It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the best SFF of 2019 and the decade, The Mandalorian, The Rise of Skywalker and Star Wars in general, season 4 of The Expanse, His Dark Materials, Watchmen, Star Trek, The Witcher, Spies in Disguise, Black Christmas, Cats the future of American Gods and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Eric Brown offers a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy books.
- Keith Rice recommends ten SFF audiobooks for holiday travelling.
- Jeff Somers shares seven terrifying science fiction horror novels.
- James Davis Nicoll declares that speculative fiction needs more incompetent autocrats.
- Mark Yon takes a look at the SFF books that changed his life.
- Jeff Somers lists six essential science fiction novels by Philip K. Dick.
- Erika Harlitz-Kern takes a look at history and the Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin.
- Jesse Rhodes traces the history of the fairytale of the Gingerbread Man.
- Elle Hunt talks about the etiquette of giving books as presents.
- G.W. Thomas looks back at the Avon Fantasy Reader anthology series.
- Katharine Trendacosta muses about how fandom became corporate in the 2010s.
- Maanvi Singh reports that the fictional African country of Wakanda was listed as an official free trade partner of the US on the website of the US Department of Agriculture.
- Cory Doctorow reports that the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego, California, has been saved and now has new owners and a new location.
Best of 2019 and the decade:
- Andrew Liptak lists his favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2019.
- Paul Weimer shares his favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2019.
- Leah Schnelbach, Christina Orlando, Natalie Zutter and Renata Sweeney discuss the 2010s in speculative fiction.
- Laura Miller looks back on the 2010s in YA fiction.
- Germain Lussier shares the ten best superhero movies of the past decade.
Film and TV:
- Natalie Zutter calls Jumanji: The Next Level fun, but ultimately forgettable.
- Toby Frost shares his thoughts on the recent BBC adaptation of The War of the Worlds.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on Shazam!
- Tom Reimann declares that even though Avatar was once the highest grossing movie of all time, it is almost completely forgotten a decade later.
- Joe George revisits the 1985 dystopian science fiction movie Brazil.
- Font Folly shares his love for the 1966 horror comedy The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.
- Font Folly revisits the 1962 science fiction horror film The Brain That Wouldn't Die.
- Camestros Felapton revisits season 2 of the 1990s cartoon Gargoyles.
- Katie Rife interviews Jennifer Reeder, director of Knives and Skin.
- Philip Ellis interviews Oscar Isaac who will play Duke Leto Atreides in the upcoming Dune adaptation.
- Ryan Gilbey interviews Claes Bang, the star of the latest version of Dracula.
- Alex Godfrey interviews Emma Tillinger Koskoff, producer of The Irishman and Joker.
- Carolyn Giardina reports how the makers of the stop motion animated film Missing Link blew up an ice bridge.
- Stuart Heritage wonders why films about cats do better at the box office than films about dogs.
- Ryan Gilbey declares that 2019 and the critical and commercial success of Netflix productions such as The Irishman and Marriage Story has changed cinema forever.
- Heather Murphy reports that the Hallmark Channel has pressured into pulling several commercials featuring same sex couples kissing.
- French Danish actress Anna Karina, best known for Alphaville, has died aged 79.
Comments on The Mandalorian (warning: spoilers):
- Emily Asher-Perrin shares her thoughts on "The Prisoner", the second to latest episode of The Mandalorian.
- Katie Rife shares her thoughts on "The Prisoner".
- Dean E.S. Richards shares his thoughts on "The Prisoner".
- Emily Asher-Perrin shares her thoughts on "The Reckoning", the latest episode of The Mandalorian.
- Liz Shannon Miller shares her thoughts on "The Reckoning".
- Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "The Reckoning".
- Vinnie Mancuso shares his thoughts on "The Reckoning".
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on The Mandalorian to date.
- Eric Spitznagel talks to various developmental scientists about the science behind Baby Yoda.
- Joe Blistein wonders why people are still obsessed with Baby Yoda after several weeks.
- Watch a spaghetti western style fanmade trailer for The Mandalorian
Comments on The Rise of Skywalker and Star Wars in general (warning: spoilers):
- Peter Bradshaw calls The Rise of Skywalker a thrilling, fun-filled lightspeed finale.
