Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 14, 2018

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the series 11 finale of Doctor Who, Outlander, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Star Trek, Aquaman, Bumblebee, Counterpart, Mortal Engines, Mary Poppins Returns, the cancellation of Daredevil, lots of awards love for Black Panther 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:

• Sarah Waites shares ten standalone fantasy novels to try.
• Leah Schnelbach shares five science fiction and fantasy books by women to read this holiday season.
• Ezekiel Boone shares five classic tales of technology gone wrong. 
• James Davis Nicoll discusses the trouble with terraforming.
• Sam Reader shares six ghost stories to read on a cold winter night. 
• Emma Rose Holland shares five frightening Christmas reads. 
• Cassandra Khaw shares five books with distinct flavours.
• Liz Bourke shares her appreciation for the Alliance Union series by C.J. Cherryh.
• A.J. Hartley looks at the speculative worlds of William Shakespeare. 
• Tobias Carroll aska why the US just doesn't care for novellas. 
• AbeBooks shares one hundred books to read in a lifetime. 
• Colleen McMahon discusses US copyright law and takes a stroll through the speculative works already in the public domain.
• Jim Millot and Rachel Deahl are wondering why fiction sales have dropped by 16% between 2013 and 2017.
• Grant Morrison explains why he doesn't like Watchmen.
  

Film and TV:

• Beth Elderkin calls The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina holiday special more sombre than spooky. 
• John DeVore calls the science fiction film Beyond White Space good-looking but dimwitted.
• Katie Rife calls Bird Box a post-apocalyptic high concept horror film that's not particularly imaginative.
• Germain Lussier reports that the cast for the Star Wars live-action series The Mandalorian has been announced.
• Arthur Chu compares the relationship between han Solo and Chewbacca to that between a human and their dog, whereby Han is the dog. 
• Cheryl Eddy lists six actors who played two or more notable genre roles in 2018.
• Germain Lussier reports that according to director Lucrecia Martel, Marvel did not want her to direct the action sequences of the planned Black Widow film, just the interpersonal scenes.
  
• Shift7 has published a story that female-led films outgross movies with male leads.
• Alex Cranz ranks all the screen Lois Lanes.
• Keith Phipps shares his forty favourite Christmas movies of all time.
• Ryan Gilbey explains that all the best Christmas movies mix darkness and light. 
• Amy Hornaday profiles John Krasinki, director of the horror movie A Quiet Place, and explains why the movie might get an Oscar nod. 
• Scott Simon interviews Ella Hunt, star of the zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse.  
• Louis Wise interviews Bill Pullman, known to genre fans for his roles in Independence Day and Spaceballs.
• Screenwriter John D.F. Black, who worked on the original Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation among others, has died aged 85.
  

Comments on series 11 of Doctor Who:

• Dan Martin shares his thoughts on "The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos", the series 11 finale of Doctor Who.  
• Emily Asher Perrin shares her thoughts on "The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos".
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos". 
• Caroline Siede finds "The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos" a bit of a letdown.
• The Guardian's expert panel of Whovians share their thoughts on series 11 of Doctor Who.
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on how series 11 of Doctor Who might have been improved. 
• Alex Ritman reports that Jodie Whittaker, who plays the Thirteenth Doctor, has confirmed that she will return for series 12. 
• The BBC reports that the next series of Doctor Who won't air until 2020.

Comments on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:

• A.O. Scott calls Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse a fresh take on a venerable hero.
• Germain Lussier reports that every cool surprise imaginable was considered for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
• Ross Johnson offers a guide to the many spider heroes featured in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
• Tor.com comments on Miles Morales' reading choices in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore explains why the Spanish bits in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse aren't subtitled.
• Ben Child points out that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proves that other Hollywood studios still have problems to outdo Marvel. 
• Joanna Scott takes a look at Stan Lee's cameo appearance in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
• Germain Lussier reports that Sony is trying to patent the animation style of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
• Watch a clip from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse featuring Gwen Stacy.
  

Comments on Aquaman:

• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls Aquaman big, cheesy and fun, just like its hero. 
• Bill Bradley interviews Jason Momoa, star of Aquaman.

Comments on Star Trek: 

• James Whitbrook declares that "The Brightest Star", the latest episode of Short Treks, is the brilliant origin story Lieutenant Saru deserves.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "The Brightest Star".
• Ryan Britt wonders whether the events in "The Brightest Star" violate the Prime Directive. 
• Tim Baysinger reports that the upcoming Star Trek streaming video series focussed on Jean-Luc Picard will debut in late 2019.
• James Hibberd reports that according to showrunner Alex Kurtzman, the Picard spin-off will be more grounded and real world than Star Trek Discovery.
• Dave McNary reports that the new Picard series will be shot in California for tax reasons.
  

Comments on Bumblebee:

• Phil Hoad finds the Transformers spin-off Bumblebee rather sweet and reminiscent of vintage Steven Spielberg films.
• Germain Lussier promises that Bumblebee will restore our faith in the Transformers franchise.
• Germain Lussier profiles Christina Hodson, screenwriter of Bumblebee, Batgirl and Birds of Prey.
  

