Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 12, 2021

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week tributes to Norton Juster and Dr. Michael Engelberg, appreciation for Octavia E. Butler, the many iterations of Star Trek, WandaVision, Superman and Lois, Raya and the Last Dragon, Snowpiercer, SpaceX's latest failed Starship test and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Jo Walton shares her reading list for February 2021. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five classic science fiction novels written from an alien perspective.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five stories about space garbage.
  
• Linda H. Codega shares tabletop games to pair with your favourite fantasy novels. 
• Julian Lucas profiles Octavia E. Butler.
  
• Christina Kim discusses how Pasadena, California, inspired Octavia E. Butler. 
• Ziv Wities analyses the story structure of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.
  
• Alison Flood reports about Songs for Murdered Sisters, a song cycle written by Margaret Atwood and composer Jake Heggie.  
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the works of fantasy artist Simon Bisley.
  
• Michael George Adkisson, editor of New Pathways, had died aged 66. 

 

Tributes to Norton Juster:

• Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth, has died aged 91. 
• Sian Cain remembers Norton Juster. 
• Shannon Maughan shares an obituary for Norton Juster.

 

Film and TV:

• Arley Sorg and Josh Pearce share their thoughts on Space Sweepers.
  
• Paul Levinson calls Palm Springs an excellent time loop romantic comedy.
  
• Paul Levinson finds Boss Level a surprisingly good time loop film.  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Chaos Walking struggles with its science fiction concept. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Sacrifice a giallo-type monster horror film. 
• Phil Hoad calls Come True a visionary sleep disorder thriller. 
  
• Ani Bundel shares her thoughts on the latest episode of American Gods. 
• Scott Von Doviak shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Flash. 
• Veronica Scott shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Debris. 
  
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of For All Mankind.
  
• Ben Child muses about the existence of racist and toxic Star Wars fans. 
• Christine Feehan shares six movies and one TV show about genetically engineered supersoldiers.
• Natasha Preston shares four classic summer camp horror movies.
  
• Doris V. Sutherland revisits the 1933 horror movie The Invisible Man. 
• Dan Persons revisits the 1946 Looney Tunes cartoon The Great Piggy Bank Robbery.
  
• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky revisits the 1977 animated classic The Rescuers.
• Jesse Hassenger revisits the 1991 time travel comedy Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. 
• Tatiana Tenreyro revisits the 1993 horror comedy Addams Fanily Values.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw revisits the 2001 fantasy movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for its twentieth anniversary. 
• Tom Breihan revisits the 2007 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and finds it fon, but forgettable.
• Beatrice Loayaza revisits the 2008 post-apocalyptic movie The Happening and finds it better than its reputation. 
• Nick McGrath interviews Andy Serkis, star of Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Planet of the Apes and many others. 
• The Radio Times interviews several women who work on Doctor Who in front and behind the camera.
  
• Peter Suciu reports about an online feud between actors Patton Oswalt and Scott Baio.
• Britt Hayes reports that a supporting actress on Lovecraft Country complained about having her skin darkened on set, because she was supposedly too light skinned.
• Rebecca Davis reports that China is considering a lifelong ban for all actors who have used drugs.
• Stuart Heritage reports about Cocaine Bear, a very strange movie coming out in 2022.
  
• Andrew Pulver reports that the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League was accidentally released almost two weeks early on the HBO Max streaming service.
• George R.R. Martin remembers Dr. Michael Engelberg, oncologist, film producer and SFF fan.
• Melinda Snodgrass remembers Dr. Michael Engelberg.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• E.L. Meszaros reports that Robin Williams almost would have guest-starred on Star Trek: The Next Generation. 
• Mo Rocca interviews LeVar Burton who played Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• James Whitbrook interviews Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeaway in Star Trek Voyager, about her return in Star Trek Prodigy.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Dark Frontier" and "The Disease".
  
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro offers an overview of the Star Trek Deep Space Nine tie-in novels.
  
• Mike Fleming reports that Kalinda Vasquez, one of the producers of Star Trek Discovery, will write a new original Star Trek movie.
  

 

Comments on WandaVision and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers):

• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the WandaVision series finale.
• Andrew Ellard shares his thoughts on the WandaVision series finale.
• Stephen Robinson shares his thoughts on the WandaVision series finale. 
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares his thoughts on the WandaVision series finale. 
• Richard Lawson shares his thoughts on the WandaVision series finale. 
• Font Folly shares his thoughts on the WandaVision series finale. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the WandaVision series finale. 
• Film Crit Hulk shares his thoughts on the WandaVision series finale.
  
• Caroline Framke and Adam B. Vary share their thoughts on the WandaVision series finale. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on the WandaVision series finale.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also analyses the two post-credits scenes of WandaVision.
• Abigail Nussbaum shares her thoughts on WandaVision. 
• Arturo Serrano declares that WandaVision could have been the greatest thing on TV, but fell somewhat short in the end.
  
