It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with an uproar about a story in Clarkesworld, the suspension of Courtney Milan from RWA and the subsequent implosion of the organisation, reactions to Stephen King's clueless remarks about diversity, The Rise of Skywalker and Star Wars in general, the various iterations of Star Trek, series 12 of Doctor Who, The Witcher, Dolittle, Underwater, The Outsider, Weathering With You and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Fantasy Fraction share their favourite fantasy books of 2020.
- Joe Sherry lists twenty-four science fiction and fantasy books he's looking forward to in 2020.
- Runalong the Shelves lists good science fiction and fantasy books to introduce new readers to the genre.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five sword-wielding women in SFF.
- S.E. Fleenor shares her favourite LGBTQ science fiction novels of the last decade.
- Roberto Quaglia calls for a multipolar science fiction world.
- Kameron Hurley explains that there are more choices than just black and white, good and bad, even if speculative fiction occasionally tells us otherwise.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five books about nuclear disasters.
- Rebecca Diem talks about the new golden age of the speculative fiction novella.
- Sara Light-Waller profiles pulp science fiction hero Captain Future.
- Howard Andrew Jones and Todd McAulty revisit the science fiction RPG Traveller.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction novels for fans of Traveller.
- Jess Nevins talks about horror stories written by mainstream writers of the early 20th century.
- Steve Toase revisits the 1919 German fantasy magazine Der Orchideengarten.
- Sian Cain discusses how the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E.L. James impacted people's sex lives.
- David Gerrold expresses his disappointment at people saying bad things about the recently deceased.
- George R.R. Martin remembers the late science fiction writer Mike Resnick.
- Michelle Sagara West remembers Mike Resnick.
- Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist of the SFF-friendly band Rush, has died aged 67.
- Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R. Tolkien and caretaker of his father's literary legacy, has died aged 95.
- Mike Glyer remembers Christopher Tolkien.
- Comic and fan artist Steve Stiles has died aged 76.
Comments on the story "I sexually identify as an attack helicopter" by Isabel Fall in Clarkesworld:
- Camestros Felapton discusses a problematic story published in Clarkesworld.
- Phoebe North shares an open letter to Isabel Fall.
- Mike Glyer reports that the story has been pulled and shares several responses to Isabel Fall's story.
- Neil Clarke, editor of Clarkesworld, issues a statement about the withdrawal of the story in question.
- Camestros Felapton shares some responses to the story.
- Camestros Felapton also discusses how assumptions about the author influence how we view a story.
Comments on the suspension of Courtney Milan from RWA and the cancellation of the 2020 Rita Awards:
- Kelly Faircloth discusses the spectacular implosion of the RWA.
- Mike Glyer offers an overview of the latest status of the RWA drama.
- Jennifer Prokop asks if the RWA is a sinking ship.
Reactions to Stephen King's comments on diversity:
- Erin Donelly reports that Stephen King has come under fire for an ignorant tweet about the lack of diversity in the 2020 Academy Award nominations.
- Poppy Noor also reports about the backlash against Stephne King because of his clueless remarks about diversity.
Film and TV:
- Michael Shonk shares his favourite TV series of the 2010s with lots of love for SFF and crime shows.
- Noah Berlatsky declares the Joker is a celebration of toxic white masculinity.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
- Carrie Vaughn shares her thoughts on Terminator Dark Fate.
- Paul Levinson calls Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist an enjoyable science fiction musical.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Evil.
- Lisa Weidenfeld shares her thoughts on the season 5 premiere of The Magicians.
- Daniel C. Dennett asks if HAL 9000 committed murder in 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
- Brian Greene revisits the 1971 horor thriller Let's Scare Jessica to Death.
- Natalie Zutter talks about the significance of the Outlander theme song.
- Mark Lawson interviews Brian Blessed, best known for his roles in Doctor Who, Flash Gordon, The Phantom Menace and many others.
- Patrick Shanley discusses the key difference between film and video game remakes.
- Gary Levin reports that there won't be a second season of Watchmen after showrunner Damon Lindelof left.
