Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 18, 2019

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Joker, Short Treks and Star Trek, Watchmen, His Dark Materials, Gemini Man, The Lighthouse, Jexi, Wounds, Zombieland: Double Tap, Abominable, the latest version of The Addams Family, Activision Blizzard bowing to Chinese government pressure and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Sam Reader shares the best new horror books for fall.
• Russell Blackford discusses how science fiction deals with the subject of war. 
• Erika Harlitz-Kern talks about history and SFF storytelling. 
• Ginn Hale talks about LGBTQ communities and found families in speculative fiction.
• Ross Johnson shares seven SFF books by indigenous authors. 
• L. Penelope shares five books where gods walk the Earth.
• Damien Angelica Walter shares five books about the horrors of girlhood. 
• Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson discuss ghost stories.
• Andrew Skinner shares five books about the lives of artificial objects. 
• Natalie Zutter lists five books inspired by Frankenstein which recontextualise the monster. 
• Bobby Derie talks about the Chthulhu mythos and space opera.
• Brian Murphy explains why sword and sorcery is so much more than just Robert E. Howard.
• Kim Liggett taks about the misogyny inherent in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
• Scott Bradfield reflects on the multigenerational appeal of Frank L. Baum's Oz books. 
• John Connolly offers a defense of the supernatural in crime fiction.  
• Max Booth III asks if supernatural crime fiction is allowed to be funny.
• Joe Hill talks about his childhood as the son of Stephen King. 
• Shawn S. Lealos shares the ten most important creations by Stan Lee. 
• Tade Thompson discusses the concept of worthiness in the Thor comics.
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the planetary romance artwork of Richard Hescox. 
• Camestros Felapton offers a taxonomy of retro-looking rockets, as seen on vintage pulp covers. 
• Andrew Liptak reports that Stephen and Tabitha King are planning to turn their home in Bangor, Maine, into a library and writers' retreat.
• The SFWA remembers J.A. Pitts. 
• Literary critic Harold Bloom has died aged 89.
• Sara Danius, former secretary of the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize for Literature, has died aged 57.
  

Film and TV:

• Jesse Hassenger is not impressed with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on the Swedish science fiction movie Aniara.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Synchronic an original science fiction thriller.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Vivarium a creepy but hilarious science fiction horror movie. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok.
• Leslie Felperin calls Darkness Visible an intriguing and inventive horror movie from India.
• Lucy Mangan calls Limetown a load of tosh and cheap X-Files knock-off. 
• Phil Hoad calls Ladyworld a stylish apocalyptic thriller. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Evil.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Emergence
• Camestros Felapton asks if John Wick 3 is fantasy.  
• Jasper Pickering lists the biggest box office flops of the 21st century, including several genre movies. 
• James Hibberd interviews Daisy Ridley who plays Rey in the Star Wars movies.
• Katie Rife interviews Bong Joon Ho, director of Snowpiercer and Parasite. 
• Rosanna Greenstreet interviews Lupita Nyong'o, star of Black Panther and Us. 
• Ben Child declares that the backlash against Martin Scorsese for his derogatory remarks about superhero movies is absolutely justified.
• Marah Eakin profiles Ironhand Studios, creators of superhero costumes for Hollywood movies.
• Anthony Breznican wonders why Rose Tico as played by Kelly Marie Tran is in so little new Star Wars merchandise. 
• BoingBoing shares Samuel R. Delany's 1977 review of the original Star Wars.
• Natalie Devitt takes a look at the first few episodes of season 2 of the original Outer Limits.
• Steve Vertlieb shares his appreciation for the 1922 silent vampire classic Nosferatu: A Symphony in Terror.
• Kim Marsters reports that Hollywood studios are increasingly selling films to Netflix and other streaming services rather than risk a box office flop. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Zoe Kravitz will play Catwoman in The Batman.
• Actor Robert Forster, best known for his appearances in Banyon, Jackie Brown, Breaking Bad, Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive and Delta Force, has died aged 78.
• Actor Stephen Moore who played Marvin the paranoid android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, has died aged 81.
  

