Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 25, 2022

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter, the backlash against Disney for its lukewarm stance against Florida's controversial new anti-LGBTQ law, Star Trek Discovery, Star Trek Picard and the many iterations of Star Trek, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars in general, Moon Knight, Doctor Who past and present, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Halo, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Turning Red, season 11 of The Walking Dead, responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Adam Morgan shares his fifty favourite fantasy books of all time.
• W.L. Goodwater shares five SFF books about manipulated memories.
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF books in which the best laid plans are thwarted. 
  
• Logan Roscoe talks about bureaucracy in science fiction. 
• James Davis Nicoll discusses the downsides of galactic expansion.
  
• Andrew DeYoung notes that every coming of age story is an apocalyptic story. 
• Eric Smith shares five book where giant insects ruin everybody's day.
  
• Jayne Cowie discusses the premise of her near-future novel Curfew.
  
• Matthew Lyons shares new essential horror stories from the American West. 
• Brian James Gage explains why he writes supernatural historical fiction.
  
• Emily Ruth Verona shares eight epistolary horror novels.
  
• C.L. Clark discusses the proliferation of butch lesbians undergoing martyrdom in recent SFF. 
• Judith Tarr discusses the popularity of magical horses in fantasy fiction. 
• Alex Bledsoe shares five books about encounters with fairies.
  
• Tor.com shares eight SFF spins on the Green Man.
  
• Brian Murphy traces the impact of Dungeons & Dragons on fantasy fiction. 
• G.W. Thomas revisits Weird Tales' sister magazine Oriental Stories a.k.a. Magic Carpet Tales.
  
• Bill Ward explains where to start with Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories.
• Age of Dusk shares their appreciation for the Zothique Cycle by Clark Ashton Smith. 
  
• Bobby Derie shares H.P, Lovecraft's reactions to the 1914 historical fantasy novel The Golem by Gustav Meyrink and its various silent film adaptations.
• Aja Romano shares her appreciation for the work of Georgette Heyer and wonders why she is not a household name.
• Jennifer R. Bernstein discusses the gothic fiction of Edith Wharton.
  

Comments on Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter:

• Brandon Sanderson answers some questions about his record-breaking Kickstarter.
• Anne Marble weighs in on Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter.
  
• Linda Codega points out that Brandon Sanderson is not exactly representative either of traditional publishing nor of self-publishing.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Gabriel Hernandez reviews The Cimmerian: Hour of the Dragon No. 1 by Julien Blondel and Valentin Sécher. 
• Matt Davis reviews The Rush Volume 4 by Simon Spurrier and Nathan Gooden. 
• Daniel Dern explains where and how to read daily comic strips online.
  
• Heavy Metal Magazine interviews fantasy artist Orphné Achéron.
  
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the artwork of Bernie Wrightson. 
• Christopher Fulbright remembers Bernie Wrightson.
  
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the Irish artwork of Jim FitzPatrick.
  
• Brian Murphy shares his appreciation for the fantasy artwork of Tom Barber. 
• Justin Carter reports that Jane Foster will be taking up Mjolnir again in a new Thor miniseries.
• The New York Post reports that Marvel Comics No. 1 from 1939 has been sold at an auction for 2.4 million US-dollar.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Leslie Felperin calls The Spine of Night a heady concoction of Steampunk (actually it's sword and sorcery) and flower power. 
• Dean E.S. Richards calls The Adam Project a time travel movie in which Ryan Reynolds plays himself. 
• Leah Schnelbach declares that Promising Young Woman is the gritty vigilante superhero movie she always wanted. 
• Paul Levinson compares The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey to Flowers for Algernon. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls DMZ a disappointing adaptation of the popular dystopian comic.
  
• Luke Buckmaster calls Loveland a bold and ponderous science fiction film. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Broadcast Signal Intrusion an unsettling horror film.
• Phil Hoad calls The Exorcism of God a gaudy horror film. 
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls You Are Not My Mother a gripping blend of teen angst and supernatural horror.
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the season 2 finale of Raised by Wolves. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Severance.
  
