Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 30, 2022

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the best SFF books, films and TV-shows of 2022, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, the new Willow, the series finale of His Dark Materials, The Witcher: Blood Origins, Kindred, the chaotic future of the DC Cinematic Universe, Avatar: The Way of Water and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Alex Brown shares ten great SFF novellas and novelettes to enjoy.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five recently completely SFF series to enjoy.
• Cole Rush shares five SFF stories about found family. 
• Cole Rush shares five fantasy cafés he'd love to visit. 
• Ryka Aoki pairs SFF books and ramen noodle flavours.
  
• Matthew Ilseman takes a look at fantasy fiction set at the end of time. 
• Deirdre C. Byrne and Gerhard Hope share an overview of South African SFF. 
• Lyndsie Mancuso talks about awards eligibility lists.
  
• Jo Walton talks about comfort reads and the search for books in which nothing bad happens. 
• Molly Templeton discusses how she decides what to read next. 
  
• Michael Curtis takes a look at the horror fiction of Fritz Leiber.
  
• Terry Olson profiles Michael Moorcock. 
• Terry Olson takes a look at the Sexton Blake villain Monsieur Zenith the Albino and traces his connection to Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné. 
• Michael R. Brown takes a look at Robert E. Howard's occult detective Steve Harrison. 
• Bobby Derie discusses The Day of the Stranger, a 1947 radio drama Novalyne Price Ellis wrote about her relationship with Robert E. Howard.
  
• Jim Wampler profiles Sterling E. Lanier. 
• Bobby Derie takes a look at the similarities and differences between the bigotry of H.P. Lovecraft and J.K. Rowling. 
• Allison Kubo Hutchison discusses the geology of Robert Jordan's and Brandon Sanderson's Wheel of Time.
  
• Thomas W. Hazlett remembers Martin Morse Wooster.
  

 

Best Books of 2022:

• SSFWorld share their favourite science fiction books of 2022.
  
• SFFWorld share their favourite fantasy and horror books of 2022.
• Andrew Mather shares his favourite SFF novellas of 2022.
  
• Publishers Weekly share their favourite graphic novels of 2022.
• io9 share their favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror TV shows of 2022.
  
• io9 share their favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror TV shows of 2022.
  
• io9 share their favourite animated movies and TV shows of 2022.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• C.T. Phipps reviews the comic Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1 by Nancy Collins and Enid Balam.
• John Coulthart revisits Leo and Diane Dillon's album cover art.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Lucy Mangan calls Christmas Carole an instant festive classic and praises the performance of Suranne Jones. 
• Rebecca Nicholson calls the Ghosts Christmas Special genuinely moving.
  
• Lucy Mangan finds A Ghost Story for Christmas: Count Magnus not particularly thrilling. 
• Hollie Richardson declares that the superhero sitcom Extraordinary will put a smile on viewers' faces.
  
• Arturo Serrano declares that Puss in Boots: The Last Wish makes existential dread funny. 
• Marion Deeds shares her thoughts on The Peripheral.
  
• Matthew Huff discusses how Hollywood movies tackled intergenerational trauma in 2022.
  
• Bridget McGovern shares eleven oddball holiday specials to enjoy.
• Lorna Wallace shares six SFF movies so bad they're good. 
• Michael Ledwige revisits the 1946 Christmas movie It's a Wonderful Life and finds unexpected noir elements.  
• Galactic Journey revisit the 1967 Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold".
  
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1977 holiday special Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1980 Christmas horror film To All a Goodnight. 
• Paul Levinson revisits the 2017 time travel movie 2:22. 
• Maggie Lovitt interviews Diego Luna who plays Cassian Andor in Andor.
  
• Hollie Richardson interviews Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rheanyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
  
• Justin Carter interviews Mairighread Scott and John Epler, showrunner and producer of Dragon Age: Absolution.
• Coco Khan interviews Christina Ricci, star of Wednesday, the Addams Family movies of the 1990s and Yellowjackets.
  
• Xan Brooks interviews Adam Scott, star of Severance.
  
• Jude Rogers interviews Mark Jenkin, director of the folk horror film Enys Man.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether James Cameron can revive the Terminator saga. 
• Drew Taylor celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Sony Pictures Animation.
  
• Brooks Barnes reports that Steamboat Willie, the first ever Mickey Mouse cartoon, will enter the public domain in 2024. 
• Italian horror film director Ruggero Deodato has died aged 83.
  
• Actor Stephen Greif, who appeared in Blake's 7, Doctor Who and Tales of the Unexpected among others, has died aged 78.
  
• British screenwriter and script editor Chris Boucher, who worked on Doctor Who and Blake's 7 among others, has died aged 79. 
  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:  

• Reggie Ugwu interviews Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, director and screenwriter of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
• The AV-Club interviews Gugu Mbatha-Raw who plays Ravonna Renslayer in Loki. 
• Jack King interviews Charlie Cox, star of Treason and Daredevil.
  

 

Comments on the new Willow: 

• Cindy White shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Willow.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Willow. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Jon Kasdan, showrunner of Willow.
  

 

Comments on His Dark Materials: 

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the series finale of His Dark Materials.
• Rob Bricken shares his thoughts on the series finale of His Dark Materials.
  

 

Comments on The Witcher and its spin-offs: 

• Jack Seale finds The Witcher: Blood Origin a lot of fun.
• Angie Han calls The Witcher; Blood Origin a ho-hum prequel.
  

 

Comments on Kindred:

• Linda Codega calls Kindred a bit drawn out, but praises the performance of Mallori Johnson and looks forward to season 2.
  
• Avery Kleinman and Anna Casey interview Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who adapted Octavia Butler's novel Kindred for television.
• io9 interviews Mallori Johnson who plays Dana in Kindred.
  

 

Comments on the various DC Comics based movies and TV-shows and the chaos at Warner Bros in general: 

• Aaron Couch and Borys Kit share some background for Henry Cavill being outtsted as Superman.
• Ryan Gajewski reports that Zachary Levi, who plays Billy Batson a.k.a. Shazam in the DC Cinematic Universe, has asked fans to give DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran a break.
  

