Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 7, 2019

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale, Dark Phoenix, season 5 of Black Mirror, the final season of Game of Thrones, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel,Good Omens, Swamp Thing, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Chernobyl, tributes to Paul Darrow, a new Batman, a Doctor Who tie-in scandal, BookCon and Book Expo America, the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction in Disneyland and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Amal El-Mohtar shares her favourite recent science fiction novels. 
• Veronica Scott shares the latest science fiction romance releases.
• James Davis Nicoll talks about light sails in science and fiction.
• James Lloyd lists six science fiction inventions we're still waiting for. 
• Fran Wilde shares five books that prove that portal fantasies and time travel are connected.
• Jonathan Rosa discusses the evolution of LGBTQ horror. 
• Frank W. Puncer traces Edgar Rice Burroughs' time with the US Cavalry in Arizona, hunting the outlaw known as Apache Kid. 
• Steve Vertlieb remembers Robert Bloch. 
• Peter Suderman profiles Neal Stephenson.
• Alison Flood reports that a Doctor Who anthology has dropped a story by writer Gareth Roberts because of transphobic remarks made by Roberts. 
• Nick Duffy alson reports about the transphobic remarks by Gareth Roberts and shares some example.
• Gareth Roberts shares his view about being dropped from a Doctor Who anthology over transphobic remarks.
• James Alan Gardner shares some idle thoughts about role-playing. 
• Alex Green reports that Warriors of the Altaii, a lost Robert Jordan novel, has been published more than forty yars late. 
• David Barnett reports that three more people from the orbit of the late Stan Lee have been accused of alleged elder abuse.
• Lisa Morton remembers the late Dennis Etchison.
• Comic and pulp artist and portraitist Everett Raymond Kinstler has died aged 92.
  

Film and TV:

• James Whitbrook shares some speculations about the upcoming Picard show. 
• Nicasio Andres Reed explains why he loves Star Trek so much. 
• Germain Lussier declares that The Dead Don't Die doesn't work in spite of great ideas and a stellar cast.
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Archer.
• Camestros Felapton and Timothy the Talking Cat share their thoughts on Rocketman.
• Renaldo Matadeen explains how the Scandinavian post-apocalyptic series The Rain sets up season 3. 
• Michael Cavna explains why the recently casted Robert Pattinson will make a fine Batman. 
• Ben Child wonders whether playing Batman will destory Robert Pattinson hardwon cred as an arthouse movie actor.
• Kim Huett explains why the Eternal Champion novels by Michael Moorcock would make a fine TV series. 
• Neon Dystopia finds some parallels between the John Wick movie series and the Cyberpunk genre.
• Sam Stone explains why the latest Hellboy movie was such a box office disaster. 
• Germain Lussier revisits the original 1997 Men in Black.
• John B. Charles revisits the 1969 science fiction movie Marooned. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her appreciation for the West German Edgar Wallace movies of the 1960s.
• Andrew Pulver reports that according to director Ron Howard, online trolls were at least partly to blame for the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story. 
• Seb Patrick takes a look at the anti Star Wars trolls and the petition to remake season 8 of Game of Thrones and declares that fan entitlement has gone too far. 
• Anjelica Oswald and Kirsten Acuna list all the animated movies of which Disney is planning live action remakes.
• Kiernyn Orne-Adams profiles animator Lynne Southerland
• Stuart Jeffries interviews Caroline Munro, best known for The Spy Who Loved Me, Starcrash and At the Earth's Core.
• The Guardian reports that an explosion on the set of the upcoming James Bond movie has injured a crewmember and damaged the 007 soundstage at the Pinewood Studios in London, UK.
• Madeleine Aggeler declares that the new James Bond movie is definitely cursed. 
• Leah Schnelbach reports that Bill and Ted will be joined by their daughters in Bill and Ted Face the Music.

Comments on season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale:

• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale.
• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on episodes 1, episode 2 and episode 3 of season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale. 
• Hillary Kelly shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale. 
• Daniel Fienberg calls season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale still powerful, but no longer as provocative as earlier seasons.
• Arielle Bernstein declares that season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale has finally gone too far.
• Sophie Gilbert talks about the growing paradox of The Handmaid's Tale.
• Jane Mulkerrins shares five things to expect from season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale.
  

