Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 15, 2024

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Masters of the Universe: Revolution, Star Wars in general, Dune: Part 2, Star Trek in general, the new The Fall Guy, X-Men '97, 3 Body Problem, Monkey Man, Spaceman, Imaginary, Love Lies Bleeding, the many woes of Scream 7 and Scream in general, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Shogun, the 2024 Academy Awards, tributes to Akira Toriyama and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares her favourite recent science fiction and fantasy books.
  
• Alex Brown shares their most anticipated young adult SFF for March and April 1968.
• Sondi Warner talks about the women who shaped science fiction and fantasy. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five works that demonstrate why portal networks remain an SF staple
  
• Melissa Albert shares six spooky and fantastical stories about missing persons. 
• Lorna Wallace shares her five favourite dogs in horror fiction. 
• Micaiah Johnson explains that genre is a contract with the reader. 
• Molly Templeton talks about which books we keep and which we discard and what it means.
  
• Bradley K. McDevitt remembers Arthur Machen. 
• Kevin Melrose and Robert Vaux chronicle every meal the Hobbits eat in Lord of the Rings.
  
• Deuce Richardson shares a health update on Robert E. Howard scholar Rusty Burke who suffered a fall and a head injury in December.
  
• Locus remembers Dirk Jenssen. 
• Rich Horton remembers the late Brian Stableford.
  

Comics and Art:

• Brian Murphy reviews issue No. 1 of the relaunched Savage Sword of Conan. 
• Joshua Lapin-Bertone reports that Chris Claremont believes that the name X-Men is old-fashioned and that the name of the team should be changed to X-group.
  
• Bobby Derie takes a look at the very few comic appearances of C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry.
  
• Locus interviews SFF artist Manzi Jackson. 
• Deuce Richardson shares his appreciation for the work of pulp and paperback artist Norman Saunders.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about making the characters in a novel more likeable.

 

Tributes to Akira Toriyama

• Manga creator Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, has died aged 68.
• Aidan Moher remembers Akira Toriyama. 
• John Yoon and Kioko Notoya remember Akira Toriyama. 
• Cassie Holguin remembers Akira Toriyama.
  
• James Whitbrook shares tributes to Akira Toriyama from fellow creators around the world. 
• James Whitbrook shares the joyful mechanical designs of Akira Toriyama.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Benjamin Lee calls Damsel a rousing subversion of fairy tale tropes 
• Matthew Jackson calls I Saw the TV Glow a dark tale of pop-culture obsession and self-discovery
• Saloni Gajjar calls part 2 of season 2 of Invincible a great remedy for "superhero fatigue"
  
• Leslie Felperin calls A Million Days a low-budget science fiction thriller asks if we should trust AI with our survival 
• Arturo Serrano wonders what the point of Dream Scenario is.
  
• Luke Buckmaster calls You’ll Never Find Me a profoundly creepy and thrillingly bold Australian horror film 
• Cheryl Eddy declares that The Camp Host puts a post-pandemic spin on the wilderness horror genre
  
• Arturo Serrano calls Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate and Megamind Rules! inferior sequels. 
• Luke Y. Thompson calls Hundreds Of Beavers a silent furry fracas unlike anything else. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Resident Alien.
  
• Meredith Hobbs Coons shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Shogun. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Halo.
  
• Alasdair Stuart talks about the difficulties of adaptations. 
  
• Larry Ryan takes a look at the roots of The Simpsons in the punk zine and underground comics scene of the early 1980s
  
• Ben Child wonders how Sony will proceed with the live action Spiderverse movies afer both Morbius and Madame Web bombed.
  
• Justin Carter interviews Teyonah Parris, who plays Monica Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
• Sabina Graves interviews Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary, producers of Nimona. 
• Brian Davids interviews Finn Wolfhard, one of the stars of Ghost Busters: Frozen Empire and Stranger Things. 
• Mary Kate Carr interviews Danielle MacDonald who appeared in Bird Box and The Tourist.
• Germain Lussier interviews Thomas Calliey, director of The Animal Kingdom. 
  
• Jake Kleinman interviews Alex Cox, writer and director of the 1984 punk science fiction film Repo Man.
  
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1972 science fiction film Solaris. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1999 surrealist action film Fight Club.
  
• Cheryl Eddy lists SFF movies snubbed by the Oscars. 
• Tom Brueggemann explains that the reason the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One is not in theatres currently is because it is feared the movie might compete with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. 
  