- The BBC reports that Scott Derrickson, director of the original Doctor Strange and the upcoming sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has quit the film over creative differences.
- Ben Child wonders whether the upcoming Morbius movie will be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Laura Snapes reports that 18-year-old singer Billie Eilish will write and perform the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die.
- The BBC reports that actor Mark Hamill has deleted his Facebook account because of Facebook continuing to serve political ads.
- Richard Luscombe reports that actor Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk in the 1970s TV series The Incredible Hulk, will be sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Soccoro County, New Mexico.
- Australian actor Harry Hains, best known for his appearances in American Horror Story and The OA, has died aged only 27.
- Buck Henry, actor and screenwriter of The Graduate, What's Up, Doc?, Get Smart, To Die For, Captain Nice, Quark and others, has died aged 89.
- Carol Serling, widow of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, has died aged 91.
- Actor Stan Kirsch, best known for playing Richie in Highlander - The Series, has died aged 51.
Comments on The Rise of Skywalker and Star Wars in general (warning: spoilers):
- Britt Hayes shares the highlights of a leaked treatment for the version of Star Wars: Episode IX that Colin Trevorrow would have made.
- William Hughes reports that John Boyega, who plays Finn in the Star Wars movies, is trolling various online trolls right back.
- Cameron Mount shares his thoughts on The Mandalorian.
- Tom Breihan revisits the original 1977 Star Wars.
Comments on series 12 of Doctor Who (spoilers):
- Dan Martin shares his thoughts on "Orphan 55", the latest episode of Doctor Who.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Orphan 55".
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "Orphan 55".
- Jessica Holmes revisits the 1965 Doctor Who story "The Rescue".
Comments on The Witcher:
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on season 1 of The Witcher.
- Steve J. Wright shares his thoughts on season 1 of The Witcher.
- Sarah Durn oiffers a guide to the monsters of The Witcher.
- Netflix has an interactive map and timeline for the world of The Witcher.
- Tor.com reports that due to the success of the series, the publisher Orbit will be reprinting all of Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher novels and collections.
Comments on the many iterations of Star Trek:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Short Treks episode "Children of Mars".
- Aaron Couch reports that Noah Hawley, director of the next Star Trek movie, will likely not use the same cast as the previous new Star Trek movies.
- Tor.com asks how many Star Trek movies are in development anyway.
- Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviews Sir Patrick Stewart who plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard.
- Martin Belam also interviews Sir Patrick Stewart.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Star Trek Picard should be darker than The Next Generation, because the world has changed.
- Tor.com reports that Star Trek: Picard has already been renewed for season 2 before the first episode has aired.
Comments on Dolittle:
- Benjamin Lee calls Dolittle an uninspiring, but watchable remake.
- Katie Rife wishes that Robert Downey Jr. had toned down his quirky performance in Dolittle.
Comments on Underwater:
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls Underwater a derivative science fiction horror film.
- Alex McLevy declares that Underwater proves that Kristen Stewart has the chops to become an action star.
- Chris Thilk reports that the marketing campaign for Underwater tries to create some mystery around the movie.
Comments on The Outsider:
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls The Outsider a simple, yet gripping supernatural thriller.
- Randall Colburn calls The Outsider one of the best Stephen King adaptations in years.
- Lucy Mangan calls The Outsider CSI on sleeping pills.
- Alison Shoemaker declares that the greatest horrors in The Outsider are human.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of The Outsider.
Comments on Weathering With You:
- Noel Murray calls Weathering With You an enchanting animated teen romance.
- Cath Clarke calls Weathering With You a thrillingly beautiful anime romance.
Awards:
- The finalists for the 2020 Philip K. Dick Award have been announced.
- The nominations for the 2020 Academy Awards have been announced with lots of love for Joker and little love for other genre films.
- The longlist for the 2020 Dublin Literary Award has been announced with some love for genre works.
- The finalists for the 2020 D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced.
- The CoNZealand team shares a short video about the Hugo Awards.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Claire Buss talks about success and what it means.
- Iris and Roy Johansen talk about writing collaborations.
