It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the various iterations of Star Trek, the various iterations of Star Wars, season 5 of Outlander, Stargirl, the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, the various film versions of Dune, Spaceship Earth, the latest convention cancellations due to the corona virus and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- James Davis Nicoll demolishes the view that classic science fiction had absolutely no political agenda whatsoever.
- Kathryn H. Ross takes a look at how science fiction tackles race.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five truly inhospitable fictional planets.
- S.L. Huang wonders about the distinctions between thriller and science fiction.
- Martin Wolk asks several authors to share their favourite post-apocalyptic novels.
- Esther Jones declares that science fiction builds mental resiliency in young readers.
- Candace Levy shares five new audiobook fantasy series to enjoy.
- Carly Silver shares five fantasy books for fans of the documentary series Tiger King.
- Richard Marpole talks about forests in myth, fantasy and media.
- Natalie Zutter shares ten longrunning SFF and horror fiction podcasts.
- Dr. Sam Hirst revisits women authors of gothic novels in the 18th century.
- Hillel Italie shares her appreciation for the works of Octavia E. Butler.
- Brendan Byrne makes the case for Stanislaw Lem as one of the great unsung giants of science fiction.
- John Hertz remembers Roger Zelazny.
- Phil Nichols marvels about how prolific Ray Bradbury was.
- Anna Felicity Friedman talks about the depiction of tattoos in Ray Bradbury's work.
- Brittany Callen compares the characters Gawyn Trakand from The Wheel of Time and Éowyn from Lord of the Rings and their very different fates.
- Alexis Ong shares her appreciation for Legends of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong and traces its impact in popular culture.
- Marina Warner talks about the fascination with the Arabian Nights stories in the West.
- Megan Margulies, granddaughter of Captain America co-creator Joe Simon, explains how her grandfather and Captain America helped her through difficult times.
- Mike Glyer reports that the fanfiction site Archive of Our Own is experiencing a boom due to the corona virus.
- Sian Cain reports that the 1982 thriller The Virus by Stanley Johnson, father of UK prime minister Boris Johnson, will be republished.
- William Hughes reports that Neil Gaiman's Goodreads account was apparently hacked to deliver a jibe at Amanda Palmer.
- French science fiction author G.J. Arnaud has died aged 91.
Film and TV:
- Danette Chavez declares that Snowpiercer charts new dystopian territory, but is a bit bumpy.
- Abigail Nussbaum shares her thoughts on season 3 of Westworld.
- Danette Chavez shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.
- Katie Rife shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do in the Shadows.
- Leslie Felperin calls Proximity a campy science fiction film.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the French time travel series Twice Upon a Time.
- Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg share their thoughts on Upload and Motherland: Fort Salem.
- Katie Rife calls Z a horror movie that will make you jump in your seat.
- Cath Clarke calls Captain Sabertooth and the Magic Diamond a serviceable pirate film for young children.
- Leticia Urieta shares her thoughts on the Mexican SFF series Los Espookys.
- Peter Bradshaw shares his thoughts on the documentary The Atom: A Love Affair.
- Stuart Heritage tries rewatching several classic animated Disney movies and finds them lacking.
- Time Out shares the 100 best horror films.
- Stuart Heritage and Toby Moses debate whether you should (re)watch Game of Thrones, while self-isolating.
- Graeme Virtue revisits the 1932 thriller The Most Dangerous Game.
- Benjamin Lee revisits the 1980 slasher film Friday the 13th for its 40th anniversary.
- Laurence Topham revisits the 1989 adventure film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, his favourite film aged 12.
- Ignatiy Vishnevetsky revisits the 1995 film Mortal Combat.
- Noah Berlatsky revisits the 2004 zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead.
- Alex McLevy revisits the 2007 Neil Gaiman adaptation Stardust.
- Jesse Hassenger revisits the 2012 take on Dark Shadows and finds it better than its reputation.
- Kyle Buchanan interviews the cast and crew of Mad Max: Fury Road.
- Zach Baron interviews Robert Pattinson, star of Twilight, The Lighthouse and Batman to be.