Comments on Dark Phoenix: 

• A.A. Dowd declares that Dark Phoenix manages to turn one of the most celebrated story arcs in  American comics into just another X-Men movie.
• Emily Asher-Perrin declares that with Dark Phoenix, the era of the Fox X-Men movies ends with a whimper, not a bang.
• Meagan Damore also feels that Dark Phoenix brings the Fox X-Men era to an end with a whimper rather than a bang.
• Peter Bradshaw declares that with Dark Phoenix, the X-Men movies fizzle out forgettably.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore calls Dark Phoenix a bittersweet good-bye to the Fox X-Men movies.
• George Simpson calls Dark Phoenix the most mature X-Men film since Logan.  
• Owen Gleiberman praises Sophie Turner's performance as Jean Grey a.k.a. Phoenix, but is otherwise not impressed by Dark Phoenix.
• Robbie Collin calls Dark Phoenix exhausting and sees little reason the film even exists. 
• Geoffrey Macnab calls Dark Phoenix a superficial disappointment with nothing new to say.
• Brian Hiatt explains why Wolverine is not in Dark Phoenix.
• Tim Grierson and Will Leitch rank all twelve X-Men and related movies to date. 
• Ross Johnson chronicles the many comic deaths of Jean Grey a.k.a. Phoenix.
  

Comments on the final season of Game of Thrones (spoilers):

• Beth Elderkin discusses the development in Arya Stark in Game of Thrones. 
• Beth Elderkin also offers the definitive list of everybody who lived and died in the final season of Game of Thrones.
• Ju Shardlow explains how the prosthetics from Game of Thrones are made.
• Joe Skladany shares the recipes for some Game of Thrones inspired dishes.
  

Comments on Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (warning: spoilers):

• J.D. Connor takes an in-depth look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its culmination in Avengers: Endgame. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido is not happy with the portrayal of Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame.
• Aaron Body talks about Captain Marvel in the age of the American Empire.
• Ju Shardlow and Kirsten Acuna share 31 details you may have missed in Avengers: Endgame.
• Nick Evans discusses a deleted scene from Captain Marvel.

Comments on Good Omens:

• James Bricknell declares that the Good Omens adaptation is exactly what Terry Pratchett would have wanted. 
• Emily Asher-Perrin declares that Good Omens is mainly a love story.
• Samantha Nelson calls Good Omens a gay cosmic romantic comedy.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore also notes the gay romantic vibes in Good Omens.   
• Angel Wilson explains that Good Omens was almost even more overtly romantic.
• Tim Goodman calls Good Omens delightful and intoxicating.
• Sophie Gilbert calls Good Omens an acquired taste.  
• William Hughes offers an episode by episode review of Good Omens. 
• Sam Stone offers an episode by episode review of Good Omens.
• Font Folly shares his thoughts on Good Omens.
• James Whitbrook reports that some of the most enjoyable scenes of Good Omens were actually filler material to give stars David Tennant and Michael Sheen something to do.
• The Frame interviews Neil Gaiman, author and screenwriter of Good Omens.
• Sage Young interviews Michael Sheen and David Tennant, stars of Good Omens.
• Cathy Whitlock interviews Claire Anderson, the costume designer of Good Omens.
  

Comments on season 5 of Black Mirror:

• Lucy Mangan calls season 5 of Black Mirror sweet, sadistic and hugely impressive. 
• Farid Ul-Haq declares that season 5 of Black Mirror has interesting ideas, but not a lot of depth. 
• Kathryn VanArendonk calls season 5 of Black Mirror equisitely dumb.
• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on season 5 of Black Mirror.
• Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on "Striking Vipers", "Smithereens" and "Rachel, Jack and Ashley, Too" episodes of season 5 of Black Mirror
• Beth Elderkin is bothered that the Black Mirror episode "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" once again makes teenage girls and their interests the punchline.
• Stuart Heritage ranks every episode of Black Mirror to date. 
• Readers of The Guardian interview Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones.
  

Comments on Swamp Thing: 

• Daniel Fienberg calls Swamp Thing an above average comic book show with some extra swearing thrown in. 
• Alexandra August interviews Derek Mears who plays the monster in Swamp Thing.
• Brandon Zachary interviews Derek Mears and Andy Bean, stars of Swamp Thing. 
• Kevin Melrose explains how Swamp Thing changes six classic DC Comics characters.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that Swamp Thing has been cancelled after only a single season.
  

