Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 8, 2019

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the Locus recommended reading list, tributes to Carol Emshwiller, Julie Adams and Václav Vorlíček, Star Trek Discovery, The Orville, Alita: Battle Angel, Russian Doll, The Umbrella Academy, the controversy surrounding the YA fantasy novel Blood Heir, Liam Neeson's problematic remarks about rape, race and revenge, an uproar at DerbyCon and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Locus has announced its 2018 recommended reading list. 
• Joe Sherry and Adri Joy discuss the Locus recommended reading list.
• Reedsy share their favourite science fiction novels of all time.
• Ana Grilo looks ahead at science fiction and fantasy books coming out in the next few months. 
• Charlie Jane Anders shares five recent science fiction novels about humans colonising other planets.
• Julie Phillips shares her appreciation for the works of Ursula K. Le Guin.
• Joel Cunningham shares ten Asian fantasy and science fiction novels. 
• Tor.com shares seven fantasy novels told from multiple points of view.
• James Davis Nicoll talks about star maps and why so few science fiction novels bother to mention where exactly the respective stars and planets are. 
• Sam Reader shares seven impossible fantasy cities well worth the visit. 
• C.J. Tudor share six novels about changelings.
• Tor.com shares five science fiction and fantasy novels about tests which aren't what they seem. 
• Jessica McAdams takes a look at the high cost of fantasy sainthood.
• Ben H. Winters shares his appreciation for libraries.
• Emily Maguire declares that there is no shame in reading whatever you want.
  
• British writer, bookseller and longtime fan George Locke has died aged 82. 
• Science fiction writer Carol Emshwiller has died aged 97. 
• The SFWA remembers Carol Emshwiller.

Comments on the Blood Heir controversy:

• Alison Flood reports that the YA fantasy novel Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao was pulled by the author a few months before publication following complaints about alleged racism.
• Alexandra Alter also reports about the Blood Heir controversy.
• Kat Rosenfield offers her take on the Blood Heir controversy.
• Camestros Felapton weighs in on the Blood Heir controversy and how the far right is suddenly very concerned about internet mobs.
  

Film and TV:

• Elyse at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books shares her thoughts on the season 4 finale of Outlander. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido calls season 2 of The Punisher a huge mess.
  
• Mike D'Angelo declares that The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then Bigfoot is remarkably dull, given its very cool title.
• Joe Bendel shares his thoughts on the time travel thriller Relive.  
• Jesse Hassenger declares that the horror movie The Prodigy peaks a little too early. 
• Hubert Adjei-Kontoh shares his thoughts on the documentary Horror Noire.
• Kayla Sutton is not happy with the Columbian time travel series Siempre Bruja. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Counterpart.
• Liz Bourke shares her appreciation for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 2014 movie Guardians of the Galaxy. 
• Jessica Holmes rewatches "The Daleks", the first appearance of the eponymous Doctor Who foes from 1964. 
• Gwilym Mumford reports that Whoopi Goldberg is a huge Doctor Who fan and actually contacted the BBC about playing the first female Doctor, but was turned down. 
• Phil Hoad interviews star Pierce Brosnan and director Martin Campbell about making the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye.  
• Keidra Chaney explains what it feels like to be a fan in the era of late stage capitalism. 
• Stuart Heritage is confused by the advertising campaign for the final season of Game of Thrones. 
• Nancy Tartaglione reports that the Chinese science fiction film The Wandering Earth sits at the top of the Chinese box office during the Lunar New Year period. 
• Patrick Frater reports that another Chinese science fiction film, Crazy Alien, has already grossed more than 100 million US-dollars after two days.
• The raccoon Oreo who was the real life model for Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy has died aged 10.
• Actress Julie Adams, star of Creature from the Black Lagoon, died aged 92.
• Ronald Bergan shares an obituary for Julie Adams.
• Czech fairy tale film director Václav Vorlíček died aged 88.
• Cora Buhlert remembers Václav Vorlíček.

Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general (spoilers):

• Alasdair Wilkins shares his thoughts on "Point of Light", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Point of Light".
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Point of Light".
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "Point of Light".  
• Kayti Burt shares her thoughts on "Point of Light".
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Point of Light".
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Point of Light". 
• Ryan Britt points out a connection between "Point of Light" and the Next Generation episode "The Rightful Heir".
• James Whitbrook offers a brief history of the voyages of the USS Enterprise before James T. Kirk became captain.
• James Whitbrook offers an overview of every Star Trek show in the works right now. 
• Celeste Pewter hopes that the planned Jean-Luc Picard show will revisit the character of Keiko O'Brien.
• Kaila Hale-Stern compares the captain's quarters in the various Star Trek shows.
• Jamie Lovett interviews Alex Kurtzman, showrunner of Star Trek Discovery.
• The BBC reports that the police seized a Klingon bat'leth among other weapons during the search of the home of a teenager suspected of being involved in an assault in Widnes, UK.
• Watch the cast of Star Trek Discovery sing Carpool Karaoke.
  

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.
• Camestros Felapton binge-watched The Orville and shares his impressions.
• Camestros Felapton also muses about the fact that the crew of The Orville tends to mess up first contact situations.
  

Comments on The Umbrella Academy: 

• Alex Abad-Santos calls The Umbrella Academy as good as it's weird.
• Alexander Lu declares that The Umbrella Academy manages to capture the absurdity and weirdness of the comic it's based on, but not the joy.
• Sam Barsanti calls The Umbrella Academy stylish fun that drags out its mysteries for too long.
  

Comments on Alita: Battle Angel:

• Beth Elderkin calls Alita: Battle Angel a middling science fiction film, but praises the performance of Rose Salazar.  
• Molly Freeman calls Alita: Battle Angel a dazzling, if overambitious science fiction adventure. 
• Jesse Hassenger calls Alita: Battle Angel Robert Rodriguez' best film in ages.
• Chelsea Steiner declares that Alita: Battle Angel finally manages to break the curse of live action manga adaptations.
• Emily Asher-Perrin declares that Alita: Battle Angel can't find its heart, but relies on visual spectacle and sentimentality instead.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Alita: Battle Angel an oddly tame post-apocalyptic love story.
• Stephen Dalton calls Alita: Battle Angel a by the numbers cyberpunk adventure that never really takes flight.
• The Weekend Warrior calls Alita: Battle Angel visually impressive, but otherwise a very bad movie.
• Stuart Heritage wonders what possessed director Robert Rodriguez to make Alita: Battle Angel star Rose Salazar look like a large-eyed manga character.
• Sam Stone reports that Alita: Battle Angel's box office taking look grim so far.
  

Comments on Russian Doll:

• Josh Bell declares that Russian Doll adds style and cleverness to the time loop formula.
• Danette Chavez calls Russian Doll a highly rewarding time loop series. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Russian Doll an endlessly impressive, idiosyncratic show. 
• Todd VanDerWerff calls Russian Doll a twisted, terrific delight.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Russian Doll.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore decares that Russian Doll deftly navigates existential dread and depression. 
• Kathryn Van Arendonk interviews Leslye Headland, director of Russian Doll. 

Discussion of Liam Neeson's problematic comments regarding rape, revenge and racism:

• Clémence Michallon interviews Liam Neeson about his latest revenge thriller and ignites a scandal.
• Andrew Pulver reports that Liam Neeson claims he is not racist, even though he fantasized about killing a random black person in the controversial interview.
• Paul Chi reports that actress Michelle Rodriguez defends Liam Neeson and declares he cannot be a racist, because he kissed Viola Davis on screen once.
• Gary Younge declares that Liam Neeson's remarks show that black people still aren't considered fully human by some white people.
• Steve Rose point out the similarities between Liam Neeson's remarks and the revenge thrillers in which he has appeared for years now.
• Reuters reports that a red carpet event for Liam Neeson's latest thriller Cold Pursuit has been cancelled following the actor's problematic remarks.
  

