Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for April 22, 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, Doctor Who past and present, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars in general, The Northman, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Dual, Our Flag Means Death, Outer Range, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, season 2 of Russian Doll, responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Anna Carey shares five darkly comic SFF books. 
• Lisa Morton shares her favourite collections of classic ghost stories.
  
• Cole Rush shares five unlikely friendships in SFF. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five sympathetic science fiction bureaucrats. 
• James Davis Nicoll lists four science fiction characters who are not particularly smart, but have other skills to recommend them.
  
• Carly Silver shares eleven modern fantasy stories based on classic mythology. 
• Taiwo Balogun shares twelve books about mermaids, sirens and sea gods.
  
• Fran Wilde lists the best sea-going ships in fantasy fiction.
• Scott Oden talks about putting a new edge on sword and sorcery.
  
• Bridget McGovern lists twenty-one bunnies and other stange rabbit-like creatures from SFF.
• Jaron Pak ranks all the Hobbits from the various incarnations of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
• Julian Bernick explains how to turn the Khlit the Cossack stories by Harold Lamb into an RPG.
  
• Vaishnavi Patel talks about retellings of the Ramayana.
  
• Jonathan Thornton shares a guide to the works of Nicola Griffith. 
• Davide Mana profiles Norma de Siebert, Italian pulp science fiction writer of the 1950s.
  
• Eitan Oksenberg profiles Isaac Asimov.
• Douglas Perry profiles John Shirley.
• Horror scholar Denis Meikle has died.
  

Comics and Art:

• Scott Edelman interviews comics writer Paul Kupperberg. 
• Locus interviews fantasy artist Odera Igbokwe. 
• Tor.com shares some of Rovina Cai's illustrations for Nicola Griffith's Spear.
  
• Joshua L.H. Burnett profiles Earl Norem, who started out painting covers and interior art for men's adventure magazines in the 1950s and 1960s, then moved on the Savage Sword of Conan and eventually to art work for 1980s toy franchises like Masters of the Universe. 
  
• Bill Ward shares the cover art of Harold Lamb's historical novels and biographies.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Leslie Felperin calls Moonshot a fun romantic comedy in space. 
• Linda Codega notes that Free Guy is a parable for the games industry unionising. 
• Rachel Aroesti calls the reincarnation drama Life After Life a thoroughly addictive weepathon.
  
• Richard Newby calls The Cellar a terrific horror short turned into a longer, but not necessarily better film. 
• Benjamin Lee calls Choose or Die a gory video game horror. 
• Arturo Serrano calls Chariot a mess and absurd. 
• Luke Y. Thompson calls The Bad Guys a good enough animated crime caper.
  
• Chitra Ramaswamy calls the documentary Dinosaurs: The Final Day a thrilling slice of time-travelling detective work. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1985 science fantasy anime Angel's Egg.
  
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1988 horror film The Serpent and the Rainbow. 
• Justin Carter revisits the 2012 animated fantasy series The Legend of Korra. 
• Marc Malkin interviews Leslie Grace who will play Batgirl in an upcoming movie.  
• Alex Brown shares a list of nostalgic SFF films for stressed out millennials to enjoy. 
• Sasha Lee shares her favourite musical numbers from animated movies.
  
• Patricia Puentes notes that keeping up with all the streaming shows and movies coming out has made being a fan almost into a job. 
• Actor and club owner Rio Hackford, who appeared in The Mandalorian, American Crime Story, Tremé and Strange Days among others, has died aged 51.
• Robert Morse, Broadway star and Bert Cooper in Mad Men, has died aged 90.
  

 

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

• Keith R.A. De Candido shares his thoughts on "Monsters", the latest episode of Star Trek Picard.
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Monsters".
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on "Monsters".
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Monsters".
• Lisa Huberman talks about feminine power and the Jewish divine in Star Trek Discovery.
  
• James Whitbrook interviews the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1967 Star Trek episode "Operation Annihilate!"
  
• Dan Persons revisits the 1979 movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Vox Sola".
• H&I reports that the Klingons in Star Trek were named after LAPD police officer Wilbur Lee Clingan, who worked as a consultant in the crime drama Dragnet.
  

