Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for November 8, 2019

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with more about the uproar involving Norman Spinrad and the distinction between science fiction and fantasy, Martin Scorsese's derogatory remarks about superhero movies, His Dark Materials, Watchmen, Terminator: Dark Fate, See, Doctor Sleep, Blade Runner and the real November 2019, problems at Walker Stalker Con and ChiZine Publications, the imminent closure of Yahoo Groups and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Leah Schnelbach shares five SFF books to read in November.
• Andrew Liptak shares seventeen SFF books to read in November. 
• Bence Pintér and various contributors recommend their favourite SFF novels of the 2010s from various European countries. 
• Ehud Maimon takes a look at the state of science fiction in Israel. 
• Nnedi Okorafor attempts to define Afrofuturism and looks for alternative terms. 
• Mike Brooks complains about the proliferation of -punk suffix subgenres. 
• Nick Kolakowski shares four novels that combine science fiction and mystery. 
• Leah Schnelbach shares six books about spacefaring missionaries.
• Camestros Felapton discusses the various ways to make something invisible in fiction. 
• Maggie Stiefvater shares five books about artists and the magic of creativity. 
• Shea Ernshaw shares five fantasy novels based on folklore.
• Michael Seidlinger shares eight of the most terrifying novels ever written. 
• Princess Weekes shares five black horror authors to read. 
• J.C. Kang offers an introduciton to Xianxia.
• Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga explain why Penny Dreadfuls were so popular in the nineteenth century. 
• Cora Buhlert checks in on the German pulp science fiction series Perry Rhodan.
• Cory Doctorow shares his thoughts on the legacy of John W. Campbell. 
• Fern Riddell reports that new letters reveal that Mary Shelley may have been bisexual and wonders whether it matters at all. 
• Eoin Colfer suggest fantasy and science fiction novels for fans of the late Sir Terry Pratchett. 
• Ciaran McGrath finds some parallels between Boris Johnson and Brexit and the 1967 Norman Spinrad novel Agent of Chaos. 
• Angie Wilkinson profiles Charles Addams, creator of the Addams Family. 
• Alison Flood reports that the first female European authors began writing much earlier than previously thought.
• Longterm science fiction fan Paul Turner has died aged 83.
  

Comments on Norman Spinrad's latest rant and fantasy versus science fiction in general:

• Mike Glyer reports that Norman Spinrad's controversial column in which he complains that fantasy has invaded science fiction is back online at Asimov's with a disclaimer from editor Sheila Williams.  
• Mike Glyer also shares Norman Spinrad's reaction, when he learned that his column had been briefly taken down.
• Meanwhile, Norman Spinrad himself complains that he is being blackballed and censored, because his career isn't going the way he'd like.
• Inspired by Norman Spinrad's column, James Wallace Harris wonders what the purpose of science fiction is.
• Alexandra Erin points out that the boundaries between science fiction and fantasy are porous anyway and that works by straight white cissexual men get a lot more leeway with regard to whether they count as science fiction.
• James Davis Nicoll offers a sarcastic take on the fantasy versus science fiction debate.
• Camestros Felapton offers his take on the fantasy versus science fiction debate and points out that the font used on the cover is usually a reliable indicator.
  

Comments on the imminent shutdown of Yahoo Groups: 

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Yahoo Groups has stopped new uploads on October 28 and that all content will be deleted on December 14. 
• Janita Burgess of the Organisation for Transformative Works declares that the Archive of Our Own offers sanctuary to endangered fannish content on Yahoo Groups.
• Janita Burgess also urges people to inform every Yahoo Group about the shutdown, since many do not know about it.
  

Film and TV:

• Brandon O'Brien compares Joker to Fight Club and explains why both movies are problematic and have attracted toxic fans.
  
