It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with as a look ahead at books coming out in 2019, the Star Trek Discovery and the Short Treks spin-off series, Outlander, The Orville, Bird Box, season 5 of Gotham, Glass, Captain Marvel, toilets of Hogwarts, the 2019 Golden Globes and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- The Fantasy-Faction reviewers share their favourite SFF books of 2018.
- Liz Bourke looks ahead at the 2019 books she is excited about in a two part post.
- Joe Sherry looks ahead at twenty-four 2019 SFF books he is excited about.
- John DeNardo also looks ahead at upcoming science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2019.
- Carrie Sessarego talks about love and romance in science fiction.
- Oliver Noble explains how science fiction has changed your life, even if you don't realise it.
- Alec Nevala-Lee discusses how Astounding Science Fiction saw the future.
- David Barr Kirtley reports how science fiction writers are reacting to Donald Trump.
- Tade Thompson shares eight books about alien invasions that take place outside the US.
- Kim Huett digs up a 1967 article by John Brunner on the economics of science fiction publishing.
- John Scalzi points out that author earnings aren't all that great today either and have never been, in fact.
- John Scalzi also reports that the usual jerks are harrassing him less frequently and largely seem to have moved on from science fiction and fantasy.
- Paul Grimstad profiles Stanislaw Lem.
- Pages Unbound Reviews shares ten must-read books about J.R.R. Tolkien.
- Sam Warner reports that the official Pottermore account tweeted some trivia about the toilets of Hogwarts or lack thereof that no one needed to know.
- Emily Asher-Perrin is bothered by the Hogwarts toilet revelation beyond the fact that it was completely unnecessary.
- Camestros Felapton offers some more potential toilet retcons to popular science fiction and fantasy franchises.
- Brandon Zachary reports that according to Marvel editor-in-chief C.M. Cebulski last year's big X-Men wedding twist was a spur of the moment decision.
- Brian Cronin traces when Jean Grey and Scott Summers first got together in the X-Men comics and that it happened off panel.
- John Scalzi weighs in on the death of the author.
- Locus remembers Larry Eisenberg.
Film and TV:
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Counterpart.
- Peter Bradshaw calls One Cut of the Dead an injection of new life into the stale zombie genre.
- Farid Ul-Haq shares his thoughts on the fantasy film Anthem of a Teenage Prophet.
- Beth Elderkin reports about a visit to the set of the upcoming fantasy horror series Deadly Class.
- Seth Abramovitch profiles Samuel L. Jackson.
- Rebecca Nicholson interviews Fionn Whitehead, the star of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
- Michael Schneider reports that the National Geographic Channel has taken the show StarTalk off the air after sexual misconduct allegations against host Neil deGrasse Tyson.
- Actor William Morgan Sheppard, who appeared in Star Trek, Doctor Who and NCIS among many other things, has died aged 86.
Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Short Treks:
- James Whitbrook calls "The Escape Artist", the latest episode of the Star Trek Discovery spin-off Short Treks, a welcome reminder of the lighter and funnier side of Star Trek.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido quite enjoyed "The Escape Artist" until the final twist (spoilers).
- Ryan Britt wonders whether "The Escape Artist" links Harry Mudd to a popular Next Generation character (spoilers).
- James Whitbrook interviews Rainn Wilson who plays Harry Mudd in Star Trek Discovery and also directed the Mudd-centered Short Treks episode "The Escape Artist".
- Ileane Rudolph interviews Ethan Peck who plays Mr. Spock in Star Trek Discovery.
- Ryan Britt declares that the arrival of Captain Christopher Pike changes the tone of Star Trek Discovery towards the lighter.
- James Whitbrook declares that the new season of Star Trek Discovery is helped by the fact that the Captain is not a massive arsehole.
- Watch a featurette about the character of Captain Christopher Pike, portrayed by Anson Mount, in Star Trek Discovery.
- Meanwhile, Aaron Couch sheds some light on the planned new Star Trek series featuring a post-Next Generation Jean-Luc Picard.
