Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 2, 2022

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 2022, the many iterations of Star Trek, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Andor and Star Wars in general, the new Willow, Violent Night, Wednesday, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, The Menu,Strange World, Charles Schulz at 100, tributes to Irene Cara and Albert Pyun and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Cheryl Eddy shares sixteen new science fiction and fantasy books coming out this December.
  
• Tor.com shares ten expansive SFF worlds to immerse yourself in.
  
• J.D. Harlock talks about the rise and fall of Cyberpunk. 
• Joey Ayoub talks about Solarpunk. 
• James Wallace Harris muses about near and far future science fiction.
  
• Adrian Collins shares tips for starting to read grimdark fiction, no matter what genre you normally prefer. 
• Ethan Chatangier shares ten science fiction novels about communicating with extraterrestrial life. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction novels about the aftermath of World War III.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF novels featuring wealthy protagonists. 
• Riverflow and Emily Jin offer an overview of professional and fan-based Chinese science fiction platforms.  
• Mame Bougouma Diene interviews francophone African science fiction authors about Afrofuturism. 
• Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier celebrate five French women fantasy pioneers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
  
• Jason Sanford explains why writing and reading fiction is important. 
• Molly Templeton asks if a book can be truly timeless.
  
• Akua Lezli Hope talks about speculative poetry.
  
• Alex E. Jung profiles Octavia E. Butler. 
• Michael Curtis shares his appreciation for the works of Poul Anderson.
  
• Michal Curtis shares his appreciation for the works of William Hope Hodgson. 
• Jeff Goad shares his appreciation for the works of L. Sprague de Camp. 
• Tilde Kold Holdt talks about researching her historical fantasy trilogy The Hanged God.
  
• Composer and SFF scholar Justin Edwin Anton Busch has died aged 63.
• Marcus Sedgwick, author of children's and YA SFF, has died aged 54. 
• Science fiction writer and artist Ray Nelson has died aged 91.
  

 

Best Books of 2022:

• James Lovegrove shares his favourite science fiction books of 2022.
• Sam McKenzie shares their twenty-five favourite science fiction books of 2022. 
• Kirkus share their favourite science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Walter Mosley reviews Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze.
• Lesa Holstine reviews Revenge of the Librarians, a collection of cartoons by Tom Gauld.
• James Whitbrook interviews John Jennings, writer of Silver Surfer: Ghost Light.
  
• Benjamin Mara remembers Jim Steranko's art for Mediascene Magazine. 
• Bill Ward takes a look at some of the many covers that Poul Anderson's work has had over the years. 
• Cartoonist Aline Kominsky-Crumb has died aged 74.
  

 

Charles Schulz at 100:

• Terry Gross and Kevin Whitehead celebrate the 100th birthday of cartoonist and Peanuts creator Charles Schulz.
• Comics Kingdom celebrates Charles Schulz's 100th birthday by inserting tributes into many of their daily newspaper strips.
• Daily Kos remembers Charles Schulz.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Tariq Raouf declares that season 3 of His Dark Materials ends the show with a bang.
  
• Phuong Le calls Dawn Break Behind the Eyes an enjoyable giallo homage.
  
• Lauren Mechling calls Scrooge: A Christmas Carol an ugly, joyless retread of the Dickens classic.
• Michaele Jordan shares her appreciation for season 4 of The Dragon Prince and other anime shows. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the season 2 finale of Chucky.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Peripheral. 
• Paul Levinson discusses the importance of a rendition of the Simon and Garfunkel song "Flowers Never Bend" in a recent episode of The Orville. 
• Naja Later points out that LGBTQ vampires in current vampire films and TV series such as What We Do In the Shadows, Interviews With the Vampire and First Kill are no longer subtext, they're text. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Lynch/Oz an interesting portmanteau documentary.
  
• Andrew Pulver declares that the documentary Sr. shows Robert Downey Jr. making peace with his troubled father. 
• Dan Persons shares ten classic science fiction cartoons from the twentieth century. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares ten international holiday horror movies to enjoy. 
  
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1967 Doctor Who serial "The Ice Warriors". 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1968 science fiction film Barbarella and the 1996 vampire movie Vampirella. 
• Austin Gilkeson revisits the 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit.
  
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1992 holiday movie The Muppet Christmas Carol.
  
