Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 10, 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, Masters of the Universe in general, Doctor Who past, present and future, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire and Star Wars in general,, X-Men '97 and X-Men in general, I Saw the TV Glow, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Dark Matter, Tarot, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Planet of the Apes in general, season 2 of Reginald the Vampire, tributes to Bernard Hill and Jeannie Epper and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Reactor shares all the new science fiction books coming out in May. 
  
• Reactor shares all the new fantasy books coming out in May. 
• Reactor shares all the new horror, romantasy and genre hybrid books coming out in May. 
  
• Reactor shares all the new YA SFF books coming out in May. 
  
• Tobias Carroll shares small press and indie speculative fiction coming out in May and June 2024.  
• Molly Odintz shares upcoming YA mysteries, thrillers and horror novels.  
• Kristen Patterson wonders whether the difference between science fiction and fantasy really matters.
  
• James Wallace Harris wonders what makes a science fiction story a classic. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction novels about rediscovering ancient technology.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction works about mind-altering drugs. 
• Emet North talks about multiverses and the queer imagination. 
  
• Mia Nulimaimaiti reports about the global ambitions of China's science fiction industry.
• Leah Blaine shares her appreciation for the Sunfire line of historical YA romances of the 1980s and how revolutionary those books really were.
  
• The Cromcast discusses Poul Anderson with a particular focus on his fantasy and sword and sorcery work. 
  
• Mailing No. 9 of TRIAPA is available.
  
• The Thomas family shares an obituary for Caitlin Thomas. 
• Locus remembers John Trimble.
  
• Pulp scholar Rick Lai died aged 68.
• French SFF scholar Roger Bozetto has died aged 87. 
• Fantasy and horror author and game writer Travis Heerman has died aged 54.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Alex Puncekar reviews When the Blood Has Dried by Gary Moloney and Daniel Romero
  
• Robin Marx reviews Conan the Barbarian #10 by Jim Zub and Roberto De La Torre 
• The Official Conan the Barbarian Podcast interviews comic writer Roy Thomas. 
• The Official Conan the Barbarian Podcast interviews comic writer Jim Zub.
• Scott Edelman interviews comic artist and writer Dan Parent. 
• Andreas Sandahl revisits the 1993 Ultraverse comics by Malibu.
  
• Rich Johnston reports that the webcomic Conan: The Blood Egg by John Allison and the comic Blue Sonja by Ben Dunn both received cease and desist letters from the rights holders for Conan and Red Sonja.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Leah Schnelbach declares that Dead Boy Detectives makes a case for a cute gay afterlife
  
• Ann Michelle Harris calls the anime The Apothecary Diaries an appealing fantasy mystery dealing with difficult issues of gender and class through the eyes of a young apothecary
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Rebel Moon, Part 2: The Scargiver. 
  
• Chris M. Barkley shares his thoughts on Civil War and compared it to the 1997 TV-movie The Second Civil War.
• Ann Michelle Harris calls The Book of Clarence a unique, irreverent, genre-mixing dark comedy wrapped around deep messages on race and class 
• Tyler Dean discusses how the new Interview with the Vampire adapts and alters some of the more problematic aspects of the novel for the 21st century.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Beacon 23.
  
• Cheryl Eddy shares sixteen essential episodes of Evil.
• Louis Chilton interviews Walter Goggins who plays the Ghoul in Fallout.
• Aaron Hicklin interviews Jennifer Connelly, star of Labyrinth, Dark City, Once Upon a Time in America, Dark Matter, Sbowpiercer and many others. 
• Sabina Graves interviews George Miller, director of the Mad Max movies and Furiosa.
  
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Don Mancini, creator of Chucky. 
• Sabina Graves interviews Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, directors of Abigail.
  
• Andrew Pulver interviews cultural consultant Sajid Varda who worked on Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire among others.
• Cath Clarke interviews Amanda Nell Eu, director of Tiger Stripes. 
• Chris Farnell shares science fiction movies which actually take the theory of relativity into account. 
  
