It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Star Trek Picard and the many iterations of Star Trek, Moon Knight and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Wars in general, Our Flag Means Death, Halo, The Batman, Morbius, You Won't Be Alone, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Apollo 10 1/2, Turning Red, season 11 of The Walking Dead, Bruce Willis' retirement from acting, responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and much more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- John Scalzi shares his six favourite recent books with science fiction themes.
- Emma Haughton declares that science fiction explores what it means to be human.
- Scott Oden points out that even though he writes fantasy, he doesn't much care for most modern fantasy and prefers historical fiction.
- Carrie Patel shares five SFF books about fantastic cities.
- Tarun K. Saint takes a look at the new wave of South Asian SFF.
- Josh Weiss shares ten must-read alternate history thrillers.
- Sylvain Neuvel shares five alternate history novels focussed on WWII and the space race.
- Molly Templeton talks about treasuring books no one else seems to love.
- Brian Murphy talks about the influence of Dungeons and Dragons on contemporary fantasy writing.
- Judith Tarr shares her appreciation for the works of Andre Norton.
- James Davis Nicoll surveys the celebrated Orbit series of science fiction anthologies edited by Damon Knight.
- Scott Mendelson wonders why The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has completely faded from the cultural conversation in spite of being massively popular.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five books by Martha Wells to enjoy that are not Murderbot.
- Martin Wisse shares his appreciation for the Honor Harrington series by David Weber.
- Matthew Ilseman shares his appreciation for the White Wolf editions of the Lankhmar books by Fritz Leiber and their Mike Mignola cover art.
- Terrence E. Hanley profiles Weird Tales author Joseph Payne Brennan in a two-part post.
- G.W. Thomas takes a look at Fu-Manchu inspired yellow peril villains appearing in the pages of Weird Tales.
- G.W. Thomas traces the history of gorillas and other giant apes in Weird Tales.
- Kij Johnson will join the Ad Astra Center for Science Fiction & Speculative Imagination at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as associate director.
- Tom Grater reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin claims that the West is trying to "cancel" Russia and invokes the backlash against J.K. Rowling for her transphobic views as an example and also defends Rowling.
- The BBC reports that J.K. Rowling is not amused at being invoked or defended by Vladimir Putin.
- Mike Glyer reports that Patreon has banned Jon Del Arroz for engaging in hate speech.
Comics and Art:
- James Bacon celebrates the 45th anniversary of the British comic magazine 2000 AD.
- James Whitbrook chronicles how the latest X-Men crossover event turned long-time X-Men ally Moira MacTaggert into a terrible villain.
- Jay Edidin wonders which X-Men mentor character would make a better sex education teacher, Professor X or Magneto.
- Zach Rabiroff reports about daily newspaper comics like Mary Worth, Mark Trail or Nancy, which have been running for decades and yet still find readers and fans.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1982 graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Eric Anderson.
- Rachel Cooke reviews the graphic novel Two Heads by Uta Frith, Chris Frith, Alex Frith and Daniel Locke.
- Eric J. Hildeman interviews artist Terry Lee.
- Maria Popova shares her appreciation for Arthur Rackham's art for Irish Fairy Tales by John Stephens.
- British comic artist Garry Leach has died aged 67.
Film and TV:
- Cath Clarke calls Spiritwalker a stylish bodyswap action thriller from South Korea.
- Leslie Felperin calls Coppelia a modern make-over for the classic ballet fairytale.
- Phuong Le calls Homebound a horror film gone wrong.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
- Felicity Day points out that Bridgerton is not very historically accurate and shares regency reading recommendations.
- Cath Clarke calls The Bad Guys a fun animated crime caper.
- Phil Hoad calls Rabbit Academy an unconvincing and badly written animated film.
- Deborah Happ declares that Encanto understands the pressures put upon Latin American women.
- Germain Lussier lists ten great 2021 SFF films that were not nominated for an Oscar in any category.
- Justin Carter declares that most superhero movies are not Oscar worthy, but that they could be.
- Sabina Graves shares science fiction and fantasy films by women that are currently streaming.
- Michaele Jordan recommends South Korean SFF series beyond Squid Game.
- Dalya Alberge reports about the troubled childhood of Gerry Anderson, creator of the Thunderbirds and other Supermarionation TV shows.
- Steve Vertlieb remembers the premiere of the original King Kong is Los Angeles, California, in March 1933.
