Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for July 26, 2024

 

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award, attempted voting fraud at the 2024 Hugo Awards, Star Wars: The Acolyte and Star Wars in general, season 2 of House of the Dragon, season 4 of The Boys, Deadpool and Wolverine, Masters of the Universe in general, Star Trek in general, the new Time Bandits, Twisters, Longlegs, the 2024 San Diego Comic Con and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Adrian Collins shares his favourite dark science fiction and fantasy books of 2024 so far. 
  
• James Wallace Harris wonders if science fiction is dead. 
• N.K. Jemisin explains why we need speculative fiction more than ever now.
  
• R. Nassor attempts to define romantasy and shares their favourite examples.
  
• Amanda Mullen lists eight SFF trilogies where the second book is the best. 
• Yoon Ha Lee shares five SFF books that push the boundaries of physics.
  
• Molly Odintz shares eight thrillers and horror novels set in terrible summer camps. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories driven by soul-crushing debt. 
• Alex Brown shares five weird books for weird girls.
  
• RiverFlow talks about Chinese science fiction fandom and uniting fans around the world. 
• Mike Glyer reports that the Chinese Science Fiction Database has launched the platform Xanadu to provide information about and promote Chinese science fiction.
  
• Peng Shepard talks about writing a choose your own adventure speculative mystery.
  
• Christian Haines shares his appreciation for the works of Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
• Mark Oprea profiles science fiction writer and NASA engineer Geoffrey Landis.
• Brian Collins takes a look at the mad scientists portrayed in Nathaniel Hawthorne's fiction. 
  
• Annabel Ross shares more background on the sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Tiffany Babb interviews comic writer and artist Zoe Thorogood.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about exoskeletons for writers.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Charlie Jane Anders shares eleven hot takes about Doctor Who.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls I Saw the TV Glow weirdly wonderful and a future classic.
  
• Melis Noah Amber declares that the TV show Wynonna Earp is an allegory for the prison industrial complex.
  
• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on the shark monster movie Under Paris.
• Matt Schimkowitz calls Starve Acre a traditionally slow-burn folk horror film.
  
• C.T. Phipps calls Abigail an enjoyable slasher movie, though the twist is sadly spoiled by the trailer. 
• The AV Club calls Shelby Oaks a horror film composed of mixed messages, tones and reference points
  
• Michele Jordan calls the animated film Azur and Asmar: The Princes’ Quest a fairy tale for every age group 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 4 premiere of Snowpiercer. 
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Orphan Black: Echoes. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Lazarus Project.
  
• Mike Bedard lists the ten coolest motorcycles from science fiction films and TV shows. 
• Cindy White ranks her ten favourite natural disaster movies. 
• Anne Billson ranks her favourite Arnold Schwarzenegger movies 
  
• Ben Lindberg and Rob Arthur wonder whether franchises can save or doom Hollywood.
• Nick Romano interviews Matt Reeves, writer and director of The Batman and The Penguin. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Christine Lahti, one of the stars of Evil.
  
• Lorelei Esther revisits the 1969 Godzilla film Destroy All Monsters.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1994 Babylon 5 episode "Eyes". 
• Leah Schnelbach revisits the 2002 horror movie Signs. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2006 South Korean monster movie The Host.
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2011 Supernatural episode “How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters.”
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 2013 superhero movie Captain Battle: Legacy War
• Catherine Shoard reports that Australian actor George Lazenby, best known for playing James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, is retiring from acting at age 84. 
  
• Mary Kate Carr reports that Inside Out 2 is now the highest grossing animated film in history.
  
• Lucas Shaw reports that Apple+ TV will spend less money on their streaming shows due to the streaming failing to make a profit. 

  

Comments on Deadpool and Wolverine and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general: 

• Germain Lussier calls Deadpool and Wolverine everything a Marvel fan could want, for better or worse 
• Dirk Libby calls Deadpool And Wolverine the ultimate Deadpool movie.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Deadpool and Wolverine a snarky gagathon that mocks the Marvel Cinematic Universe back to life  
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Deadpool and Wolverine battle superhero bullshit to a stalemate
  
• Germain Lussier shares early reactions to Deadpool and Wolverine.
  
• Rebecca Rubin interviews Shawn Levy, director of Deadpool and Wolverine, as well as stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
• Nick Romano interviews Dafne Keen who plays Laura a.k.a. X-23 in Deadpool and Wolverine. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Emma Corrin who plays Cassandra Nova in Deadpool and Wolverine.
  
