It's
time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting
links
about speculative
fiction from
around the web, this week with season 2 of Foundation, Star Trek Lower Decks and Star Trek in general, Ahsoka and Star Wars in general, the live action One Piece, season 2 of The Wheel of Time, The Changeling, The Other Black Girl, A Haunting in Venice, the DC Cinematic Universe in general, the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes,
the debate about AI writing and art and much
more.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of the best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror novels.
- Alex Brown shares the most anticipated YA SFF coming out in September and October.
- Jared Shurin shares overlooked cyberpunk novels.
- Cole Rush lists five SFF captains he would follow to hell and back.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction classics about powerful aliens and puny humans.
- Clara Cohen discusses how science fiction has handled gender and pronouns from 1920 to today.
- Matthew Ilseman explains why he reads and writes sword and sorcery.
- D.R. Medlen explains that violence against women in fantasy is not actually historically accurate.
- Ava Reid talks about mirrors in fairy tales and fantasy.
- Julia Glassman shares her ten favourite folk horror books.
- Jo Walton shares her reading list for August 2023.
- James Davis Nicoll shares five readerly pet peeves that have nothing to do with storytelling or the actual content of the book.
- Luisa Colón profiles Lois Duncan.
- Arwen Curry shares Ursula K. Le Guin's account of an illegal abortion she had as a young woman in 1950.
- Alex Brown shares their appreciation for the Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo.
- Gregory Goalwin shares a sociological paper about the so-called "Sad Puppies" campaign.
- Ella Creamer reports that the medals handed out at the Dublin marathon in Dublin, Ireland, are inscribed with a William Butler Yeats quote that he unfortunately never wrote or said.
Comics and Art:
- Jake Kerridge interviews comic writer Alan Moore.
- Lauren Sarner interviews comic writer Mark Millar.
- John Kelly interviews cartoonist Bill Griffith
- Bill Willingham explains why he released his comic Fables into the public domain.
- Robert Mammone reviews Ice Cream Man #36 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo
- Bobby Derie reviews the Swedish graphic novel 1000 Ögon: Lovecraft by Jonas Anderson and Daniel Thollin
- Jerry Craft talks about the enduring popularity of the Fantastic Four.
- Fiona Moore revisits the early albums of Valerian at Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières
- Justin Carter reports about Marvel's plans to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Wolverine.
- David Brooke reports that the cult film series Deathstalker is getting comic adaptation by Steven Kostanski, Slash from Guns 'n Roses, Tim Seeley and Jim Terry.
- Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about Goldilocks picking her next book.
Film and TV:
- Leah Schnelbach discusses how Good Omens queers the Bible.
- Drew Gillis calls El Conde a vampiris satire of the wealthy and the powerful.
- Phil Hoad calls Dark Asset an ambitious super-soldier cyborg thriller that can’t decide if it’s an action thriller or a character study,
- Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg share their thoughts on Talk To Me.
- Phuong Le calls Elevator Game a sluggish horror movie.
- Kayleigh Dray calls Gamera Rebirth a fun but repetitive animated show.
- Leslie Felperin calls Rally Road Racers a bizarre animated film.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Invasion.
- Kayleena Pierce-Bohen shares ten science fiction parodies as good as the franchises they're based on
- Lorna Wallace lists six SFF TV shows that change up their opening titles with every episode or season.
- Witney Seibold discusses how the 1959 science fiction series The Twilight Zone influenced filmic science fiction for decades to come.
- Jessica Holmes shares her thoughts on the 1963 Doctor Who serial "The Dominators".
- Sam Barsanti revisits the 1996 The X-Files episode “Musings Of A Cigarette Smoking Man”.
- Emma Keates revisits the 2008 vampire show True Blood.
- Geoffrey Macnab interviews Tim Burton, director of Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks and many others.
- Etan Vlessing interviews Guillermo del Toro, director of The Shape of Water, Pacific Rim, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy and many others.
