Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for July 14, 2023

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the cancellation of Star Trek Prodigy and Star Trek in general, Secret Invasion and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, season 2 of Foundation, season 5 of What We Do In the Shadows, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Horror of Dolores Roach, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, My Adventures with Superman, Barbie, Insidious: The Red Door, Quicksand, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, the debate about AI writing and art and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Tor.com shares all the new science fiction books coming out in July. 
• Tor.com shares all the new fantasy books coming out in July.  
• Tor.com shares all the new horror and genre-bending books coming out in July. 
• Tor.com shares all the new YA SFF books coming out in July. 
  
• Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of the best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books.
  
• Tobias Carroll shares small press speculative fiction coming out in July and August 2023.
• Molly Odintz shares fourteen YA horror novels and thrillers to enjoy this summer. 
  
• David Barnett takes a look at recent science fiction novels dealing with climate change. 
• Philip Fracassi shares ten thrillers with supernatural elements.
  
• Scott Adlerberg shares five novels that sit in the borderland between horror, thriller and mystery.
• Kate Collins shares the best horror novels to read in summer. 
  
• Zachary Rosenberg talks about Jewish horror. 
• Lorna Wallace shares five tales of aquatic horror. 
• Molly Templeton talks about genres, subgenres and microgenres. 
  
• Max Gladstone shares five SFF books about homecomings.
  
• K. Eason talks about Blade Runner, Murderbot and the monstrous machines of corporate capitalism
• Liz Kerin explains how writing horror helped her confront her demons. 
• Chuck Tingle talks about art in defiance of the endless cosmic nothing. 
  
• Cole Rush shares five great suits of armour in SFF. 
• Judith Tarr talks about selkies.
  
• Clara Cohen shares her appreciation for the fantasy series Tales of the Ketty Jay by Chris Wooding. 
• Rob Bedford shares his appreciation for the Coldfire trilogy by C.S. Friedman. 
• Jo Walton shares her reading list for June 2023. 
• Ruweyda Ahmed reports that a first edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien that was discovered in a charity shop has sold at auction for ten thousand pounds. 
• Linda Codega reports that the popular fanfiction site Archive of Our Own suffered a denial of service attack, but was quickly back online.
  

Comics and Art:

• Chuck Tingle shares his five favourite horror graphic novels. 
• Dad-at-Arms interviews Tim Seeley about his comic mini-series Masters of the Universe: The Forge of Destiny.
  
• Alex Segura interviews Ed Brubaker about his new graphic novel Night Fever.
• David Harper interviews comic shop owners about the problems facing their stores.
  
• Davide Mana celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Red Sonja. 
• Bill Ward takes a look at the many different covers that the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs have had over the years. 
• Brian Boucher reports that Frank Frazetta's 1976 painting Dark Crusade, which appeared on the cover of the eponymous Karl Edward Wagner novel, has sold at auction for 6 million US-dollars, setting a new record for both Frank Frazetta painting and fantasy art in general. 
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about an author signing her memoir.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Steve Rose calls I'm a Virgo an ingenious superhero TV show. 
• Monita Mohan points out that Gotham Knights told a compelling story, but never stood a chance. 
• Rebecca Nicholson calls the new Quantum Leap a pointless but highly entertaining reboot.
  
• Phil Hoad calls The Tunnel to Summer, Exit of Goodbyes a metaphysical anime tale of first love
• Cath Clarke calls Puffin Rock and the New Friends an animated film about climate change that both preschool children and their parents can enjoy. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Pinocchio: A True Story yet another bland animated take on the classic tale.
  
• Lucy Mangan calls Unknown: Killer Robots a documentary that will fill you with unholy terror of AI.
  
• Chris Garcia shares his thoughts on the (sort of) documentary The 1 Up Fever.
  
• Rebecca Liu reports about con-linguists who develop fictional languages for SFF movies and TV shows.  
• Justin Carter revisits the 2013 kaiju movie Pacific Rim.
  
• Alison Rumfitt interviews Ncuti Gatwa who plays the 15th Doctor in Doctor Who. 
• Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen interviews Ruby Rose, star of season 1 of Batwoman.
• io9 interviews Teyonah Parris and John Boyega, stars of They Cloned Tyrone. 
• Geoffrey Macnab interviews John McTiernan, director of Die Hard, Predator and The Hunt for Red October
• Steve Rose looks back on the legacy of Bruce Lee fifty years after his death.
  
• Cindy White explains what Disney could learn from the success of Nimona, a movie it tried to kill. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that fans have launched a fake publicity campaign for Blue Beetle, since Warner Bros is not promoting the movie at all.
  
