Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for April 19, 2024

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general, Fallout, Masters of the Universe in general, Doctor Who past, present and future, Civil War, Spy x Family: Code White, Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla in general, Shogun, Sasquatch Sunset, Abigail, Bluey, tributes to Trina Robbins and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a round-up of her favourite recent science fiction and fantasy works. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five superb SFF fix-up novels.
  
• Alex Brown shares five underrated urban fantasies. 
• Ratika Deshpande shares six SFF short stories about music and musicians 
  
• James Davis Nicoll attempts to explain why some readers like "bad" books. 
• Rachel Ayers shares retellings of The Frog Prince.
  
• Tenacity Plys discusses how Dune handles the problem of AI.
  
• Ngo Vinh-Hoi profiles Stanley Weinbaum. 
• Olivia Rutigliano interviews Michael Dirda about assembling a prestige collection of Weird Tales. 
  
• Ella Creamer shares Salman Rushdie's comments about the knife attack on him.
  
• Postmodern writer John Barth died aged 93.
• Caitlin Thomas, SFF fan and daughter of Uncanny editors Lynne and Michael Damian Thomas, has died aged 21.
  

Tributes to Trina Robbins:

• Cartoonist and Wonder Woman artist Trina Robbins has died aged 85. 
  
• Gavin Edwards shares a tribute to Trina Robbins.

Comics and Art:

• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #9 by Jim Zub and Roberto De La Torre
• Monsters, Madness and Magic interviews fantasy artist Julie Bell. 
• Locus interviews fantasy artist Richard A. Kirk. 
• Scott Edelman interviews comic artist Arthur Suydam.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that the controversial death and resurrection of Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel were allegedly requested by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares some vintage horror posters to enjoy.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about some exciting new literary genres.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Melody L. Simpson declares that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is a reckoning of hope
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Quantum Suicide. 
• Ryan Britt calls A Thousand Suns the best science fiction anthology series you haven’t seen.
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Beacon 23. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on season 1 of Constellation.
  
• Rebecca Nicholson calls Mammoth a sitcom about a man frozen since the 1970s which is Dad jokes galore. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls All You Need Is Death an Irish horror film with a strong central idea, but too chaotic and unfocussed to resonate.
  
• Cath Clarke declares that the animated film Max Beyond feels like watching someone else playing a video game. 
• Cath Clarke calls Butterfly Tale an anodyne animated film for children.  
  
• Ben Child wonders whether Joker: Folie à Deux can avoid becoming like any other comic book movie.
• Ian Spelling discusses the art of the training montage
• The AV Club lists the most miserable children in horror movies. 
• Brandon O'Brien talks about Evangelion, Shin Kamen Rider and masculinity
• The AV-Club lists children's TV shows from the 1980s and 1990s that deserve a reboot. 
  
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1984 science fiction film The Brother From Another Planet
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1994 Babylon 5 episode “Born to the Purple”
  
• Tara Bennett revisits the 1999 science fiction TV series Farscape and interviews creators Rockne S. O'Bannon and Brian Henson and actors Ben Browder and Gigi Edgley
  
• Jimmy Kimmel interviews Tom Hiddleston, best known for playing Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  
• Josh Wigler interviews Linda Hamilton, star of the Terminator movies, The Beauty and the Beast, Resident Alien and others. 
• io9 interviews Marlo Kelly, one of the stars of 3 Body Problem.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong interviews Aron Eli Coliette, showrunner of The Spiderwick Chronicles TV series.
  
• Carlos Acevedo profiles Linda Blair, star of The Exrcist, Born Innocent, Chained Heat and others.
• Huck profiles photographer Rhynna M. Santos, who photographes the diversity of Star Wars fandom.
  
• Kayti Burt talks about walking the tightrope between pop culture journalist and fan. 
• Victoria Davis reports that the BBC has teamed up with Aardman Animation for a series of claymation shorts. 
• Cinematographer Robin Browne who worked on Krull, The Jewel of the Nile, several Bond movies and many others, has died aged 82. 
• Actress and activist Samantha Davis, wife of Warwick Davis, has died ahed 53.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general:

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Face the Strange", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Face the Strange", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on "Face the Strange", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.  
• James Whitbrook revisits the 1998 Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode “In the Pale Moonlight”.
  
• Jamie Russell reports that the Scottish actor Martin Quinn has been cast to play Montgomery Scott in Star Trek Strange New Worlds as the first Scottish actor to ever play the character.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that Star Trek Strange New Worlds has been renewed for season 4 and that Star Trek Lower Decks will end with season 5.
  