- Peter Travers calls The Rise of Skywalker a fine and fitting end to the Skywalker saga.
- Glen Weldon calls The Rise of Skywalker an exciting, exhaustive, effortful ending.
- Jordan Hoffman declares that The Rise of Skywalker offers tangible thrills in his spoilerish review.
- Steve Rose declares that The Rise of Skywalker manages to tie up all loose ends, but suffers a bit as a standalone film.
- Todd McCarthy feels that The Rise of Skywalker delivers a satisfying ending to the Star Wars saga, but that the plot is overstuffed.
- Johnny Oleksinski calls The Rise of Skywalker an okay ending to the Star Wars saga.
- Germain Lussier calls The Rise of Skywalker a disappointing end to the Star Wars saga.
- Richard Lawson declares that The Rise of Skywalker is too desperate to be loved to take any real risks.
- A.A. Dowd calls The Rise of Skywalker safe familiar fan service.
- A.O. Scott calls The Rise of Skywalker a middling Star Wars movie.
- Alissa Wilkinson calls The Rise of Skywalker a colossal failure of imagination.
- Matt Goldberg calls The Rise of Skywalker a giant disappointment.
- Cheryl Eddy shares early reactions to The Rise of Skywalker.
- Ben Child declares that Leia is at the heart of The Rise of Skywalker, even though Carrie Fisher died in 2016.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw sheds some light on the character of Zorii Bliss in The Rise of Skywalker.
- Stephen Colbert interviews J.J. Abrams and the cast of The Rise of Skywalker.
- Bill Bradley interviews Anthony Daniels who plays C-3PO in all nine main Star Wars movies.
- Tessa Gratton talks about her mother, their shared love for Star Wars and how it helped her deal with grief.
- Ryan Faughnder interviews Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm.
- Britt Hayes reports that according to Rian Johnson, director of The Last Jedi, pandering to fans is a mistake.
- Maxwell Tani reports that Adam Driver, who plys Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker, walked out of an interview, because he did not want to listen to a clip of himself singing.
- James Hibberd interviews screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan about the epic twist at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.
- Lanre Bakare expects a battle between The Rise of Skywalker and Cats for the top of the UK box office, expecting that anybody actually wants to watch Cats.
- The Guardian shares some photos of The Rise of Skywalker and Cats premiere.
- Jeff Somers ranks the major Star Wars villains.
- Natalie Zutter shares her love for the scene in Return of the Jedi where Leia disguises herself as the bounty hunter Boushh.
- Steve Inskeep and David Greene remember the radio drama versions of the original Star Wars trilogy.
- Ryan Heinsius reports about indigenous artists and their takes on iconic Star Wars characters.
- Emily Asher-Perrin digs up the binders full of Star Wars stuff she made as a teenager.
- Jon Welch profiles Palitoy, the British toy company which manufactured the Star Wars toys for the UK and European market.
Comments on His Dark Materials:
- Tyler Dean shares his thoughts on the latest episode of His Dark Materials.
- Beth Elderkin shares her thoughts on the latest episode of His Dark Materials.
- Myles McNutt shares his thoughts on the latest episode of His Dark Materials.
- Lisa Weidenfeld shares her thoughts on the latest episode of His Dark Materials.
Comments on season 4 of The Expanse:
- Molly Templeton shares her thoughts on the first two episodes of season 4 of The Expanse.
- Molly Templeton also shares her thoughts on episodes 3 and 4 of season 4 of The Expanse.
- Molly Templeton also shares her thoughts on episodes 5 and 6 of The Expanse.
- Molly Templeton also shares her thoughts on episodes 7 and 8 of The Expanse.
- Molly Templeton also shares her thoughts on the final two episodes of season 4 of The Expanse.
- Beth Elderkin interviews Wes Chatham who plays Amos in The Expanse.
- Paul Krugman discusses the economics behind The Expanse.
Comments on the many iterations of Star Trek:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on the two animated Star Trek Short Treks episodes "The Girl Who Made the Stars" and "Ephraim and Dot".
- Ryan Britt muses if Michael Burnham's father could still be alive in Star Trek Discovery.
- Will Thorne reports that Star Trek: Picard has already been renewed for season 2 before the first episode has aired.