Comments on Godzilla: King of the Monsters:

• Leonard Maltin calls Godzilla: King of the Monsters a waste of two hours. 
• Simran Hans calls Godzilla: King of the Monsters beastly in all the wrong ways.
• Anthony Gramuglia wonders whether Godzilla: King of the Monsters is just a remake of the 1964 movie Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster. 
• James Whitbrook shares a cool Easter egg from Godzilla: King of the Monsters. 
• Brian Ashcraft reports that the cinematic universe created by the Toho Godzilla movies was way ahead of its time.
• Angie Dahl interviews Millie Bobby Brown, one of the human stars of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
• The BBC reports that in spite of lukewarm reviews, Godzilla: King of the Monsters tops the US box office charts.
  

Tributes to Paul Darrow:

• Actor Paul Darrow, best known for playing Kerr Avon in Blake's Seven, has died aged 78.
• The BBC remembers Paul Darrow.
• James Whitbrook remembers Paul Darrow.
  

Comments on Chernobyl: 

• Tom Seymour declares that when the dust settles, Chernobyl will be considered a classic. 
• Randall Colburn calls Chernobyl the scariest TV show of the year. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the final episode of Chernobyl.
• Masha Gessen explains what Chernobyl got right and what it got horribly wrong. 
• Julie McDowall explains how Chernobyl recreated a nuclear meltdown. 
• Michael Waters interviews Kate Brown who wrote a book about Chernobyl.
• Paul Tassi reports that Chernobyl is the highest audience rated TV series in history.
• Randall Colburn shares some internet memes that have sprung up around Chernobyl.
• Inspired by Chernobyl, Megan Nolan reports about tourism in contemporary Pripyat.
  

Awards: 

• The winners of the 2019 Sir Julius Vogel Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2019 Aurora Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2019 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 31st Annual Lambda Literary Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2018 Bisexual Book Awards have been announced.   
• The winners of the 2019 Phoenix and Rebel Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2019 UK Games Expo Awards have been announced.
• The 5th Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off is looking for submissions.
• Batman has been inducted into the Comic-Con Hall of Fame.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Shannon Ashley implores writers to be brave. 
• Mark Bowden shares five writing tips. 
• Janice Hardy shares some basics about point of view.
• Marie Brennan shares some tips for handling worldbuilding and exposition. 
• Janice Hardy explains how to fix a novel's sagging middle.
• Gwenda Bond shares her experiences writing media tie-in fiction.
• Cametsros Felapton takes a look at the cover design of John Scalzi's Collapsing Empire books.
• Chrys Fey explains how to prepare for outdoor book and author events.
  

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Sarah Gailey. 
• The Qwillery interviews Sarah Gailey.
• Christina Orlando interviews Sarah J. Maas. 
• The Geekiary interviews Sherilyn Kenyon.
• Anita Sethi interviews Joyce Carol Oates.
• Elizabeth Crowens interviews Jim Freund and Barbara Krasnoff.
  

Reviews:

• Tadiana Jones reviews Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
• Bill Capossere reviews If Tomorrow Comes by Nancy Kress.
• Mark Yon reviews Perihelion Summer by Greg Egan. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Prisoner of Midnight by Barbara Hambly.
• Adriana Martínez Figueroa reviews Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal. 
• Nicole Hill reviews Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey. 
• Brit Mandelo reviews Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.
• Ana Grilo reviews Unraveling by Karen Lord. 
• Ceridwen Christensen reviews Unraveling by Karen Lord.
• Caitlyn Paxson reviews The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos.
• Adri Joy reviews The Red-Stained Wings by Elizabeth Bear. 
• Kat Hooper reviews Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys. 
• Bill Capossere reviews In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey.
• Kat Hooper reviews Creatures of Want and Ruin by Molly Tanzer.
• Becca Evans reviews We Set The Dark One Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia.
• Bill Capossere reviews Ahab's Return or The Last Voyage by Jeffrey Ford.
• Amy Goldschlager reviews Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko. 
• Cameron N. Coulter reviews Radicalized by Cory Doctorow.
• James David Nicoll reviews Severance by Ling Ma.
• Kat Hooper reviews Severance by Ling Ma.
• Ian Mond reviews We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin 
• Adrienne Martini reviews Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton. 
• Amy Goldschlager reviews And Other Stories by Adam-Troy Castro. 
• A.M. Justice reviews The Dreaming Land by E.P. Clark.
• Dark Reads reviews The Resurrectionists by Michael Patrick Hicks.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Howl by Renee Miller.
• Maria Haskins reviews Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher.
  