• Hanna Flint praises how WandaVision handles grief. 
• Sonny Bunch also praises WandaVision's handling of grief. 
• Leah Schnelbach also discusses WandaVision's handling of grief.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw discusses how WandaVision handles motherhood. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido discusses how WandaVision shows that actions have consequences in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his appreciation for the character of Monica Rambeau in WandaVision.
  
• Natalie Zutter talks about meta-sitcoms and The Truman Show and how they influenced WandaVision. 
• Rob Bricken discusses the proposed role of Agatha's rabbit Senor Scratchy in the WandaVision finale.
  
• Travis M. Andrews reports how one fan's praise for WandaVision drew the ire of several screenwriters and self-proclaimed cineasts. 
• Andrew Paul reports that there was some debate whether Vision would have a penis in his initial appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
  
• Steve Rose interviews Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of several Marvel movies.
• Marah Eakin interviews Tom Holland, star of the Spider-Man movies and Cherry.
  

 

Comments on Superman and Lois: 

• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Superman and Lois. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Superman and Lois.
  
• Joe George ranks the various members of Superman's supporting cast across the different adaptations.
  

 

Comments on Raya and the Last Dragon:

• Molly Templeton calls Raya and the Last Dragon a stunning animated fantasy.
  
• Justine Calma notes that Raya and the Last Dragon finally offers representation for people from South East Asia in a Disney movie.
  
• Michael Cavna interviews Kelly Marie Tran, star of Raya and the Last Dragon.
• Marah Eakin interviews the creators of Raya and the Last Dragon.
• Sam Barsanti reports that Raya and the Last Dragon sits at the top of the still anemic box office charts.
  

 

Comments on Snowpiercer:

• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Snowpiercer.
• Patrick Gomez interviews Daveed Diggs, star of Snowpiercer and Hamilton.
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2021 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Romantic Novel Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2021 Saturn Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Radio Times Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Critics Choice Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 Berlin Film Festival have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2021 BAFTA Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2021 Producers Guild Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2021 DGA film and TV awards have been announced.
  
• The shortlist for the 2021 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Playwriting Award has been announced. 
  
• The 2021 inductees into the US National Women's Hall of Fame have been announced and include two women of SFF interest.
  
• The 2021 Chesley Awards are open for suggestions. 
• Submissions are open for the 2021 Nyabola Prize for Science Fiction written in Kiswahili. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Lauren Sapala shares five pieces of advice for aspiring writers.
  
• Andrea Hull talks about writing, reading and pattern recognition. 
• Matthew Broberg-Moffitt shares some suggestions for improving the querying process for autistic and neurodiverse writers.
  
• Penny Sansivieri shares some tips for planning your book launch and marketing.
• Jacqui Lipton talks about the difference between advances and royalties.
• John Scalzi talks about copyright and why it is important for writers.
  

Interviews:

• John Dickerson interviews Colson Whitehead.
  
• Lenny Picker interviews Andy Weir.
• Paul Weimer interviews H.M. Long.
• Paul Weimer interviews E.J. Beaton.
• Jen Gheller interviews Hannah Whiteoak.
• Phoebe Barton interviews M. Shaw.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Aidan Moher.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Wendy Browne.
• Cora Buhlert interviews the team behind SFFWorld.
  

Reviews: 

• James Davis Nicoll reviews Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells.
  
• For Winter Nights reviews The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The First Omega by Megan O'Keefe. 
• Sean Dowie reviews Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard.
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Soulstar by C.L. Polk. 
• Maya Gittelman reviews Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley.
  
• LaShawn M. Wanak reviews The Unbroken by C.L. Clark.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Brother Red by Adrian Selby. 
• Alex Brown reviews The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna.
  
• Molly Templeton reviews A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas.
• Rob Bedford reviews The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst. 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst. 
• Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper review The Councillor by E.J. Beaton.
  
• Anne M. Pillsworth and Ruthanna Emrys review The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. 
  
• Slade Grayson reviews Later by Stephen King. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.
• Christobel Kent reviews The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. 
• Angie Barry reviews The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex.
  
• Katarina Betterton reviews the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. 
• Richard Fisher reviews Runemaster: Shield Maiden's Blade by Mike Bullock.
  
• Amy Goldschlager reviews Within the Wires: Season 5: Voicemail by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson.
• Bill Capossere reviews Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes. 
• Michal Schick reviews Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews The Ghost Variations by Kevin Brockmeier. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Neil Gaiman Reader by Neil Gaiman.
  
• Lynn Kempner reviews Lost Gods, edited by Joanne Hall and Dolly Garland. 

Classics reviews:

• Ian Mond revisits the 1903 paranormal novel Of One Blood or, the Hidden Self by Pauline Hopkins.
• Eugene Thacker revisits the 1907 horror novella The Willows by Algernon Blackwood.
  
• Player None revisits the 1926 cosmic horror story "The Call of the Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft.
  
