It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Foundation, No Time to Die and James Bond in general, What If...?, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Star Trek: Lower Decks and the many versions of Star Trek, Star Wars Visions and Star Wars in general, the various DC Comics based TV shows, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Midnight Mass, Squid Game, Y: The Last Man, season 11 of The Walking Dead, a new Doctor Who showrunner, the return of Babylon 5, the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award and British Fantasy Awards, Disney's continued failure to pay creators, and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Cheryl Eddy lists all the science fiction, fantasy and horror books coming out in October.
- AudioFile Magazine shares the best new science fiction and fantasy audiobooks for fall 2021.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF collaborations.
- Molly Odintz shares the best science fiction noir novels of the year.
- Amparo Ortiz shares five Latinx SFF books featuring mythical creatures.
- Tor.com celebrates fictional librarians from SFF books, films and TV shows.
- Sarah McGill talks about fantasy and breaking the rules of magic.
- Jon McGregor shares speculative thrillers that blur the line between physics and philosophy.
- Darcy Coates reports about the new wave of gothic horror.
- Catriona Ward explains why she writes about monsters.
- Mimi Granger shares six bookstore romances to enjoy.
- Sara Light-Waller revisits the Galloway Gallegher stories by Henry Kuttner.
- Ken Lizzi takes a loom at the sword and sorcery fiction listed in the Appendix N of the AD&D Dungeon Master's Handbook.
- G.W. Thomas talks about the style of sword and sorcery.
- John Boston and Cora Buhlert remember editor Cele Goldsmith Lalli.
- David Allkins shares his appreciation for the works of Ramsay Campbell.
- Bobby Derie takes a look at the correspondence of Robert E. Howard and C.L. Moore.
- Bobby Derie discusses the relationship between H.P. Lovecraft and his wife Sonia H. Greene.
- Molly Templeton talks about personal libraries and what they say about us.
- Julia Delbel talks about ageism in fandom and why it doesn't make any sense.
- Paul N. Neal interviews 2000 AD artist Nick Percival.
- Charles Pulliam Moore interviews Frank J. Barbiere, Arris Quinones and Ruairi Coleman, the creative team behind Astonishing Times.
- Eric Gardner reports that Marvel is sueing the heirs of several comics creators to rights terminations to characters such as Spider-Man under US copyright law.
- Brooks Barnes has more on the lawsuit filed by Disney and Marvel agains the copyright termination notices filed by several comic creators and their heirs.
- Alison Flood reports that the 70th anniversary issue of the British comis magazine Beano will reveal the origin of the iconic red and black striped jumper worn by Dennis the Menace (not to be confused with the American character of the same name).
- Jarrod Jason Murray recounts the influence of the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro on Batman.
- Peter Bradshaw calls The Green Knight sublimely beautiful.
- Andrea Thompson calls I'm Your Man a fine science fiction romantic comedy.
- Paul Levinson analyses the pros and cons of the time travel show La Brea.
- Phil Hoad calls Meander a formulaic science fiction thriller.
- Phil Hoad calls Dementer an unsettling low-budget horror film.
- Benjamin Lee calls No One Gets Out Alive a stylish immigration horror film.
- Leslie Felperin calls Bad Candy a sickly Halloween horror anthology.
- Leslie Felperin calls Seance a cheap high school horror film.
- Germain Lussier declares that the disaster comedy Don't Look Up feels way too real.
- Katie Rife shares her thoughts on Titane.
- Katie Rife shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do in the Shadows.
- Phil Hoad shares his thoughts on "Black As Night" and "Bingo Hell", the latest episodes of Welcome to the Blumhouse.
- William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Archer.
- Cheryl Morgan takes a look at the two different He-Man versions currently streaming.
- Ben Child wonders whether Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore can save the troubled Fantastic Beasts series.
- Cora Buhlert revisits episode 1 of the 1966 West German science fiction TV series Space Patrol Orion.
- Adrian Simmons revisits the 1979 science fiction horror movie Alien.
- Reneysh Vittal revisits the 1982 animated fantasy movie Flight of Dragons.
- Talking Pulp revisits the 1982 sword and sorcery movie Sorceress.
- Peter Bradshaw revisits David Lynch's 1984 take on Dune.
