It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the best SFF books of 2021, Hawkeye, Spider-Man: Far From Home and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general, season 2 of The Witcher, season 6 of The Expanse, The Wheel of Time, Doctor Who past and present, The Matrix Resurrections, Station Eleven, The Fellowship of the Ring at twenty, the 2021 Worldcon and the 2021 Hugo Awards and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Joanne Askew shares some SFF anthologies for the holiday wish list.
- Several Tor.com staffers list the most important books they received as gifts.
- David Barnett recalls how The Book of Unknown Ghosts terrified him, when he received it as a Christmas present as a kid.
- Paul Levinson talks about time travel.
- Sultana Raza talks about international readers and their experience with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
- Brian Murphy discusses the influence of Old Norse Sagas on sword and sorcery.
- Terry Olson shares his appreciation for the works of Michael Moorcock.
- Terry Olson revisits the Sexton Blake antagonist Monsieur Zenith, the Albino, who was an inspiration for Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné.
- Jim Wampler shares his appreciation for the works of Sterling E. Lanier.
- John Crowley talks about aging.
- Molly Roberts reports that the Quidditch League has changed its name to distance itself from the transphpbic remarks of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
- Science fiction fan and former Worldcon chair Ron Zukowski has died aged 71.
Best of 2021:
Comics and Art:
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle.
- Marion Deeds and Brad Hawley review Abbott by Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivela.
- Rob Bricken reports that the Swedish gaming company Embracer has purchased Dark Horse Comics.
- AP News reports that a copy of Superman No. 1 has sold for 2.6 million US-dollars.
Film and TV:
- Bill Capossere calls season 1 of Foundation a mixed bag, but mostly good.
- Chitra Ramaswamy calls the Christmas special of Ghosts utterly perfect.
- Jesse Hassenger calls the latest version of Macbeth one of the best looking movies of the year.
- Bob Mayer declares that Invasion should be called Evasion, since it seems to have no idea what it is about.
- Cath Clarke calls the animated film Gulliver Returns a subpar knockoff.
- Leila Latif shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
- Germain Lussier ranks the movies of Guillermo del Toro.
- Leah Schnelbach ranks all the superhero origin movies she could remember.
- Vanessa Thorpe wonders why British actors tend to get casted as warped, evil or tortured characters in US movies and TV shows.
- Tor.com shares some non-holiday SFF movies to watch during the holidays.
- Cora Buhlert revisits the 1966 Space Patrol Orion episode "Invasion".
- Scott Tobias revisits the 1971 dystopian film A Clockwork Orange for its fiftieth anniversary.
- Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1980 slasher film New Year's Evil.
- Mel Brooks remembers how he made the 1987 science fiction comedy Spaceballs!
- Jen Gheller revisits the 1990 fantasy film Edward Scissorhands.
- Max Gladstone revisits the 1993 animated movie A Nightmare Before Christmas and wonders if it is a Halloween or a Christmas movie.
- Camestros Felapton revisits the 2002 Firefly episode "Bushwhacked".
- Emine Saner interviews Gugu Mbatha-Raw, star of The Girl Before, Loki, Black Mirror: San Junipero and many others.
- Sally Ann Howes, who played Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has died aged 91.
- Toy manufacturer Henry Orenstein, creator of the Transformers, has died aged 98.
Comments on Hawkeye:
Comments on Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers):
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Spider-Man: No Way Home shows how to do a meta-multiverse right.
- Arturo Serrano calls Spider-Man: No Way Home a well-oiled nostalgia machine.
- James Whitbrook declares that Spider-Man: No Way Home offers a brand new start for Peter Parker.
- Leah Schnelbach discusses her favourite scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw talks about the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- Peter Bradshaw wonders why Spider-Man still resonates after almost sixty years.
- Michael Cavna and David Betancourt rank the top six Spider-Man movie villains.
- Catherine Shoard interviews Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Doctor Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock.
- Germain Lussier shares the history of The Amazing Spider-Man 3 movie, which was planned, but never happened.
- Nancy Tartaglione reports that Spider-Man: No Way Home has set several box office records for its opening weekend.
- Watch a trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "The Examples", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "The Examples".
- Zach Handlen shares his thoughts on "The Examples".
- Amy Stamm reports that the iconic ears of Mr. Spock will be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
Comments on season 2 of The Witcher:
- Jack Seale declares that season 2 of The Witcher works hard to keep us entertained.