• Paul Levinson explains that the crime film In the Shadow of the Moon turns out to be a time travel story. 
• David Sims calls The Lighthouse an enthralling exploration of the mania of isolation.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Extra Ordinary a devilishly funny exorcism horror.
• Caroline Siede declares that the latest version of The Lady and the Tramp feels more like a 1990s romantic comedy with dogs than like the 1950s original.
• Alex McLevy declares that The Avengers was a cinematic event that can never be repeated.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on Black Panther. 
• Andrew Liptak shares his thoughts on For All Mankind.
• Dan Person shares the stranges SFF TV episodes of all time.
• Candice Frederick wonders why so many supernatural TV shows grapple with Christian religion at the moment. 
• Ross Johnson offers an overview of the science fiction and fantasy films in the Criterion Collection.
• Rosanna Greenstreet interviews David Harewood, who appeared in Supergirl, Homeland and The Night Manager among others.
• Steve Ryfle profiles Ishiro Honda, director of Gojira. 
• Mandalit del Barco profiles special effects make-up artist Rick Baker.
• Amol Rajan interviews Disney head Bob Iger.
• George R.R. Martin weighs in on the recently announced Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.
  

Comments on Martin Scorsese versus superhero movies:

• Martin Scorsese attempts to clarify his derogatory remarks about superhero movies - without success. 
• Director Joanna Hogg also weighs in and complains that cinema has become to homogenised for her taste.
• Michael Ordona responds to the recent backlash against superhero movies and declares that the best superhero movies actually do convey psychological and emotional experiences, regardless what Martin Scorsese says. 
• Peter Bradshaw wonders why he cannot just enjoy both arthouse and superhero movies. 

Comments on His Dark Materials:

• Lucy Mangan calls His Dark Materials a riveting adaptation of Philip Pullman's novels.
• Zack Handlen calls His Dark Materials a respectful, if not revelatory adaptation of Philip Pullman's novels. 
• Paul Levinson calls His Dark Materials radiation punk.
• Tyler Dean declares that His Dark Materials is of to a strong start. 
• Lisa Weidenfeld shares her thoughts on the first episode of His Dark Materials.
• Myles McNutt shares his thoughts on the first episode of His Dark Materials.
• Meanwhile, Josh Golby, clearly no fan of fantasy, wonders how many more fantasy epics he will have to watch on TV?
• Peter White interviews Jane Tranter, producer os His Dark Materials and Doctor Who.
• Rebecca Nicholson interviews Dafne Keen who plays Lyra in His Dark Materials.
• Katherine Rundell explains why the character of Lyra from His Dark Materials is so beloved. 
• Andrew Liptak offers an overview of the His Dark Materials novels by Philip Pullman. 
• Nick Romano offers a guide to the multiverse of His Dark Materials.
• Watch the title sequence of His Dark Materials.
• Watch a clip from His Dark Materials.
• Watch another clip from His Dark Materials.
  

Comments on the latest version of Watchmen: 

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Watchmen.
• Joelle Monique shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Watchmen. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Watchmen.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Watchmen. 
• Phoebe Wagner shares her thoughts on Watchmen. 
• Lincoln Michel shares everything you need to know about the world of Watchmen. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw discusses the relevance of the character of Senator Keene in Watchmen.
• Brandon Zachary discusses the fate of a Batman stand-in in Watchmen. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports about a Doctor Manhattan dildo spotted in Watchmen.
• Abraham Riesman interviews Damon Lindelof, producer of Watchmen.
• Patrick Tchakounte reports that HBO has started a companion podcast for Watchmen.
  

Comments on Terminator: Dark Fate (potential spoilers):

• Emily Asher-Perrin declares that Terminator: Dark Fate finally lives up to Sarah Connor's legacy.
• John Scalzi is quite pleased with Terminator: Dark Fate. 
• Paul Levinson enjoyed Terminator: Dark Fate immensely (spoilers).
• Darren Orf discusses how the Terminator series continues to grapple with the paradoxa of time travel. 
• Renaldo Matadeen explains how Terminator: Dark Fate eliminates the most recent sequels via a major character death (spoilers). 
• Derek Lawrence interviews Natalia Reyes, one of the stars of Terminator: Dark Fate (spoilers).
• Emily Asher-Perrin revisits the original 1984 Terminator and praises the fact that it gives Sarah Connor the sort of origin story only male heroes normally get.
• Pamela McClintock reports that Terminator: Dark Fate has bombed at the box oficce and will probably spell an end to the series for the foreseeable future.
• Benjamin Lee declares that the failure of Terminator: Dark Fate has finally terminated the series.
  

