Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 26, 2023

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Wars in general, American Born Chinese, Mrs. Davis, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Yellowjackets, the new Little Mermaid, the WGA strike, Sudowrite and the debate about AI writing in general, book bannings in the US, a controversy involving the far right BasedCon, an upcoming character death in the Marvel universe, tributes to Ray Stevenson, Martin Amis and Tina Turner and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Tobias Carroll shares the best small press science fiction and fantasy coming out in May and June 2023. 
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF feel-good comfort reads. 
• Cole Rush shares five SFF tales that make him feel better about the world.
  
• James Davis Nicoll discusses five ways science fiction writers side-step the problem of relativity. 
• Cole Rush shares five SFF stories in which the Moon is more than just a moon. 
• James Davis Nicoll lists five surprisingly sympathetic supervillains.
  
• Blue Rose attempts to explain romantic fantasy.
  
• Naoise Dolan points out that happily ever after doesn't necessarily have to mean marriage. 
• Aja Romano explains how puritanism first took over online fandom spaces and then all leaked out into the rest of the Internet.
  
• Judith Tarr shares her appreciation for the Tiger Eye paranormal mysteries by Alyssa Day.
  
• Max Gladstone talks about finding his time travel novella This Is How You Lose the Time War hitting the Amazon bestseller list after a viral tweet by one Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood.
  
• Genevieve Cogman discusses how to reimagine The Scarlet Pimpernel for a modern audience.
  
• Olivia Rutigliano talks about all the monsters both actual and metaphorical in Charlotte Bronte's 1848 gothic novel Jane Eyre. 
• Lucy Knight reports that evidence suggests that Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit was inspired by the Brer Rabbit folktales from the pre-Civil.War South and therefor by African folklore.  
• Molly Templeton discusses two types of unforgettable reading experiences.
  
• Michael Bond explains why fandom is good for you.
  
• British writer Martin Amis has died aged 73. 
• Locus remembers Martin Amis.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Christian Holub reports about a major character death in an upcoming Marvel comic (spoilers).
• James Whitbrook also reports about Marvel's upcoming character death.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that the upcoming Marvel character death has already sparked a massive backlash.
• Rachel Cooke reviews Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham. 
• Molly Templeton reports about a mystery regarding who illustrated the iconic cover for the 1976 paperback edition of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.
  
• Bill Ward takes a look at the many different covers Fred Saberhagen's books have had over the years. 
• Rich Johnston reports that Roy Thomas is not happy about the Fire and Ice comics published by Dynamite, because he and Gerry Conway were not involved in spite of writing the screenplay for the Fire and Ice movie.
  
• Graeme McMillan reports that Image Comics has ditched Diamond as its distributor and will now exclusives use Lunar.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon on late night reading.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Joel Golby calls Poker Face a perfect detective show that turns up the fun-o-meter until it explodes  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Asteroid City an exhilarating triumph of pure style.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Inland Empire a fascinatingly unwholesome altered states horror film.
  
• Arturo Serrano calls The Big Door Prize a science fiction series that will make you reconsider your life choices.
• Jeff Spry calls Crater an old-fashioned kids' sci-fi flick with out-of-this-world charm
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls Huesera: The Bone Woman a Mexican film about the horrors of motherhood. 
• Leslie Felperin calls The Resurrection of Charles Manson a horror thriller that's not really about Charles Manson and a tital mess besides.
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.
  
• Monita Mohan shares her thoughts on the series finale of Titans and points out that the characters were the reason to watch the show.
  
• Phuong Le calls Boonie Bears: Guardian Code a formulaic animated kids film with the ecological subtext. 
• Phil Hoad calls the animated film My Fairy Troublemaker a little flat, but feels that children will enjoy it. 
  
• Ben Child wonders whether The Creator is the first in a new wave of science fiction movies about artificial intelligence.
• Germain Lussier shares some early reactions to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and wonders whether the movie might actually be good. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares early reactions to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
  
• Tom Smyth wonders why Disney's newer animated movies no longer have villains.
• Lorna Wallace lists five of the scariest scenes from animated movies aimed at kids. 
• Ian Spelling shares twenty-two blockbusters which made a lot of money and yet are completely forgotten. 
  
• Jen Lennon and Cindy White share the ten worst TV series finales of all time.
  