- K.G. McAbee shares her favourite strong female role models from 1950s TV series.
- Brian Murphy revisits the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.
- Rachel Ayers shares her appreciation for Buttercup from the 1987 fantasy film The Princess Bride.
- Joe George revisits the 1992 monster film Tremors for its thirtieth anniversary.
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the 2002 science fiction series Firefly.
- Charles Hobby revisits the 2006 Philip K. Dick adaptation A Scanner Darkly, which he prefers to Blade Runner.
- Carolina A. Miranda reports how nuclear war movies of the 1980s such as The Day After, Threads and Red Dawn, are experiencing a renaissance due to the war in Ukraine.
- Ben Child reports that Nicholas Cage has spoken out against the superhero movie bashing by Martin Scorsese and Cage's uncle Francis Ford Coppola.
- Samuel Gelman reports that Francis Ford Coppola actually likes Deadpool.
- Nell Frizell reports about make-up artist Matthew Mungle who makes artificial penises for Hollywood movies.
- Seth Abramovitch reports that puppet wranglers at the Jim Henson Company are planning to unionise.
- Tatiana Tenreyro reports that Elliot Page's character in The Umbrella Academy will come out as trans and will henceforth be known as Victor Hargreeves.
- Eshe Nelson reports that many streaming services are now filming expensive prestige TV series in the UK.
- Rich Johnston traces the history of British tabloids announcing who will take over as the Doctor in Doctor Who and getting it wrong.
Comments on Bruce Willis retiring from acting:
- Catherine Shoard reports that Bruce Willis, star of Die Hard, Moonlighting, Twelve Monkey, The Fifth Element and many others, will retire from acting because of aphasia.
- Meg James and Amy Kaufman share more about Bruce Willis' struggle with aphasia.
- Peter Bradshaw looks back on the career of Bruce Willis.
Comments on Star Trek Picard and the many iterations of Star Trek:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on the Star Trek Picard episode "Watcher".
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Watcher".
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "Watcher".
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Watcher".
- Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on episodes 2 and 3 of Star Trek Picard.
- Rob Bricken discusses the portrayal of Cadet Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
- Galactic Journey revisits the 1967 Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy".
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Acquisition".
- Jason Vest reports about William Shatner's eyeball double in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Comments on Moon Knight and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:
- Sabina Graves calls Moon Knight a thrilling mix of drama and weird horror.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Moon Knight the Venom of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the best possible way and praises the performance of Oscar Isaac.
- Stuart Jeffries calls Moon Knight wittier and more philosophical than he expected and praises the performance of Osacar Isaac.
- Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on "The Goldfish Problem", the first episode of Moon Knight.
- Manuel Betancourt shares his thoughts on "The Goldfish Problem".
- Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "The Goldfish Problem".
- Artem Golub shares his thoughts on "The Goldfish Problem".
- James Whitbrook comments on Oscar Isaac's British accent in Moon Knight from the POV of someone who's actually British.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw laments that Frenchie Duchamp, a gay character from the Moon Knight comics, is reduced to a cameo appearance in the TV series.
- Ryan Leston interviews Mohamed Diab, director of Moon Knight.
- Sabina Graves interviews Grant Curtis, producer of Moon Knight.
- James Whitbrook reports that Disney+ has censored some of the more violent scenes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as part of some new "parental controls" they introduced.
Comments on Star Wars in general:
- Molly Templeton reports that deaf actor Troy Kotsur who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Coda, also played a Tusken Scout in The Mandalorian and created the Tusken sign language.
- Nicholas Brooks explains why C-3PO had a silver leg in the original Star Wars trilogy.
- Jazz Tangcay explains how the Ukrainian company Respeecher de-aged the voice of Mark Hamill for The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Comments on Our Flag Means Death:
Comments on Halo:
- Ben Child declares that the hit video game Halo has morphed into a mediocre TV series.
- Ari Notis declares that the Halo TV show is not trying to be the game and that's a good thing.
- Joshua Rivera calls the Halo TV show the ultimate battle between story and lore.
- James Whitbrook finds a Mass Effect related Easter egg in the first episode of Halo.
Comments on Everything Everywhere All At Once:
- David Sims calls Everything Everywhere All At Once a mindbending multiverse fantasy.
- Linda Codega calls Everything Everywhere All At Once a science fiction masterpiece that never loses sight of the family at the center of the multiverse.