Comments on Fallout: 

• Aaron Jones declares that Fallout is sure to be a nuclear hit with audiences.
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on episode 3 of Fallout. 
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on episode 4 of Fallout. 
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on episode 5 of Fallout. 
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on episode 6 of Fallout. 
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on episode 7 of Fallout.
  
• James Whitbrook shares eight things he liked and two he didn't about Fallout.
  
• James Hibberd interviews Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, showrunners of Fallout.
• Justin Carter notes that Fallout is suffering from Amazon Prime putting out all episodes at the same time. 
• Cheryl Eddy reports about a working phone number as an Easter egg in Fallout. 
• Cheryl Eddy reports that Fallout has been renewed for season 2.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future: 

• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1969 Doctor Who serial "The Space Pirates"
• Andrew Blair takes a look at unmade Doctor Who episodes.
  
• Devan Coggan takes a look behind the scenes of the upcoming series of Doctor Who.
  
• Nation Cymru interviews Phillip Roy, producer, director, writer and star of the Doctor Who fan film Doctor Who meets the Scorpion.   
• Tom Ambrose reports actress Varada Sethu has been cast to play an unnamed companion to the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who. 
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• James Eatock revisits the 1983 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series "The Shaping Staff". 
• Jukka Issakainen shares some background on the character of Keldor in the various incarnations of Masters of the Universe   
• Archon Studios interviews Masters of the Universe expert Jukka Issakainen.

 

Comments on Civil War: 

• Charles Bramesco calls Civil War an empty B-movie masquerading as something of substance
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Alex Garland, director of Civil War.
• io9 interviews Wagner Moura, one of the stars of Civil War. 
• Tatiana Siegel interviews Kirsten Dunst, one of the stars of Civil War. 
• Sarah Shachat shares five war movies which paved the way for Civil War. 
• James Whitbrook reports that the studio A24 has been criticised for using AI-generated ads to promote Civil War.
  

 

Comments on Shogun:

• Meredith Hobbs Coons shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Shogun. 
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Anna Swai who plays Mariko in Shogun.
  

 

Comments on Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla in general: 

• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. 
• John Scalzi chronicles the evolution of Godzilla since 1954.
  

 

Comments on Spy x Family: Code White:

• Cindy White calls Spy X Family Code: White a delightful and ambitious feature-length film based on the popular anime series. 
• Justin Carter interviews  Megan Shipman and Natalie Van Sistine who play Anya and Yor in Spy x Family: Code White

 

Comments on Sasquatch Sunset: 

• Matt Schimkowitz declares that Sasquatch Sunset has more in common with a nature documentary than a narrative film 
• Eric Piepenberg shares a look behind the scenes of Sasquatch Sunset.
  

 

Comments on Abigail:

• Sabina Graves declares that Abigail takes a bloody delightful bite out of the vampire genre
  
• Benjamin Lee calls Abigail a fun-sucking horror film.

 

Comments on Bluey:

• Jack Seale shares his thoughts on the Bluey episode "The Sign". 
• Michael Hogan interviews Joe Brumm, creator of Bluey. 
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2024 Prometheus Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2024 RNA Romantic Novel Awards have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2024 Compton Crook Award has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Imadjinn Awards have been announced.  
• The winner of the 2024 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Brave New Weird Award have been announced.
• The recipients of the 2024 HWA Specialty Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2024 Tolkien Society Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Colorado Book Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire have been announced.
  
• File 770 shares an explanation of the 2024 Hugo Awards subcommittee. 
• John Maher reports that the PEN America Literary Awards are in limbo, following a controversy about the organisation's stand on the war in Gaza.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Philip Miller talks about using ouija boards to fuel creativity
• Sara Koffi talks about writing in difficult times.
  
• Dane Bahr talks about writing while grieving.
• Ethal Rohan explains how her history as an abuse survivor influences her writing.
  
• Jeanne Veillette Bowerman explains how a book becomes a movie and how to spot scams related to this.
• Ella Creamer notes how translators feel their work is threatened by AI. 
• Locus reports that several publishers have joined a lawsuit against a proposed book ban law in Iowa.
  

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Ken MacLeod. 
• Tom Joyce interviews Ellen Datlow.
  