- Chris Lough revisits the 1993 videogame adaptation Super Mario Bros.
- Austin Gilkeson revisits the 2012 fantasy movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
- Meagan Navaro interviews James Wan and Ingrid Bisu, director and star of Malignant.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that actor Stellan Skarsgard declares
that the current state of the film industry is not the fault of Marvel
and Netflix, there're merely profiting from a problem that predates
them.
- Rob Bricken declares that they said that Foundation cannot be filmed and that it still hasn't been regardless of what Apple TV is serving up.
- Neil Armstrong (no, not that one) traces the journey of the supposedly unfilmable Foundation from page to screen.
- Ben Lindbergh declares that Foundation works out better than anybody could have expected.
- Paul Levinson, who's actually a fan of the original books, finds Foundation superb.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Foundation a dazzlingly ambitious science fiction epic.
- Daniel Fienberg calls Foundation beautiful but tedious.
- Clare Wilson calls Foundation an imaginative reworking of Isaac Asimov's classic story.
- Alan Sepinwall declares that Foundation does not add up.
- Nick Wanserski shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of Foundation.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the first episode of Foundation.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the first episode of Foundation.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the second episode of Foundation.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the second episode of Foundation.
- Daniel Dern shares his thoughts on Foundation.
- Steve Davidson declares that Foundation sucks as he predicted it would.
- Lucy Mangan neither likes nor gets Foundation.
- Miles Surrey shares his apprciation for Jared Harris who plays Hari Seldon in Foundation.
- Evan Nicole Brown interviews Lou Llobell and Leah Harvey who play Gaal Dornick and Salvor Hardin respectively in Foundation.
- Cheryl Eddy interviews Alfred Enoch who plays Raych Seldon in Foundation.
- Tom Bacon catalogues the differences between the Foundation novels and the TV series.
- Peter Bradshaw calls No Time to Die a weird and self-aware epic full of audacious surprises.
- Robbie Collin calls No Time to Die extravagant, satisfying and moving.
- Phil de Semlyen calls No Time to Die a feast of heart and spectacle.
- Germain Lussier calls No Time to Die the most emotional Bond film ever.
- David Rooney finds plenty for Bond fans to enjoy in No Time to Die.
- Kevin Maher declares that No Time to Die ends Daniel Craig's tenure as Bond with a bang.
- Matt Maytum calls No Time to Die a fitting end to Daniel Craig's tenure as Bond.
- Owen Gleiberman declares that No Time to Die gives Daniel Craig the send-off he deserves.
- Stephanie Zacharek calls No Time to Die an imperfect film, but the perfect send-off for Daniel Craig.
- Stefan Kyriazis feels that Daniel Craig's James Bond goes out with a whimper, not a bang in No Time to Die.
- Clarisse Loughrey calls No Time to Die disappointing and strangely anti-climactic.
- A.A. Dowd calls No Time to Die a sentimental and unsatisfying end to the Daniel Craig era.
- Jordan Hoffman shares a seriously spoilerish review of No Time to Die.
- Rachel Obordo and readers of The Guardian share their thoughts on No Time to Die.
- The Spy Command talks about the difficult journey of No Time to Die to the screen.
- Stuart Jeffries wonders whether James Bond can survive in the post-Brexit era.
- Simran Hans wonders how sexist No Time to Die is.
- Marc Malkin interviews Ben Whishaw who plays Q in No Time to Die.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that No Time to Die is receiving criticism for its facially disfigured villains.
- Michael Williams shares some photos of the premiere of No Time to Die in London, UK.
- Olivia Rutigliano ranks every James Bond movie.
- Watch a compilation of the gunbarrel opening shots of all James Bond films from Dr. No to Spectre.
- Benjamin Lee calls Venom: Let There Be Carnage a middling monster mash.
- Jesse Hassenger calls Venom: Let There Be Carnage faster, funnier, but still underwhelming.
- Germain Lussier calls Venom: Let There Be Carnage frivolous, forgettable fun.
- Marah Eakin interviews Tom Hardy, star of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "I, Excretus", the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "I, Excretus".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Human Error" and "Q2".
- James Whitbrook interviews Jeffrey Combs who has played villains in Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Enterprise and Lower Decks.