 

Comments on Avatar: The Way of Water: 

• Stefan Dimitroff reports that some indigenous groups are boycotting Avatar: The Way of Water. 
• William Mullally interviews James Cameron, director of Avatar: The Way of Water.
  
• Tracey Harrington McCoy reports that actress Edie Falco shot her part in Avatar: The Way of Water four years ago and actually assumed that the movie had already come out and flopped.
  
• Pamela McClintock reports that Avatar: The Way of Water continues to do well at the box office over the Christmas weekend.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 1967 Galactic Stars have been announced.
• The 2022 Grand Masters of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association have been announced.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Ada Palmer declares that the "plotter vs. pantser" writing divide has been exaggerated.
  
• Robert Repino shares storytelling lessons from Mr. Rogers.
• Kelly McClymer explains how to bring your indie book to the attention of librarians. 
• Cat Rambo shares a social media strategy for writers. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about advertising in 2022.
  
• Victoria Strauss reports about a new scam targeting authors.
  
• The SFWA reports that they have reached the milestone of 2500 members.
  

Interviews:

• The Guardian interviews Philip Pullman. 
• Media Death Cult interviews Mike Carey.
  
• Media Death Cult interviews Ken MacLeod. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Tim Akers.
  
• Paul Weimer interviews Rem Wigmore.
• John Mauro interviews Kian N. Ardalan. 
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews H.R. Laurence.
  
• D.M. Ritzlin interviews John Lawrence Rak Jr.
  

Reviews:

• Lis Carey reviews The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard.
  
• J.Z. Weston reviews A Starbound Solstice by Juliet Kemp.
  
• Ian Mond reviews Titan by Mado Nozaki, translated by Evan Ward. 
• Lis Carey reviews Juniper Wiles and the Ghost Girls by Charles de Lint. 
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Blood Moon by Catherine Lundoff.
  
• Chris Kluwe reviews The River of Silver by S.A. Chakraborty.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews A Restless Truth by Freya Marske. 
• Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews A Restless Truth by Freya Marske.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews This Charming Man by C.K. McDonell. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste.
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Pulling the Wings Off Angels by K.J. Parker. 
• Shellie Horst reviews The Dragonfly Delivery Company by Keith W. Dickinson
  
• Carrie Chi Lough reviews The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia. 
• John Mauro reviews The Burning God by R.F. Kuang. 
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull. 
• James Vella-Bardon reviews Essex Dogs by Dan Jones.
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Desert Creatures by Kay Chronister. 
• Caren Gussoff Sumption reviews Glorious Fiends by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Book of the Baku by R.L. Boyle. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish. 
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Self-Portrait with Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka 
• Skye Walker reviews Some Faraway Place by Lauren Shippen.
  
• John Mauro reviews Bone Shroud by Andrew D. Meredith.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Pallbearers' Club by Paul Tremblay. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Whitstable by Stephen Volk.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. 
• Paperback Warrior reviews The Yuletide Butcher by Mike Duke. 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Illuminations: Stories by Alan Moore. 
• Chris Mautner reviews See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture by Mathew Klickstein.
  

Classics reviews:

• John Mauro revisits the 1872 vampire novel Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1933 Conan sword and sorcery story "Black Colossus" by Robert E. Howard.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1939 sword and sorcery story "Adventure in Lemuria" by Frederick Arnold Kummer Jr. 
• Steve Carper revisits the 1943 science fiction thriller The Last Secret by Dana Chambers.
  
• MarzAat revisits the 1946 sword and planet adventure "Lorelei of the Red Mist" by Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1952 science fiction story "The Moon Is Green" by Fritz Leiber.
• M. Porcius revisits the 1957 fantasy novel Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1961 science fiction collection So Close to Home by James Blish.
  
• M. Porcius revisits the 1966 science fiction mystery Galactic Sybil Sue Blue by Rosel George Brown. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1968 science fiction novel Catch a Falling Star by John Brunner.
  
• Meg Elison revisits the 1987 horror novel Misery by Stephen King. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1992 media tie-in Quantum Leap: The Novel by Ashley McConnell.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Gail Jamieson shares a history of the Science Fiction and Fantasy South Africa Club.
  
• Locus reports about the exhibtion “Voyage to the Edge of Imagination” at the Science Museum in London, UK. 
• Shawn Ghassemitari reports about the exhibition "H.R. Giger X Sorayama: Approaching" in Beijing, China.
• Arifa Akbar calls The Fir Tree by Hannah Khalil, which is currently playing at the Globe Theatre in London, UK, a must-see festive fairy tale.
• Arifa Akbar calls Andrew Pollard's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, which is currently playing in Watford, UK, a lacklustre retelling.
  
• Tim Jonze and his children shares their thoughts on Hey Duggee: The Live Theatre Show, which is currently playing in London, UK.
  
• Sabina Graves shares the latest news from the Disney Parks and Universal Studios Resorts.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Con runner Lisa Garrison and her family have lost everything in a fire and need some help.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Kenneth Chang reports that NASA's InSight Mars lander has lost power after four years of operation. 
• Dennis Overbye reports that the James Webb Space Telescope is only just getting started.
  
• Michael Powell reports how the debate about the naming of the James Webb Space Telescope was marred by homophobia accusations.
  
• Catherynne M. Valente talks about the implosion of Twitter and how it mirrors what happened to other online communities over the years.
  

Free online fiction: 

• "The Beginning" by Katrina Carrith in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "The Spread of Space and Endless Devastation" by Stewart C. Baker in Lightspeed.
• "Mad Honey" by Aimee Ogden in Lightspeed.
  
• "The Lightness" by Alex Sobel in Clarkesworld. 
• "To Exorcise Mechanical Ghosts" by Laney Gaughan in Clarkesworld. 
• "Still Breathing" by Chris DiLeo in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "Into the Dark" by Jennifer R. Donohue in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "Balkan Cosmology" by Bruce Sterling in Medium.
  
• "Harvest of Bones" by Eugenia Triantafyllou in The Deadlands.
  