- Matt Patches profiles Josh Trank, director of Capone and the 2015 Fantastic Four movie.
- Craig Elvy remembers the wood-panelled secondary control room of the TARDIS, which appeared during the Tom Baker era of Doctor Who.
- Connie Willis traces the history of the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz.
- Kath Leroy shares some Easter eggs viewers probably never noticed in the first episode of Supergirl.
- Cheryl Eddy lists ten film and TV aliens that she wouldn't mind being abducted by.
- Leah Schnelbach shares her favourite in-universe superfans from various SFF movies and series.
- Andreas Wiseman reports that CJ, producer of Parasite, and Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen, directors/writers of Midsommar and Hereditary, will remake the South Koren cult science fiction film Save the Green Planet!
- Andrew Liptak reports that the much delayed New Mutants film finally has a release date.
- David Robb reports that the producers of Deadpool 2 have been fined more than 200000 US-dollar for an on-set motorcycle accident that killed the stuntwoman Joi Harris.
Comments on the various iterations of Star Wars:
- Andrew Liptak reports that Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in the Star Wars prequel, has been cast as Boba Fett in The Mandalorian.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin has five questions about Boba Fett's upcoming appearance in The Mandalorian.
- Peter Sciretta reports that Katee Sackhoff will appear in season 2 of The Mandalorian, most likely as Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze, a character she voiced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin wonders whether Jedi sleep naked.
- See some images of megayachts featuring Star Wars characters and vehicles.
Comments on the various iterations of Star Trek:
- Duncan Barrett wonders whether recent versions Star Trek revealing longterm characters Sulu and Seven of Nine as LGBTQ is just a gimmick and why their sexual orientation is still revealed in "blink and you'll miss it" moments.
- Daniel Montgomery interviews Sir Patrick Stewart, who plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Meld" and "Dreadnought".
- Alvaro Zinos-Amaro revisits the 2008 Star Trek Deep Space Nine tie-in novel Fearful Symmetry by Olivia Woods.
Comments on season 5 of Outlander (spoilers):
- Paulette Cohn shares everything you need to know about Outlander before the season 5 finale.
- Allison Keene calls the season 5 finale of Outlander both great and frustrating.
- Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the season 5 finale of Outlander.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the season 5 finale of Outlander.
- Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the season 5 finale of Outlander.
- Julie Kosin offers a breakdown of dream sequence in the season 5 finale of Outlander.
- Jennifer Vineyard interviews Catriona Balfe, who plays Claire Randall Fraser in Outlander, as well as screenwriter Matthew B. Roberts and Diana Gabaldon, on whose novels the series was based.
- Paulette Cohn also interviews Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander novels, about the season 5 finale.
Comments on Stargirl:
- Gwen Ihnat declares that Stargirl goes to some dark places in spite of its sunny heroine.
- Nicole Drum takes a look at some character designs from the upcoming Stargirl series.
Comments on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power:
- Shannon Miller declares that the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has more heart than ever.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin shares everything you need to remember about She-Ra and the Princesses of Power before its final season.
Comments on the various film versions of Dune:
- Beth Elderkin offers a guide to Dune's large cast of character and who will play them in Denis Villeneuve's upcoming adaptation.
- Beth Elderkin shares seven things she liked and eight things she didn't like about David Lynch's take on Dune.
Comments on Spaceship Earth:
- A.A. Dowd shares his thoughts on the documentary Spaceship Earth.
- Adrian Horton shares his thoughts on the documentary Spaceship Earth.
Awards:
- The finalists for the 2020 Aurora Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2020 Seiun Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 11th Xingyun Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2020 Tähtifantasia Award have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2020 Gollancz and Rivers of London BAME SFF Award has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2020 Best Translated Book Award have been announced.
- The winner of the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2019 Leo Literary Awards have been announced.
- Jeff Somers offers an overview over the novel and novella finalists for the 2020 Hugo Awards.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Charlie Jane Anders shares some advice for writing through difficult times.
- Art Taylor talks about writing what you know.
- Damien Walter explains why all stories are fractal.
- Chris Rhatigan shares an approach to writing short stories.
