It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the new series of Doctor Who, Titans, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a new version of The Haunting of Hill House, the cancellation of Iron Fist and Luke Cage, War of the Worlds at 80, A Wizard of Earthsea at 50, a scandal at Arisia, a whole lot of horror 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:
- Joe Sherry and Chloe from nerds of a feather offer an introduction to feminist futures.
- Paul Walker-Emig wonders why Cyberpunk won't move on from its 1980s aesthetics.
- Aliya Whiteley wonders whether smoking is still acceptable in science fiction and fantasy noir.
- James Davis Nicoll shares thirteen stories about surviving a nuclear war - at least briefly.
- Julie Novakova talks about parasites as portrayed in science fiction.
- Max Booth III shares twenty essential crime and horror crossovers.
- Robert Masello shares six classic novels featuring supernatural crimes.
- Nick Groom talks about the first rise of the literary vampire in the early 19th century.
- Daniel Mallory Ortberg shares the best scary stories for Halloween.
- Lisa Morton wonders why death has disappeared from Halloween.
- Parul Sehgal attempts to explain why ghost stories remain popular in America.
- David van Leer talks about horror, imagination and psychology in the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
- Matthew Wills profiles Alice Bradley Sheldon a.k.a. James Tiptree Jr.
- Swapna Krishna profiles S.L. Huang.
- Harrison Smith asks several science fiction writers what they think Trump's Space Force will look like.
- Hannah Giorgis discusses how romance novels handle consent.
- Vicky Who Reads explains how the YA book community isolates and sometimes forgets who the actual target audience for those books is.
- Julie Sedevy explains why literature has become more concerned with characters' emotions and motivations over time.
- Gabrielle Bellot explains how Ursula K. Le Guin's 1968 fantasy novel A Wizard of Earthsea subverts racism, but not sexism.
- Mary Ann Mohanraj explains how Ursula K. Le Guin kept interrogating her own work throughout her life.
- Barrie Hardymon looks at the impact the Harry Potter series has had twenty years after the first book was published.
- Leah Schnelbach discusses how the Harry Potter series and the Narnia books wrestle with death and rewrite Christianity.
- Benedicte Page reports that the London Library has found the actual books Bram Stoker used to research Dracula.
- Canadian science fiction and fantasy author Dave Duncan has died aged 85.
Film and TV:
- Scott Weinberg shares the 75 best horror movies of all time.
- Steve Rose revisits Sam Raimi's 1981 debut horror movie The Evil Dead.
- Leah Schnelbach revisits the 1999 supernatural action film End of Days.
- Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the horror parody You Might Be the Killer.
- Glen Weldon shares his thoughts on the Swedish movie Border.
- Cath Clarke calls the fairytale film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms a fest of winter schmaltz.
- Steve Rose wonders whether J.J. Abrams' war film Overlord really needed to add zombies to the regular horror of war.
- Stuart Heritage shares five ways The Simpsons could deal with the problem of the character Apu.
- Bhaskar Sunkara explains that Apu is a hero to many Indian Americans and hopes that The Simpsons won't get rid of him.
- Sean O'Connell explains why it is a mistake for Disney/Marvel not to push Avengers: Infinity War for the Oscars.
- Kate Gardner is happy that Disney/Marvel chooses to focus on Black Panther over Avengers: Infinity War.
- Daniel Dylan Wray profiles actor Danny Trejo who appeared in many genre films.
- Justin Carter reports that Kip Pardue, one of the stars in Runaways, has been accused of sexually harrassing actress Sarah Scott.
- Michael McGowan reports that actor Geoffrey Rush has been accused of sexually harrassing actress Eryn Jean Norvill during a production of King Lear in Sydney, Australia.
- Actor James Karen, who appeared in Poltergeist and Return of the Living Dead among others, has died aged 94.
Comments on series 11 of Doctor Who:
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Arachnids in the UK", the latest episode of Doctor Who.
- Emily Asher-Perrin shares her thoughts on "Arachnids in the UK".