 

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

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on "The Tomb", the latest episode of Moon Knight. 
• Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "The Tomb". 
• Manuel Betancourt shares his thoughts on "The Tomb". 
• Sabina Graves shares her thoughts on "The Tomb". 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "The Tomb".
  
• Germain Lussier discusses the ending of "The Tomb" and how it is rooted in the comics. 
• Sabina Graves discusses how Moon Knight is connected to the larger Marvel universe.
  
• Watch a trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder.
  

 

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

• Dalton Ross discusses the seventeen-year journey to bring Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader back to the screen. 
• Dalton Ross also reports that Obi-Wan Kenobi will focus on a dark time in the Star Wars galaxy. 
• Dalton Ross interviews Deborah Chow, director of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  
• Dalton Ross interviews Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, who play Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy and the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
• Dalton Ross interviews Moses Ingraham who plays Inquisitor Reva in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  
• Steven Morris reports that the collection of Star Wars memorabilia owned by the late Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, will go up for auction. 
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future:  

• Martin Belam shares his thoughts on "Legend of the Sea Devils", the 2022 Doctor Who Easter Special. 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Legends of the Sea Devils". 
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin notes that "Legend of the Sea Devils" uses piracy and adventure as the perfect cover for the Doctor and Yaz to talk about their feelings.
  
• James Whitbrook calls "Legend of the Sea Devils" dull as dishwater.
  
• Martin Belam shares seven ways Russell T. Davis could revive Doctor Who. 
• Lizo Mzimba reports that former Doctor Who companions Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred will appear in the upcoming Centenary Special of Doctor Who.
• Watch a trailer for the upcoming Centenary Special of Doctor Who.
• Listen to episode 1 of the audio drama: Doctor Who: Redacted.
  

 

Comments on The Northman: 

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls The Northman a gritty and nihilistic twist on Conan the Barbarian.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Robert Eggers, director of The Northman.
  
• Jack Smart interviews Alexander Skarsgård, star of The Northman.

 

Comments on Everything Everywhere All At Once:

• Ethan Alter interviews Ke Huy Quan, one of the stars of Everything Everywhere All At Once.
  
• Linda Codega interviews Andy Le, fight choreographer, and Zak Stoltz, visual effects supervisor for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
  

 

Comments on Our Flag Means Death: 

• Kai Grady interviews showrunner David Jenkins and executive producer, director and star Taika Waititi about the future of Our Flag Means Death.
• Kirsten Carey reports that Our Flag Means Death has not been renewed, though no one knows why, not even the showrunner. 
  

 

Comments on Dual:

• Todd Gilchrist interviews Aaron Paul, star of Dual and Breaking Bad.
• Todd Gilchrist interviews Beulah Koale, star of Dual and Hawaii Five-O.
  

 

Comments on Outer Range:

• Rachel Leishman calls Outer Range a trippy new spin on the western.
  
• Alison Foreman calls Outer Range a mediocre science fiction western. 
• Paul Levinson calls Outer Range an elusive western science fiction hybrid. 
• Inspired by Outer Range, Cheryl Eddy shares twelve SFF films and TV series featuring giant holes.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Russian Doll: 

• Rebecca Nicholson was initially not convinced that Russian Doll really needed a second season, but is convinced now. 
• Gabrielle Sanchez interviews Greta Lee, one of the stars of Russian Doll.
  

 

Comments on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore:

• Ben Child notes that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore makes even less sense without the gay love story which was cut in China and other conservative countries.
• J. Kim Murphy reports that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore had a record low opening weekend for a Harry Potter related film.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2021 BSFA Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2022 Philip K. Dick Award have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2022 Ignyte Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2022 Tähtifantasia Award has been announced.
• The winner of the 2021 IAFA Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Award has been announced. 
• The winner of the 2021 Prix Jeunesse Des Univers Parallèles has been announced.
• The winner of the 2022 Zoldos Péter Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2022 Global Book Awards for Self-Publishing have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2022 Media Award of the Machine Intelligence Foundation for Rights and Ethics has been announced. 
• The 2022 Vivian Awards have been postponed.
• Watch a video about how the 2022 ESFS Award trophies were made.
• Adri Joy and Joe Sherry discuss the 2022 Hugo finalists.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Max Florschutz shares tips for making a villain truly scary.
  