- Joanna Hershon explains what an improv theatre class taught her about writing.
- Diana Urban discusses how authors are approaching book promotion during the corona virus crisis.
- Evelyn Maguire shares fifteen ways authors are using Instagram to promote their books while self-isolating.
- Diana Urban shares how authors are supporting other authors and their book launches during the corona virus pandemic.
- Diana Urban shares eight ideas for virtual book launch events.
- Carlyn Robertson explains how reader behaviour is changing during the corona virus pandemic.
- Rachel Cook discusses how the corona virus impacts the publishing industry in the UK.
- Diana Urban discusses how publishers are handling book marketing during the corona virus crisis.
- Shelf Awareness reports that the Comicbook United Fund has raised 950 000 US-dollar to help the comic book stores shuttered due to the corona virus.
- The SFWA announces that members voted overwhelmingly that writing comics or graphic novel should qualify writers for membership.
Interviews:
- Andrew Whalen interviews Martha Wells.
- Locus interviews Elizabeth Bear.
- Daryl Gregory and Veronica Roth interview each other.
- Redditors interviews Arkady Martine.
- Redditors interviews Ruthanna Emrys.
- Andrea Johnson itnerviews Corey J. White.
- The Qwillery interviews Alina Boyden.
- Paul Weimer interviews Jay Sherer.
- Adrian Horton interviews Lawrence Wright.
- Shelf Awareness interviews Tom Gauld.
Reviews:
- Steve Mullis reviews Network Effect by Martha Wells.
- Kat Hooper reviews Strange Love by Ann Aguirre.
- Mihir Wanchoo reviews Nightshift Dragons by Rachel Aaron.
- Tadiana Jones reviews Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher.
- Adam Roberts reviews The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin.
- Liz Bourke reviews Goldilocks by Laura Lam.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews Goldilocks by Laura Lam.
- Books, Bones and Buffy reviews Goldilocks by Laura Lam.
- Carolyn Cushman reviews The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold and Potions Are For Pushovers by Tamara Berry.
- Amy Goldschlager reviews Meat Cute by Gail Carriger.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.
- Philip Womack reviews Burn by Patrick Ness.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Burning Roses by S.L. Huang.
- Mary Retta reviews Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth.
- Genine Tyson reviews Forged in Fire and Stars by Genine Robertson.
- Kat Hooper reviews Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker.
- Rich Horton reviews City of a Thousand Feelings by Anya Johanna DeNiro and The Menace from Farside by Ian McDonald.
- Samantha Shannon reviews Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng.
- Em Nordling reviews The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos.
- Anthony Cummins reviews The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey.
- Mary Retta reviews The Down Days by Ilze Hugo.
- Bill Cpaossere reviews Nevertell by Katharine Orton.
- Raven Crime Reads reviews King of Crows by Russell Day.
- Janet Webb reviews Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead by Karen Lee Street.
- Jason MacGregor reviews Mission to Methone by Les Johnson.
- Sourdough Jackson reviews The Pursuit of Pankera by Robert A. Heinlein.
- Skye Walker reviews Cog by Greg Van Eekhout.
- Kat Hooper reviews Providence by Max Barry.
- Jason Sheehan reviews Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Green Fingers by Dan Coxon.
- Adrienne Martini reviews Interference by Sue Burke.
- Spacefaring Kitten reviews Summerland by Hannu Rajaniemi.
- Mary Retta reviews My Mother's House by Francesca Momplaisir
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Threading the Labyrinth by Tiffani Angus.
- Mark Brandenburg reviews The Magpie Coffin by Wile E. Young.
- Andrew Fowlow reviews Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky.
- Adri Joy reviews The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey.
- Amy Goldschlager reviews The Regrets by Amy Bonaffons.
- Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith.
- Kat Hooper reviews Bloom by Kenneth Oppel.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Arterial Bloom, edited by Mercedes M. Yardley.
- Paula Guran reviews Out of Water by Sarah Read and Shadows & Tall Trees Vol. 8, editd by Michael Kelly.
