Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 9, 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, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Andor and Star Wars in general, the new Willow, the final season of His Dark Materials, The Northman, Violent Night, Christmas Bloody Christmas, Wednesday, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Black Adam and other DC Comics based movies and TV shows,, The Peripheral, Avatar: The Way of Water and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Tor.com shares all the new science fiction books coming out in December.
  
• Tor.com shares all the new fantasy novels coming out in December. 
• Tor.com shares all the new horror and genre-bending books coming out in December.
  
• Tor.com shares al the YA SFF books coming out in December.
• Book Marks shares the best science fiction and fantasy books coming out in December.
• Grimdark Magazine looks ahead at their most anticipated SFF books coming out in 2023. 
• FIYAH Magazine has published the 2022 Black Spec Fic Report. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction stories about ghost ships. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five Cold War era science fiction novels in which the US has been overthrown.
  
• Susie Mesure talks about the joy of reading slowly.
• Molly Templeton points out that everything counts as reading.
  
• Henriette Lazaridis talks about polar exploration and the scenes set on the glacier of Mont Blanc in Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. 
• Sam J. Miller explains why Locus Magazine is essential for the SFF community.
  
• Rodney Peppé, writer and illustrator of children's books and toymaker has died aged 88. 
• German writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger died aged 93. 
• Science fiction writer and fan Charles Partington died aged 82. 
  

 

Best Books of 2022:

• The Tor.com reviewers share their favourite SFF books of 2022. 
  
• Adam Roberts shares his favourite science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022.
• James Smart shares his favourite comics and graphic novels of 2022. 
• AudioFile share their favourite science fiction and fantasy audiobooks of 2022.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Arturo Serrano reviews the comic Doctor Who Origins by Jody Hauser, Roberta Ingranata and Warnia K. Sahadewa.
  
• The Geeky Nerfherder shares his appreciation for the fantasy art of Michael Whelan. 
• John Coulthart shares Edmund Dulac's illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe's stories. 
• Francesca Myman interviews artist Geneva Bowers.
  
• Jen Gheller interviews artist Samantha Lee.
• Lucy Knight interviews writer and illustrator Alice Oseman.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Paul Levinson calls Spiderhead a science fiction take on the Milgram experiment. 
• D.R. Medlen enjoyed Carnival Row, even though the critics panned it. 
• Quinci LeGardye calls Kindred a compelling time travel drama based on Octavia Butler's eponymous novel.
  
• Alex Brown calls Darby and the Dead charming but shallow. 
• Cath Clarke calls Nocebo an unsettling horror movie marred by an obvious twist.
  
• Miyako Pleines talks about the elusiveness of language in the horror romance Bones and All.
• Phil Hoad calls Nutcracker Massacre a plodding and unimaginative holiday slasher flick. 
• Phil Hoad calls The Quintessential Quintuplets a charming anime.
  
• Chris Szego shares South Korean TV shows for SFF fans. 
• Linda Codega interviews Joe Barton, showrunner of The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself. 
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1935 horror film Werewolf of London. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1947 Christmas fantasy film The Bishop's Wife.
  
• Marina Koren revisits the 1968 science fiction movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and finds it massively overhyped.  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 2013 superhero movie Sparks. 
• Ethan Alter reports about the reunion of Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan, who played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
  
• Natalie Ognanesyan reports that Netflix has cancelled The Midnight Club after only one season. 
• Justin Carter reports that HBO has cancelled the horror comedy Los Espookys after two seasons. 
• Nellie Andreeva reports that the dystopian science fiction series Moonhaven has been cancelled after initially being renewed for a second season.
  
• Actor Brad William Henke, who appeared in Orange is the New Black, Justified, Lost, Dexter and many others, has died aged 56. 
• Actress Kirstie Alley, who appeared in the Star Trek movies, the Look Who's Talking movies, North and South and many others, has died aged 71.
  
• Actor and singer Bob McGrath, best known for playing Bob in Sesame Street for 48 years, has died aged 90. 
  

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:  

• Mike Fleming Jr. interviews Robert Downey Jr. who plays Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Don Cheadle who plays James Rhodes a.k.a. War Machine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
• Shrishty Mishra shares some news about the upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again.
  
• Watch a trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.
  

 

Comments on the many iterations of Star Trek: 

• Galactic Journey revisit the 1967 Star Trek episode "Friday's Child".
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "First Flight".
• Tim Ford talks about biracial identity and the character of B'Elanna Torres from Star Trek Enterprise.
  