- Mike Fleming Jr. reports that Quenti n Tarantino is rethinking his decision to make a Star Trek film
Comments on the latest version of Watchmen:
- Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of Watchmen.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his thoughts on the season 1 finale of Watchmen.
- Joelle Monique shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of Watchmen.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the season 1 finale of Watchmen.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of Watchmen.
- Phoebe Wagner shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of Watchmen.
- Chris M. Barkley shares his thoughts on the last three episodes of season 1 of Watchmen.
- Sakena Jwan Washington discusses how Watchmen deals wth the challenges of African-American genealogy.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw talks about Watchmen and the fantasy of competence.
- Angelica Jade Bastien interviews Damon Lindelof, showrunner of Watchmen.
- Alison Shoemaker discusses the identity of Lube Man, a minor Watchmen character.
- Daniel D'Addario and Caroline Framke debate whether there should be a season 2 of Watchmen.
Comments on The Witcher:
- Teo Bileta declares that with The Witcher series, slavic fantasy finally gets its due.
- Lauren Hissrich, showrunner of The Witcher, and Andrzej Spakowski, the authors upon whose novels the series is based, interview each other.
Comments on Black Christmas:
- Benjamin Lee calls the slasher horror remake Black Christmas an unholy, unscary mess.
- Beatrice Loayaza calls the Black Christmas remake more feminist than the 1979 original, but also less scary.
Comments on Spies in Disguise:
- Peter Bradshaw calls Spies in Disguise an entertaining family film.
- Todd McCarthy calls Spies in Disguise a one joke animated film.
- Jesse Hassenger shares his thoughts on the animated movie Spies in Disguise.
Comments on Cats:
- Peter Bradshaw calls Cats a purrfectly dreadful hairball of woe.
- David Rooney calls Cats cat-tastrophic.
- Matt Goldberg calls Cats a furry orgy in a dumpster.
- Alex Cranz calls Cats a terrifying and visceral trainwreck.
- Johnny Oleksinski calls Cats a total disaster.
- Manohla Dargis calls Cats a misfire whose mere existence is a mystery.
- Alissa Wilkinson calls Cats indeccribable and hopes she never has to see it again.
- Richard Lawson calls Cats an unpleasant film and a tragical mess.
- Kevin Fallon calls Cats too boring and joyless to be an amusing disaster.
- Alison Flood reports that according to his estate, T.S. Eliot, on whose book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats the musical and film Cats are loosely based, would not have any issues with the movie, making him the only one.
Comments on the future of American Gods:
- Julie Muncy reports that Orlando Jones, who plays Mr. Nancy, has been fired from American Gods.
- Cheryl Eddy reports that Mousa Kraish who plays the Jinn, will also be leaving American Gods.
Awards:
- The nominees for the 2020 Annie Awards have been announced.
- Mike Glyer reports about yet more uproar surrounding the Hugo Award for Archive of Our Own.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Charles Soule declares that every story is a journey.
- Wendy Heard explains how to power through the second act.
- Font Folly shares his experience doing NaNoWriMo.
- Alison Moore talks about writing horror while preparing to donate a kidney.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch explains why translation is an art, not a science.
- Stacy Juba lists twenty-five unique gift ideas for writers they will actually enjoy.
- Alex Woolf shares some tips for dealing with rejection.
- Charlie Cochet talks about the issues with Dreamspinner Press.
Interviews:
- Sara Martin Alegre interviews Richard K. Morgan.
- The Nerdy Book Fairy interviews Sarah Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings.
- Alana Meike interviews Joyce Carol Oates.
- Rising Shadow interviews Jon Sprunk.
Reviews:
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear.
- Liz Bourke reviews Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Krutzer and Floodtide by Heather Rose Jones.
- Liz Bourke and Carolyn Cushman review Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
- Amy Goldschlager reviews Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.
- Kelly Lasiter and Skye Walker review Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.
- Paul Weimer reviews The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards.
- Paul di Filippo reviews Shadow in the Stone by Jack Dann.
- Colleen Mondor reviews House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Apple-Tree Throne by Premee Mohamed.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Angel Mage by Garth Nix.
- Joe Sherry reviews Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire.
- Rob Bedford reviews Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman.
- Doreen Sheridan reviews Potions Are For Pushovers by Tamara Berry.
- Ian Sansom reviews Endland by Tim Etchells.