- Linda Codega also talks about watching Everything Everywhere All At Once as an LGBTQ+ person.
Comments on The Batman:
Comments on Morbius:
Comments on You Won't Be Alone:
Comments on season 11 of The Walking Dead:
Comments on Apollo 10 1/2:
Comments on Turning Red:
Awards:
- The winners of the 2022 IAFA Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2022 Pulp Factory Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2022 Michael Knost Wings Award have been announced.
- The winner of the 2022 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest has been announced.
- The winners of the 2022 FAAn Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2022 BBC Audio Drama Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2022 Academy Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2022 Razzie Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2022 Bafta TV Awards have been announced with very little love for genre TV.
- The 2022 Chesley Awards are open for suggestions.
- The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog points out that the so-called twenty-five percent rule in the WSFS constitution may mean that some Hugo categories are at risk of not being awarded at all, because they get fewer votes than the novel and dramatic presentation categories.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Rachel Hartman shares some tips for writing multiple POVs.
- Sarah Kades reminds us that everybody is the hero of their own story.
- Nancy Jane Moore shares some thoughts on pronouns.
- Charlotte Duckworth explains why she is drawn to writing dark books.
- Lincoln Michel talks about writing horror.
- The Speculative Literature Foundation shares a panel on creating a shared world.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about copyright.
- J. Scott Coatsworth shares some tips for going wide.
- Alexandra Lange reports that nostalgia for the US big box bookstores of the 1990s and early 2000s is leading to a revival of the mall bookstore.
- Mike Hixenbaugh and Jeremy Schwartz report that the superintendent of the Granbury independent school district in Texas has told librarians to remove books on sexuality and transgender people.
- Andrew Albanese reports that the American Library Association has conducted a poll, which revealed that the overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to book banning efforts.
- Sarah Shaffi reports that Philip Pullman has resigned as president of the Society of Authors, following the controversy surrounding Kate Clanchy's memoir.
Interviews:
- The New Statesman interviews Neil Gaiman.
- FanFiAddict interviews Gareth L. Powell.
- Cat Rambo interviews Jane Yolen.
- Arin Komins interviews K.D. Edwards.
- Marion Deeds interviews Marta Randall.
- Simone Heller interviews Eugenia Triantafyllou.
- Brad Listi interviews Kate Folk.
- Jen Gheller interviews Erin Keating.
- Jen Gheller interviews Glenna Turnbull.
- Mark Rigney interviews Mark Bilsborough.
Reviews:
- Paul Weimer reviews Azura's Ghost by Essa Hansen.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.
- Lesa Holstine reviews The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders.
- Brahidaliz Martinez reviews Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders.
- Adrienne Martini reviews Sister of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather.
- Paul Weimer reviews Servant Mage by Kate Elliott.
- Adrienne Martini reviews Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
- Crom's Mountain reviews Blood of Ambrose by James Enge.
- Power and Page reviews The Assassins of Consequence by Marshall Ryan Maresca.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Book of Perilous Dishes by Doina Rusti, translated by James Christian Brown.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May.
- Martin Cahill reviews Gallant by V.E. Schwab.
- Elizabeth Tabler reviews Crowbones by Anne Bishop.
- Fiona Denton reviews The City of Dusk by Tara Sim.
- Powder and Page reviews The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller.
- Bill Capossere reviews Destiny of the Dead by Kel Kade.
- Grace Li reviews The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo.
- James Davis Nicoll reviews The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh.
- Chris Haught reviews Skallagrim – In the Vales of Pagarna by Stephen R. Babb.
- Ian Mond reviews The This by Adam Roberts.
- Doreen Sheridan reviews The Temps by Andrew DeYoung.
- Mark Yon reviews Until the Last of Me by Sylvain Neuvel.
- Arturo Serrano reviews Until the Last of Me by Sylvain Neuvel.
- Alex Brown reviews So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens.
- Sean Dowie reviews And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin.
- Lesa Holstine reviews Knight Owl by Christopher Denise.
- Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews Longing and Other Stories by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, translated by Anthony H. Chambers and Paul McCarthy.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews The Book of Queer Saints, edited by Mae Murray.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Bridging Worlds edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Classics reviews:
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1923 lost world novel The Valley of Eyes Unseen by Gilbert Collins.
- James Maliszewski revisits the 1941 horror story "Smoke Ghost" by Fritz Leiber.