- Sabina Graves interviews Nate Cash, showrunner of Tiny Toons Looniversity
- Chris Campion profiles Ron and June Ormond, producers of exploitation films and religious movies.
- James Hibbs reports that Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has denied erasing Jodie Whitaker's tenure as the Thirteenth Doctor.
- Jen St. Jude talks about the unspoken queerness of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
- Linda Codega reports that the new Interview With the Vampire is gaining plenty of new viewers and fans, now the show is streaming.
- Ben Child wonders whether The Fantastic Four can save Marvel - and DC - from the alleged superhero malaise.
- Jennifer Maas reports that the TV network The CW has cancelled all the superhero shows, supernatural dramas and teen soaps that made its name and will now focus on sports and reality shows.
- Kayla Cobb reports that according to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are "unterutilised properties".
- George Szalai reports that Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO of Warner Bros Discovery, claims that streaming services have been way too cheap in the past.
- Winston Cho shares an update on the lawsuit of Disney versus Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
Comments on season 2 of Foundation:
Comments on Ahsoka and Star Wars in general (spoilers):
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "Shadow Warrior", the latest episode of Ahsoka.
- Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "Shadow Warrior".
- Rachel Ulatowski shares her thoughts on "Shadow Warrior".
- Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on "Shadow Warrior".
- Germain Lussie shares his thoughts on "Shadow Warrior".
- Haley Zapal shares her thoughts on "Fallen Jedi", the fourth episode of Ahsoka.
- James Whitbrook interviews Peter Ramsay, director of Ahsoka.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw notes that the mystery surrounding the character of Marrok in Ahsoka exemplifies everything that is wrong with fan theories.
- James Whitbrook ranks the Jedi that appear in Ahsoka.
- Justin Carter reports that there will be theatrical screenings for episode 5 of Ahsoka.
Comments on the live action One Piece:
Comments on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek in general:
- Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “In the Cradle of Vexilon”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
- James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “In the Cradle of Vexilon”,
- Charlie Jane Anders shares seven hot takes about Star Trek.
- Swapna Krishna revisits the 1973 Star Trek: The Animated Series for its fiftieth anniversary.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "The Forge".
- Joel Levy talks about the influence of science fiction in general and Star Trek in particular on real life science.
- Watch the Star Trek: Very Short Treks episode "Skin a Cat".
- Watch the Star Trek: Very Short Treks episode "Holiday Party".
Comments on The Changeling:
- Lucy Mangan calls The Changeling a baffling smörgåsbord of delights and praises the performance of LaKeith Stanfield.
- Daniel Fienberg calls The Changeling a muddle supernatural mystery show.
- Alex Brown declares that The Changeling sticks close to Victor LaValle's eponymous novel.
- Brande Victorian interviews Jonathan van Tulleken, director and producer of The Changeling.
Comments on The Other Black Girl:
Comments on season 2 of The Wheel of Time:
Comments on A Haunting in Venice:
- Murtada Elfadi declares that the biggest mystery about A Haunting in Venice is why it's so dull.
- Peter Bradshaw calls A Haunting in Venice an Agatha Christie adaptation, which wastes its atmospheric setting and stellar cast
- Inspired by A Haunting in Venice, Cindy White ranks filmic Agatha Christie adaptations.
Comments on the DC Cinematic Universe in general:
- Johnny Oleksinski calls Blue Beetle a DC superhero movie that's actually fun for once.
- Jason Guerrasio interviews Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, director of the Batgirl movie that never came out.
- Clark Collis interviews James Wan, director of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
- Watch a trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Comments on the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike:
- Justin Carter reports that the studios are finally willing to negotiate with the WGA in earnest.
- Matt Webb Mitovich reports that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes need to be settled by October 1 in order to salvage the 2023/24 TV season.
- Matt Donnelly reports that Greg Berlanti, producer of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and many other shows, has donated 800000 US-dollars to a strike relief fund for film and TV industry workers affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
- Mandalit Del Barco reports that several Star Trek actors were spotted on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA picket lines.