Comments on Outlander: 

• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
  

Comments on Counterpart:

• Chitra Ramaswamy shares her thoughts on season 2 of the parallel world spy drama Counterpart. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Counterpart. 

Comments on Mary Poppins Returns: 

• Charles Bramesco calls Mary Poppins Returns a calculated movie with a spoonful of nostalgia.
• Peter Bradshaw find nothing natural about Mary Poppins Returns, just a spoonful og genetically modified sweetener.
• David Rooney calls Mary Poppins Returns an enchanting movie musical that's practically perfect.
• Germain Lussier calls Mary Poppins Returns magical, but missing something.
• Germain Lussier also explains that making Mary Poppins Returns was an almost unsurmountable task for the director.
• Owen Gleiberman calls Mary Poppins Returns an uncanny recreation of the original's wholesome family film vibe.
  

Comments on Mortal Engines:

• Josh Bell calls Mortal Engines a derivative YA adaptation and a slog. 
• Josh Spiegel calls Mortal Engines a confused and messy adaptation in search of an identity. 
• Kevin Harley calls Mortal Engines a disappointing dystopian adventure.
• Katie Rife calls Mortal Engines sputtering and clunky.
• Andrew Barker calls Mortal Engines an adaptation that sputters out quickly. 
• Chris Nashawaty declares that Mortal Engines starts out great and then sputters out. 
• Shaun Munro declares that Mortal Engines has brilliant visual effects that suffer from a soulless plot.
• Movies4Kids also praises the visual effects, but finds fault with the plot.
• Brian Orndorf calls Mortal Engines a big but hollow movie.
• David Owen revisits Philip Reeve's post-apocalyptic YA novel and explains what the predatory cities of Mortal Engines can tell us about our world.

Comments on the cancellation of Daredevil:

• Deadline claims that Netflix ignored viewer demand, when they cancelled Daredevil. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that according to Netflix's internal data, Daredevil and the other Marvel shows may have been popular, but were less binge-watched than other Netflix offerings.
• Following the cancellation of Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, Renaldo Matadeen asks what would happen if Marvel were to leave Netflix altogether. 
• Joe Otterson reports that according to the contract terms between Marvel and Netflix, the characters of the cancelled shows cannot appear anywhere else for two years.
• Meanwhile, Sam Stone reports that season 2 of The Punisher will air on Netflix in January.
• Ed Power interviews Charlie Cox, star of Daredevil.

Awards:

• Prolific Swedish science fiction, fantasy and crime fiction translator John-Henri Holmberg has won the 2018 De Nios translator award.  
• The finalists for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award have been announced.
• The shortlist for the inaugural STEAM Book Prize has been announced.
• The winners of the African American Film Critics Association Awards have been announced with several wins for Black Panther.
• The nominees for the 24th Annual Critics Choice Awards have been announced with some love for genre films, mostly Black Panther.
• The nominees for the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced with some love for genre works.
  
• The nominees for the 2019 Grammy Awards have been announced with some nominees of genre interest. 
• The winner of the 2018 Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year has been announced. 
• Galactic Journey awards the 1963 Galactic Stars.
• The 2019 Brave New Worlds Award is open for submissions.
• Nominations for the 2019 Dragon Awards are open, though the organisers have failed to update the award page again. 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Bebe Nicholson talks about the best time to write when you don't have time. 
• Christopher Mart explains how to write a scene. 
• Christopher Mart also explains how to write like Dan Brown, should you feel the need to.
• Felicia C. Sullivan shares some tips for writing your way through the middle. 
• S.A. Chakraborty explains how she built the world of the Daevabad Trilogy.
• Tim Rettig talks about his problems making a living writing. 
• Heather Havrilesky explains what to do if you cannot stop comparing yourself to more successful writers. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about hype, big fish and how you should always questions someone's claims of success.
• R.L. Maizes shares ten gifts for writers that don't exist... yet.
• Don Vaughan and Mark Bristol talk about storyboarding.
• Dave Addey dissects the typography on science fiction book covers and movie posters.
  

Interviews:

• Paul Weimer interviews S.L. Huang.
• Joel Cunningham interviews Bradley B. Beaulieu. 
• Andrea Johnson interviews Adam R. Shannon.
• Gwendolyn Kiste interviews Brian Fatah Steele.
• The Odyssey Writing Workshop interviews Neil Clarke.
• Andrew Liptak interviews Stephen Hickman.
• Locus interviews Kim Stanley Robinson.
  

Reviews:

• Corrina Lawson reviews A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy by Alex White.
• Corrina Lawson reviews Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts.
• Paul Weimer reviews Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri. 
• Fantasy Café interviews Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.
• J.C. Kang reviews Blade and Rose by Miranda Honfleur.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine and Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio. 
• Jana Nyman reviews Fire and Heist by Sarah Beth Durst.
• Ceridwen Christensen reviews Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White.
• Tadiana Jones reviews The Girl with the Dragon Heart by Stephanie Burgis. 
• Amy Goldschlager reviews Brief Cases by Jim Butcher.
• Amy Goldschlager reviews Witchmark by C.L. Polk.
• Adrienne Martini reviews The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn. 
• Amy Goldschlager reviews The Wrong Heaven by Amy Bonnaffons.
• Joe Sherry reviews The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal.
• Russell Letson reviews The Final Frontier, edited by Neil Clarke.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Over the Horizon by Lee Yeongdo. 
• Feliza Casano reviews Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula Jones.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews A Spell of Murder by Clea Simon.
• Mark Yon reviews Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea Devils by James Lovegrove.
  