• Watch a blooper reel from season 4 of Star Trek Discovery.
  

 

Comments on Andor and Star Wars in general: 

• Phoebe Wagner calls Andor an amazing feat of television and anti-fascist storytelling.
  
• James Whitbrook finds some parallels between the character of Karis Nemik in Andor and everybody's favourite Jedi master Yoda. 
• StarWars.com interviews Tony Gilroy, showrunner of Andor.
  
• Camestros Felapton revisits Rogue One.
• Molly Templeton reports that season 3 of The Mandalorian will return in March.  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
  

 

Comments on the new Willow: 

• Cindy White shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Willow. 
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Willow.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin discusses how the new Willow handles the character of Sorsha.
• Germain Lussier explains how Hannah Waddingham came to guest star in Willow.
  

 

Comments on His Dark Materials: 

• Tariq Raouf declares that season 3 of His Dark Materials ends the show with a bang. 
  
• Tyler Dean wonders whether the final season of His Dark Materials will stick to the landing. 
• Rob Bricken calls the final season of His Dark Materials as inconsistent as ever.
  

 

Comments on The Northman: 

• Rown Hsun wonders whether The Northman is a feminist Viking film.  
• Tyler Coates interviews Robert Eggers, director of The Northman.
  

 

Comments on Black Adam and various other DC Comics based movies and TV-shows: 

• Rebecca Rubin reports that Black Adam has lost 100 million US-dollar at the box office. 
• Linda Codega reports that star Dwayne Johnson claims that Black Adam is not actually a failure.
  
• Borys Kit reports that Warner Bros has apparently cancelled the third Wonder Woman movies as well. 
• Mary Kate Carr notes that season 4 of Doom Patrol may not be all that superheroic, but that it is still a lot of fun. 
  

 

Comments on Wednesday:

• Alex Flood interviews Jenna Ortega who plays Wednesday Addams in Wednesday.
  
• Chloe Mac Donnell reports that Wednesday has sparked a goth fashion revival.
  

 

Comments on Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio:

• Luke Y. Thompson calls Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio a remarkable new take on an old tale.
• Jonathan Russell Clark declares that Guillermo Del Toro imbues Pinocchio with human frailty and historical darkness.
  

Comments on Violent Night: 

• io9 interviews David Harbour who plays Santa Claus in Violent Night.
• Brian Davids interviews Tommy Wirkola, director of Violent Night.
  

 

Comments on Christmas Bloody Christmas:

• Jim McLeod calls Christmas Bloody Christmas a brutal and bloody assault on the senses.
• Leslie Felperin calls Christmas Bloody Christmas a routine holiday horror film.

 

Comments on The Peripheral: 

• Cheryl Eddy finds the finale of The Peripheral too confusing to be satisfying.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the season 1 finale of The Peripheral. 
• The AV-Club interviews Jack Raynor, one of the stars of The Peripheral.
  

 

Comments on Avatar: The Way of Water: 

• The Guardian shares some early reactions to Avatar: The Way of Water. 
• Sabina Graves also shares some early reactions to Avatar: The Way of Water.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Jon Landau, producer of the Avatar films.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether Avatar: The Way of Water will be able to recoup its enormou production costs.

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Prometheus Hall of Fame Awards have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2022 Analog Award for Emerging Black Voices has been announced.
  
• The 2023 Robert E. Howard Awards are open for nominations.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Critics' Choice Awards have been announced with lots of love of genre TV.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Andrew Mayne reports about his experiences using an AI chatbot to generate writing prompts.
• Geoff Weiss reports about fantasy writer Chelsea Banning whose tweets about a disastrous book signing went viral and attracted responses from several famous authors.
• Sarah Shaffi reports that writers' earnings have plummeted with women and writers of colour affected the most.
• Joanne Harris notes that the horribly low pay is pushing out authors and that yes, it matters. 
• Krsitine Kathryn Rusch wonders what counts as a bestseller these days.
  
• Striking HarperCollins staffer Rye White talks about the HarperCollins strike.
• HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray shares an open letter to authors and agents regarding the strike.
  
• Locus reports that editor Diana M. Pho has joined Erewhon Books.
  