• "Amadi on the Concrete" by Jarred J. Thompson in Omenana.
  
• "Earth Dragon, Turning" by Anya Ow in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "A Fall Counts Anywhere" by Catherynne M. Valente in Uncanny Magazine.
  
• "The Cat" by Morana Violeta, translated by Clara Madrigano, in The Dark.
• "Dragon Rising" by S.E. Gilbey in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "The Hole in the Storm" by Carol Scheina in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "A Wish" by Edoardo Albert in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "After the War" by Karl El-Koura in Daily Science Fiction.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for the Doctor Who Sixtieth Anniversary Special.
• Watch a trailer for season 7 of Outlander. 
• Watch a trailer for Knock at the Cabin.
  

 

Odds and ends:

• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon of the Three Wise Men going gift shopping.
• Take the Guardian's 2022 Book Quiz.
  

 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 23, 2022

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the best SFF books of 2022, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, the new Willow, the final season of His Dark Materials, The Witcher and its spin-offs, Kindred, Wednesday, the chaotic future of the DC Cinematic Universe, Avatar: The Way of Water, tributes to Mike Hodges and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Lisa Tuttle offers a round-up of the best recent science fiction and fantasy novels.
  
• Tor.com shares 22 wintery SFF reads to enjoy. 
• Aaron Jones talks about royalty and power in fantasy. 
• Grady Hendrix explains why Christmas ghost stories became popular in the nineteenth century. 
• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth take a look at H.P. Lovecraft's Christmas poems. 
• Matt Mikalatos takes a look at the role of Santa Claus in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
  
• Rachel Ayers shares five SFF Puss in Boots retellings.
  
• Brian Collins profiles Fritz Leiber.
• Brian Murphy wonders whether we are in for a Karl Edward Wagner revival.
  
• Claire Woodcock reports about the fanzine scan hosting project. 
• Molly Templeton wonders how to measure a year in reading.
  
• Cole Rush explains why he started a home lending library.
  
• The Tor.com staff remember memorable books they received as gifts.
  
• Karen Heller wonders what to do with old books, when their owners die or no longer want them.
  
• Jennifer Schuessler reports that Thomas Pynchon has sold his papers to the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. 
• J. Dennis Robinson recounts how literary agent James T. Fields persuaded Charles Dickens to tour the US in 1867.
  
• Kim Mohan, former editor of Dragon Magazine has died aged 73.
  
• Fan and scholar Justin E.A. Busch has died aged 63.
  

 

Best Books of 2022:

• Linda Codega shares her favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2022.
• Book Marks shares the best reviewed science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2022.
  
• Runalong the Shelves shares his favourite science fiction books of 2022.
• Runalong the Shelves shares his favourite fantasy books of 2022.
• Alex Brown shares their favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror YA books of 2022.
  
• Grimdark Magazine share their favourite grimdark SFF of 2022.
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite horror novels of 2022. 
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite science fiction mysteries of 2022.
  
• Erin Brady shares her favourite science fiction movies of 2022. 
• The Tor.com reviewers share all the things that brought them nerdy joy in 2022. 
• Rob Bricken lists the fictional characters and TV shows we lost in 2022.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Sabina Graves interviews Rachel Smythe, creator of Lore Olympus.
  
• Cartoonist Diane Noomin has died aged 75.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Ann Lee traces how Everything Everywhere All At Once became the sleeper hit of the year. 
• Alma Katsu explains what Andor gets right about espionage.
  
• Gwilym Mumford calls Severance one of the best TV shows of 2022. 
• Leah Schnelbach shares thirteen movies about aliens learning about the true spirit of Christmas.
  
• Lorna Wallace shares six of her favourite monster movies from around the world. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1949 historical supernatural crime drama The Queen of Spades. 
  
• Jessica Holmes revisits the 1967 Doctor Who serial "The Ice Warriors". 
• Galactic Journey revisits the 1967 Star Trek episode "Obsession".
  
• Bobby Derie revisits the 1972 Night Gallery episode "Last Rites for a Dead Druid". 
• Judith Tarr revisits the 1981 horror movie An American Werewolf in London. 
• GQ interviews Rian Johnson, director of The Last Jedi. 
  
• Rebecca Nicholson interviews Suranne Jones, star of Christmas Carole, Vigil and Scott & Bailey. 
• Miranda Bryant reports that Steven Spielberg has expressed regret for the persecution and extermination of sharks following his 1975 movie Jaws. 
• Justin Carter reports that the anime Spy x Family is not only getting a second season, but also a movie.
  
• Borys Kit reports that after leaving The Witcher and being ousted as Superman, Henry Cavill will produce and star in a Warhammer 40000 series next.
• Linda Codega reports that a US Federal judge has ruled that deceptive movie trailers depicting scene or characters that are not actually in the film are illegal.
  
• Benjie Goodhart recounts how 12000 Japanese children fell ill after watching a Pokemon anime episode in 1997.  
• Television director Gabrielle Beaumont, who worked on several Star Trek series, Dynasty, Vega$, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, The Beauty and the Beast, The Tomorrow People and many others, has died aged 80.  
  

 

Tributes to Mike Hodges:

• Mike Hodges, director of Get Carter, Flash Gordon, Pulp, Croupier, The Terminal Man and others, has died aged 90.
• Peter Bradshaw calls Mike Hodges a masterful director who was as comfortable with gritty crime dramas as with zany science fiction films.
• Brian Baxter shares an obituary for Mike Hodges.
  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:  

• Olly Richards interviews Charlie Cox who plays Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Clark Collis interviews Peyton Reed, director of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
• Devan Coggan interviews Phil Lord and Chris Miller, screenwriters and producers of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
  

 

Comments on the new Willow: 

• Cindy White shares her thoughts on "Wildwood", the latest episode of Willow.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "Wildwood".
  

 

Comments on His Dark Materials: 

• Stuart Jeffries praises the final season of His Dark Materials, particularly the performance of Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Coulter.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on season 3 of His Dark Materials. 
  