• Katie M. Flynn talks about the portrayal of mothers and motherhood in horror movies.
  
• The AV-Club ranks haunted objects in horror films. 
• Drew Gillis revisits the 1944 suspense thriller Gaslight.
  
• Charles Bramesco takes a look at the 1960s trend for movies about mental breakdowns.
  
• Gideon Marcus shares his favourite TV shows of the later 1960s. 
• Brian Collins revisits the 1968 surrealist film Teorema. 
• Lorelei Marcus revisits the 1969 The Monkees TV special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1973 science fiction film Welt am Draht a.k.a. World on a Wire.
  
• Keith R.A.DeCandido revisits the 1994 Babylon 5 episode "Mind War". 
• Marion Deeds revisits the 2004 speculative TV series Lost and finds that every single character has a terrible father. 
  
• Justin Carter revisits the 2019 movie Detective Pikachu.
  
• Chris Person talks about media at risk of being lost.
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is actually the fourth most profitable film of 2023 in spite of supposedly underperforming.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek in general:

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Erigah", the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery.
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on "Erigah" 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "Erigah"  
• Justin Carter revisits the 2009 Star Trek movie.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future: 

• Jack Seale declares that Ncuti Gatwa will make the new series of Doctor Who more fun than the show has been in years.  
• James Whitbrook calls the new series of Doctor Who a burst of regenerative energy 
• Kayleigh Dray declares that the new series of  Doctor Who gets a bigger budget and zippier pace 
• James Whitbrook interviews Russell T. Davies, showrunner of Doctor Who. 
• The Planetary Society interviews Russell T. Davies.
  
• Martin Belam ranks all the Doctors to appear in Doctor Who.
• Ryan Britt wonders whether the upcoming season of Doctor Who will explore pre-Hartnell regenerations of the Doctor. 
• Moshe Feder shares photos of a New York subway train emblazoned with Doctor Who characters.
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general:

• For Eternia shares a look at two new members of the Evil Horde debuting in the Masters of the Universe Revolution prequel comic.
  
• The Battle Ram Blog shares some quick facts about the Masters of the Universe character Mer-Man. 
• The Battle Ram Blog shares some background on the Spirit of Grayskull which occasionally appears in Masters of the Universe.
  
• Pixel Dan shares his thoughts on the latest announcement of a Masters of the Universe live action movie.
• For Eternia shares his thoughts on the latest announcement of a Masters of the Universe live action movie.
• Dad-at-Arms interviews Mike Bernhardt, digital compositor for Powerhouse Animation who worked on Masters of the Universe: Revolution. 
• Cora Buhlert shares a not entirely serious job ad for the Evil Horde. 
  

 

Comments on X-Men '97 and X-Men in general: 

• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Tolerance is Extinction, Part 2”, the latest episode of X-Men '97. 
  
• Asher Elbein takes a look at the development of Magneto through sixty years of X-Men.
• Isabel Sophia Dieppa Betancourt wondes why it took thirty years for a Latino character to join the X-Men on screen.
  
• Justin Carter points out that we might see an adaptation of the X-Men versus Avengers mini-series in X-Men '97. 
• Jack Gaul talks about Strong Guy a.k.a. Guido Carosella making a cameo appearance in X-Men '97 and what this means for the show.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars: Tales of the Empire and Star Wars in general: 

• James Whitbrook shares three things he liked and four things he didn't like about Tales of the Empire.
  
• Ben Child revisits the 1999 Star Wars movie The Phantom Menace for its twenty-fifth anniversary.
• The New York Times interviews Ahmed Best who played Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian.
  
• James Whitbrook interviews Meredith Salenger who plays Barriss Offee in Tales of the Empire.
• Becca Stalnaker shares four places she would like to visit in the Star Wars universe. 
• James Whitbrook praises the sound of the Naboo blasters in The Phantom Menace.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Acolyte. 
• Carolyn Giardina reports that the revolutionary computer-controlled Dykstraflex camera, which made the special effects in Star Wars possible, is now on display at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, Califonria. 
  