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Drew Barrymore will restart her daytime talkshow in spite of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which attracted a lot of criticism.
- Mary Kate Carr also reports about the backlash against Drew Barrymore for restarting her daytime talkshow amidst the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike.
- Kalia Richardson reports that the filming of the Drew Barrymore Show has been plunged into chaos by picketers and guests cancelling.
- Caitlin Huston reports that two audience members were kicked out of the recording of the Drew Barrymore Show for wearing pins supporting the WGA strike.
- Paul Glynn reports that Drew Barrymore has been dropped as host of the US National Book Awards following the backlash against her talkshow resuming production amidst the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike.
- Linda Codega reports that with writers and actors on strike, Hollywood is increasingly turning to robots to promote its science fiction projects.
- Stewart Heritage reports about a unique auction organised by WGA and SAG.AFTRA to raise money for film crews affected by the strikes.
- Jordan Moreau reports that the visual effects workers at Marvel Studios have voted to unionise.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2023 Dwarf Star Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Ignotus Awards have been announced.
- The finalists for the 2023 Prix Utopiales BD have been announced.
- The longlist for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize has been announced.
- The finalists for the 2023 Dayton Literary Peace Price have been announced with some love for genre fiction.
- The winners of the 2023 Reuben Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Ringo Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2023 Venice Film Festival have been announced and a genre film, albeit a shitty one, took the top honours.
- The 2023 National Toy Hall of Fame finalists have been announced.
- Adri Joy and Joe Sherry share their thoughts on the Hugo finalists for Best Short Story.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Rosemary Kaye talks about the importance of creativity and making art.
- Alan Moore tells writers to read terrible books.
- R.J. Jacobs explains when a character's dishonesty is justified.
- Mark Wightman talks about researching historical fiction.
- Lincoln Michel tells writers to write for their best rather than for their worst readers.
- Jeffrey Eugenides explains how he came to write The Virgin Suicides.
- Camestros Felapton talks about low hostility reviews.
- Vikrant Shaurya explains why book covers are becoming more important again.
- Carter Dougherty and Andrew Park explain what the private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts purchasing Simon and Schuster may mean for the publishing company.
- Andrew Albanese reports that the Internet Archive has filed an appeal in the copyright infringement case brought against them by the Big Five publishers.
- Rachel Ulatowski reports that the LGBTQ+ focusses small press Levine Querido is holding an auction, because their continued existence is threatened by the increase of book bans in the US.
- Tim Chan reports that Stephen King's new novel Holly is topping the US bestseller list within days of publication.
Comments on the AI controversy:
- Lauren Panepinto notes that much of the AI debate is driven by the envy of non-creatives and people who gave up their creative pursuits.
- Steven Levy shares a fawning profile of the people behind Open AI.
- Ella Creamer reports that Amazon now requires everybody publishing their work via the KDP platform to disclose whether the work was AI-generated.
- Xan Brooks claims that AI need not necessarily mean the death of film.
- John Naughton reports how chip manufacturer Nvidia is profiting from the AI goldrush.
- Winston Cho reports that several authors, including Michael Chabon have sued Meta and OpenAI for copyright infringement.
- Sharon Goldman notes that the copyright issues generated by using copyrighted work to train AIs with out permission may well lead to a US Supreme Court case.
Interviews:
- Meghna Chakrabarti interviews Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.
- Sunyi Dean and Scott Drakeford interviews Kameron Hurley.
- Locus interviews Wole Talabi.
- Linda Codega interviews Shelley Parker-Chan.
- Scott Edelman interviews Michael Bailey.
- Fantasy Magazine interviews Lowry Poletti.
- Charlotte Higgins interviews Emily Wilson.
Reviews:
- Maya Gittelman reviews Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh.
- Bill Capossere reviews Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes
- Blue Book Balloon reviews The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar
- Marlene Harris reviews Payback in Death by J.D. Robb
- Alasdair Stuart reviews Seven Dead Sisters by Jen Williams.