- Alvaro Zinos-Amaro looks ahead at the upcoming Coda trilogy of Star Trek tie-in novels.
- Jack Seale calls Midnight Mass an absurd blood-soaked horror series.
- Leah Schnelbach declares that Midnight Mass offers up raw, unsettling horror.
- Katie Rife calls the horror series Midnight Mass hardly a revelation.
- Daniel Fienberg declares that Midnight Mass is more a meditation on faith and religion than a horror story.
- Cameron Scheetz interviews the cast of Midnight Mass.
- Cheryl Eddy shares four Mike Flanagan horror movies to watch after Midnight Mass.
- William Hughes declares that the South Korean dystopian thriller Squid Game hides a bitter anti-capitalist satire underneath its bloody children's games.
- Monica Tan declares that Squid Game is the perfect fit for our rather dystopian times.
- Henry Wong calls Squid Game a hellish dystopian thriller that is taking the world by storm.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that everybody needs to watch Squid Game.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also reports that TikTokers are recreating the deadly games of Squid Game, which surely was not the intention of the creators.
- The winners of the 2021 British Fantasy Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award has been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize has been announced.
- The Public's Choice top ten covers of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition have been announced.
- The 2022 Tomorrow Prize is open for submissions.
- The 2022 Roswell Award is open for submissions.
- Nina Allan engages in her annual complaining that the finalists for the Arthur C. Clarke Award are not to her taste again.
- Ann Langley explains that fanfiction is just as valid as original fiction and that it can teach writers a lot.
- Victoria Strauss weighs in on the #DisneyMustPay task force.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch weighs in one the #DisneyMustPay issue.
- Mike Glyer reports about the 2021 Banned Books Week.
- Alison Flood reports that several high-profile writers have signed a letter requesting the release of jailed Iranian writers Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan and Reza Khandan Mahabadi.
- Christopher Hilliard reports about the 1960 obscenity trial attempting to ban the paperback edition of Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence in the UK and how it showed that the legal establishment was out of touch.
- Locus reports that Joanna Prior has been named the new CEO of Pan Macmillan.
- Dorothy St. James wonders whether bookless libraries signal the end of the printed book.
- Alyssa Shotwell reports about how the current paper shortage and other supply chain issues are affecting the publishing industry.
Interviews:
- Liz Bourke reviews Assassin's Orbit by John Appel.
- Cheryl Morgan reviews Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes.
- Paul Weimer reviews The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold.
- Lesa Holstine reviews Jekyll and Hyde Inc. by Simon R. Green.
- Paul Weimer reviews Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
- Adrienne Martini reviews Destroyer of Light by Jennifer Marie Brissett.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis.
- Bill Capossere reviews The Escapement by Lavie Tidhar.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Escapement by Lavie Tidhar.
- Colleen Mondor reviews Flash Fire by T.J. Klune.
- Richard Fisher reviews The Thief Who Went to War by Michael McClung.
- Robert Runté reviews Barbarians of the Beyond by Matthew Hughes.
- Cheryl Morgan reviews The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison.
- Adrienne Martini reviews Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews This Is Our Undoing by Lorraine Wilson.
- Elizabeth Knox reviews Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
- Matthew Keeley reviews Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
- Jana Nyman and Tadiana Jones review The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik.
- Kat Hooper reviews The Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal.
- Sean Dowie reviews Crossroads by Laurel Hightower.
- Mark Yon reviews Later by Stephen King.
- Becky LeJeune reviews The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward.
- Paperback Warrior reviews Shiftling by Steven Savile.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Scholars of the Night by John M. Ford.
- Gabino Iglesias reviews The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig.
- Paperback Warrior reviews Thirty Miles of Dry Country by Keelan Patrick Burke.
- Becky LeJeune reviews The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward.
- Rob Bedford reviews The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward.
- Ian Mond reviews The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell by Brian Evenson.
- Paperback Warrior reviews Worm by Tim Curran.
- Blue Book Balloon reviews From the Neck Up by Aliya Whiteley.
Classics reviews:
- James Maliszweski revisits the 1930 Kull sword and sorcery story "The Screaming Skull of Silence" by Robert E. Howard.
