Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 20, 2021

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with What If...? and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, The Bad Batch and Star Wars in general, the many versions of Star Trek, Doctor Who past and present, the various DC Comics based TV shows, The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, The Night House, Reminiscence, I'm Your Man, tributes to Steve Perrin and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Petra Mayer lists the 50 best science fiction and fantasy books of the past decade, as chosen by NPR listeners.
  
• Lisa Tuttle shares the best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror novels. 
• Jason Sheehan shares seven recent science fiction books that demonstrate how the genre has changed. 
• Carly Silver shares eight SFF books to read for an endless summer.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five complete SFF series to enjoy. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five post-1980 science fiction novels about space colonies.
• Matt Bell shares eight science fiction and fantasy heist novels.
  
• Jonathan Thornton shares nine thrilling last stands from science fiction and fantasy. 
• Verlin Darrow shares six SFF books about reincarnation.
  
• A.K. Larkwood shares five recent books that blend science fiction and horror. 
• Christa Carmen talks about post-human horror.
  
• Mari Ness takes a look at the Baba Yaga legend. 
• Molly Templeton talks about comfort reads.
  
• Adam Roberts explores how J.R.R. Tolkien may have found inspiration in the works of Sir Walter Scott. 
• Book Marks shares W.H. Auden's 1954 review for The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.
  
• Scott Oden points out that sword and sorcery should be rooted in real world history.
  
• Fraser Sherman shares his appreciation for the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series edited by Lin Carter.
  
• Roisin Kiberd remembers Stanislaw Lem for his 100th birthday. 
• Deuce Richardson remembers Clark Ashton Smith for the 60th anniversary of his death. 
• Bill Ward takes a look at Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborea.
  
• D.M. Ritzlin shares one possible reason for the premature end of the Swords Against Darkness anthology series. 
• May Petersen shares her love for the Oz books by Frank R. Baum and how they helped her realise she was trans.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin reports how Terry Pratchett was dragged into a transphobia controversy by TERFs. 
• A.E. Osworth wonders why so many nerds have become white nationalists and fascists. 
• Alison Flood reports about the children's picture book Mothers, Fathers and Kids from Dusk till Dawn by Lawrence Schimel and Elina Braslina, which is under fire in Russia and Hungary for depicting LGBTQ families doing regular family things.
• Mike Glyer shares a statement by J. Michael Straczynski about the legendary anthology Last Dangerous Visions.
• Lorna Toolis, editor, fan and head librarian at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy at the Toronto Public Library in Toronto, Canada, has died aged 68.
• Game designer Steve Perrin has died aged 74.
• Emmet Asher-Perrin remembers Steve Perrin.
  

Comics and Art:

• James Davis Nicoll reviews "The Vow", volume 6 of Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda.
• Crossexamining Crime reviews the hardboiled mystery comic The Amulet of Thar’ishdom by Asa Wheatley and Kat Willott.
• Rachel Cooke reviews the graphic novel The Delicacy by James Albon. 
• James Whitbrook takes a look at What's the Furthest Place From Here? by Matthew Rpsenberg and Tyler Boss.
  
• Crime Reads reports about Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?, a graphic novel about serial killer Ed Gein by Eric Powell and Harold Schechter.
• Natalie Zutter revisits volumes 5 and 6 of Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra.
• James Bacon interviews comic artist P.J. Holden. 
  
• Sultana Raza shares her appreciation for Tintin and his creator Hergé.
  
• The Geeky Nerfherder shares his appreciation for the SFF artwork of Luisa Preissler.
  
• Deuce Richardson remembers Savage Sword of Conan artist Gene Day. 
• Andrew Liptak reports that several of Liu Cixin's science fiction stories are being adapted as graphic novels.
  
• The SFWA shares its finding regarding the payment of comic writers and graphic novelists. 

 

Film and TV:

• Sam Barsanti calls Nightmare of the Wolf a fun and blood-soaked excuse to return to the Witcher universe.
• Charles Bramesco calls Neil Blomkamp's latest film Demonic a literal snoozefest.
  
• Phil Hoad calls A New World Order an impressive dystopian thriller. 
• Ellen E. Jones calls Climate of the Hunter an intoxicating vampire film.
  
• Mike McCahill calls The Green Sea a flawed but intriguing chiller directed by the current Lord Dunsany. 
• Phil Hoad calls the horror thriller Eye Without a Face an odd mix of slasher film and slacker comedy.
  
• A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife talk about the Fear Street trilogy. 
• Noel Murray calls the animated film Cryptozoo trippy but dull. 
  
• Steve Rose calls the animated film Extinct an evolutionary dead end. 
  
• Leslie Felperin calls the animated movie Around the World in Eighty Days a charmingly goofy take on Jules Verne. 
• Juan Barquin shares his thoughts on the latest episode of American Horror Stories.
  
