It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week the continuing implosion of the RWA, Star Trek: Picard, The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general, series 12 of Doctor Who, Birds of Prey, Locke and Key, The Outsider, Sonic the Hedgehog, Fantasy Island, tributes to Robert Conrad and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Adri Joy and Joe Sherry discuss the 2019 Locus Recommended Reading List.
- Natalie Zutter shares eight swoony fantasy romances.
- Zoraida Córdova shares five lovable couples from YA fantasy.
- Kelly Braffet explains how worldbuilding in speculative fiction and crime fiction has more in common than you think.
- Danny Tobey shares eight puzzle box books with surprising twists and turns.
- Tosca Lee shares her favourite recent post-apocalyptic novels.
- Camestros Felapton discusses how psychic powers work in science fiction.
- Amber Royer explains why she loves space pirates.
- Liz Bourke discusses how lesbian women, angry women and women in pain in general are still not adequately represented in speculative fiction.
- Malinda Lo talks about the invisible lesbians of YA fiction.
- Dahlia Adler talks about the rise of LGBTQ magic in YA speculative fiction.
- Marina Berlin talks about history, gay romance and fantasy in the works of K.J. Charles.
- Erica Frank takes a look at some LGBTQ magazines from 1965.
- Powell's Books lists some recent SFF books by black authors.
- Latonya Pennington looks back on a decade of reading science fiction and fantasy by writers of colour.
- Sophia Rosenbaum shares her experience binge-reading all fifty In Death books by J.D. Robb.
- Simone St. James shares six supernatural suspense novels not for the faint of heart.
- Anne Charnock shares five recent novels about climate catastrophes.
- James Wallace Harris reevaluates the three ways of reading SFF short fiction.
- B.D. McClay profiles Joanna Russ.
- Andrew Darlington shares his appreciation for the works of Graham Charnock.
- Adam Rowe reports that some science fiction and fantasy cover art by Michael Whelan has been used as backgrounds for a Louis Vuitton ad campaign.
- Science fiction writer and critic Paul Barnett a.k.a. John Grant died aged 70.
Comments on the implosion of the Romance Writers of America:
- Mike Glyer reports that the entire RWA board has resigned en masse and called for a special election.
- Sarah Wendell interviews Courtney Milan whose suspension set off the current crisis inside the RWA.
- Sue Carter interviews Farah Heron, former president of the Toronto chapter of the RWA.
Film and TV:
- Peter Bradshaw calls Dolittle a pointless remake that does nothing.
- Joshua Alston declares that the latest version of War of the Worlds give an iconic classic a compelling makeover.
- Jennifer Ouellette declares that Ragnarok updates Norse mythology for the modern age.
- Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg share their thoughts on Underwater.
- Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg share their thoughts on Color Out of Space.
- Lauren Jackson shares her thoughts on Gretel and Hansel.
- Shannon Miller shares her thoughts on Utopia Falls.
- Germain Lussier talks about the controversy surrounding the horror thriller The Hunt and why its release was delayed by several months.
- Kate Kulzick shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Avenue 5.
- Charlie Hall and swordfighting expert Gregory Mele praise Henry Cavill's sowrdfighting skills in The Witcher.
- Cath Clarke calls Spycies an awkward and eco-anxious animated film for children.
- Joe George declares that Spring is the perfect horor movie to watch on Valentine's Day.
- Martin Edwards revisits the 1978 supernatural thriller The Medusa Touch.
- Scott Tobias revisits the original 1979 Mad Max and declares that it still hold up.
- K.W. Colyard shares her love for David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Dune.
- Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1987 vampire movie The Lost Boys.
- Bethany C. Morrow shares her appreciation for the Planet of the Apes movies.
- Alex McLevy interviews Linda Hamilton who plays Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies.
- Phil Hoad interviews director Kevin Connor and star Susan Penhaligon about the making of the 1975 Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation The Land That Time Forgot.
- Xan Brooks interviews John Boorman, director of Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur and Zardoz.
- Actress Amy Irving remembers working with the late Kirk Douglas on the science fiction thriller The Fury in 1978.
- Radha Vatsal remembers Pearl White, the world's first female action star.
- Kelly Leigh Cooper celebrates the 80th birthday of Tom and Jerry.
- Anthony D'Allessandro reports that Rick Moranis is coming out of retirement for a sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
- Eriq Gardner reports that Netflix's attempt to have trademark infringement lawsuit over Black Mirror: Bandersnatch dismissed has failed.
- Prolific audiobook narrator and actor Ron McLarty, best known for his appearances in Spenser for Hire, Law and Order and Cop Rock, has died aged 77.
