Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 12, 2023

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the surprising bestseller succes of This Is How You Lose the Time War, Star Trek in general, Star Wars Visions and Star Wars in general, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Silo, The Muppets Mayhem, Hypnotic, Plan 75, the WGA strike and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Liberty Hardy shares ten fantasy books to read this summer.
  
• Alex Brown shares new YA SFF books coming out in May and June.
  
• Terence E. Hanley attempts to explain what weird fiction is.
  
• Lily Meyer shares three recent works of science fiction in translation. 
• James Davis Nicoll lists five SFF authors who wrote sequels to somebody else's work.
  
• James Davis Nicoll lists five SFF characters who could have benefitted greatly from therapy. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories featuring magical paintings.
• Madeline Shier shares twenty-one books featuring magic schools. 
• Julie Phillips talks about mothers and maternal power in fairy tales. 
• Katrina Monroe shares a list of terrible mothers in horror.
  
• Alex Brown shares SFF recommendations for the characters of the US sitcom Ted Lasso.
  
• Maria Ingrande Mora shares the best spooky books, movies and TV shows for people who don't like horror.
  
• Nicholas Binge explains what Shakespeare taught him about writing horror. 
• C.E. McGill talks about Frankenstein and queerness. 
• Molly Templeton talks about building your personal library and the books you leave behind.
  
• Michael Swanwick remembers Rachel Pollack. 
• SFF writer Bard Bloom has died aged 60. 
• Chris M. Barkley shares a touching tribute to his friend, long-time SFF fan Ric Bergman, who died aged 74.
  

 

The surprising sales boost of This Is How You Lose the Time War: 

• James Whitbrook reports how a viral tweet by a Twitter user and anime fan named Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood catapulted the lesbian time travel novella This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone up the Amazon bestseller lists.
• Molly Templeton reports about the surprising bestseller status of This Is How You Lose the Time War.
  
• Sisi Jiang also reports about the surprising popularity boost This Is How You Lose the Time War has received due to Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood.
  
• Danika Ellis declares that Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood exemplifies the best of book Twitter. 
• Grace P. Fong explains the how the Twitter algorithm caused Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood's recommendation for This Is How You Lose the Time War to go viral.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Mike Glyer takes a look at Marvel's offerings for the 2023 Free Comic Book Day.
• James Whitbrook reports that the Image superhero series Radiant Black lets its readers vote upon the fate of the protagonist. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about what writers do after they are replaced by bots. 
• George Gene Gustines reports that VIZ Media is planning to bring new manga to the US faster. 
  
• Artist and illustrator Bruce McCall has died aged 87. 
• Comic scholar and author Maurice Horn has died aged 91.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Justin Carter calls the animated series Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Genndy Tartakovsky unleashed
• Michele Kirichanskaya looks back on the animated fantasy series The Owl House.
  
• Paul Levinson calls The Ark real science fiction. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Huesera: The Bone Woman a Mexican horror film about post-partum depression.
  
• Hattie Lindert shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets, 
• Steve Vertlieb revisits the 1954 movie 20000 Leagues Under the Sea.
  
• Jason Sacks and Gideon Marcus revist the 1968 Spider-Man cartoon. 
• Germain Lussier revisits the 1998 disaster movie Deep Impact.
  
• Charlotte Edwards interviews Ruth Wilson, star of Luther, His Dark Materials, Mrs. Wilson and many others. 
• Rebecca Keegan interviews Natalie Portman, best known for her roles in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the Thor movies, The Professional, Black Swan and many others.
  
• Rachel Presser talks about the death of the mid budget movie.
  
• Cole Rush shares five SFF TV show intros you just can't skip.
• Ben Child wonders with Dune Part Two coming out later this year how many more Dune sequels there will be. 
• Stuart Heritage wonders whether the live action Little Mermaid film will be as horrific as Cats.
• Stuart Heritage wishes people would stop making AI-generated parodies of popular movies in the style of Wes Anderson. 
  
• Joseph Contreras reports about the ongoing battle between the Walt Disney Company and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw notes that Disney+ did not lose four millions subscribers because of supposedly "woke" content in Star Wars and Marvel series, but because they lost the rights to show Indian Premiere League cricket matches.
  
