Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for June 5, 2020

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with The Vast of Night, the various iterations of Star Trek, the various iterations of Star Wars, Shirley, Space Force, links to freely available Hugo Voter Packets, the latest convention cancellations and virtual conventions due to the corona virus, reactions in the SFF community to the death of George Floyd due to police brutality, the attacks on several book and comic shops during the current riots in the US and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• James Davis Nicoll discusses science fiction novels featuring world ships. 
• Mark Blacklock shares his ten favourite four-dimensional novels.
• Mike Chen shares five books about finding hope at the end of the world.  
• Ada Palmer talks about censorship and science fiction and fantasy. 
• Rachel Cordasco takes a look at Scandinavian SFF.
• James Davis Nicoll shares tips for recovering from readers' block.
• Alexis Henderson discusses the use of nature in horror fiction. 
• Technovelgy offers a timeline of science fiction ideas.
• Bethany C. Morrow finds some parallels between the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and the situation in the USA right now.
• Alex Segura and Chris Claremont revisits the X-Men's "Dark Phoenix Saga".
• Alan Brown shares his love for building science fiction and fantasy models.
• Sian Cain reports that the estate of Richard Adams have won back all rights to Watership Down from Martin Rosen, director of the 1978 adaptation. 
• Rich Lynch, John L. Coker III and Jon D. Swartz profile Bob Madle, rare book dealer, science fiction fan since the 1930s, one of the few surviving members of the very first Worldcon (and many subsequent ones) and the person who helped to create and name the Hugo Awards.
• Steve Vertlieb remembers his friend and longtime science fiction fan James H. Burns. 
• New York City bookseller Steve Hann died of the corona virus aged 67.
• Science fiction scholar Marshall B. Tymn has died aged 82.
  

Film and TV:

• Drew Murray shares his five favourite crime movies in science fiction settings.
• Danette Chavez shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on the season 5 finale of Legends of Tomorrow.
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Stargirl. 
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Snowpiercer.
  
• Katie Rife shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do in the Shadows.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the documentary Spaceship Earth. 
• S. Qiouyi Lu discusses language and power in Bong Joon-ho's science fiction film Okja.
• Noah Gittell watches the Lord of the Rings movies for the very first time. 
• Scott Tobias revisits the 1990 science fiction thriller Total Recall for its 30th anniversary. 
• Rachel Hall revisits the 1999 supernatural thriller The Sixth Sense, her favourite movie aged twelve.
• Katie Rife, A.A. Dowd and Danette Chavez revisits The X-Files.
• Geoff Matthews rewatches the 2007 urban fantasy TV show The Dresden Files.
• Rebecca Nicholson shares her twenty favourite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 
• Chris Wiegand interviews Tom Hiddleston, best known for his appearances in the Thor movies, The Night Manager, High Rise and Only Lovers Left Alive. 
• Ben Child explains why Henry Cavill deserves another chance to play Superman.
• Shaurya Thapa ranks the ten worst vehicles in science fiction movies.
  
• Actor Anthony James, best known for his appearances in In the Heat of the Night, The Unforgiven, The Beauty and the Beast and Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died aged 77. 
• Actor Richard Herd, best known for his appearances in V, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The China Syndrome, T.J. Hooker and Get Out, has died aged 87. 

Comments on The Vast of Night:

• Justin Chang calls The Vast of Night an ingenious retro science fiction movie.
• Mark Kermode calls The Vast of Night mesmerising retro science fiction. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls The Vast of Night a refreshingly thoughtful science fiction period drama.
• Katie Rife calls The Vast of Night a science fiction wonder that's a testament to resourceful independent film making. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Vast of Night a low budget science fiction movie that's a worthy homage to The Twilight Zone. 
• Nathan Mattise calls The Vast of Night an alien encounter film like no other.
• Katie Rife and A.A. Dowd discuss The Vast of Night.

Comments on the various iterations of Star Wars: 

• Chris M Barkley discusses a panel at Capricon 40 in Chicago, Illinois, about the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. 
• Ethan Alter interviews Dennis Muren, special effects specialist who worked on Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. 
• Catherine Shoard reports that actor John Boyega, best known for playing Finn in the latest Star Wars movies as well as his roles in Attack the Block and Pacific Rim: Uprising, has delivered a powerful speech at a Black Lives Matter protest in London, UK. 
• Peter Bradshaw also discusses John Boyega's speech and other examples of anti-racist and political activism by actors and film stars.