• Justin Carter celebrates the seventieth anniversary of the so-called Wilhelm scream, a popular Hollywood sound effect. 
• Josh Winning talks about allegedly cursed Hollywood movies beset by problems and cast and crew dying.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Foundation:

• Cheryl Eddy interviews David S. Goyer, showrunner of Foundation.
• Nick Romano interviews Lee Pace who plays Emperor Cleon in Foundation. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Foundation. 
• Watch a clip from season 2 of Foundation.

 

Comments on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the cancellation of Star Trek Prodigy and Star Trek in general:

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Among the Lotus Eaters", the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Among the Lotus Eaters".
  
• io9 interviews Cecilia Rose Gooding, who plays Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
• Jim McDermott calls Star Trek Prodigy a bold and beautiful Star Trek show for younger viewers that should be allowed to continue.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that the never aired episodes of the cancelled Star Trek Prodigy might be getting a physical release on DVD and BluRay. 
• Peculiar Monster shares their thoughts on Star Trek Picard.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Zero Hour". 
• Rachel Hulshult shares some problematic things she noticed when rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  

 

Comments on Secret Invasion and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Beloved", the latest episode of Secret Invasion. 
• Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "Beloved". 
• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "Beloved". 
• Linda Codega shares her thoughts on "Beloved".
  
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on Secret Invasion. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw wonders how long a certain character in Secret Invasion has secretly been a Skrull.
  
• Inspired by Secret Invasion, Cindy White declares that Marvel should stop fridging its female characters. 
• Catherine Shoard interviews Tom Holland who plays Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Justin Carter reports that Shang-Chi 2 has been delayed as well as part of the cascading delays of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
  

 

Comments on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: 

• Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg discuss Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
• Richard Lawson points out that The Flash is the past and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the future.
  

 

Comments on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (spoilers): 

• Carolyn Giardina interviews Andrew Whitehurst and Robert Weaver, special affects supervisors for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
• James Hibberd ranks all five Indiana Jones movies.
  

 

Comments on My Adventures with Superman: 

• Justin Carter calls the animated superhero series My Adventures with Superman an endearingly fun love story
• Miles Reid-Lobatto shares his thoughts on My Adventures with Superman. 
• Watch the first episode of My Adventures with Superman for free.
  

 

Comments on Barbie:

• E. Catherine Tobler explains that Barbie has always been about storytelling.
  
• Alex Moshakis interviews Greta Gerwig, director of Barbie. 
• Catherine Shoard shares early reactions to Barbie. 
  
• Alex Barasch reports that Mattel is planning to make more toy-based movies after Barbie.
• Watch a clip from Barbie of Ryan Gosling singing "Just Ken".
  

 

Comments on season 5 of What We Do In the Shadows:

• Lindsay Merbaum shares her thoughts on "Drunk Blood", the first episode of season 5 of  What We Do In the Shadows
  
• io9 interviews Kayvan Novak, one of the stars of What We Do in the Shadows. 
• io9 interviews Harvey Guillén, one of the stars of What We Do in the Shadows. 
  

 

Comments on The Horror of Dolores Roach:

• Joel Golby calls The Horror of Dolores Roach a hugely fun drama about turning dead people into empanadas
• Saloni Gajjar calls The Horror Of Dolores Roach a bloody good cannibal dramedy
  
• Jack Seale calls The Horror of Dolores Roach a sloppy serial killer drama.

 

Comments on Insidious: The Red Door: 

• Charles Bramesco calls Insidious: The Red Door a shoddy horror sequel.
• Leigh Monson declares that Insidious: The Red Door fails to deliver fresh scares. 
• Pamela McClintock reports that Insidious: The Red Door sits at the top of the US box office charts, outgrossing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
  

 

Comments on Quicksand: 

• Phil Hoad calls Quicksand an overly serious B-movie survival horror thriller. 
• Cheryl Eddy finds Quicksand somehow both predictable and tense as hell 
  

 

Comments on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike:

• Dominic Patten reports that studio executives refuse to talk with WGA, but plan to let the writers' strike continue until WGA members are exhausted and impoverished enough to accept any conditions.
• Lois Beckett reports that SAG-AFTRA has announced the first Hollywood actors strike in sixty years. 
• Linda Codega also reports about the SAG-AFTRA strike.
  
• Ellise Shafer reports that Disney CEO Bob Iger believes that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA demands are not realistic.
  
• Cynthia Littleton reports about a surprise reunion of the writers and cast of Bones during the ongoing WGA strike.
  
