It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with tributes to Stan Lee, the first "Best Books of 2018" lists, the new series of Doctor Who, the new She-Ra and the Princess of Power, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Star Trek and Short Treks, the future of Star Wars, Origins, Transformers: Lost Light 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 recent science fiction and fantasy novels.
- Andrew Liptak shares eleven science fiction and fantasy books to check out this November.
- Jeff Somers shares the fifty greatest science fiction and fantasy debut novels.
- Ausma Zehanat Khan shares five SFF novels based on neglected cultures or histories.
- Rachel Swirsky talks about being a Jewish and disabled SFF author.
- James Davis Nicoll talks about world states and mega empires in science fiction.
- Gabino Iglesias shares the ten weirdest crime novels.
- Emily Littlejohn shares seven mystery novels featuring myths and fairy tales.
- M.R. Carey asks if horror and crime go together.
- W.L. Goodwater explains the popularity of Cold War fantasy.
- Deana Whitney shares five books featuring friendships between humans and dragons.
- Jeremy Klein explains what Pokémon can teach us about fiction.
- John Hertz shares his appreciation for the works of R.A. Lafferty.
- Joseph D. Carriker talks about some very offensive parts of the upcoming 5th edition of the RPG Vampire: The Masquerade.
- Asher Elbein talks about the bad working conditions, low pay and lack of job security in the comics industry.
- Richard Irvine-Brown reports about the continued popularity of Transformers and particularly how the Transformers: Lost Light comic brought new fans to the franchise.
- Tom Speelman also praises Transformers: Lost Light and calls it the franchise's most progressive story ever.
- Beth Elderkin praises Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and the way it handles Greek mythology.
- Fred Patten, longtime editor, critic, convention organiser and fan, who popularised anime in the US, has died aged 77.
- New York memorabilia dealer Jerry Ohlinger had died.
- Steve Vertlieb remembers Jerry Ohlinger.
Best books of 2018 lists:
- The Tor.com reviewers shares their favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2018.
- Kirkus Reviews shares their best science fiction and fantasy books of 2018.
- Amazon shares their best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2018.
Film and TV:
- Ross Johnson shares thirteen essential science fiction and fantasy films from the Criterion Collection.
- Violet Allen shares her thoughts on the science fiction movie Kin.
- Amy Nicholson shares her thoughts on the horror movie Bird Box.
- Vinnie Mancuso calls the science fiction series Origin basically Lost in space.
- Samantha Nelson also compares Origin to Lost.
- Ben Child declares that the proposed Rogue One spin-off series focussing on the character of Cassian Andor could usher in a new era of Star Wars.
- Sam Stone declares that the Star Wars franchise doesn't need a course correction.
- Taylor Williams reports that according to director Rian Johnson, Luke Skywalker's character in The Last Jedi is one hundred percent consistent with his portrayal in the original trilogy.
- David Rossler shares his appreciation for Ray Harryhausen.
- Natalie Devitt revisits some early episodes of The Outer Limits from 1963.
- Leah Schnelbach shares the seventeen best (and worst) cartoon sidekicks of the 1980s.
- Matt Novak reports that the California wildfires have destroyed the Paramount Ranch, filming location for countless movies and TV shows, including Van Helsing, Death Race 2000 and Westworld.
- Brittany Rivera reports that Guillermo del Toro's Bleak House, which contains his unique collection of arts, props and memorabilia, has been spared by the California wildfires.
- Ryan Chichester reports that the Eye of Agamotto prop from Doctor Strange has been saved from the California wildfires by director Scott Derrickson
- Douglas Rain, the voice of HAL 9000 in 2001 - A Space Odyssey, has died aged 90.
Tributes to Stan Lee:
- Comic writer Stan Lee, co-creator of hundreds of Marvel characters, has died aged 95.
- Marvel and Disney remember Stan Lee.
- Tor.com remembers Stan Lee.
- io9 remembers Stan Lee.
