Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 19, 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, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Mulligan, Hypnotic, the WGA strike and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a roundup of recent science fiction and fantasy books. 
• Bones, Books and Buffy shares eighteen upcoming fantasy books to enjoy.
  
• Lizz Schumer shares her twenty-five favourite fantasy books of all time. 
• Nina Allan shares the ten strangest alien invasion novels.
  
• Cole Rush shares five memorable fiction artificial intelligences.
• James Davis Nicoll shares five classic science fiction novels featuring advanced body modification.
  
• Jacqueline Holland shares seven novels and stories about the monsters among us. 
• Karen White shares her favourite haunted house novels. 
• Elisa Shoenberger shares eight fantasy books about working in the afterlife.
  
• Ratika Deshpande finds the perfect soundtrack for five fantasy worlds. 
• Randee Dawn lists six SFF authors who successfully adapted their own work for the screen.
  
• Lily Meyer finds some parallels between the 1999 film Ghost Dog and literary translation.
  
• Alexandra Alter profiles R.F. Kuang. 
• G.W. Thomas profiles weird fiction writer Carl Jacobi in a two-part post. 
• Jonathan Thronton shares his appreciation for the works of Tove Jansson.
• Robert Vaux explains how Frank Herbert felt about Dune's obvious influence of Star Wars.
  

 

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

• Amanda Silberling reports that the recommendation of Twitter user Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood gave This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone a bigger sales boost than winning the Pulitzer Prize gave Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead. 
• Linda Codega interviews the elusive Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Alasdair Stuart reviews Spirit World by Alyssa Wong and Haining.
• Jesse Schedeen reports that DC Comics will be introducing Wonder Woman's daughter Trinity.
• James Whitbrook reports that Archie Comics will introduce their first trans character in the horror comic Strange Science.
  
• Dad-at-Arms interviews Josh Sky, writer of the Masters of the Universe mini-comics.
• Zach Rabiroff interviews Ryan Liebowitz, owner of Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles, California. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the problems of writing dystopian science fiction.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Speculiction notes that The Handmaid's Tale TV show has declined significantly in seasons 3 and 4.
  
• Stuart Jeffries calls Black Knight a post-apocalyptic hellscape from South Korea. 
• Phil Hoad calls Restart the Earth a schlocky post-apocalyptic thriller from China.
  
• Haley Zapal shares her thoughts on season 2 of The Power. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.
  
• Phil Hoad finds a lot to like about the anime Re:cycle of the Penguindrum, but also finds it overly long
  
• Judith Tarr shares her thoughts on Turning Red.
  
• Hattie Lindert shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 
• Ashia Monet talks about the power of sight in the new Interview with the Vampire.
  
• Sabina Graves discusses the surprising popularity of the Australian animated series Bluey. 
• Leslie Felperin calls The Other Fellow a whimsical documentary about people who happen to be called James Bond and their famous namesake.
  
• Cheryl Eddy shares ten hopeful science fiction movies to stream right now. 
• Janice L. Newman and Gideon Marcus revisit the 1964 time travel movie The Time Travelers and the 1967 science fiction movie Countdown. 
  
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1968 Doctor Who serial "The Wheel in Space". 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Hatchery".
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Louis Leterrier, director of The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Transporter, Fast X and many others.
• Damian Holbrook interviews Jared Padalecki, star of Supernatural and Walker. 
  
• Devan Coggan interviews Robert and Michelle King, creators of Evil. 
• Emine Saner interviews Mara Wilson, star of Matilda and Miracle on 34th Street. 
• io9 interviews Rob Marshall, director of the live action Little Mermaid.
  
• Jonathan Clarke profiles Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. 
  
• Stuart Heritage is pleased that US TV shows are ending earlier than they used to, going out on a high rather than outstaying their welcome. 
  
• Ben Child wonders whether artificial intelligence will ever be able to create decent screenplays. 
• Justin Carter reports that Meg Foster, who played Evil-Lyn in the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, will voice the character of Motherboard in Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
  
• Nellie Andreeva reports that the Supernatural prequel The Winchesters has been cancelled after a single season. 
• K.L. Yossman reports that Netflix has cancelled Lockwood & Co. after only one season.
  
• Jill Goldsmith reports that Disney will pull some content off its Disney+ streaming service.

 

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

• Leah Schnelbach talks about the religious analogies in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
  
• Kyle Buchanan interviews James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
• io9 interviews Miriam Shor, who plays Recorder Vim in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 
• Eric Swann itnerviews Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, and learns that Clive Owen was initially supposed to play Tony Stark.
  

 

Comments on Mulligan: 

• Lucy Mangan calls Mulligan an animated post-apocalyptic comedy that's just not very funny.  
  
• Max Gao calls Mulligan a post-apocalyptic animated comedy that has trouble landing its jokes.
  

 

Comments on Hypnotic: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Hypnotic a goofy B-movie thriller that would like to be Inception.  
• Matthew Jackson interviews Robert Rodriguez, director of Hypnotic.
  