Classics reviews:
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1920 dytopian novel The People of the Ruins by Edward Shanks.
- John Miller revisits the July 1933 issue of Weird Tales.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1938 science fiction story "Helen O'Loy" by Lester Del Rey.
- Cora Buhlert revisits the 1944 science fiction novelette "City" by Clifford D. Simak.
- Ruthanna Erys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisit the 1946 horror story "The Small Assassin" by Ray Bradbury.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1954 spy thriller At Swords' Points by Andre Norton.
- Phil Nichols revisits the 1962 collection The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury.
- Mark Yon reviews the 1965 post-apocalyptic novel A Wrinkle in the Skin by John Christopher.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the June 1965 issue of Galaxy.
- John Boston revisits the June 1965 issue of Amazing Stories.
- Victoria Silverwolf reviews the July 1965 issue of Worlds of Tomorrow.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1971 science fiction novel Candy Man by Vincent King.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1979 fantasy novel A Shadow of All Night Falling by Glen Cook.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1984 anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: First Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois.
- Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1989 Discworld fantasy novel Pyramids by Terry Pratchett.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 2006 time travel novel Blood of the Heroes by Steve White.
Con and event reports:
- Mike Glyer reports that the 2020 Westercon in Seattle, Washington, and the 2021 Westercon in Tonopah, Nevada, have both been moved forward a year to 2021 and 2022 respectively due to the corona virus.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that the cancelled San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California, will move online.
- Steve Davidson offers an update regarding the virtual AmazingCon.
- Registration is open for the virtual version of Wiscon in Madison, Wisconsin.
- The 2020 NASFIC in Columbus, Ohio, has been cancelled due to the corona virus.
- Ed Nawotka reports that BookCon and BookExpo in New York City are both going virtual in response to the corona virus.
- StokerCon in Scarborough, UK, announces that M.R. Carey will be one of their special guests.
- Andrew Pulver reports that the 2020 Cannes film festival in Cannes, France, has been cancelled due to the corona virus, but that the festival will sponsor showings of movies supposed to premiere there at other festivals.
Science and technology:
- Jonathan Amos reports that the nearest black hole to Earth has been discovered.
- Jonathan Amos reports that scientists have managed to obtain a spectacular infrared image of Jupiter.
- Jennifer Aldrich reports that a comet is visible to the naked eye in the southern hemisphere and will soon be visible in the northern hemisphere as well.
- The BBC reports that Richard Branson will sell his stake in the space tourism company Virgin Galactic to support his airline Virgin Atlantic.
- Caroline Delbert reports that scientists have created the world's first liquid metal lattice.
- Gideon Marcus reports about computer programming in 1965.
- Paul Rincon reports that Neanderthals and homo sapiens coexisted longer than previously believed.
- Rutger Bregman reports what happened when six teenagers were shipwrecked on a desert island for more than fifteen months in 1965/66.
Free online fiction:
- "Through the Veil" by Jennifer Marie Brissett in Uncanny Magazine.
- "Dirt Under the Nails" by Aaron Menzel in Fireside Magazine.
- "For Change is the Moon's Domain and Tonight She Watches" by Izzy Wasserstein in Fireside Magazine.
- "Albedo Season" by Ray Naler in Clarkesworld.
- "Benjamin 2073" by Rjurik Davidson at Tor.com.
- "Does Earth Have a Future?" by Andrew E. Love Jr. in Daily Science Fiction.
- "One Hundred Sentences About the City of the Future: A Jeremiad" by Alex Irvine in Lightspeed.
- "The Fenghuang" by Millie Ho in Lightspeed.
- "The Whalers Song" by Ray Cluley in The Dark.
- "On the Cusp of Darkness" by C.L. Holland in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "The Skinned" by Jarla Thang in Nightmare Magazine.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a trailer for Snowpiercer.
- Watch a trailer for Shirley.
- Watch a trailer for Monstrum.
- Watch a mini documentary about The Witcher's Bestiary.
- Watch a documentary about the making of Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
- Lyndsay Burginger shares a recipe for Dandelion Wine, inspired by Ray Bradbury's epoynmous collection.
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