- Mike Barnes shares an obituary for Stan Lee.
- Glen Weldon shares a tribute to Stan Lee.
- Ross Johnson shares a tribute to Stan Lee.
- Joelle Monique shares a tribute to Stan Lee.
- Michael Cavna shares a tribute to Stan Lee.
- Susana Polo shares a tribute to Stan Lee.
- Beth Elderkin shares a tribute to Stan Lee.
- Katherine Schaffstall shares tributes to Stan Lee from fellow creators and actors.
- Taylor Williams shares the tribute of the original Avengers cast to Stan Lee.
- Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Walko offer a comic strip tribute to Stan Lee.
- Artist Bill Sienkiewicz shares a tribute portrait of Stan Lee.
- Civil rights activist Al Sharpton declares that Stan Lee did more for black people than Congress.
- Watch Marvel's tribute video to Stan Lee.
- Petrana Radulovic shares a posthumously published video of Stan Lee paying tribute to his fans.
- Graeme McMillan explains how Stan Lee broke down the barrier between creators and audience.
- John DeFore claims that Stan Lee helped to create Hollywood as it exists today.
- Annette Lyon explains what Stan Lee taught her about writing.
- Ryan Chichester reports that Stan Lee completed filming a cameo for Avengers 4.
- Brian Cronin traces Stan Lee's first cameo appearances in comics, films and TV shows.
- Anjelica Oswald and Kirsten Acuna list all of Stan Lee's cameos in various Marvel movies and TV shows.
- Ryan Parker reminds us that Stan Lee spoke out against racism and bigotry in his Stan's Soapbox column as early as 1968.
- Hannah Collins reminds us that Stan Lee always spoke out against bigotry and racism.
- Jason Johnson explains how important Stan Lee and the diverse Marvel characters he created were for him as a black teenager.
- Marcus Errico digs up a Stan Lee interview from 2015.
- Kevin Melrose reports that Stan Lee created one last character shortly before his death.
- James Barron traces where various superheroes created by Stan Lee lived and worked in New York City.
Comments on series 11 of Doctor Who:
- Dan Martin shares his thoughts on "Demons of the Punjab", the latest episode of Doctor Who.
- Emily Asher-Perrin shares her thoughts on "Demons of the Punjab".
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "Demons of the Punjab".
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Demons of the Punjab".
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Demons of the Punjab".
- The Guardian reports that instead of a Christmas Special Doctor Who will have a New Year's Special this year.
Comments on Short Treks and Star Trek in general:
- Cheryl Eddy is quite charmed by "Calypso", the latest in the Star Trek Discovery spin-off series Short Treks.
- Richard Trenholm interviews Michael Chabon, writer of "Calypso" and the planned Captain Picard focussed Star Trek series.
- Ryan Britt profiles Michael Chabon and shares Chabon's reasons why particularly parents should believe that the hopeful future of Star Trek is possible.
- Lesley Goldberg reports that Michelle Yeoh's character Philippa Georgiou may get her own Star Trek spin-off.
Comments on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power:
- Shamus Kelley calls the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power a delightful and inclusive series that he wishes had existed when he was a kid.
- David Griffin calls the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power a reimagining that stays true to its roots.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power:
- Jax Motes shares his thoughts on the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
- Dave Trumbore shares his thoughts on the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
- Petrana Radulovic declares that the villains are the best part of the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
- Renaldo Matadeen declares that the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power delivery on its LGBTQ promise.
- Kat Calamia interviews Noelle Stevenson, showrunner of the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
- Tasha Robinson also interviews Noelle Stevenson.
- Petrana Radulovic offers a comparison of the characters in the new and old version of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
- Molly Freeman explains what we can expect from season 2 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
Comments on Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald:
- Robbie Collins calls Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald the gravest case of sequelitis since The Phantom Menace.
- Caryn James calls Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald an improvement over the first film in the series.
- Ian Freed calls Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald a visually impressive spectacle that mainly exists to set up its own sequel.