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1943 dystopian novel Gather, Darkness by Fritz Leiber.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1950 science fiction novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A.E. van Vogt.
• Steven Heller revisits the 1951 illustrated book Men of Other Planets by Kenneth Heuer.
• Gideon Marcus revisits the June 1964 issue of Analog. 
• Marion Deeds reviews the 1968 children's fantasy novel The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1977 science fiction novel Gateway by Frederik Pohl.
• Strange Horizons revisits the 1977 fantasy collection Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner. 
• Jessica Juby revisits the 1985 dystopian classic The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1999 fantasy novel Wind in the Stone by Andre Norton. 

Con and event reports:

• Ed Nawotka reports about BookExpo America in New York City. 
• Natalie Zutter reports about a panel featuring Rainbow Rowell at BookCon in New York City 
• Natalie Zutter reports about a BookCon panel featuring Rebecca Roanhorse and N.K. Jemisin.
• Natalie Zutter reports about a fanfiction panel at BookCon.
• Natalie Zutter reports about a panel about epic YA fiction at BookCon.
• Natalie Zutter reports about a worldbuilding panel at BookCon.
• Natalie Zutter reports about the Magic x Mayhem panel at BookCon. 
• Jamie Sugah reports about a panel on LGBTQ romance at BookCon.
• Mike Glyer reports that Ed Kramer, the since ousted co-funder of Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia,, has been released from jail and is now under house arrest again after repeatedly molesting young boys.
• The UK Games Expo in Birmingham, UK, has released an official statement in response to a sexual harrassment incident during an RPG session.
• Mary McNamara reports about a visit to the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. 
• Anthony Breznican reports about the opening of the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction. 
• Germain Lussier offers ten tips for visiting the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction.
• Bob Madle, bookseller, first fandom founder, attendant of the very first WorldCon in 1939 and many thereafter, celebrated his 99th birthday.
  

Science and technology:

• Geoff Brumfiel reports that SpaceX's Starlink satellites may interfere with earthbound obersvatories. 
• Kermit Woodall reports about a new technique which could allow for sending messages through deep space.
• Gideon Marcus reports about Apollo's first flight in 1964. 
• Kaye Dee reports about the launch of the Blue Streak rocket in 1964.
• Brent Ziarnick and Peter Garretson discusses the scuppered Orion project of the 1960s. 
• James Gallagher reports that a genetically modified fungus rapidly kills 99 percent of malaria transmitting mosquitoes.
• The BBC reports that British researchers have developed a pumping heart patch from stem cells that may aid in the treatment of heart attacks.
• Tim Harford tackles the question whether the expansion of the Internet was driven by porn and whether that's still the case.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Between the Dark and the Dark" by Deji Bryce Olukotun in Lightspeed.
• "The Last Worders" by Karen Joy Fowler in Lightspeed.
• "A Catalog of Love at First Sight" by Brit E.B. Hvide in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Lest We Forget" by Elizabeth Bear in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Two Sisters in Exile" by Aliette de Bodard in Clarkesworld. 
• "Hunting the Viper King" by Kathryn Harlan in Strange Horizons. 
• "Any Way the Wind Blows" by Seanan McGuire at Tor.com.  
• "Therein Lies a Soul" by Osahon Ize-Iyamu in The Dark.
• "The Night Princes" by Megan Arkenberg in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Wired" by Tiana Ednett in Luna Station Quarterly
• "Lovers' Lane" by Cora Buhlert.
• "Hollywood Ending" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

Odds and ends:

• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Jessica Jones.
• Watch a trailer for For All Mankind. 
• Watch a trailer for Ad Astra.
• Watch a trailer for Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. 
• Watch a trailer for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
• Watch a trailer for the live action Lion King.
• Watch A Short Vision, an animated 1956 movie about nuclear war.
• Read the FBI's file on Bigfoot.