Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for January 20, 2023

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 of 2022, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Trek in general, The Last of Us, Doctor Who past, present and future, M3GAN, the cancellation of Dead End: Paranormal Park, Avatar: The Way of Water, the Friday the Thirteenth movies, the saga of romance author Susan Meachem, who faked her own death, the impact of AI on writing and art, the HarperCollins strike, tributes to Gina Lollobrigida and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy novels.
• Christina Orlando shares thirty SFF books to look forward to in 2023.
  
• Jo Walton shares her reading list forn December 2022. 
  
• Brian Collins wonders whether 1953 was the best year in science fiction history. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five cautionary science fiction tales about artificial intelligence.
  
• Anna Reyes talks about the art of stories within stories.  
• Molly Templeton notes that every book should be read at its right time.
  
• J.H. Markert recounts how reading Stephen King inspired him to write. 
  
• Cole Rush shares his appreciation for Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series and why it would make an excellent TV show. 
• Gary Moss profiles Edmond Hamilton.
  
• Michael R. Brown profiles Clark Ashton Smith. 
• Michael R. Brown revisits Robert E. Howard's Kull of Atlantis stories.
  
• Amanda Silberling talks about the planned changes to the Dungeons & Dragons open gaming licence and how they endanger the livelihoods of many small content creators. 
• Priya Sridhar weighs in on the case of Susan Meachem, the romance author who faked her own death. 
• Ellen Barry weighs in on the case of Susan Meachem, the romance author who faked her own death. 
   
  

Best of 2022:

• Brian Keene shares his ten favourite horror books of 2022.
• Wole Talabi shares his ten favourite African science fiction stories of 2022. 
• Alex Brown shares their twelve favourite SFF stories of 2022.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Matt Davis reviews Blade Runner 2039 #1 by Mike Johnson, Mellow Brown and Andres Guinaldo
• Scott Edelman interviews comic writer Ron Marz. 
• Otis Whitaker takes a look at Berni Wrightson's illustrations of Edgar Allan Poe's stories.
  
• File 770 shares Marvel's offerings for the 2023 Free Comic Book Day. 
  

 

Film and TV:

• Paul Levinson calls Jurassic World Dominion exciting, enjoyable and maybe even a little profound. 
• Nick Allen declares that Mayfair Witches can't conjure up any thrills. 
• Jack Carter shares his thoughts on the animated The Owl House special "Thanks to Them".
  
• Phil Hoad calls That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond a high-spirited anime.
• Jack Seale calls Little Demon a fun and filthy animated film.
  
• Cath Clarke calls Jack a talking penis comedy that isn't very funny.
  
• Leslie Felperin calls The Harbinger an effective pandemic horror film.
  
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the horror movie The Offering. 
• Brian Murphy revisits the 1981 Arthurian fantasy film Excalibur. 
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1984 dark fantasy movie The Company of Wolves. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Jon Kasdan, showrunner of Willow.
  
• Clayton Davis interviews Ram Charan Teja and N.T. Rama Rao Jr., stars of RRR. 
• Catherine Shoard and readers of The Guardian interview Patton Oswalt, star of Ratatouille, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and many others.
  
• Ben Kenigsberg explains why some movies get restored and others languish.
• Russell T. Davies discusses his love for soap operas.
• Cole Rush shares his favourite voice acting roles by George Takei.
  
• Lauren Huff reports that the fourth season of Snowpiercer has been cancelled by TNT, even though production has already been completed. 
• Joe Otterson reports that Stephen Colbert will produce a TV-adaptation of Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. 
• Felipe Rangel reports that Mark Hamill will not voice the Joker again, following the death of Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman a.k.a. Bruce Wayne. 
  
• Rob Bricken reports that legendary film composer John Williams is not retiring after all. 
• Lois Beckett reports that British actor Julian Sands, who appeared in Boxing Helena, The Killing Fields, Naked Lunch, 24 and many others, has gone missing during a hike in California.
  