Comments on Short Treks and Star Trek in general: 

• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on the Short Treks episodes "Q&A" and "The Trouble with Edward".
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "The Trouble with Edward".
• Jonathan Bailey finds an interesting debate on copyright and intellectual property issues in an episode of Star Trek Voyager.
• Andy Winder recommends science fiction books based on your favourite Star Trek character.
  

Comments on Joker:

• Brock Wilbur declares that Joker is a very stupid film that pretends to be an arthouse film, because it believes that's what arthouse films look like. 
• Emily Asher-Perrin declares that the enduring popularity of the Joker is due to the fact that the character can fit any story you want to tell. 
• Ben Child explains why Joker should be kept isolated from the rest of the Batman and DC movies.
• Angel Wilson analyses the complex drama surrounding Joker. 
• Chris Yogerst declares that we shouldn't fear Joker, because it is unlikely to provoke real world violence. 
• Joshua Yehl reports that Jared Leto, who played the Joker in Suicide Squad, was upset that Joaquin Phoenix was cast for the part in Joker.
• Inspired by Joker, Zach Vasquez wonders why American filmmakers are so fascinated by angry white men driven to violence and murder, because the world doesn't hand them everything on a silver platter. 
• Pete Keeley reports that a man got a lifetime from the US cinema chain AMC Theatres because of a prank about a "no singles" policy for showing of Joker.
• Kristin Salaky reports about the Joker Frappuccino available at Starbuck's.
  

Comments on the latest version of Watchmen: 

• Danette Chavez calls Watchmen a reckoning worth waiting for.
• Tim Goodman calls Watchmen relentlessly entertaining, but also difficult for people who are not familiar with the comic. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that the latest version of Watchmen leans into the political side of the comic.
• Emma Brockes interviews Regina King, one of the stars of Watchmen. 
• Ross Johnson explains everything you need to know about Watchmen past, present and future.

Comments on the TV version of His Dark Materials:

• Sian Lloyd goes behind the scenes of His Dark Materials. 
• Huw Thomas interviews Lin Manuel Miranda who plays Lee Scoresby in His Dark Materials.
  

Comments on Gemini Man: 

• Leonard Maltin calls Gemini Man a highly-enjoyable, action-packed thriller and praises the organic use of 3D technology and high frame rates. 
• Simran Hans calls Gemini Man a silly science fiction thriller that all the digital de-aging technology in the world cannot make convincing. 
• A.A Dowd declares that Gemini Man uses de-aging technology to make a case against de-aging technology.
• Mark Jenkins calls Gemini Man sluggish and sterile. 
• Leah Schnelbach wonders whether Gemini Man is a movie or something new. 
• John Scalzi shares his thoughts on Gemini Man and its high frame rate.
• Brandon Zachary finds Gemini Man's villain surprisingly engaging - most of the time.  
• Brandon Zachary shares the best action scenes in Gemini Man.

Comments on The Lighthouse:

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls The Lighthouse stinky, anarchic and gloriously weird.
• A.A. Dowd calls The Lighthouse an insane buddy comedy pretending to be a horror movie. 
• Guy Lodge profiles Robert Pattinson, star of the Twilight series, High Life, The Lighthouse and Batman to be. 
• Katie Rife interviews Robert Eggers, director of The Lighthouse. 

Comments on Jexi: 

• Beatrice Loayaza calls Jexi the unthinking person's Her.
• Andrew Lapin calls Jexi a seriously bad movie. 

Comments on the latest version of The Addams Family: 

• Katie Rife calls the latest animated edition of The Addams Family superfluous, but altogether okay.
• Danny Hensel is not impressed by the new Addams Family movie.

Comments on Zombieland: Double Tap: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Zombieland: Double Tap a fanservice sequel for a movie which hardly has any fans.  
• Katie Rife declares that Zombieland: Double Tap is just overkill.
• Cameron Scheetz interviews the cast of Zombieland: Double Tap.

Comments on Wounds:

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Wounds an unintentionally funny horror film. 
• Joshua Alston declares that Wounds is a horror thriller that offers few scares. 

