Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for September 11, 2020

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with tributes to Chadwick Boseman and Diana Rigg, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek Discovery and the various other iterations of Star Trek, Lovecraft Country, The Boys, Tenet, Raised by Wolves, Away, the live action Mulan, the 2020 Dragon Awards and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Eric Brown offers a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy novels. 
• Christina Orlando recommends recent and upcoming SFF books.
• Tor.com celebrates the working class heroes and heroines of SFF. 
• Christopher Nuttall shares his thoughts about the science fiction canon.
• Andrew Neil Gray and J.S. Herbison share five SFF books written collaboratively. 
• Rob Hart discusses what happens when speculative fiction becomes reality.
• Jo Walton shares seven books she loves by authors whose surname begins with an A.
• Liz Bourke revisits the Chronicles of Elantra series by Michelle Sagara
• Innocent Chizaram Ilo shares their appreciation for the works of Lesley Nneka Arimah.
• Michael Brown profiles Ray Cummings.
• Ruth Franklin shares her thoughts on Maria Dahvana Headley's new translation of Beowulf.
• Nivea Serrao reports that The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler has hit the New York Times bestseller list, 27 years after it was first published and 14 years after Octavia E. Butler's death.

Film and TV:

• James Hibberd offers a look at season 2 of The Mandalorian. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls New Mutants a thoughtful study of childhood trauma with a dash of horror and superheroes.
  
• Caroline Siede calls Julie and the Phantoms a charming paranormal teen musical.
• Rebecca Nicholson calls Two Weeks to Live a dark action comedy. 
• Nadra Kareem Nittle calls Noughts and Crosses a flawed dystopian drama. 
• Danette Chavez calls Rent-a-Pal a 1980s technothriller throwback. 
• Leslie Felperin calls The Unfamiliar a reasonably bearable if predictable horror film.
• Phil Hoad calls The Tomb a bizarre horror thriller.
• Xan Brooks declares that Mandibules, a heist comedy featuring a giant fly, does not quite live up to its bizarre idea. 
• Damien Walter declares that the TV show Altered Carbon was always doomed. 
• Alex Mistlin calls Space Dogs a flawed documentary.
• The Tor.com reviewers share the most traumatic moments from SFF movies they watched as children.
• Cheryl Eddy shares six horror movies in which women join forces to fight monsters. 
• Kaye Dee revisits the 1965 Australian science fiction TV series The Stranger.
• Stephanie Williams revisits the 1987 science fiction movie Cherry 2000. 
• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky revisits the 2014 post-apocalyptic movie The Rover.
• Brandon Davis reports that The Walking Dead is officially coming to an end after season 11 with yet another spin-off planned.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports about the accusations of actor Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League, against director Joss Whedon and various Warner Bros officials.
• Rachel Yang reports that actor Michael Rooker, best known for playing Yondu in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, contracted COVID-19, but has since recovered.
• Disney animator and artist Sue Nichols Maciorowski has died aged 55.
  

Tributes to Diana Rigg:

• Diana Rigg, best known for her roles in The Avengers, Game of Thrones and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, has died aged 82. 
• Mark Lawson remembers Diana Rigg.
• Steve Vertlieb remembers Diana Rigg.
• Greg Whitmore shares photos of Diana Rigg in her most memorable roles.
  

Tributes to Chadwick Boseman:

• Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther, shares a tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
• Carla Bruce-Eddings shares a tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
• Evan Narcisse shares a tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
• Kim Lyons reports that several Black Panther comics are available for free at Comixology.
  

Comments on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek in general:

• Keith R.A. DeCandido reviews "Terminal Provocations", the latest episode of Star Trek. Lower Decks.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episode "Distant Origin". 
• Watch the Star Trek Discovery panel at the CBS All Access Star Trek Day. 
• Watch the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds panel at the CBS All Access Star Trek Day. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw profiles Grudge, Star Trek Discovery's new feline castmember.
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Star Trek Discovery.
  

Comments on Lovecraft Country: 

• Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys share their thoughts on Lovecraft Country. 
• Alex Brown shares her thoughts on "A History of Violence", the latest episode of Lovecraft Country.
• Steffan Triplett shares his thoughts on "A History of Violence".
• Ellen E. Jones shares her thoughts on "A History of Violence".
• Joelle Monique shares her thoughts on "A History of Violence".
• Emma Fraser shares her appreciation for the costumes worn by the character Leticia Lewis, played by Jurnee Smollet, in Lovecraft Country. 
• Andrew Liptak interviews Matt Ruff, upon whose novel Lovecraft Country is based.
  