• Rachel Ashcroft explains what she wants to see in season 2 of The Witcher.
  
• Annalee Newitz explains how fans are influencing media now. 
• Vanessa Thorpe explains why horror movies are good for us.
• Steve Rose wonders whether the horror genre has lost its ability to shock.
  
• Jason Wiese shares thirteen behind the scenes secrets from classic horror movies. 
• The Dhaka Tribune shares the ten best Lovecraftian horror films.
  
• Steve Rose is not a fan of multiverses and laments that media franchises have become so complicated. 
• Rob Bricken lists six medieval tales that deserve a Green Knight like film adaptation.
  
• Joe Sherry ranks the Godzilla movies of the Heisei era. 
• The Hugo Book Club Blog takes a look at the science fiction films of 1963 and wonders why none of them gained a Hugo nomination.
  
• Natalija Majsova talks about the evolution of Soviet science fiction film.
  
• Glen Sprigg revisits the 1963 fantasy movie Jason and the Argonauts.
  
• Cat Eldridge revisits the 1975 SFF musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1986 horror movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
  
• Jason Shawhan revisits the 1992 science fiction noir film Split Second.
  
• Charles Bramesco revisits the 1995 dystopian fantasy film The City of Lost Children.
  
• Jesse Hassenger revisits the 1997 dystopian science fiction film Gattaca. 
• Germain Lussier revisits the 2006 action movie Snakes on a Plane.  
• Ben Sherlock lists ten things from the 1986 science fiction film Aliens that still hold up today.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Maritte Lee Go, director of Black As Night. 
• Rebecca Keegan interviews Michael Keaton, star of Batman, Morbius, The Flash, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Beetlejuice and many others. 
  
• Ben Child talks about Val Kilmer's memories of playing Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman in Batman Forever in 1995.
• Nellie Andreeva reports that Vincent Kartheiser, who plays Scarecrow in Titans, has been the subject of several investigations regarding alleged misconduct on set. 
• Richard Orange reports that people working in the Danish film and TV industry are under pressure, because the demand for Danish film and TV is bigger than what a small industry can supply. 
• Andrew Liptak reports that Amazon has moved the production of its Lord of the Rings TV series from New Zealand to the UK for reasons unknown.
• Sonny Chiba, star of Kill Bill, The Street Fighter, Bullet Train and many others, has died aged 82.
  

 

Comments on What If...? and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers):

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What If...? and calls it her favourite thing Marvel has ever done. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What If...? 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his thoughts on the latest episode of What If...?
  
• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on the latest episode of What If...?
  
• Sam Barsanti discusses some surprise cameos in What If...?
  
• Charles Pulliam-Moore interviews Brad Winderbaum, executive producer of What If...?
  
• Inspired by What If...?, James Whitbrook shares a history of Captain Peggy Carter in the comics. 
• Rob Bricken reports that Anthony Mackie will officially star in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• William Hughes talks about an alternate ending to Black Widow. 
• Devan Coggan offers a behind the scenes look at Eternals.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports about accusations that the relatively low-key marketing of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is due to racism rather than uncertainty, if the movie can managed its theatrical release.
• Elise Shaffer reports about star Simu Liu's response to Disney CEA Bob Chapek's statement that the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an interesting experiment.
• Matt Schimkovitz shares Kevin Feige's response to some recent controversies involving Marvel Studios.
• Watch a trailer for Eternals.
  

Comments on Free Guy:

• Germain Lussier shares the not so surprising story behind some high profile cameos in Free Guy (spoilers!).
  
• Marah Eakin interviews Jodie Comer, star of Free Guy and Killing Eve.
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Free Guy has exceeded box office expectations, but that people are still not willing to return to movie theatres.
• Sam Barsanti reports that Free Guy has done well enough to get a sequel.
  

Comments on The Bad Batch and Star Wars in general:

• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on "Kamino Lost", the season 1 finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Kamino Lost".
• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that The Bad Batch is still finding its voice after the season 1 finale.
• James Whitbrook also discusses a certain location seen in "The Bad Batch" and how it impacts the greater Star Wars universe.
• Watch a trailer for Star Wars Visions.
  

 

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

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Kayshon, His Eyes Open", the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Kayshon, His Eyes Open".
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Inside Man" and "Body and Soul".
  
• Makeda Easter reports about the fight about the conservatorship of Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek and now suffers from dementia.
  

Comments on the various DC Comics based TV shows:

• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Legends of Tomorrow. 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of Superman and Lois. 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Stargirl.
  
• Alex Brown shares her appreciation for Harley Quinn: The Animated Series.
  