• Germain Lussier ranks all of Robert Rodriguez' SFF movies.
  

 

Comments on the strike of the Writers Guild of America:

• Joe Otterson reports that season 2 of The Last of Us is now completely on hold due to the WGA strike, after producers attempted to hold auditions by having actors read lines from the videogame the show is based upon.
• Nellie Andreeva reports that production of season 4 of The Mandalorian will be delayed due to the WGA strike. 
• Germain Lussier wonders what the WGA strike means for the other Star Wars shows in various states of production. 
• Linda Codega reports that the screen actors guild SAG-AFTRA may go on strike as well.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2022 Nebula Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Aurora Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Prix Imaginales have been announced.
• The winner of the 2023 Prix Imaginales de la Bande Dessinée has been announced.
• The winners of the 2023 Xingyun Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Vincent Preis have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2023 Prix Jacques Brossard has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Colorado Book Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Eisner Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 British Book Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Eurovision Book Contest have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Bafta TV Awards have been announced with no love for genre TV.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Candice Fox explains why opening lines are so crucial.
• Kate White shares seven fabulous thrillers and the craft lessons they teach
• Kellie Doherty talks about worldbuilding. 
• William C. Tracey shares tips and tricks for selling your book on Amazon.
  
• Locus reports about a controversy surrounding the literary agency New Leaf Literary and Media. 
• Publishers Weekly also reports about the New Leaf Literary and Media uproar. 
  
• Max Booth III reports that the golden age of indie horror may be coming to an end, because Barnes & Noble no longer wants its stores to stock print-on-demand books. 
• Locus reports that Penguin Random House, PEN America as well as parents, authors and teachers are sueing the Escambia County school district in Florida over book bans.
  

 

Interviews:

• Monsters, Madness and Magic interviews Michael Moorcock. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Martha Wells. 
• Locus interviews Mary Robinette Kowal.
  
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Jeff VanderMeer. 
• Moid Moidelhoff interviews Catherynne M. Valente.
  
• Cassandra Khaw and Lee Mandelo interview each other. 
• The HWA interviews Yvonne Navarro.
  
• Paul Weimer interviews Jules Sherred.
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Gregory D. Mele. 
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Alexander Darwin.
  
• Anthony Cummins interviews Ottessa Moshfegh. 
• Marian Amo interviews N.D. Jones.
  
• Angelique Fawns interviews Lloyd Penney.
• A fifth-grader interviews Oliver Brackenbury. 
• Paul Levinson interviews Spencer Hannabuss. 
  

 

Reviews:

• Paul Weimer reviews Witch King by Martha Wells. 
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
  
• Arturo Serrano reviews Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Liz Bourke reviews Rubicon by J.S. Dewes 
• Liz Bourke reviews Dragonfall by L.R. Lam. 
• John Mauro reviews A Drowned Kingdom by P.L. Stuart. 
• Martin Cahill reviews Dead Country by Max Gladstone.
  
• Adam Weller reviews The Navigating Fox by Christopher Rowe.
• Richard Fisher reviews The Lion of Skye by J.T.T. Ryder. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Master of Decimen City by Brenna Raney.
  
• Richard Marpole reviews Black Ice by Julia Blake. 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Other Lives of Miss Emily White by A.J. Elwood
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland. 
• Aigner Loren Wilson reviews Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
  
• Bill Capossere reviews The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence.
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde. 
  
• Ian Mond reviews Sing, Nightingale by Marie Hélène Poitras, translated by Rhonda Mullins. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Bloody Chorus by John Marco.
  
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Feed Them Silence by Lee Mandelo
  
• Linda Codega reviews The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. 
• Maura Krause reviews That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams.
• Bobby Derie reviews Writhing Mind by Zoe Burgess-Foreman. 
• Sally Berrow reviews Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder. 
• Alex Brown reviews Linghun by Ai Jiang 
  
• Publishers Weekly reviews Between Princesses and Other Jobs by D.J. Butler. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Voice That Murmurs in the Darkness by James Tiptree, Jr.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews No One Will Come Back For Us by Premee Mohamed
  
• Nina Allan reviews Wish I Was Here by M. John Harrison. 
• Paperback Warrior reviews Steve Holland: Paperback Hero by Michael Stradford. 
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Bobby Derie revisits the 1920 ghost story collection The Death-Mask and Other Ghosts by H.D. Everett. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1950 YA science fiction novel Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1959 science fiction story "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1960 science fiction novel Corpus Earthling by Louis Charbonneau.
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1960 science fiction story "Chronopolis" by J.G. Ballard. 
• Fletcher Vredenburgh revisits the 1961 historical fantasy novel Jason by Henry Treece. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1962 science fiction collection All the Traps of Earth by Clifford D. Simak.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1968 Conan sword and sorcery story "Black Tears" by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1968 science fiction novel All Judgment Fled by James White. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1968 science fiction novel The Masks of Time by Robert Silverberg, Kris Vyas-Myall reviews the 1968 science fiction novel The Programmed Man by Jeff and Jean Sutton, Robin Rose Graves reviews the 1968 science fiction novel The Reproductive System by John Sladek, Gideon Marcus revisits the 1968 science fiction novel After Some Tomorrow by Mack Reynolds and Blue Cathey-Thiele revisits the 1968 science fiction novels The Time Mercenaries by Philip E. High and Anthropol by Louis Trimble. 
  