- Randy Krinsky shares twenty Star Trek relationships that make no sense.
- Ian Cardona reports that the fourth film in the rebooted Star Trek franchise has been shelved
- Lesley Goldberg reports that according to Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman, there will be more Short Treks episodes as well as two Star Trek animated series.
Comments on The Orville:
- Nick Wanserski shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Orville.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Orville.
Comments on Outlander:
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
- Smart Bitches, Trashy Books share their thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
- Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
- Meaghan Darwish shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
- Jessica Napoli interviews Sophie Skelton, who plays Brianna Randall Fraser in Outlander.
Comments on season 5 of Gotham:
- Kyle Fowle shares his thoughts on the season 5 premiere of Gotham.
- Farid Ul-Haq shares his thoughts on the season 5 premiere of Gotham.
- Jess Lee reports that Gotham kills off a longterm series regular in the season 5 premiere (spoilers).
- Mike Fugere hopes that we'll see Bruce Wayne in the full Batman costume in season 5 of Gotham.
Comments on Bird Box:
- Arley Sorg and Josh Pearce discuss Bird Box and compare it to A Quiet Place as well as Josh Malerman's novel.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Bird Box.
- Ian Sandwell explains Bird Box.
- Jennifer Vineyard tackles the plot holes of Bird Box.
- Tom Chapman reveals ten major differences between the film version of Bird Box and the Josh Malerman novel it's based upon.
- Natalie Reilly calls Bird Box a reflection of a deeply insular, conservative and paranoid parenting philosophy.
- Ian Sandwell declares that Bird Box has changed the way Netflix works.
- Zack Sharf reports that a cut scene from Bird Box showing the unseen monster has been released.
- Inspired by Bird Box, iO9 asked several artists to draw their greatest fear.
Comments on Captain Marvel:
- Germain Lussier reports about a visit to the set of Captain Marvel.
- Sam Stone reports that Captain Marvel may redefine the Skulls' shapeshifting powers.
- Meagan Damore reports that they finally figured out which character Jude Law is playing in Captain Marvel.
- John Boone interviews Samuel L. Jackson who plays Nick Fury in Captain Marvel.
Comments on Glass:
- Sam Adams declares that the Unbreakable sequel Glass should have been great, but - twist - it's not.
- Germain Lussier calls Glass a frustrating and unsatisfying conclusion to Unbreakable.
- Karen Han calls Glass a thrilling yet frustrating end to the Unbreakable trilogy.
- Chris Evangelista calls Glass depressing and disappointing.
- Owen Gleiberman calls Glass a film that's watchable and nonetheless a disappointment, because the film landscape has changed since Unbreakable came out in 2000.
- Michael Rougeau declares that while Unbreakable was ahead of its time, Glass is behind the time.
- David Ehrlich calls Glass the greatest disappointment of M. Night Shyamalan's career.
- Angie Han declares that Glass tries and fails to shatter the comic book movie formula.
- Chris Nashawaty calls Glass half empty.
- A.A. Dowd, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and Jesse Hassenger declare that Glass should nonetheless do well, since January offers a bad crop of new movies.
Awards:
- Nominations are open for the 2019 Hugo Awards.
- The winners of the 2018 r/Fantasy/ Stabby Awards have been announced.
- William Gibson has been named SFWA Damon Knight Grand Master.
- Neil Gaiman has won the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award.
- Gregory Benford has won the 2019 Robert A. Heinlein Award.
- The winners of the 2018 African Diaspora Awards have been announced and include SFF writer Nnedi Okorafor.
- T.R. Napper is bothered by the overwhelming Americanness of the Hugo Award winners.
- The shortlist for the 2018 Cybils Awards has been announced.
- Nominations are open for the 2019 WSFA Small Press Award.
- The second noination round for the 2018 BSFA Awards shortlist had begun.
- Nominations are open for the 2019 Norma K. Hemmings Award.