• Dan Auty lists ten proposed DC superhero movies that were never made.
• Josh Plainse reports that Martin Campbell, director of the 2011 Green Lantern movie, regrets making the film.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future: 

• Molly Templeton reports about the #FindTheDoctor event where fans can hunt clues regarding the Doctor both online and offline. 
  
• Lauren Morris reports that Fourth Doctor Tom Baker will record two unproduced Doctor Who scripts from his tenure as an audio drama.
  

 

Comments on The Night House:

• Benjamin Lee calls The Night House a muddled horror film, but praises the performance of Rebecca Hall.  
• Katie Rife calls The Night House a half-baked horror movie and also praises the performance of Rebecca Hall.

Comments on The Suicide Squad:

• Al Horner interviews James Gunn, director of The Suicide Squad.
  
• Matt Schimkovitz declares that the punk song playing over the opening credits of The Suicide Squad is a mission statement.
• Tatiana Tenreyro reports that Superman was almost the main villain in The Suicide Squad.
  

 

Comments on Reminiscence:

• A.A. Dowd calls Reminiscence an ambitious science fiction noir film. 
• Germain Lussier calls Reminiscence a science fiction thriller with more ambition than coherence.
  
• Benjamin Lee calls Reminiscence an Inception rip-off that's not worth remembering. 
• Lauren Huff interviews Lisa Joy and Hugh Jackman, director and star of Reminiscence. 

 

Comments on I'm Your Man:

• Peter Bradshaw calls I'm Your Man a laborious and unfunny android romance. 
• Zoe Williams interviews Dan Stevens, star of I'm Your Man.

 

Awards: 

• The winners of the 2021 Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 Tähtifantasia Award have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2021 Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Bulwer-Lytton Contest have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2021 ENnie Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2020 AWC Animation Writing Award has been announced.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Donal Ryan shares advice for writing a great short story. 
• Art Taylor talks about writing short stories in a two part post.
  
• Bracken MacLeod explains why protagonists should be flawed. 
• The Writer asks several authors when writers should return to abandoned work.
  
• Jennifer Lyn Parsons explains how she makes her daily wordcount quota. 
• Matthew Ward shares some tips for writing trilogies. 
• Ryan G. Van Cleave shares four ways to instantly tighten your writing.
  
• Scott Oden declares that self-publishing is just as valid as traditional publishing. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the East and West Coast branches of the Writers Guild of America have joined the #DisneyMustPay task force.
  
• Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Altman report that the Hachette Publishing Group will purchase the independent publisher Workman.
  
• Ed Nawotka reports that censorship is on the rise worldwide. 
  
• Andrew Albanese shares an update on the copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive. 
• Sophie Haigney reports that ARCs, which are not supposed to be for sale, are increasingly being put up for sale.
  
• Reeves Wiedeman reports about a mysterious thief who has been stealing unpublished manuscripts for years.
  

Interviews:

• Runalong the Shelves interviews Essa Hansen.
  
• Locus interviews Stephen Graham Jones. 
• Redditors interviews Arkady Martine.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Karen Osborne, Sarah Pinker and K.M. Szpara. 
• Ayo Onatade interviews Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews A.C. Wise.
  
• Tanya Tynjala interviews Edmund Schluessel.
  
• Kadish Morris interviews Femi Fadugba. 
• Andrea Johnson interviews Lynell George. 
• Oliver Brackenbury interviews Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten. 
• The Speculative Literature Foundation interviews Paolo Bacigalupi.
  
• Janna Miller interviews Jennifer Shelby.
  

Reviews:

• Liz Bourke reviews The Fallen by Ada Hoffman. 
• Adri Joy reviews Local Star by Aimee Ogden. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The House of Styx by Derek Künsken.
  
• Caroyln Cushman reviews Angel of the Overpass and Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire and Trouble in the Stars by Sarah Prineas.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Councillor by E.J. Beaton. 
• Kat Hooper reviews Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg by Phil and Kaja Foglio.
• Bill Capossere reviews The Rookery by Deborah Hewitt. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Muse by Brittany Cavallaro. 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Reclaimed by Madeleine Roux. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Desert Prince by Peter V. Brett.
  
• Alex Brown reviews The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon. 
• Chris Kluwe reviews King Bullet by Richard Kadrey.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North.
  
• Shawna Bethell reviews Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. 
• Abigail Nussbaum reviews Tower by Bae Myung-hoon, translated by Sung Ryu. 
• Bill Capossere reviews Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
  
• J.C. Kang reviews The Heretic Peacekeeper by Jeremy Bai. 
• Paula Guran reviews Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro. 
• Sean Dowie reviews Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix. 
• R. Graeme Cameron reviews Barbarians of the Beyond by Matthew Hughes. 
  
• Bobby Derie reviews Cthulhu on Lesbos by David Jalajel. 
  