• Dan Holmes revisits the 1969 science fiction novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1971 Sector General science fiction collection Major Operation by James White. 
  
• Robin Marx revisits the 1979 environmental thriller Killer by Peter Tonkin. 
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1979 Kardios of Atlantis sword and sorcery story "The Seeker in the Fortress" by Manly Wade Wellman. 
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1986 heroic fantasy anthology Heroic Visions II, edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1991 YA horror collection Thirteen: 13 Tales of Horror by 13 Masters of Horror, edited by T. Pines.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1992 Star Trek tie-in novel The Ice Trap by I.A. Graf. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1993 near future science fiction novel Vanishing Point by Michaela Roessner
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Time of the Cat, a cozy time travel novel by Tansy Rayner Roberts, is looking for funding.
• A Day at the Dragon Shelter, a contemporary fantasy anthology by Chris Wallace, is looking for funding. 
• Fantasy artist Gilead is looking for funding for Gilead's Sword & Sorcery Sketchbook 3
  
• The Slave and the Sorcerer, a sword and sorcery horror movie, is looking for funding.
  
• Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore, a brand-new action figure toyline, is looking for funding.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• The Octothorpe podcast discusses Conversation, the 2023 Eastercon in Birmingham, UK.
• Mike Glyer reports that the 2023 SiliCon in Santa Clara, California, has been cancelled. 
• Emma Orlow reports about the Chicago International Miniature Show in Chicago, Illinois. 
• Luke Plumkett shares cosplay photos frrom the 2023 WonderCon in Anaheim, California.
  
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the latest SFF reading at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring Paul Tremblay and John Langan. 
• Locus shares some photos of the 2023 Rainforest Writers Retreat in Lake Quinault, Washington.
• Heather Staible reports about a Star Wars exhibition in Houston, Texas.
  
• Clare Brennan calls a stage adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, which is currently playing in Hull, UK, a stately adventure. 
• Sabina Graves reports that a World fo Frozen attratction will open this fall at Disneyland Hong Kong  
• Germain Lussier reports that the immersive Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel experience in Disney World in Orlando, Florida will close in September. 
  

 

Science and technology:

• Meghan Barthels reports that Betelgeuse is brightening, causing astronomers to wonder whether the star will go supernova soon.
  
• Hannah Devlin reports that astronomers have captured the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed.
  
• Gaby Hinsliff notes that today's bosses should curb the use of artificial intelligence or their own jobs could be next.
• Lincoln Michel points out that the endgame of artificial intelligence is ripping off everybody. 
• Tim Davey talks about PTSD as well as approaches to support and recovery.
  
  

Gaming: 

• Kali Wallace explains what The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can teach us about storytelling. 
• Linda Codega explains what The Legend of Zelda games mean to trans people.
  
• C.T. Phipps revisits the controversial video game Cyberpunk 2077 three years after its release. 
• Justin Stabley explains why developers are designing video games for accessibility. 
• Linda Codega interviews David Hohusen and Andrew Habers, creators of the virtual RPG Fablecraft.
  
• Warner Holme reviews The One Ring Starter Set RPG.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Cora Buhlert shares a Masters-of-the-Universe-Piece Theatre toy photo story called "Adam's Day Out".
• Andrew Liszewski takes a look at a new giant Lego Batcave set.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Friday Night Dragon Adventure" by Neon Yang in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "When Shiva Shattered the Time-Stream" by Sharang Biswas in Lightspeed.
• "Saturday's Song" by Wole Talabi in Lightspeed.
  
• "Red-Autmn Seeks His Father's Bones" by Jonathan Olfert in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.
  
• "The Self Made God" by P.J. Atwater in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
  
• "A Girl (Five Angels)" by Ruth Joffre in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "The Eye in the Sky" by Marycynthia Chinwe Okafor in Omenana.
• "It's What's Inside That Counts" by Warren Benedetto in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "The Inside Is Always Entrails" by Fernanda Castro, translated by H. Pueyo, in The Dark.
• "Sensation and Sensibility" by Parker Ragland in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Giants Among Us" by Megan Chee in Clarkesworld. 
• "A Lovers’ Tide in Which We Inevitably Break Each Other; Told in Inverse" by K.S. Walker in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Goodnight, Virginia Bluebells" by Elena Sichrovsky in Nightmare Magazine.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who Specials.
• Watch a trailer for Haunted Mansion. 
• Watch a trailer for The Creator.
  
• Watch a trailer for Inland. 
• Watch a trailer for The Blackening.