Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for April 8, 2022

 

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, The Northman, Halo, Morbius, Severance, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, season 11 of The Walking Dead, the implosion of Silver Shamrock Publishing, Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter, responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 2022 Hugo finalists and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy lists thirty-seven new science fiction and fantasy books coming out this April. 
• Tor.com shares all the new science fiction books coming out in April. 
• Tor.com shares all the new fantasy books coming out in April. 
• Tor.com shares all the new YA SFF books coming out in April.
  
• Amal El-Mohtar takes a look at her favourite new science fiction and fantasy books. 
• Jo Walton shares her March 2022 reading list.
  
• Jo Walton talks about revisiting long SFF series.
  
• Rey Rowland shares her favourite historical fantasy books. 
• Deborah Falaye talks about morally grey characters.
  
• Ken Lizzi shares his ten favourite sword and sorcery characters. 
• G.W. Thomas shares some lesser known sword and sorcery stories. 
• Judy I. Lin shares five SFF books to pair with a good cup of tea.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories about lawyers and the law. 
• Brendan P. Bellecourt shares five books about telepathy.
  
• Jedediah Berry shares five labyrinthine SFF books. 
• Rachel Barenbaum talks about time travel and metafiction.
  
• Guillermo Martínez talks about fiction within fiction.
  
• Aaron Jones talks about religion in fantasy. 
• Renay Williams shares a guide to the novels of John Scalzi. 
• C.D. Covington talks about lingusitic worldbuilding in Lana Elena Donnelly's Amberlough novels.
  
• Jonathan Thornton shares his appreciation for the subversive fantasy novels of Angela Carter. 
• Bobby Derie talks about Antisemitism in Robert E. Howard's fiction and letters.
  
• Sophie Litherland shares her thoughts on H.P. Lovecraft from the POV of a trans woman. 
• Bobby Derie profiles weird poet Robert Larson, his troubled relationship to his parents and his correspondence with H.P. Lovecraft.
  
• Age of Dusk shares their appreciation for the Hyperborean Cycle of Clark Ashton Smith.
  
• Bill Ward shares his appreciation for the works of William Morris reprinted in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series. 
• Paperback Warrior profiles Jack Pearl, prolific writer of war, adventure, science fiction and tie-in novels as well as non-fiction books.
  
• The Rogues in the House podcast discusses The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and its many adaptations.
  
• Austin Gilkeson wonders whether a dragon or a balrog would win the ultimate showdown in Middle Earth. 
• Alex Farnsworth, Michael Farnsworth and Sebastian Steiner have created a simulation of Arrakis from Dune to see if humans could live there. 
• Borys Sydiuk shares an update about the state of various Ukrainian SFF writers and translators following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  
• The European Science Fiction Society has made a statement regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 
• Children's book author David McKee has died aged 87.
  
• Bookseller and editor Richard Labonté has died.
  

Comics and Art:

• BuzzFeed share their fifteen favourite comic book covers of all time. 
• Elizabeth Blair calls George O'Connor's Olympians series a graphic novel about Greek Gods which does not talk down to kids.
  
• Justin Carter reports that a new character named Lin Lie will take on the mantle of Iron Fist at Marvel Comics. 
• Leela Corman discusses the importance of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus.
  
• James Bacon reports that a War comic anthology by Ukrainian writers and artists is in production. 
• Robert Wilonsky reports that some rare DC Comics ashcan editions from the 1930s and 1940s will be auctioned off. 
• The Guardian shares the dystopian collages of Joe Webb.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Alex Brown discusses the queer joy of Our Flag Means Death. 
• Bill Capossere calls The Adam Project a fun time travel film for the whole family. 
• Paul Levinson calls Moonshot a joyful science fiction film. 
• Paul Levinson calls Antlers a neo retro horror film. 
• Aaron Jones calls All of Us Are Dead yet another brilliant SFF series from South Korea. 
  
• Leslie Felperin calls Father of Flies a creepy but uneven horror film. 
• Sean Dowie shares his thoughts on the French film Titane.
  
• Todd Gilchrist reports that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is better than its predecessor. 
  
• David Stewart ranks his ten favourite science fiction films of the 1970s.
  
• Lorna Wallace shares her five favourite zombie movies from around the world. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares none horror movies about horror film shoots gone tragically wrong.
  
