Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for November 9, 2018

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, the new season of Outlander, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Titans, Overlord, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Andrew Lincoln's exit from The Walking Dead, Maniac and Netflix's screenplay algorithm, tributes to Bertil Martensson and Kitty O'Neil, speculation about Oumuamua, World Fantasy Con and the 2018 World Fantasy Awards 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:

• Publishers Weekly shares the best science fiction, fantasy and horror novels of 2018. 
• Leah Schnelbach shares five science fiction and fantasy books to look out for in November.
• Jay Owens shares nine new science fiction subgenres that will help you understand the future. 
• Steven H. Silver offers a primer on Jewish science fiction and fantasy. 
• The Rumpus shares some tips for what to read when the world is ending. 
• Jill Zeller notes that mainstream criticism seems to have discovered dystopian fiction, particularly feminist dystopian fiction, and seems to believe it is a new thing.
• Eleanor Tremeer explains why we need utopian fiction now more than ever.
• Alyssa Fikse discusses the appeal of the time travel romance. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares SFF stories about sharing brain space with someone else. 
• W.L. Goldwater shares five books about manipulated memories.
• Marissa Meyer shares five SFF books where we are not sure which side to root for. 
• Seth Dickinson shares advice on how to run an evil empire by his character Baru Cormorant. 
• Vance Kotrla talks about Mary Shelley's classic early science fiction novel Frankenstein and the many ways it has been reinvented in the past 200 years.
• Eric Grundhauser shares some fictional foods he wishes were real.
• Yonette Joseph reports that hundreds of people showed up to help the October Books store in Southhampton, UK, move its stock to a new location.
• Swedish fantasy and mystery writer, philosopher and longterm fan Bertil Mårtensson has died aged 73.
• Ahvid Engholm remembers Bertil Mårtensson.

Film and TV:

• Kate Muir discusses the extraordinary feminist legacy of the Twilight films.
• Ben Child wonders if Star Wars can finally shake off the shadow of the original trilogy. 
• Tom Breihan discusses whether Iron Man or The Dark Knight is the most important superhero movie of 2008.
• Cath Clarke calls the new animated version of The Grinch and unwanted Christmas gift.
• Matthew Keeley revisits Jacques Tourneur's 1957 horror film Night of the Demon.
• Arifa Akbar profiles Mark Gatiss of League of Gentlemen, Doctor Who and Sherlock fame.
• Nicole Flatow interviews Hannah Beachler, who designed Wakanda's Golden City for the movie Black Panther.  
• Ben Marks discusses the animator's desks that modernist designer Kem Weber specifically designed for Walt Disney's animation department. 
• Sam Wolfson reports that horror film producer Jason Blum was booed off stage, when he criticised Donald Trump at the Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles, California. 
• Thomas Bacon reports that the viewing figures of season 3 of Daredevil are 57 percent lower than those of season 2.  
• Actor Ken Swafford, who appeared in The Andromeda Strain among many other things, has died aged 85.
• Kitty O'Neil, stunt double for Lynda Carter in the 1970s Wonder Woman series, has died aged 72.
• Tamika Jones remembers Kitty O'Neil.
  

Comments on series 11 of Doctor Who:

• Emily Asher-Perrin shares her thoughts on "The Tsuranga Conundrum", the latest episode of series 11 of Doctor Who. 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "The Tsuranga Conundrum".
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "The Tsuranga Conundrum". 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts about "The Tsuranga Conundrum".
• Dan Martin shares his thoughts about "The Tsuranga Conundrum". 
• Thomas Bacon reports that series 11 of Doctor Who is rewriting the Doctor's backstory.
• Nicola Methven reports that there will not be a Doctor Who Christmas Special this year, but that there will be a New Year's Special instead.
• Mike Glyer has spotted a reference to his fanzine File 770 in the episode "Arachnids in the UK" in series 11 of Doctor Who.
  