- Raphael Coleman, former child star best known for appearing in Nanny McPhee, has died aged 25.
- Actress, singer and dancer Paula Kelly, best known for her appearances in Night Court, The Andromeda Strain and Sweet Charity, has died aged 77.
- Actor Robert Conrad, star of Hawaiian Eye, Nick Carter and The Wild, Wild West has died aged 84.
- Terrence Towles Canote remembers Robert Conrad.
- J. Kingston Pierce remembers Robert Conrad.
- Actor Orson Bean, who appeared in the animated Lord of the Rings and Being John Malkovich among others, has died aged 91.
- Actor Kevin Conroy who appeared in Slaughterhouse Five and Star Trek: The Next Generation has died aged 77.
Comments on Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek in general (warning, spoilers):
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "The End is the Beginning", the latest episode of Star Trek Picard.
- Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on "The End is the Beginning".
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "The End is the Beginning".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "The End is the Beginning".
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "The End is the Beginning".
- Garrick Webster points out that Star Trek Picard is also an unlikely crime show.
- Ryan Britt responds to complaints that Star Trek Picard is too slow by pointing out that Star Trek: The Next Generation was often slow and talky as well.
- Ani Bundel reminds us that Jean-Luc Picard is not as perfect as many remember him.
- Camestros Felapton revisits the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "I, Borg" and "Descent, Part 1 and 2".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Eye of the Needle" and "Ex Post Facto"
- Keith Wilson analyses whether Star Trek fandom is divided along generational lines.
Comments on series 12 of Doctor Who (spoilers):
- Dan Martin shares his thoughts on "Can You Hear Me?", the latest episode of Doctor Who.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Can You Hear Me?"
- Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on "Can You Hear Me?"
- Sylas K. Barrett and Emmet Asher Perrin share their thoughts on "Can You Hear Me?"
- Tim Jonze interviews Christopher Eccleston who played the Ninth Doctor.
- Jessica Holmes revisits the 1965 Doctor Who serial "The Romans".
Comments on The Mandalorian and Star Wars in general (warning: spoilers):
- Alexa Grave shares her thoughts on The Mandalorian.
- Andrew Liptak muses what the future of Star Wars should look like.
- The BBC explains how Carrie Fisher was brought back to life for The Rise of Skywalker.
Comments on Locke and Key:
- Graeme Virtue declares that Locke and Key breathes new life into the tired haunted house trope.
- Vinnie Mancuso calls Locke and Key a fun fantasy that doesn't unlock its full potential.
- Kristen Baldwin calls Locke and Key delightful.
- Joelle Monique declares that Locke and Key highlights the terror of recovery.
- Matt Webb Mitovich declares that Locke and Key was worth the long wait to bring it to the screen.
- Christina Radish interviews Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill, showrunners of Locke and Key.
- David Barnett interviews Joe Hill, who wrote the comic upon which Locke and Key is based.
Comments on Birds of Prey:
- John DeFore calls Birds of Prey action-packed, but quite tame, considering its crazed protagonist.
- Brian Truitt praises the performance of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey.
- Alex Abad-Santos likes the action scenes in Birds of Prey, but could have done with less post-Joker-breakup moping.
- James Whitbrook calls Birds of Prey a colourful, explosive comic book extravaganza.
- Leonard Maltin calls Birds of Prey loud, garish and overlong.
- Ian Freer calls Birds of Prey muddled, but mostly entertaining.
- Caroline Perny enjoyed Birds of Prey a lot more than she thought she would.
- Matt Singer declares that Bird of Prey unsuccessfully tries to distance itself from Suicide Squad and other Batman related DC movies.
- Leah Schnelbach declares that Birds of Prey is the Batman sequel we need.
- A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife discuss Birds of Prey.
- Shannon Miller discusses Birds of Prey and its complex relationship with LGBTQ identity.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that thanks to Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn is now canonically bisexual in the DC cinematic universe.
- Jessica Mason reports that Birds of Prey is marketed as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey and that this title change is part of a bigger problem.
- Inspired by Birds of Prey and the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984, Steve Rose notes that DC's superhero movies have ditched the muted palette and become a lot more colourful.
- Rachel Leishman praises the fashion sense of Ewan McGregor who plays Roman Sionis a.k.a. Black Mask in Birds of Prey.
- Gabe Cohn reports that Birds of Prey stumbled at the box office.
- Rebecca Rubin explains why Birds of Prey disappointed at the box office.
Comments on The Outsider:
- Olivia Rutigliano calls The Outsider a classic monster story disguised as a detective show.
- Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Outsider.
