Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for October 18, 2024

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the problem of toxic fans, Masters of the Universe in general, Agatha All Along and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, What We Do in the Shadows, My Hero Academia: You're Next, The Penguin, Joker: Folie a Deux, Terrifier 3, Smile 2, The Franchise, Teacup and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares the best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror books. 
• Elly Griffiths shares her ten favourite SFF, horror and mystery short stories.  
• Alex Brown shares their favourite speculative short fiction for September 2024.
  
• Nathan Ballingrud argues that pitting literary fiction against genre fiction is inherently silly. 
• Dave Hook shares his favourite speculative fiction pen names. 
• Tom Ryan shares six suspense and horror novels featuring mysterious mansions.  
• Aaron Jones discusses the changing way in which science fiction and fantasy handle the issue of mental health. 
• Ratika Deshpande shares five science fiction stories about the intersection of science and ethics.
  
• Leah Blaine shares five poems about witches. 
• Paula Munier shares stories inspired by The Odyssey. 
• Vivian Nguyen reports about the growing popularity of LitRPG.
  
• Abi Walton talks about the evolving, living art of creating physical books.
  
• Bobby Derie shares an overview of Dracula serials published in English language newspapers between 1899 and 1928. 
  
• Deborah Levy shares her appreciation for the work of J.G. Ballard.
• Dennis Wilson Wise profiles Judy-Lynn Del Rey.
  
• Lindsay Meerbaum shares some SFF-inspired cocktails. 
• SFF writer and editor Zoe Kaplan has died aged only 28.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Crossexamining Crime reviews Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel by Agatha Christie and Bob Al-Greene  
  
• Brad Hawley reviews Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia 
• Jake Kleinman revisits the 1985 Superman comic "For the Man Who Has Everything" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
  
• Steven Heller profiles Dale Messick, creator of Brenda Starr.
  
• Mike Glyer reports that J. Michael Straczynski will be writing a series of Marvel Comics one-shots featuring unlikely character pairings.
• Gordon Jackson reports that DC Comics is releasing a new range of online comics formated for mobile devices under the label DC Go! 
• Issue 85 of Journey Planet about LGBTQ characters in comics is now available.
  
• Read several comics about how to stop Donald Trump's Project 2025.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about listening to audiobooks at double speed.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Charlie Jane Anders discusses the issue of toxic fans.  
• Aaron Jones shares his thoughts on season 2 of The Rings of Power.
  
• Lindsay Ribar shares her favourite moments from season 2 of Our Flag Means Death.
  
• Lorinda Donovan calls Hold Your Breath an unconventional horror film portraying the huge, crushing burdens faced by the wives and mothers of the Dust Bowl.
  
• Kayleigh Dray declares that season 4 of Ghosts feels as consistently cozy as ever.  
• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls Rumours a surreal satire.
  
• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon  
• Catherine Bray calls the French horror film MadS an impressive exercise in tension and mood
• Leslie Felperin calls Members Club a gory comedy horror film about male strippers meeting bloodthirsty witches. 
• Catherine Bray calls Children of the Pines an David Lynch-style teen-angst horror film.
  
• Vance Kotrla calls Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched a sprawling, exhaustive (and exhausting?) documentary about folk horror films
  
• Lucy Mangan calls the paranormal documentary Hauntings meaningless nonsense without a spark of wit. 
  
• Maya Salam shares tips for people who are scared of watching horror films.
• Ben Child wonders what the future might hold for James Bond. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Matthew Scott Kane and David A. Goodman, writers and producers of Hysteria. 
• Gabriella Paiella interviews Harrison Ford, star of the Star Wars movies, the Indiana Jones movies and many others.
  
• Kenji Fujishima revisits the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
  
• Katie Rife revisits the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1935 horror film Werewolf of London and the 1958 horror film The Haunted Strangler.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1951 science fiction film The Lost Continent and the 1961 science fiction film The Phantom Planet.
  
• Conrad Molden revisits the 1961 Danish monster movie Reptilicus. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1971 horror movie The Brotherhood of Satan and the 1973 horror movie Psychomania
  
• Matthew Jackson looks back on the many horror movies of 1974.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1975 slasher film Black Christmas and the 1981 slasher film The Prowler.  
• Audrey Engvalson shares some behind the scenes facts about the 1975 horror musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1976 horror movie Carrie.
  
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1984 science fiction film Starman.
• Paul Morton revisits the 1984 dystopian movie Red Dawn.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1994 Babylon 5 episode “A Distant Star”
  
• Ann Michelle Harris revisits the 1999 horror movie The Sixth Sense. 
• Stephanie Castañeda shares a look at the wax head that Lon Chaney used to create his various make-up looks.
  