• Zack Sharf reports that Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy personally approached Madonna about using her song "Like a Prayer" in Deadpool and Wolverine.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios.
• Andrew J. Salazar interviews Kevin Feige. 
• Adam B. Vary interviews Kevin Feige.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Wendy Jacobson, producer of Deadpool and Wolverine and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. 
• Nathan Rabin revisits Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania and finds it not the worst superhero movie ever, but also far from the best.
• Ben Child reports that Joe and Anthony Russo will direct the next two Avengers movie and wonders whether they can revive Marvel's flagging fortunes. 
• Sabina Graves reports that Ike Perlmutter, former chairman of Marvel Entertainment has sold his shares in the Walt Disney Company, following a failed takeover bid
   
  

Comments on Star Wars: The Acolyte and Star Wars in general: 

• Haley Zapal shares her thoughts on "The Aoclyte", the season 1 finale of The Acolyte. 
• Arturo Serrano shares his thoughts on season 1 of The Acolyte. 
  
• Lyvie Scott interviews Leslye Headland, showrunner of The Acolyte.
• James Whitbrook interviews Amandla Stenberg who plays Osha and Mae in The Acolyte. 
• James Whitbrook discusses the memory wiping ability seen in The Acolyte. 
• Gordon Jackson reports that actress Gina Carano's lawsuit against Disney, after she was fired from The Mandalorian, is going to court. 
  

 

Comments on season 2 of House of the Dragon: 

• Tyler Dean shares his thoughts on "Smallfolk", the latest episode of House of the Dragon. 
• Tom Huddleston shares his thoughts on "Smallfolk"
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on "Smallfolk" 
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on "Smallfolk" 
• Melody McCune shares her favourite moments from "Smallfolk"  
• Jennifer Maas interviews Emma D’Arcy and Sonoya Mizuno who play Rhaenyra and Mysaria in House of the Dragon.
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on the House of the Dragon episode "Rhaenyra the Cruel".
  

 

Comments on Star Trek in general:

• Joe Otterson calls Star Trek Prodigy the perfect show for Star Trek fans and laments that many don't watch it.
• Avery Kaplan shares a brief history of the Cetacean Ops division in Star Trek.
• Mick Joest discusses the possibility of a Star Trek spin-off focussed on the character of Wesley Crusher.
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general: 

• Dad-at-Arms interviews Masters of the Universe artist Simon Eckert.
• Jenna Anderson interviews Rob David and Tim Seeley about the mini-comic that comes with the upcoming Mondo Scare-Mare figure, the demonic horse of Scareglow.
  
• James Eatock takes a look at an idea for a fascinating episode of She-Ra: Princess of Power that was never produced. 
• James Eatock takes a look at the little in-jokes and Easter eggs that Filmation's storyboard artists inserted into the storyboards for the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons. 
  

 

Comments on the new Time Bandits:

• Lucy Mangan calls the new Time Bandits the gloriously fun return of a fantasy classic
• Cheryl Eddy calls the new Time Bandits fun, but a little too familiar  
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on season 1 of the new Time Bandits.
• Diana Keng also offers individual reviews of episodes 1 and 2 of the new Time Bandits.
  

 

Comments on season 4 of The Boys:

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the season 4 finale of The Boys.
• Melody McCune shares her eight favourite episodes of The Boys.
  

 

Comments on Twisters: 

• Adrian Horton declares that Twisters has everything a blockbuster movie needs - except for the kiss between the leads. 
• William Hughes wonders why Twisters keeps referencing Frankenstein.
  
• Guy Lodge profiles Glen Powell, one of the stars of Twisters.
• Steve Weintraub interviews Twisters stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos
  
• Inspired by Twisters, David Smith wonders why Hollywood movies are so reluctant to tackle climate change. 
• Pamela McClintock and Aaron Couch report that Twisters is set to have a very good opening weekend. 
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Twisters' opening weekend was even better than expected.
  

 

Comments on Longlegs:

• Haley Zapal calls Longlegs the scariest movie of the year.
  
• Jordan Moreau interviews Osgood Perkins, director of Longlegs.
  

 

Awards:

• The 2024 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland, has released a statement that they were forced to disqualify 377 fraudulent Hugo ballots  
• The winner of the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award has been announced.
• The finalists for the 2024 Ignyte Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2024 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction have been announced.  
  
• The winners of the 2024 Imadjinn Awards have been announced.
  
• The shortlist for the 2024 Prix Utopiales has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Silver Falchion Awards have been announced.  
• The winner of the 2024 Tähtifantasia Award has been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2024 Australian Fairy Tale Society Award has been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2024 Frank R. Paul Award has been announced.
• The finalists for the 2024 Ringo Awards have been announced.
  
• Octothorpe discusses the 2024 Hugo finalists.
• Nerds of a Feather discuss the shortlist for the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award. 
• Runalong the Shelves discusses the shortlist for the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award.
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury discusses the 2024 Ignyte Award shortlist.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Sharmaine Lovegrove, Elizabeth Day, Nelle Andrew and Sara Collins share writing tips. 
• Connie Berry discusses how to use history in your fiction.
  