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1968 horror movie Witchfinder General. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1968 science fiction films Battle Beneath the Earth and The Astro-Zombies.
  
• Josh Spiegel revisits the 1973 Disney animated adventure film Robin Hood. 
• Germain Lussier revisits the 1981 adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  
• Anthony Breznican revisits the making of the 1983 alien invasion TV series V.
  
• Dan Persons revisits the 1989 time travel movie Back to the Future Part II.
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Azati Prime".
• Melissa Kagen discusses the character of Aunt Nora in the Jumanji movies and how she shows that women are not expected to play games, only to facilitate others playing.   
• Cheryl Eddy shares ten horror movies that will persuade you to switch off social media.
  
• Ranker ranks the best Hercules movies.
• Adam B. Vary interviews Paddy Considine who plays Viserys Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
  
• Sabina Graves interviews Joe Dante and Tze Chun, creator and showrunner of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
• Abby Aguirre interviews Margot Robbie, star of The Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, Barbie and I, Tonya.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that the advertising campaign for The Flash is very strange, relying mainly on celebrities calling it the best film ever, probably because star Ezra Miller has become toxic due to their erratic and criminal behaviour.
  
• Brent Lang and Tatiana Siegel lament that there is no new generation of film stars which command the same attention and box office draw as the generation of the 1970s and 1980s. 
  
• Jacob Oller explains how venture capitalism took over Hollywood.
• Alex Zalben laments the impending end of the CW network and its stable of popular shows with a diverse cast for mostly younger and geeky audiences. 
• Justin Carter reports that Disney is sitting on a finished ten episode animated Alien vs. Predator series that will probably never see the light of day.
  
• Nellie Andreeva reports that Disney is removing dozens of TV series and movies from Disney Plus, including Willow, Y: The Last Man, Turner and Hooch, Pistol and many others. 
• Screewriter Jake Thornton, who co-wrote The Princess, one of the movies being pulled from Disney Plus, weighs in on the decision. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw points out that everybody hates the rebranded HBO Max streaming service.
• CBC News reports that the beloved Pic-a-Flic video store in Vancouver, Canada, is about to close and that its collection of rare movies on videotape is endangered. 
  
• Director, writer and Hollywood historian Kenneth Anger has died aged 96.
  
• Irish actor Ray Stevenson, who appeared in the Thor movies, Punisher: War Zone, the Divergent series, Dexter, Ahsoka, Rome, RRR and many others, has died aged 58. 

 

Tributes to Tina Turner: 

• Singer and actress Tina Turner, who appeared in Mad Max 3: Beyond the Thunderdome and Tommy and sang the theme song for the James Bond movie Golden Eye, has died aged 83. 
• William Grimes shares an obituary for Tina Turner. 
• Alexis Petridis remembers Tina Turner. 

 

Comments on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Jen Lennon reports about some behind the scenes trouble between Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and Marvel head Ike Perlmutter in 2015, which almost derailed the Marvel Cinematic Universe for good.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw wonders what it means that Echo is being released all at once on Disney Plus, while other Marvel shows had weekly releases. 
• Sean Gunn, who plays Kraglin in Guardians of the Galaxy, shares his favourite songs from the movie trilogy.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars in general: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin points out that 3-CPO is actually awesome in Return of the Jedi.
• Ben Croll interviews Rodrigo Blaas who created the Star Wars Visions episode "Sith". 
• Germain Lussier notes that Pedro Pascal isn't in The Mandalorian suit all that much and that much of his performance as Din Djarin is voice only. 
  

 

Comments on American Born Chinese: 

• Saloni Gajjar calls American Born Chinese an entertaining science fiction adventure elevated by its star-studded cast. 
  
• Leila Latif notes that in spite of the star-studded supporting cast of American Born Chinese, the real joy is the interplay between the two young lead actors.
  

 

Comments on Mrs. Davis: 

• Arturo Serrano calls Mrs. Davis a lofty tower of nested metaphors about the many meanings of love
• Leah Schnelbach wonders how to even discuss Mrs. Davis.
  

 

Comments on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: 

• Owen Gleiberman calls Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny a joyless piece of nostalgic hokum.
  
• Garth Franklin shares some early reviews of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

 

Comments on Yellowjackets: 

• Hattie Lindert shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 
• Maggie Tokuda-Hall recommends some books for the characters of Yellowjackets.
  