Comments on the various iterations of Star Trek:

• Matthew Heusser shares four lessons about leadership from Star Trek: Picard.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido rewatches the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Innocence" and "The Thaw".
• Julie Muncy reports that the Star Trek Voyager two-parter "Year of Hell" was originally supposed to last an entire season.
  

Comments on Shirley: 

• Adrian Horton calls the Shirley Jackson biopic Shirley a dark psychodrama. 
• Benjamin Lee calls Shirley a darkly compelling psychodrama and praises the performance of Elisabeth Moss as Shirley Jackson.
• Katie Rife calls Shirley a fittingly gothic psychodrama.
  

Comments on Space Force:

• Lucy Mangan calls Space Force a parody that fails to reach orbit.
• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Space Force betrays its premise in the very first episode.
  

Awards:

• The winners of the 2019 Nebula Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2020 Locus Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2020 Eugie Foster Memorial Award have been announced.  
• The finalists for the 2020 Eisner Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 Colorado Book Awards have been announced. 
• The longist for the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award has been announced. 
• The nominees for the 2020 Munsey Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2020 Prix Bob Morane have been announced. 
• The nominees for the 2020 Bafta TV Awards have been announced 
• AudioFile Magazine has announced the winners of the Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Awards.
• Mike Glyer explains how the Hugo Awards got their name.
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the winners of the 2019 Nebula Awards.
• The Hugo Book Club wonders about the impact of the Astounding/Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
  

Hugo Voter Packets:

• Download the Hugo voter packet of Best Semiprozine finalist Escape Pod.
• The full Hugo Voter Packet is available to Worldcon members at the CoNZealand site.
• Laura's Library lists the contents of the 2020 Hugo Voter Packet.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Jodi Turchin shares five ways to put the fun back into writing. 
• Janice Hardy explains why you should tighten the narrative focus of your novel. 
• James Wallace Harris muses about the writing styles and methods of different science fiction authors.
• Drew Murray talks about writing a technothriller.
• Alison Flood reports how some authors are feeling the need to adapt their fiction to the corona virus pandemic. 
• Tochi Onyebuchi talks about the duty of the black writer in times of unrest in the US. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch discusses how book promotion has changed over the decades. 
• Angela Yuriko Smith talks about marketing without marketing. 
• The SFWA issues a statement about Black Lives Matter and the current protests.
• Victoria Strauss shares some tips for evaluating publishing contracts. 
• Claire Kirch reports that three agents have left the Red Sofa Literary agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after the owner called the police to report protesters as potential looters
• Foz Meadows shares her experiences with the Red Sofa Literary agency. 
• Katie Smith reports that literary agent Marisa Corvisiero came under fire for condemning the protests following the death of George Floyd and subsequently fired her entire staff.
• Sarah McNally declares that the corona virus isn't the greatest threat to New York City's independent bookstores.
• Ann Kjellberg profiles the Black Stone Bookstore in Ypsilanti, Michigan. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the science fiction bookstore Uncle Hugo's and the mystery bookstore Uncle Edgar's have been burned down and that the science fiction and comic book store Dreamhaven Books has been vandalised during the riots following the death of George Floyd by police violence in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 
• Dylan Thomas also reports about the arson attack on Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's bookstores in Minneapolis. 
• J. Kingston Pierce also reports about the destruction of Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's.
• Mike Glyer offers an update about the arson attack on the Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's bookstores.
• Claire Kirch reports about various Minneapolis bookstores damaged or destroyed during the riots.
• Rich Johnston reports that eight comic book stores in various US cities have been attacked by looters and vandals during the recent riots.
• Katya Reimann shares some additional information about the attempted looting of Dreamhaven Books and Comics in Minneapolis, including the fact that the would-be looters were white young men.
• Jim Milliot reports that five publishers have filed a lawsuit against the Internet Archive for copyright infringement regarding their so-called "National Emergency Library". 

Interviews:

• Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer interviews Mercedes Lackey.
• Arley Sorg interviews John P. Murphy.
• Roderick Leeuwenhart interviews Taiyo Fujii and Xia Jia.
• I Love Vampire Novels interviews J.T. Hardy.
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Tiffani Angus.
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Dan Coxon.
• Robert Barry interviews William Gibson.
• Paul Weimer interviews Ann VanderMeer and Eric Desatnik.
  