• Film editor, movie theatre manager and long-time science fiction fan Bill Longen has died aged 76.
  

 

Tributes to Gina Lollobrigida:

• Italian actress and photographer Gina Lollobrigida, who appeared in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beat the Devil, Solomon and Sheba, Fanfan Le Tulipe, Trapeze, Woman of Straw and many others, has died aged 95.
• John Francis Lane shares an obituary for Gina Lollobrigida.
• Carmel Dagan and Nick Vivarelli remember Gina Lollobrigida.
• Greg Whitmore shares photos from Gina Lollobrigida's career.
  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:  

• Ben Child wonders whether Ant-Man and the Wasp can carry the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• Matt Donnelly interviews Julia Louis-Dreyfuss who plays Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
• Sian Cain and Helen Davidsonn reports that China has ended its defacto ban on Marvel movies after three years. 
• Erum Salam reports that actor Jeremy Renner, star of Hawkeye and Mayor of Kingstown, has been released from hospital, following his snow ploughing accident.
  
• Watch a trailer for Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general: 

• Galactic Journey revisits the 1968 Star Trek episode "A Piece of the Action".
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "The Xindi".
• Mission Log interviews Dan and Kevin Hageman and Ben Hibon, creators and director of Star Trek Prodigy.
  

 

Comments on The Last of Us:  

• James Poniewozik calls The Last of Us a zombie apocalypse thriller about single parenthood.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that The Last of Us offers a sensitive yet gripping take on zombie clichés and that it is a surefire hit.
• Rebecca Nicholson calls The Last of Us one of the finest TV shows you will see this year.
  
• David Cote declares that The Last of Us is off to a smashing start. 
• Germain Lussier declares that The Last of Us begins with a table setter for the ages. 
• Aaron Jones delcares that episode 1 of The Last of Us promises one hell of a ride. 
• Andy Welch calls The Last of Us an expertly done videogame adaptation. 
• Brian Tallerica calls The Last of Us excellent and a confident videogame adaptation.
  
• Adam B. Vary declares that The Last of Us avoids the mistakes of many videogame adaptations. 
• Keza MacDonald explains why The Last of Us is the perfect videogame to adapt to the screen.
  
• Theresa DeLucci delcares is that the real surprise of The Last of Us is not that it is a good videogame adaptation, but that it expands on the game and gives the story room to breathe. 
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who, past, present and future: 

• Louise Griffin reports that showrunner Russell T. Davies has debunked rumours that Doctor Who will have a budget of 10 million pound per episode.
• Steve O'Brien says that colourising classic Doctor Who episodes should not be considered sacrilege.
  

 

Comments on M3GAN: 

• Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg share their thoughts on M3GAN. 
  
• Benjamin Lee interviews Allison Williams, star of M3GAN.
• Michael Sun and Sian Cain discuss why M3GAN has become such a huge hit as well as a gay icon.
  

 

Comments on the cancellation of Dead End: Paranormal Park:

• Justin Carter reports that Netflix has cancelled the animated show Dead End: Paranormal Park. 
• Dead End: Paranormal Park creator Hamish Steele reflects on the cancellation of his show.
  

 

Comments on the Friday the 13th movies: 

• Cheryl Eddy ranks the Friday the 13th movies.
• Cheryl Eddy also ranks the most gruesome murders in the Friday the 13th movies.
  

 

Comments on Avatar: The Way of Water: 

• David West Jr. interviews James Cameron, director of Avatar: The Way of Water.
  
• Callie Holtermann reports that the long runtime and watery setting of Avatar: The Way of Water are causing viewers to run for the bathrooms.
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2023 Philip K. Dick Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Otherwise Awards, formerly known as the Tiptree Awards, have been announced. 
• The nominees for the 2023 NAACP Image Awards have been announced with some love for SFF works.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Writers Guild Television Awards have been announced with quite a bit of love for genre TV. 
• The finalists for the 2023 VES Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Annie Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Bafta Film Awards have been announced with some love for genre film.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Bafta Rising Star Awards have been announced. 
  