 

Comments on the new The Little Mermaid: 

• Peter Debruge notes that the new The Little Mermaid risks drowning the audience in visual effects, but praises the performances of Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy.
• Ellen E. Jones declares that the new Little Mermaid doesn't capture the magic of the 1989 animated film, but also praises the performance of Halle Bailey. 
• Leigh Monson calls the new Little Mermaid a watered down remake, but also praises the performance of Halle Bailey. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls the new Little Mermaid an overlong remake that cannot match the original and also praises the performance of Halle Bailey.
  
• Alex Abad-Santos wonders why the new Little Mermaid looks so bad.
  

 

Comments on the strike of the Writers Guild of America:

• Linda Codega reports that ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots will not save Hollywood studios from the WGA strike. 
• Trek Movie reports that several Star Trek actors have been spotted on the WGA picket lines, supporting Star Trek writers.
  
• Catherine Shoard reports that actor and director Sean Penn has expressed his solidarity with the striking WGA writers.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw wonders whether Ryan Reynolds can still improvise and ad-lib lines for Deadpool 3, which is currently filming, or whether that would be considered a violation of the WGA strike. 
• The MWA has issued a statement in support of the WGA.
  
• Justin Carter reports that college graduates have heckled Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslay during a graduation ceremony at Boston University in Boston, Massachussetts. 
• James Grebey remembers how the 2007/2008 WGA strike affected the TV show Heroes.
  

 

Awards:

• The shortlist for the 2023 Ignyte Awards has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Mythopoeic Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2023 Premio Vegetti have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Future Worlds Prize have been announced. 
• The Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog argues that there should be an US National SFF Award, since American writers and fans can't always claim the Hugos and Nebulas as theirs.
  
• The Bram Stoker Awards have announced some rule changes. 
• Ahrvid Engholm announces the creation of the Bertil Falk Space Opera Prize. 
• Sarah Shaffi reports that the British coffeeshop chain Caffè Nero is launching a book award. 
• TikTok announces the TikTok Book Awards UK and Ireland.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• E.J. Cooperman explains that in order to write compelling characters, you need to find the source of their pain.
  
• Melissa Yi explains how to write better Asian characters. 
• M.P. Woodward explains what creating war games taught him about writing. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about the importance of rest for creatives.
  
• Victoria Strauss shares editing clauses in publishing contracts to watch out for. 
• Robert Dahlin notes that book banning in the US has never been worse. 
• Hannah Natanson reports that the rise in book banning attempts particularly targets LGBTQ books. 
• Austin Bailey reports about a fight about book banning attempts in Saline County, Arkansas.
  
• Sarah Shaffi reports that a book has been returned to a public library in St. Helena, California, 96 years late. 
• Rick Kogan reports that the owners of the Centuries & Sleuths crime and mystery bookstore in Chicago, Illinois, are planning to retire and are looking for new owners. 
  
• Peter Beaumont report that Masha Gessen has resigned from the PEN America board after some Ukrainian writers complained about Russian anti-government writers being allowed to take part in a festival.
  

 

Comments on the AI controversy: 

• Jason Sanford reports about a controversy surrounding the AI writing program Sudowrite.
  
• Mike Glyer reports that science fiction writer S.B. Divya is promoting the AI writing bot Sudowrite and received a lot of backlash for it.
  
• Rose Eveleth reports how Sudowrite, yet another AI writing bot, was caught out having illegally scraped fanfiction sites by using the term "knotting" in the way writers of so-called Omegaverse fanfic would use it. 
• Jack Bandy shares the dirty secrets of BookCorpus, a corpus created from books illegally scraped from Smashwords, etc... that was used to train AI programs like ChatGPT. 
• The UK Society of Authors releases a statement on artificial intelligence.
• The US Authors Guild also releases a statement on artificial intelligence.
  
• Sarah Shaffi reports about an uproar when it turned out that the cover art for the novel House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas was AI generated.

 

Interviews:

• Locus interviews Mary Robinette Kowal. 
• Locus interviews C.L. Clark. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Premee Mohamed.
  
• Anthony Cummins interviews M. John Harrison. 
• If This Goes On... Don't Panic interviews Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki.
• Paul Weimer interviews Stina Leicht.
  
• Michael Gallagher interviews Howard Andrew Jones.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews L. Marie Wood.
  
