It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2018 Nebula Award finalists, Star Trek Discovery, The Orville, Doom Patrol, The Umbrella Academy, Alita: Battle Angel, Weird City, the cancellation of Jessica Jones and The Punisher, sexist attacks on Captain Marvel, plagiarism in the romance world, abuse in the RPG world, yet more convention harrassment and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Andrew Liptak offers a round-up of the best new science fiction and fantasy books for February.
- Kayti Burt also offers a round-up of the best new science fiction books for February.
- Elizabeth Bear shares eight forgotten science fiction and fantasy novels from the 1970s and 1980s.
- Nathan Housley shares a list of must-read science fiction works from 1949.
- Tim Lebbon and Christopher Golden share six outstanding standalone fantasy novels.
- James Davis Nicoll lists six SFF series that would make great TV series.
- Jack Lusted talks about hopepunk.
- Kellie Herson declares that measuring female agency is a bad way of talking about art and determining whether it's feminist.
- Charlie Jane Anders declares that we need not strong female characters, but complicated female characters that are allowed to make mistakes.
- Clare McBride examines how speculative fiction has failed and served LGBT representation.
- Natalie Zutter shares six books about badass female time travellers.
- E.K. Johnston lists five books that deal with what comes after world-changing shenangigans.
- John Langan takes a look at the state of the horror genre in 2018.
- Jess Nevins shares a short history of twentieth century African-American horror literature.
- Steve and Paula Flyn Lally explain how they collected stories for the anthology Irish Gothic: Fairy Stories from the 32 Counties of Ireland.
- Sanford Nowlin profiles Michael Moorcock.
- Laura Drysdale profiles Simon Ounsley.
- Drew Millard profiles horror author Whitley Strieber and how his promising career was disrupted by a close encounter of the third kind.
- Alison Flood reports that Stephen King and Don Winslow have challenged Donald Trump to a TV debate about the proposed wall at the US-Mexican border.
- Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, writer and editor of Fireside Magazine, shares her experiences of being born with a disability after her mother contracted rubella during pregnancy and urges people to vaccinate their children.
- Patricia Nell Warren, author of the pioneering gay romance novel The Front Runner, has died aged 82.
Discussion of the Christiane Serruya plagiarism scandal:
- Courtney Milan reports that writer Christiane Serruya plagiarised whole passages of her novel The Duchess War.
- Courtney Milan also explains what writers who have been plagiarised by Christiane Serruya can do now.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch weighs in on the Christiane Serruya plagiarism scandal.
- Carolina Ciucci also reports about the Christiane Serruya plagiarism case.
- Kilby Blades declares that many people are missing the point underlying the Christiane Serruya case.
- Mercy Pilkington reports about the Christiane Serruya plagiarism scandal and manages to insult the entire romance genre in the process.
Film and TV:
- Alasdair Stuart declares that the first three season of The Expanse were basically the prologue to the real story.
- Diana Wichtel discusses the fatal attraction of Russian Doll.
- Adam Lance Garcia explains why there are two very different Captain Marvel movies coming out in 2019 and why one of them is called Shazam.
- Richard Newby wonders whether the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe might lie in prequels.
- Victor LaValle shares his love for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Mark Hughes explains why he believes that the future of the DC Universe movies looks brighter than ever.
- A.A. Dowd revisits the 2002 movie Blade II, an early effort by Guillermo Del Toro.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on what turned out to be the series finale of Counterpart.
- Abe Friedtanzer calls Counterpart the best TV show you're not watching.
- A.A. Dowd calls How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World tearjerking but inessential.
- Kelly Jennings shares their thoughts on the 2014 dystopian science fiction movie Snowpiercer.
- Gemma Amor shares her thoughts on Karyn Kusama's horror movie The Invitation.
- Anthony Brum shares his thoughts on the 1979 science fiction movie The Black Hole.
- Jessica Holmes revisits the 1964 Doctor Who episode The Edge of Destruction.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the South Korean historical zombie drama Kingdom.
- Camestros Felapton also shares his appreciation for the marvelous hats worn by the characters of Kingdom.
- Will Leitch and Tim Grierson share their favourite romances in science fiction movies.
- Corey Plante takes a look at the relationship status of the various Marvel Cinematic Universe couples after Avengers: Infinity War.
- Claire Willet shares her love for Miss Piggy and explains how the character was a positive role model for her.
- Anne Bilson ranks the top twenty Japanese horror movies.
- Brian Hiatt profiles horror movie director Jordan Peele.
- Charles Barfield reports that director Jason Reitman claims that the new Ghostbusters movie planned for 2020 will "hand the movie back to the fans", presumably meaning those fans who couldn't handle the all-female 2016 Ghostbusters.