• Rob Bedford reviews MJ-12: Shadows by Michael J. Martinez. 
• Summer H. Paulus reviews Chasing Graves by Ben Galley.
• Bill Capossere reviews Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee. 

Classics reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll revisits Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1912 planetary romance A Princess of Mars.
• Steven H. Silver revisits Leigh Brackett's 1941 space opera tale The Tweener.
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1946 horror novel Deliver Me From Eva by Paul Bailey. 
• Rich Horton revisits the 1963 science fiction novel Where I Wasn't Going a.k.a. Challenge the Hellmaker by Leigh and Walt Richmond.
• Rich Horton revisits Leigh Brackett's 1964 space operas The Secret of Sinharat and People of the Talisman.
  
• Casual Debris revisits The Reality Trip and Other Implausibilities, a 1972 science fiction collection by Robert Silverberg. 
• Mystery File revisits Ira Levin's 1976 science fiction thriller The Boys From Brazil.
• James Wallace Harris revisits Robert A. Heinlein's 1982 science fiction novel Friday.
• Will Errickson revisits the 1988 horror novel Winter Wolves by Earle Westcott. 

Crowdfunding:

• The comic magazine Full Bleed Vol. 3: Heavy Rotation is looking for funding.
• SFF writers A. Merc Rustad and Marianne Kirby are looking for funding to allow them to attend the Futurescapes Writing Workshop in Park City, Utah.
• Editor Henry Wessels is looking for letters from Avram Davidson for an upcoming collection.
  

Con and event reports:

• Michael Lee offers an overview of different types of conventions.
• There is now an online scrapbook about the Mexicanx Initiative at WorldCon 76 in San José, California. 
• Locus reports about the exhibition "Worlds Beyond Here: The Expanding Universe of Asian Pacific American Science Fiction" at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, Washington.
• Tony Mecia reports about a visit to the James Bond museum on the Schilthorn peak (which appeared as Piz Gloria in On Her Majesty's Secret Service) in Mürren, Switzerland.
• Cecelia Mecca shares her takeaways from the 20 Books to 50K conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Science and technology:

• Victoria Gill reports that NASA's Voyager 2 probe is about to leave the solar system. 
• Jonathan Amos reports that NASA's Parker Solar Probe has begun to send back the data it gathered during its fly-by of the sun.
• Robert Zubrin and Homer Hickam declaree that we have technology to build a colony on the moon, so we should do it. 
• Matthew S. Schwartz reports about the hunt for the hole in the Soyuz spacecraft that endangered the ISS.
• Matthew Reardon muses which law would apply if the hole in the Soyuz capsule would turn out to be due to sabotage.
• The BBC reports that Virgin Galactic has successfully reached the edge of space.
• Jonathan Amos reports that scientists have attempted to quantify the amount of living organisms that exist below ground.
• Sophie Hardach explains how technology can help to decipher long dead languages. 
• Kathleen Crowther talks about vintage pop up books that were used to explain science and technology.
• Evelyn Berezin, inventor of the word processor and the computerised airline reservation system, has died aged 93.
  

Free online fiction:

• "A Tale of Woe" by P. Djèlí Clark in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Girls Who Do Not Drown" by A.C. Buchanan in Apex Magazine. 
• "Mouths" by Lizz Huerta in Lightspeed.
• "The Fortunate Death of Jonathan Sandelson" by Margaret Killjoy in Strange Horizons.
• "The Price of Eternity" by Laura Quijano Vincezi, translated by Jerry L. Robinette, in Samovar.
• "Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" by Adam-Troy Castro in Lightspeed. 
• "All the Time We've Left to Spend" by Alyssa Wong in Fireside Fiction.
• "In the Late December" by Greg van Eekhout in Strange Horizons.

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Avengers: Endgame. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Watch a trailer for the Elseworlds crossover of the various DC superhero TV shows. 
• Watch a trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
• Watch a trailer for Beyond White Space.
• Watch a trailer for Captive State.
• Watch a trailer for The Umbrella Academy. 
• Watch a trailer for Kim Possible.  
• Watch a trailer for Brightburn. 
• Watch a trailer for The Humanity Bureau.
• Watch a trailer for When Ghost Meets Zombie.
• Watch a trailer for Glass. 
• Watch a trailer for 3Below: Tales of Arcadia.
• Watch a teaser for season 3 of Stranger Things. 
• Watch a 1965 video of Sam Moskowitz and Hugo Gernsback talking about science fiction for the BBC's Horizon program.
• Watch a video of Theresa May, played by Andy Serkis in the style of Gollum, rejoicing about Brexit.