Comments on season 4 of Outlander:

• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the season 4 premiere of Outlander. 
• Genevieve Valentine shares her thoughts on the season 4 premiere of Outlander.
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the season 4 premiere of Outlander.
• Sydney Bucksbaum explains why the season 4 premiere of Outlander decided to revisit an old trauma. 
• Lynette Rice discusses what to expect from season 4 of Outlander.
• Paulette Cohn interviews Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie Fraser in Outlander.
• Paulette Cohn interviews Caitriona Balfe who plays Claire Randall Fraser in Outlander. 
• Kayti Burt interviews Outlander castmembers Ed Speleers, Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin.
  

Comments on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: 

• Darren Franich declares that The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina starts strong, but then loses a bit of its magic.
• C. Molly Smith ranks all episodes of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
• Samantha Highfill shares ten differences between The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and its 1990s predecessor Sabrina the Teenage Witch. 
• Allison Keene explains how The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina manages to be an unexpectedly accurate depiction of faith.
• Christian Holoup points out a Sandman reference in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
• Greg Morabito interviews Kiernan Shipka, star of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
  

Comments on Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: 

• Germain Lussier calls Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald criminally underbaked.
• A.A. Dowd calls Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald reference-heavy and surprisingly low on magic.
• Peter Bradshaw calls Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald a saggy sequel bogged down in detail, but praises Jude Law's performance as Dumbledore.
  

Comments on Titans:

• Meagan Damore reports that the stars of Titans were inspired by Marv Wolfman's and George Perez' classic run on Teen Titans. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore discusses the first appearance of the Doom Patrol, who will be getting their own series, in Titans.
• Sam Stone explains why Dick Grayson is still Robin and not yet Nightwing in Titans.
• Meagan Damore reports that Brenton Thwaites who plays Dick Grayson a.k.a. Robin in Titans did all his own stunts.
  

Comments on Andrew Lincoln's exit from The Walking Dead (spoilers):  

• Alex McLevy declares that Andrew Lincoln's character Rick Grimes deserved a better send-off than the one he got in the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
• Luke Holland calls Rick Grimes' exit from The Walking Dead TV's greatest Rickroll.
• Rob Bricken, on the other hand, is quite thrilled with the latest episode of The Walking Dead and Rick Grimes' exit.
• Alex McLevy reports that the latest episode of The Walking Dead was the last one for another character as well.
• Germain Lussier reports that Andrew Lincoln's character Rick Grimes will continue in The Walking Dead spin-off movies.
  

Comments on The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: 

• Peter Travers calls The Nutcracker and the Four Realms slow torture for adults and children, which will make Tchaikovsky roll in his grave.
• Katie Rife calls The Nutcracker and the Four Realms a pretty but flavourless adaptation of Tchaikovsky's famous ballet.  
• Joe Morgenstern calls The Nutcracker and the Four Realms a film full of empty calories.
• Emily Yoshida calls The Nutcracker and the Four Realms a sleepwalk, not a dream.
• Christy Lemire calls The Nutcracker and the Four Realms a weirdly hideous hodgepodge.
• Michael Heaton calls The Nutcracker and the Four Realms pretty to look at, but hopelessly convoluted.
• David Rooney finds that The Nutcracker and the Four Realms reminds him of a mechanised holiday display in a department store window, pretty to look at, but soulless.

Comments on Overlord:

• Mike D'Angelo shares his thoughts on the Nazi zombie movie Overlord.
• Peter Bradshaw calls Overlord crass facetious nonsense.
• Kevin Melrose answers the question whether Overlord has a post-credits scene. 
• Charles Bramesco interviews Jovan Adepo, star of Overlord. 

Comments on Maniac and Netflix's screenplay algorithm:

• Adam Epstein reports that according to Cary Fukunaga, creator of the science fiction thriller Maniac, Netflix has an algorithm that checks screenplays against its gathered data on viewer behaviour.
• Ron Gilmer worries whether Netflix may be becoming the Skynet of entertainment.
• Stu West explains why reports of the death of the author due to Netflix's screenplay algorithm may be premature.