• Michael Moreci revisits the 1997 science fiction satire Starship Troopers. 
• Rob Bricken revisits the 2002 holiday special It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
• Ben Allen interviews James McAvoy, star of the Fox X-Men movies and His Dark Materials. 
• io9 interviews Rahul Kohli, star of Next Exit and Doctor Sleep. 
• Stephanie Nolasco shares actor Bill Mumy's memories of working with Alfred Hitchcock on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1961. 
• Sabina Graves reports that DC Animation may find a new home at Amazon Prime after HBO Max cancelled almost all animated shows.
  
• Emlyn Travis reports about a planned horror movie called Bambi: The Reckoning, in which Bambi will take revenge for the death of his mother.
  
• Actor Henry Silva, who appeared in Ocean's 11, The Manchurian Candidate, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Sharky's Machine and countless westerns, has died aged 95.  

 

Tributes to Irene Cara:

• Singer and actress Irene Cara, star of Fame and singer of the title song of Flashdance, has died aged 63.   
• Harry Tayler and Geneva Abdul remember Irene Cara. 
• Mike Fleming Jr. remembers Irene Cara. 
• Adam Sweeting shares an obituary for Irene Cara. 
  
• Bruce Haring shares tributes to Irene Cara from around the web. 
  

 

Tributes to Albert Pyun:

• Albert Pyun, director of The Sword and the Sorcerer, Captain America, Kickboxer II and IV, Nemesis, Cyborg and many others, has died aged 69. 
• Justin Carter remembers Albert Pyun. 

Comments on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Angie Han calls the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special a delightful standalone. 
• Richard Newbie calls the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and other standalones an antidote to the so-called Marvel fatigue. 
• Germain Lussier interviews James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
  
• IGN interviews Kevin Bacon who plays himself in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. 
• Eric Deggans interviews Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
  
• Drew Taylor explains why Namor the Submariner won't be getting his own solo movie anytime soon.
  
• Ben Child reports that Quentin Tarantino has joined the ranks of the Marvel bashers.
  

 

Comments on the many iterations of Star Trek: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Regeneration".
  
• Simon Hattenstone interviews George Takei who played Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek.
• Ryan Britt looks ahead at season 3 of Star Trek Picard.
  

 

Comments on Andor and Star Wars in general: 

• Bonnie McDaniel shares her thoughts on season 1 of Andor. 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on season 1 of Andor. 
• Mandalit Del Barco shares her thoughts on season 1 of Andor. 
• Abigail Nussbaum shares her thoughts on season 1 of Andor.
  
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on season 1 of Andor.
  
• James Whitbrook shares the 25 greatest moments from Andor.
• Brian Davids interviews Tony Gilroy, showrunner of Andor.
• Maggie Lovitt interviews Diego Luna, who plays Cassian Andor in Andor. 
• Rob Bricken reports that the character of Maarva Andor almost said "Fuck the Empire" in Andor, before Disney got in the way.
  
• Javon Manning wonders how Luke Skywalker can understand R2-D2.
  
• Rob Bricken revisits the 2008 movie version of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. 
  

 

Comments on the new Willow: 

• Jack Seale finds Willow lots of fun, but isn't enamoured by the titular character. 
• Cindy White declares that Willow takes a while to find its magic. 
• Germain Lussier declares that the first two episodes of Willow are full of set-up and mythology.
  
• Stuart Heritage interviews Warwick Davis who plays the titular character in Willow and its TV series sequel.
• Germain Lussier interviews showrunner Jonathan Kasdan and the cast of the Willow TV series. 
• Susana Polo interviews showrunner Jonathan Kasdan about the lesbian romance in Willow.
  
• Leigh Butler revisits the original 1988 fantasy film Willow.
  

 

Comments on Wednesday:

•  Linda Codega declares that Wednesday misunderstands its misunderstood protagonist.
• Arturo Serrano declares that the comedy style of Wednesday does not mesh well with contemporary teen tropes. 
• Mike Hale calls Wednesday a formulaic teen romance mystery. 
• Molly Templeton reports that Wednesday is Netflix's most watched English language series in spite of lukewarm reviews.
  

 

Comments on Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Guillermo Del Toro's take on Pinocchio a dark and sombre fairytale.
• Eric Kohn interviews Guillermo Del Toro, director of Pinocchio.
• Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson actually believe that Guillermo Del Toro's take on Pinocchio might be an Oscar contender.
  

Comments on Violent Night: 

• Jack Smart calls Violent Night a wildly naughty sleigh ride.
• Charles Bramesco calls Violent Night a bad movie about a bad Santa.
  