- David Haden revisits the 1932 horror story "The Dwellers Under the Tomb" by Robert E. Howard.
- Nathaniel Webb revisits the 1933 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Tower of the Elephant" by Robert E. Howard.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1955 post-apocalyptic novel The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1965 sword and sorcery novel Atlan by Jane Gaskell.
- Mark Yon revisits the October 1966 issues of New Worlds and SF Impulse.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the October 1966 issue of Analog.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1974 science fiction anthology Fellowship of the Stars, edited by Terry Carr.
- Julie E. Czerneda revisits the 1976 fantasy novel The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip and its sequels.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1990 anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois.
- Rachel Ayers revisits the 1993 horror novel A Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny.
- Alissa Burger revisits the 1993 teen horror trilogy Fear Street by R.L. Stine.
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1997 space opera novel Derelict for Trade by Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 1998 children's fantasy novel The Spectre from the Magician's Museum by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 2000 children's fantasy novel The Beast under the Wizard's Bridge by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland.
- Joe Sherry revisits the 2009 October Daye urban fantasy novel Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire.
Crowdfunding:
- Runalong the Shelves shares his experiences at the 2021 FantasyCon in Birmingham, UK.
- Cheryl Morgan shares her experiences at the 2021 FantasyCon.
- David Furst and Kate Hinds report about Trekonderoga 2021 in Ticonderoga, New York.
- Ed and Jen Stanek share some photos of the 2021 Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Chris M. Barkley shares several anecdotes from working the press office at several Worldcons.
- SF Concatenation weighs in recent and not so recent Worldcon controversies.
- Locus reports that Readercon 32 in Quincy, Massachussetts has been postponed to 2023.
- Katie Rife shares the highlights on the 2021 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, which will also have virtual components.
- Michael Curtis reports about a visit to the Fritz Leiber Papers Archive at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas.
- Reid McCarter reports about Italian sculptor Leonardo Ugolini, who has recreated buildings from Lord of the Rings from sand.
- Craig Miller and Genny Dazzo report about a visit to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles and share some photos.
- Mike Glyer reports that the murder trial of Luis R. Rondon, former King of the Society for Creative Anachronism’s East Kingdom, has begun.
- Mark Kaufman reports that the NASA InSight Mars lander has recorded a Marsquake.
- Brian Resnick reports about the Webb space telescope.
- Andrei Tapalaga reports that Chernobyl's reactor 4, which blew up in 1986, is becoming active again, though no one knows why.
- Mitchell Clark reports that Amazon's Astro home robot does not work properly according to some of its developers and has the tendency to fall down stairs.
- "A Guide to Snack Foods After the Apocalypse" by Rachael K. Jones in Diabolical Plots.
- "Questions Asked in the Belly of the World" by A.T. Greenblatt in Tor.com
- "Dashing, Through the Spaceship" by Anna Martino in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Revenant" by Lisa Short in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Daughters of Ares" by Suz Thackston in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "The Empathy Lessons" by Hal Y. Zhang in Fireside Magazine.
- "Still Life with Vial of Blood" by Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas in Nightmare Magazine.
- "An Arrangement of Moss and Dirt" by K.P. Kulski in Fantasy Magazine.
- "Mokele-Mbembe" by Stephen J. Golds in Punk Noir Magazine.
- "Motivation Augmentation" by Clare Ward in Strange Horizons.
- "Onward" by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam in Uncanny Magazine.
- "Self-Destruct" by Stephen Embleton in Omenana.
- "The Wait" by Andrea Chapela in Slate Future Tense.
- "Knights and Knaves" by R.D. Simmons in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Waking an Old God" by Sara M. Harvey in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Just Try It" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Bounty" by Ken Poyner in Daily Science Fiction.
- "The Assassin's Dagger" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
- Watch a trailer for Around the World in 80 Days.
- Watch a trailer for Army of Thieves.
- Watch a trailer for The Sandman.
- Watch a trailer for Arcane.
- Watch a trailer for Dead and Beautiful.
- Watch a trailer for season 4 of Stranger Things.
- Watch the opening credits of the live action Cowboy Bebop.
- Watch a trailer for Shin Kamen Rider.
- Watch a trailer for Encanto.
- Watch a trailer for Maya and the Three.