- Clayton Noblit shares the top ten publishing industry trends authors should be aware of.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch looks ahead at 2020 and how real world political events will impact the publishing industry.
- Darcy Pattison is worried that indie authors may be relying too much on Amazon.
- Chris Fox reports about his 2019 writing income.
- Spine Magazine shares their favourite book covers of 2020.
- The Casual Optimist shares their favourite book covers of 2020.
- Cory Matteson explains why the same images keep cropping up on book covers.
- Alison Flood reports that independent bookshops continue to grow in the UK in spite of a bookselling crisis and general retail slump.
Interviews:
- The Odyssey Writing Workshop interviews Yoon Ha Lee.
- Lily Philpott interviews Amal El-Mohtar.
- Emma Brockes interviews Carmen Maria Machado.
- Arley Sorg interviews Walter Jon Williams.
- Richard Orange interviews Karin Nyman, daughter of Astrid Lindgren.
- Scott Edelman interviews L. Penelope.
- Liz Bourke interviews K.A. Doore.
- Arley Sorg interviews Victo Ngai.
- Arley Sorg interviews Joe Abercrombie.
- Paul Weimer interviews Gareth Hanrahan.
- Locus interviews Matthew Hughes.
- Sam Leith interviews William Gibson.
- The New York Times interviews William Gibson.
- Benjamin Ivry interviews Somtow Sucharitkul a.k.a. S.P. Somtow.
- The Qwillery interviews E.K. Drayton.
Reviews:
- Liz Bourke reviews Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes.
- Kat Hooper reviews The Bronze Skies by Catherine Asaro.
- Bill Capossere reviews Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld.
- Paul Weimer reviews The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman.
- Colleen Mondor reviews The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass.
- Marion Deeds reviews An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang.
- Martin Cahill reviews City of Stone and Silence by Django Wexler.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Silver Wind by Nina Allan.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Sky Light Rain by Judy Darley.
- Martin Cahill reviews The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez.
- Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman review Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire.
- Bill Capossere reviews Strange Exit by Parker Peevyhouse.
- Maya Gittelman reviews The Beginning at the End by Mike Chen.
- Em Nordling reviews The End of the Ocean by Maya Lunde.
- Ian Mond reviews The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North.
- Alex Brown reviews Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore.
- Lynn's Book Blog reviews Blood of Heirs by Alicia Wanstall-Burke.
- Mark Yon reviews The Black Elfstone by Terry Brooks.
- Alex Brown reviews The Iron Will of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee.
- Adri Joy reviews Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw.
- Ian Mond reviews Odsburg by Matt Tompkins.
- Nina Allan reviews Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer.
- Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper review Exhalation by Ted Chiang.
- Steve J. Wright reviews Interference by Sue Burke.
- Anthony Cummins reviews Agency by William Gibson.
- Stefan Dziemianowicz and Amy Goldschlager review The Institute by Stephen King.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Whiskey and Other Unusual Ghosts by S.L. Edwards.
- Zoraida Cordova reviews Slayer and Chosen by Kiersten White.
- Russell Letson reviews Joanna Russ by Gwyneth Jones.
Classics reviews:
- Andrea Johnson revisits the 1905 utopian story "Sultana's Dream by Rokheya Shekhawat Hossein.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1932 dystopian novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
- Anthony Perconti revisits the 1939 planetary romance novella Almuric by Robert E. Howard.
- Steve J. Wright reviews the 1944 science fiction novel Sirius by Olaf Stapledon.
- Cora Buhlert revisits the 1944 Foundation story "The Big and the Little" a.k.a. "The Merchant Princes" by Isaac Asimov.
- Steve J. Wright reviews the 1944 City short story "Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 science fiction novel The Golden Amazon by John Russell Fearn.
- Cora Buhlert revisits the 1944 horror story "Guard in the Dark" by Allison V. Harding.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1947 generation ship story Centaurus II by A.E. van Vogt.
- Matt Mikalatos revisits the 1951 children's fantasy novel Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis.
- Andrea Johnson revisits the 1954 science fiction story "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin.
- Andrea Johnson revisits the 1961 science fiction novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.