• Rebecca Liu interviews R.F. Kuang.
• Arley Sorg interviews Mark H. Harris.
  
• The HWA interviews Bryan Thao Worra. 
• Gordon B. White interviews Sadie Hartmann
  
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Rose Strickman.
  
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Patrick Jankiewicz.
  

 

Reviews:

• Charles Bonkowsky reviews The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown.
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway. 
• Russell Letson Reviews Rose/House by Arkady Martine
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Grave Danger by Alice James. 
• John Mauro reviews Witch King by Martha Wells.
  
• Michael Dodd reviews The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliott.
  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan. 
• Bridget Flanagan reviews Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto. 
• Marion Deeds reviews King Bullet by Richard Kadrey.
  
• Michael Dodd reviews The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart. 
• Clara Cohen reviews A Clockwork River by J. S. Emery 
• Lis Carey reviews Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch.
  
• Becky LeJeune reviews Paradise 1 by David Wellington.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion by K. Tempest Bradford.
• Alex Brown reviews That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams 
• Alex Brown reviews To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
  
• Ian Mond reviews Dazzling by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ 
• Lis Carey reviews A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. 
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Spite House by Johnny Compton
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong. 
  
• Nick Duerden reviews The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Ghost Goes to the Dogs by Cleo Coyle  
• Chris Kluwe reviews Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle.
  
• Mark Yon reviews Babel by R.F. Kuang. 
• Ian Mond reviews Flux by Jinwoo Chong 
• Arturo Serrano reviews The Mother by B.L. Blanchard.
  
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfař  
• Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds review Deadly Memory by David Walton.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Other Side of Never - Dark Tales From The World of Peter And Wendy, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane
• Runalong the Shelves reviews New Suns 2 - Original Speculative Fiction By People of Colour, edited by Nisi Shawl
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1934 Jirel of Joiry sword and sorcery story "Black God's Shadow" by C.L. Moore.
  
• The Cromcast revisits the 1934 Conan sword and sorcery story "Rogues in the House" by Robert E. Howard. 
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1949 Eric John Stark sword and planet novella "Enchantress of Venus" by Leigh Brackett.
  
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1953 science fiction story "The Infinities" by Phlip K. Dick and the 1955 science fiction story "Competition" by James Causey. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1955 science fiction story "The Golem" by Avram Davidson. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1959 science fiction story “The Man Who Lost the Sea” by Theodore Sturgeon
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1966 gothic romance The Secret of Mallet Castle by Clarissa Ross a.k.a. William Ross. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the June 1968 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1978 fairy tale retelling Beauty by Robin McKinley. 
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1978 anthology Lin Carter Presents The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories: 4, edited by Lin Carter.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1979 Kardios of Atlantis sword and sorcery story "The Edge of the World" by Manly Wade Wellman. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1980 science fiction novel Mockingbird by Walter Tevis. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1982 science fiction story "Triceratops" by Kono Tensei.
  
• Young People Read Old SFF revisit the 1985 weird western story "Hong's Bluff" by William F. Wu. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1986 non-fiction collection Microworlds: Writings on Science Fiction and Fantasy by Stanislaw Lem.
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1986 science fiction story “On the Inside Track” by Karl Michael Armer
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the February 1986 issue of White Dwarf. 
• Sam Reader revisits the 1987 horror story "The Reach" by Stephen King.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1995 anthology The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Twelfth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois. 
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 2002 Discworld fantasy novel Night Watch by Terry Pratchett.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• MV Media is looking for funding for the sword and soul comic Changa and the Jade Obelisk #3. 
• SFF writer and composer David McDonald needs help with moving costs. 
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Locus reports about the 2023 International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando, Florida. 
• Locus reports about the 2023 Norwescon in Seattle, Washington.
  
• Mike Glyer reports about a controversy involving the far right BasedCon in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Andy Chalk also reports about the controversy surrounding BasedCon. 
• Watch a video of the "Third Row" panel at Conversation, the 2023 Eastercon in Birmingham, UK, featuring John Coxon, Niall Harrison, Emily January and Abigail Nussbaum
• Luke Plunkett shares cosplay photos from the 2023 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo in Chicago, Illinois.
• Susan de Guardiola reports about the exhibition “Do It Yourself! Self-Publishing from Letterpress to LaserJet”, which includes several fanzines on display, in Cambridge, Massachussetts.
• John O'Neill reports about a visit to DreamHaven Book and Comics in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  
• Tshepo Mokoena reports about performers pretending to be mer-people for underwater shows and the like.
  
