It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the Fireside Fiction 2018 black speculative fiction report, yet more on the firing of James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, The Meg, The Calculating Stars, tributes to Michael Scott Rohan, WorldCon 76, WakandaCon, racism in the SCA 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:
- Eric Brown shares a round-up of the best recent science fiction books.
- Ann Leckie shares some recent science fiction novels she enjoyed.
- Maria Haskins shares thirteen recent science fiction, fantasy and horror short story collections.
- Petra Mayer shares the one hundred greatest horror stories of all time.
- Michael Dirda takes a look at several non-fiction books about science fiction, fantasy and horror.
- Kelly Jensen shares five science fiction stories set on inhospitable planets.
- Sam Reader eight intriguing dark fantasy noir novels.
- Jeff Somers shares fourteen colour-coded science fiction and fantasy novels.
- Damien Walter talks about transrealisim, which he calls the first major literary movement of the 21st century.
- Karl Schroeder talks about escaping the default future, when writing science fiction.
- James Davis Nicoll discusses six means of science fictional transportation he would not use.
- Alice Rosso shares the top five ways to destroy New York City in science fiction.
- V.E. Schwab explains how she found her way to fantasy.
- Martin Cahill takes a look at the works of Brandon Sanderson that are not epic fantasy.
- Anya Johanna DeNiro explains how the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells explore queer friendships.
- Sam Kean declares that reading fiction might make doctors more empathetic.
- Stardreamer finds some parallels between a supremely stupid article on why millennials won't eat mayonnaise and the sad puppy movement in science fiction.
- Alan Brown revisits the late 19th and early 20th century early science fictional adventures of Don Sturdy by Victor Appleton.
- Kim Huett digs up a 1947 Soviet article by Victor Bolkhovitinov and Vassilij Zakhartchenko criticising western science fiction.
- Cora Buhlert takes a look at East German and East European science fiction in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Chris Beckett revisits Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
- Joe Kenney revisits Tiger by the Tail, a 1975 novel in the The Man From Planet X series by Hunter Adams a.k.a. James D. Lawrence.
- Sandy Ferber revisits the Northwest Smith stories by C.L. Moore.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the Ballantine Classic Library of Science Fiction series edited by Judy-Lynn Del Rey.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1988 fantasy novel The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West by Mary Stanton.
- Judith Tarr praises the hardworking horses of epic fantasy.
- Shawn Speakman shares the best fantasy novels of the 1980s to read.
- Cynthia Vinney remembers some science fiction and fantasy films and TV series from the 1990s that are unfairly forgotten.
- Marty Kelley takes a look at rightwing complaints about too much diversity in superhero comics and points out that superhero comics have always been socially progressive.
- John DeVore shares his love for Batman.
- Colin Hickson reports that John Byrne may return to Marvel after a falling out in the year 2000.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits Zack Snyder's 2009 adaptation of Watchmen.
- Kyoko M. shares her appreciation for the character of Mariah Stokes Dillard in Luke Cage.
- Lauren Rearick reports that actress Ruby Rose who has just been cast as Batwoman has left Twitter following harrassment.
- Beth Elderkin reminds us that Ruby Rose is only the latest in a long line of celebrities who were hounded off social media by harrassment campaigns.
- Lesley Goldberg reports that Ethan Peck has been cast as young Spock in Star Trek Discovery.
Comments on Fireside Fiction's 2017 black speculative fiction report:
- Fireside Fiction has release Cecily Kane's 2017 Black Speculative Fiction report.
- Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali explains how PodCastle managed to raise the number of black authors published.
- Mikki Kendall looks back on three years of the Fireside Fiction black speculative fiction report.
- Camestros Felapton weighs in on the 2017 Black Speculative Fiction report.
Tributes to Michael Scott Rohan:
- Science fiction and fantasy author Michael Scott Rohan died aged 67.
- Locus remembers Michael Scott Rohan.
- Adam Whitehead remembers Michael Scott Rohan.
Comments on the firing of James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3:
- Mike Fleming reports that Marvel Studios is pressuring Disney to rehire James Gunn to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
- Justin Kroll reports that James Gunn had a meeting with studio chairman Alan Horn, but that Disney still refuses to rehire him.
Comments on The Meg:
- Mike McCahill calls The Meg cliched nonsense, but a lot of fun.
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky declares that The Meg should be a lot more fun than it is.
- Robbie Collin uses the Sharknado franchise and The Meg as examples how sharksploitation went mainstream.
- Germain Lussier gushes about what he considers the best moment in The Meg (spoilers).
- Will Lerner reports that the Jaws reference in The Meg are deliberate,
- Renaldo Matadeen asks if The Meg is the second best shark movie of all time.
- Renaldo Matadeen explains the ending of The Meg, in case anybody needs it explained.
- Renaldo Matadeen explains how The Meg sets up a sequel.
- Hannah Collins wonders why The Meg got a PG13 rating.
- David Rapp takes a look at the 1997 thriller on which The Meg is based.
- Brooks Barnes reports that The Meg is a surprising box office hit.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2018 American Book Awards have been announced and include several genre titles.
- The nominees for the Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award have been announced and include several genre titles.
- The nominees for the 2018 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards have been announced.