• Jo Vito reports that director Kevin Smith has regained control of his 1999 religious fantasy film Dogma from the Weinstein Company who had purchased the rights and will take the film on tour for its twenty-fifth anniversary. 
• Jake Kanter reports that Fifteenth Doctor actor Ncuti Gatwa jumped the fun when he mentioned in an interview that Doctor Who had been renewed for his third series.
  
• Cheryl Eddy reports that Krypto the Superdog in Superman Legacy was inspired by writer and director James Gunn's own rescue dog. 
• Ethan Shanfield reports that Rainbow Brite is getting s reboot.
  
• Jake Kanter reports that the claymation studio Aardman Animation has suffered massive losses and is cutting jobs.
  

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general: 

• Cora Buhlert reviews Masters of the Universe Revolution Prequel #4 by Ted Biaselli, Rob David, Tim Sheridan and Daniel HDR
  
• Todd Luck reviews Turtles of Grayskull No. 1 by Tim Seeley and Freddy Williams II.
• The Battle Ram Blog shares some facts about Castle Grayskull.
  
• James Eatock takes a look at some He-Man references and inspirations in the Filmation Ghostbusters cartoon.
  

 

Comments on Agatha All Along and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general: 

• Matt Webb Mitovich shares his thoughts on "Familiar by Thy Side", the latest episode of Agatha All Along.
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on "Familiar by Thy Side", the latest episode of Agatha All Along.
• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on "Familiar by Thy Side", the latest episode of Agatha All Along. 
• Gordon Jackson shares his thoughts on "Familiar by Thy Side", the latest episode of Agatha All Along. 

 

Comments on My Hero Academia: You're Next: 

• Phil Hoad calls My Hero Academia: You’re Next an old-style superhero battle anime with hint of the surreal 
• Ann Michelle Harris declares that inspite of a predictable opening, My Hero Academia: You’re Next finished strong in the second half.
  

 

Comments on Teacup: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 3 of Teacup.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 4 of Teacup.

 

Comments on What We Do in the Shadows: 

• Cheryl Eddy interviews Paul Simms, writer and producer of What We Do in the Shadows. 
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Mark Proksch who plays Colin Robinson in What We Do in the Shadows.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Matt Berry who plays Lazlo in What We Do in the Shadows.
  

 

Comments on Terrifier 3:

• Cheryl Eddy interviews Damien Leone, director of Terrifier 3. 
• Brian Davids interviews David Howard Thornton who plays Art the Clown in the Terrifier series.
• Pamela McClintock discusses how Terrifier 3 became one of the very few unrated movies to get mainstream distribution and how it upends the US ratings system. 
• Mary Kate Carr reports that children and teenagers are buying tickets for The Wild Robot, only to sneak into Terrifier 3. 
  
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Terrifier 3 tops the US box office, while Joker: Folie à Deux continues to underperform.
• The Guardian wonders why a disgusting B-horror film like Terrifier 3 is at the top of the US box office. 
• Jesse Hassenger explains why the low budget Terrifier movies became such a phenomenon. 
  
• Justin Carter reports that the Terrifier series is about to become a video game.
  

 

Comments on Smile 2:  

• Benjamin Lee calls Smile 2 a familiar horror sequel.
  
• Jesse Hassenger calls Smile 2 a well-crafted horror repeat  
• Matt Schimkowitz calls Smile 2 a superior sequel.
  

 

Comments on Joker: Folie à Deux: 

• Zack Sharf reports that screenwriter Paul Schrader has called Joker: Folie à Deux a really bad musical and that he couldn't tolerate more than ten minutes of the film.
  
• TMZ interviews Connor Storrie, the actor who plays an important role in the divisive ending of Joker: Folie à Deux. 
  
• William Hughes reports that Joker: Folie À Deux has experienced the worst second weekend box office drop ever for a comic book movie. 
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Joker: Folie à Deux is expected to lose 150 to 200 million US-dollar during its theatrical run. 
• Andrew Pulver reports that Joker: Folie à Deux is on track for a catastrophic loss. 
• Mary Kate Carr compares that financial disaster that is Joker: Folie à Deux with a scene of the Joker lighting stacks of money on fire in The Dark Knight.
• Phil Hoad wonders why Joker: Folie à Deux lost so much money and how on Earth it cost so much in the first place? 
  
• Ben Dalton reports that Transformers One has dethroned Joker: Folie à Deux at the UK and Irish box office.
  