• Inspired by the failure of Disney World's immersive Star Wars themed hotel Galactic Starcruiser, Cass Morris muses how to make a Star Wars themed hotel work.
  

 

Science and technology:

• SciTech Daily reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered that the universe is even more vast than initially thought.
• Becky Ferreira wonders whether black holes aren't really giant structures made of spacetime.
  
  

Gaming: 

• Michael Baker reviews the video game Wartales.
  
• Justin Carter interviews Patricia Summersett who voices Zelda in the various Legend of Zelda videogames.
• Linda Codega shares ten tabletop games for fans of the Fast & Furious series.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "July 12th Through the Lens" by Lerato Mahlangu in Omenana.
• "All These Ghosts Are Playing to Win" by Lindsey Godfrey Eccles in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "The Blade's Bargain" by Robert Luke Wilkins in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.
  
• "In the Tomb of Melanius" by David Ferguson in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "The Whisper of That Blood" by Maria Haskins in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Only Kings and Doves" by M.S. Dean in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
  
• "Pretty Good Neighbor" by Jeffrey Ford in Tor.com. 
• "The Belfry Keeper" by S.L. Harris in Lightspeed. 
• "Blood for a Stranger" by Timothy Mudie in Lightspeed.
  
• "Thank Mother For Your Life" by Mary G. Thompson in Apex Magazine.
  
• "The Twin Paradox" by P.L. Watts in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "The Body Fate" by Avi Burton in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "The Words Beneath" by Michael Harris Cohen in The Dark.
• "The Fall" by Jordan Chase-Young in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Action at a Distance" by An Hao, translated by Andy Dudak in Clarkesworld.
• "Still Life With Cats" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  
• "Ghosts" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.   

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for The Flash. 
• Watch a trailer for Barbie.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen.
• Watch a trailer for Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.
  

 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for May 19, 2023

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the surprising bestseller succes of This Is How You Lose the Time War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Mulligan, Hypnotic, the WGA strike and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle shares a roundup of recent science fiction and fantasy books. 
• Bones, Books and Buffy shares eighteen upcoming fantasy books to enjoy.
  
• Lizz Schumer shares her twenty-five favourite fantasy books of all time. 
• Nina Allan shares the ten strangest alien invasion novels.
  
• Cole Rush shares five memorable fiction artificial intelligences.
• James Davis Nicoll shares five classic science fiction novels featuring advanced body modification.
  
• Jacqueline Holland shares seven novels and stories about the monsters among us. 
• Karen White shares her favourite haunted house novels. 
• Elisa Shoenberger shares eight fantasy books about working in the afterlife.
  
• Ratika Deshpande finds the perfect soundtrack for five fantasy worlds. 
• Randee Dawn lists six SFF authors who successfully adapted their own work for the screen.
  
• Lily Meyer finds some parallels between the 1999 film Ghost Dog and literary translation.
  
• Alexandra Alter profiles R.F. Kuang. 
• G.W. Thomas profiles weird fiction writer Carl Jacobi in a two-part post. 
• Jonathan Thronton shares his appreciation for the works of Tove Jansson.
• Robert Vaux explains how Frank Herbert felt about Dune's obvious influence of Star Wars.
  

 

The surprising sales boost of This Is How You Lose the Time War: 

• Amanda Silberling reports that the recommendation of Twitter user Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood gave This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone a bigger sales boost than winning the Pulitzer Prize gave Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead. 
• Linda Codega interviews the elusive Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Alasdair Stuart reviews Spirit World by Alyssa Wong and Haining.
• Jesse Schedeen reports that DC Comics will be introducing Wonder Woman's daughter Trinity.
• James Whitbrook reports that Archie Comics will introduce their first trans character in the horror comic Strange Science.
  
• Dad-at-Arms interviews Josh Sky, writer of the Masters of the Universe mini-comics.
• Zach Rabiroff interviews Ryan Liebowitz, owner of Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles, California. 
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the problems of writing dystopian science fiction.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Speculiction notes that The Handmaid's Tale TV show has declined significantly in seasons 3 and 4.
  