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "Arachnids in the UK".
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Arachnids in the UK".
- Dan Martin shares his thoughts on "Arachnids in the UK".
- Mike Joest discusses "Arachnids in the UK" and particularly focusses on the character of Jack Robertson as portrayed by Chris Noth.
Comments on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina:
- Alex Brown calls The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina enchantingly spooky.
- Annabel Rackham wonders whether The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina lives up to the hype.
- Lucy Mangan is not pleased with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
- Jessica Goldstein shares her thoughts on the first episode of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
- Lisa Weidenfeld offers an episode by episode review of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
- Beth Elderkin and Charles Pulliam-Moore share six things they liked and six things they didn't about The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
- Beth Elderkin finds that The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has some rather confused views on sexuality.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore isn't happy with the way The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina handles its characters of colour.
- Taylor Crumpton is also not happy with the treatment of the character Prudence Night in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
- James Whitbrook implores everybody to read The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comics.
- Inspired by The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Jessica MacLeish shares the best teen witches of pop culture.
- Also inspired by The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Juliette Harrison and Louisa Mellor share their top fifty TV witches.
- Brandon Zachary reports that the Satanic Temple is threatening to sue the producers of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina over a statue of Baphomet used as a prop in the show.
Comments on The Haunting of Hill House:
- Abigail Nussbaum finds that the latest adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House has very little to do with Shirley Jackson's famous novel, but otherwise tells a fine horror story.
- Arielle Bernstein explains how the latest version of The Haunting of Hill House conveys the horror of family.
- Aida Edemariam declares that agoraphobia and an unhappy marriage are the real horrors behind The Haunting of Hill House.
- Simon Abrams interviews Mike Flanagan, director of The Haunting of Hill House.
- Alison Flood asks several horror authors why Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House is so important for the horror genre.
- Mark Yon also revisits Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House.
Comments on Titans:
- Meagan Damore reports that according to showrunner Geoff Jones, Titans is the ultimate fan-driven show.
- Alan Ritchson, one of the stars of Titans, attempts to explain why gritty superhero stories are so compelling.
Comments on the cancellation of Iron Fist and Luke Cage:
- Travis Clark analyses social media data and discovers that interest in Iron Fist and Luke Cage dropped dramatically between season 1 and 2 and that the other Marvel Netflix shows might also be in trouble.
- Dylan Balde shares the reaction of actor Finn Jones, star of Iron Fist, to the cancellation of his show as well as Luke Cage.
War of the Worlds at 80:
- Julia Jacobo revisits Orson Welles' famous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds on its 80th anniversary.
- Jefferson Pooley and Michael J. Socolow explains the myth of the alleged panic caused by the War of the Worlds broadcast.
- J. Kingston Pierce also discusses the 80th anniversary of War of the Worlds and the alleged panic caused by the broadcast.
Awards:
- Voting is open for the first round of the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards.
- Mike Glyer highlights the 2018 Goodreads Choice candidates in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, graphic novel and YA categories.
- The winners of the 2018 BookNest Fantasy Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 Nommo Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 SFPA Speculative Poetry Contest have been announced.
- Ann K. Schwader has been named the 2018 SFPA Grand Master.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Lauren Sapala shares NaNoWriMo advice for writers.
- Callum Sharp explains why going off-grid is important for writers.
- Callum Sharp shares ten rules for better fiction writing.
- Morgan Hazelwood shares seven tips to prepare for writing a novel.
- Bridget Webber explains why aiming for perfection can kill your writing.
- Kristen Kieffer sheds some light on the popular "Show Don't Tell" advice.
- Jennifer Harris explains how to track your scenes.
- P.H. Salomon explains how to plan for NaNoWriMo success using Scrivener.
- Janice Hardy talks about overplotting.
- Janice Hardy talks about providing emotional clarity in your writing.
- K.M. Allan shares six tips for adding tension.
- David Safford shares three tips for writing terrifying scenes.