Comments on season 2 of The Boys: 

• Roxana Hadadi offers episode by episode reviews of season 2 of The Boys.
• Marah Eakin interviews Crace Crawford and Jessie T. Usher, two of the stars of The Boys.
  

Comments on Raised by Wolves:

• Arielle Bernstein shares her thoughts on "Pentagram" and "Virtual Faith", the second and third episodes of Raised by Wolves.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the first three episodes of Raised by Wolves. 

Comments on Away: 

• Rebecca Nicholson calls Away a saccharine drama that is remarkably mundane, even if it takes place in space. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Away manages to remove all the fun from a highstakes space mission.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Away.
• Inspired by Away, Alex Hess wonders why motherhood is such a popular subplot for science fiction movies and TV series. 
  

Comments on Tenet:

• Katie Rife and A.A. Dowd discuss Tenet. 
• Nate Jones explains the plot of Tenet. 
• Inspired by Tenet, Alex Hess discusses the new wave of time travel movies and TV shows. 
• Josh Weiss discusses Tenet's use of IMAX cameras.
  

Comments on the live action Mulan:

• Richard Lawson calls the live action Mulan a dull reflection of the animated version.
• Olivia Truffaut-Wong calls Mulan a fun, but ultimately shallow action movie.
• Alison Willmore calls the live-action Mulan a drag of a movie. 
• Manohla Dargis shares her thoughts on the new Mulan.
• Dawn Xiana Moon declares that the white screenwriters of the latest Mulan adaptation completely miss the point of the story. 
• A Naga of the Nusantara declares that the latest version of Mulan brings dishonour to all Chinese people. 
• Jingan Young explains why the live action Mulan is a lightning rod for controversy.
• Lily Kuo reports that the live-action Mulan has been criticised for filming in Xinjiang, the Chinese province where massive oppression of the Uighur people is happening.
• Jeannette Ng declares that Mulan supports Chines propaganda. 
• Isaac Stone Fish calls the live action Mulan a scandal due to Disney cooperating with the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang and elsewhere.
• Martin Tsai offers an overview over the many non-Disney adaptations of the ballad of Mulan.
  

Awards: 

• The winner of the 2020 Eugie Foster Memorial Award has been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 Dragon Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2020 Norma K. Hemming Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2020 Niels Klim Award have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2020 Harvey Awards have been announced. 
• The 2020 National Toy Hall of Fame finalists have been announced.
• The Sidewise Awards for alternate history fiction will not be awarded in 2020.
• The Guardian reports about new diversity rules for the Best Picture Oscars.
• Steve Rose wonders whether the Oscars' new diversity rules will make any difference.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also weighs in on the Oscars' new diversity rules.
• Camestros Felapton shares a graphic analysing which authors are nominated for Hugos in what categories.
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2020 Dragon Award winners.
• Doris V. Sutherland shares her thoughts on the 2020 Dragon Award winners.
• Camestros Felapton offers a graphic comparing Hugo to Dragon Award finalists.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Charlie Jane Anders explains how to write a political story without falling on your face.
• Parnell Hall recalls how a medical emergency finally made him finish his first novel. 
• Jill Crisswell explains how her travels influenced her fantasy novels. 
• Peter Clines talks about the difficulty of writing comedy.
• Cora Buhlert shares her experiences doing the 2020 July Short Story Challenge.
• Rik Hoskins discusses the importance of Feedback.
• Locus discusses the impact of the corona pandemic on the publishing and bookselling industry. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch reports about the current woes of the publishing industry.
• Mike Glyer offers an update on the status of Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's bookstores, which were burned down during the riots in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Bradford Morrow talks about rare early books by famous writers and how often their true worth is not recognised by used book dealers.
• Claire Kirch reports that the International Thriller Writers organisation is electing a new board after most of the old one resigned following a series of controversies.
  

Interviews:

• The Qwillery interviews Alice James. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Nicholas Bowling.
• Jonathon van Maren interviews Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis.
• Walt Hickey interviews John Jackson Miller.
  

Reviews: 