• Joe George rates his fifteen favourite time travel movies. 
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1967 Doctor Who serial "The Macra Terror". 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 2001 horror film Session 9.
  
• Camestros Felapton shares more thoughts on the 2002 space opera series Firefly. 
• Benjamin Lee interviews Goran Stolevski, director of You Won't Be Alone.
• Ben Child wonders whether part 2 of Dune can win an Oscar for best film, since part 1 didn't.
• The Movie District shares the filming locations of the 1956 science fiction horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
• Steve Vertlieb remembers film composer Elmer Bernstein.
• Actress Estelle Harris, who appeared in Toy Story, Night Court, Once Upon a Time in America and Seinfeld, has died aged 93.
• Actress June Brown, best known for playing Dot Cotton in East Enders, has died aged 95.
• Actor Nehemiah Persoff, who was in everything, has died aged 102.
  

 

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

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Fly Me To the Moon", the latest episode of Star Trek Picard.
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Fly Me To the Moon".
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "Fly Me To the Moon".  
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Fly Me To the Moon".
  
• James Whitbrook reports about an Easter egg in "Fly Me To the Moon".
• Adam B. Vary reports that a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation castmembers will reunited for season 3 of Star Trek Picard. 
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1967 Star Trek episode "The Alternative Factor".
  
• Keith R.A. De Candido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Oasis". 
• Rich Pelley intervies Jason Isaacs who played Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek Discovery.
  
• Justin Kroll interviews Chris Pine, star of The Contractor, All the Old Knives and the Star Trek movies.  
• James Whitbrook interviews David C. Fein, producer of the director's edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
  
• Watch a teaser for season 3 of Star Trek Picard.
  
• Watch a trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
• Watch a teaser for To The Journey, a documentary about the making of Star Trek Voyager.
  

 

Comments on Moon Knight and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on "Summon the Suit", the latest episode of Moon Knight.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "Summon the Suit". 
• Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "Summon the Suit". 
• Manuel Betancourt shares his thoughts on "Summon the Suit". 
• Sabina Graves shares her thoughts on "Summon the Suit". 
  
• David Betancourt interviews Oscar Isaac, star of Moon Knight. 
• Eric Davis interviews Sam Raimi, director of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
• Watch a trailer for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
  

 

Comments on The Northman: 

• Sam Knight calls The Northman the most accurate Viking movie ever made and the most ambitious one. 
• Valerie Ettenhofer shares some early reactions to The Northman. 

 

Comments on Halo:

• James Whitbrook is happy that the Halo TV show lets the Master Chief take off his helmet.
• Watch the first episode of Halo for free in the US.
  

 

Comments on Morbius:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Morbius a ridiculously pointless Jekyll and Hyde vampire monster yarn. 
• Artem Golub calls Morbius a messy void.
  
• Germain Lussier notes that the post-credits scenes of Morbius defy logical explanation.
• Mike Ryan interviews Daniel Espinosa, director of Morbius.
• Jason Guerrasio interviews Daniel Espinosa and also addresses the negative reviews for Morbius.
  
• Zack Sharf reports that Daniel Espinosa responds to the negative criticism of Morbius by pointing out that he has a lot of self-hatred.
  
• Matt Schimkovitz points out that the relative success of Joker, Venom and Morbius proves that supervillain movies can be popular.
• Rob Bricken reports that Morbius had a remarkably good opening weekend for a movie about a little known comic character with bad reviews.
  

 

Comments on Severance:

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts about the latest episode of Severance.
• Saloni Gajjar interviews the production designer and set decorator of Severance.
• Molly Templeton reports that Severance is getting a second season.

 

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 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore:

• Tomris Laffy finds that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore lacks the magic and fun of the Harry Potter films even without the controversies surrounding J.K. Rowling.  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore good-natured magical entertainment.  
• Peter Debruge calls Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore an emotional middle chapter for the Fantastic Beasts series.
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2022 Hugo Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2022 Darrell Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2022 Eagle-Con Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2021 Aurealis Awards has been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2022 Tolkien Society Awards has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Quantum Short Flash Fiction Competition have been announced.
  
• The finalists in the science fiction and fantasy category for the 2022 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards have been announced.
• The finalists in the horror category for the 2022 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2022 International Costumers' Guild Awards have been announced.
  