- Emily Hughes shares her thoughts on "A Grain of Truth", the first episode of season 2 of The Witcher.
- Emily Hughes shares her thoughts on The Witcher episodes "Kaer Morhen" and "What Is Lost".
- Emily Hughes shares her thoughts on The Witcher episodes "Redanian Intelligence" and "Turn Your Back".
- Emily Hughes shares her thoughts on The Witcher episodes "Dear Friend" and "Voleth Meir".
- Rogues in the House share their thoughts on season 2 of The Witcher.
- Sadie Gennis discusses a revelation in season 2 of The Witcher (spoilers).
Comments on Doctor Who past and present:
- Former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat interviews once and future Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies.
- Simon Hattonstone interviews Russell T. Davies, once and future showrunner of Doctor Who.
- Rob Bricken reports that the first episode of Russell T. Davies' second tenure as showrunner of Doctor Who will be the sixtieth anniversary episode in November 2023.
- Flora Carr reports that Doctor Who producer Bad Wolf could become the biggest drama producer in the UK.
Comments on season 6 of The Expanse:
Comments on The Wheel of Time (spoilers):
Comments on Station Eleven:
Comments on The Matrix: Resurrections (spoilers):
- Germain Lussier calls The Matrix: Resurrections the sequel you've always wanted.
- Paul Levinson calls The Matrix: Resurrections a great mix of deep philosophy and fast-moving action.
- Katie Rife calls The Matrix: Resurrections more self-referential than innovative.
- Peter Bradshaw declares that The Matrix: Resurrections has been drained of life by the Hollywood machine.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that The Matrix: Resurrections feels the need to repeat the lessons from the first film.
- Germain Lussier, Cheryl Eddy and Rob Bricken hold a roundtable discussion of The Matrix: Resurrections.
- Rob Bricken shares some early reactions to The Matrix: Resurrections.
- Jordan Hoffman and readers of The Guardian share a spoilerish discussion of The Matrix: Resurrections.
- Tom Lamont interviews Keanu Reeves, star of the Matrix series, the John Wick series, the Bill and Ted series and many others.
- Germain Lussier interviews David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, two screenwriters who worked on The Matrix: Resurrection.
- Liam Cagney explains why The Matrix and techno music go perfectly together.
- Rob Bricken reports about the red carpet premiere of The Matrix: Resurrections and shares several photos.
The Fellowship of the Ring at twenty:
- Brian Murphy revisits the 2001 fantasy film Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for its twentieth anniversary.
- Guy Lodge revisits The Fellowship of the Ring for its twentieth anniversary and declares that it revitalised and ruined Hollywood.
- Nikita Richardson discusses how the Lord of the Rings movies became holiday comfort viewing for women in their thirties.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2021 Hugo Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2019 and 2020 Sidewise Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2021 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award has been announced.
- Mike Glyer reports about the 2021 Hugo base designed by Sebastian Martorana.
- David Barnett reports about the 2021 Hugo winners.
- Doris V. Sutherland reports about the 2021 Hugo winners.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thought about the 2021 Hugo winners.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
Interviews:
Reviews:
- Joanna Z. Weston reviews A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers.
- Richard Fisher reviews A Sorcerer of Atlantis by John Shirley.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Fish! by Ida Keogh.
- Nadia Elbaar reviews Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee.
- For Winter Nights reviews The Spirit Engineer by A.J. West.
- Bill Capossere reviews Absynthe by Brenden P. Bellecourt.
- Rob Bedford reviews Absynthe by Brenden P. Bellecourt.
- Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds review Roar of Sky by Beth Cato.
- Carolyn Cushman Reviews A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton and Paper & Blood by Kevin Hearne
- Paul Weimer reviews The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso.
- Paul di Filippo reviews The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft.
- Adam Colclough reviews The Book of Sand by Theo Clare.
- L.A. Young reviews The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Horizon by Gautam Bhatia
- Paul Weimer reviews Beyond the Hallowed Sky by Ken MacLeod.
- For Winter Nights reviews Beyond the Hallowed Sky by Ken MacLeod.
- Chris Kluwe reviews Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire.
- Rich Horton reviews Beer! Beer! Beer! by Avram Davidson.
- Paperback Warrior reviews The Institute by Stephen King.
- Grab This Book reviews The Gift by R.A. Williams.
- Arturo Serano reviews Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction, translated and edited by Xueting Christine Ni.
- Bill Ward reviews Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword and Sorcery by Brian Murphy.