 

Comments on The Witcher and its spin-offs: 

• Sam Barsanti notes that The Witcher: Blood Origin needs more Witcher and offers little aside from Michelle Yeoh.
• Nick Romano interviews Lauren Hissrich, showrunner of The Witcher.
  

 

Comments on Kindred:

• The Library of America interviews Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who adapted Octavia E. Butler's Kindred for television,
• Linda Codega and Artem Golub interviews Mallori Johnson, star of Kindred.
  

 

Comments on the various DC Comics based movies and TV-shows and the chaos at Warner Bros in general: 

• James Whitbrook offers an overview of who's in and who's out of the DC Cinematic Universe.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw blames vocal Snyderverse fans for the backlash against Warner Bros cancelling the forthcoming Wonder Woman movie and outsting Henry Cavill as Superman.
• Ben Child wonders whether James Gunn can turn the DC Cinematic Universe around. 
• Josef Adalian takes a look at Warner Bros' latest cancellation spree. 
• Kathryn VanArendonk points out that TV started out as an ephemeral medium, but that this recent cancellation spree feels different.
  

 

Comments on Wednesday:

• Rachel Ulatowski ranks her favourite characters in Wednesday.
• Princess Weekes reports about racism accusation against Wednesday.
  

 

Comments on Avatar: The Way of Water: 

• Arturo Serrano calls Avatar: The Way of Water pretty, but self-indulgent and dreads further instalments.
  
• Leonard Maltin declares that he was completely taken in by Avatar: The Way of Water. 
• Ben Child shares a spoilerish review of Avatar: The Way of Water.
  
• Craig Miller shares his thoughts on Avatar: The Way of Water.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin and Molly Templeton note that Avatar: The Way of Water has joined a long list of movies featuring space whales. 
• Germain Lussier shares some burning questions he has after Avatar: The Way of Water. 
• Luke Y. Thompson explains how Avatar: The Way of Water sets up its own sequel.
  
• Mike Fleming Jr. interviews James Cameron, creator and director of Avatar: The Way of Water.  
• Germain Lussier interviews Joe Letteri, who worked on the visual effects for Avatar: The Way of Water.
  
• Ashley Fetters Maloy reports about fans who never stopped loving the original Avatar. 
• Clem Bastow talks about her Avatar fandom.
  
• Pamela McClintock and Mia Galuppo report that Avatar: The Way of Water has had good grosses on its first day.
• Patrick Brzeszki reports that Avatar: The Way of Water is projected to do well in China. 
• Nancy Tartaglione reports that Avatar: The Way of Water is doing well at the box office, particularly internationally. 
• Mark Daniell reports that James Cameron clearly isn't busy enough hawking Avatar: The Way of Water, since he also feels the need to point out that he scientifically proved that Jack could not have survived the end of Titanic under any circumstances.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2022 Dream Foundry Art and Writing Contest have been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2023 Excelsior Awards has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2022 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival Award have been announced.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Ann Langley shares her monthly tarot draw for writers.
• Destiny Soria explains how RPGs made her a better writer.
  
• Josh Haven shares ten things writers should know about guns.
• Aidan Moher interviews several authors about why they use pen names.
  
• The Guardian shares the confession of a ghost writer of celebrity children's books. 
• Linda Codega reports that Tor experienced a backlash after using AI-generated stock art on the cover of the upcoming novel Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini.  
• Alyssa Shotwell also reports about the backlash against Tor for using AI-generated art on the cover of Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini.
  
• Emell Derra Adolphus shares an update about the ongoing strike of the HarperCollins Union. 
  
• Neil Clarke weighs in on Amazon discontinuing its magazine and newspaper subscription service and instead adding magazines and newspaper subscriptions to their Kindle Unlimited program. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch discusses what else Amazon did in 2022.
  
• CBS Morning reports about Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. 
• Lauren Oster reports about Iceland's so-called Christmas book flood.
  
• Ed Nawortka reports that the bookstore chain Books & Books in Miami, Florida, has launched an initiative to support the literary community in Ukraine.
  
• Literary agent Henry Morrison, who represented Samuel R. Delany, Dean Koontz, Robert Ludlum and David Morrell among others, has died aged 86.
  

Interviews:

• BBC Radio 4 interviews Neil Gaiman. 
• Locus interviews Julie E. Czerneda.
  
• Media Death Cult interviews Matt Ruff. 
• Cressida Leyshon interviews Jonathan Lethem. 
• Scott Roxborough interviews Somtow Sucharitkul.
  
• Scott Edelman interviews Randee Dawn.
  
• Locus interviews Khan Wong. 
• Paul Weimer interviews Chloe N. Clark. 
• Oliver Brackenbury interviews J.M. Frey.
  
• The HWA interviews Aurora Gorealis. 
• Jen Gheller interviews Sarah McPherson.
  
• Sarah Gailey interviews Liza Groen Trombi.
• Christopher Rowe interviews Curtis Ellett.
  

Reviews:

• Mark Yon reviews The Citadel of Forgotten Myths by Michael Moorcock. 
• Upon Your Marrow Bones reviews Conan: Blood of the Serpent by S.M. Stirling. 
• Rosenna Pendlebury reviews The Stars Undying by Emery Robin.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Screams from the Void by Anne Tibbets. 
• Angela Gualtieri reviews Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth.
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Eversion by Alastair Reynolds.
  
• Russell Letson reviews The Thousand Earths by Stephen Baxter.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
• Fiona Denton reviews Dream of Death City by P.J. Nwosu. 
• Michael Dodd reviews Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk.
• Marion Deeds reviews Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews A Restless Truth by Freya Marske.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Undercover by Tamsin Muir. 
• Arturo Serrano reviews Three Miles Down by Harry Turtledove. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Map and Territory by A.M. Tuomala.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Path of Thorns by A.G. Slatter.
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Thistlefood by GennaRose Nethercott.
  
• Alex Brown reviews A Girl’s Guide to Love and Magic by Debbie Rigaud  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Glitterati by Oliver K. Langmead. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco.
• Alexandra Pierce reviews Ithaca by Claire North. 
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Cold Water by Dave Hutchinson. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Road of Bones by Christopher Golden.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Ragged by Christopher Irvin. 
• Paula Guran reviews Breakable Things by Cassandra Khaw.
  