• David Robb reports what that the actors' union SAG-AFTRA has agreed to federal meditation with the studios, but will not extend the strike deadline.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares some updates about the ongoing WGA and impending SAG-AFTRA strike. 
• Stuart Heritage finds some parallels between the Black Mirror episode "Joan Is Awful" and the SAG-AFTRA strike
  
• Deadline reports what will happen in Hollywood and beyond, when SAG-AFTRA goes on strike as well.
• Andrew Pulver also reports about the consequences of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

 

Awards:

• Voting for the 2023 Hugo Awards is open. 
• The nominations for the 2023 Emmy Awards have been announced with lots of love for genre TV.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Eugie Foster Memorial Award have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Munsey Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2023 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Scribe Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2022 Leo Literary Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Ringo Awards have been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2023 Prometheus Award has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 ENnie Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards has been announced. 
• Gary Westfahl announced the Westfahl Award and feels the need to let the world know that there are too many SFF awards. 
  
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2023 Hugo finalists.
• Adri Joy and Joe Sherry share their thoughts on the 2023 Hugo finalists.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Greg Mosse talks about inspiration and writing routine.
  
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch shares a few general strategies for niche marketing.
  
• Linda Codega reports how the fantasy novel Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor by Shawn M. Warner went viral on TikTok, after a TikTokker chanced to interview the author, who was handselling his books. 
• Del Sandeen takes a stand against the plague of book bans in the US.
  
• Ella Creamer and Anna Davidson report that English libraries generate at least 3.4 billion pounds of value every year.
  

 

Comments on the AI controversy: 

• Charlie Nash reports that an error-riddled AI-generated article was posted on io9, without the knowledge or consent of io9's human writers and editors.
• Game Thinking TV interviews Douglas Hofstadter about the state of AI today.
  

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Ann Leckie.
  
• Becky Spratford interviews Cassandra Khaw. 
• Rob Wolf interviews Karen Lord. 
• Rob Bedford interviews C.S. Friedman.
  
• David Shariatmadari interviews Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
• Mayookh Narua interviews Simo Srinivas.
  

 

Reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll reviews Translation State by Ann Leckie. 
  
• Camestros Felapton reviews Translation State by Ann Leckie. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Translation State by Ann Leckie. 
  
• Liz Bourke reviews The Ghosts of Trappist by K.B. Wagers
  
• Kat Hooper reviews Boneyards by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 
• Kat Hooper reviews Skirmishes by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 
  
• Bill Capossere reviews The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Flight & Anchor by Nicole Kornher-Stace 
• Jen Lucas reviews One by Eve Smith.
  
• Gayle Surrette reviews Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling 
  
• Bidisha Mamata reviews Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Jamie Hallow and the End of the World by A.V. Wilkes 
  
• Phoebe Wagner reviews Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
  
• Ian Mond reviews Chlorine by Jade Song 
• Molly Templeton reviews The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon.
  
• Mary Picken reviews Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
  
• Carolyn Frank reviews Knife Witch by Susan diRende
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker 
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Donut Legion by Joe R. Lansdale
  
• Camestros Felapton reviews The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher. 
• John Mauro reviews Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
  
• Jen Lucas reviews The Ungrateful Dead by Adam Simcox
  
• John Mauro reviews The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The After-Death of Caroline Rand by Catherine Cavendish
  
• Rob Bedford reviews Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu. 
• Maya Gittelman reviews A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher.
  
• Durand Welch reviews The Edge of Sleep by Jake Emmanuel and Willie Block
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Curse of Saints by Kate Dramis. 
• Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews Apollo Weeps by Xian Mao 
• John Mauro reviews The Militia House by John Milas.
  
• Age of Dusk reviews Samhain Sorceries, edited by D.M. Ritzlin.
• Arley Sorg reviews The Book of Witches, edited by Jonathan Strahan 
  
• The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog reviews I Am the Law by Michael Melcher. 
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Alan Brown revisits the 1928 space opera novel The Skylark of Space by E.E. Smith.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1930 science fiction horror novel Beast or Man? by Sean M'Guire.
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1932 horror novel Mad-Doctor Merciful by Collin Brooks.
  
• Davide Mana revisits the 1933 dark fantasy story "The Beast of Averoigne" by Clark Ashton Smith.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1953 ghost story "Night Court" by Mary Elizabeth Counselman. 
• Davide Mana revisits the 1953 dark fantasy story "Morthylla" by Clark Ashton Smith.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1956 science fiction story "The Dead Past" by Isaac Asimov. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1965 science fiction story "The Spiral" by Italo Calvino. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the August 1968 issue of Galaxy.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1968 science fantasy novel The Broken Lands and its sequels The Black Mountains and Ardneh's World by Fred Saberhagen. 
• John Boston revisits the 1968 non-fiction book Heinlein in Dimension by Alexei Panshin.
  