Comments on See: 

• Samantha Nelson calls See epic in scope, but not in character.
• Camestros Felapton is not impressed by the first episode of See.
  

Comments on Doctor Sleep:

• A.A. Dowd declares that Doctor Sleep cannot escape the long shadow of The Shining.
• Randall Colburn also discusses how Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining influenced Doctor Sleep.
  

Comments on Blade Runner and how it compares to the real November 2019:

• Dan Robitzki compares the November 2019 world protrayed in Blade Runner with reality.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw points out that Akira and Running Man are both set in 2019 as well, but for some reason everybody is only talking about Blade Runner.
  

Awards:

• The winners of the 2019 World Fantasy Awards have been announced. 
• Voting is open for the first round of the Goodreads Choice Awards. Mike Glyer lists the finalists in the science fiction, fantasy and horror categories.
• The winners of the 2019 SciFi Weekender Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Deutscher Science Fiction Preis have been announced.
• The winners of the 2019 Utopiales Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2019 Prix Julia Verlanger has been announced.
• The finalists for the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals have been announced. 
• The Copper Cylinder Awards will take a year off.
• Ross Johnson offers a round-up of the winners of 2019's major science fiction awards.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Dario Ciriello points out that "Kill Your Darlings" is an awful writing rule.
• Eugenia Lovett West talks about taking up writing late in life.
• Kellie Doherty talks about the importance of critique groups.
• Rachel Deahl asks if publishing is too focussed on bestsellers. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch reports about a paradigm shift in the writing business.
• Mike Glyer reports about a slew of complaints about ChiZine Publications.
• Mike Glyer shares even more complaints about ChiZine Publications.
• Michael Patrick Hicks weighs in on the ChiZine situation.
• Gabino Iglesias points out that ChiZine is just the tip of the iceberg.
  

Interviews:

• Ryan Britt interviews Michael Chabon.
• The Guardian interviews Tade Thompson.
• Jonathan Thornton interviews Ellen Kushner.
• What the Log interviews Heather Rose Jones. 
• Caroline M. Yoachim interviews Elizabeth Bear.
• The Qwillery interviews Emma Sloley. 
• The Qwillery interviews C.M. Waggoner.
• Adam Langer interviews Nicholas Meyer. 
• Andrew Liptak interviews David Lupton. 

Reviews: 

• Kirkus reviews Fortuna by Kristyn Merbeth.
• Kat Hooper reviews A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker.
• Marion Deeds reviews The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz.
• Joel Cunningham reviews The Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather.
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Weight of Stars by K. Ancrum.
  
• The Middle Shelf reviews Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.
• Ceridwen Christensen reviews The Deep by Rivers Solomon. 
• Natasha Pulley reviews The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. 
• Amal El-Mohtar reviews The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.
• Publishers Weekly reviews The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. 
• Justine Bergman reviews Already Comes Darkness by T.L. Greylock. 
• Tim Pratt reviews The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.
• Mark Chitty reviews Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton. 
• Kat Hooper reviews The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Dollmaker by Nina Allan. 
• Martin Cahill reviews Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner.
• Kelly Lasiter reviews Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff
• Kat Hooper reviews The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black. 
• T.O. Munro reviews Carved From Stone and Dream by T. Frohock. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Crownbreaker by Sebastien de Castell.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang.  
• Martin Cahill reviews Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade. 
• For Winter Nights reviews The Lost Ones by Anita Frank.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman   
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Soon by Lois Murphy.
• For Winter Nights reviews Interference by Sue Burke. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Oligarchy by Scarlett Thomas.
• Maya Gittelman reviews Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao. 
• The Qwillery reviews The Blackbird and the Ghost by Hûw Steer
• Ian Mond reviews Outside the Gate by Molly Gloss. 
• Kelly Lasiter reviews Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw.
• Katharine Coldiron reviews Internment by Samira Ahmed. 
• Niall Harrison reviews Miracles and Marvels: Stories by Tim Pratt.
• Mark Yon reviews Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove. 
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Behold the Undead of Dracula: Lurid Tales of Cinematic Gothic Horror, edited by Matthew M. Bartlett and Gwendolyn Kiste.
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Lost Transmissions: The Secret History of Sci­ence Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Desirina Boskovich.
  