- The winners of the 2019 Golden Globes have been announced with hardly any love for genre films and TV.
- Stuart Heritage complains about the low quality of this year's Golden Globe winners.
- The nominees for the 2019 BAFTA film awards have been announced and Mike Glyer lists the finalists of genre interest.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Charlie Jane Anders explains why you should play to your weaknesses as an author.
- Joseph Malik explains why writing craft is important.
- J.K. Rowling shares her writing advice.
- Rod Duncan talks about the mirror world of the dyslexic novelist.
- Rayne Hall shares some tips for writing about love spells.
- Jenn Lyons explains how to create a Wiki to support your fantasy worldbuilding.
- Written Word Media shares the top ten publishing industry trends for 2019.
- Cat Rambo shares five ways writers can increase the discoverability of their blog.
- Wendy Van Camp shares some tips for using Twitter as your author platform.
- Marylee MacDonald offers a Goodreads primer.
- The Puppet Show shares some tips for how to start a virtual book club.
Interviews:
- Juliette Wade interviews Alex White.
- Mark Yon interviews Mimi Yu.
- Andrea Johnson interviews Beth Dawkins.
- C.S.E. Cooney interviews Andrea Johnson.
- Dana Forsythe interviews Gerry Conway.
- Kiel Phegley interviews Brian Michael Bendis.
Reviews:
- Publishers Weekly reviews The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders.
- Paul Weimer reviews Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock.
- Chris Kluwe reviews Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik, The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi and Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton.
- Marion Deeds reviews The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Tropic of Eternity by Tom Toner.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin.
- Kat Hooper reviews Thin Air by Richard K. Morgan.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Ninth Step Station by Malka Older, Fran Wilde, Jacqueline Koyanagi and Curtis C. Chen.
- The Fantasy Café reviews Star of the Morning by Lynn Kurland.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Hidden Sun by Jaine Fenn.
- Liz Bourke reviews A Cathedral of Myth and Bone by Kat Howard.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst.
- Smart Bitches, Trashy Books review Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet.
- Brit Mandelo reviews The Wicked King by Holly Black.
- Jamie Sugah reviews The Wicked King by Holly Black.
- Jamie Sugah reviews The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden.
- Tadiana Jones reviews The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden.
- Nicole Hill reviews In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire.
- Alex Brown reviews In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire.
- Joe Sherry reviews In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire.
- Ruthanna Emrys reviews In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire.
- Carrie Sessarego reviews My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows.
- Sandra Newman reviews The Binding by Bridget Collins.
- Robin Agnew reviews Death by Dragonfly by Jane Tesh.
- Corrina Lawson reviews The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless.
- Summer H. Paulus reviews The Blue Mountain by G.R. Matthews.
- John Langan reviews Tide of Stone by Kaaron Warren.
- J.C. Kang reviews The Gryphon Riders Trilogy by Derek Alan Siddoway.
- Dave Richards reviews The Coming Storm by Mark Alpert.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Coming Storm by Mark Alpert.
- The Qwillery reviews Beyond the Pool of Stars and Through the Gate in the Sea by Howard Andrew Jones.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Isle by John C. Foster.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews At the End of the Day I Burst Into Flames by Nicholas Day.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Savage Species by Jonathan Janz.
- Matt Brandenburg reviews Victoria by Jason Parent.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Headcheese by Jess Hagemann.
- John Langan reviews glass slipper dreams, shattered by Doungjai Gam.
- Ian Mond reviews Suspended in Dusk II, edited by Simon Dewar.
Classics reviews:
- Mark Yon revisits William Hope Hodgson's 1913 supernatural detective collection Carnacki the Ghost Finder.
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1934 fantasy tale The Sapphire Goddess by Nictzin Dyalhis.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits John Wyndham's 1951 classic cozy catastrophe novel The Day of the Triffids.