- Book Forager revisits the 1962 post-apocalyptic novel The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard.
- Sam Reader revisits the 1965 science fiction epic Dune by Frank Herbert.
- Howling Frog Books revisit the 1965 science fiction satire Bill the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison.
- John Boston revisits the February 1965 issue of Amazing Stories.
- Victoria Silverwolf revisits the March 1965 issue of Worlds of Tomorrow.
- Jeet Heer revisits the 1968 space opera Nova by Samuel R. Delany.
- J.W. Wartick revisits the 1968 science fiction novel Past Master by R.A. Lafferty.
- Howling Frog Books revisits the 1969 Star Trek novel Spock Must Die by James Blish.
- Howling Frog Books revisits the 1971 science fiction novel Exiled From Earth by Ben Bova.
- Book Forager revisits the 1971 science fiction collection Driftglass by Samuel R. Delany.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 attempt at near future prediction Your Next Fifty Years by Robert W. Prehoda.
- J.W. Wartick revisits the 1982 science fiction novel Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1982 science fiction novel Mindkiller by Spider Robinson.
- Ryan Skardal revisits the 1997 science fiction novel Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Con and event reports:
- Marcin Klak shares his experiences at WorldCon 77 in Dublin, Ireland.
- Ian Hunter shares his experiences at the 2019 British Fantasy Convention in Glasgow, Scotland.
- Trae Dorn reports that singer and actor Michael Lee Aday a.k.a. Meat Loaf is suing the convention Frightmare Weekend in Dallas, Texas.
- Andrew Callaghan reports about Midwest FurFest in Rosemont, Illinois.
- James Bacon reports about a meeting of the team bidding for the 2024 WorldCon in Glasgow, Scotland.
- Darrell Buxton shares his experiences at the 2019 Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester, UK.
- J. Drew Brumbaugh shares his experiences at Author’s Night at Stella’s Art Gallery in Mentor, Ohio.
- SF Concatenation offers an overview of upcoming SFF conventions in 2020.
- John Scalzi reports that he will be going to DragonCon 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Michael "Orange Mike" Lowrey has won the 2020 Transatlantic Fan Fund.
- Keoni Everington reports that cosplayer Sunflower Movement has been elected to the parliament of Taiwan.
- Chris Wiegand reports that a theatre in Leeds, UK, is planning to remake the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead live on stage.
- Mark Swed shares his thoughts on a performance of the opera King Arthur by Henry Purcell in Long Beach, California.
Science and technology:
- Paul Rincon reports that NASA's SLS moon rocket core has been sent to Mississippi to undergo extensive tests.
- Jonathan Amos reports that SpaceX is cooperating with astronomers to reduce the brightness of its Starlink satellites.
- Ian Sample reports that scientists have used the stem cells of frogs to create the first living robots.
- Danny Tobey talks about the criminal potential of artificial intelligence.
Free online fiction:
- "Dave's Head" by Suzanne Palmer in Clarkesworld.
- "How Quini the Squid Misplaced His Klobučar" by Rich Horton at Tor.com
- "The Blanched Bones, the Tyrant Wind" by Karen Osborne in Fireside Magazine.
- "Every Tiny Little Tooth and Claw (Or: Letters From the First Month of the New Directorate)" by Marissa Lingen in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Candle Queen" by Ephiny Gale in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Malinche" by Gabriella Santiago in Clarkesworld.
- "The Last to Die" by Rita Chang-Eppig in Clarkesworld.
- "She'd Never Had a Name Before" by J.R. Dawson in Lightspeed.
- "Holiday" by M. Rickert in Lightspeed.
- "Forwarded" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
- "Custom Options Available" by Amy Girswold in Fireside Magazine.
- "The Bridgekeeper of Asaad" by Jens Hieber in Crimson Streets.
- "Elo Havel" by Brian Evenson in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Silent Lullaby" by Tolu Senok in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Not Fade Away" by Shana Ross in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Trigger Snowflake and the Imploding Composers" by Ingvar at File 770.
- "Disrupt Magic" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Odds and ends:
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