 

Comments on The Penguin: 

• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Penguin.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Penguin.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Penguin. 

 

Comments on The Franchise: 

•  Rachel Aroesti calls The Franchise a hilarious superhero spoof.
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Franchise. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Franchise. 
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2024 British Fantasy Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2024 Phoenix and Rebel Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2024 Prix Utopiales have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 SFPA Poetry Contest have been announced. 
• The 2025 Seattle Worldcon has announced a short story writing contest.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• The authors shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize share their inspiration. 
• Marybeth Mayhew Whalen talks about excavating your past through writing.
  
• Ellen Peirson-Hagger profiles writers who nearly gave up on writing.
  
• Sarah Manavis reports that bookstores have suddenly become cool again with young readers.
• Rachel Ulatowski reports that politicians and book banning activists in Utah have held a public celebration to celebrate the passing of a book banning law in Utah and that they have called for authors of banned books to repent. 
• Rachel Ulatowski also reports that book banning activists in Utah are going after Little Free Libraries.
  
• Leonard Riggio, longtime head of Barnes & Noble, has died aged 83.
  

 

Interviews:

• The Guardian interviews Stephen King. 
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews J. Michael Straczynski
  
• Scott Edelman interviews John Chu.
  
• Fiona Denton interviews Shauna Lawless.
• Adam McPhee interviews Bryn Hammond. 
• Kevin Beckett interviews Graham Thomas Wilcox.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Aman J. Bedi. 
• Locus interviews Ananda Lima.
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews David Wragg
• Paul Weimer interviews Oliver Brackenbury. 
• Trish Matson interviews Oliver Brackenbury, Bryn Hammond and Dariel R.A. Quiogue.
  

 

Reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord 
• Marlene Harris reviews In the Shadow of the Ship by Aliette de Bodard 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky  
• Mark Yon reviews Out of the Drowning Deep by A.C. Wise. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal and tries a recipe from the book. 
  
• Sukhdev Sandhu reviews The Great When by Alan Moore 
• C.T. Phipps reviews City in the Dragon’s Eye by Jordan Loyal Short 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The City of Glass by Nghi Vo. 
• Marion Deeds reviews One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig 
  
• Julia Kitvaria Sarene reviews Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano 
• Niall Harrison reviews The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca
  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Daughter’s War by Christopher Buehlman 
• Lis Bourke reviews Asunder by Kerstin Hall
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim, translated by Anton Hur 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Metal From Heaven by August Clarke
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Ghost Apparent by Jelena Dunato 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Starling House by Alix E Harrow
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Village Library Demon Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner 
• Alex Brown reviews If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews What We Sacrifice for Magic by Andrea Jo DeWerd 
• Marlene Harris reviews Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa 
• Crossexamining Crime reviews Mirror Lake by Juneau Black  
  
• Rachel Seiffert reviews Juice by Tim Winton
• Chris Kluwe reviews Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris 
  
• Mahvesh Murad reviews The Hysterical Girls of St Bernadette’s by Hanna Alkaf 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Hysterical Girls of St Bernadette’s by Hanna Alkaf 
  
• Ian Mond reviews Napalm in the Heart by Pol Guasch 
• Randy Money reviews My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones.
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Model Home by Rivers Solomon  
• Jen Lucas reviews This Cursed House by Del Sandeen
  
• Rob Bedford reviews Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Stay In the Light by A.M. Shine 
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine 
• John Self reviews A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell 
• Joe DelFranco reviews Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier

 

Classics reviews:

• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1869 science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1956 Simon Ark occult mystery The Wolves of Werclaw by Edward D. Hoch 
  
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1960 science fiction adventure novel The High Crusade by Poul Anderson.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1963 horror story "Nightmare on Ice" by Peter Laynham a.k.a. John S. Glasby.
  
• Moid Moidelhofd revisits the 1967 dystopian story "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison,
• Gideon Marcus revisits the November 1969 issue of Galaxy.
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1969 post-apocalyptic YA novel Heartsease by Peter Dicksinson, Victoria Silverwofl revisits the 1969 sword and planet novels Worlds of the Wall by C. C. MacApp and The Avengers of Carrig by John Brunner, Jason Sacks revisits the 1969 science fiction novel Masque World by Alexei Panshin, Tonya R. Moore revisits the 1969 science fantasy novel The Shadow People by Margaret St. Clair and George Pritchard revisits the 1969 science fiction adventure novel Postmarked the Stars by Andre Norton.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1971 horror story “The Smell of Death” by Dennis Etchison 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1971 horror novel Crawlspace by Herbert Lieberman.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1973 horror story “In the Pines” by Karl Edward Wagner 
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1974 non-fiction book In Search of Lake Monsters by Peter Costello.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1983 horror collection Houses of Horror by Richard Winer.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1987 horror novel Torture Tomb by C. Dean Andersson
• Alan Brown revisits the 1993 cozy horror novel A Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. 
• Runalong the Shelves revisits the 2014 Southern Reach post-apocalyptic novel Authority by Jeff VanderMeer  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 2015 horror novel The Tent by Kealan Patrick Burke
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Mike Glyer reports that Jon Del Arroz has been permanently banned from Kickstarter for violating community guidelines.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Runalong the Shelves reports about the 2024 Fantasycon in Chester, UK.
  