- Steven Sottong talks about suspension of disbelief.
- Bonnie Randall explains how to use setting to create story tension.
- John Scalzi shares some notes and advice from a book tour.
Interviews:
- Lulu Kadhim interviews Becky Chambers.
- Sandra Odell interviews Mel Kassel.
- Chris Urie interviews Steven Erikson.
- Sarah Waites interviews Destiny Soria.
- Joel Cunningham interviews Julia Meitov Hersey.
Reviews:
- Sarah Waites reviews Mutiny at Vesta by R.E. Stearns.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviws Exit Strategy by Martha Wells.
- Liz Bourke reviews Restless Lightning by Richard Baker.
- Charlie Scott reviews Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse.
- Liz Bourke reviews Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan and The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta.
- Sarah Waites reviews Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.
- Niall Alexander reviews The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson.
- Ross Johnson reviews The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson.
- Sarah Waites reviews The Wonder Engine by T Kingfisher.
- Nicole Hill reviews Mage Against the Machine by Shaun Barger.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Dreams of the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn.
- James David Nicoll reviews Vicious by V.E. Schwab.
- Steven Poole reviews Thin Air by Richard K. Morgan.
- Paul Kincaid reviews Haven by Adam Roberts.
- Camestros Felapton reviews The Centenal Cycle by Malka Older.
- Tadiana Jones and Marion Deeds reviews Age of War by Michael J. Sullivan.
- Bridget McKinney reviews Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Voyager of the Crown by Melissa McShane.
- Tadiana Jones reviews The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.
- Colleen Mondor reviews The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R. Pan.
- Alex Brown reviews Finding Baba Yaga by Jane Yolen.
- Brit Mandelo reviews The Labyrinth Index by Charles Stross.
- Ana Grilo reviews Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand.
- John Langan reviews The Immaculate Void by Brian Hodge.
- Niall Alexander reviews Elevation by Stephen King.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Harvest Moon: A Tale of the Bedlam Woods by James A. Moore.
- Mark Yon reviews Midwinter of the Spirit by Phil Rickman.
- Katharine Coldiron reviews The Rending and the Nest by Kaethe Schwehn and Moon Brow by Shahriar Madanipour.
- Carolyn Cushman reviews A Guide for Murdered Children by Sarah Sparrow.
- Ian Mond reviews Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Ahab's Return by Jeffrey Ford.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Kill for Satan! by Bryan Smith.
- Angie Barry reviews Monster of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to The X-Files by Zack Handlen and Todd Vanderwerff
- Kathryn Hughes reviews The Vampire: A New History by Nick Groom.
Classics reviews:
- James Davis Nicoll revisits The Man of Bronze from 1933, the first novel in the Doc Savage series by Kenneth Robeson a.k.a. Lester Dent.
- Cora Buhlert revisits the 1960 children's fantasy novel Jim Knopf and Lukas the Train Engine Driver by Michael Ende.
- Judith Tarr revisits Andre Norton's 1963 science fiction novel The Defiant Agents.
- Molly Templeton revisits Ursula K. Le Guin's 1968 fantasy novel A Wizard of Earthsea.
- Jenn Lyons revisits Ursula K. Le Guin's 1971 fantasy novel The Tombs of Atuan.
- Leah Schnelbach revisits Ursula K. Le Guin's 1972 fantasy novel The Farthest Shore.
- Joe Sherry revisits the 1975 science fiction anthology Women of Wonder, edited by Pamela Sargent.
- James Reasoner revisits The Manitou, a 1976 horror novel by Graham Masterson.
- Mark Yon revisits the 1977 horror novel The Hour of the Oxrun Dead by C.L. Grant.
- Kat Hooper revisits Mike Resnick's 1981 science fiction novel The Soul Eater.
- Paperback Warrior revisits Crater Lake, a 1987 novel in the post-apocalyptic Deathlands series by James Axler.
- Meghan Ball revisits the 1993 horror novel A Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny.
Crowdfunding:
- A GoFundMe Certified Charity campaign has been started for the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting.