• Dave Dobson shares his experiences with a BookBub free featured deal.
• William Meikle reports about problems with the small press horror publisher Dark Regions Press.
  
• Courtney Shapiro reports about a new TikTok craze for sprayed and decorated book edges.
• Ashley Stimpson reports about the problem of toxic dyes used in vintage book covers.
  
• Ella Creamer reports that more than a third of all adults in the UK have given up reading for pleasure.
• Locus reports that romance writer Christine DeMaio a.k.a. C.D. Reiss has launched a class action lawsuit against Amazon due to their nigh monopoly on audiobook sales.
  

 

Interviews:

• The Science in the Fiction interviews David Brin.
  
• Sam Leith interviews Keanu Reeves and China Miéville
  

 

Reviews:

• Marlene Harris reviews Earthlight by J. Michael Straczynski
• Niall Harrison reviews In Universes by Emet North
• Russell Letson reviews Beyond the Light Horizon by Ken MacLeod  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Twice Lived by Joma West 
  
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark 
• The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog reviews The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee, translated by Sandy Joosun Lee
• Ian Mond reviews The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to The Wastelands by Sarah Brooks  
• Kerstin Hall reviews The Ragpicker by Joel Dane
  
• Clara Cohen reviews Dark City Rising by C. L. Jarvis  
• Chris Kluwe reviews Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim, translated by Anton Hur
  
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews Gilgamesh by Emily H. Wilson
  
• James Tivendale reviews Arthur by Giles Kristian
  
• John Mauro reviews The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Linghun by Ai Jiang  
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin
• Rob Bedford reviews The Dissonance by Shaun Hamill. 
• Fiona Denton reviews Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
  
• Sasha Bonkowsky reviews In The Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf
  
• Adam Roberts reviews The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville 
• Marion Deeds reviews Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
  
• Niall Harrison reviews Shanghailanders by Juli Min
  
• Wole Talabi reviews Ghostroots by ’Pemi Aguda
  
• Warner Holme reviews Firsts & Lasts, edited by Laura Silverman
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Spec Fic for Newbies: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing More Sub-Genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan.
     
  

Classics reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1899 lost world novel The Lost Continent by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1913 Barsoom planetary romance The Gods of Mars and its 1914 sequel The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1925 lost world novel The Isle of Forgotten People by Thompson Cross 
• Grammaticus Books revisits the August 1958 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1963 post-apocalyptic novel Farnham’s Freehold by Robert A. Heinlein.  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1964 science fiction story “Cynosure” by Kit Reed
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1965 science fiction story “Uncollected Works” by Lin Carter
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1967 horror story “Balgrummo’s Hell” by Russell Kirk
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the August 1969 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction .
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1969 science fiction collection The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World by Harlan Ellison and the 1969 science fiction anthology New Writings in SF-15, edited by John Carnell
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1994 YA horror novel One Evil Summer by R.L. Stine.
  
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 2006 science fantasy story “Another Word for Map is Faith” by Christopher Rowe
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• The Masters of the Universe fan film Fall of Grayskull: Rise of the Horde is looking for funding.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• The 2024 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland, has released the agenda for the WSFS Business Meeting,
• Mike Glyer points out that two resolutions, though submitted to the Business Meeting and to be read out there, are not included in the Business Meeting agenda due to potential conflicts with Scottish libel law.  
• Locus reports about the 2024 StokerCon in San Diego, California.
  
• Rich Lynch shares photos of the 2024 NASFIC in Buffalo, New York. 
• Rich Lynch shares even more photos of the 2024 NASFIC in Buffalo, New York. 
• Rich Lynch shares yet more photos of the 2024 NASFIC in Buffalo, New York.   
• The 2025 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, has named Brandon O'Brien their official poet laureate. 
• Mike Glyer reports that Larry Niven will be the guest of honour at the 2024 Loscon in Los Angeles, California.
  
• Heidi MacDonald looks ahead at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California, and shares some programming highlights. 
• Germain Lussier shares the fifteen coolest things he saw at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con.
  
• Germain Lussier shares some things he is sad won't be presented at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California. 
• Matt Schimkowitz reports about the Transformers One panel at San Diego Comic Con. 
• Justin Carter reports about the DC Absolute Comics panel at San Diego Comic Con. 
  
• Cheryl Eddy reports about some pop-up activities at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con.
  
• Lewis Gordon reports about the Glasgow Independent Game Festival in Glasgow, Scotland.
  
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on a stage adaptation of Dracula playing in Sydney, Australia. 
• Christine Howey reports about a musical version of the movie Groundhog Day by Tim Minchin, which is currently playing in Cleveland, Ohio. 
• Steven H. Silver reports about a performance of  The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale in Chicago, Illinois.
  