 

Comments on The Menu: 

• Food writer Tejal Rao shares his thoughts on The Menu.
• Julia Moskin shares her thoughts on The Menu.
  

 

Comments on Strange World: 

• Arturo Serrano calls Strange World a fuzzy ecological parable.
• Germain Lussier reports that Strange World is a massive bomb and may lose Disney 100 million US-dollars. 
• Inspired by the failure of Strange World, Cindy White shares Disney's ten biggest animated flops.
  

 

Awards:

• Robin McKinley had been named the 2023 Damon Knight Memorial SFWA Grand Master. 
• The finalists for the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards in the science fiction category have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards in the fantasy category have been announced.  
• The finalists for the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards in the horror category have been announced.  
• The finalists for the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards in the graphic novel and comic category have been announced.   
• The winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize has been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2022 Rotsler Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2022 Wattys have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2022 Psychedelic Film and Music Festival Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2022 Gotham Awards have been announced with a lot of love for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
  
• Camestros Felapton shares David Weber's and Larry Correia's view on the category changes to the Dragon Awards.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• John Scalzi shares tips for blogging and connecting via blogs. 
• Tim Jonze reflects on his experience doing NaNoWriMo. 
• Douglas Kearney finds some similarities between writing and turning into a werewolf.
  
• Gideon P. Smith talks about getting the science right in your science fiction story.
  
• Sarah Shaffi notes that while automatic pens for autographing have been available for a while now, hardly any writers use them. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch offers an overview of publishing news and trends this year.
  
• Locus reports that more than 150 literary agents have signed an open letter in support of the ongoing strike of the HarperCollins Union. 
  
• Ken Whyte talks about how the Canadian bookstore chain Indigo transitions out of bookselling and into selling home decor and furnishings.
  

Interviews:

• Daniel A. Olivas interviews Gabino Iglesias. 
• Locus interviews N.E. Davenport.
  
• Danielle Hayden interviews R.L. Stine.
  
• Anthony Cummins interviews Will Self. 
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Chase A. Folmar. 
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Lars Walker.
  
• Octavia Bright interviews Mariana Enríquez, Claire Kohda and Sophie White.
• Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito interviews Lee Murray, Geneve Flynn, Angela Yuriko Smith, Christina Sng, Rena Mason and K.P. Kulski.
• Rogues in the House interviews Sean C.W. Korsgaard and Steve Diamond. 
  
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Dyrk Ashton.
  
• Janna Miller interviews Kahryn Keane.
  

Reviews:

• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
  
• Bonnie McDaniel reviews Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
  
• John Mauro reviews Jade City by Fonda Lee.
• Lis Carey reviews Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri. 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy. 
• Molly Templeton reviews Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore.
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Unraveller by Frances Hardinge.
• Crossexamining Crime reviews The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Voyage of the Forgotten by Nick Martell. 
• Tobias Carroll reviews Desert Creatures by Kay Chronister.
  
• Age of Dusk reviews Necromancy in Nilztiria by D.M. Ritzlin.
• Bethan Hindmarch reviews A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Foreign Exchange by Veronica G. Henry.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Geometries of Belonging by R.B. Lemberg.
• Camestros Felapton reviews The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin. 
  
• Rachel Ayers reviews Fairy Tale by Stephen King.
  
• Adrian Collins reviews The Crew by Sadir S. Samir. 
• Daniel Dern reviews Doc Savage: The Perfect Assassin by James Patterson and Brian Sitts. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain by Richard Roberts. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Loki by Melvin Burgess. 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews Loki by Melvin Burgess.
  
• C.T. Phipps reviews Nephilim: A Behind Blue Eyes Origins Story by Anna Mocikat.
• Ian Mond reviews Malarkoi by Alex Pheby  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Hollows by Daniel Church. 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Anybody Home by Michael J. Seidlinger. 
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Future is Female! Vol 2: the 1970s: More Classic Science Fiction by Women, edited by Lisa Yaszek. 
• Joe Kenney reviews The Wolf Man vs Dracula: An Alternate History For Classic Film Monsters by Philip J. Riley.
• Ryan Van Loan reviews Origins of the Wheel of Time by Michael Livingston. 