 

Comments on I Saw the TV Glow:

• Alissa Wilkinson calls I Saw the TV Glow an outstanding not-quite-horror film about being a fan just before the internet took over.
• Charles Pulliam-Moore calls I Saw the TV Glow a tribute to the transformative power of fandom 
• Amy Nicholson calls I Saw the TV Glow a claustrophobic mood piece that taps into the hollowness of growing up hypnotized by the screen.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin calls I Saw the TV Glow a meditation on becoming that will haunt you
• Richard Brody calls I Saw the TV Glow a profound vision of the trans experience
• Carlos Aguilar interviews Jane Schoenbrun, director of I Saw the TV Glow.
  
• Emma Keates points out how Jane Schoenbrun's movies speak to people who grew up with and on the internet.
  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:

• Ben Travis interviews Ryan Reynolds who plays Deadpool.
• Ben Travis interviews Julius Onah, director of Captain America: Brave New World. 
• Ben Travis interviews Louis D'Esposito, co-president of Marvel Studios.
  
• Callum Jones reports that Disney is planning to cut back its output, including Marvel movies.
  

 

Comments on Dark Matter: 

• Cheryl Eddy calls Dark Matter a twisty science fiction thriller with a very human heart
• Lucy Mangan calls Dark Matter a fun multiverse thriller
  
• Tom Philip declares that Dark Matter lays out some very heady metaphysical concepts 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of Dark Matter.
  

 

 Comments on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Planet of the Apes in general:

• Jarod Jones calls Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a measured follow-up that lives in the shadow of the trilogy that precedes it 
• Germain Lussier calls Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a worthy, slightly wonky apes adventure
  
• Peter Bradshaw hopes that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be the final prequel to the 1968 original. 
• Justin Carter finds the Planet of the Apes prequel movies actually good.
  
• Germain Lussier revisits the 2017 science fiction movie War for the Planet of the Apes
• Germain Lussier interviews Wes Ball, director of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
  

 

Comments on Tarot: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Tarot a silly supernatural horror film.  
• Matthew Jackson calls Tarot a flimsy horror flick with an identity crisis
  

 

Comments on season 2 of Reginald the Vampire:

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 2 premiere of Reginald the Vampire.
• Melody McCune interviews Em Haine who plays Sarah in Reginald the Vampire.
• Melody McCune interviews Savanah Basley who plays Angela in Reginald the Vampire. 
  
• Melody McCune interviews Mandela Van Peebles who plays Maurice in Reginald the Vampire.
  

 

Tributes to Bernard Hill:

• British actor Bernard Hill, who played King Théoden in Lord of the Rings, Captain Edward Smith in Titanic and also appeared in The Responder, Wolf Hall, The Scorpion King, The Boys from the Black Stuff and many others, has died aged 79.
• Ryan Gilbey shares an obituary for Bernard Hill. 
• Mark Lawson remembers Bernard Hill's performance in The Boys from the Black Stuff. 
• James Whitbrook remembers Bernard Hill's performance as King Théoden in the Lord of the Rings movies.
  

 

 Tributes to Jeannie Epper:

• Stuntwoman Jeannie Epper, who worked on Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels, Total Recall, Minority Report, Demolition Man, Foxy Brown and many others, has died aged 83.  
• Jeremy Dick looks back on Jeannie Epper's career. 
• Mike Barnes remembers Jeannie Epper.

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2024 Locus Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2024 Prix Jacques-Brossard have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2024 Prix Imaginales have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2024 Maine Literary Awards have been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2023 MIFRE Media Award has been announced 
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Amy Berg talks about writing inside a box.
  
• May Haddad shares a writer's guide to sailor's knots.
• Philip Athans explains why friends might not be the best source of writing feedback.
  
• Lincoln Michel shares more publishing facts you may not know.
  