• Justin Carter reports that Our Flag Means Death has not been picked up by another service after being cancelled by HBO. 
• Eric Diaz reports that Black Mirror is getting a seventh season, which will include a sequel to the fan favourite episode "USS Callister".
  
• Ryan Gilbey shares the dark side of the filmmaking duo Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, 
  
• Morgan Lee reports that armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that anime is thriving on DVD and BluRay.
  
• David Houdson announces that the BBC is planning to use generative AI to create marketing materials for Doctor Who, to the anger of many fans. 
• Anthony d'Alessandro reports that Kung Fu Panda 4 had a strong opening weekend, beating Dune: Part 2.

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe: Revolution (spoilers) and Masters of the Universe in general: 

• Ryan Gaur calls Masters of the Universe Revolution a great looking and comfortingly familiar show, which is hampered by the short episode count.
  
• For Eternia shares some background on the character of Strobo who makes a cameo appearance in Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
• For Eternia also notes that the Evil Warrior Blade had a cameo appearance in Masters of the Universe: Revolution. 
• Cora Buhlert takes a look at the Masters of the Universe character Vikor and his connection to Conan of Cimmeria. 
• Rich Keller shares some lesser known facts about the Filmation cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. 
• G. Kendall explains why the 2002 Masters of the Universe relaunch as a cartoon, toyline and comic series failed.
  
• Renaldo Matadeen notes that the CGI He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show really needs a season 4 to resolve cliffhangers and dangling plot threads.
  

 

Comments on Dune, Part 2: 

• Joshua Kristian McCoy explains the role of the CHOAM conglomerate in Dune.  
  
• Ben Lindberg explains how the success of Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies could lead to sequels and other media.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars in general:

• Michael Cripe reports that Patty Jenkins' movie Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is back in development.
  
• Matt Schimkovitz chronicles the mental health issues of Jake Lloyd who played Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace 
• Clayton Sandell interviews Lisa Lloyd, mother of Jake Lloyd, about her son's mental health issues..
• Seth Abramovitch interviews Gina Carano, who played Cara Dune in The Mandalorian before getting fired for problematic and offensive social media posts.
  
• Actor Michael Culver, who played Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back, has died aged 85
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Galactic Journey revisits the 1969 Star Trek episode "The Savage Curtain". 
  
• Avery Kaplan celebrates the women of Vulcan throughout Star Trek.
• Avery Kaplan shares seven horrifying creatures from several Star Trek shows. 
• James Whitbrook notes that Star Trek Discovery will be the first Star Trek series in fifty years that doesn't have a single on-screen appearance by Jonathan Frakes, even though he directed several episodes
  

 

Comments on X-Men '97: 

• James Whitbrook shares early reactions to X-Men '97.
• Borys Kit and Aaron Crouch report that Beau DeMayo, creator of X-Man '97, was abruptly fired from the series very shortly before its premiere.   
• Watch a clip from X-Men '97.
  

 

Comments on The Fall Guy:  

• Adrian Horton calls The Fall Guy a delightful action comedy  
• Matthew Jackson calls The Fall Guy a crowd-pleasing action comedy. 
• Siddhant Adlakha declares that The Fall Guy features Ryan Gosling's funniest performance yet.
  

 

Comments on 3 Body Problem:

• Cheryl Eddy declares that 3 Body Problem explores huge questions but still feels intimate
  
• Cheryl Eddy interviews David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo, showrunners of 3 Body Problem.
• Steve Rose interviews David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, showrunners of Game of Thrones and 3 Body Problem.   
• Cheryl Eddy interviews David Benioff.
  

Comments on Monkey Man:

• Matthew Jackson calls Monkey Man a thrilling homage to martial arts movies
  
• Adrian Horton calls Monkey Man a gory descent into darkness  
• Siddhant Adlakha calls Monkey Man a flimsy action film with muddled politics and tepid execution
  

Comments on Spaceman:

• Leah Schnelbach calls Spaceman a quiet movie about relationships, with a little world history folded in, spiked occasionally with humor and uncanniness
• Haley Zapal declares that Spaceman feels like the offspring of Project Hail Mary and Solaris.
• Siddhant Adlakha calls Spaceman a swing and miss.  
  

 

Comments on Imaginary: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Imaginary a shoddy and unimaginative horror film. 
• io9 interviews DeWanda Wise, star of Imaginary.
  