• Rebecca Caraway reports about a new round of book bans of books about gender fluidity in the Keller Independent School District in Texas. 
• Mélissa Godin reports about Banca do Largo, a bookstore championing books by writers from the Amazon, in Manaus, Brazil.
  
• Sarah Shaffi reports that Al Saqi Books in London, UK, Europe's largest Middle Eastern bookseller, will close. 
• Paul Wells reports about a visit to the Rideau Centre Indigo Bookstore in Ottawa, Canada, which sells more tea and home furnishing products than books.
  

Interviews:

• Leah Schnelbach interviews Stephen Graham Jones. 
  
• Media Death Cult interviews Nancy Kress.
• Lenny Picker interviews Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Juliet E. McKenna.
• Scott Edelman interviews Tim Waggoner. 
  
• Arley Sorg interviews Lisa Yaszek.
• Christopher Byrd interviews Cory Doctorow. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Andi Ewington. 
  
• Arley Sorg interviews Bora Chung and Anton Hur.
• Caroline M. Yoachim interviews Iori Kusano. 
• Alex Jennings interviews Alex Smith.
  
• Cora Buhlert interviews Dennis Frey. 
• Cora Buhlert interviews Ben Riggs.
  
• Oliver Brackenbury interviews Sean C.W. Korsgaard.
  
• Lisa Levy interviews John Tresch. 
• Cora Buhlert interviews Sara and Lilly of Fiction Fans.
  

Reviews:

• M.K. French reviews The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard. 
• Natalie Zutter reviews The Stars Undying by Emery Robin.
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Embertide by Liz Williams. 
• C.T. Phipps reviews Ashes of Onyx by Seth Skorkowsky.
  
• Angela Gualteri reviews The Sun's Devices by Rebecca Levene. 
• Marion Deeds reviews The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu.
  
• C.T. Phipps reviews The Definition of Vengeance by Kevin Wright
• Chris Haught reviews An End to Sorrow by Michael R. Fletcher. 
• Lis Carey reviews Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews When Glow the Lights the Woods by Eule Grey. 
• Aigner Loren Wilson reviews  To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose.
  
• Adrian Collins reviews Witchbringer by Steven B. Fischer. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Loki by Melvin Burgess. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Hero Interviews by Andi Newington. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Dead Flip by Sara Farizan.
  
• Skye Walker reviews The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen. 
• Tobias Carroll reviews White Horse by Erika T. Wurth. 
• Mahvesh Murad reviews Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Face by Joma West. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao.
• Paula Guran reviews The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay.
• Paperback Warrior reviews The Caretaker of Lorne Field by Dave Zeltserman 
• C.T. Phipps reviews 14 by Peter Clines.
  
• Ian Mond reviews Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.
• Martin Edwards reviews A Factotum in the Book Trade by Marius Kociejowski. 
• Kellie Doherty reviews The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and tries some recipes from the book. 

Classics reviews:

• MarzAat revisits the 1916 dark fantasy novel The Dark Star by Robert W. Chambers.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1935 Conan sword and sorcery story The Black Stranger a.k.a. The Treasure of Tranicos by Robert E. Howard. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1936 Spider pulp thriller The Mayor Of Hell by Grant Stockbridge a.k.a. Norvell Page.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1940 dystopian story "Coventry" by Robert A. Heinlein.
  
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1950 science fiction story "Divine Right" and "The Old Ones" and the 1951 science fiction story "The Protector" by Betsy Curtis.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1964 horror story "The Insects from Shaggai" by Ramsey Campbell.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1966 fantasy mystery Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett.
• Victoria Silverwolf shares her thoughts on the 1967 science fiction anthology Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1967 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Hall of the Dead" by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp.
  
• Kris Vyas Myall shares their thoughts on the December 1967 issue of Beyond Infinity and the 1967 science fiction anthology New Writings in SF 11, edited by John Carnell.  
  
• David Levinson revisits the January 1968 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction.
• Robert MacFarlane revisits the 1973 YA fantasy novel The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 children's science fiction novel The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts.
  
• James Malizewski revisits the November 1984 issue of White Dwarf. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1984 science fiction novel The Alchemists by Geary Gravel.
  
• Alan Brown revisits the 1990 science fiction holiday anthology Christmas on Ganymede and Other Stories, edited by Martin H. Greenberg. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1996 vampire novel Bloodletter by Warren Newton Beath.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 1999 Discworld novel The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Arley Sorg shares a report about the 2022 World Fantasy Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  
• Mike Rowe reports about L.A. Comic Con in Los Angeles, California. 
• Michael Kabunga, the bid chair of Kampcon, the 2028 Worldcon bid for Kampala, Uganda, shares a statement with more information about the bid. 
• The candidates for the 2023 Transatlantic Fan Fund have been announced.
  
