering from dementia. 
• Artist Bob Eggleton announces that he is taking a step back from science fiction fandom.
• Livia Gollancz, daughter of Victor Gollancz and science fiction publisher, died aged 98. 
• Current Gollancz publisher John Wood is not happy about the slights against science fiction in the obituary of Livia Gollancz.
• German actor Wolfgang Völz, best known for his parts in Raumpatrouille Orion, Captain Future and Captain Bluebear, died aged 87.
  

Comments on Avengers: Infinity War (spoilers mostly marked, but beware): 

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Avengers: Infinity War delivers epic thriller, but leaves the viewer hanging.
• Jesse Hassenger compares Avengers: Infinity War to Star Wars: The Last Jedi and points out that the former flatters its fans, while the latter challenges them.
• Brock Wilbur detects an influence of the videogame Dark Souls on Avengers: Infinity War.
• Kyoko M. shares her spoilertastic thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War. 
• Michael Carlisle explains why Thanos' plan in Avengers: Infinity War is even worse than it seems at first.
• Brandon Davis explains how the writers and directors decided who would die in Avengers: Infinity War (spoilers, obviously).  
• Renaldo Matadeen wonders which of the many deaths in Avengers: Infinity War will still stand at the end of Avengers 4.
• Clara Mae wonders what comes next for the Avengers after Infinity War.
• Meagan Damore explains how Avengers: Infinity War has influenced Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show.
• Nicole Drum explains what happened to the S.H.I.E.L.D. operative who played a game of Galaga on the bridge of S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in The Avengers.
• Renaldo Matadeen explains why Groot is the heart and soul of the Marvel Universe (spoilers). 
• Germain Lussier ponders the marketing problems for future Marvel movie posed by Avengers: Infinity War.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore shares director Joe Russo's answers to burning questions arising from Avengers: Infinity War, as given to a group of high school students from Iowa.
• Kristopher Tapley interviews Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Avengers: Infinity War.
• Kevin Polowy interviews Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, screenwriters of Avengers: Infinity War.  
• Sam Stone reports that five of the six original Avengers have now got matching tattoos.
  

Comments on season 2 of The Handmaid's Tale:

• Cheryl Eddy finds the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale harrowing.
• Natalie Zutter is frustrated by the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale and wonders whether to give up on the show.
• Hillary Kelly is also frustrated by the depressing nature and the lack of forward momentum in the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale. 
• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale. 
• Kimberly Roots shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale.  
• Hoai Tran Bui shares her thoughts about the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale.
  

Comments on The Rain:

• Sam Wollaston shares his thoughts on the Danish post-apocalyptic thriller The Rain.
• Nick Schager calls The Rain a binge-worthy post-apocalyptic teen drama.
• Kimberly Ricci declares that The Rain washes away what is tired about post-apocalyptic TV shows.
• Evan Narcisse hopes that something like The Rain will never happen in real life.
• Alex Flood calls The Rain Denmark's answer to The Walking Dead.

Comments on the "cocky" trademark uproar:

• Alison Flood reports that romance writer Faleena Hopkins has attempted to trademark the word "cocky" and is sending cease and desist letters to other writers with that word in the title. 
• Intellectual property attorney Marc Whipple has a detailed overview over the "cocky" uproar.
• Writer Beware weighs in one the "cocky" uproar.
• Diannika Alyse Star weighs in on the "cocky" uproar. 
• Diannika Alyse Star interviews writer and lawyer Kevin Kneupper about the "cocky" uproar.

Awards:

• The nominees for the 2017 Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2018 Anthony Awards have been announced. 
• The nominees for the 2018 Scribe Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2018 Chesley Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2018 Munsey Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2017 Australian Shadows Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2018 Prix Imaginales have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2018 Prix Aurora/Boréal have been announced.
• The winners of the 2018 Prix Jacques Brossard have been announced. 
• The recipients of the Spectrum 25 Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2017 Australian Romance Readers Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2018 FAAn Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2017 Bisexual Book Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2017 Planetary Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2018 MTV Movie and TV Awards have been announced.
• Jan M. Olsen reports that no Nobel Prize for Literature will be awarded in 2018 due to a row inside the Swedish Academy and that both the 2018 and 2019 Prize will be awarded in 2019 instead.
• Maureen Kincaid Speller shares her thoughts on the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Cynthia Joyce Clay shares some theories regarding creativity.
• Melissa Hartfiel shares five tips for undertaking a daily creativity challenge.
• Cat Rambo explains that ideas are to be found everywhere. 
• C.M. Barrett explains how they outwit writer's block with four simple questions. 
• Gargi Mehra shares some tips regarding what to write about when you don't feel like writing.
• Now Novel shares five simple methods for finding story topics when stuck.
• Amanda Patterson shares ten cliffhangers that will make readers keep turning the pages. 
• Robert Repino explains what Mister Rogers taught him about storytelling.
• Daniel Palmer shares five things his father taught him about writing. 
• Phil Normand attempts to trace the font used on Ace Books' Edgar Rice Burroughs reprints of the 1960s. 