Reviews: 

• James Davis Nicoll reviews In the Black by Patrick S. Tomlinson.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Seven Devils by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May.
• Camestros Felapton reviews This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. 
• Tadiana Jones reviews Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews. 
• Paul Weimer reviews Network Effect by Martha Wells.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer, Titan's Day by Dan Stout and Network Effect by Martha Wells.
• Mark Yon reviews Stormblood by Jeremy Szal.
• Terry Weyna reviews Deeplight by Frances Hardinge.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Comet Weather by Liz Williams.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Firewalkers by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu
• Colleen Mondor reviews Sensational by Jodie Lynn Zdrok. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso.
• Camestros Felapton reviews The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark. 
• Ian Mond reviews By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar.
• Alex Preston reviews Come Again by Robert Webb. 
• Bonnie McDaniel reviews The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black.
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Last Human by Zack Jordan. 
• Kelly Lasiter reviews Pet by Akwaeke Emezi.
• Marion Deeds reviews Creatures of Charm and Hunger by Molly Tanzer.
• Sean Dowie reviews The Seep by Chana Porter.
• Kat Hooper reviews The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey.
• Kelly Lasiter reviews Solstice by Lorence Alison.
• Jamie Goecker reviews Murder House by C.V. Hunt.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Hairspray and Switchblades by V. Castro. 
• Hank Wagner reviews Hole in the World by Brian Keene.
• The Hugo Book Club reviews Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow.
  

Classics reviews:

• Alan Brown revisits the 1939 space opera novel Grey Lensman by E.E. Smith. 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1944 science fantasy novelette "The Children's Hour" by Lawrence O'Donnell a.k.a. Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1947 dystopian novel Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Lewis Padgett a.k.a. Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore. 
• David Levinson revisits the June 1965 issue of If - Wolrds of Science Fiction.
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1974 anthology The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: A Special 25th Anniversary Anthology, edited by Edward L. Ferman
• Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1979 time travel novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.
• Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1990 Discworld novel Moving Pictures by Terry Practhett.

Crowdfunding:

• Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's, the beloved science fiction and mystery bookstores in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which burned down during the recent riots following the death of George Floyd by police brutality, are looking for funding to rebuild.
• Dreamhaven Books and Comics, another Minneapolis store damaged during the recent riots, is looking for funding to rebuild.
• Strange Horizons is looking for funding for 2021.
  

Con and event reports:

• Tor announces the virtual convention TorCon. 
• The 2020 World Fantasy Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, goes virtual due to the corona virus.
• CoKoCon in Phoenix, Arizona, has been cancelled due to the corona virus.
• Lois McMaster Bujold shares her experiences at the virtual Nebula Conference.
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the latest virtual edition of the New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series featuring Jack Dann.
  

Science and technology:

• Samntha Masunaga reports that the joint manned mission of SpaceX and NASA has been a success. 
• Jonathan Amos reports that the SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying two NASA astronauts has docked at the ISS.
• Loren Grush reports that SpaceX has lost another Starship prototype in a massive explosion.
• The BBC reports that the Jodrell Bank observatory has been switched on again following the corona virus shutdown.
• Drew Murray explains that some science fiction technology already exists and that criminals can and will use it.
• Gideon Marcus shares the latest news about space exploration - in 1965.
  

Free online fiction:

• "We, the Folk" by G.V. Anderson in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Burn or the EpisodicLife of Sam Wells as a Super" by A.T. Greenblatt in Uncanny Magazine
• "Dresses Like White Elephants" by Meg Elison in Uncanny Magazine. 
• "The Widow" by Emma Törzs in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Scar Tissue" by Tobias Buckell in Slate Future Tense.
• "The Iridiscent Lake" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires in Clarkesworld.
• "Beneath the Sahara" by Inegbenoise O. Osagie in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "A Life in Six Feathers" by Kathryn Yelinek in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "The Witch and the Fool" by Emily Swaim in Luna Station Quarterly.  
• "Still Life with Hammers, a Broom, and a Brick Stacker" by Tochi Onyebuchi in Lightspeed.
• "The Postictal State of Divine Love" by Julianna Baggott in Lightspeed.
• "The Devil in America" by Kai Ashante Wilson at Tor.com
• "The Maxo Polyester Swirl Bowling Ball, 14 lbs" by Jack Westlake in The Dark.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for The Last Days of American Crime.
• Watch a trailer for Curon.