Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 2, 2019

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with The Boys, season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale, season 3 of Stranger Things, Pennyworth, Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, a debate about the proposed deletion of the Wikipedia pages of some rightwing science fiction authors and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• James Davis Nicoll discusses how science fiction writers dealt with our changing knowledge about the solar system due to space probes sent out since the 1960s.
• James Davis Nicoll discusses how science fiction imagined the first moon landing. 
• David Wellington explains that the point of science fiction is not to predict the future.
• Adam Roberts talks about the rise of Afrofuturism. 
• Fonda Lee talks about diaspora stories in science fiction and fantasy.
• Neal Asher shares five books about achieving immortality. 
• Gabrielle Tutino shares five books about Area 51.
• Nicole Hill lists six books in which real cities are imbued with magic. 
• Leo Elijah Cristea talks about monsters and reclaiming the other.
• Tor.com shares the best biceps in fantasy. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five of his favourite Poul Anderson novels.
• Jeff Somers lists ten times science fiction reinvented Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
• Sara Light-Waller discusses some female protagonists of early science fiction and fantasy.
• Mike Chomko discusses the importance of Weird Tales for science fiction and fantasy.
• Mike Chomko also discusses the development of the science fiction pulps between 1926 and 1940.
• John J. Miller profiles Robert E. Howard and the changing relationships of Cross Plains, texas, to its most famous son.
• Howard Andrew Jones reveals the mystery of Canadian science fiction author and critic Todd McAulty in a two part post. 
• Randall Colburn revisits the teen horror paperback series Fear Street, which ran from 1989 to 1999.
• Katherine Rundell shares five children's books every adult should read.
• Alexander B. Joy connects the boardgame Candy Land to the polio epidemic of the mid twentieth century. 
• Gerry de la Ree shares his appreciation for the work of pulp era science fiction and fantasy artist Virgil Finlay. 
• Alison Flood reports that fantasy writer Sherrilyn Kenyon has dropped her lawsuit against her husband.
• Rich Johnston reports about an attempt to discredit Marvel Comics writer Alyssa Wong with fake tweets.
• NBC New York reports that a street in the Bronx will be named after the late Stan Lee.
• The BBC reports that Chris Niosi, voice actor for the Nintendo game Fire Emblem: Three Houses will be replaced following allegations of emotional abuse.
  

Comments on the proposed deletion of the Wikipedia pages of science fiction authors:

• Camestros Felapton points out that Michael Z. Williamson's Wikipedia page will not be deleted, at least for now. 
• Camestros Felapton also points out that the other Wikipedia pages of rightwing science fiction authors flagged for deletion have not been deleted either.
• Camestros Felapton also points out that the warnings on the Wikipedia pages of some science fiction authors have often been there for years.
• Font Folly weighs in on the Wikipedia deletion affair.
  

Film and TV:

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Rook.
• William Hughs shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Archer. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his thoughts on the animated Harley Quinn series.
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1964 retro science fiction film First Men in the Moon.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1973/74 science fiction TV series The Starlost.
• Shaun Duke, Jen Zink and Trish Matson revisit the 1978 movie Starcrash.  
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1976 science fiction movie Futureworld.
• Scott Ashlin revisits the 1982 fantasy film The Sword and the Sorcerer.  
• Germain Lussier revisits the 1986 horror film Night of the Creeps.
• Ryan Britt offers an updated Star Trek timeline with everything we need to remember before Star Trek Picard.
• Steve Vertlieb shares a 1969 interview with William Shatner. 
• Brian Davids interviews Cobie Smulders who plays Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. 
• Carlos Bustamante interview Simu Liu who will play Shang Chi in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• Eleanor Fye interviews Bruce Campbell, star of the Evil Dead franchise.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore interviews Greg Butler, visual effects superviser for X-Men: Dark Phoenix. 
• James Whitbrook offers a glimpse at the script for the final Game of Thrones episode.
• Ben Child reports that a new Dungeons & Dragons film is in the works and hopes that this one gets it right. 
• Steve Rose reports that film stunts are under scrutiny after a series of stunt accidents and deaths.
• Scott Mendelson declares that the overwhelming success of Disney movies is a symptom, not the cause of the problems facing Hollywood. 
• Angela Serratore discusses the Walt Disney Company's use of postmodern architecture for several of its properties. 
• Ahrvid Engholm reports that the animated Disney movie Frozen 2 will be dubbed into Sami, since it features Sami people. 
• Gavin J. Blair offers some more details on the Kyoto Animation arson attack and reports that the death toll has now risen to 35.  
• Mike Snyder reports that you can actually buy the Chateau Picard wine seen in the trailer for Star Trek: Picard. 
• Tor.com reports about Joss Whedon's newest science fiction series The Nevers.
• Bilge Ebri praises the late Rutger Hauer's performance in Blade Runner.
• Voice actress Russi Taylor who voiced Minnie Mouse for over thirty years has died aged 75.
  