- Daniel Kurland shares Ernie Hudson's take on the new Ghostbusters.
- Lesley Goldberg reports that Nightflyers, a TV show based on George R.R. Martin's eponymous science fiction horror novella, has been cancelled.
- Caspar Salmon declares that we shouldn't be surprised that John Wayne held racist and homophobic views.
- Jamiles Larty reports that actor Jussie Smollett staged a hate crime against himself because he was dissatisfied with his salary.
- Angel Wilson shares a message to those hurt by Jussie Smollett and his lies.
- Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, best known for Nosferatu, Wings of Desire, The American Friend and Downfall, has died aged 77.
Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general (spoilers):
- Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- Swapna Krishna shares her thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection".
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection".
- Kayti Burt shares her thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection".
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection".
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection".
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection".
- Ryan Britt shares his thoughts on "Saints of Imperfection" and the resurrection theme therein.
- Kaila Hale-Stern is happy with the events in "Saints of Imperfection", but wishes that bad decisions in season 1 hadn't made them necessary in the first place.
- Ryan Britt interviews Anthony Rapp who plays Paul Stamets in Star Trek Discovery.
Comments on The Orville:
- Nick Wanserski shares his thoughts on "Deflectors", the latest episode of The Orville.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Orville.
Comments on Doom Patrol:
- Alex McLevy declares that Doom Patrol is worth the DC Universe subscription.
- Kevin Melrose calls Doom Patrol offbeat and wonderfully bizarre.
- Daniel Fienberg has mixed feelings about Doom Patrol.
- Brandon Zachary reports about a change the Doom Patrol show makes to the character of Negative Man.
- Sam Stone lists every Doom Patrol character to expect in season 1.
Comments on The Umbrella Academy:
- Charles Pulliam-Moore declares that The Umbrella Academy lacks the batshit whimsy of the original.
- Alex McLevy declares that The Umbrella Academy isn't perfect, but the dance sequence is.
- Tim Goodman declares that The Umbrella Academy fails to inspire and feels like a weak X-Men rip-off.
- Lucy Mangan is not impressed by The Umbrella Academy.
- Jamie Sugah shares her thoughts on season 1 of The Umbrella Academy.
- Alexandra August discusses some differences between The Umbrella Academy and its source material.
- Samantha Puc lists five Umbrella Academy plot points from the comics which have not made it into the show.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw interviews Christopher Hargadon, a designer who's worked on The Umbrella Academy.
Comments on the cancellation of Jessica Jones and The Punisher:
- Dominic Patten reports that the last two remaining Marvel shows on Netflix, Jessica Jones and The Punisher, have been cancelled as well.
- Kate Gardner weighs in on the cancellation of Jessica Jones and The Punisher.
- Adam Barnhardt shares the reaction of Ben Barnes, who plays Billy Russo in The Punisher, to the cancellation of the show.
- Marvel Television president Jeph Loeb thanks the viewers and hints that we may not have seen the last of the Defenders shows.
Comments on the pre-release reaction to Captain Marvel:
- Meagan Damore reports that reactions to early press screenings of Captain Marvel were overwhelmingly positive.
- Chelsea Steiner reports that angry men are flooding Rotten Tomatoes with negative reviews of Captain Marvel three weeks before the movie's release.
- Nicole Drum also reports about the pre-release backlash against Captain Marvel.
- Narayan Liu also reports about the pre-release backlash against Captain Marvel.
- Hannah Rose Yee also reports about the sexist pre-release backlash against Captain Marvel.
- Rachel Leishman points out that the pre-release backlash against Captain Marvel shows that certain men fear nerd films led by women.
- Ben Child explains why the sexist attempts to sabotage Captain Marvel will fail.
- Kate Gardner wishes that people would stop pitting Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman against each other, because the world has room for both and even more female superheroes.
- Camestros Felapton offers some graphs analysing the uptick in negative pre-release reviews of Captain Marvel.
- Keah Brown interviews Brie Larson, star of Captain Marvel.
Comments on Alita: Battle Angel:
- Kiel Phegley reports that according to director Robert Rodriguez, Alita: Battle Angel is worth the wait.
- Peter Howell declares that Alita: Battle Angel looks great, but doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
- Scott Mendelson wonders whether Alita: Battle Angel can defy the critics and become a hit.
- Renaldo Matadeen declares that a plot hole in Alita: Battle Angel undermines the whole story.
- Renaldo Matadeen also reports that the ending of Alita: Battle Angel is heartbreaking (spoilers).
- Zack Sharf reports about a cameo at the end of Alita: Battle Angel that sets up a sequel which may not happen due to the film's underperformance at the box office.