• Fletcher Vredenburgh revisits the 1976 science fantasy novel Gate of Ivrel by C.J. Cherryh.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1977 science fiction story “The Lens” by Annemarie van Ewyck.
• James Davis Nicoll reviews the 1988 military fantasy novel The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• The Clarion Writing Workshop has launched its 2023 fundraising campaign.
• Monster Fight at the O.K. Corral, a two volume weird west anthology edited by Lyndon Perry, is looking for funding.
• The Xcrawl Classics TTRPG Core Rulebook by Goodman Games is looking for funding.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Locus reports about the 2023 WisCon in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Germain Lussier lists fifteen panels at San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California, that he is excited about this year.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reports about the 2023 Edge-Lit festival in Derby, UK. 
• Nell Frizzell reports about the 2023 Nudefest, a nudist literary festival in Thorney Lakes, UK.
  
• Arifa Akbar reports about a musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz which is currently playing in London, UK.
  
• Arifa Akbar reports about They, a stage adaptation of a 1977 dystopian novel by Kay Dick, which is currently playing in John Rylands Library in Manchester, UK. 
• Kate Wyver interviews Maxine Peake, who adapted They to the stage and also stars in the play. 
• Richard Luscombe reports that Disney is increasing its investments in its California theme parks following the dispute with Florida governor Ron De Santis over LGBTQ+ rights. 
• Sabina Graves reports that there will be a Stranger Things haunted house set up for the Halloween season at the Universal Studio theme parks in Hollywood, California, and Orland, Florida.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Passant Rabie reports that the retired space shuttle Endeavour will be displayed in launch position at a museum in Los Angeles, California. 
• Isaac Schultz reports that the Perseverance Mars rover has found preserved organic molecules on Mars.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Linda Codega shares a round-up of new table top games.
  
• Kenneth Shepard shares a primer for Baldur's Gate 3.
• Joe DelFranco reviews Pokémon Violet.
• K.W. Colyard talks about love and death in Final Fantasy VII.
  
• Paths Peculiar shares a tutorial for drawing a basic dungeon map.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Mondo has announced its 2023 San Diego Comic Con exclusives.
  
• Andrew Liszewski reports that Lego is offering a Wolverine Claw Set.
• James Whitbrook shares a look at a new Lego set of the spaceship Ghost from Star Wars Rebels. 
• Dino Scream Reviews reviews the Beasts of the Mesozoic Bistahieversor sealeyi Tyrannosaur.
  
• Sabina Graves shares some spooky garden decorations available at Home Depot.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Detonation Boulevard" by Alastair Reynolds in Tor.com.
  
• "SuperMAX" by Daniel H. Wilson in Uncanny Magazine.   
• "Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200" by R.S.A. Garcia in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "The Angelstone" by Christopher Rowe in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
  
• "Whiplash at the Steam Crags!" by Jay Requard in Inspiring Fiction. 
• "That We Maye with Free Heartes Accomplishe Those Thynges" by Thomas M. Waldroon in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "To Dust Returned" by Rita Oakes in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "My Little Macbeth" by Scarlett Murray in Pyre Magazine.
  
• "Silk" by Alyssa C. Greene in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "Anatomy of a Haunted House" by Avi Burton in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Death Is a Diner at 3:00 a.m." by A.C. Wise in The Deadlands.
• "Death Is Better" by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe in Lightspeed. 
• "Starpoop" by Sandra McDonald in Lightspeed.
  
• "Unhearable Music" by Annalee Newitz in Rolling Stone.
  
• "Estivation Troubles" by Bo Balder in Clarkesworld. 
  
• "Clio's Scroll" by Brenda W. Clough in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Gavin's Field" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
• "Dolly Girl" by Christopher Rowe in Apex Magazine.
  
• "Bozpo Witch-Bane" by Simo Srinivas in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "Not Pounded By The Physical Manifestation Of Chuck Tingle’s Traditional Publishing Deal Because He Writes About More Than Just Pounding However If This Book Was About Pounding That Would Be Okay Too Because There’s Nothing Wrong With Sexuality In Art" by Chuck Tingle in Tor.com.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Ahsoka.
• Watch a trailer for part 2 of season 3 of The Witcher. 
  
• Watch a trailer for Corner Office. 
• Watch a trailer for Twisted Metal. 
• Watch a teaser for Godzilla Minus One. 
• Watch a trailer for Aporia.
  
• Watch a trailer for Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
  
• Watch a trailer for Wonka.