• Andy Rose interviews LaShawn Wanak.
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show interviews Phoebe Wagner and Sarena Ulibarri 
• Grimdark Magazine interviews Salinee Goldenberg
  
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Ville Meriläinen
  

 

Reviews:

• Gayle Surrette reviews Random in Death by J.D. Robb 
  
• Scott Tipple reviews All Systems Red by Martha Wells   
• Liz Bourke reviews The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson 
• Mark Yon reviews The Mars House by Natasha Pulley. 
• Russell Letson reviews Doorway to the Stars by Jack McDevitt 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Space Holes: First Transmission by B.R. Louis  
• Nerds of a feather reviews Machine Vendetta by Alastair Reynolds  
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The House on Widows Hill by Simon R. Green 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne 
• Alex Brown reviews Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell 
• Adri Joy reviews Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell 
  
• Clara Cohen reviews The Diviners Quartet by Libba Bray 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Bones & Runes by Stephen Embleton 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Cold West by Clayton W. Snyder
  
• Cole Rush reviews The Will of the Many by James Islington.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews In The Shadow of Their Dying by Michael R Fletcher and Anna Smith Spark
  
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed  
  
• Paul Weimer reviews A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Heart of Winter by Shona Kinsella
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland 
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo 
  
• Rob Bedford reviews The Slain Divine by David Dalglish 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco
• Marlene Harris reviews A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke 
• Michaele Jordan reviews Babel by R.F. Kuang.
  
• Ian Mond reviews The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham 
• Aigner Loren Wilson reviews Dazzling by Chikọdịlị Emelụmadụ
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews The Hungry Dark by Jen Williams
• Mary Picken reviews The Gathering by C.J. Tudor   
• Carrie Chi Lough reviews The Troop by Nick Cutter
  
• C.T. Phipps reviews Dead Tide by Stephen Alexander North
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Among The Living by Tim Lebbon
  
• Marlene Harris reviews No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson 
• Niall Harrison reviews The Inhumans and Other Stories: A Selection of Bengali Science Fiction edited by Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews issue 9 of Parsec.
  
• Rodd Lott reviews James Bond and the Sixties Spy Craze by Thom Shubilla.
• Fara Dabhoiwala reviews Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World by Dorian Lynskey 
     
  

Classics reviews:

• Adventures Fantastic revisits the 1937 cosmic horror story“The Brood of Bubastis” by Robert Bloch. 
  
• Vintage Pop Fictions revisits the 1954 post-apocalyptic novel Slaves to the Metal Horde by Milton Lesser.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1957 science fiction story “The Men Return” by Jack Vance 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1960 science fiction novel Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1962 science fiction novel The Flying Eyes by J. Hunter Holly
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1965 SFF collection The Anything Box by Zenna Henderson  
• Joachim Boaz and Rachel Cordasco revisit the 1966 science fiction story “The Contact” by Vladimir Colin. 
• George Pritchard revisits the 1967 science fantasy novel Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey.
  
• David Levinson revisits the May 1969 issue of Venture Science Fiction.
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1969 science fiction novels Ipomea by John Rackham and The Brass Dragon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1969 science fiction novel Six Gates From Limbo by J.T. McIntosh, Brian Collins revisits the 1969 science fiction novels Decision at Doona by Anne McCaffrey and The Ulcer Culture by Keith Bulmer and Cora Buhlert revisits the 1969 sword and sorcery novel Kothar - Barbarian Swordsman by Gardner F. Fox.  
  
• Gary Romeo revisits the 1970 Conan sword and sorcery story “The People of the Summit” by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp 
• C.T. Phipps revisits the 1981 science fiction story “The Gernsback Continuum” by William Gibson 
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1987 horror story “Traps” by F. Paul Wilson 
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1989 science fiction novel Escape From Kathmandu by Kim Stanley Robinson. 
• Michael Gonzales revisits the 1990 dystopian novel Another Present Era by Elaine Perry.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1991 fantasy story “The Swordsman Whose Name Was Not Death” by Ellen Kushner  
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1991 YA horror novel Bury Me Deep by Christopher Pike and the 1996 YA horror novel Spring Break by Barbara Steiner.
  
• Marion Deeds revisits the 1995 fantasy novel City of Bones by Martha Wells 
• Leah Schnelbach revisits the 1996 science fiction novel The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell.
  
• Adrian Collins revisits the 2011 urban fantasy novel The Straight Razor Cure a.k.a. Low Town by Daniel Polansky
   
  

Con and event reports:

• Octothorpe reports about Levitation, the 2024 Eastercon in Telford, UK.
• Germain Lussier shares his favourite things he saw at the 2024 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
• The program for the 2024 Nebula Conference in Pasadena, California, is online.
  