- Randall Colburn shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Outsider.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Outsider.
Comments on Sonic the Hedgehog:
- A.A. Dowd declares that no redesign in the world can fix Sonic the Hedgehog.
- A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife declare that in spite of improved visual effects, Sonic the Hedgehog is still a slog.
- Steve Rose calls Sonic the Hedgehog derivative, but praises Jim Carrey's performance as the main villain.
Comments on Fantasy Island:
- A.A. Dowd declares that the horror remake of Fantasy Island departs significantly from the 1970s original.
- Cameron Scheetz interviews Michael Peña, star of Fantasy Island.
Awards:
- The shortlist for the 2019 BSFA Awards has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2020 Compton Crook Award have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2020 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2020 Splatterpunk Awards have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2020 Premio Vegetti has been announced.
- The winners of the 2019 Cybils Award have been announced.
- The winner of the 2020 Dell Magazine Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2019 Uncanny readers poll have been announced.
- The winners of the 2020 Oscars have been announced with some love for genre films.
- The nominations for the 2019 International Film Music Critics Association Awards have been announced with lots of love for genre movies.
- The winners of the 2020 D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced.
- The Society of Illustrators has announced their 2020 Hall of Fame inductees.
- Olivia Rutigliano wonders whether Bong Joon-Ho's groundbreaking quadruple Oscar win for Parasite means that the Academy is changing.
- Rachel Leishman shares some reactions of disgruntled Joker fans to Parasite's Oscar win.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Tor.com shares some writing advice by C.L. Polk.
- Laurence McNaughton shares three rules to raising story stakes.
- Sherry Howard explains what novelists can learn from studying picture books for children.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch compares the old and new publishing systems.
- The SFWA is planning to revise its bylaws.
- Victoria Strauss reports about a new scam where scammers impersonate reputable agents and publishers to approach writers.
- Amazon critic Danny Caine wonders whether Amazon is deliberately throttling the sales of his anti-Amazon magazine, which is on sale at Amazon.
Interviews:
- Locus interviews Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
- C.L. Polk and Alyssa Cole interview each other.
- Andrea Johnson interviews Jess Nevins.
- The Qwillery interviews Constance Sayers.
- Summer H. Paulus interviews G.R. Matthews.
- John Wisniewski interviews Mark Slade.
- Anthony Blackwood interviews Kurt Busiek.
Reviews:
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Fortuna by Kristyn Merbeth
- Russell Letson reviews Resurgence by C.J. Cherryh.
- Corrina Lawson reviews Golden in Death by J.D. Robb.
- Lis Carey reviews Golden in Death by J.D. Robb.
- Kat Hooper and Jana Nyman review A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris.
- Gary K. Wolfe and Ian Mond review The Deep by Rivers Solomon.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams.
- Alex Brown reviews Stormsong by C.L. Polk.
- Mark Yon reviews Unnatural History by Jonathan Green.
- Linda H. Codega reviews The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Unspoken Name by A,K, Larkwood.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith.
- Mary Retta reviews Ink in the Blood by Kim Smejkal.
- Molly Templeton reviews A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean.
- Paul Weimer reviews Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade.
- Paul Weimer reviews Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade again.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Minor Prophets by Jimmy Cajoleas.
- Camestros Felapton reviews Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne.
- Adam Roberts reviews The Quantum Garden by Derek Künsken.
- For Winter Nights reviews The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray.
- Angie Barry reviews The Chill by Scott Carson.
- Gary K. Wolfe and Russell Letson review Agency by William Gibson.
- Paul Weimer reviws Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger.
- Cassie Schulz reviews King of Crows by Libba Bray.
- Em Nordling reviews King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender.
- Ian Mond reviews Jakarta by Rodrigo Márquez Tizano, translated by Thomas Bunstead.
- Tobias Carroll reviews The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata.
- Colleen Mondor reviews A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney.
- Leah Schnelbach reviews And I Do Not Forgive You by Amber Sparks.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu.
- Paula Guran reviews Full Throttle: Stories by Joe Hill.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Rage by Jonathan Maberry.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Midnight Exhibit by Stephen Graham Jones, Philip Fracassi and Renee Miller.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Infested by Carol Gore.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Benny Rose. The Cannibal King by Hailey Piper.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Girl in the Video by Michael David Wilson.
- Paul Fraser reviews Short Things, edited by Gregory Betancourt.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas.
Classics reviews:
- Steph Cha revisits Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1922 foray into crime fiction The Girl from Hollywood.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 planetary romance adventure Shadow Over Mars a.k.a. Nemesis From Terra by Leigh Brackett.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 science fiction novel The Winged Man by E. Mayne Hull.