- Olly Richards praises the visuals of Fantastic Beasts. The Crimes of Grindelwald, but feels that the movie strains under too much plot.
- Nicholas Barber calls Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald a numbing sprawl that seems to drag on forever.
- Chris Hunneysett declares that J.K. Rowling's imagination bursts from the screen in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
- Pauline Bock declares that she is completely over the Harry Potter franchise and that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was the final nail in the coffin for her.
Awards:
- The finalists for the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 20th annual Endeavour Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 Stalker Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Translated Literature has been announced.
- The nominees for the 2018 Finlandia Awards have been announced.
- Liu Cixin has been given the 2018 Imagination in Service to Society Award.
- The finals for the 2018 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off are about to begin.
- Mike Glyer reports that the SFWA will open Nebula Award voting to associate members and will add a game writing award.
- The 2018 National Toy Hall of Fame inductees have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- August Birch shares the one thing he wishes he knew before he started writing professionally.
- John Walters shares some tips for handling disappointment in your writing career.
- Simone Michaud explains how she kickstarted her writing productivity.
- Jonathan Franzen shares his ten rules for novelists to much controversy.
- Susan Triceratops shares her ten rules for novelists.
- Reedsy shares a great character name generator.
- Writers Write shares 123 ideas for character flaws.
- Beth Cato talks about researching her alternate history trilogy.
- Joslyn Chase shares some tips for writing cliffhangers.
- Toby Frost shares some tips for editing your writing.
- David Gaughran reports about an Amazon glitch that has made thousands of e-books, usually self-published, unviewable by and unavailable to international readers.
Interviews:
- Alison Flood interviews George R.R. Martin.
- Mary Louise Kelly interviews Jonathan Lethem.
- Ana Marie Cox interviews Charlie Jane Anders.
- Chris Urie interviews Nancy Kress.
- The Odyssey Writing Workshop interviews Fran Wilde.
- Susana Polo interviews G. Willow Wilson.
- Locus interviews Andy Duncan.
- Joe Grunenwald interviews Seanan McGuire.
- Lou Pendergrast interviews John Hornor Jacobs.
- Farid Ul-Haq interviews Isaac Marion.
- J.C. Kang interviews Brandon Barr.
- Summer H. Paulus interviews Brian Lee Durfee.
Reviews:
- Publishers Weekly reviews Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.
- Bill Capossere and Jana Nyman review The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson.
- Rachael McKenzie reviews Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
- Ceridwen Christensen reviews Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.
- Liz Bourke reviews Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Unkindness of Ravens by Abra Staffin-Wiebe and Rule by Ellen Goodlett.
- Liz Bourke reviews Redemption's Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Expert System's Brother by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
- Carolyn Cushman reviews The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards.
- Ceridwen Christensen reviews Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, translated by Julia Meitov Hersey.
- Feliza Casano reviews Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, translated by Julie Meitov Hersey.
- Ian Mond reviews The Dragon's Child by Janeen Webb.
- Fantasy Faction reviews Blood of the Gods by David Mealing.
- Rob Bedford reviews The Bones of the Earth by Rachel Dunne.
- Paul Weimer reviews Priest of Bones by Peter McLean.
- Mark Yon reviews The Blue Salt Road by Joanne M. Harris.
- Matthew Keeley reviews An Agent of Utopia by Andy Duncan.
- Debbie Meldrum reviews The Lovecraft Squad: Dreaming, edited by Stephen Jones.
- Gabino Iglesias reviews The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem.
- Brit Mandelo reviews My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
- Gabino Iglesias reviews I Am Behind You by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
- Sandra Mangan reviews Providence by Caroline Kepnes.
- Jared Shurin reviews We Can Save Us All by Adam Nemmett.
- Elizabeth Vail reviews Helix by Eric Brown.
- Lela E. Buis reviews Integration by Jonathan P. Brazee.