• Brent Lang, Rebecca Rubin and Matt Donnelly share the winners and losers of the 2024 CinemaCon.   
• Kevin Standlee reports that the committees for Westercon 74 and Costume-Con 39 have been discharged. 
  
• Geek Explorers shares a video about the 2024 NEC Toy Fair in Birmingham, UK.
  
• Ben Hooper reports that a Stormtrooper cosplayer on his way to DeeCon in Dundee, Scotland, was arrested at a train station in Aberdeen, Scotland, because people mistook his prop blaster for a real gun. 
• Ella Creamer reports that the Aye Write literary festival in Glasgow, Scotland, which was cancelled for lack of funding, has been saved due to a donation.
  
• Andrew Pulver shares the line-up of the Muslim International Film Festival in London, UK.
  
• Stuart Heritage takes a look at Disney Park ride concepts that never came to be.
  
• Sabina Graves shares news from various international theme parks.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Lynne and Michael Damian Thomas, editors of Uncanny Magazine, need help with medical bills and funeral costs for their daughter Caitlin.
  
• The anthology Shapers of Worlds Volume V, edited by Edward Willett, is looking for funding.
  
• The anthology Sherlock & Friends: Eldritch Investigations, edited by Lyndon Perry, is looking for funding.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Jonathan Amos reports that NASA is looking for a new plan to return rock samples from Mars. 
• Daniel Petrascu reports about NASA's new solar sail spacecraft. 
• Mark Kaufman explains why the US is considering building a railroad on the Moon.
  
• Associated Press reports that NASA has confirmed that a mysterious object which crashed into a house in Florida in March was indeed discarded trash from the International Space Station.
  
• Harry Cliff wonders whether we are about to discover a new force of nature.
  
• Jamie Carter reports that Spain will experience three solar eclipses in three consecutive years beginning in 2026.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Joe DelFranco reviews the video game Children of Morta by Dead Mage  
• James Whitbrook interviews Dungeons & Dragons graphic designer Trystan Falcone
• James Whitbrook reports how Games Workshop found itself embroiled in a culture war for introducing famel Custodes in Warhammer 40000. 
• The Soufan Center reports how video game communities can radicalise male gamers to become misogynists.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• For Eternia reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse Revolution Emperor Hordak action figure. 
• Still a Big Kid reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection He-Man.
  
• Mega Jay Retro reviews the Mythic Legions Thraice Wraithhailer action figure from Four Hoseman Studios. 
• Figure Fan Zero reviews The Princess Bride action figures by McFarlane Toys.
  
• Toy Habits reviews wave 3 of the Mego 50th Anniversary World’s Greatest Super Heroes line.
• The Battle Ram Blog takes a look at the 1986 Masters of the Universe vebicle Laser Bolt by Mattel.
  
• Dad-at-Arms interviews toy blogger Ethan Wilson about his ongoing conflict with toy industry consultant and YouTuber Scott Neitlich about the unauthorised use of Wilson's photos in Neitlich's videos. 
• Dad-at-Arms also interviews Barry Eldridge of the prop replica manufacturer Factory Entertainment.
  
• Daniel Dern shares a look at his collection of SFF-related card decks.
  
• Justin Carter reports that California’s Organized Retail Crime Taskforce busted a ring of Lego thieves. 
• Wes Davis also reports about the ring of Lego thieves that was busted in California.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Judge Dee and the Executioner of Epinal" by Lavie Tidhar in Reactor.
• "Katya Vasilievna and the Second Drowning of Baba Rechka" by Christine Hanolsy in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "A Reflection of Sun" by Liana Richmond in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
  
• "Redshift ||| Shiftred" by Parlei Rivière in Uncanny Magazine
  
• "The River Tokoloshe" by D. J. Tyrer in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "A Ring Around" by Lyndsey Croal in Apex Magazine. 
• "Backseat Kiss" by James Tatam in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Mother’s Day, After Everything" by Susan Palwick in Lightspeed. 
• "Salemo" by David Marino in Lightspeed.
  
• "The Arborist" by Derrick Boden in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Imago" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
• "Totality" by Brandi Sperry in The Deadlands.
• "Oblivion" by Drew Gummerson in Punk Noir Magazine.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for IF.
  
• Watch a trailer for Shardlake. 
• Watch a trailer for the final season of Sweet Tooth.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Velma. 
• Watch a trailer for Transformers One.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Outer Range. 
• Watch a trailer for Primevals. 
• Watch a trailer for Trap.
  
• Watch a trailer for Kitty the Killer.