• The inductees into the 2022 Filk Hall of Fame have been announced.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Charlie Jane Anders shares seven tips for avoiding the biggest problems with villains. 
• Amanda Eyre Ward explains why keeping secrets is an important tool for writers. 
• Lincoln Michel points out that conflict is only one way to think about stories.
  
• Timothy David Mack talks about cowriting. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks some more about copyright.
  
• Locus reports about the so-called Great Resignation in the US publishing industry.
  
• Libby Brooks reports that children's books on diversity are increasingly subject to bans or censorship even in the UK. 
• Danika Ellis reports that Follett Learning, a company that develops software for school libraries, is developing a system that would allow parents to monitor the books their children are reading.
  
• Gina Cherelus reports that the New York Public Library has abolished all late fees and promptly got a lot of long missing books returned.
• Mike Glyer reports that Don Blyly, owner of the Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's SFF and mystery bookstores, which were burned down during the riots in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2020, has found a new home for both stores.
  

Comments on the closing of Silver Shamrock Publishing: 

• Roxie Voorhees points out that Silver Shamrock Publishing announced a racist novel by Gene O'Neill, which caused a backlash which eventually led to the publisher shutting down. 
• Locus reports about the closing of Silver Shamrock Publishing. 
• Thomas Wagner weighs in on the implosion of Silver Shamrock Publishing.
  

 

Interviews:

• Scott Edelman interviews Paul Witcover. 
• Arley Sorg interviews Rachel Cordasco. 
• Oliver Brackenbury interviews Chase A. Folmar.
  
• Jen Gheller interviews Amy Mills Klipstine.
• Gord Sellar and Jihyun Park interview Djuna.
• Cora Buhlert interviews Joachim Boaz. 
• Ian Benke interviews J. Lynn Else.
  
• John Ezard interviews J.R.R. Tolkien (in 1968).
• Linda Mitchell interviews Terry Pratchett (in 1992).
  

Reviews:

• For Winter Nights reviews Our Child of Two Worlds by Stephen Cox.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Our Child of Two Worlds by Stephen Cox. 
• The Hugo Book Club Blog reviews Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Braking Day by Adam Oyebanji. 
  
• C.T. Phipps reviews War Games by Anna Mocikat.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan. 
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford. 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport.
  
• Liz Bourke reviews Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher.
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff.
  
• J.W. Wright reviews Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews No Beauties or Monsters by Tara Goedjen.
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn. 
• Molly Templeton reviews The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller.
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Carnival of Ash by Tom Beckerlegge.
  
• Liz Bourke reviews City of Dusk by Tara Sim. 
• Elizabeth Tabler reviews Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig.
  
• Adri Joy reviews Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Gallant by V.E. Schwab. 
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May.
  
• Angela Gualtieri reviews The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker.
  
• Nate Aubin reviews The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish. 
• Nina Allan reviews Metronome by Tim Watson.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Entropy of Loss by Stewart Hotston. 
• Arturo Serrano reviews One Arm Shorter Than The Other by Gigi Ganguly. 
• Russell Letson reviews Galaxias by Stephen Baxter.
  
• Alex Brown reviews The Kindred by Alechia Dow.
  
• Maryann Corbett reviews Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley.
• Crom's Mountain reviews Worlds Beyond Worlds by John R. Fultz. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Giving the Devil His Due, edited by Rebecca Brewer. 
• Martin Morse Wooster reviews Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood by J. Michael Straczynski.
  
• J.W. Wright reviews Robert E. Howard Changed My Life, edited by Jason M. Waltz.
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Lisa Tuttle revisits the 1827 scientific romance The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century by Jane Webb.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1933 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Pool of the Black One" by Robert E. Howard. 
• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisit the 1948 vampire story "The Girl With the Hungry Eyes" by Fritz Leiber.
  
• Fletcher Vredenburgh revisits the 1956 historical fantasy novel The Great Captains by Henry Treece.
  
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1965 anthology New Writings in S-F 6, edited by John Carnell.
• David Grigg and Perry Middlemas revisit the 1967 anthology Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison, as well as the 1967 science fantasy novel Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.
• David Levinson revisits the April 1967 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1968 first contact novel His Master's Voice by Stanislaw Lem, translated by Michael Kandel.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1971 dystopian thriller Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1975 anthology Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Fourth Annual Collection, edited by Lester Del Rey. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 space opera novel Star Hunters by Jo Clayton.
  