• Stuart Jeffries calls Black Knight a post-apocalyptic hellscape from South Korea. 
• Phil Hoad calls Restart the Earth a schlocky post-apocalyptic thriller from China.
  
• Haley Zapal shares her thoughts on season 2 of The Power. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.
  
• Phil Hoad finds a lot to like about the anime Re:cycle of the Penguindrum, but also finds it overly long
  
• Judith Tarr shares her thoughts on Turning Red.
  
• Hattie Lindert shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 
• Ashia Monet talks about the power of sight in the new Interview with the Vampire.
  
• Sabina Graves discusses the surprising popularity of the Australian animated series Bluey. 
• Leslie Felperin calls The Other Fellow a whimsical documentary about people who happen to be called James Bond and their famous namesake.
  
• Cheryl Eddy shares ten hopeful science fiction movies to stream right now. 
• Janice L. Newman and Gideon Marcus revisit the 1964 time travel movie The Time Travelers and the 1967 science fiction movie Countdown. 
  
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1968 Doctor Who serial "The Wheel in Space". 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Hatchery".
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Louis Leterrier, director of The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Transporter, Fast X and many others.
• Damian Holbrook interviews Jared Padalecki, star of Supernatural and Walker. 
  
• Devan Coggan interviews Robert and Michelle King, creators of Evil. 
• Emine Saner interviews Mara Wilson, star of Matilda and Miracle on 34th Street. 
• io9 interviews Rob Marshall, director of the live action Little Mermaid.
  
• Jonathan Clarke profiles Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. 
  
• Stuart Heritage is pleased that US TV shows are ending earlier than they used to, going out on a high rather than outstaying their welcome. 
  
• Ben Child wonders whether artificial intelligence will ever be able to create decent screenplays. 
• Justin Carter reports that Meg Foster, who played Evil-Lyn in the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, will voice the character of Motherboard in Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
  
• Nellie Andreeva reports that the Supernatural prequel The Winchesters has been cancelled after a single season. 
• K.L. Yossman reports that Netflix has cancelled Lockwood & Co. after only one season.
  
• Jill Goldsmith reports that Disney will pull some content off its Disney+ streaming service.

 

Comments on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Leah Schnelbach talks about the religious analogies in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
  
• Kyle Buchanan interviews James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
• io9 interviews Miriam Shor, who plays Recorder Vim in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 
• Eric Swann itnerviews Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, and learns that Clive Owen was initially supposed to play Tony Stark.
  

 

Comments on Mulligan: 

• Lucy Mangan calls Mulligan an animated post-apocalyptic comedy that's just not very funny.  
  
• Max Gao calls Mulligan a post-apocalyptic animated comedy that has trouble landing its jokes.
  

 

Comments on Hypnotic: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Hypnotic a goofy B-movie thriller that would like to be Inception.  
• Matthew Jackson interviews Robert Rodriguez, director of Hypnotic.
  
• Germain Lussier ranks all of Robert Rodriguez' SFF movies.
  

 

Comments on the strike of the Writers Guild of America:

• Joe Otterson reports that season 2 of The Last of Us is now completely on hold due to the WGA strike, after producers attempted to hold auditions by having actors read lines from the videogame the show is based upon.
• Nellie Andreeva reports that production of season 4 of The Mandalorian will be delayed due to the WGA strike. 
• Germain Lussier wonders what the WGA strike means for the other Star Wars shows in various states of production. 
• Linda Codega reports that the screen actors guild SAG-AFTRA may go on strike as well.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2022 Nebula Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Aurora Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Prix Imaginales have been announced.
• The winner of the 2023 Prix Imaginales de la Bande Dessinée has been announced.
• The winners of the 2023 Xingyun Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Vincent Preis have been announced. 
• The winner of the 2023 Prix Jacques Brossard has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Colorado Book Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Eisner Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 British Book Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Eurovision Book Contest have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Bafta TV Awards have been announced with no love for genre TV.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Candice Fox explains why opening lines are so crucial.
• Kate White shares seven fabulous thrillers and the craft lessons they teach
• Kellie Doherty talks about worldbuilding. 
• William C. Tracey shares tips and tricks for selling your book on Amazon.
  
• Locus reports about a controversy surrounding the literary agency New Leaf Literary and Media. 
• Publishers Weekly also reports about the New Leaf Literary and Media uproar. 
  