• British actor Terrence Hardiman, who appeared in The Demon Headmaster, Doctor Who, Prime Suspect, Wallander and many others, has died aged 86.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general (spoilers): 

•  Lina Morgan revisits the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode "Bar Association".
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Doctor's Orders". 
• Judith Tarr takes a look at the Changelings in Star Trek.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Star Wars Visions and Star Wars in general: 

• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "The Return", the season 3 finale of The Mandalorian.
• Sabina Graves shares seven things she loved and three things she didn't about season 2 of Star Wars Visions. 
• Ben Travis takes a look at the Star Wars Visions episode "I Am Your Mother" and how it came to be made. 
• James Whitbrook traces the history of the Darksabre through several Star Wars series.
  
• Ben Travis interviews Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. 
• Rich Pelley interviews Joel Edgerton who plays Owen Lars in the Star Wars prequels and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  
• Ray Greene profiles Gary Kurtz, producer of Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
  

 

Comments on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Leah Schnelbach calls Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 messy and overstuffed and notes that it will probably make you cry. 
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 the least child-friendly Marvel movie to date and notes that some scenes are downright disturbing.
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
  
• Germain Lussier shares his favourite moment in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and what it means. 
• Julia Glassman shares some background on the character of Phylla-Vell from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw explains what happened to Peter Quill's helmet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
  
• Germain Lussier discusses the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 post-credits scenes. 
• Germain Lussier interviews James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
  
• Sabina Graves interviews Sean Gunn and Maria Bakalova, who play Kraglin and Cosmo in Guardians pf the Galaxy Vol. 3 respectively. 
• io9 interviews Chukwudi Iwuji, who plays the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 
• Tatiana Siegel interviews Scarlett Johansson who plays Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares singer Florence Welch's reaction to her song "Dog Days Are Over" appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 
• Jen Lennon wonders what's next for the Guardians of the Galaxy.
  
• The AV-Club ranks all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to date. 
• Richard Newby ranks all the non-MCU Marvel films to date.
  
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has had a decent but not stellar opening weekend.
  

 

 Comments on Silo:

• Lucy Mangan calls Silo a rich and thrilling dystopian drama.
• Belen Edwards calls Silo a slow-burn science fiction series that's a dream for fans of dystopian fiction. 
• Paul Levinson calls Silo a unique story inside and out.
  

 

Comments on The Muppets Mayhem: 

• Joel Golby calls The Muppets Mayhem a brilliant series that's impossible to watch without a giant grin.
• Lucy Mangan declares that the titular stars are as glorious as ever in The Muppets Mayhem.
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls The Muppets Mayhem lightweight but entertaining
• David Cote calls The Muppets Mayhem a family friendly music business satire. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Adam F. Goldberg, Jeff Yorkes and Bill Barretta, co-creators and producers of The Muppets Mayhem. 
  

 

Comments on Hypnotic: 

• Luke Y. Thompson calls Hypnotic a Christopher Nolan homage and probably the most normal film Robert Rodriguez has made in a long time.  
• Germain Lussier interviews Robert Rodriguez, director of Hypnotic.
  

 

Comments on Plan 75:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Plan 75 a melancholy anti-euthanasia drama from Japan.
• Amelia Hill calls Plan 75 a horrifically plausible near future dystopian film from Japan. 

 

Comments on the strike of the Writers Guild of America:

• Cynthia Littleton and Gene Maddaus report that the WGA strike chaos is consuming Hollywood. 
  
• Vance Kotrla talks about the WGA strike and the issues under dispute.
• The SFWA issues a statement in solidarity with the striking WGA writers. 
• George R.R. Martin shares his support for the striking WGA writers.
  
• Mikey O'Connell, Lesley Goldberg and Carol Giardina report from the WGA strike picket line. 
  
• Adam B. Vary explains what writers not being on set really means for shows and movies in production. 
• George R.R. Martin explains why it is important for writers to be present on set. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch weighs on on the WGA strike.
  
• Lesley Goldberg and Katie Kilkenny report that Disney, Warner Discovery and other studios demands that showrunners keep working during the WGA strike. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw explains why it is bad for TV shows to try to continue filming through the WGA strike,
  
• Linda Codega lists all the science fiction, fantasy and horror projects impacted by the WGA strike so far.
  
• Jennifer Maas and Manori Ravindram report that House of the Dragon will also continue filming through the WGA strike, since all scripts for season 2 are written. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw points out that the fact that House of the Dragon will continue filming through the WGA strike may mean major issues for season 2. 
• Justin Carter reports that Andor has also resumed production, because the scripts for season 2 are finished and showrunner Tony Gilroy is performing non-writing production duties. 
• Lesley Goldberg reports that Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy has ceased all production duties on Andor after catching flak for working through the WGA strike.
  
• Justin Carter reports that production of season 5 of Stranger Things has been halted due to the WGA strike.
  