• Kathy Flann shares some tips for writing humor. 
• Philipp Schott shares a veterinarian's perspective on writing animals. 
• Annie Levin explains how the CIA supported creative writing programs in the 1950s in order to depoliticise fiction. 
• Lincoln Michel points out that "show don't tell" is not a CIA invention and often misunderstood besides. 
• Elizabeth A. Harris reports how Barnes & Noble went from theat to saviour of independent bookstores in the US.
  
• Andrew Albanese shares a list of the most challenged books in public libraries in the US.
  
• Pooja Makhijani interviews authors of LGBTQ children's and YA books affected by the recent uptick in book banning attempts. 
• John Cheves reports that lawmakers in Kentucky have passed a bill that would make librarians accountable to local politicians with regard to which books they choose to purchase and promote.
  
• SFWA alerts authors to tax reporting requirement changes regarding income from Audible and ACX.
  

 

Interviews:

• Emma Brockes interviews Jennifer Egan. 
• Veronica Wells interviews Janelle Monaé. 
• Liam's Lyceum interviews D.J. Butler.
  
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Kel Kade. 
• Christie Yant interviews Kristina Ten.
  
• Jen Gheller interviews Clare Diston.
• Emily Keil interviews Nyanyika Banda, author of The Official Wakanda Cookbook, and shares a recipe from the book.
  

Reviews:

• Miss Print reviews You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo.
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton. 
• Marion Deeds reviews Noor by Nnedi Okorafor.
  
• Elizabeth Tabler reviews The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green.
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders. 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Reign and Ruin by J.D. Evans.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards. 
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Queen of Clouds by Neil Williamson.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones.
  
• S.E. Lindberg reviews Sorcery Against Caesar by Richard L. Tierney. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Spear by Nicola Griffith. 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Stella by Josh Dygert. 
  
• Marcel Theroux reviews Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavrial Kay. 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Hall of Bones by Tim Hardie. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne. 
• Angela Gualtieri reviews The Wolf and the She-Bear by Morgan Stang.
  
• Elizabeth Tabler reviews The Chosen Twelve by James Breakfield.
  
• Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews The Beholden by Cassandra Rose Clarke.
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald reviews Sanctuary by Andi C. Buchanan.
  
• Joanna Z. Weston reviews The Secret Skin by Wendy N. Wagner. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia. 
• Lucy Popescu reviews Metronome by Tom Watson. 
• Anthony Cummins reviews The Candy House by Jennifer Egan.
  
• Ian Mond reviews The Agents by Grégoire Courtois, translated by Rhonda Mullins.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Escape from Yokai Land by Charles Stross. 
• Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller. 
• Martin Edwards reviews Death of the Living Dead by Masaya Yamaguchi. 
  
• Justin Blazier reviews Devolution by Max Brooks.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Whirlwind Romance by Sam Thompson. 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Spontaneous Human Combustion by Richard Thomas.
• Arley Sorg reviews Unlimited Futures: Speculative, Visionary Blak and Black Fiction, edited by Rafeif Ismail and Ellen van Neerven. 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews Zona by Geoff Dyer.
  
• Gary Romeo reviews Medievalist Comics and the American Century by Chris Bishop
• Brian Murphy reviews Robert E. Howard Changed My Life, edited by Jason M. Waltz. 

 

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1929 science fantasy novel The Sea Girl by Ray Cummings.
  
• Skulls in the Stars revisits the 1932 horror novel Burn, Witch, Burn! by A. Merritt. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1952 contemporary fantasy novel Tempest Tost by Robertson Davies. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1953 science fiction novel Children of the Atom by Wilmar H. Shiras.
  
• Matt Mikalatos revisits the 1955 religious fantasy novel Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1962 Elric sword and sorcery story "The Last Enchantment" by Michael Moorcock. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the May 1967 issue of Fantastic. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the May 1967 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
  
• Liam's Lyceum revisits the 1968 sword and sorcery collection Swords Against Wizardry by Fritz Leiber.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1970 science fiction novel Ringworld by Larry Niven.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1973 gothic novel Image of a Ghost by Dorothy Daniels.
• Young People Read Old SFF revisit the 1975 science fiction story "Child of All Ages" by P.J. Plauger.
• Every Day Should Be Tuesday revisits the 1980 horror novel Firestarter by Stephen King.
• Murray Ewing revisits the 1991 fantasy collection The Bone Forest by Robert Holdstock.
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1991 YA vampire novel The Cheerleader by Caroline B. Cooney and the 1994 YA vampire novel The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Elric: Rise of the Young Kingdoms, a board game by Jean-Baptiste Lullien and Frederic Chansel, based on the novels by Michael Moorcock, is looking for funding.
• The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego, California, needs some help to keep going. 
• Linda Codega notes that Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter is the exception, not the rule.