- Cora Buhlert revisits the 1944 science fiction novelette "When the Bough Breaks" by Lewis Padgett a.k.a. Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 science fiction novella "The Changeling" by A.E. van Vogt.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 science fiction novella "Trog" by Murray Leinster.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 science fiction novelette "Arena" by Fredric Brown.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 Venus Equilateral novelette "The Long Way" by George O. Smith.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 horror novelette "The Trail of Cthulhu" by August Derleth.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 horror novelette "The Dweller in Darkness" by August Derleth.
- Steve J. Wright revisits the 1944 horror novelette "Bon Voyage, Michele" by Seabury Quinn.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1949 planetary romance The Sword of Rhiannon a.k.a. Sea-Kings of Mars by Leigh Brackett.
- Matt Mikalatos revisits the 1951 children's fantasy novel Prince Caspian: A Return to Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1952 science fiction story "Yesterday's House" by Fritz Leiber.
- John Boston revisits the March 1965 issue of Amazing Stories.
- Rich Horton revisits the 1965 science fiction collection Now, Then! by John Brunner.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1967 science fiction novel The Werewolf Principle by Clifford D. Simak.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews the 1970 science fiction collection One Step from Earth by Harry Harrison.
- Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1992 Discworld novel Mort by Terry Pratchett.
- Joe Sherry revisits the 1993 fantasy novel Skybowl by Melanie Rawn.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 2001 fantasy collection Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson.
Con and event reports:
- Trae Dorn reports that Kitchener Comic Con in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, continues to invite anime voice actor Vic Mignogna even after multiple sexual harrassment allegations against the latter.
- Trae Dorn reports that Wicked Weekend in Mystic, Connecticut, is probably cancelled, even though they are still selling tickets.
- Rich Lynch reports about a visit to the Jim Henson exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City and shares several photos.
- Rich Lynch also reports about a performance of the musical Hadestown in New York City.
- John Hertz shares some memories of Bucconeer, the 1998 WorldCon in Baltimore, Maryland.
- Watch a video of CostumeCon in Danvers, Massachussetts.
- The program for the 2020 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival in New York City has been announced.
Crowdfunding:
- Box of Bones, a graphic novel by Ayize Jama-Everett, John Jennings and others, is looking for funding.
- Bad Ass Moms, an anthology edited by Mary Fan, is looking for funding.
- Quest Squires Rebuilded - Zine Quest 2 is looking for funding.
- Boskone, a convention in Boston, Massachussetts, is looking for funding to pay for sign language intepreters for deaf convention members.
- Australian writer Julian Leatherdale needs help to fight liver cancer.
Science and technology:
- Merrit Kennedy reports about NASA and ESA's joint Solar Orbiter mission.
- Jonathan Amos also reports about the Solar Orbiter mission.
- Nell Greenfieldboyce reports about NASA's plan for a moon landing in 2024 and whether that's even possible in that timeframe.
- Don Ford reports that researchers from the University of Stanford, Connecticut, have turned jellyfish into bionic sea creatures and plan to use them as living sensors and information gathering systems.
- Cory Doctorow discusses the issues that make machine learning and predictive policing algorithms so toxic.
- Steven McKenzie reports that two exploration submarines have been named after spaceships in Iain M. Banks' novels.
Free online fiction:
- "Waterlines" by Suzanne Palmer in Asimov's Science Fiction.
- "The Work of Wolves" by Tegan Moore in Asimov's Science Fiction.
- "John Simnel's First Goshawk" by Tegan Moore in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Ordeal" by M. Bennardo in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "How We Burn" by Brenda Peynado in Lightspeed.
- "A Statement in the Case" by Theodora Goss in Lightspeed.
- "If You Take My Meaning" by Charlie Jane Anders at Tor.com.
- "Jigsaw Children"by Grace Chan in Clarkesworld.
- "Sweetgrass Blood" by Eden Royce in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Hoolow" by Michael Wehunt in The Dark.
- "Trigger Snowflake and the Prize" by Ingvar.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a trailer for season 2 of Altered Carbon.
- Watch a trailer for The Iron Mask.
- Watch a trailer for The Invisible Man.
- Watch a trailer for Noughts and Crosses.
- Watch a trailer for Most Dangerous Game.
- Watch a trailer for Luna Nera.
- Watch a trailer for The Green Knight.
- Watch a trailer for The Letter for the King.
- Watch a teaser for season 4 of Stranger Things.
- Watch a trailer for Utopia Falls.
- Watch a camera test featuring Robert Pattinson as The Batman.
No comments:
Post a Comment