Awards:

• The winners of the 2018 World Fantasy Awards have been announced and Mike Glyer shares some photos of the ceremony. 
• The semifinalists for the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced.
• Mike Glyer highlights the 2018 Goodreads Choice semifinalists of genre interest.
• The winners of the 2018 Utopiales Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2018 Prix Actusf de l'Uchronie have been announced. 
• David G. Barnett will receive the 2019 J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award. 
• The winners of the 2018 Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest have been announced and Mike Glyer highlights the winners in the science fiction and fantasy categories. 
• People Magazine has named actor Idris Elba, known for Luther, the Thor movies and Ultraviolet, the 2018 sexiest man alive.
• Read the World Fantasy Award acceptance speech of FIYAH Magazine.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Thomas Hardy shares the partners' guide to NaNoWriMo and how to juggle life and writing.
• Lauren Sapala explains what to do when you're constantly unhappy with your writing life.
• Janice Hardy shares some tips for describing your first person narrator.
• Janice Hardy shares ten questions to ask when choosing your setting.
• Swati Teerdhala shares six questions to help you check your story structure.
• Diana M. Pho talks about how writing fanfiction taught her to become a better editor. 
• Marcy Kennedy shares some tips for setting up an auto-responder sequence for your newsletter. 
• Randall Wood attempts to explain what lies behind the disappearance of the also-boughts at Amazon.
• David Streitfeld reports that many antiquarian booksellers are boycotting Amazon-owned AbeBooks for a week to protest that AbeBooks will no longer do business with booksellers in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and South Korea.
• Alison Flood reports that AbeBooks has backed down after the boycott by many antiquarian booksellers.
  

Interviews:

• Lily Meyer interviews Jonathan Lethem. 
• Mark Yon interviews Rio Youers.
• The Qwillery interviews Hester Fox.
• The Qwillery interviews Ian Stuart Sharpe. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Peter Berbegal.

Reviews:

• Liz Bourke reviews A Conspiracy of Whispers and A Treason of Truths by Ada Harper.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews Blood Orbit by K.R. Richardson.
• For winter nights reviews The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi.
• Paul Weimer reviews Static Ruin by Corey J. White and Memory's Blade by Spencer Ellsworth.
• Adri Joy reviews The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson.
• Liz Bourke reviews Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield.  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Spanish Mission by K.B. Spangler.
• Thea James reviews An Empress for All Seasons by Emiko Jean. 
• Marion Deeds reviews Witch Creek by Laura Bickle.
• Kat Hooper reviews A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez.
• Ian Mond reviews The Buried Ark by James Bradley.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews The Chosen Ones by Scarlett Thomas. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews No Man of Woman Born by Ana Mardoll.
• For winter nights reviews Noumenon: Infinity by Marina J. Lostetter. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne M. Valente.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French. 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews Northwood by Maryse Meijer.
• Camestros Felapton reviews The Labyrinth Index by Charles Stross. 
• Alex Brown reviews Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria. 
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Devouring Dark by Alan Baxter.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Sea Dreams It Is The Sky by John Hornor Jacobs
• John Langan reviews The Ones Who Are Waving by Glan Hirshberg.
• Deana Whitney and Darci Cole reviews Skyward by Brandon Sanderson.
• Mahvesh Murad reviews Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey. 
• Sam Reader reviews Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey. 
• Sam Reader reviews Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink. 
• Debbie Meldrum reviews Virtual Sabotage by Julie Hyzy.
• John Langan reviews All the Fabulour Beasts by Priya Sharma and At the Mercy of Beasts by Ed Kurtz.
• Camestros Felapton and Plato engage in a Platonic dialogue interrupted by animated Ray Harryhausen skeletons to review the Thessaly trilogy by Jo Walton.
  