• Ryan Gilbey calls Mother Goose an infectiously funny panto, which is currently playing in Hackney, London, UK. 
• Mark Fisher calls Alice in Wonderland, which is currently playing in Newcastle-under-Lyme, UK, a gloriously hallucinatory show. 
• Clare Brennan reports that the modernised version of The Nutcracker, which is currently playing in Bristol, UK, manages to draw fresh weirdness from a classic.
  
• Mark Fisher calls The Rock’n’Roll Panto Red Riding Hood, which is currently playing in Liverpool, UK, an exuberant panto, where the music is the star.
• Anya Ryan calls Jack!, which is currently playing in London, UK, a fresh and joyful take on panto. 
• Catherine Love calls Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Musical, which is currently playing in Leeds, UK, a burst of colour in a junk-filled world. 
• Mark Fisher calls a stage adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, which is currently playing in Derby, UK, a naturalistic and tuneful production.
  
• David Jays calls The Wind in the Wilton's, which is currently playing in London, UK, an updated take on the children's classic by Piers Torday. 
• Mark Fisher calls the stage adaptation of The Borrowers currently playing in Keswick, UK, more of an escape from trauma than an adventure story.
  
• Sabina Graves reports that the Splash Mountain log flume ride at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, will close in January for a complete overhaul from a Song of the South into a Princess and the Frog theme.
• Sabina Graves shares the latest news and events at the Disney Parks, the Universal Parks and other theme parks in the US.
  

  

Science and technology:

• Isaac Schulz shares some images the James Webb Space Telescope took of the Saturn moon Titan.
• Donna Lu reports about the construction of one of the world's most powerful radio telescopes in Wajarri Country, Australia.
  
• Holman W. Jenkins Jr. attempts to explain what's really behind the UFO phenomenon and why it vanished. 
• Peter Suciu reports that the US Navy is looking to develop flying aircraft carriers. 
• Mike Pearl reports that the AI chatbot ChatGPT and similar programs can be used to accuse random people of murder.
  
• Jody Serrano reports that the city of San Francisco has reversed its decision to allow its police department to use killer robots. 
• Elana Spivack notes that swear words in different languages all share one common trait.
  

Free online fiction: 

• "One Day in the Afterlife of Detective Roshni Chaddha" by Rati Mehrotra in Lightspeed.
• "Pledge Day" by Alex Irvine in Lightspeed. 
• "An Offer From the Fivefold God" by Rachel Meresman in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "By Hand and By Heart" by Tina Connolly in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Her Mother, The Storm" by Marie Croke in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "The Warrior Tree" by Chana Kohl in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "The Sun in Shadow" by Sandra Unerman in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Swarm Time on Maruzar" by Dariel R.A. Quiogue in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly. 
• "Travelers' Unrest" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Uncanny Magazine. 
  
• "The End of a Painted World" by Sam Kyung Yoo in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "Like Stars Daring to Shine" by Somto Ihezue in Fireside Magazine.
  
• "Sulta" by James Bennett in The Dark.
• "The Christmas Tree Barn" by Mary E..Lowd in Science. 
• "Curses and Cake" by Sarah Beth Durst in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  
• "Keiki's Pitcher Plant" by Bri Castagnozzi in Clarkesworld.  
• "Law of Tongue" by Naim Kabir in Clarkesworld.
• "Break the Skin If You To" by Emma Osborne, Jess Essey and Cadwell Turnbull in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Hidden Treasure" by Cislyn Smith in Daily Science Fiction.  
• "Tiny Cartoon Dinosaurs" by Mary E. Lowd in Daily Science Fiction. 
  
• "Wild and Deep, the Moon and Blood" by Rebecca Roland in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "A Win For Time Poor People Everywhere" by Tim Hawken in Daily Science Fiction.
   

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for The Witcher: Blood Origins.
• Watch a trailer for Gen V. 
• Watch a trailer for Knights of the Zodiac. 
• Watch a trailer for Teen Wolf: The Movie. 
• Watch a trailer for M3GAN.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of Servant. 
• Watch a trailer for season 4 of Miracle Workers.