Classics reviews:

• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1929 ghost story "The Hanging of Alfred Wadham" by E.F. Benson.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1932 Conan sword and sorcery mystery "The God in the Bowl" by Robert E. Howard.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1933 horror story "Genius Loci" by Clark Ashton Smith. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1940 science fiction story "The Roads Must Roll" by Robert A. Heinlein.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1951 science fiction novel Galactic Storm by Gill Hunt a.k.a. John Brunner. 
• Brian Murphy revisits the 1954 historical fantasy novel The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson. 
• Mark Yon revisits the December 1967 issue of New Worlds.
• Gideon Marcus reisits the December 1967 issue of Analog.
  
• Lord Samper's Library revisits the 1971 fantasy novel The Pastel City by M. John Harrison. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1976 essay “Sex in Space: A Brief Survey of Gay Themes in Science Fiction” by Al Thomas.
• Bill Ward revisits the 1977 historical fantasy story "The Tale of Hauk" by Poul Anderson.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1979 science fiction novel Hegira by Greg Bear. 
• Steven Gimbel and Gwydion Suilebhan revisit the 1979 humorous science fiction novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
  
• The PorPor Books Blog revisits the 1990 horror collection Blue World by Robert R. McCammon.
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1993 YA horror novel The Silent Scream, the 1994 YA horror novel Monster and the 1995 YA horror novel The Vampire's Kiss, all be Diane Hoh. 
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1996 science fiction story "Mountain Ways" by Ursula K. Le Guin.
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2001 Dresden Files urban fantasy novel Fool Moon by Jim Butcher.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Kit Stubbs reports that WisCon in Madison, Wisconsin, will return in 2023 and needs some help to rebuild. 
• Legends of Grayskull reports about the 2022 LegionsCon in Secaucus, New Jersey. 
• Melissa Kaplan, acting con chair of Arisia in Boston, Massachusetts, shares a message to the membership.
  
• The European Fan Fund is looking for nominations for its inaugural race.
  
• Catherine Shoard reports about an exhibition of Back to the Future memorabilia in London, UK. 
• Sarah Bahr reports about the opening of the Museum of Broadway in New York City.
  
• Arifa Akbar calls A Sherlock Carol by Mark Shanahan, which is currently playing in London, UK, a festive mash-up of Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle.
  
• Mark Fisher reports about Janys Chambers' adaptation of Peter Pan and Wendy, which is currently playing in Pitlochry, Scotland.
• Ryan Gilbey reports about Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams' adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, which is currently playing in Leicester, UK.
• Chris Weigand calls Elf - Th Musical by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, currently playing in London, UK, a bland corporate Christmas experience. 

 

Crowdfunding:

• Dicey Tales, a pulp adventure type RPG by Jeff Mejia, is looking for funding.
  
• ChessieCon in Hunt Valley, Maryland, needs some financial help.
• Comics and SFF writer Peter David needs some help with medical bills.
  

  

Science and technology:

• Isaac Schulz reports that a mysterious bright flash detected in February was the jet of a distant black hole pointing straight at Earth. 
• The Guardian reports that scientists have managed to simulate a baby wormhole without rupturing space and time.
  
• Emma Roth reports that the San Francisco police department wants to authorise robots to use deadly force in emergencies.
• Katherine Irving reports that wolves infected with toxoplasmosis are more likely to lead packs.
  

Free online fiction: 

• "He Stays Among the Commots" by Christopher Rowe in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Forgotten Eyes" by Marie Vibbert in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "The Flame and the Bottle" by Howard Andrew Jones in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly. 
• "Legacy of Steel" by Cora Buhlert in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
  
• "The Mourning Quilt" by Christopher Rowe in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "Pleiades" by Wesley Woolf in The Deadlands.
  
• "Redbean" by Dixon March in Luna Station Quarterly.
• "Recipe" by Tina S. Zhu in Fireside Magazine.
  
• "Neyllo" by Naomi Eselojor in Omenana.
• "The Satellite Charmer" by Mame Bougouma Diene in Apex Magazine.
  
• "Universal Waste" by Palmer Holton in Slate Future Tense.
  
• "Uploading Ken" by Gretchen Russell in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Blueshift" by Joe Aultman-Moore in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Herding the Brachiosaurus" by Mary E. Lowd in Daily Science Fiction.
   

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
  
• Watch a trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
  
• Watch a trailer for Hot Skull.
• Watch a trailer for The Mean One. 
• Watch a trailer for The Super Mario Bros Movie. 
• Watch a deleted scene from E.T. the Extraterrestrial featuring Harrison Ford.
  

 

Odds and ends:

• Cora Buhlert shares a new Masters of the Universe action figure photo story called "Family".