- Comics writer Mark Waid needs some help to pay his legal fees after a member of the "Comicsgate" movement sued him for frivolous reasons.
Con and event reports:
- Kameron Hurley shares her keynote speech given at the 2018 Sirens Conference in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
- Bekah from The Geekiary shares her experience at DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as an interview with actress Jessica Harmon, best known for her roles in iZombie and The 100.
- Mike Glyer reports that SFContrario in Toronto, Canada, has announced a two year hiatus.
- Joanna Penn reports about her visit to the NINC conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, and shares many insights and photos.
- The BBC shares several cosplay photos from MCM London Comic Con in London, UK, and interviews various cosplayers about how they finance their hobby.
- Tor.com shares the best cosplay photos from New York Comic Con.
- Martin Morse Wooster reports about a screening of the 1931 Frankenstein movie with orchestral accompaniment at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, California.
- Hampus Eckerman reports about a visit to Catmosphere, a science fiction themed cat café, in Sydney, Australia, and shares some photos.
Discussion of safety concerns at Arisia in Boston:
- Crystal Huff explains why she will no longer attend Arisia in Boston, Massachusetts (content warning: rape).
- Maura Taylor shares a very similar incident that happened to her at Arisia in 2015 and the con's response or lack thereof (content warning: rape).
- Kate Nepveu also declares that she will no longer by attending Arisia.
- Ly Meloccaro explains why they resigned from the Arisia committee earlier this year after negative experiences with other member of the con com, including Noel Rosenberg.
- Mike Glyer offers a round-up of reactions to Crystal Huff's statement regarding Arisia.
- Mike Glyer reports that Noel Rosenberg has resigned as head of the operations division at Arisia.
- Mike Glyer also reports that Noel Rosenberg has been permanently banned from Arisia and shares reports of further incidents at the con.
- Mike Glyer shares yet another round-up of reactions to the Arisia situation.
- Mike Glyer reports that Arisia has lost two guests of honour and also shares other updates.
- The Arisia executive board reports that four members have resigned.
- Mike Glyer shares apologies from two former Arisia boardmembers as well as other statements regarding the safety issues at Arisia.
- Marie Brennan offers two posts on the Arisia situation.
- Kris Snyder also shares her take on the Arisia safety situation.
- Sonya Taffe weighs in one the Arisia safety concerns and also explains how Readercon, another Boston convention, handles such issues.
Science and technology:
- Jonathan Amos reports about the RemoveDebris satellite which is supposed to track and capture space junk.
- Marcia Dunn reports that the Kepler Space Telescope has been declared officially dead.
- Charlie Wood reports that the Parker Solar Probe has just broke two all-time records on its way to the sun and that there will be more to come.
- Bill Nye explains how solar sails in space work.
- The Economist wonders why humans have never found aliens yet.
- Ryan F. Mandelbaum reports that Swedish scientists have found a link between Parkinson's disease and the appendix.
- The BBC reports that Canada still has witchcraft trials aimed at fraudulent mediums and fortunetellers.
- Ryan Briggs reports about a cult that sprang up around a medium and con woman pretending to be the daughter of God in 19th century Philadelphia.
Free online fiction:
- "Thirty-Three Percent Joe" by Suzanne Palmer in Clarkesworld.
- "In Everlasting Wisdom" by Aliette de Bodard in Clarkesworld.
- "America: The Ride" by Charles Yu in Lightspeed.
- "Queen Lily" by Theodora Goss in Lightspeed.
- "Fistful of Fire" by William Stiteler in Crimson Streets.
- "Burned-Over Territory" by Lee Konstantinou in Slate.
- "Dawn of the Aquarians" by Michael Diamond at Akashic Books.
- "Fisherman" by Nalo Hopkinson in Strange Horizons.
- "The Earth's End" by N.A. Turner in Medium.
- "Cherry Wood Coffin" by Eugenia M. Triantafyllou in Apex Magazine.
Odds and ends:
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