• Max Booth III reports that the golden age of indie horror may be coming to an end, because Barnes & Noble no longer wants its stores to stock print-on-demand books. 
• Locus reports that Penguin Random House, PEN America as well as parents, authors and teachers are sueing the Escambia County school district in Florida over book bans.
  

 

Interviews:

• Monsters, Madness and Magic interviews Michael Moorcock. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Martha Wells. 
• Locus interviews Mary Robinette Kowal.
  
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Jeff VanderMeer. 
• Moid Moidelhoff interviews Catherynne M. Valente.
  
• Cassandra Khaw and Lee Mandelo interview each other. 
• The HWA interviews Yvonne Navarro.
  
• Paul Weimer interviews Jules Sherred.
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews Gregory D. Mele. 
• Elizabeth Tabler interviews Alexander Darwin.
  
• Anthony Cummins interviews Ottessa Moshfegh. 
• Marian Amo interviews N.D. Jones.
  
• Angelique Fawns interviews Lloyd Penney.
• A fifth-grader interviews Oliver Brackenbury. 
• Paul Levinson interviews Spencer Hannabuss. 
  

 

Reviews:

• Paul Weimer reviews Witch King by Martha Wells. 
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
  
• Arturo Serrano reviews Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky 
• Liz Bourke reviews Rubicon by J.S. Dewes 
• Liz Bourke reviews Dragonfall by L.R. Lam. 
• John Mauro reviews A Drowned Kingdom by P.L. Stuart. 
• Martin Cahill reviews Dead Country by Max Gladstone.
  
• Adam Weller reviews The Navigating Fox by Christopher Rowe.
• Richard Fisher reviews The Lion of Skye by J.T.T. Ryder. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Master of Decimen City by Brenna Raney.
  
• Richard Marpole reviews Black Ice by Julia Blake. 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Other Lives of Miss Emily White by A.J. Elwood
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland. 
• Aigner Loren Wilson reviews Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
  
• Bill Capossere reviews The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence.
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde. 
  
• Ian Mond reviews Sing, Nightingale by Marie Hélène Poitras, translated by Rhonda Mullins. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Bloody Chorus by John Marco.
  
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews Feed Them Silence by Lee Mandelo
  
• Linda Codega reviews The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. 
• Maura Krause reviews That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams.
• Bobby Derie reviews Writhing Mind by Zoe Burgess-Foreman. 
• Sally Berrow reviews Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder. 
• Alex Brown reviews Linghun by Ai Jiang 
  
• Publishers Weekly reviews Between Princesses and Other Jobs by D.J. Butler. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Voice That Murmurs in the Darkness by James Tiptree, Jr.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews No One Will Come Back For Us by Premee Mohamed
  
• Nina Allan reviews Wish I Was Here by M. John Harrison. 
• Paperback Warrior reviews Steve Holland: Paperback Hero by Michael Stradford. 
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Bobby Derie revisits the 1920 ghost story collection The Death-Mask and Other Ghosts by H.D. Everett. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1950 YA science fiction novel Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1959 science fiction story "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1960 science fiction novel Corpus Earthling by Louis Charbonneau.
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1960 science fiction story "Chronopolis" by J.G. Ballard. 
• Fletcher Vredenburgh revisits the 1961 historical fantasy novel Jason by Henry Treece. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1962 science fiction collection All the Traps of Earth by Clifford D. Simak.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1968 Conan sword and sorcery story "Black Tears" by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1968 science fiction novel All Judgment Fled by James White. 
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1968 science fiction novel The Masks of Time by Robert Silverberg, Kris Vyas-Myall reviews the 1968 science fiction novel The Programmed Man by Jeff and Jean Sutton, Robin Rose Graves reviews the 1968 science fiction novel The Reproductive System by John Sladek, Gideon Marcus revisits the 1968 science fiction novel After Some Tomorrow by Mack Reynolds and Blue Cathey-Thiele revisits the 1968 science fiction novels The Time Mercenaries by Philip E. High and Anthropol by Louis Trimble. 
  
• Dan Holmes revisits the 1969 science fiction novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1971 Sector General science fiction collection Major Operation by James White. 
  