• The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1983 horror collection From the Heart of Darkness by David Drake.
  
• Timothy the Talking Cat revisits the 1984 cyberpunk novel Neuromancer by William Gibson.
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1989 YA horror novel Prom Dress by Lael Littke and the 1996 YA horror novel The Prom Date by Diane Hoh. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1994 X-Files tie-in novel Goblins by Charles Grant.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• The sword and sorcery RPG Swords & Chaos is looking for funding. 
• Apex Magazine is looking for funding for its 2021 Compilation Anthology.
  
• Sarah Whitten reports that Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter closed at 41.7 million US-dollar.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong shares some detail about the four books that will be published as part of Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• The third progress report for Chicon 8, the 2022 Worldcon in Chiacgo, Illinois, is available for download. 
• Charles De Lint has stepped down as Guest of Honour from Chicon 8.
  
• The 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, China, answers some questions regarding their membership and fee structure. 
• Mary Robinette Kowal launches a not entirely serious Worldcon bid for Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2032.  
• Victor Domashev reports that WonderCon in Anaheim, California, will take place in person again in 2022.
  
• Lucy Knight reports that the Hay Literary Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, will take place as an in-person festival again in 2022.
  
• Rich Lynch reports about a visit to the Futures exhibition at the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. 
  
• Merrit Kennedy reports that among the many casualties of the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol is IT 8-BIT, a popular retro computer museum.
• Sabina Graves reports that a new Guardians of the Galaxy themed attraction is coming to Epcot Center at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
• Sabina Graves interviews Alex Lee, entertainment producer at the Galactic Starcruiser resort in Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
• Nick Ahad calls the stage production of The House With Chicken Legs in Manchester, UK, an inventive folk talke.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Katie Hunt and Ashley Strickland report that NASA has stopped the planned test for its Artemis 1 rocket for the second time.
  
• Julie Nováková talks about the quest for habitable exo-moons. 
• Logan D. Whitney talks about modern day piracy.
  
• Mark T. Givens and David Bushman talk about the unsolved murder of Hazel Drew in Upstate New York in 1908, which inspired Twin Peaks. 
• Edmund Richardson reports about the 19th century fugitive and adventurer James Lewis a.k.a. Charles Masson.
  
• Rene Ebersol reports that police officers in Tennessee are trained to use dowsing to find bodies.
• Tim Cushing also reports about police officers being trained to use dowsing to find bodies.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Doc Luckless and the Station Mistress" by Thoraiya Dyer in Clarkesworld. 
• "Two Spacesuits" by Leonard Richardson in Clarkesworld.
  
• "The Hunter and the Hunted" by Mario Caric in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Sword and Spore" by Dominica Phetteplace in Tor.com. 
• "Advice from the Civil Temporal Defence League" by Sandra McDonald in Lightspeed. 
• "A History of Snakes, Part I" by Ashok K. Banker in Lightspeed.
  
• "Grizzly Bear Conflict Manager" by John Scalzi in Whatever.
  
• "Rescue Unwanted" by Cora Buhlert in Wyngraf Magazine. 
• "Eshat's Temple" by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Fruits and Other Memories of Rialynas" by AnaMaria Curtis in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "The Book and the Sea" by George Jacobs in The Lorelei Signal.
  
• "Face" by Amy Mills Klipstine in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "Isio" by Martins Deep in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "Synchronous Online" by Shannon Scott in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Knotlings" by Aliya Whiteley in The Dark. 
• "The Apples" by Mari Ness in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "NPC" by James Van Pelt in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Deus X" by David Gianatasio in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "The Ghastly Tale of Princess Lamia" by Liam Hogan in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "After the Uprising" by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Sacrifice to the Kitayu" by Cora Buhlert.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the Doctor Who Easter special Legend of the Sea Devils. 
• Watch a trailer for Outer Range.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Undone. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Russian Doll.
  
• Watch a trailer for Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. 
• Watch a trailer for Prehistoric Planet. 
• Watch a trailer for Lux Aeterna (flashing strobe warning).
  
• Watch a trailer for Minions: The Rise of Gru.
• Watch the trailer for West Side Story with Tony played by a velociraptor, because everything is better with dinosaurs.