Classics reviews: 

• Paul Fraser revisits the January 1944 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.
• Timothy the Talking Cat revisits the 1951 science fiction fix-up novel Foundation by Isaac Asimov. 
• Adri Joy revisits the 1955 science fiction novel Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein. 
• Rich Horton revisits the 1955 science fiction novels Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick and The Big Jump by Leigh Brackett. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the December 1964 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1972 science fiction thriller The Stardropper by John Brunner.
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1973 science fiction novel Cage a Man by F.M. Busby.
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1976 portal fantasy Wraiths of Time by Andre Norton.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1981 portal fantay Lanark: A Life in Four Books by Alasdair Gray.
• Paperback Warrior revisits Angels, a 1984 novel in the postapocalyptic Wastelands series by James Barton a.k.a.Laurence James and Angus Wells.
• Alan Brown revisits the 1988 post-apocalyptic novel The Armageddon Blues by Daniel Keys Moran.
  

Con and event reports:

• Trae Dorn reports about an incident at Walker Stalker Con in Atlanta, Georgia, where disabled actress and official con guest Angel Theory was verbally abused by a security guard.
• Trae Dorn also reports that following the abuse of Angel Theory, various other actors have refused to appear at Walker Stalker Con and other events organised by the same company.
• Trae Dorn reports that James Frazier, CEO of Walker Stalkers LLC, the company behind Walker Stalker Con and other events, has resigned, followed by his replacement Michael DeVault one week later.
• Steve Fahnestalk reports about a visit to Butler, Missouri, birthplace of Robert A. Heinlein.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Dark Moon Dice, producer of custom made dice sets, is looking for funding for its Dreamscape collection. 
• Alwa's Legacy, a retro adventure game by Elden Pixels, is looking for funding.

Science and technology:

• Ravenna Koenig reports about the MOSAIC mission, during which the German research vessel Polarstern has attached itself to an ice float and will spend a year in the Arctic. 
• The BBC reports that cookie dough and an oven have been sent to the ISS to test how baking in space works and to provide tasty cookies for the astronauts. 
• Paul Rincon reports that Boeing is planning a moon lander.
• Paul Rincon reports about the Voyager 1 and 2 spaceprobes. 
• Patty Jansen talks about the likelihood of terraforming Mars or Venus.
• Jennifer Lehman explains how math can help you to survive a zombie apocalypse.
• Ida Moya talks about the latest developments in computer technology in 1964.
• Dwayne A. Day reports about a plan for an US Air Force moonbase that never came to pass.
• Mark Seal reports how Iceland became a leader in bitcoin mining and how that attracted criminals.
• Felicity Carter talks about her work as an astrologer and how astrology really works.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Second-Last Client" by Yoon Ha Lee in Lightspeed.
• "The Concubine's Heart" by Matthew Bright in Lightspeed.
• "A Kiss With Teeth" by Max Gladstone at Tor.com
• "A Square of Flesh, A Cube of Steel" by Phoebe Barton in Curious Fictions.
• "These Deathless Bones" by Cassandra Khaw at Tor.com. 
• "In Xanadu" by Lavie Tidhar at Tor.com. 
• "The Gods Come to Sredna" by T.S. McAdams in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Two Sides of Home" by Timothy Mudie in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "When We Were Infinite" by Wendy Nikel in Nature. 
• "A Time to Reap" by Elizabeth Bear in Uncanny Magazine.
• "The Beckoning Green" by Elizabeth Childs in The Dark.
• "Rabbit" by Jeff Reynolds in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Dollhouse" by Adam-Troy Castro in Nightmare Magazine.
• "Fellscorpe and the Wishing Well" by Katherine Quevedo in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.
• "The Origin of the Flow" by John Scalzi.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for A Christmas Carol. 
• Watch a trailer for Wendy.
• Watch a trailer for Jumanji: The Next Level. 
• Watch a trailer for Color Out of Space.
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of The Dragon Prince.
• Watch a short film about classic pulp hero The Shadow.
• Mia Jankowicz reports that the British Brexit Party dropped a general election candidate, after she claimed she was an alien from a distant star.