• Rob Bedford reviews Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story by M. Rickert. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Close to Midnight, edited by Mark Morris. 

Classics reviews:

• John Mauro revisits the 1919 fantasy novel Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell.
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1934 sword and planet novel The Outlaws of Mars by Otis Adalbert Kline,
  
• Davide Mana revisits the 1934 Conan sword and sorcery story "Shadows in the Moonlight" by Robert E. Howard. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1967 Conan sword and sorcery story "The City of Skulls" by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter.
  
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the 1967 sword and sorcery novel The Jewel in the Skull by Michael Moorcock, Victoria Silverwolf revisits the 1967 science fiction novels A Far Sunset by Edmund Cooper and Quicksand by John Brunner, Gideon Marcus revisits the 1967 science fantasy novel Tramontane by Emil Petaja, Cora Buhlert revisits the 1967 planetary adventure novel Outlaw of Gor by John Norman and Jason Sacks revisits the 1967 science fiction novel Secret of the Marauder Satellite by Ted White. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the January 1968 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1969 science fiction novella "Ship of Shadows" by Fritz Leiber. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1970 gothic novel Bloodroots Manor by Claudette Nicolle a.k.a. Jon Messman.  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1971 science fiction collection Vermilion Sands by J.G. Ballard.
  
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1979 apocalyptic thriller The Sixth Winter by John Gribbin and Douglas Orgill.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1980 science fiction novel Wizard by John Varley. 
• The PorPor Books Blog revisits the 1981 science fiction collection Dark Stars and Other Illuminations by Thomas E. Monteleone.
  
• Fiona Sturges revisits the 1983 gothic horror novella The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. 
• James Maliszewski revisits the January 1985 issue of White Dwarf.
  
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 1991 anti-climate-change novel Fallen Angels by Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven and Michael Flynn. 
• Fletcher Vredenburgh revisits the 1994 Kane meets Elric sword and sorcery story "The Gothic Touch" by Karl Edward Wagner.  
• Camestros Felapton revisits the 2008 near future military science fiction novel The Last Centurion by John Ringo.
  
• Fabienne Schwizer revisits the 2013 historical fantasy novel Hild by Nicola Griffith.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer reports that Polish fans have launched a petition to the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, China, to drop Sergey Lukyanenko as Guest of Honour. 
• Mike Glyer shares the program of the 2023 Vintage Paperback Collectors Show and Sale in Glendale, California.
  
• Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the latest edition of the Fantastic Fiction Reading Series in New York City, featuring Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw. 
• Locus announces that the 2023 Clarion West Workshop will be held virtually, after they lost their venue. 
• Ken Mondschein reports that the Australia and New Zealand chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism must still determine their king or queen by combat. 
• Angela Costello weighs in one the continued insistence of the Society for Creative Anachronism to determine their kings or queens by combat.
  
• Brian Logan calls the panto Jack and the Beanstalk, which is currently playing in London, UK, a giant, no expense spared all-star entertainment. 
• Sarah Crompton declares that Matthew Bourne's take on Sleeping Beauty, which is currently playing in London, UK, delights the heart and mind.
  
• Arifa Akbar calls Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, which is currently playing in London, UK, a sickly sweet Dickens adaptation.
  
• Philip Oltermann reports about the exhibition "Phantoms of the Night: 100 Years of Nosferatu" in Berlin, Germany.
• David Smith reports about a visit to the Museum of Broadway in New York City.
  
• Sabina Graves and Bryan Davis share a virtual tour of theliterary themed distillery Lost Spiritis in Las Vegas, Nevada.
  
• Sabina Graves shares the fifteen best interactive experiences at US theme parks and other fan destinations.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Isaac Schultz reports that anti-matter particules could travel through our galaxy with ease. 
• Edward Helmore reports that a self-driving Tesla has caused an eight vehicle crash in san Franicsco, California.
  
• Clare Watson reports that the University of Bristol is conducting the first trial of transfusing lab-grown red blood cells.
• Isaac Schultz reports that paleontoloists have found a mammal's foot inside the stomach of a microraptor  dinosaur.
  
• Mack DeGeurin reports that a lawyer working on a case against MSG Entertainment was identified via facial recognition technology and thrown out of the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular in New York City, which she was attending with her young daughter. 
  

Free online fiction: 

• "Nonstandard Candles" by Yoon He Lee in The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "Ratatoskr" by Kij Johnson in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  
• "Sturgeon Moon Jam" by Jennifer Hudak in Fantasy Magazine.
  
• "Lost and Found: Retreat and Return" by Emma Schmid in Luna Station Quarterly. 
  
• "Narrowing Valley" by Jonathan Lethem in The New Yorker. 
  
• "Y is for Yesterday" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
• "Butirub" by Samit Basu in Apex Magazine. 
• "Wallers" by Mari Ness in Nightmare Magazine.
  
• "The Man From Warwick" by Austin Gilmore in Mystery Tribune. 
  
• "Upstart" by Lu Ban, translated by Blake Stone-Banks in Clarkesworld. 
• "Left to Die" by Vandana Singh in Clarkesworld. 
• "Cold Hands" by Shannon Fay in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Inhuman" by Eric S. Fomley in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Note to a Hypoxic Delusion" by K. Lynn Harrison in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "Someone Call Shadow Control!" by Emmie Christie in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future quit rather than take assignment to visit Elon Musk" by Mary Gillis in The Beaverton.
• "Christopher's Crummy Christmas" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Disney Plus' 2023 offerings.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Legend of Vox Machina. 
• Watch a trailer for JUNG_E.
  
• Watch a trailer for Kids vs. Aliens.
  
• Watch a trailer for Kaiju No. 8.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen.
  
• Watch a trailer for Barbie.
  

 

Odds and ends:

• Cora Buhlert shares a new Masters of the Universe action figure photo story called "Honeypot".
• Tom Gauld offers a holiday gift guide.
  