 

Con and event reports:

• Roger Murmann shares photos of LuxCon, the 2022 EuroCon in Dudelange, Luxembourg. 
• Marcin Klak shares his experiences at LuxCon. 
• Arthur Chappell shares his thoughts about the 2021 Novacon in Buxton, UK. 
• Sue Burke shares her experiences at the 2021 WindyCon in Chicago, Illinois.
  
• Science fiction writer Allen Steele is very upset about being turned down for the programming of Chicon 8, the 2022 Worldcon in Chiago, Illinois.
  
• Kit Stubbs shares an update regarding WisCon, the feminist SFF convention in Madison, Wisconsin, which is in trouble. 
• Fia Karlsson has won the 2022 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund race.
  
• Emma John calls Zorro: The Musical, performed in London, UK, an endearing melodrama with swordplay, seduction and castanets.
  
• Arifa Akbar reports about Wolf Cub, a gothic play about a woman who becomes a werewolf performed in London, UK. 
• Geoffrey Himes interviews Toshi Reagon, who composed an opera based on Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower, which will be performed in North Bethesda, Maryland.
  
• James Bacon reports about the "Fight with Art" exhibition of contemporary Ukrainian art, including a lot of comic and SFF art, at the Manggha Museum in Kraków, Poland. 
• Sabina Graves reports that Florida governor Ron DeSantis is planning to remove Disney's privileges allowing them to build expansions to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, without requiring official oversight and approval in retaliation for Disney coming out against the controversial "Don't Say Gay" law.
  
• Sabina Graves shares the new attractions coming to the Disney and Universal Studios theme parks.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Brian Bender declares that NASA astronauts are not ready for deep space. 
• Ryan Erik King reports that three Chinese taikomauts have returned to Earth after 183 days aboard the Chinese Tiangong space station. 
• Isaac Schulz reports that sending spacecraft to Uranus is a top priority for NASA this decade. 
• Will Dunham reports that the Jupiter moon Europa is remarkably similar to Greenland and may harbour life.
  
• Charles Stephen reports that ghost neutrinos have recently been detected for the first time inside a particle accelerator.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Practical Childcare Considerations for Knights Errant" by Rachel Locasio in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "Men, Women and Chainsaws" by Stephen Graham Jones in Tor.com.
  
• "Dinner with Jupiter" by Clare Diston in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "The Death of Rovanmoshon" by Philip Yeatman in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
  
• "An Expression of Silence" by Beth Goder in Clarkesworld.
• "An Urge to Create Honey" by Martin Cahill in Clarkesworld.
• "Where the Heather Grows" by Shaoni C. White in Nightmare Magazine.
• "AIs Who Make AIs Make the Best AIs!" by Andrea Kriz in Fireside Magazine.
• "The Magic Is Out!" by Robert Goforth in Wyngraf Magazine.
• "Up the River, Over the Mountains, Across the Sea" by Jenna Hanchey in Wyngraf Magazine.
• "Everything the Sea Takes, It Returns" by Izzy Wasserstein in Lightspeed.
• "Dance of Bones" by Maurice Broaddus in Lightspeed.
• "Valor Bones" by Derrick Boden in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "The Heart in Her Hands" by Robert Minto in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Xiǎo Èmó—Little Demon" by Ai Jiang in The Dark.
• "Banquet" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Imaginary Friends" by Melissa Mead in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "Observers" by Jesse Lawson in Daily Science Fiction. 
  
• "Weather Underground" by Andrija Popovic in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Chess" by Mark Budman in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "The Boy Who Needed Heroes" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Shin Ultraman. 
• Watch a trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Love, Death + Robots.
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Made for Love.
• Watch a trailer for Lightyear.
• Watch a trailer for season 5 of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
• Watch a trailer for Prehistoric Planet.