• Stuart Heritage calls Human Resources a purile, but star-studded animated comedy. 
• Teo Bugbee shares his thoughts about the documentary More Than Robots.
  
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 2005 science fiction movie Serenity. 
• Dan Persons revisits the 2016 kaiju movie Shin Godzilla.
  
• Phil Pirello interviews Morena Baccarin, star of Firefly, Serenity, the Deadpool movies and many others. 
• Mat Colgate explains why sword and sorcery films deserve respect.
  
• Cheryl Eddy shares ten Irish horror movies to watch for St. Patrick's Day. 
• Zack Sharf reports that actress Karen Fukuhara, who appears The Boys and Suicide Squad, was the victim of a hate crime.  
• Vanessa Armstrong reports that The CW has renewed several shows, including The Flash, Superman and Lois, Nancy Drew and Walker.
  
• Akira Takarada, star of several Godzilla movies has died aged 87.
  

 

Comments on Disney's stance on LGBTQ+ rights: 

• David Smith reports against the backlash against Disney's lukewarm condemnation of the controversial Florida "Don't say gay" law, which targets LGBTQ+ families. 
• Gene Maddaus and Pat Saperstein report about a walkout and rally by Disney employees against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law and Disney's lukewarm stance.  
• The Guardian also reports about the protests by Disney employees against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. 
• Sabina Graves also reports about the walkout of Disney employees to protest the Florida "Din't Say Gay" law.
  
• Adam B. Vary reports about the criticism of Moon Knight stars Oscar Issac and Ethan Hawke as well as other actors appearing in Disney properties of Disney's stance regarding the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
  
• Germain Lussier reports that Disney has restored a same sex kiss in Lightyear, following the backlash against Disney's failure to speak out against a new Florida law targeting LGBTQ+ families.  
• Travis Clark reports that Disney also tried to censor a same-sex relationship in the never released animated film Nimona. 
• Edward Helmore reports that Disney is also under fire for a performance of a Texas high school team chanting racist lyrics at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek Discovery, Star Trek Picard and the many iterations of Star Trek: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Coming Home", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Coming Home". 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Coming Home". 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido offers an overview of season 4 of Star Trek Discovery.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Assimilation", the latest episode of Star Trek Picard. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Assimilation". 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "Assimilation". 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Assimilation".
  
• Scott Standley interviews Olatunde Osunsanmi, director and producer of Star Trek Discovery.
• Brendan Morrow reports that Georgia politician and Star Trek fan Stacey Abrams had a cameo appearance in the Star Trek Discovery season 4 finale.
• James Whitbrook also discusses Stacey Abrams' guest appearance in Star Trek Discovery. 
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1967 Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark".
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Rogue Planet". 
• Phil Pirello interviews actor/director Jonathan Frakes and writer Brannon Braga about how the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect" came to be.
  
• James Whitbrook ranks the essential Star Trek episodes starring Captain Kirk. 
• Steve Vertlieb celebrates the 91st birthday of William Shatner. 
  
• Ben Child hopes that we will eventually see Cate Blanchett in Star Trek.
  

 

Comments on Moon Knight: 

• Sam Barsanti offers an introduction to Moon Knight.
  
• Sabina Graves interviews Oscar Isaac, star of Moon Knight. 
• Sabina Graves interviews Ethan Hawke who plays Arthur Harrow in Moon Knight.
  
• Germain Lussier shares his favourite Oscar Isaac roles.
  
• Watch a clip from Moon Knight.
  

 

Comments on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars in general:

• Dalton Ross interviews Ewan McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the eponymous TV series. 
• James Whitbrook shares the best Star Wars stories starring Obi-Wan to check out before the TV series launches. 

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future:

• Harry Taylor reports that Hugh Grant has debunked rumours that he will be the next Doctor. 
• James Whitbrook notes that Hugh Grant already played the Doctor in the charity special The Curse of Fatal Death in 1999 and that we don't necessarily need to see him in the role again.
• Catherine Tate, who played Donna Noble in Doctor Who, has debuked rumours that her character will be returning in the sixtieth anniversary special.