- Ian Mond reviews Condomnauts by Yoss, translated by David Frye.
- Liz Bourke reviews City of Ash and Red by Hye-Young Pyun.
- John Hulet reviews The Valley of Shadows by John Ringo and Mike Massa.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Night Shift by Robin Triggs.
Classics reviews:
- Margarita Mospanova revisits Yevgeny Zamyatin's 1921 dystopian novel We.
- Kat Hooper revisits Robert Sheckley's 1954 science fiction collection Untouched by Human Hands.
- Judith Tarr revisits Andre Norton's 1963 science fiction novel Key Out Of Time.
- Joe Kenney revisits Abandon Galaxy!, a 1967 science fiction novel in the Commander Craig series by Bart Somers a.k.a. Gardner Fox.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits Brian M. Stableford's 1978 science fiction novel The City of the Sun.
- Brandon Sanderson revisits Jane Yolen's 1982 fantasy novel Dragon's Blood.
- Cat Rambo revisits Emma Bull's 1987 urban fantasy novel War for the Oaks.
- Joe Sherry revisits Sherri S. Tepper's 1988 feminist science fiction novel The Gate to Women's Country.
- Kat Hooper revisits Simon R. Green's 1996 space opera Deathstalker Rebellion.
Crowdfunding:
Con and event reports:
- Richard Marpole reports about Bristolcon in Bristol, UK, and shares several photos.
- Sylvia Wrigley reports about the 2018 Estcon in Udu Farm, Estonia, and shares a photo.
- Mike Glyer reports that Arisia Inc. will elect new officers after a wave of pull-outs and resignations triggered by Crystal Huff's complaints about the executive board's behaviour towards her.
- Mike Glyer also posts the results of the Arisia executive board elections.
- Andy and Jade Piltser-Cowan, lawyers and potential Arisia officers, talk about believing survivors and due process also in relation to Crystal Huff's experiences.
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia shares her issues with the Guest of Honour line-up for the 2019 World Fantasy Convention in Los Angeles, California.
- John Rogers, president of San Diego Comic Con International, has died.
Science and technology:
- Franco Vazza and Alberto Feletti find parallels between galactic and neural networks.
- Ethan Siegel explains how we know that there are two trillion galaxies in the universe.
- Riz Virk explains that we need to move beyond rockets to become a spacefaring civilisation.
- Tessa Love declares that robots have a diversity problem.
- Arkady Martine explains what really happens after massive disasters and why post-apocalyptic fiction gets it wrong so often.
- Danilo Campos explains why abundant and cheap energy might usher in a Star Trek future.
- Hannah Osborne reports that the remnants of ancient continents have been found deep under the Antarctic ice.
- Christopher Joyce reports that the oldest figurative painting ever has been found in a cave in Indonesia.
- Christopher Joyce also reports that the remnants of giant swimming dinosaurs have been found in Angola.
Free online fiction:
- "Death on Mars" by Madeline Ashby in Clarkesworld.
- "Octo-Heist in Progress" by Rich Larson in Clarkesworld.
- "Oversite" by Maureen F. McHugh in Lightspeed.
- "Hapthorn's Last Case" by Matthew Hughes in Lightspeed.
- "The Word of Flesh and Soul" by Ruthanna Emrys at Tor.com.
- "Godzilla vs. Buster Keaton, Or: I Didn't Even Need a Map" by Gary A. Braunbeck in Apex Magazine.
- "Coyote Now Wears a Suit" by Ani Fox in Apex Magazine.
- "The Love Letters" by Peng Simeng, translated by S. Qiouyi Lu, in Clarkesworld.
- "Sea-Crowned" by H. Pueyo in The Dark.
- "The Only Way Out Lies Farther In" by David Tallerman in The Dark.
- "And I Never Named Her" by Renee Christopher in Fireside Fiction.
- "Targeted Behavior" by J.D. Moyer in Compelling Science Fiction.
- "Coolhunting" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Odds and ends:
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