 

Comments on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live:

• Noetta Harjo shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. 
  
• Katie Doll interviews Pollyana McIntosh, who plays Jadis Stokes in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. 
  

 

Comments on Love Lies Bleeding: 

• Olivia Rutigliano calls Love Lies Bleeding is an eerie, electric body-horror thriller
• Lauren Coates calls Love Lies Bleeding a neo-noir romance that leaves you wanting more
• Rosie Knight explains the ending of Love Lies Bleeding.
  

 

Comments on Scream 7 and Scream in general: 

• Germain Lussier delves into the many problems plaguing Scream 7. 
• Cheryl Eddy reports that both actress Neve Campbell and director Kevin Williamson are returning for Scream 7.
  
• Monica Coman reports that some fans are still boycotting Scream 7 over the unceremonious firing of actress Melissa Barrera over Pro-Palestinian social media posts.
  
• J.D. Harlock revisits the original 1996 horror movie Scream. 
  

 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2024 SFWA Infinity Award has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2024 Pulp Factory Awards have been announced.
  
• The longlist for the 2024 Rhysling Award has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2024 British Book Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2024 Carnegie Medals has been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2024 Canada Reads competition has been announced and it's a science fiction novel.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Academy Awards have been announced. 
• Carolyn Giardina explains how Godzilla Minus One won the 2024 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, beating out the Hollywood competition. 
• The winners of the 2024 Razzie Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2024 Bafta Games Awards have been announced.
• The team behind the Otherwise Awards announces that the awards are currently on hiatus and how they plan to proceed going forward. 
• Cora Buhlert shares an open letter to the 2024 Hugo finalists, whoever they may be.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Laura Childs shares tips and tricks for faster writing.
• Lisa Gardner shares ten lessons she learned in thirty years of writing suspense novels.
  
• Victoria Strauss reports about a myriad of problems with Owl City Press. 
• Anne Marble reports about yet another review bombing and harassment case linked to Goodreads. 
• Maris Kreizman notes that publishing models that rely on gig workers are bad for everybody.
  

 

Interviews:

• Ella Creamer interviews Joanne Harris.
  
• Locus interviews Shelley Parker-Chan.
  
• Natalie Zutter interviews Melissa Albert.
• Adrian Collins interviews Richard Swan.
  
• Stephen J. Golds interviews Coy Hall.  
• Alpha's Court interviews Lisa Morton.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Glenn Hauman. 
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews David Carter.
  

 

Reviews:

• Paul Weimer review These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs   
• Mary Picken reviews The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone
• Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere review The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Seeds of Inheritance by Aimee Kuzenski 
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Tomorrow’s Children by Daniel Polansky 
• Adrienne Martini reviews Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
  
• Marion Deeds reviews Witch King by Martha Wells
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed 
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Rob Bedford reviews A Flame in the North by Lillith Saintcrow.
  
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black
  
• John Mauro reviews Bob the Wizard by M.V. Prindle
  
• Marlene Harris reviews That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming 
• John Mauro reviews Dyer Street Punk Witches by Phil Williams
  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Blood Curse by Jessica A. McMinn 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews Evocation by S.T. Gibson
  
• Fiona Denton reviews To Cage a God by Elizabeth May 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Jaeger by Simon Bestwick 
• Bill Capossere reviews The Book of Love by Kelly Link
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi 
• Alex Brown reviews The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi  
• Arley Sorg reviews Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa  
• John Mauro reviews The World-Maker Parable by Luke Tarzian
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan  
  
• Rebecca Fisher reviews Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo 
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury 
  
• BOLO Books reviews King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis
• John Valeri reviews Baby X by Kira Peikoff
  
• Alex Brown reviews The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Tanglewood by Knicky L. Abbott 
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo 
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Echec! by Tim Major 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Elephants in Bloom by Cecile Cristofari 
• Ian Mond reviews Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere by Anastacia Reneé 
• Gary Romeo reviews Neither Beg Nor Yield, edited by Jason M. Waltz  
• Warner Holme reviews The Future Is Female! More Classic Science Fiction Stories By Women Volume Two: The 1970s, edited by Lisa Yaszek
   
  

 Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1929 horror story “The Shout” by Robert Graves 
• M. Porcius revisits the October 1938 issue of Weird Tales.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1950 fantasy story “The Listening Child” by Margaret St. Clair
• Sam Reader revisits the 1953 Silver John fantasy story “Vandy, Vandy” by Manly Wade Wellman. 
  