Awards:

• The nominations for the 2018 Splatterpunk Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2019 Tähtivaeltaja Award has been announced.
• The finalists for the 2019 Audie Awards have been announced.
• The 2019 Locus poll and survey is open for voting.
• Nominations are open for the 2019 eFestival of Words.
• The winner of the 2019 Crawford Award has been announced. 
• The winner of the 2019 HWA Lifetime Achievement Award has been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Dell Magazine Award have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2018 Uncanny Magazine Reader's Poll have been announced.
• The finalists of the 2018 Clarkesworld Reader's Poll have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Annie Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 VES Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2019 Colorado Blue Spruce Awards have been announced with some love for genre fiction.
• The shortlist for the 2019 Waterstones Children's Book Prize has been announced with some love for genre fiction.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Cat Rambo talks about writing stories that change the world.
• The Center for Fiction offers a master class with Lee Child in two videos. 
• Emma Darwin tells writers that they never have to apologise for what they are writing.
• Jay Penner talks about dealing with writer's block. 
• Jenn Lyons explains how a bullet journal can help you with your worldbuilding.
• Max Florschutz talks about the worldbuilding issues related to the treatment and disposal of garbage. 
• Robert Wood shares some tips for retconning details in an ongoing series.
• Kameron Hurley talks about how to tell when a draft is ready for prime time. 
• Anthony DeCastro declares that you must put your story or novel on the market. 
• Nick Ripatrozone talks about the lost art of line editing.
• Margot Boyer-Dry talks about current book cover design trends. 
• Bence Pintér reports that Burger István, editor of the Hungarian science fiction magazine Galaktika, has stepped down, but still denies the many complaints about piracy and copyright infringement against Galaktika.
  

Interviews:

• Andrew Liptak intervies Kelly Robson.
• Andrew Liptak interviews Karin Lowachee. 
• Juliette Wade interviews Ellen Klages.
• Lila Shapiro interviews Victor LaValle and Marlon James. 
• Mike Glyer interviews Andrew Liptak.
• The Qwillery interviews Joe Ollinger.
• Janet Walden-West interviews Ken Schrader.
  

Reviews:

• Amanda at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviews Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik.
• Kat Hooper reviews Remnants of Trust by Elizabeth Bonesteel. 
• Nicole Hill reviews The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons.
• Sylas K. Barrett reviews The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons. 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Iron Codex by David Mack.
• Ana Grilo reviews The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi.
• Paul Weimer reviews The Silver Scar by Betsy Dornbusch. 
• Thea James reviews Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee. 
• Carolyn Cushman reviews The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman and Search Image by Julie E. Czerneda.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch and Small Spaces by Katherine Arden.
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty.
• Amanda at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviews Mystic by Cheryl Brooks.
• Tom Whitmore reviews Temper by Nicky Drayden.
• Marion Deeds reviews Witchmark by C.L. Polk. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Snow White Learns Witchcraft by Theodora Goss.
• J.C. Kang reviews Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. 
• Nisi Shawl reviews The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson. 
• Paul Weimer reviews Miranda in Milan by Katherine Duckett.
• Read Your Writes reviews Analiese Rising by Brenda Drake.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews All the Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma.  
• Ross Johnson reviews Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.
• Adrienne Martini reviews Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Rosewater Insurrection by Tade Thompson. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman.
• Raven Crime Reads reviews The Last by Hanna Jameson.
• Ian Mond reviews Severance by Ling Ma.
• Mark Chitty reviews Nemesis by Alex Lamb.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Vigilance by Robert Jackson Bennett. 
• Adrienne Martini reviews Tell the Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams. 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss. 
• Richard Marpole reviews This Dreaming Isle, edited by Dan Coxon.
• Suzy Michael reviews Let There Be Dark by Tim McWhorter
• Wim Crusio reviews The Road to Hell by David Weber and Joelle Presby.
• Larry Clow reviews Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Carnivorous Lunar Activities by Max Booth III. 
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Playing Card Killer by Russell James. 
• Jared Shurin reviews A People's Future of the United States, edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams. 
• Maria Haskins reviews A People's Future of the United States, edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams.