Classics reviews:

• Emily Asher-Perrin revisits the 1897 horror classic Dracula by Bram Stoker. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1908 science fiction novel The War in the Air by H.G. Wells.
• Sandy Ferber revisits "The Loved Dead" and other horror stories by C.M. Eddy, which appeared in Weird Tales in the 1920s.
• Mark Yon revisits the 1950 science fiction collection The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein.
• Alan Brown revisits the Telzey Amberdeen science fiction stories by James H. Schmitz, originally published between 1964 and 1972.
• Paul Weimer revisits the 1972 science fiction novella The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin.  
• Bitter Tea and Mystery revisits the 1973 fantasy novel The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury.
• Joe Kenney revisits 1974 space opera The Ginger Star, the first book in the Skaith trilogy by Leigh Brackett. 
• Adri Joy revisits the 1979 fantasy anthology Amazons!, edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. 
• Kate Heartfield revisits Frank Herbert's 1981 science fiction novel God Emperor of Dune.
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1983 science fiction novel The Gates of Eden by Brian Stableford. 
• Scott D. Parker revisits 13 Horrors of Halloween, a 1983 anthology edited by Isaac Asimov.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1988 fantasy novel The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones.
• Etelka Lehoczky revisits Neil Gaiman's classic 1988 comic Sandman for its 30th anniversary.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Susana Sussmann, contributor to Amazing Stories, needs some help to get herself and her family out of Venezuela. 
• SFF fan and convention organiser Maurine Dorris needs some help to deal with medical expenses.
• The Mysterious Galaxy science fiction and fantasy bookstore in San Diego, California, is looking for new owners.
  

Con and event reports:

• Martin Morse Wooster shares his experiences at the 2018 World Fantasy Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. 
• Scott Edelman shares his Guest of Honor speech held at the 2018 World Fantasy Convention.  
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the 2018 World Fantasy Convention.
• Stephen C. Tobin reports about the Mexicanx Initiative at WorldCon 76 in San José, California.
• Charles Payseur explains what WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention in Madison, Wisconsin, means to him. 
• Martha Wells shares some photos of the Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas.
• Rona Gofstein reports that Arisia in Boston, Massachusetts, is having yet more problems because workers at the hotel where the convention is supposed to take place are on strike.
• Mike Glyer reports that the Society for Creative Anachronism has updated its policies regarding hate symbols and its mission statement to be more inclusive.
• Jeff Lunden reports about a performance of a new King Kong musical on Broadway.
• Avery Abernathy reports about a visit to the Hallmark Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
• Victoria Lucas reports about a performance by John Cage and the Merce Cunningham dance company in Tempe, Arizona, in 1963.
  

Science and technology:

• Catie Keck reports that NASA's Osiris Rex spaceprobe has captured stunning images of the asteroid Bennu.
• James Davis Nicoll reports that a recent paper speculates that the interstellar asteroid Oumuamua, which passed through the solar system earlier this year, may have been an alien artifact.
• Ryan F. Mandelbaum counters that Oumumua probably isn't an alien spaceship.
• David Freeman has even more on Oumuamua. 
• Jessica Holmes reports about the Arecibo Observatory. 
• Sarah St. Vincent talks about mass surveillance, domestic violence and human rights.
  
• Monica Valentinelli explains why she believes that the Voynich Manucript was written by a woman.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society" by T. Kingfisher in Uncanny Magazine. 
• "How to Swallow the Moon" by Isabel Yap in Uncanny Magazine.
• "An Account of the Land of Witches" by Sofia Samatar in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Towards a New Lexicon of Augury" by Sabrina Vourvoulias in Apex Magazine. 
• "Talk to Your Children About Two-Tongued Jeremy" by Theodore McCombs in Lightspeed.
• "Other Worlds and This One" by Cadwell Turnbull in Lightspeed. 
• "Bread and Milk and Salt" by Sarah Gailey at Tor.com. 
• "In the Ground, Before the Freeze" by Margaret Ronald in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Hollow Tree" by Jordan Kurella in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Godziliad" by Adam Roberts in Morphosis.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Into the Spider-Verse.
• Watch a trailer for Kingdom.
• Watch a trailer for Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
• Watch a trailer for Missing Link. 
• Watch a featurette about the character of Captain Philippa Georgiou in Star Trek Discovery.
• Watch a video of Jimmy Fallon interviewing Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame, who is now running for congress.