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Talonsister by Jen Williams.
- Gayle Surrette reviews My Brother's Keeper by Tim Powers
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty
- Alex Wallace reviews The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill.
- Joe Sherry reviews The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire
- Camestros Felapton reviews Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
- Marion Deeds reviews The City Inside by Samit Basu
- John Mauro reviews Return to Edan by Philip Chase
- Maya Gittelman reviews Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo.
- Liz Bourke reviews Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker
- Liz Bourke reviews Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
- Aigner Loren Wilson reviews Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun
- Colleen Mondor reviews Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
- Camestros Felapton reviews A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
- C.T. Phipps reviews The Division: Broken Dawn by Alexander C. Irving
- C.T. Phipps reviews Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence by Rafal Kosik
- Marlene Harris reviews Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennett
- Rob Bedford reviews Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
- Ian Mond reviews The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman by Molly Lynch
- Robin Marx reviews The Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis
- Camestros Felapton reviews What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
- Alex Brown reviews The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Bridge by Lauren Beukes
- Paul Di Filippo reviews The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Europa by Allen Stroud
- Adrienne Martini reviews Dual Memory by Sue Burke
- Rich Horton reviews Machinehood by S. B. Divya
- Patrick McGuinness reviews Beasts of England by Adam Biles
- James Davis Nicoll reviews Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.
- Sam Byers reviews The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut
- Runalong the Shelves reviews Umbilical by Teika Marija Smits
- Marion Deeds reviews The Secrets of Insects by Richard Kadrey
- Robin Marx reviews A Book of Blade Volume II, edited by Matt John and L.D. Whitney.
- Scott Shapiro reviews The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman
- Gary Shteyngart reviews Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
- Rachel Aspden reviews The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush
Classics reviews:
- Judith Tarr revisits the 1837 fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hand Christian Andersen.
- Sandy Ferber revisits the 1898 gothic horror novel Tenebrae by Ernest G, Henham.
- Max Gladstone revisits the 1933 Conan sword and sorcery story "The Slithering Shadow" a.k.a. "Xuthal of the Dusk" by Robert E. Howard.
- Talya Zax revisits the 1940 dystopian novel Kallocain by Karin Boye.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1955 science fiction story "The Earth Quarter" by Damon Knight
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1957 portal fantasy Strange Evil by Jane Gaskell.
- James Wallace Harris revisits the 1960 science fiction story “The Way to Amalteia” by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky
- Mark Yon revisits the 1960 science fiction novel The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
- James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1962 science fiction collection The Wall Around the World by Theodore R. Cogswell
- Yo Aoyama revisits the 1967 science fiction collection The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui.
- Victoria Silverwolf revisits the October 1968 issue of Fantastic.
- The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1968 science fiction novel Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn.
- Sam Reader revisits the 1973 horror story “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs” by Harlan Ellison
- Joe Kenney revisits the 1974 science fiction novel Cage a Man by F.M. Busby.
- Joe Kenney revisits the 1974 dystopian novel Hawkshaw by Ron Goulart.
- Rich Horton reviews the 1978 gothic romance A Dangerous Magi, by Frances Lynch a.k.a. D. G. Compton.
- The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1980 sword and sorcery collection The Fortunes of Brak by John Jakes.
- Kevin Tipple revisits the 1995 Eve Dallas science fiction romantic suspense novel Naked in Death by J.D. Robb.
- Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1995 science fiction collection Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler.
- Runalong the Shelves revisits the 1998 dystopian novel Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler.
Crowdfunding:
- The Devil Take You, a medieval horror anthology edited by Scott Miller, is looking for funding.
- The Eagle Has Landed, a science fiction documentary about the iconic Eagle spacecraft from Space 1999, is looking for funding.
- Sanction: A Tabletop Roleplaying Game of Challenges & Hacks is looking for funding.
- Pepe, the dog of fantasy writer Scott Oden, needs some help with vet bills.
Con and event reports:
- Marvel shares its panel schedule for the 2023 New York Comic Con in New York City.