• Robin Marx revisits the 1979 environmental thriller Killer by Peter Tonkin. 
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1979 Kardios of Atlantis sword and sorcery story "The Seeker in the Fortress" by Manly Wade Wellman. 
• Ken Lizzi revisits the 1986 heroic fantasy anthology Heroic Visions II, edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1991 YA horror collection Thirteen: 13 Tales of Horror by 13 Masters of Horror, edited by T. Pines.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1992 Star Trek tie-in novel The Ice Trap by I.A. Graf. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1993 near future science fiction novel Vanishing Point by Michaela Roessner
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Time of the Cat, a cozy time travel novel by Tansy Rayner Roberts, is looking for funding.
• A Day at the Dragon Shelter, a contemporary fantasy anthology by Chris Wallace, is looking for funding. 
• Fantasy artist Gilead is looking for funding for Gilead's Sword & Sorcery Sketchbook 3
  
• The Slave and the Sorcerer, a sword and sorcery horror movie, is looking for funding.
  
• Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore, a brand-new action figure toyline, is looking for funding.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• The Octothorpe podcast discusses Conversation, the 2023 Eastercon in Birmingham, UK.
• Mike Glyer reports that the 2023 SiliCon in Santa Clara, California, has been cancelled. 
• Emma Orlow reports about the Chicago International Miniature Show in Chicago, Illinois. 
• Luke Plumkett shares cosplay photos frrom the 2023 WonderCon in Anaheim, California.
  
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the latest SFF reading at the KGB Bar in New York City, featuring Paul Tremblay and John Langan. 
• Locus shares some photos of the 2023 Rainforest Writers Retreat in Lake Quinault, Washington.
• Heather Staible reports about a Star Wars exhibition in Houston, Texas.
  
• Clare Brennan calls a stage adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, which is currently playing in Hull, UK, a stately adventure. 
• Sabina Graves reports that a World fo Frozen attratction will open this fall at Disneyland Hong Kong  
• Germain Lussier reports that the immersive Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel experience in Disney World in Orlando, Florida will close in September. 
  

 

Science and technology:

• Meghan Barthels reports that Betelgeuse is brightening, causing astronomers to wonder whether the star will go supernova soon.
  
• Hannah Devlin reports that astronomers have captured the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed.
  
• Gaby Hinsliff notes that today's bosses should curb the use of artificial intelligence or their own jobs could be next.
• Lincoln Michel points out that the endgame of artificial intelligence is ripping off everybody. 
• Tim Davey talks about PTSD as well as approaches to support and recovery.
  
  

Gaming: 

• Kali Wallace explains what The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can teach us about storytelling. 
• Linda Codega explains what The Legend of Zelda games mean to trans people.
  
• C.T. Phipps revisits the controversial video game Cyberpunk 2077 three years after its release. 
• Justin Stabley explains why developers are designing video games for accessibility. 
• Linda Codega interviews David Hohusen and Andrew Habers, creators of the virtual RPG Fablecraft.
  
• Warner Holme reviews The One Ring Starter Set RPG.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• Cora Buhlert shares a Masters-of-the-Universe-Piece Theatre toy photo story called "Adam's Day Out".
• Andrew Liszewski takes a look at a new giant Lego Batcave set.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Friday Night Dragon Adventure" by Neon Yang in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "When Shiva Shattered the Time-Stream" by Sharang Biswas in Lightspeed.
• "Saturday's Song" by Wole Talabi in Lightspeed.
  
• "Red-Autmn Seeks His Father's Bones" by Jonathan Olfert in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.
  
• "The Self Made God" by P.J. Atwater in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
  
• "A Girl (Five Angels)" by Ruth Joffre in Luna Station Quarterly.
  
• "The Eye in the Sky" by Marycynthia Chinwe Okafor in Omenana.
• "It's What's Inside That Counts" by Warren Benedetto in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "The Inside Is Always Entrails" by Fernanda Castro, translated by H. Pueyo, in The Dark.
• "Sensation and Sensibility" by Parker Ragland in Clarkesworld. 
• "The Giants Among Us" by Megan Chee in Clarkesworld. 
• "A Lovers’ Tide in Which We Inevitably Break Each Other; Told in Inverse" by K.S. Walker in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Goodnight, Virginia Bluebells" by Elena Sichrovsky in Nightmare Magazine.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who Specials.
• Watch a trailer for Haunted Mansion. 
• Watch a trailer for The Creator.
  
• Watch a trailer for Inland. 
• Watch a trailer for The Blackening.