• The finalists for the 2023 D.I.C.E. Awards have been announced.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Benjamin Stevenson talks about the rules of writing crime fiction and when to break them. 
• Mark Ellis asks if historical accuracy matters in fiction.
  
• Brian Keene talks about AI generated writing and how it threatens writers' jobs.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch weighs in on the rise of AI in writing, art and audio narration.
  
• Katie Kilkenny and Winston Cho wonder what impact AI writing programs like ChatGP will have on Hollywood screenwriters.  
• Camestros Felapton talks about the arms race between writing AIs and systems to detect AI writing.
• Susan Stitt reports about some troublesome changes to Amazon's Author Central pages.
• Emell Derra Adolphus shares an update about the ongoing strike of the HarperCollins union.
• Jim Milliot shares an update about the ongoing strike of the HarperCollins union.
• Dan Kois discusses the HarperCollins strike from the POV of a debut author at HarperCollins.
  
• Locus reports that Gina Centrello, president of the Random House Publishing Group, is retiring.
• Sarah Shaffi reports that after the Arabic bookshop Al Saqi Books in London, UK, closed at the end of 2022, a former staff member is fundraising to open a new Arabic bookstore called Maqam Books & Community.
  
• Hilary Danailova lists Jewish-owned bookstore in the US.
  

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Alex Jennings.
  
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Charles R. Rutledge.
• Sara Light-Waller interviews William Patrick Maynard.
  

Reviews:

• Russell Letson reviews Imperium Restored by Walter Jon Williams.
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
  
• Paperback Warrior reviews Conan: Blood of the Serpent by S.M. Stirling. 
• Fiona Denton reviews Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry. 
  
• Adrienne Martini reviews The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu. 
• Paul Weimer reviews A Blackened Mirror by Jo Graham.
  
• Lis Carey reviews Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch.
  
• Alex Brown reviews Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland 
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Small Angels by Lauren Owen
• Molly Templeton reviews Unraveller by Frances Hardinge.
  
• John Mauro reviews Soulkeeper by David Dalglish.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett 
  
• Maya C. James reviews The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope 
• Laird Hunt reviws Now She Is Witch by Kirsty Logan.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews That Dangerous Energy by Aya de León.
  
• Adam Roberts reviews In Ascension by Martin MacInnes. 
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Obelisks 1: Dust by Ari Marmell.
• Alex Brown reviews Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire. 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire. 
• Arley Sorg reviews The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
  
• Matthew Keeley reviews Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll.
  
• Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub reviews A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. 
• James Wallace Harris reviews Babel by R.F. Kuang.
  
• Camestros Felapton reviews Leech by Hiron Ennes. 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Fairy Tale by Stephen King
• Brigid Flanagan reviews How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. 
• Rob Bedford reviews How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. 
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. 
  
• Arturo Serrano reviews Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People, edited by Andrea D. Lobel and Mark Shainblum

Classics reviews:

• The Ricochet Reviewer revisits the 1918 fantasy novel The Moon Pool by A. Merritt.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1931 dark fantasy story "The Satyr" by Clark Ashton Smith. 
• The Cromcast revisits the 1932 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Phoenix on the Sword" by Robert E. Howard. 
  
• Davide Mana revisits the 1936 Conan sword and sorcery story "Red Nails" by Robert E. Howard.
• M. Porcius revisits the November 1937 issue of Weird Tales.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1939 cozy catastrophe novel The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff. 
• The Obelisk revisits the 1950 folk horror story "The Pineys" by Manly Wade Wellman. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1954 anthology The Giant Anthology of Science Fiction, edited by Leo Margulies and Oscar J. Friend. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1959 science fiction stories "A Grain of Manhood" and "Phantom Foot" and the 1960 science fiction story "No End of Time" by Phyllis Gotlieb.
  
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1965 science fiction novel The Genocides by Thomas M. Disch.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1966 science fiction novel The Mutants by Kris Neville.
  