- The nominees for the 2018 Harvey Awards have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Joel Cunningham explains how the 2017 Hugo-nominated album Splendor & Misery by clipping inspired the new novel by 2018 Campbell Award finalist Rivers Solomon.
- Ruth Ann Nordin shares a common sense approach to the writing business.
- Maggie Lynch analyses some survey to explain what makes readers buy books.
- M.J. Rose shares some advice for writing blurbs.
- J.P. Mangalindan reports about the banning of fantasy authors J.A. Cipriano and Michael-Scott Earle from Amazon, both of whom claim to have done nothing wrong.
- J.W. Alden shares his experience at the Writers of the Future Contest and points out that the links between the contest and the Church of Scientology are closer than many believe.
- David Gerrold talks about writer cooperatives and Patreon.
Interviews:
- Francesca Myman interviews Martha Wells.
- Jonathan Thornton interviews Frances Hardinge.
- The Qwillery interviews Anna Smith Spark.
- The Qwillery intervies Sam Hawke.
- Michael Gruneir interviews Dale Lucas.
- John Scalzi interviews himself.
- Dave Richards interviews Shawn Crystal and Robbie Thompson.
- Jordan Crucchiola interviews Melanie Scrofano, star of Wynonna Earp.
Reviews:
- Jessica Juby reviews Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers.
- Liz Bourke reviews Temper by Nicky Drayden.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal.
- Bookworm Blues reviews The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
- Rob Bedford reviews The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
- Mieneke van der Salm reviews Morning Star by Pierce Brown.
- The Qwillery reviews Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio.
- Liz Bourke reviews Fire Dance by Ilana C. Myer.
- Erik Henriksen reviews Ball Lightning by Liu Cixin.
- Corrina Lawson reviews Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames.
- Kat Hooper reviews Competence by Gail Carriger.
- Alex Brown reviews Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie.
- Rakib Ahmad Khan reviews The Armored Saint by Myke Cole.
- Geoff Matthews reviews The Penitent Assassin by Shawn Wickersheim.
- Thea James reviews City of Lies by Sam Hawke.
- Bob Pastorella reviews The Book of M by Peng Shepherd.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Moons of Barsk by Lawrence M. Schoen.
- Andrea Johnson reviews Nexhuman by Francesco Vero.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The End of All Our Exploring by F. Brett Cox.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Behind the Door by Mary SanGiovanni.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Gate Crashers by Patrick S. Tomlinson.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Rattus New Yorkus by Hunter Shea.
- Paul Michaels reviews Visions from the Void, edited by Jonathan Butcher.
- The Qwillery reviews Gears of Faith by Gabrielle Harbowy.
- Mark Yon reviews Paperbacks From Hell by Grady Hendrix.
Crowdfunding:
Con reports:
- Mike Glyer reports that there will be a far right protest as well as a leftwing counter protest taking place during WorldCon 76 outside the San José Convention Center and also shares some safety tips from the convention committee.
- George R.R. Martin shares his schedule at WorldCon 76 in San José, California.
- Spider Robinson reports about his trip to WorldCon 76 and shares some photos he took en route.
- Nine Worlds Geek Fest in London, UK, discusses the future of their convention.
- Mikki Kendall reports about WakandaCon in Chicago, Illinois, and shares several photos.
- Devon Maloney reports about WakandaCon and shares several photos.
- Frank Catalano reports about this year's Clarion West workshop in Seattle, Washington.
- Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest installment of the Fantastic Fiction Readings series in New York City, featuring Michael Swanwick and Jeffrey Ford.
- Bill Ernoehazy reports about a major conflict inside the Society for Creative Anachronism.
- Beauxarmes weighs in about confronting racism in the SCA in a two part post.
- Tor.com shares some photos from forty years of the British comic shop Forbidden Planet.
- Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon weighs in on the issue of several writers supposed to appear at the Edinburgh Book Festival having their visas refused.
Science and technology:
- Jonathan Amos reports about NASA's Parker Solar Probe.
- Rafi Letzter reports that NASA's New Horizons probe has detected a vast glowing hydrogen wall on the edhe of the solar system.
- Ethan Siegel wonders whether attempts to send probes to explore extrasolar planets might be mistaken as a declaration of war by potential alien civilisations.
- George Dvorsky talks about the scientific possibilities of mini-moons.
- George Dvorsky reports that the Long Valley supervolcano in California still contains magma, though an eruption is unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Free online fiction:
- "No Flight Without the Shatter" by Brooke Bolander at Tor.com.
- "The Girl With The Frozen Heart" by Y.M. Pang in The Book Smugglers.
- "Shattered Hand" by Marc Criley in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Atonement Path" by Alex Irvine in Lightspeed.
- "Here's What I Know" by Dennis Danvers in Lightspeed.
- "Youngblood" by Aidan Moher in A Dribble of Ink.
- "Five Tales of the Rose Palace" by Ephiny Gale in The Future Fire.
- "The Wyvern Rider and Those of the Land" by Jeremy A. TeGrotenhuis in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a sneak peek of Ralph Breaks the Internet.
- Watch a video of Thor's roommate Daryl wishing Thor a happy birthday and revealing that he survived the end of Infinity War.
- Watch a trailer for Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.
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