- Planet Eternia reports about the 2023 Grayskull Con in Lennestadt, Germany.
- AFP reports about the first ever Chinese Star Trek con in Beijing, China.
- Li Yuan reports that China is planning to pass a law that bans clothing that might hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and/or are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese people, which might be used against cosplayers at cons.
- Cory Doctorow shares his experiences at the troubled 2023 Burning Man festival in Black Rock, Nevada.
- Libby Brooks reports about Dracula: Mina's Reckoning by Mona Pearce, a Dracula play focussed on Mina Murray and starring only women and non-binary actors, which is currently playing in Aberdeen, Scotland,
- Mark Fisher calls Dracula: Mina's Reckoning a compelling feminist spin on the familiar story.
- Mabel Banfield-Nwachi reports that several theatres in the UK had to close due to structural issues and crumbling concrete.
- Justin Carter reports that Disney is planning to include Ahsoka and Encanto themed attractions in its theme parks.
- Sabina Graves reports about the Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Hollywood in Hollywood, California.
- Sabina Graves reports about the Stranger Things and The Last of Us themed spooky foods available at the Halloween special events at the Universal Studios theme parks in the US.
Science and technology:
- Elisha Sauers reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has detected potential traces of life on another planet.
- Eric Berger reports about a planned test flight of SpaceX's Starship.
- The BBC reports about the results of NASA's latest UFO report.
- Passant Rabie reports about the alleged alien corpses shown to the congress of Mexico.
- Mack DeGeurin reports that Massachusetts wants to ban robots with mounted weapons.
Gaming:
- Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that the game engine Unity is planning to introduce a runtime fee to much protest, particularly from indie game developers.
- Kenneth Shepard and Claire Jackson report that the 2.0 update makes Cyberpunk 2077 better than it has ever been.
- Justin Carter interviews story director Dominic Cianciolo and voice actors Matt Yang King and Andrew Bowen about Mortal Kombat 1.
- Sheldon Menery, creator of the Magic the Gathering "Commander" multiplayer format, has died.
Toys and collectibles:
Free online fiction:
- "A Guide to Matchmaking on Station 9" by Nika Murphy in Clarkesworld.
- "The Queen of Calligraphic Susurrations" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires in Clarkesworld.
- "The Kingdom of Darkness" by Sarah Monette in Uncanny Magazine
- "The Greentown Operation" by Gustavo Bondoni in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
- "The Hanging Vine" by Leila Murton Poole in Wyldblood.
- "The Passing of the Dragon by Ken Liu in Tor.com
- "Simmered in Their Wealth Like the Richest of Sauces" by Jo Miles in Lightspeed.
- "Eve’s Prayer" by Victor Forna in Lightspeed.
- "Between Truth and Death on the Murmansk—Saint Petersburg Line" by Zohar Jacobs in The Sunday Morning Transport.
- "Quantum Love" by Sylvia Heike in Flash Fiction Online.
- "Server" by Bryan Washington in The New Yorker.
- "Dread of the White Dog" by Lowry Poletti in Fantasy Magazine.
- "Quietus" by Zohair in Apex Magazine.
- "Student Living" by Ashley Deng in Nightmare Magazine.
- "Big Dead Clown Things" by Adam Callaway in The Dark.
- "Lips Like Sugar" by Cynthia Gómez in Luna Station Quarterly.
- "Killer Advice" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Trailers and videos:
Watch a trailer for season 2 of Our Flag Means Death. - Watch a trailer for Totally Killer.
- Watch a trailer for The Fall of the House of Usher.
- Watch a trailer for The Creator.
- Watch a trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
- Watch a trailer for Monsters of California.
- Watch a trailer for Goosebumps.
- Watch a trailer for Pet Sematary: Bloodlines.
- Watch a trailer for Dark Harvest.
- Watch a trailer for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
- Watch a trailer for Encounters.
- Watch a trailer for season 4 of For All Mankind.
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