• Madeline Ashby reports that romance writer K. Renee was locked out of her Google Docs account for supposedly inappropriate content and lost access to her works in progress. 
• Ella Creamer and Lucy Knight report that audiobook downloads in the UK have risen by seventeen percent in 2023. 
• Ella Creamer reports that BookTok Bookshelves will be placed in youth centers in deprived parts of the UK.
  
• Francesca Mancino talks about the complicated ethics of rare book collecting.
  
• PEN America reports that a record number of writers have been jailed worldwide in 2023.
  
• David Barnett reports that the UK Society of Authors is in uproar again, because members voted against a resolution on the war in Gaza and in favour of a resolution to boycott the investment firm Baillie Gifford for the sin of investing in fossil fuels.
  

 

Interviews:

•  Lisa Allardice interviews Margaret Atwood.
• Rachel Cooke interviews Rebecca F. Kuang.
  

 

Reviews:

• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Practice, The Horizon and The Chain by Sofia Samatar
  
• Ella Risbridger reviews The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley 
• Jenny Hamilton reviews The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley 
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Knightqueen by Anna Hackett 
• Marlene Harris reviews People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle 
• Russell Letson reviews Machine Vendetta by Alastair Reynolds  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino 
  
• Alex Wallace reviews The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis 
• Robin Marx reviews Dark Dreams of Nilztiria by D.M. Ritzlin 
  
• Rob Bedford reviews The Silverblood Promise by James Logan. 
• Alex Wallace reviews For Love of Magic by Simon R. Green   
• Marion Deeds reviews Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone
  
• John Mauro reviews Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Borgia Dove by Jo Graham
  
• John Mauro reviews Trial of the Alchemist by Trevor Melanson 
• Marion Deeds reviews Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett 
• Liz Bourke reviews A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Princess of Thornwood Drive by Khalia Moreau  
• Gary Romeo reviews Conan: Lethal Consignment by Shaun Hamill 
  
• Alex Brown reviews Merciless Saviors by H.E. Edgmon.
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger 
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan 
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews The Hallows by H. L. Tinsley  
• Mahvesh Murad reviews The Monstrous Misses Mai By Van Hoang
  
• Fiona Denton reviews A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock 
• Mark Yon reviews Extinction by Douglas Preston.
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Kindling by Kathleen Jennings and Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart by GennaRose Nethercott   
• Ian Mond reviews Table for One by Yun Ko-Eun, translated by Lizzie Buehler.
  
• Runalong the Chains reviews The Hungry Lens and Other Strange Stories by Matthew Pegg 
• Tobias Carroll reviews The Novices of Lerna by Ángel Bonomini, translated by Jordan Landsman.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Collected Works of Roger Zelazny, Volume Four, Last Exit to Babylon by Roger Zelazny.
• M.D. Jackson reviews Neither Beg Nor Yield, edited by Jason Waltz. 
• Richard Fisher reviews Neither Beg Nor Yield, edited by Jason Waltz. 
     
  

Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1903 science fiction story “The Shadow and the Flash” by Jack London 
• Abigail Arnold revisits the 1903 children's fantasy novel The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum.
  
• MarzAat revisits the 1911 fantasy story “Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller” by Lord Dunsany 
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1923 science fiction story “The Man from the Atom” by G. Peyton Wertenbaker 
• Grammaticus Books revisits the 1924 fantasy novel The Ship of Ishtar by A. Merritt.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1955 science fiction story “Birthright” by April Smith
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1967 science fiction anthology Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1967 science fiction story “Evensong” by Lester del Rey 
• Maya St. Clair revisits the 1970 science fiction novel experiment Five Fates by Frank Herbert, Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson and Keith Laumer
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 speculative thriller The Devil's Game by Poul Anderson. 
• Sam Reader revisits the 1984 horror story “Dread” by Clive Barker
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1989 fantasy novel  In the Red Lord’s Reach by Phyllis Eisenstein  
• Warner Holme revisits the 1995 fantasy novel City of Bones by Martha Wells.
  