- Sam Stone also discusses and explains the surprise celebrity cameo at the end of Alita: Battle Angel.
- Brandon Zachary wishes that the character of McTeague, a bounty hunter with a pair of robotic dogs in Alita: Battle Angel, would get his own spin-off.
- Tom Brueggeman reports that Alita: Battle Angel did not perform quite as badly as expected, but that box office takings in 2019 so far have experienced a massive slump.
- Patrick Brzeski wonders whether the Chinese box office will save Alita: Battle Angel.
- Brigid Alverson revisits the original Alita: Battle Angel manga by Yukito Kishiro.
Comments on Weird City:
- Graeme Virtue calls Weird City a star-studded disappointment.
- Ben Travers calls Weird City a fresh wild treat.
- Caroline Framke declares that Weird City is sharp and witty enough to give it a try.
- Rebecca Fearn hopes that Weird City could be the next Black Mirror and explains how to watch it in the UK.
Discussion of abuse in the RPG world:
- Pop Culture Uncovered reports about the abuse allegations against game designer Zak Smith and the responses from the tabletop RPG community.
- The Gauntlet responds to the allegations against Zak Smith.
Awards:
- The nominees for the 2018 Nebula Awards have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2018 BSFA Awards has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2018 Aurealis Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2019 Darrell Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2019 Skylark Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 Sippy Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2019 Gaughan Award has been announced.
- The winner of the 2019 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics has been announced.
- The nominations for the Spectrum 26 Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2019 D.I.C.E. Video Game Awards have been announced.
- The 2019 Teddy Award for the best LGBT feature film at the Berlin Film Festival has been awarded to the Argentinian science fiction movie A Brief Story from the Green Planet.
- Charlotte Rampling who was in Zardoz and will soon be in Dune has been awarded the Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
- Camestros Felapton takes a look at the status of the Dragon Award.
- Clare Boothby and Ian Moore share an overview of potential nominees for the best dramatic presentation categories at the 1944 Retro Hugos.
- JJ at File 770 lists where to find the 2018 Nebula Award finalists online.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2018 Nebula Award finalists.
- Camestros Felapton analyses the surprising success of 20Booksto50K at the Nebula Awards.
- Melinda Snodgrass shares her acceptance speech for the Skylark Award.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- C.T. Liotta explains what writing pulp fiction has taught him about writing in general.
- Barbara Kingsolver shares five writing tips.
- Ilana C. Myer attempts to deconstruct strong female characters.
- Toby Frost talks about taking comedy seriously.
- Katherine Addison shares her favourite moments while writing The Goblin Emperor.
- Andrew Liptak explains why generating intellectual property is crucial for authors and other creatives
- Michael Houston shares a low tech story idea and plot generator.
- The SFWA has named its candidates for office.
Interviews:
- Andrew Liptak interviews Elizabeth Bonesteel.
- Princess Weekes interviews Christine Feehan.
- Princess Weekes interviews Alyssa Cole.
- Andrew Liptak interviews Carla Speed McNeil.
- Andrew Liptak interviews Katherine Cross.
- Isabella Wang interviews Eden Robinson.
- Ilana C. Myer interviews Howard Andrew Jones.
- Lou Pendergrast interviews John Hornor Jacobs.
- The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy interviews Gregory Benford.
- The Qwillery interviews Micah Dean Hicks.
- Dan Hanks interviews Lela Gwenn.
- Mark Yon interviews Tom Edwards.
Reviews:
- Corrina Lawson reviews Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Finder by Suzette Palmer.
- Ross Johnson reviews Fleet of Knives by Gareth L. Powell.
- Becca Evans reviews The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.
- Publishers Weekly reviews Storm of Locusts b Rebecca Roanhorse.
- Alex Brown reviews The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark.
- Mike Parker reviews The Revenant Express by George Mann.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Deep and Shining Dark by Juliet Kemp.
- Paul Weimer reviews The Song of All by Tina LeCount Myers.
- Beauty in Ruins reviews Seraphina's Lament by Sarah Chorn.
- Jana Nyman reviews Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee.
- Out In Print reviews Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space), edited by Catherine Lundoff.
- Carolyn Cushman reviews The Bartered Brides by Mercedes Lackey and The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty.
- Paul Weimer reviews Gates of Stone by Angus Macallan.
- Bill Capossere reviews Gates of Stone by Angus Macallan.
- J.C. Kang revies Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang.
- Paul Weimer reviews For the Killing of Kings by Howard Andrew Jones.
- Jonathan Thornton reviews Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng.
- Paul Weimer reviews The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky by John Hornor Jacobs.
- Mark Chitty reviews Magefall by Stephen Aryan.