• Jake Kanter reports about TERF, a play by Joshua Kaplan about the transphobia views of J.K. Rowling that will debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Michelle Starr reports that the Curiosity Mars Rover has cracked open a Martian rock and found sulphur crystals inside. 
• Margherita Bassi reports that astronomers have proposed new criteria for classifying planets, but that these will not reinstate Pluto.
• Kerry Breen reports that NASA has shared some never before seen images of the so-called peacock galaxy, taken by the Chandra-X observatory. 
• Elizabeth Rayne reports about an exo-planet that was initially assumed to be a gas giant, but turned out to be a frozen super-Earth. 
• Jacob Wilde has a possible explanation for the Fermi Paradox.
  
• Nicola Davis reports that the UK Space Agency has given 300000 GBP in funding to ten companies attempting to develop a way to generate clean water on the Moon. 
• Jacek Krywko reports about the quest to build a nuclear-powered spaceship. 
• Marcia Dunn reports that there is no return date yet for the Boeing Starliner capsule and the astronauts stranded at the International Space Station.
  
• Tiernan P. Doyle reports that NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, will name a building after mathematician Dorothy Vaughan. 
• Carey Gillam reports that weeding robots might eventually make pesticides unnnecessary.
  
• Scott Detrow reports about a newly discovered dinosaur species found in Utah. 
• John Otis reports that cocaine has been found in sharks off the coast of Brazil.
  
• Simon Hattenstone talks about the Robertson family who were shipwrecked in the Pacific for 38 days in 1971. 
• Emine Saner interviews Gaynor Madgwick who survived the Aberfan disaster in Aberfan, Wales, in 1966 at the age of eight.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Joe DelFranco is not impressed with Concord by Firewalk Studios
• James Whitbrook interviews Thomas Marrone and James Swallow, art director and writer of Star Trek Online. 
  
• Gordon Jackson reports that employee of Blizzard, the company behind World of Warcraft, have formed a union.
• James Whitbrook reports that SAG-AFTRA has announced that video game actors will be going on strike.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Two-Bad action figure set and finds that a character in the enclosed mini-comic has been named after him.. 
  
• Pixel Dan reviews the Mattel Street Sharks Ripster, Slash and Jab action figures.
• Scott Neitlich shares some background on the Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Ceratus action figure. 
• James Whitbrook shares his favourite exclusive toys and collectibles for sale at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California. 
• Pixel Dan shares a video of the Mattel booth at San Diego Comic Con with new Masters of the Universe Origins, Masterverse, Cartoon Collection and Turtles of Grayskull figures revealed. 
• Pixel Dan shares another video of the Mattel booth at San Diego Comic Con with new Masters of the Universe Origins, Masterverse, Cartoon Collection and Turtles of Grayskull figures revealed. 
  
• Pixel Dan shares a video of the crowdfunded Mattel Masters of the Universe Snake Lair playset 
  
• Pixel Dan shares a video of newly revealed Hasbro Marvel Legends figures at San Diego Comic Con. 
• James Whitbrook shares a look at LEGO's Dungeons & Dragons mini-figures.
  
• Scott Neitlich reports that his YouTube channel is having copyright problems again, this time involving royalty free music used in his videos.
  
• For Eternia reports that toymaker Hasbro may be trying to purchase its rival Mattel.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Aliens Said They Wanted to Party" by Joel W. D. Buxton in Lightspeed. 
• "A Guide on How to Meet the Deity of Many Faces" by Oyedotun Damilola Muees in Lightspeed. 
• "This Unintelligible World" by Samuel Chapman in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
• "God’s Breath" by W.A. Hamilton in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Born Outside" by Polenth Blake in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Happiness Institute" by AnaMaria Curtis in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Midnight Spa" by Sunwoo Jeong in Uncanny Magazine
  
• "Growing Swirling Clouds" by T.K. Rex in Apex Magazine.
• "The Angel's Share" by Martin Cahill in Reactor.
  
• "Father Ash" by Rachel Hartman in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "Phantom Taste of Apricot on My Tongue" by Richard Leis in Nightmare Magazine. 
  
• "Solivagant" by Angela Slatter in The Dark.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Transformers One.
  
• Watch a trailer for The Becomers.
• Watch a trailer for Doctor Jekyll. 
• Watch a teaser for Wynonna Earp: Vengeance. 
• Watch a trailer for Kaos.
  
• Watch a trailer for Joker: Folie A Deux. 
• Watch a trailer for Citadel Diana. 
• Watch a trailer for Speak No Evil.
  
• Watch a trailer for Cuckoo. 
• Watch a trailer for Terrifier 3. 
• Watch a trailer for Shine On - The Forgotten Shining Location