• John Mauro revisits the 2005 urban fantasy novel Anasi Boys by Neil Gaiman.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 2010 Discworld fantasy novel I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett.
   
  

Con and event reports:

• Locus reports about the 2024 International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts 
• Deuce Richardson reports about the 2023 Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas, in a two part post.
• Mur Lafferty talks about attending conventions and generating confidence. 
  
• Patrick S. Tomlinson reports how PenguiCon in Ann Arbor, Michigan, disinvited him, giving in to the trolls relentlessly stalking him.
  
• Amaris Encinas talks about the many issues that plagued the Readers Take Denver book event.
• For Eternia reports about the 2024 Chiller Theater event in Parsippany, New Jersey.
• Steve Davidson is concerned that China is trying to take over Worldcon as part of their new science fiction initiative. 
• Fur and Loathing attempts to investigate the chlorine gas attack on Midwest Furfest in Rosemont, Illinois, in 2014, which is still unsolved.
  
• Severin Carrell reports that the Scottish artist Hans K. Clausen has received hundreds of copies of 1984 by George Orwell from around the world, which he plans to use in an installation on the island of Jura, Scotland, where the novel was written. 
• Sabina Graves shares a look at the new Tangled ride at DisneySeas in Tokyo, Japan.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology edited by Julie C. Day, Carina Bissett and Craig Laurance Gidney, is looking for funding.
  
• Sword & Scandal, an anthology of erotic sword and sorcery stories edited by J. Manfred Weichsel, is looking for funding.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Christian Davenport reports that NASA's Orion spacecraft suffered serious damage to its heat shield during a 2022 test flight.
• Ian Sample reports that astronauts could use a motorcycle stunt equipment called Wall of Death in order to keep fit on the Moon. 
• Helen Davidson talks about China's space ambitions and why the US is concerned about them. 
• The Smithsonian Magazine reports that former NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 
• Rachel Berkowitz reports about HELIX, a high altitude balloon supposed to determine the source of antimatter particles occasionally bombarding Earth. 
• Kristen Monaco reports that a mobile app glitch may drain insulin pump batteries much faster than expected.
  
• Judith Tarr discusses the legend of the chupacabra and what may be behind it.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Nerds of a feather reviews the video game Mass Effect Legendary Edition 
  
• Cole Rush shares his favourite sea-faring fantasy games and novels to match them.
• Keith Stuart shares his five favourite books about video games.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Still a Big Kid reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Skeletor action figure
  
• Still a Big Kid reviews the NECA Flash Gordon Prince Vultak action figure.
  
• James Whitbrook shares new Star Wars Black Series and Vintage Collection figures unveiled by Hasbro.
• James Whitbrook shares his twenty-five favourite LEGO Star Wars sets for the twenty-fifth anniversary of LEGO Star Wars.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Three Faces of a Beheading" by Arkady Martine in Uncanny Magazine. 
  
• "The Portmeirion Road" by Fiona Moore in Clarkesworld.
• "Fishy" by Alice Towey in Clarkesworld.
  
• "The Spectral Hunt" by Jared Kerr in Swords and Sorcery Magazine. 
• "Bloodied and Bound" by Stewart A. Shearer in Side Quest.
• "An Offering from the Void" by Daniel David Froid in Nightmare Magazine. 
  
• "Those Left Behind" by Kanishk Tantia in Apex Magazine. 
• "We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read" by Caroline M. Yoachim in Lightspeed.  
• "Done Deal" by Rory Harper in Lightspeed.
  
• "You Can Have the Ground, My Love" by Carlie St. George in The Dark.
• "Tribute" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  
• "Trigger Snowflake and the Quicksilver Fallout" by Ingvar in File 770.
   

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 4 of The Boys. 
• Watch a trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One.
  
• Watch a trailer for Twisters.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Glassworker.
• Watch a trailer for Deep Sea. 
• Watch a trailer for Handling the Undead. 
• Watch a trailer for LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy 
  
• Watch a clip from Megalopolis.