Interviews:

• John Tuttle interviews Andy Weir.
• Fran Wilde interviews Emily Wilson, translator of the Odyssey.
• Audie Cornish interviews Dave Eggers.
• The Qwillery interviews R.F. Kuang.
• The Qwillery interviews Julia Fine. 
• Andrea Johnson interviews Matthew Sanborn Smith.
• Alasdair Shaw interviews Leo Nix.
  

Reviews:

• Jayne from Dear Author reviews Artificial Condition by Martha Wells.
• Liz Bourke reviews Artificial Condition by Martha Wells.  
• Liz Bourke reviews Afterwar by Lilith Saintcrow.
  
• The Qwillery reviews Dark Queen by Faith Hunter.
• Lis Carey reviews Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente.
• Paul Weimer reviews Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson.
• Martin Cahill reviews Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport. 
• S. Qiouyi Lu reviews The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. 
• Amy Goldschlager reviews The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty.
• Sam Reader reviews The Rig by Roger Levy. 
• One More reviews Cold-Forged Flame by Marie Brennan.
• Lila Garrott reviews Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang.
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald reviews In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black.
• Camestros Felapton reviews Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty.
• Shellie Horst reviews The Charmed Life of Alex Moore by Molly Flatt.
• The Qwillery reviews Devil's Night Dawning by Damien Black.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Hell Divers III: Deliverance by Nicholas Sansbury Smith.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Yadira Sanchez Olson reports that the proposed Ray Bradbury statue in Waukegon, Illinois, is halfway funded. 
  

Con reports:

• Adedamola Agboola reports about Wicomicon in Baltimore, Maryland, which was organised in only a single week as a replacement for the cancelled Universal Fan Con. 
• Keith Chow also reports about Wicomicon in Baltimore. 
• Lila Shapiro goes into the background behind the collapse of the planned Universal Fan Con in Baltimore. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also reports about the implosion of Universal Fan Con.
• Nate Hoffelder reports that DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia, has invited Lori James a.k.a. Samantha Somersby, who is being sued by authors for the bankruptcy of AllRomance eBooks, as a guest to great controversy.
• Taral Wayne reports about Corflu 35 in Toronto, Canada.
• Kevin Standalee reports about StaffCon, a prelimary test run for WorldCon 76, in San José, California, and shares some photos. 
• The 2019 WorldCon in Dublin, Ireland, has released its first progress report.
• Geoff Ryman reports about the Ake Festival, a speculative fiction friendly literature festival in Abeokuta, Nigeria, that is the home of the Nommo Awards. Ryman also interviews several participants and shares some photos.
  

Science and technology:

• David Grinspoon and Alan Stern explain why Pluto is a planet. 
• Ethan Siegel talks about Dyson Spheres and explains where there have not yet been any found in the galaxy.
• Ethan Siegel also explains how big the universe will ultimately get.
• Jon Hamilton reports about a new application for artificial intelligence which allows scientists to study the interior structures of living human cells via a 3D-model.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Five Functions of Your Bionosaur" by Rachael K. Jones in Robot Dinosaur Fiction!
• "We Will Be All Right" by Caroline Ives Gilman in Lightspeed.
• "Night Journey of the Dragon Horse" by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu, in Lightspeed. 
• "The Sea Half-Held by Night" by E. Catherine Tobler in The Dark.
• "Cold Blue Sky" by  J.E. Bates in Apex Magazine.
• "Under the Sun" by Gavin Smith in Terraform. 
• "The Examination Cloth" by Jonathan Edelstein in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.  
• "The Root Cellar" by Maria Haskins in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Solo.
• Watch a trailer for Luke Cage. 
• Watch a trailer for Jupiter's Moon. 
• Watch a trailer for Impulse.
• Watch a teaser trailer for The Predator.
• Watch a video of Deadpool asking for Canada to be allowed to join the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Watch a video of Deadpool apologising to David Beckham for a joke in Deadpool 1.