Comments on Abominable:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Abominable a feeble animated children's fantasy. 
• The BBC reports that Abominable has been pulled from Vietnamese theatres over a controversy involving a territorial dispute in the South Chinese Sea between Vietnam and China.

Comments on Activision Blizzard bowing to Chinese government pressure:

• Zack Beauchamp reports that gaming company Activision Blizzard has bowed to Chinese government pressure and banned professional Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung and confiscated his winnings over his support for the pro-democracy protests in Hongkong.
• The BBC reports that Activision Blizzard has reduced Ng Wai Chung's ban and will pay out his prize money following protests  
• Nathan Grayson reports that protests against Activision Blizzard's behaviour are planned at BlizzCon in Anaheim, California.

Awards:

• The Testaments by Maragret Atwood and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo are sharing the 2019 Book Prize. 
• The winners of the 2018 Sidewise Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Imadjinn Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2019 SFPA poetry contest have been announced.
• The Tiptree Motherboard announces that the Tiptree Award shall henceforth by known as the Otherwise Award.
• The finalists for the 2019 Booker Prize explain why they wrote the shortlisted novels.
• Camestros Felapton sheds some light on the opaque working of the Dragon Award process.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Kameron Hurley explains why writing books gets tougher instead of easier with time.
• Dwyer Murphy explains why he finds Elmore Leonard's ten rules for writing so valuable.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about three different kinds of writers.
• Linden A. Lewis explains how to turn a short story into a novel.
• Daniel Brotzel discusses how to make author collaborations work.
• Rocking Book Covers shares eight questions for coming up with standout book cover ideas.
  

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Jenn Lyons.
• Salman Rushdie and Marlon James interview each other.
• The Guardian interviews Nnedi Okorafor. 
• Thomas Pluck interviews Joyce Carol Oates. 
• S.E. Lindberg interviews Carol Berg a.k.a. Cate Glass. 
• Lucy Hounsom interviews Heather Rose Jones. 
• Joy Kluver interviews W.C. Ryan. 
• Eve Glasberg interviews Jeremy Dauber. 
• A.M. Justice interviews Jesse Teller. 
• The Qwillery interviews Marc Vun Kannon.

Reviews:

• Kat Hooper reviews The Queen's Gambit by Jessie Mihalik.
• Adrienne Martini reviews Finder by Suzanne Palmer and The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Of Wars and Memories and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs and Reticence by Gail Carriger. 
• Maria Haskins reviews How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason. 
• The Middle Shelf reviews Caleuche by Joanthan Ward. 
• Nicole Hill reviews Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden.
• Adri Joy reviews Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden. 
• Garik16 reviews Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
• Adri Joy reviews The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaluga.
• Katharine Coldiron reviews Necropolis PD by Nathan Sumsion. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney. 
• Jana Nyman and Rebecca Fisher review Buried Heart by Kate Elliott.
• Kat Hooper reviews Bid My Soul Farewell by Beth Revis. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews My Beautiful Life by K.J. Parker.
• Sarah McCarry reviews The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman.
• Liz Bourke reviews Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran. 
• Leigh Butler reviews Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Hero Born by Jin Yong, translated by Anna Holmwood.
• SFFWorld reviews The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss. 
• Liz Bourke reviews The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss.
• Maya Gittelman reviews The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco.
• Joe Sherry reviews The Deep by Rivers Solomon. 
• Em Nordling reviews Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma. 
• Tadiana Jones reviews Wayward by Blake Crouch.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Grace Year by Kim Liggett.
• Mark Yon reviews Ghoster by Jason Arnopp.
• Colleen Mondor reviews Trace by Pat Cummings. 
• Tobias Carroll reviews Trolls by Stefan Spjut. 
• J.C. Kang reviews Unsouled by Will Wight.
• Lee Mandelo reviews Homesick by Nino Cipri.
• For Winter Nights reviews Mistletoe by Alison Littlewood.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Mistletoe by Alison Littlewood.
• Karen Haber reviews The Thousand Demon Tree by Jeffrey Alan Love.
• Matt Brandenburg reviews In the Garden of Rusting Gods by Patrick Freivald. 
• Tobias Carroll reviews Suicide Woods by Benjamin Percy.
• Rob Bedford reviews A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic by Catherine Lundoff.
• Tochi Onyebuchi reviews The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
• Ian Mond reviews Midnight at the Organporium by Tara Campbell.
• Kat Hooper reviews Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff.
• The Tattooed Book Geek reviews Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Vampiric: Tales of Blood and Roses from Japan, edited by Heather Dubnick.
  