• Frank Ormond revisits the 1932 planetary romance novel Pirates of Venus by Edgar Rice Burroughs. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1932 lost world novel Troyana by S.P. Meek.
  
• Fletcher Vredenburgh revisits the 1946 fantasy novel Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake.
  
• James Malizewski revisits the 1957 fantasy story "The Lamps of Alhazred" by August Derleth.
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1959 science fiction story "What Now, Little Man?" by Mark Clifton.
  
• John Boston revisits the April 1966 issue of Amazing Stories. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1966 issue of Galaxy.
  
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1970 fantasy collection Golden Cities, Far, edited by Lin Carter.
• Mark Yon revisits the 1971 science fiction collection Assignment in Eternity by Robert A. Heinlein.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 science fiction novel The Monitor, the Miners and the Shree by Lee Killough.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1982 dystopian adventure novel Exiled! by Steven Greene.  
• Paul Fraser revisits the 1991 science fiction story "The Cold Solutions" by Don Sakers.
  
• Kristin Cashore revisits the 1992 time travel novel The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1993 science fiction novel Brother to Shadows by Andre Norton.
  

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer shares an update on Jon Del Arroz's lawsuit against Worldcon 76 in San José, California.
  
• Doug Ellis reports about the original pulp art auctioned off at Chicon I, the 1940 Worldcon in Chicago, Illinois.
  
• Doug Ellis recalls how he found an original J. Allen St. John illustration at an antiques fair in Chicago, Illinois. 
• Geoff Carter reports about Meow Wolf's Omega Mart art installation in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Cora Buhlert reports about a scandalous performance of Friedrich Schiller's The Robbers in Bremen, Germany, in 1966.
• Kevin Standlee reports about a trip to visit nuclear test sites in the Nevada desert.
• Molly Templeton reports about a Mandalorian cosplayer who recreated not just Din Djarin's armour and Baby Grogu, but the Razorcrest as well.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• The anthology Classic Monsters Unleashed, edited by James Aquilone and published by Crystal Lake Publishing, is looking for funding. 
• Out of the Darkness, a horror and dark fantasy anthology edited by Dan Coxon, is looking for funding.
  
• The anthology Shapers of Worlds Vol. II, edited by Edward Willett, is looking for funding.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch is looking for funding to publish her new novella The Return of the Fey.
• Michael Lease, father of SFF fan and Arisia board member Cassandra Lease, needs some help to finance a memorial for his daughter who died aged only 37.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Watch a video of SpaceX's Starship prototype exploding after a test launch and landing. 
• Brianna Provenzano explains why the Starship prototype exploded after landing. 
• John Wenz reports that you can win a trip to the moon on SpaceX's Starship (provided the prototypes stop exploding).
  
• Mike Glyer reports that the touchdown site of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has been named Octavia E. Butler landing, after the late science fiction author. 
• Becky Ferreira reports that scientists have discovered a massive space hurricane above Earth. 
• Matt Simon reports that scientists have discovered life deep under the Antarctic ice sheet.
  
• Alison Hirschlag reports that Thomas Edison invented a nickel-iron battery that emits hydrogen 120 years ago, which is only now becoming viable.
  
• The BBC reports that a medieval tunnel system has been discovered by technicians in Tintern, Wales. 
  

Free online fiction:

• "Dead at the Feet of a God" by Izzy Wasserstein in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Parchment Sky" by Stephen Case in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Mars Ascending" by Hannah Whiteoak in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "The Orbiting Guan Eyrie" by Wang Zhenzhen, translated by Carmen Yiling Yan in Clarkesworld
• "Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts" by Ken Liu in Lightspeed.
• "The Bear Prince" by P.H. Lee in Lightspeed. 
• "Submergence" by Arula Ratnakar in Clarkesworld. 
• "Las Girlfriends Guided to Subversive Eating" by Sabrina Vourvoulias in Apex Magazine. 
• "Barefoot and Midnight" by Sheree Reneé Thomas in Apex Magazine. 
• "That Which Crawls From Dark Soil" by Michael Kelly in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Little Doors" by Clara Madrigano in The Dark. 
• "Man vs. Bomb" by M. Shaw in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "What We Found on the Way to Alpha Centauri: A Miniature Novel" by David Paul Roger in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Last Laugh" by Jamie Lackey in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Things I Learned Today" by Kyle Aisteach in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "I Can Be a Hero Too" by Carol Scheina in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "Control" by David Aw in Anathema. 
• "Play Like a Girl" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  
• "Trigger Snowflake and the Dessert" by Ingvar in File 770. 

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch episode 1 of Space Command.
  
• Watch a trailer for Oxygen. 
• Watch a trailer for Tides. 
• Watch a trailer for Doors.
  
• Watch a teaser for the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League.
  
• Watch a trailer for Made for Love.
• Watch a trailer for Them.
• Watch a Mountain Dew commercial featuring Gizmo and the Gremlins.