• Adam B. Vary reports that production of the Marvel movie Blade will be delayed due to the WGA strike. 
• Denise Petski and Peter White report that the MTV Movie Awards are pivoting from a live show to a pre-taped special due to the WGA strike.
  
• Linda Codega reports that Warner Discovery CEO David Zazlav continues to be the worst person in Hollywood and believes that "love of working" and "love of the business" will end the WGA strike. 
• Chuck Tingle shares a free story entitled "Not Pounded By The Physical Manifestation Of My Own Screenwriting Because I’m On Strike And I Deserve To Be Fairly Compensated For My Labor While Studio Ceos Take Record Salaries" in solidarity with the striking WGA writers.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2023 Pulp Factory Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2023 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Australian Shadows Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Prix Jacques-Broussard have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2023 Tähtivaeltaja Award has been announced.
  
• The shortlist for the 2023 Future World Prize has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Prix Imaginales de la Bande Dessinée have been announced.
  
• The HWA has announced the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award and Specialty Award winners. 
• The winners of the 2023 MTV Movie Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Peabody Awards have been announced.
  
• The 2023 inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame have been announced.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Allison Brennan explains how to handle "Will They or Won't They?" sexual tension in thrillers or elsewhere.
• Ellen Crosby explains what journalism can teach about writing fiction.
  
• Maggie Tokuda-Hall explains why she still declined Scholastic's offer to republish her children's book Love in the Library, even after Scholastic apologised for attempting to remove references to racism and the internment of Japanese people in the US during WWII. 
• Sarah Weinman talks about several scandals involving Swedish literary agent Nicolas Salomonsson who represents many Swedish crime fiction writers.
  
• Nyasha Chingone reports that Zimbabwen author Tsitsi Dangarembga has had her conviction for protest overturned by a court in Harare, Zimbabwe.
  

 

Interviews:

• Dan Kois interviews Amal El-Mohtar.
• John Scalzi and Michi Trota interview each other.
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Stark Holborn.
• John Shirley interviews Rudy Rucker. 
  
• Karen Heller interviews Dean Koontz. 
• The HWA interviews Kathe Koja. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Helen Marshall. 
• Phoebe Barton interviews Anya Ow.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Robert Jeschonek.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews A.J. Ellwood.
• Marissa van Uden interviews Alex Langer.
  
• The HWA interviews Wen Wen Yang. 
• The HWA interviews K.P. Kulski.
  
• Xan Brooks interviews Mat Osman, brother of Richard Osman.
• Alice Kemp-Habib interviews Agustina Bazterrica. 
  
• Cora Buhlert interviews Jason M. Waltz.
  
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Howie K. Bentley. 
  

 

Reviews:

• Rob Bedford reviews The Scourge Between the Stars by Ness Brown.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Witch King by Martha Wells.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews For Love of Magic by Simon R. Green. 
• Liz Bourke reviews Spring's Arcana by Lilith Saintcrow.
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne 
  
• Liz Bourke reviews The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry 
  
• Tobias Carroll reviews For the First Time, Again by Sylvain Neuvel. 
• Erica Wagner reviews The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Valkyrie by Kate Heartfield. 
• Arley Sorg reviews The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
  
• Carrie Chi Lough reviews The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks. 
• John Mauro reviews The Return of the Knights by Gregory Kontaxis. 
• Paul Weimer reviews The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang.
  
• Mark Yon reviews The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. 
  
• Alex Brown reviews We Don't Swim Here by Vincent Tirado.
  
• Lis Carey reviews Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
• Warner Holme reviews Sands of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
  
• Alex Wallace reviews Poor Man's Sky by Will McCarthy. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews A Sleight of Shadows by Kat Howard. 
• Molly Templeton reviews The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong
  
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Extended Stay by Juan Martinez 
• Clara Cohen reviews Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey. 
• Ryan Howse reviews The Fisherman by John Langan. 
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Insatiable Volt Sisters by Rachel Eve Moulton 
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews All Hallows by Christopher Golden 
• Adrienne Martini reviews A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Darkness Below by Barbara Cottrell
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Ragged Maps by Ian R. MacLeod
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss 
• Miles Reid-Lobatto reviews issue 0 of New Edge Sword and Sorcery.
• Robin Marx reviews issue 10 of Tales from the Magician's Skull.
  