 

Comments on Everything Everywhere All At Once:

• Jordan Hoffman declares that Everything Everywhere All At Once delivers exactly what the title promises.
• Charles Bramesco calls Everything Everywhere All at Once an ambitious but exhausting trip to the multiverse.
• Bob Mondello calls Everything Everywhere All at Once as encouraging as it is on point.
  

 

Comments on Halo:

• Justin Carter calls the Halo TV series an intriguing, if not quite solid space opera.
  
• Justin Carter interviews Kiki Wolfkill and Steve Kane, producer and showrunner of Halo.

 

Comments on season 11 of The Walking Dead: 

• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
• Rob Bricken shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
  

 

Comments on Jujutsu Kaisen 0: 

• Justin Carter calls Jujutsu Kaisen 0 a tragic romance wrapped in a thrilling original story.
• Artem Golub declares that Jujutsu Kaisen 0 has infectious good energy.
  

 

Comments on Turning Red: 

• Maria Sherman notes that Turning Red celebrates how fandom can shape lives for the better.
• Aja Romano notes that Turning Red has become an unlikely culture war battleground.
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2022 ESFS Achievement Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2022 Kurd Laßwitz Preis have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2022 Seraph have been announced.
  
• The shortlist for the 2021 Australian Shadows Awards has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2021 Coyotl Awards have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2022 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award have been announced.
  
• The 2022 World Video Games Hall of Fame finalists have been announced.
• The winners of the 2022 Producers Guild Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2022 Writers Guild Awards have been announced.
• The writers of Loki share the acceptance speech they would have held, if they had won the Writers Guild Award.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Silje Ulstein talks about her plotting process. 
• Ginger Smith explains what toy collecting taught her about writing and characterisation. 
• Eugen Bacon talks about self-actualization in writing. 
• Maria Haskins shares ten tips for writing flash fiction. 
• Annie Ward explains what screenwriting can teach novelists.
  
• Olivie Blake discusses the benefits of learning hand to hand combat as a writer. 
• Michael Landweber explains how he learned to reconsider expectations about violence in fiction.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about the pitfalls of copyright contract clauses.
  
• Erin Somers reports about a mass resignation of junior editors at several New York publishing houses.
• Elisabeth Egan also reports about the mass resignation of assistant editors.
• Liz Gorinsky is stepping down as editor of Erewhon Books. 
• The Writer Beware blog has a new home.
  
• Claire Armitstead reports about the current wave of book banning attempts in US-schools.
• SFWA has issued a statement in support of Ukraine.
• SFWA is also changing its membership requirements.

Interviews:

• Dawn Davis interviews Margaret Atwood.
  
• Nate File interviews Marlon James. 
• Locus interviews Maurice Broaddus. 
• Fabienne Schwizer interviews Ciel Perlot.
  
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald interviews Catherine Lundoff. 
• Locus interviews Sara A. Mueller.
  
• Christie Yant interviews Gabrielle Harbowy.
  
• Jen Gheller interviews Sarah Salcedo.
• Scott Edelman interviews Sara Duke.
• Oliver Brackenbury interviews Cora Buhlert.
  

Reviews:

• Chris Kluwe reviews Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik.
  
• Carrie Chi Lough reviews Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. 
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald reviews The Aurora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
  
• Liz Bourke reviews Servant Mage by Kate Elliott. 
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
• C.T. Phipps reviews Travels in the Dark by Jordan Loyal Short.
  
• Mark Yon reviews Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. 
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Inheritors of Power by Juliette Wade. 
• Maya C. James reviews Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Rio Adopts a Puppy and Ladies’ Day Out by S.L. Huang.
• Crom's Mountain reviews Hag of the Hills by J.T.T. Ryder. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne.
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. 
• Alex Brown reviews Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore.
  
• Wendy Chen reviews A Thousand Steps Into Night by Traci Chee. 
• Martin Cahill reviews Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms
  
• Russell Letson reviews Escape from Yokai Land by Charles Stross. 
• Arturo Serrano reviews Here Lies by Olivia Clare Friedman. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Incy Wincy by R.J. Dark.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake.
  