- Adrienne Martini reviews The History of Living Forever by Jake Wolff
- Ian Mond reviews Masterworks and Other Stories by Simon Jacobs.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Gates of Never by Deborah L. Davitt.
- Suzy Michael reviews Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrieff
- Tadiana Jones reviews The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Served Cold by Alan Baxter.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry.
- Lesa Holstine reviews Crime Travel, edited by Barb Goffman.
- BOLO Books reviews Crime Travel, edited by Barb Goffman.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Mythic Dream, edited by Navah Wolfe and Dominik Parisien.
- Ron Latham revisits American Science Fiction: Eight Classic Novels of the 1960s, edited by Gary K. Wolfe.
- Scott Bradfield also reviews American Science Fiction: Eight Classic Novels of the 1960s, edited by Gary K. Wolfe.
- Alan Baumler reviews Animated Encounters: Transnational Movements of Chinese Animation, 1940s–1970s by Daisy Yan Du.
Classics reviews:
- Timothy the Talking Cat revisits the 1818 gothic science fiction classic Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley in his inimitable way.
- Sandy Ferber revisits the classic 1942 ghost story The Uninvited by Dorothy Macardle and its 1944 film adaptation.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1957 generation ship story "Lungfish" by John Brunner.
- Young People Read Old SFF revisits the 1959 science fiction story "A Matter of Proportion" by Anne Walker.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1962 science fiction novels Black Man's Burden and Border, Breed nor Birth by Mack Reynolds.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1962 generation ship story "Thirteen to Centaurus" by J.G. Ballard.
- Victoria Silverwolf revisitis the 1962 post-apocalyptic novel The Day the Machines Stopped by Christopher Anvil a.k.a. Harry C. Crosby and Rosemary Benton reviews the 1964 science fiction novel The Other Human Race by H. Beam Piper.
- John Boston revisits the January 1965 issue of Amazing Stories.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the January 1965 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1967 time travel novel Operation Time Search by Andre Norton.
- Jason MacGregor revisits the 1975 science fiction story "Anniversary Project" by Joe Haldeman.
- Paul Fraser revisits the 1977 anthology The Best Science Fiction of the Year #6, edited by Terry Carr.
- C.D. Covington revisits the 1977 science fiction novel Hunter of Worlds by C.J. Cherryh.
- Joe Kenney revisits the 1980 proto-cyberpunk novel City Come-A-Walking by John Shirley.
- Nisi Shawl revisits the 1981 sword and sorcery novel Imaro by Charles Saunders.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1991 Star Wars novel Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn and its sequels Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.
Con and event reports:
- John Hertz reports about Loscon XLVI in Los Angeles, California.
- Steve Davidson takes a look at the future of the World Science Fiction Society and WorldCon in the face of fans in politically problematic countries bidding for WorldCons.
- Mike Glyer shares some videos of the symposium "An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact" in Brooklyn, New York.
- Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the latest edition of the Fantastic Fiction readings series in New York City featuring Paul Tremblay and Nathan Ballingrud.
- Erica Friedman and J. Lynn Hunt discuss why anime conventions continue to invite known sexual harrassers as guests.
- The Nerdy Book Fairy reports about the Stargate: Atlantis 15th anniversary panel at San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
Crowdfunding:
- FIYAH, the Magazine for Black Speculative Fiction, needs some help to continue publishing in its fourth year.
- A girl named Duha needs some help to set up a library in Ramallah, Palestine.
Science and technology:
- Jonathan Amos reports about the launch of Cheops space telescope.
- Henry McCracken looks back on the Y2K millennium bug and the many survival guides written about it.
Free online fiction:
- "A Champion of Nigh-Space" by Tim Pratt in Uncanny Magazine.
- "The Muse of Palm House" by Toby Ogundiran in The Dark.
- "Three Small Sacrifices" by Janna Miller in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "The Silent Familiar" by Cat Rambo in Lightspeed.
- "Cleaning House" by Angela Boswell in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Dead Worms, Dangling" by Joanna Parypinski in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Scapegoat" by Holly Messinger in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Motherhood" by Pat Murphy in Lightspeed.
- "Growing Up" by Jamie Lackey in Daily Science Fiction.
- "The Only Way Out Is Through" by Setsu Uzumé in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Substitutions" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Odds and ends:
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