 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 16, 2022

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the best SFF books of 2022, the many iterations of Star Trek, the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, the new Willow, the final season of His Dark Materials, Dragon Age: Absolution, Kindred, National Treasure: Edge of History, Wednesday, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, the chaotic future of the DC Cinematic Universe and Warner Bros cancelling yet more things, Avatar: The Way of Water and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Jo Walton shares her reading list for November 2022. 
• Eve Taft looks back on the horror books, films, TV shows and podcasts of 2022.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five swashbuckling science fiction stories about pirates. 
• James Davis Nicoll lists five classic science fiction novels about overpopulation. 
• Jaems Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction stories about fleeing a ruined Earth for another world.
  
• C.T. Phipps explains what Cyberpunk is.
• Austin Wagner talks about Hungarian speculative fiction. 
  
• Katherine Rundell explains how animal stories help us understand humans. 
• Michael Gonzales profiles Octavia E. Butler.
  
• G.W. Thomas profiles Edmond Hamilton's science fiction pulp hero Captain Future. 
• Molly Templeton notes that winter is the perfect time for rereading old favourites.
  
• Christopher J. Garcia explains what Locus Magazine means to him. 
  
• James Tapper reports that there has been a big decline of people from a working class background working in the arts in the UK in the past thirty years. 
• Ella Braidwood reports that romance novels are more popular than ever in the UK. 
• Nick Kolakowski discusses the enduring mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's macabre death
  
• YA SFF writer and artist Jill Pinkwater has died aged 81.
  
• Science fiction author Anne Harris a.k.a. Pearl North has died aged 58.
  

 

Best Books of 2022:

• Amal El-Mohtar shares her favourite science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022.
  
• Steve Donoghue shares his favourite science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022.
• Library Journal share their favourite science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022. 
• A.C. Wise shares her favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror novels and novellas of 2022.
  
• Runalong the Shelves shares his favourite horror books of 2022. 
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite gothic novels of 2022. 
  
• Runalong the Shelves shares his favourite SFF anthologies and collections of 2022.
• Literary Hub share their favourite book covers of 2022. 
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the best books of the year and what happens when you buy them.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Brad Hawley reviews B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Vol. 15): Cometh the Hour by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Laurence Campbell. 
• Chris Livesay and David Morgan profile movie poster artist Renato Casaro. 
• John Scalzi shares his thoughts on AI-generated art.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Owen Gleiberman calls Violent Night a winning holiday genre mash-up.
  
• Arturo Serrano declares that The Peripheral had a lot of interesting ideas, but didn't really do anything with any of them. 
  
• Adrian Horton calls the gothic thriller The Wonder one of the best films of 2022. 
• Steve Rose calls the Indian historical epic RRR one of the best films of 2022.
  
• Cheryl Eddy declares that Christmas Bloody Christmas is a horror movie that lives up to its name. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Eternal 831 a clockstopping anime superhero thriller.
  
• Camestros Felapton calls Troll a very conventional kaiju movies in most ways.
• Cath Clarke calls the animated crime caper The Amazing Maurice a riot of silliness.
  
• Cath Clarke calls the animated fairy tale mash-up The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute a right turkey. 
• Dan Persons shares his thoughts on Nope. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Bitch Ass an inventively cheesy horror romp. 
• Matthew Jackson calls the unauthorised Grinch horror movie The Mean One one of the worst films of 2022. 
• James Whitbrook shares his appreciation for the funeral march scene in the final episode of Andor.
  
• Stuart Heritage hopes that the time travel movie 65 will not bomb, because it has Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs and what could be cooler?
  
• Rich Pelley interviews Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear.
  
• io9 interviews Kirby Howell-Baptiste who plays Death in The Sandman. 
• Nick Romano interviews Kit Harrington who played Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. 
• Brian Davids interviews Parker Finn, director of the horror movie Smile. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1972 supernatural romance Neither the Sea Nor the Sand.
  
• Jeremy Smith reports about the difficulties a specific special effect gave Steven Spielberg and the crew of Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in 1977. 
  
• Lee Unkrich explains his childhood fascination with The Shining.
  
• The Guardian shares some behind the scenes photos from the set of the 1979 horror movie The Shining. 
• Bridget McGovern revisits the 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal for its fortieth anniversary.
  
• Gregory Wakeman revisits the 1992 holiday film The Muppet Christmas Carol.
  
• Rob Bricken revisits "Holiday on Ice", the holiday episode of the 1997 animated series Extreme Dinosaurs.
• Melissa T. Miller shares her favourite living starships from science fiction films and TV shows.
  
• Adam Levine lists science fiction movies that caused audiences to walk out of the theatre.
  
• Zack Sharf reports that actress Michelle Yeoh almost left Everything Everywhere All At Once over a disagreement over her character's name.   
• Emma Keates reports that Sarah Michelle Gellar has hinted at extremely toxic conditions on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  
• Justin Carter reports that Netflix has cancelled The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself after only one season. 
• Jennifer Maas reports that the cancelled shows Westworld and The Nevers will be removed from the HBO Max streaming service soon.
  
• Sculptor Richard Miller, who created characters and creatures for the Star Wars, Star Trek, Back to the Future and Pirates of the Caribbean movies, has died aged 80. 
  
• Actor Gary Friedkin, who appeared in Return of the Jedi, Blade Runner, Under the Rainbow and others, has died aged 70. 
• Film Composer Angelo Badalamenti, best known for his work on Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and other David Lynch films, has died aged 83.
  
• Screenwriter Chris Boucher, who worked on Doctor Who and Blake's Seven among many others has died aged 79.
  

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:  

• Keith R.A. DeCandido calls Thor: Love and Thunder a god-awful mess.
  
• Zack Sharf interviews Letitia Wright who plays Shuri in the Black Panther movies.
  

 

Comments on the many iterations of Star Trek: 

• Galactic Journey revisits the 1967 Star Trek episode "The Deadly Years".
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Bounty".
  

 

Comments on the new Willow: 

• Alasdair Stuart calls the new Willow epic in scope and grounded in execution and notes that it takes itself a tenth as seriously as its fantasy contemporaries
• Cindy White shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Willow.
  