- Jason Sacks revisits the 1964 science fiction novel Starswarm by Brian Aldiss.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the 1964 science fiction novel One of Our Asteroids Is Missing by Calvin M. Know a.k.a.Robert Silverberg and the 1964 science fiction collection The Twisted Men by A.E. Van Vogt.
- Vance Kotrla revisits the 1975 feminist science fiction classic The Female Man by Joanna Russ.
- Marion Deeds revisits the 1980 science fiction novel Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1987 cyberpunk novel Voice of the Whirlwind by Walter Jon Williams.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1988 fantasy novel The Horsegirl by Constance Ash.
Crowdfunding:
- The Captain Marvel Challenge is looking for funding to send girls to the cinema to watch Captain Marvel.
- The table of contents for Unfettered III: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy, edited by Shawn Speakman, a charity anthology to help writers pay for their medical expenses, has been announced.
- WorldCon 77 in Dublin, Ireland, has launched the FANtastic Dublin Fund to enable marginalised fans of limited means to attend WorldCon 2019.
Con and event reports:
- Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest installment of the New YorkReview of Science Fiction Readings Series in Brooklyn, New York, featuring Richard Bowes.
- Mike Glyer reports that Michael Stackpole has resigned as Emeritus Director from the board of the Game Manufacturers Association GAMA following a number of uproars and scandals involving the organisation.
- The 2019 WorldCon in Dublin, Ireland, has released its third progress report.
Science and technology:
- Matt Rivers, Helen Regan and Steven Jiang report about the landing of China's Chang'e-4 probe on the far side of the moon.
- Ashley Strickland shares more photos of Ultima Thule taken by NASA's New Horizons probe.
- George Dvorsky reports that NASA's Juno probe has captured an image of a volcanic plume rising from Jupiter's moon Io.
- James Davis Nicoll reports that Saturn's rings are doomed in the long run, so we should enjoy them while we can.
- Lucy Campbell reports that the planet hunting TESS spaceprobe has detected a gaseous exo-planet more than twenty times the size of Earth.
- Helen Briggs reports that mysterious repeating radio signals from outer space have been detected by a radio telescope in Canada.
- John Timmer reports that the Milky Way will collide with the Large Magellanic Cloud in approximately three billion years.
- James Crisp reports that UFO sightings in Belgium are on the rise again.
- Aniqa Ajmal reports that Professor Sara Jensen is using knitting to teach mathematics.
- Jules Montague reports that a rare auto-immune condition may have caused the symptoms that launched the Salem witch trials.
- Jack Hitt reports that the alleged sonic attacks on US embassy personnel in Cuba are likely a case of conversion disorder or mass hysteria.
Free online fiction:
- "The Island of Beasts" by Carrie Vaughn in Nightmare Magazine.
- "A Catalogue of Storms" by Fran Wilde in Uncanny Magazine.
- "Salt Lines" by Ian Muneshwar in Strange Horizons.
- "The House of Illusionists" by Vanessa Fogg in Liminal Stories.
- "The Engine at Heartspring's Center" by Roger Zelazny in Lightspeed.
- "Son of Water and Fire" by Ashok K. Banker in Lightspeed.
- "The Great Train Robbery" by Lavie Tidhar in Apex Magazine.
- "2086" by T.K. Lê in Strange Horizons.
- "When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis" by Annalee Newitz in Slate.
- "The Coal Remembers What It Was" by Paul R. Hardy in Diabolical Plots.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a trailer for Captain Marvel.
- Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Punisher.
- Watch a teaser for season 2 of The Punisher.
- Watch a clip from season 2 of The Punisher.
- Watch a trailer for Weird City.
- Watch a trailer for Io.
- Watch a trailer for Russian Doll.
- Watch a trailer for The Passage.
- Watch a trailer for Carmen Sandiego.
- Watch a trailer for Care Bears - Unlock the Magic.
- Watch a trailer for The Drone.
- Watch a trailer for Horror Noire.
- Watch a featurette about the making of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
- Actress Jackie Burns, who plays Elphaba, in the musical Wicked, shares her make-up and skincare tips.
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