Classics reviews:

• Mark Yon revisits Robert A. Heinlein's 1953 science fiction collection Revolt in 2100. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits Poul Anderson's 1962 science fiction novel After Doomsday.
• Gideon Marcus revisits the February 1964 issue of Analog.
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1973 science fiction collection The Halfling and Other Stories by Leigh Brackett. 
• Tim Scheidler revisits the 1975 fantasy collection Companions on the Road by Tanith Lee.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1982 dystopian science fiction novel Dreamrider by Sandra Miesel. 
• Jeff Somers revisits the 1982 fantasy novel The Time of the Dark by Barbara Hambly.

Crowdfunding:

• Workhouse Games is looking for funding for the horror anthology Tales from the Hollow Earth Volume 1: The Awful Orphanage.
• Horror author Christopher Ropes needs some help with his medical expenses.
  

Con and event reports:

• Leah Schnelbach reports about an event featured several contributors to the anthology A People's Future of the United States in New York City. 
• Farid Ul-Haq reports about ComicCon Lahore in Lahore, Pakistan, and shares some photos.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore declares that Rachel True, one of the stars of The Craft, is absolutely right to call out conventions for invivting her white co-stars, but not her. 
• David Kennedy reports that DerbyCon in Louisville, Kentucky, is closing down after the 2019 con because of code of conduct issues.   
• Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai reports that some disgruntled DerbyCon attendants blame women and so-called "social justice warriors" for the shut down of the con, even though the board has denied this.
• Gregory Benford has a lot to say about his ejection from LosCon in Los Angeles, California, in the fanzine Challenger. 
• Dan Berry shares the guest list for the 2019 PaleyFest in Los Angeles, California.
• John King Tarpinian shares some photos of Rare Books LA in Passadena, California.
• The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports about the Literary Ink Convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee.   
• Michael Barron reports about the Literary Ink Convention.
• Rich Lynch reports about a Broadway musical version of King Kong in New York City.
• Kristina Manente reports about a visit to a Harry Potter themed café in Seoul, South Korea.
  

Science and technology:

• Sue Nelson discusses the issues of building a moon base. 
• Avery Thompson reports that the International Space Station suffered a toilet malfunction.
• Ethan Siegel asks why Uranus is the only planet in our solar system without any interesting features.
• Adam Frank claims that the future of humanity is interplanetary.
• The University of Bristol reports that a lost Merlin manuscript has been rediscovered in Bristol's Central Library.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Articulated Restraint" by Mary Robinette Kowal at Tor.com. 
• "Life Sentence" by Matthew Baker in Lightspeed.
• "Skin City" by Kelly Robson in The Verge.
• "Give the Family My Love" by A.T. Greenblatt in Clarkesworld. 
• "Without Exile" by Eleanna Castroianni in Clarkesworld. 
• "Your Slaughterhouse, Your Killing Floor" by Sunny Moraine in Uncanny Magazine.
• "A Crisis" by Aigner Loren Wilson in Terraform. 
• "Mr. Try Again" by A. Merc Rustad in Nightmare Magazine.
• "Slow Victory" by Juanjo Bazan in Daily Science Fiction.
• "A Sun Will Always Sing" by Karin Lowachee in The Verge.
• "The Perpetual Day" by Crystal Koo in Lightspeed.
• "The Thing, With Feathers" by Marissa Lingen in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Dustdaughter" by Inda Lauryn in Uncanny Magazine.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a TV spot for Avengers: Endgame.
• Watch a TV spot for Captain Marvel.
• Watch another TV spot for Captain Marvel. 
• Watch a clip from Captain Marvel.
• Watch a teaser for season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale.
• Watch a teaser for the latest version of The Twilight Zone.
• Watch a trailer for What We Do In The Shadows.
• Watch a trailer for Among the Shadows.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Vast of Night. 
• Watch a trailer for Pet Sematary
• Watch a trailer for Ugly Dolls. 
• Watch a trailer for Dumbo. 
• Watch a trailer for Horror Noire.
• Watch a Game of Thrones themed Budweiser TV spot.
• The BBC reports that a roadside dragon sculpture in Tregarth, Wales, has already caused several accidents, prompting the police to post a warning.
• See some fantastic freehand stitched reproductions of Dune covers.