Classics reviews:
- James Maliszewski revisits the 1931 horror novella "The Whisperer in Darkness" by H.P. Lovecraft.
- John Miller revisits the Feburary 1936 issue of Weird Tales.
- Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1966 science fiction novels The Monitors by Keith Laumer and The Nevermore Affair by Kate Wilhelm.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the January 1967 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1972 dystopian novel The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner.
- Bill Ward revisits the 1975 sword and sorcery novel Bloodstone by Karl Edward Wagner.
- Nocturnal Revelries revisits the 1977 horror novel Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber.
- Sam Jordison revisits the 1983 Discworld fantasy novel The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett.
- Rob Bricken revisits the 1985 Dragonlance fantasy novel Dragons of Spring Dawning by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis.
- Kat Hooper revisits the 1989 science fiction novel Dare Go A-Hunting by Andre Norton.
Crowdfunding:
Con and event reports:
- Chris M. Barkley shares his experiences at DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon in Washington DC.
- Chris M. Barkley shares more experiences at DisCon III and reports about the Masquerade.
- Juan Sanmiguel shares his experiences at DisCon III and reports about the Masquerade.
- Mike Glyer lists the DisCon III masquerade winners.
- Chris M. Barkley shares yet more experiences at DisCon III, including the last day of the Business Meeting and the Hugo ceremony.
- Jason Sanford shares his experiences at DisCon III.
- Clint Schnekloth shares his experiences at DisCon III from the POV of a pastor.
- Mike Glyer reports about the DisCon III Business Meeting.
- Kevin Standlee reports about the DisCon III Business Meeting.
- Mike Glyer reports that a staff member of DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon in Washington DC, has tested positive for covid.
- Justin Carter reports about some backlash to the fact that the defence contractor Raytheon Intelligence & Space was one of the sponsors of the DisCon III Hugo ceremony.
- Andrew Liptak weighs in on the controversies surrounding Raytheon sponsoring the DisCon III Hugo ceremony and the 2023 Worldcon being awarded to Chengdu, China.
- Mary Robinette Kowal apologises for the Raytheon sponsorship.
- Mari Ness reports about accessibility issues at DisCon III.
- Helen Montogomery reports about a silent auction at DisCon III to benefit Chicon 8, the 2022 Worldcon in Chicago, Illinois.
- Chengdu in China has won the right to host the 2023 Worldcon.
- Orlando, Florida, is bidding for the 2023 NASFIC.
- Arley Sorg reports about the 2021 World Fantasy Convention in Montreal, Canada.
- Only in You State reports about the Bearded Lady's Mystic Museum in Burbank, California.
Science and technology:
- Ashley Strickland reports that the launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has been postponed once again
- Jordan Mendoza reports that ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has discovered significant amounts of water under the surface of Mars.
- NASA reports that geological features on Pluto will be named after American aviation pioneers Bessie Coleman and Sally Ride.
- Adam Satariano, Nick Cumming-Bruce and
Free online fiction:
- "A Cold, Callous Shell" by Chase A. Folmar in Starward Shadows.
- "Every Storm a Rainbow" by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller in Baen.com.
- "By the Pricking of My Robotic Thumbs" by Mary Robinette Kowal in New Scientist.
- "Ten Lessons for a Curse-Breaker" by Ellen Meny in Fireside Magazine.
- "To Rectify in Silver" by Steve Toase in Nightmare Magazine.
- "The God in the Keep" by David A. Riley in Sword and Sorcery Magazine.
- "The Abyssal Architect" by Ori Jay in Mermaids Monthly.
- "Just One Step, and Then the Next" by E.N. Díaz in Clarkesworld.
- "The Last Sound You Hear" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
- "What the River Remembers" by C.L. Holland in Fantasy Magazine.
- "Soil of Our Home, Storm of Our Lives" by Renan Bernardo in Apex Magazine.
- "Ten Things to See Before the World Burns" by Aimee Ogden in Lightspeed.
- "Writing You" by Sharang Biswas in Lightspeed.
- "Syrup-Tapping Season" by Laney Gaughan in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Vincentka vs. Garbage Water" by Helen Oyeyemi in The Guardian.
- "Evil Queen's Lament" by Julia Nolan in Daily Science Fiction.
- "The Vanity of Zombie Publishing" by Filip Wiltgren in Daily Science Fiction.
- "All the Difference" by David M. Barry in Daily Science Fiction.
- "And a Cup of Good Cheer" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Trailers and videos:
Odds and ends:
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