• WisCon announces that the 2025 WisCon will be online only. 
• Germain Lussier lists some of the artists who will be attending New York Comic Con in New York City. 
• Matt Schimkowitz reports about the Starship Troopers panel at New York Comic Con. 
• James Whitbrook reports about a display of costumes from the upcoming TV-show Daredevil: Born Again,
  
• Ellen Datlow shares photos of the latest Fantastic Fiction Reading at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring Sarah Langan and David Leo Rice
• Ali Karim reports about an advance screening of the new Salem's Lot in London, UK.
  
• Leah Thomas talks about her visit to Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Japan. 
• Germain Lussier reports that the Epic Universe region will open at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, in May 2025.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Marcia Dunn reports that NASA has managed to launch the Europa Clipper space probe following delays due to hurricane Milton.
  
• William Harwood reports that SpaceX has successfully managed to recapture the first stage of its Starship rocket via mechanical arms.
  
• Geoff Brumfiel talks about the environmental damage that SpaceX is doing at its launch site in Brownville, Texas. 
• Abid Rahman reports that Alex Proyas, director of the 2004 science fiction film I, Robot, has accused Elon Musk of copying designs from the movie for various Tesla products.
  
• Rebeca Gonçalves explains how plant food could be grown on Mars. 
• Stuart Heritage reports about NotebookLM, a new AU program which generates podcasts with artificial voices.
• Todd Feathers reports that parents in Massachusetts have sued their son's high school after their son received a bad grade and detention for using generative AI to write a paper. 
  
• Dana G. Smith asks if we have reached the peak human life span.
• Anthony Bourdain talks about the case of Mary Mallon a.k.a. Typhoid Mary and what her profession as a cook had to do with it.
  
• Ward Christensen, inventor of the BBS Bulletin Board System used by many internet forums, has died aged 78.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Ash Parrish reviews Metaphor: ReFantazio.
• Gordon Jackson interviews Chris Jenkins, creative editor for Dungeons & Dragons about the new Dungeon Master's Guide.  
• Winston Cho reports that Microsoft has settled an antitrust lawsuit brought against them by gamers over Microsoft puchasing Activision/Blizzard. 
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Figure Fan Zero reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Evil-Lyn and Webstor action figures. 
• Still a Big Kid reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Teela action figure.
  
• Figure Fan Zero reviews the Star Trek The Next Generation TR-580 Medical Tricorder 3D Printed Model by Tankz3dtavern
• Mia Nutick reviews the Folkmanis Mouse in Shoe and Genie in Lamp puppets. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares a look at the Lego Marvel X-Men X-Mansion set. 
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Autonomy of a Murder" by Russell Nichols in Lightspeed. 
  
• "Bliss" by Lindsey Duncan in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "Street Theater" by Jon Hansen in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Three Drops in the River" by Marissa Lingen in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
  
• "Fishing the Intergalactic Stream" by Louis Inglis Hall in Clarkesworld. 
• "A Goddess Has Several Options" by Chantelle Chiwetalu in Omenana.
• "The Winnowing Metric" by Ian Tregillis in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "The Widening Waste" by Mario Carić in Swords and Heroes.
• "The Price of Moss" by Akis Linardos in Apex Magazine.
• "Bright Hearts" by Kaaron Warren in Reactor.
• "Halcyon Afternoon" by Michael Swanwick in Reactor. 
  
• "Ruminants" by Kay Chronister in The Dark.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Arcane.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Silo. 
• Watch a clip from season 7 of Outlander. 
• Watch a trailer for Dune: Prophecy.
• Watch a trailer for The Electric State.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Invincible. 
• Watch a trailer for The Legend of Ochi.
  
• Watch a trailer for Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
  
• Watch a trailer for Like Water For Chocolate.
• Watch a trailer for The Monkey.
  
• Watch an ad for DeLorean Labs featuring Christopher Lloyd receiving a gift from the future.