• Rob Bedford reviews Captain Moxley and the Embers of the Empire by Dan Hanks. 
• Tadiana Jones reviews Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews.
• Kelly Lasiter reviews Drowned Country by Emily Tesh. 
• For Winter Nights reviews Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
• Paul di Filippo reviews In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett and Dispersion by Greg Egan.
• Adrienne Martini reviews Ballistic by Marko Kloos. 
• Bill Capossere reviews Castle in the Stars: A Frenchman on Mars by Alex Alice.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart.
• Paul Weimer reviews The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart.
• Marion Deeds reviews The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Driftwood by Marie Brennan. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Night Shine by Tessa Gratton.
• Nina Shepardson reviews Borne by Jeff VanderMeer.
• Adrienne Martini reviews Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth. 
• Ian Mond reviews Chosen Spirits by Samit Basu. 
• Sean Dowie reviews Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. 
• Alasdair Stuart reviews Orfeia by Joanne M. Harris. 
• Kelly Lasiter reviews Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston. 
• Alex Brown reviews Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston. 
• L.A. Young reviews The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell.
• Adri Joy reviews The Four Profound Weaves by R.B, Lemberg.
• Sam Jordison reviews Underdogs: Tooth and Nail by Chris Bonnello.
• Téa Obreht reviews The New Wilderness by Diane Cook. 
• Mark Yon reviews World Engines: Creator by Stephen Baxter. 
• Paul Levinson reviews New Eyes: Newer Worlds by Tobias Cabral. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews If These Wings Could Fly by Kyrie McCauley.
• Nina Shepardson reviews If It Bleeds by Stephen King.
• Rich Horton reviews A Sinister Quartet and Aftermath of an Industrial Accident by Mike Allen. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Primer to Han Song by Han Song, translated by Nathaniel Isaacson.
• Russell Letson reviews Beyond the Outposts: Essays on SF and Fan­tasy 1955-1996 by Algis Budrys.
• Bobby Derie reviews The Alluring Art of Margaret Brundage by Stephen D. Korshak and J. David Spurlock

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1932 science fiction novel The Time Stream by John Taine a.k.a. Eric Temple Bell.
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1934 sword and sorcery story "Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore. 
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1934 sword and sorcery story "Black God's Shadow" by C.L. Moore.
• Steve J. Wright revisits the June 1939 issue of Unknown. 
• Steve J. Wright revisits the July 1939 issue of Unknown. 
• Steve J. Wright revisits the August 1939 issue of Unknown.
• Steve J. Wright also looks back on the first six months of Unknown.
• Alan Brown revisits the 1947 space opera novel Children of the Lens by E.E. Smith.
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1953 science fiction story "The Golden Apples of the Sun" by Ray Bradbury.
• David Levinson reviews the October 1965 issue of Worlds of If. 
• Paul Fraser revisits the October 1965 issue of Science Fantasy. 
• Erica Frank reviews the 1965 sword and sorcery novel The Wizard of Lemuria by Lin Carter.
• Sean Guynes revisitis the 1976 young adult novel Very Far Away From Anywhere Else by Ursula K. Le Guin.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the July 1979 issue of Galileo.
  

Con and event reports:

• Caroline Mullen discusses how CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon, Concentric, the 2020 Eastercon, and other conventions responded to the corona pandemic.
• Constanze Hofmann shares several photos of the yarnbombing project at CoNZealand, the virtual 2020 Worldcon.
• Mark L. Blackman reports about the virtual latest edition of the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings Series, featuring Jim Freund and Michael Swanwick.

Crowdfunding:

• Weird Tails, an anthology of weird fiction with a distinctly feline theme edited by Robert Poyton, is looking for funding.
  

Science and technology:

• Eric Berger reports about the latest test of SpaceX's Starship prototype. 
• The Guardian shares an article about the evolution of artificial intelligence written by an AI named GPT-3.
• Philip Ball asks if aliens are hiding in plain sight.
• Andrew Pyper takes a look at the paranormal history of the White House. 
• Elizabeth Yuko shares a map which allows you to find out which dinosaurs once lived in your area.
• Tobias Carroll wonders how much the Loch Ness monster boosts Scotland's economy.
• Joseph P. Laycock offers a brief history of exorcisms.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Shadow Prisons of the Mind" by Caroline M. Yoachim in Lightspeed.
• "Destinations of Waiting" by Alexander Weinstein in Lightspeed.
• "Hearts in the Hard Ground" by G.V. Anderson at Tor.com
• "What Remains of Maya Sankovy" by G.D. Angier in Clarkesworld. 
• "Outside of Omaha" by Ray Nayler in Nightmare Magazine.
• "10 Spells the Glasbläser Family Is Not Sharing With Each Other, In Order of Secrecy" by Elisabeth R. Moore in Luna Station Quarterly.  
• "Deep in the Drift Spinning" by Lisa L. Hannett in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Patron" by Derrick Boden in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Feral" by Priya Sharma in The Dark. 
• "The Roman Road" by Vajra Chadrasekera in Fireside Magazine.
• "A Mess of Arms and Legs and Limbs" by Cora Buhlert.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Dune.
• Watch a trailer for The Devil All the Time.
• Watch a trailer for The Third Day. 
• Watch a trailer for Monsterland.
• Watch a trailer for Battle Ground, an upcoming Dresden Files novel.
  
• Camestros Felapton shares a generator that shares hot takes about what science fiction should be like.