• John Boston revisits the January 1968 issue of Amazing Stories.  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the February 1968 issue of Galaxy.
  
• The SFFAudio Podcast revisits the 1972 technothriller Binary by John Lange a.k.a. Michael Crichton.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1974 alternate history novel A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson. 
• Adrian Collins revisits the 1979 time travel novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 sword and sorcery novel Kill the Dead by Tanith Lee.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the March 1985 issue of White Dwarf. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1990 vampire story collection Gifts of Blood by Susan C. Petrey.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 2000 Discworld fantasy novel The Truth by Terry Pratchett.
• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisit the 2005 horror novel Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer reports that the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, China, is planning to educate its Chinese members about the mechanisms of nominating and voting for the Hugos. 
• Mike Glyer shares some tips for starting a fan fund. 
• Associated Press shares the program for the 2023 California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena, California.
  
• Rich Lynch reports about a visit to the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York.
• David Smith reports about hard times on Broadway with many highly acclaimed shows closing early. 
• Lyndsey Winship calls the latest Cirque de Soleil show Kurios, which is currently playing in London, UK, a gasp-inducing Steampunk celebration.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Fat Jack's comic shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, needs some help to recover from the financial impact of covid closures.
• Maqam Books & Community in London, UK, is looking for funding to open a new bookshop focussed on Arabic literature after Al Saqi Books closed at the end of 2022.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Alexandra Witze reports that 2022 was a record year for space launches.
• Passant Rabie reports that Russia is trying to trade 36 satellites stuck in Kazakstan for a Soyuz rocket stock in French Guyana. 
• Tim Sweezy shares some photos of the dark side of the Moon taken by NASA's ShadowCam. 
• Kevin Hurler reports that astronomers have found a distant binary system of two ultracool invisible stars spinning around each other.
• Jennifer Nalewicki reports that a giant Maya ruin has been discovered in Guatemala via lidar.
  
• Ed Cara reports that Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for a drug that will make people impervious to cold.
• Melissa Kagen revisits Eliza, the very first therapy chatbot, and her successors. 
• Kenneth Hite explains what it feels like to get shot.
  
• Grady Hendrix discusses the pros and cons of ghost tourism. 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Narrative Implications of Your Untimely Death" by Isabel J. Kim in Lightspeed.
• "Between the Stones and the Stars" by A.L. Goldfuss in Lightspeed.
  
• "Eliza Sky and the Elfborn Herald" by Neil Willcox in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Horsewoman" by A.M. Dellamonica in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "Carnival Ever After" by Mari Ness in Apex Magazine. 
• "A Brief Catalog of Humans, as Observed by the Cryptids of Encante" by Ruth Joffre in Fantasy Magazine.
• "As the Witch Burns" by Marisca Pichette in Fantasy Magazine. 
  
• "Love Sharp Enough to Rend" by Leah Ning in The Dark.
• "Sharp Undoing" by Natasha King in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Zhuangzi's Dream" by Cao Baiyu, translated by Stella Jiayue Zhu, in Clarkesworld.
• "Our Lady of Tomorrow" by Natalie C. Parker in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  
• "Break Fresh Ground" by Callie S. Blackstone in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "Until It Has Your Reflection" by Katherine Quevedo in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "What Pushes Against This Moment" by V.H. Ncube in Omenana. 
• "How to Cook and Eat the Rich" by Sunyi Dean in Tor.com.
  
•  "Sycorax, Ohio" by Robert Pope in Mystery Tribune.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 3 of The Mandalorian.
  
• Watch a trailer for Gotham Knights.
  
• Watch a trailer for My Dad the Bounty Hunter.
• Watch a trailer for Hello Tomorrow!
• Watch a trailer for The Big Door Prize. 
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Yellowjackets.
• Watch a trailer for Linoleum. 
• Watch a trailer for Scream VI. 
  

 

 Odds and ends:

• J.D. Biersdorfer shares a story quiz, where you have to find twenty-one fantasy titles hidden in a story.