- Talking Pulp revisits the 1965 Elric sword and sorcery novel Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock.
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1965 science fiction collection The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age by Stanislaw Lem, translated by Michael Kandel.
- Mark Yon revisits the April 1967 issue of New Worlds and SF Impulse.
- Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1967 issue of Analog.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1968 science fiction collection Neutron Star by Larry Niven.
- Kristen Ciccarelli revisits the 1974 fantasy novel The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1978 feminist science fiction novel Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre.
- Joachim Boaz revisits the 1984 cyberpunk story "Rock On" by Pat Cadigan.
- Rob Bricken revisits the 1986 fantasy novel Artifact of Evil by Gary Gygax.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 1994 Disworld novel Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett.
- Paperback Warrior revisits the 2005 science fiction novel Old Man's War by John Scalzi.
Crowdfunding:
- The collection Thune's Vision: Stories by Schuyler Hernstrom, is looking for funding.
- Student Loans Paid In Blood and The Cursed App, two urban fantasy audiobooks by Todd Allen, are looking for funding.
- Brandon Sanderson and his team support the community to backing every single publishing Kickstarter currently running.
Con and event reports:
- The Glasgow in 2024 Worldcon bid announces The Fantastic Tree of Life, a collective art project to be exhibited at Reclamation, the 2022 Eastercon in Heathrow, UK.
- Kit Stubbs shares an update about the 2022 Wiscon in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Anthony Heathcote reports about the 40 Years of Thrill Power Festival, an event in London, UK, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the British comic book 2000 AD.
- Mike Glyer reports that Ukrainian fans have called for Russia and Belarus to be expelled from the European Science Fiction Society because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Bloomberg reports that the Jekyll & Hyde Club theme restaurant in New York City has filed for bankruptcy.
- Stuart Heritage reports about a new James Bond themed attraction on the Faroe Islands.
- Sabina Graves also reports about the new James Bond tourist attraction on the Faroe Islands and shares a photo.
- Lila Seidman reports about a new attraction at Legoland California in Carlsbad, California.
- Jeff Lunden reports about the Broadway Makers Marketplace, a fan-run store and community in New York City.
Science and technology:
- Joel Achenbach reports that the Hubble telescope has just detected the most distant star ever spotted.
- Chelsia Rose Marcius reports that Spot the robot dog has joined the New York City Fire Department.
- Angela Giuffrida reports that Spot the robot dog will also help patrol Pompeii to identify safety and structural issues.
- Nadia Drake reports that NASA is criticised for ending a project which allowed employees to display their preferred pronouns on their badges.
- Tess Josse explains why a boa constrictor does not suffocate when it squeezes its prey to death.
- Ally Wilkes shares a brief history of supernatural encounters in the Antarctic.
- John Gallagher reports about a man in Latvia in the 17th century who claimed he was a werewolf.
Free online fiction:
- "Merry in Time" by Kathleen Jennings in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Venturing" by Jonathan Louis Duckworth in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "Since He Came Back" by Lindsay King-Miller in Fireside Magazine.
- "Clouds in Her Eyes" by Glenna Turnbull in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Experiment Ninety-Four" by Sarah Salcedo in Luna Station Quarterly.
- Five Things You Should Know Before Summoning a Demon" by Karl Dandenell in Wyldblood Magazine.
- "Ouroboros" by Liam Hogan in Starward Shadows.
- "Veli the Devil" by Cathy Bryant in Wyngraf Magazine.
- "Iron Harvest" by Nathaniel Webb in Wyngraf Magazine.
- "Empathy Hour" by Matt Bell in Slate Future Tense.
- "A Tranquil Star" by Primo Levi in The New Yorker.
- "Dust" by Kwasi Adi-Dako in Omenana.
- "Strata" by Benjamin Blattberg in Apex Magazine.
- "A Song for Looking Back, a Song for Looking Forward by José Pablo Iriarte in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Paw and Prejudice" by Mary Soon Lee in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Under the Raging Sky" by Jenny Rae Rappaport in Daily Science Fiction.
- "The Last Gay in the World" by Finnian Burnett in Daily Science Fiction.
- "School Project" by Robert Bagnall in Daily Science Fiction.
- "Master Carver Builds a Debtor's Prison" by Sean Vivier in Daily Science Fiction.
Trailers and videos:
No comments:
Post a Comment