• J. Thomas Howard reviews Worlds Beyond Worlds by John R. Fultz.
• Neale Monks reviews The Monster In The Mirror: Looking For H.P. Lovecraft by Robert H Waugh.
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Roger Zelazny by F. Brett Cox. 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews Never Say You Can't Survive - How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders.
  

 
Classics reviews:

• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1919 Zorro adventure novel The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1929 space opera Venus Liberated by Harl Vincent. 
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1932 Hyperborea sword and sorcery story "The Testament of Athammaus" by Clark Ashton Smith.
  
• Bill Ward revisits the 1934 Hyperborea sword and sorcery story"The Seven Geases" by Clark Ashton Smith.
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1953 science fiction story "The Ark of Mars" by Leigh Brackett. 
• Kat Hooper and Bill Capossere revisits the 1955 space opera Star Guard by Andre Norton. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1959 post-apocalyptic novel A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1966 science fiction mystery Sibyl Sue Blue by Rosel George Brown.
  
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1966 space opera The Star Magicians by Lin Carter.
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1966 science fiction novel Catastrophe Planet by Keith Laumer.
• Robin Rose Graves revisits the 1966 children's fantasy novel Black and Blue Magic by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1967 science fiction novel No Man's World by Martin Caidin. 
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1967 gothic novel Castlecliffe by Sandra Shulman. 
• Mark Benedict revisits the 1975 horror novel Salem's Lot by Stephen King as well as its various TV adaptations.
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1979 children's fantasy novel Seven Spells to Sunday by Andre Norton and Phyllis Miller. 
• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisit the 2000 horror story "A Redress for Andromeda" by Caitlin R. Kiernan.
  
• Jonathan Thornton revisits the 2001 dystopian novel Bold As Love by Gwyneth Jones
  

Con and event reports:

• CONvergence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, reports that a member who attended in con tested positive for covid. 
• Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia, has announced that all attendants must provide proof of vaccination or a negative covid test. 
• DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon in Washington DC, has announced its covid policies.
  
• Germain Lussier shares the covid policies for New York Comic Con in New York City, Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo in Chicago, Illinois and Florida Supercon in Miami Beach, Florida.
• Mike Chomko looks ahead at the 2021 PulpFest and ERBFest in Mars, Pennsylvania.
• Mike Chomko also shares a list of books and magazines debuting at PulpFest.
• Jeremiah Dylan Cook shares his experiences visiting the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas.
• Andrew Liptak reports that there is a Witcher training camp in Poland.
  

 

Crowdfunding: 

• SFF writer and Hugo winner Laura J. Mixon and her husband Steven Gould need some help with medical bills.
  
• Louise Perenne, widow of the late game designer Steve Perrin, needs some help with medical and care expenses.
• Nicole Audrey Spector reports that makers of tabletop games are increasingly turning to crowdfunding to finance new games.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Eric Berger reports that Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is indefinitely grounded due to issues with the valves in the propulsion system. 
• Eric Berger reports about the progress made by NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter.
  
• Isaac Schulz shares some new revelations about the core of Saturn.
  
• Jonathan Chadwick reports that an artificial intelligence has recreated actor Val Kilmer's voice based his movies, after Kilmer lost his voice following a throat cancer operation.
  
• Corryn Wetzel reports that a a fossile of a new giant species of pterosaur has been discovered in Australia.
  
• Charlie English discusses the Nazis' war on so-called "degenerate" art, i.e. modern art.

Free online fiction:

• "A Heist in Fifteen Products from the Orion Spur's Longest-Running Catalog" by Andrea M. Pawley in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Serpentine Band" by Congyun "Mu Ming" Gu, translated by Tian Hunag, in Clarkesworld. 
• "That Which Illuminates Heaven" by B. Zelkovich in Luna Station Quarterly. 
  
• "Arriving from Always" by Nerine Dorman in Omenana. 
• "What Sisters Take" by Kelly Sandoval in Apex Magazine. 
• "The Future Library" by Peng Shepherd in Tor.com. 
• "City of Refuge" by Maurice Broaddus in Lightspeed. 
• "The Tale of Jaja and Canti" by Tobi Ogundiran in Lightspeed.
  
• "My List of Bedtime Bogeyman Blues" by Sarina Dorie in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "Alexa, Play Solidarity Forever" by Audrey R. Hollis in Fireside Magazine.
  
• "Cadaver Dogs" by B. Narr in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Yahoo Plus" by Ernest O. Ògúnyẹmí in The Dark.
• "Coast Sunset Express" by Alice Towey in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "When the Moon Is Full" by Bruce McAllister in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Synaesthete" by Melanie Harding-Shaw.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Foundation.
  
• Watch a trailer for the new version of The Smurfs.
• Watch a trailer for another He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series.