• Kat Hooper reviews Winter by Marissa Meyer. 
• Elizabeth Tabler reviews Rabbits by Terry Miles. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Servant's Story by Peter Thomson.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Sundial by Catriona Ward.  
• Becky LeJeune reviews A Black and Endless Sky by Matthew Lyons. 
• Becky LeJeune reviews Near the Bone by Christina Henry. 
• Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews Can’t Find My Way Home by Gwynne Garfinkle.
• Louis Markos reviews The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind by Jason M. Baxter.

 

Classics reviews:

• Jeff Pike revisits the 1872 vampire novel Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. 
• M. Porcius revisits the December 1935 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.
  
• M. Porcius revisits the 1942 supernatural detective story Doorway to Hell by Frank Patton a.k.a. Raymond Palmer. 
• Matt Mikalatos revisits the 1942 religious fantasy novel The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
  
• M. Porcius revisits the 1944 lost world novel The Return of Jongor by Robert Moore Williams. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1967 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
  
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1976 near future science fiction novel The Tomorrow File by Lawrence Sanders.
• John O'Neill revisits the 1977 sword and sorcery anthology Swords Against Darkness, edited by Andrew J. Offutt.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 science fiction anthology Orbit 21, edited by Damon Knight.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1981 space opera novel The Revolution from Rosinante and its two sequels by Alexis A. Gilliland. 
• Joe Sherry revisits the 1990 fantasy novel The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1995 YA horror novel College Weekend and the 1997 YA horror duology Fear Hall by R.L. Stine.
  
• Natasha Pulley revisits the 2002 fantasy novel Golden Fool by Robin Hobb.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 2009 horror novella Borealis by Ronald Malfi.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Blind Visionary Productions is looking for funding for The Hangman's Garden, a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG adventure. 
• Artist and teacher Diane Talbot, the wife of science fiction author John Barnes, is suffering from pancreatic cancer and needs some help with medical expenses.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• The 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu. China, has posted the membership rates.
  
• Rebellion Publishing announced "The Galaxy's Greatest", a free online convention to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the British comic 2000AD.
• Morgan Hazelwood reports about the "Ask an editor" panel at DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon in Washington DC.
• Lesa Holstine reports about a visit to the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Michelle Starr reports that the James Webb Space Telescope just sent back the first image of a star. 
  
• Leonard David explains that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening several joint space missions.
• James Bacon reports that the Russian cosmonauts aboard the ISS have expressed their solidarity with Ukraine by wearing yellow and blue.
• P.D. Smith and Matthew Green talk about lost places in the UK.
• Jennifer Ouellette reports that Stonehenge may be an ancient solar calendar.
  

Free online fiction:

• "All the Time We've Left To Spend" by Alyssa Wong in Lightspeed.
• "The Historiography of Loss" by Julianna Baggott in Lightspeed. 
  
• "The Stars Above Eos" by M. Darusha Wehm in Fireside Magazine.
  
• "Sleeping Giants" by Erin Keating in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "Meddling Fields" by R.T. Ester in Clarkesworld. 
• "Commencement Address" by Arthur Liu, translated by Stella Jiayue Zhu, in Clarkesworld. 
• "Nine Theories of Time" by Spencer Nitkey in Apex Magazine.
  
• "Time Says No" by Praise Osawuru in Omenana. 
• "Said the Carrion to the Corvus" by Woody Dismukes in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Isabeau's New Name" by Michael Meyerhofer in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
  
• "Douen" by Suzan Palumbo in The Dark. 
• "The Cat and the Conerian" by Frederick Sheilira in Wyngraf Magazine. 
• "The Dybbuk Ward" by Gabrielle Harbowy in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "What We Know and What You Can Do about the Troubling Rise of Werepandaism" by Timothy Esaias in Daily Science Fiction
• "Random Acts of Magic" by Amy Clare Fontaine in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Extra Innings" by Lara Pasternak Robicheaux in Daily Science Fiction.
• "String Theory" by Emma-Rive A. Nelson in Daily Science Fiction.
• "The Destroyer" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a deleted scene from The Batman.
  
• Watch a trailer for Tekken Bloodline.
• Watch a trailer for Men.