• Cathy Reay talks about the portrayal of people with dwarfism in Willow, The Witcher: Blood Origins and fantasy film and TV in general.
  

 

Comments on His Dark Materials: 

• Rob Bricken shares his thoughts on the latest episode of His Dark Materials.
  
• Craig McLean interviews James McAvoy, star of His Dark Materials, the X-Men movies and many others.
  

 

Comments on Dragon Age: Absolution: 

• Arturo Serrano declares that Dragon Age: Absolution packs dragon-sized themes into an elf-sized package.
  
• Justin Carter calls Dragon Age: Absolution a short but very sweet animated series.

 

Comments on Kindred:

• Alex Brown declares that the TV adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's Kindred doesn't live up to the novel. 
• Mike Hale also feels that Kindred does not live up to Octavia E. Butler's novel 
• Qunci LaGardye calls Kindred an unfliching but not cruel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's novel
  
• Paul Levinson calls Kindred powerful, beautiful, tender and tough.
  

 

Comments on the various DC Comics based movies and TV-shows and the chaos at Warner Bros in general: 

• Umberto Gonzalez reports that Warner Bros did not cancel Wonder Woman 3, but that director Patty Jenkins left over creative differences. 
• Eric Diaz shares Patty Jenkins's response to claims that she left Wonder Woman 3 over creative differences. 
• Molly Templeton reports that DC Movies heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are planning a new Superman movie among others, but that Henry Cavill will not be reprising the role after all. 
• Sian Cain notes that Henry Cavill was dropped as Superman only weeks after announcing his return to the role.
  
• Justin Carter reports that a planned Batman Beyond movie has also been cancelled by Warner Bros.
  

 

Comments on Wednesday:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts about the latest episode of Wednesday.
• Janelle Zara traces how Wednesday became a pop culture phenomenon. 
• Eric Diaz reports about the role played by Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family movies of the 1990s, in Wednesday.
  

 

Comments on Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio:

• Nicholas Barber shares his thoughts on Guillermo Del Toro's take on Pinocchio, which he calls the scariest children's story ever written.
• Arturo Serrano compares Guillermo del Toro's and Disney's recent takes on Pinocchio.
  

 

Comments on National Treasure: Edge of History:

• David Cote calls National Treasure: Edge of History a breezy adventure series. 
• Lucy Mangan calls National Treasure: Edge of History loads of daft fun. 
• The AV Club interviews Lisette Olivera, star of National Treasure: Edge of History.
  

 

Comments on Avatar: The Way of Water: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Avatar: The Way of Water a soggy, twee, trillion-dollar screensaver. 
• Tomris Laffly calls Avatar: The Way of Water epic, dazzling and surprisingly intimate. 
• Germain Lussier calls Avatar: The Way of Water overhwelming but wonderful. 
• Luke Y. Thompson shares a guide to all the major characters in Avatar: The Way of Water.
  
• Ben Child points out that proposed future Avatar movies should not visit Earth.
• Sian Cain and Steph Harmon report that some people feel depressed and empty after watching Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water.
  

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2022 This Is Horror Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2022 Xingyun Nebula Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Canopus Awards have been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2022 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for Playwriting has been announced.
• The winner of the 2022 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2022 Game Awards have been announced 
• The nominees for the 2022 Golden Globes have been announced with some love for genre film and TV.
  
• The winners of the 2022 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards have been announced with lots of love for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Sabrina Qiao explains how writing fan fiction gave her creative freedom and community.
• Pitchaya Sudbanthad explains why he loves fountain pens as a writer.
  
• Lincoln Michel explains what impact artificial intelligence will have on writing.
  
• Jacqui Lipton explains when and for what a writer has to ask their publisher for permission.
  
• Markus Harbaum reports that Markus Dohle is stepping down as CEO of Penguin Random House. 
• Michael Cader reports that the USA Today bestseller list will go on haitus, after editor Mary Cadden, who assembled the list, was laud off.
  

Interviews:

• Alex Hawgood interviews Margaret Atwood.
• Tripwire interviews Michael Moorcock. 
• Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe interview Christopher Rowe.
  
• Media Death Cult interviews Peter Watts.
• Janna Miller interviews Fiona Moore. 
• Jen Gheller interviews Chana Kohl. 
• Fantasy Magazine interviews Victor Forna.
  

Reviews:

• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Citadel of Forgotten Myths by Michael Moorcock 
• Matthew Keeley reviews The Citadel of Forgotten Myths by Michael Moorcock. 
• Rob Bedford reviews The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal. 
• Camestros Felapton reviews Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
• Lesa Holstine reviews Legends and Latte by Travis Baldree. 
• L.A. Young reviews Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher.
  
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews The Nightland Express by J.M. Lee.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliott. 
• Maya C. James reviews The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri. 
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah.
  
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald reviews Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins.
  
• Fabienne Schwizer reviews The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
  
• Robin Marx reviews Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
  
• Skye Walker reviews A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen. 
• Ian Mond reviews Valley of Shadows by Rudy Ruiz.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin. 
• The Hugo Book Club Blog reviews The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. 
• C.T. Phipps reviews Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys.
  
• C.T. Phipps reviews The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emrys. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Unto The Godless What Little Remains by Mario Coelho
• John Mauro reviews The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater. 
• Vanessa Armstrong reviews The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford.
  
• Bill Capossere reviews The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson.
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton. 
  
• Janet Webb reviews Bryant and May: Peculiar London by Christopher Fowler.  
• Beth Kanell reviews Bryant and May: Peculiar London by Christopher Fowler.  
• Jake Casella Bordkins reviews Titan by Mado Nozaki, translated by Evan Ward. 
  
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Blue Book by Tom Harley Campbell. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Cold Water by Dave Hutchinson. 
• John Mauro reviews The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth.
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Flight from the Ages & Other Stories by Derek Künsken
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Tomorrow’s Parties: Life in the Anthropocene, edited by Jonathan Strahan. 
• Arley Sorg reviews Meteotopia—Futures of Climate (In)justice, edited by Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay, Ana Rüsche and Francesco Verso.
  