Comments on season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale:

• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on "Liars", the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale.
• Abigail Chandler shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale.
  

Comments on season 3 of Stranger Things: 

• Tyler Dean talks about Stranger Things and suburban horror.
• Showrunners the Duffer brothers explains every movie reference in Stranger Things.
  

Comments on Pennyworth: 

• Leah Schnelbach declares that Pennyworth is best when it commits to the crazy.
• Mike Hale declares that Pennyworth tells the story of Batman before Bruce Wayne was even born.
• Brett White offers an overview of the many, many actors who have played Alfred Pennyworth on screen.
  

Comments on The Boys:

• Graeme Virtue calls The Boys an antidote to traditional superhero stories.
• Mike Fugere calls The Boys a savage superhero satire. 
• Mike Hale declares that The Boys deconstructs the superhero genre with a light touch.
• Liz Shannon Miller declares that The Boys is fun, but doesn't have a lot to say.
• Glen Weldon declares that The Boys has nothing new to say, but says it very loudly.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on season 1 of The Boys.
• Mike Fugere reports that The Boys avoids one of the more disturbing bits of the comic.
• L.D. Nolan shares a drawing of The Boys character Billy Butcher by Jim Lee. 
• Brandon Stanley reports that The Boys has been renewed for season 2. 

Comments on Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw a fervently brainless delight.
• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky declares that Hobbs & Shaw is the silliest Fast & Furious movie, but far from the best.
• Germain Lussier calls Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw a solid action movie that lacks an identity. 
• Chris Klimek declares that Hobbs & Shaw features better stunts and actors, but is just as derivative as the rest of the Fast & Furious franchise.
• Stephanie Zacharek declares that Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw proves that there is such a thing as too much action.
• Germain Lussier declares that with Hobbs & Shaw, the Fast & Furious franchise takes a step into science fiction.
• Germain Lussier interviews Chris Morgan, screenwriter of Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw
  

Awards: 

• The winners of the 2019 Rita and Golden Heart Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Rhysling Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2019 Sunburst Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Seiun Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2019 Diana Jones Award have been announced.
• The shortlist for the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize has been announced.
• The European Science Fiction Society has announced the nominees for the 2019 Achievement, Hall of Fame and Chrysalis awards. 
• The winner of the 2018 Reuben Award has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2019 Not-the Booker Prize has been announced with some love for genre works and is open for voting. 
• The shortlist for the 2019 Glass Bell Award has been announced. 
• Mike Glyer reports about a proposal to change the rules for the fan art category at the Hugo Awards.
• Mike Glyer interviews the co-chairs of the Bram Stoker Awards about the HWA's rules for self-promotion.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Mae Clair asks writers to find out when they are at their most creative. 
• Kellie Doherty explains how writing fantasy saved her mental state.
• Tracie Delaney shares her top ten writing tips. 
• Writer's Relief offers a short story idea generator.
• Janice Hardy asks if you're asking and answering the right story questions.
• Debbie Burke talks about the importance of stakes in your story. 
• Gibril Kerefah talks about pacing. 
• Stephen Hunter shares six tips for writing better gunfights. 
• William R. Leibowitz talks about the challenges of believability when writing science fiction. 
• Julie E. Czerneda talks about the magic system she developed for The Gossamer Mage.
• Jacqui Murray shares 160 ways to describe the weather.
• Ari Meghlen explains why you should market your book before it's published.
• Goodreads offers a case study about how Alex Michaelides' debut thriller The Silent Patient was turned into a bestseller. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about the challenges of cover art and licensing.
  