- Ian Mond reviews Occupy Me by Tricia Sullivan.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Infomocracy by Malka Older.
- Rob Bedford reviews MJ-12 Endgame by Michael J. Martinez.
- Nathan Okerlund reviews A Voice in the Night by Jack McDevitt.
- Kate Sherrod reviews New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, edited by Nisi Shawl.
- nerds of a feather review The Outcast Hours, edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin.
- Russell Letson reviews The Labyrinth Index by Charles Stross.
- Stefan Dziemianowicz reviews Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz.
- Colleen Mondor reviews A Room Away From the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Lady From the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara
Classics reviews:
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1950 science fiction novel First Lensman by E.E. Smith.
- Mark Yon revisits the 1951 science fiction novel The Stars Like Dust by Isaac Asimov.
- Jesse Hudson revisits the 1956 science fiction novel They Shall Have Stars by James Blish.
- Paperback Warrior revisits the 1960 novel Blood on the Mink, one of Robert Silverberg's forays into crime fiction.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the March 1964 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- Victoria Silverwolf revisits the April 1964 issue of Worlds of Tomorrow.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl.
- Sarah Gailey revisits the 1981 horror anthology Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, edited by Alvin Schwartz, and shares their favourite stories
- Chloe Aridjis revisits Roberto Bolaño's 1984 novel The Spirit of Science Fiction.
- Timothy the Talking Cat revisits Orson Scott Card's 1985 science fiction novel Ender's Game.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1987 space opera In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman.
Crowdfunding:
- Arnold Leibovit is looking for funding to restore the original videotapes, which hold never before seen footage from the documentary The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal.
- 99% Chance of Magic, an anthology for transgender kids and other humans by Heartspark Press, is looking for funding.
- Fantask in Copenhagen, Denmark, the oldest continuously operating comic book store in the world, needs some help.
Con and event reports:
- Angel Wilson talks about convention culture in the #MeToo era and the harrassment allegations against anime voice actor Vic Mignogna.
- Mike Glyer reports that the 2019 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival will take place in three different locations in New York City, Los Angeles and Santa Ana, California and shares the schedule.
- Chris M. Barkley reports about a science fictional live edition of the Information Please quiz show held at Capricon 39 in Chicago, Illinois.
- Angel Wilson offers a guide to San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California, as well as some hotel tips for beginners.
- Watch a video of a reading featuring Charlie Jane Anders and Sandra Newman at the Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington DC.
- Gary Con in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, has announced that they have removed game designer Frank Mentzer as a guest of honour over harrassment claims.
- Steve Davidson announces AmazingCon in Manchester, New Hampshire.
- Amy Walker reports that Epic Games, producers of the videogame Fortnite, have sued the organisers of an underwhelming Fortnite Live event in Norwich, UK.
- Clare Lombardo reports about a gathering of people dressed as Smurfs in Lauchringen, Germany.
- Farid Ul-Haq reports about New York Toy Fair in New York City and shares some highlights.
- Mike Glyer reports that a California court has ruled against Jon Del Arroz in four of five points in his lawsuit against WorldCon 76 in San José for revoking his membership.
Science and technology:
- Jonathan Amos reports about a space harpoon which skewers orbital debris.
- Dave Mosher reports that SpaceX is developing a new spacecraft imaginatively called Starship that is supposed to carry passengers and argo to Mars.
- NASA shares some speculations about the origin of the tiny Neptune moon Hippocamp.
- Laura McQuarie reports about Space Roasters, a start-up that plans to roast coffee beans in space.
- Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviews NASA astronaut Anne McClain.
- Thomas McMullan discusses the use of artificial intelligence to decide court cases.
- Sarah Zhang reports about a laboratory that analyses the DNA of the materials used in old books.
- Climate scientist Wallace Broecker has died aged 87.
Free online fiction:
- "Overlay" by Elizabeth Bonesteel in The Verge.
- "Machine of Loving Grace" by Katherine Cross in The Verge.
- "Move the World" by Carla Speed McNeil in The Verge.
- "The Crying Bride" by Carrie Laben in The Dark.
- "The Terrible Oath" by Ashok K. Banker in Lightspeed.
- "False Identity" by John M. Campbell in Compelling Science Fiction.
- "The Lonely Dark" by Deborah L. Davitt in Compelling Science Fiction.
- "Cold Iron Comfort" by Hayley Stone in Apex Magazine.
- "Due by the End of the Week" by Brandon O'Brien in Fireside Fiction.
- "Old Media" by Annalee Newitz at Tor.com.
- "Riverbed" by Omar El Akkad in Terraform.
- "The Butcher of New Tasmania" by Suo Hefu, translated by Andy Dudak, in Clarkesworld.
Odds and ends:
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