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Best of World SF: Volume 2, edited by Lavie Tidhar.
• Richard Fisher reviews The Lost Empire of Sol, edited by Jason M. Waltz and Fletcher Vredenburgh. 
• Mark Yon reviews Dr. Who and the Daleks – The Official Story of the Films by John Walsh.

Classics reviews:

• Davide Mana revisits the 1933 Conan sword and sorcery adventure "The Tower of the Elephant" by Robert E. Howard. 
• James Wallace Harris revisits the 1940 near future science fiction story "Blowups Happen" by Robert A. Heinlein.
  
• Brian Collins revisits the 1942 werewolf story "The Hound" by Fritz Leiber. 
• Bobby Derie revisits the 1949 horror story "Satan's Servants" by Robert Bloch.
  
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1956 science fiction story "Psycho at Mid-Point" and the 1959 science fiction story "The Discarded" a.k.a. "The Abnormals" by Harlan Ellison. 
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1962 Elric sword and sorcery story "The Stealer of Souls" by Michael Moorcock.
  
• Victoria Silverwolf revisits the January 1968 issue of Fantastic.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1979 anthology The End of Summer: Science Fiction of the Fifties, edited by Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini. 
• Fletcher Vredenburgh revisits the 1979 fantasy novel The Merman's Children by Poul Anderson.
  
• Nocturnal Revelries revisits the 1983 horror novel Killer Flies by Mark Kendall.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the December 1984 issue of White Dwarf. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1987 science fiction novel The Tides of God by Ted Reynolds. 
• Alissa Burger revisits the 1991 holiday YA horror novel Silent Night and its 1993 and 1996 sequels by R.L. Stine.
  
• Judith Tarr revisits the 2005 urban fantasy novel Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• The 2023 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund is open for voting.
• Sarah Shaffi and Lucy Knight share the line-up of the 2023 Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
  
• Arifa Akbar calls Mother Goose, which is currently playing in Brighton, UK, a fluffy and zany panto and praises stars John Bishop and Sir Ian McKellen.
  
• Lyndsey Winship reports about a lavish new production of the ballet The Nutcracker currently playing at the Royal Opera House in London, UK. 
  
• Mark Fisher calls Lydia Radley's take on Cinderella, currently playing in Dundee, Scotland, a cheerful reworking. 
• Lyndsey Winship reports about a new production of the ballet Sleeping Beauty in London, UK. 
• Arifa Akbar calls Hannah McPake's play Tales of the Brothers Grimm, which is currently playing in Cardiff, Wales, a sparkling journey through a fairytale world. 
• Arifa Akbar calls Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which is currently playing in Kingston-upon-Thames, UK, a glorious festive treat.
  
• Arifa Akbar calls the musical Hex by Katrina Lindsay and Rufus Norris, which is currently playing in London, UK, a darkly dazzling take on Sleeping Beauty.
• Chris Weigand reports about an offbeat adaptation of Alice in Wonderland currently playing in Brixton, London, UK. 
• Sabina Graves reports about some new Back to the Future and Jurassic World themed attractions at Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. 

  

Crowdfunding:

• The Third Dead Funny Book of Horror Stories, edited by Johnny Mains and Robin Ince, is looking for funding.
• SFF writer and scholar Jess Nevins needs some help to finance surgery for his cat.
  

 

Science and technology:

• George Dvorsky reports that the Orion space capsule has returned safely to Earth. 
• George Dvorsky shares seven things we learned from NASA's Artemis 1 mission. 
• Passant Rabie reports that three astronauts may be stranded aboard the ISS after the Soyuz capsule developed a coolant leak.
  
• Kenneth Chang reports about a breakthrough in nuclear fusion achieved at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
• Daniel S. Medwed talks about flaws in the way courts use DNA evidence. 
• David Barnett reports that scientists have extracted bio-molecules of Vlad the Impaler from a letter written in 1475.
  
• Kevin Hurler reports that construction has begun on the science fictional megacity The Line in Saudi-Arabia. 
• Benji Edwards reports that China requires all AI-generated media to be watermarked. 
• Sarah Shaffi reports that the crowdfunding platform Unbound has challenged AIs to solve the legendarily difficult literary puzzle Cain's Jawbone by Edward Powys Mathers.

Free online fiction: 

• "Deathmatch" by Rich Larson in Lightspeed. 
• "The Metamorphosis of Marie Martin" by Nadine Tomlinson in Lightspeed.
  
• "You Stand Before the Black Tower" by Nathaniel Webb in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "On the Way Home" by Laine Perez in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "Half-Spent Was the Night" by Gretchen Tessmer in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
  
• "The Resting Place of Trees" by Ben Berman Ghan in Clarkesworld. 
• "Shadow and Ash" by Sarah McPherson in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "Burning Books for Pleasure and Profit" by K.J. Parker in Tor.com.
  
• "Fibres of Space" by Luke Hannon in Mystery Tribune. 
  
• "The Counting Ghosts" by Bernie Jean Schiebeling in The Deadlands. 
• "Parebul of the Mother, Asked in Moonlight" by Victor Forna in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "Observations of a Small Object in Decaying Orbit" by Margaret Dunlap in Apex Magazine. 
  
• "Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness" by S.L. Huang in Clarkesworld.
  
• "Belly-Slitter" by H. Pueyo in The Dark.
• "The Czar of Smiles" by J.L. Royce in Fireside Magazine. 
• "The Fan Who Wasn't There" by William Shaw in Daily Science Fiction.  
• "The Many Dimensions of You" by A.K. Blake in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "God of Inconsequential Things" by Sheila Massie in Daily Science Fiction. 
  
• "The Message Behind the Words is the Voice of the Heart" by Scott Edelman in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Birthday Party at the Prehistory Zoo" by Mary E. Lowd in Daily Science Fiction.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. 
• Watch a trailer for 65.
  
• Watch a trailer for Extraordinary.
  
• Watch a trailer for Infinity Pool.
  
• Watch a trailer for Skinamarink.
• Watch a trailer for Scream VI.