Classics reviews: 

• Matt Mikalatos revisits the 1950 portal fantasy The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
• Young People Read Old SFF revisit the 1958 science fiction story "Unhuman Sacrifice" by Katherine MacLean. 
• John Boston revisits the November 1964 issue of Amazing Stories.
• Paul Weimer revisits the 1965 science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert. 
• Rebecca Fisher revisits the 1971 children's fantasy The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart. 
• Bogi Takács revisits the 1971 fantasy novel The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You by Dorothy Bryant.
• Ty Johnston revisits the 1976 fantasy novel Bane of Nightmares by Adrian Cole. 
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1977 edition of Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, edited by Gardner Dozois.
• Patrick French revisits the science fiction series Canopus in Argos Archives by Doris Lessing, which began in 1979. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1982 science fiction novel Port Eternity by C.J. Cherryh.
• Nisi Shawl revisits the 1998 dystopian novel Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson.
  

Con and event reports:

• The program schedule for the 2019 World Fantasy Convention in Los Angeles, California, is now online.
• Beth Elderkin reports about The Expanse panel at New York Comic Con in New York City.
• Tom Gerken reports that French cosplayer Alice Livanart has been banned from the EuroCosplay Championships to be held at MCM Comic Con in London, UK, over blackface accusations. 
• Matt Moore shares some tips for being a good panel moderator at conventions.
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest edition of the New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series in Brooklyn, New York. 
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest edition of the Fantastic Fiction Readings Series in New York City, featuriung Barbara Krasnoff and Nicole Kornher-Stace.
• John D. Berry compares the usefulness of convention badges and nametags.
• Mike Glyer reports that Luis R. Rondon, King of the Society for Creative Anachronism’sEast Kingdom, has been expelled following his arrest as a murder suspect.
  

Crowdfunding:

• The anthology Vital: The Future of Healthcare, edited by R.M. Ambrose, is looking for funding.
  

Science and technology:

• Ken Macdonald reports that Scottish scientists have developed an autonomous robot which can inspect wind turbines for damage. 
• Gideon Marcus reports about the Soviet Voskshod space mission of 1964. 
• Monica Rimmer reports about Janet Parker, the final smallpox victim in the world, who contracted the disease while working in a laboratory in Birmingham, UK, in 1978.
• Naima Mohamud reports about Yasuke, a 16th century samurai of Japanese origin.
• The BBC reports that a Japanese students of ninja history has handed in an essay written in invisble ink.
• Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first person to walk in space, has died aged 85.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Rescue of the Renegat" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
• "All Electric Ghosts" by Rich Larson in Clarkesworld.
• "Windrose in Scarlet" by Isabel Yap in Lightspeed.
• "Revival" by W.C. Dunlap in Lightspeed.
• "Grave Goods" by Gemma Files in Nightmare Magazine.
• "Authentic Zombies of the Caribbean" by Ana María Shua, translated by Andrea G. Labinger, in The Dark.
• "Naked, Stoned, and Stabbed" by Bradley Denton at Tor.com.
• "Endless Inn" by Malena Salazar Maciá, translated by Toshiya Kamei  in 4 Star Stories
• "On the Seventh Day" by Elaine Vilar Madruga, translated by Toshiya Kamei in Mithila Review.
• "Trigger Snowflake and the Secret Guild" by Ingvar in File 770.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Doolittle. 
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of The Man in the High Castle.
• Watch a trailer for Jungle Cruise.
• Watch a trailer for Lady and the Tramp. 
• Watch a trailer for Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary.
• Watch a trailer for Ladyworld.