• M. Porcius revisits the August 1956 issue of Infinity Science Fiction.
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the April 1969 issue of Galaxy. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the April 1969 issue of Fantastic. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1969 science fiction novel The Null-Frequency Impulser by James Nelson Coleman and the 1969 gothic romance The Place of Sapphires by Florence Engel Randall, Brian Collins revisits the 1953 post-apocalyptic novel The Green Millennium and the 1969 horror collection Night Monsters by Fritz Leiber, Gideon Marcus revisits the 1969 fantasy novel Seahorse in the Sky by Edmund Cooper, Gideon Marcus and Cora Buhlert revisit the 1969 science fiction novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Cora Buhlert revisits the 1969 fantasy novel The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs, Robin Rose Graves revisits the 1969 science fiction novel The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Jason Sacks reviews the 1969 science fiction novel Reflections in a Mirage by Leonard Daventry 
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1973 hard science fiction collection The Men and the Mirror by Ross Rocklynne .
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1982 science fantasy novel The Cyborg and the Sorcerers by Lawrence Watt-Evans 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1992 science fiction collection Crosstime Traffic by Lawrence Watt-Evans
  
  

Con and event reports:

• File 770 lists the guests of honour for the 2024 Loscon in Los Angeles, California. 
• Stephen Beale talks about problems at the 2024 Wicked World's Fair Steampunk con in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
  
• The line-up for the 2024 Philip K Dick Science Fiction Film Festival has been announced.
  
• William Earl reports that the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow is heading to Broadway.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Ed Nawotka reports about Brandon Sanderson's latest record-breaking crowdfunding campaign.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Hannah Devlin reports that astronomers have discovered a waterworld with a boiling ocean in deep space
• Monisha Ravisetti reports that funding for astronomical research in the US has been cut, only allowing for constructing either the Giant Magellan Telescope or the Thirty Meter Telescope, though both are already under construction.  
• Karen Gilchrist reports that the European Parliament just passed the world's first law to regulate AI.
  
• Julian F. Barnes reports that a new Pentagon report has found no evidence that the US military covered up discoveries regarding the existence of aliens. 
• Emma Beddington and Sarah Gilbert take a look at past visions of the future.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Catherine Lewis reports that Warner Bros is about to permanently remove the game Small Radios Big Televisions from various storefronts and paltforms, so developer Owen Deery is making available for free download.
• The negotiations between major video game studios and SAG-AFTRA may be heading for a strike.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Mer-Man.
• Toy Habits reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Stratos.
  
• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Turtles of Grayskull Krang action figure.  
• Pixel Dan reviews the Nacelle Biker Mice Fom Mars action figures.
• Comic Fan Man reviews the Mythic Legions Cowarros action figure by Four Horseman Studios.
• James Whitbrook shares a look at upcoming Hasbro Star Wars figures.
  
• The Battle Ram Blog takes a look at the vintage Masters of the Universe Blasterhawk vehicle from 1986.  
• James Whitbrook shares the wildest, weirdest Star Trek action figures.
  
• Pixel Dan reports that Mattel is bringing back the Street Sharks line of action figures.
  
• Ryan Hockensmith reports about the world's largest collection of bobblehead toys.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "A Brief Oral History of the El Zopilote Dock" by Alaya Dawn Johnson in Clarkesworld.
• "Nine Beauties and the Entangled Threads" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires in Clarkesworld
• "Everything in the Garden is Lovely" by Hannah Yang in Apex Magazine.
• "Median" by Kelly Robson in Reactor.
  
• "The Robot" by Lavie Tidhar in Uncanny Magazine
  
• "Djora Gumo" ​​​​by Vaughn A. Jackson in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "The Glass Sarcophagus" by Tiffany Morris in The Deadlands.
  
• "Burial" by Kristi DeMeester in The Dark.
• "An Incomplete Body Has No Answers" by Angela Liu in Lightspeed. 
• "Kopki and the Fish" by Alex Irvine in Lightspeed.
  
• "A Guide to Camping in the Forest" by Oyedotun Damilola Muees in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Amoxicillin" by Liz Kerin in Reactor.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the new The Crow.
  
• Watch a trailer for Renegade Nell.
• Watch a trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
  
• Watch a trailer for Atlas. 
  
• Watch a trailer for The First Omen.
• Watch a trailer for Breathe.