Interviews:

• Juliette Wade interviews Julie E. Czerneda.
• Shelf Awareness interviews J. Michael Straczynski.
• The Qwillery interviews Evan Winter.
• The Qwillery interviews H.G. Parry.
• Clancy Tucker interviews Chris Stevenson.
• Neil Clarke interviews Jonathan Strahan.
• Nancy Powell interviews Richard and Wendy Pini.
  

Reviews:

• Adri Joy reviews There Before the Chaos by K.B. Wagers.
• Russell Letson reviews No Way by S.J. Morden. 
• Aidan Moher reviews Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee.
• Paul di Filippo reviews Stealing Worlds by Karl Schroeder.
• Lee Mandelo reviews Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente.
• Niall Alexander reviews Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. 
• Nicole Hill reviews The Hound of Justice by Claire O'Dell.
  
• Publishers Weekly reviews The Hound of Justice by Claire O'Dell.  
• Tamsin Muir reviews Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse.
• Colleen Mondor reviews Station Zero by Philip Reeve. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Automatic Eve by Rokuro Inui, translated by Matt Treyvaud.  
• Melissa Ratcliffe reviews Salvation Day by Kali Wallace.
• John Scalzi reviews The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
• Jeff Somers reviews Dark Age by Pierce Brown.  
• Kat Hooper reviews Exhalation by Ted Chiang. 
• Liz Bourke reviews The Fire Opal Mechanism by Fran Wilde.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Ascent to Godhood by J.Y. Yang.  
• Martin Cahill reviews The Ascent to Godhood by J.Y. Yang.
• Adrienne Martini reviews Early Riser by Jasper Fforde.
• Ceridwen Christensen reviews The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Masquerading Magician by Gigi Pandian and tries a recipe from the book.  
• The Little Red Reviewer reviews The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda. 
• Kelly Lasiter reviews Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss.
• Becca Evans reviews The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Lost Acre by Andrew Caldecott. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys. 
• Daisy Johnson reviews Orange World by Karen Russell. 
• Corrina Lawson reviews The Iron Dragon's Mother by Michael Swanwick.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Little Animals by Sarah Tolmie. 
• Paul di Filippo reviews Radicalized by Cory Doctorow. 
• Adam Roberts reviews Fall, or Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson.
• The Behrg reviews The Resurrectionists by Michael Patrick Hicks. 
• The Behrg reviews Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Damned Place by Chris Miller.
• Rob Bedford reviews The Toll by Cherie Priest.
• Tracy Robinson reviews Remains by Andrew Cull.
• Suzy Michaels reviews Chop Shop by Andrew Post.
• Robert Sharp reviews Palestine + 100, edited by Basma Ghalayini.
• Cory Doctorow reviews Becoming Superman: My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood by J. Michael Straczynski.
  

Classics reviews:

• Rebecca Fisher and Tadiana Jones revisit the classic 1934 children's fantasy novel Mary Poppins.
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1937 science fiction novelette "Hothouse Planet" by Arthur K. Barnes. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1943 fantasy novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft.
• Jana Nyman revisits the 1943 classic The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
• Rich Horton revisits the 1949 science fiction novel Beyond Earth's Gates a.k.a. The Portal in the Picture by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore and the 1954 postapocalyptic novel Daybreak 2250 AD by Andre Norton.
• Paul Fraser revisits the July 1950 issue of Fantastic Novels Magazine. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1957 fantasy novel Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. 
• Jonathan E. Hernandez revisits the 1961 science fiction novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1964 science fiction novel Simulacron-3 a.k.a. Counterfeit World by Daniel F. Galouye.
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1978 science fiction novel Dinosaur Planet and its 1984 sequel Dinosaur Planet Survivors by Anne McCaffrey. 
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1980 short story "Our Lady of the Sauropods" by Robert Silverberg. 
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1988 science fiction novelette "Dinosaurs" by Walter Jon Williams.
• Bogi Takács revisits the 1988 science fiction novel Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler.
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1992 science fiction novel Steel Beach by John Varley.
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2005 fantasy novel Three Hands for Scorpio by Andre Norton.
• Kelly Lasiter revisits the 2006 paranormal romance Crescent Moon by Lori Handeland.
  

Con and event reports:

• WorldCon 77 in Dublin, Ireland, has released its draft programme schedule.
• Watch a video of the best cosplay at San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California. 
• Esquire shares various celebrity photos of San Diego Comic Con. 
• Beth Elderkin offers a glimpse at the Her Universe fashion show at San Diego Comic Con.
• Rodford Edminston shares some photos of SpikeCon in Layton, Utah. 
• Walker Martin shares eight reasons to attend PulpFest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 
• Katie Rife shares five films to watch from the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Canada.
• Yasha Mounk explains how not to run a panel. 
• Skye Cervone shares a call for papers for "An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact", a symposium at the New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, New York.
• Kaye Dee reports about the Beatles' tour of Australia in 1964. 
• Riley MacLeod reports about the Fortnite World Cup in Queens, New York.
• Isabel Danzis and Grace Harrington interview former SCA member Paul Matisz a.k.a. Fulk Beaumarchais about the issues with white nationalism in the Society for Creative Anachronism.
• British con runner Martin Hoare died aged 67.
  

Science and technology:

• The BBC asks why India is sending humanoid robots into space. 
• The BBC reports about NASA's Valkyrie robot, which is supposed to help with building a Mars base. 
• Adam Roberts talks about religion and the US space program. 
• Gideon Marcus reports about the successful flight of the Ranger 7 lunar probe in 1964.
• Tor.com reports that a new prosthetic arm that is able to transmit a sense of touch has been named after Luke Skywalker. 
• Jack Brook reorts about the use of electric stun belts or similar device in US courtrooms. 
• Richard Gray discusses the true toll of the Chernobyl disaster.
• Chris Baraniuk reports about Protect and Survive Monthly, a British doomsday prepper magazine from the 1980s.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Blue Lips and Frozen Lashes" by Alexandra Grunberg in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "The Witch Road" by Dawn Trowell Jones in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "The Staircase to the Moon" by M.T. Hutchins in Fireside Magazine.
• "The Iron Eels" by Jeremy T. TeGrotenthuis in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.  
• "Entangled" by Beston Barnett in Clarkesworld.
• "Your Face" by Rachel Swirsky in Clarkesworld.
• "It Is Not So, It Was Not So" by Megan Arkenberg in The Dark. 
• "Hunger's Truth" by A.J. Fitzwater in GigaNotoSaurus. 
• "Zero in Babel" by E. Lily You in Slate.
• "CHARGE! Love Heart!" by Rhiannon Rasmussen in Curious Fictions. 
• "Wayfarer" by Shannon Fay in Daily Science Fiction.
• "King Anisika" by Tetsuya Sato, translated by Toshiya Kamei, in Bewildering Stories.
• "Artificials Should Be Allowed to Worship" by Stephen James in The New York Times.
• "Sales Force" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

Odds and ends:

• Watch a trailer for The Lighthouse. 
• Watch a trailer for Tigers Are Not Afraid.
• Watch a trailer for Little Monsters. 
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. 
• Watch a trailer for The Hunt.
• Watch a sad and spoilerish deleted scene from Avengers: Endgame. 
• Watch the lost teaset trailer for the 2002 Spider-Man movie which was pulled due to prominently featuring the late World Trade Center.
• Watch Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford doing a screentest for Star Wars in 1976.