 

Classics reviews:

• The Cromcast revisits the 1933 Conan sword and sorcery story "Pool of the Black One" by Robert E. Howard. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1937 science fiction story "Forgetfulness" by John W. Campbell.
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1939 science fiction story "Special Flight" by John Berryman.
• Brian Collins revisits the 1953 science fiction story "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1954 science fiction novel G.O.G. 666 by John Taine.
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1961 satirical science fiction story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1967 science fiction novel All Judgment Fled by James White.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1968 science fiction novel A Gift From Earth by Larry Niven.
• Gideon Marcus revisits the June 1968 issue of Galaxy.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1969 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Castle of Terror" by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1970 gothic romance Mistress of Orion Hall by Claudette Nicole a.k.a. Jon Messman. 
• Andrew F. Sullivan revisits the 1975 dystopian science fiction novel High-Rise by J.G. Ballard. 
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1978 Karios sword and sorcery story "The Guest of Dzinganji" by Manly Wade Wellman.
  
• Gareth L. Powell revisits the 1979 hard science fiction novel The Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven.
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1979 science fiction collection Fireflood and Other Stories by Vonda N. McIntyre.
  
• Adam Roberts revisits the 1982 Riftwar epic fantasy novel Magician by Raymond E. Feist.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the January 1986 issue of White Dwarf. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1987 Firebrats post-apocalyptic novel Survivors by Barbara and Scott Siegel.
  
• Gary Romeo revisits the 2004 alternate history anthology Conqueror Fantastic, edited by Pamela Sargent.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Worlds of Possibility, an anthology of uplifting, hopeful and happy science fiction and fantasy stories edited by Julia Rios, is looking for funding.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Sharon Lee and Steve Miller share their experiences at HELIOSphere in Tarrytown, New York. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the 2023 Westercon in Anaheim, California, has been cancelled.
  
• Locus reports about  the inaugural Salam Award Writers’ Work­shop in Lahore, Pakistan.
• Alison Scott reports about Thirdmancon, the 1968 Eastercon in Buxton, UK. 
• Chris Wiegand reports that the musical Bad Cinderella by Andrew Lloyd Webber will close on Broadway after only ten weeks.
  
• Chris Gardner reports about the dedication ceremony of a star for Carrie Fisher on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.
• Christopher Borelli reports how his hometown Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, honours Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax. 
• Sabina Graves shares the latest news from the various Disney Parks, Universal Studios Resorts and other US theme parks.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Robin George Andrews reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has yielded new insights into the star Formalhaut.
• Tatyana Woodall takes a look at what habitats on Mars might look like.
  
• Jackie Wattles and Tina Burnside report that a meteorite has struck a house in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. 
• Charlie Jane Anders shares some thoughts on content moderation.
  
  

Gaming: 

• C.T. Phipps reviews the videogame A Plague Tale: Innocence.
• James Whitbrook reports that Magic the Gathering will release a Doctor Who themed expansion set.
  
• Lon Harris reports that Nintendo's recent crackdown on alleged copyright violations has hit popular YouTubers and streamers playing modded version of Nintendo games.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Andrew Liszewski and James Whitbrook take a look at upcoming toys. 
  
• Watch a video of the Masters of the Universe Eternia playset prototype being assembled.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "To Sail Beyond the Botnet" by Suzanne Palmer in Clarkesworld. 
• "LOL, Said the Scorpion" by Rich Larson in Clarkesworld. 
• "Such an Honor" by Sarah Gailey in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "The Sword, the Butterly and the Pearl" by Deborah L. Davitt in Lightspeed. 
• "She Blooms and the World Is Changed" by Izzy Wasserstein in Lightspeed.
  
• "Jenny Greenteeth" by Alison Littlewood in The Dark.
• "The Puppetmaster" by Kemi Ashing-Giwa in Tor.com.
  
• "God of the River" by Anya Ow in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "The Mausoleum's Children" by Aliette de Bodard in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "Collector of the Dead" by Chelsea Catherine in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "9 Lies You Tell Yourself About Ghost Hunting" by Aimee Picchi in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Things We Did by the Windmill" by Katie McIvor in The Deadlands.
  
• "The Devouring Hole" by Eric Raclin in Pyre Magazine.
  
• "Other Planes" by Ebere Obua in Omenana. 
• "Ncheta" by Chisom Umeh in Apex Magazine.
  
• "The Tear of Chronos" by Cora Buhlert.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Foundation.
  
• Watch a deleted scene from 65.
• Watch a trailer for Poor Things.
  
• Watch a trailer for Bird Box Barcelona. 
• Watch a trailer for Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.
  
• Watch a trailer for Meg 2: The Trench.
• Watch a trailer for The Walking Dead: Dead City. 
  
• Watch a trailer for Clone High.