Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for August 27, 2021

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with What If...? and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Star Trek: Lower Decks and the many versions of Star Trek, Doctor Who past and present, the various DC Comics based TV shows, the new Candyman, Free Guy, Demonic, Reminiscence, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Jungle Cruise, season 11 of The Walking Dead, Sir Walter Scott at 250, Conan the Cimmerian and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• K.T. Howard lists completed LGBTQ SFF series to enjoy. 
• Alex Brown shares ten great SFF novellas and novelettes.
• Greta Hayer talks about the importance of fantasy comfort reads.
• Walida Imarisha talks about black science fiction. 
• Linda H. Codega talks about Appalachian SFF.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares classic science fiction novels featuring planets with very long or very shot days.
  
• Zoraida Córdova shares SFF novels featuring royalty. 
• Holly Kybett Smith talks about gothic fiction and the fear of change.
  
• Sam J. Miller talks about haunted houses, cursed lands and the horrors of gentrification. 
• Gordy Sauer explains that westerns are violent because they have to be. 
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five ludicrous reasons for not reading a perfectly good book. 
• Molly Templeton explains how to pick what to read next.
  
• Christine Lynn Herman shares five novels about modern teens with supernatural problems.
  
• Charlie Jane Anders shares her appreciation for the Bending the Landscape anthology series and discusses its impact on popularising LGBTQ SFF.
  
• Phyllis Stephen celebrates the 250th birthday of Sir Walter Scott.
  
• Deuce Richardson traces Sir Walter Scott's influence on the fantasy genre. 
• Heather Cass White points out that reading and the quest for knowledge are at the heart of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
  
• Jonathan Walker talks about J.R.R. Tolkien, Christianity and the eucatastrophe.
  
• G.W. Thomas shares some forgotten sword and sorcery stories from the 1970s and 1980s.
  
• Will Oliver finds some unexpected parallels between Robert E. Howard and Louis L'Amour. 
• Ken Lizzi wonders about Conan's drinking habits. 
• Brian Kunde wonders what Conan's final fate looked like. 
  
• Ray Bradbury celebrates the 101st birthday of Ray Bradbury. 
• Michael Curtis shares his appreciation for the works of Brian Aldiss. 
• Matt Bell shares what he learned from a year of reading Ursula K. Le Guin.
  
• Sara Light-Waller revisits the forgotten 1950s science fiction hero Johnny Mayhem, whose adventures appeared in Amazing Stories from 1955 to 1958.
  
• Ngo Vinh-Hoi profiles Andrew J. Offutt. 
• Matthew Hughes explains how he came to write in the world of Jack Vance's Dying Earth.
  
• Jon Hook traces H.P. Lovecraft's influence on RPGs. 
• Mike Glyer shares J. Michael Straczynski's FAQ about the Last Dangerous Visions anthology. 
• David Nickle remembers the late Lorna Toolis.
  
• Children's book author Jill Murphy, author of The Worst Witch series, has died aged 72.
  

Comics and Art:

• Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his thoughts on X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #1. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews the graphic novel I Am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani.
  
• Alex Segura interviews comics writer and former Vertigo editor Pornsak Pichetshote.
• Andrew Liptak reports that Marvel has hired Walter Mosley to write The Thing. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1979 science fiction graphic collection Future Day by Gene Day. 
  
• Michael Gonzales shares a personal journey through the world of alternative comics in 1970s New York City. 
  
• Amanda Tanner reports about a massive Depression era comic strip scrapbook kept in a barber shop in Fredonia, Kansas.
• Goodman Games takes a look at the Conan Weird Tales covers of Margaret Brundage.
• Arnie Fenner shares a 1977 interviews with Frank Frazetta and Roy Krenkel about the Lancer Conan covers. 
• R.C. Baker shares his appreciation for the work of Frank Frazetta. 
• Joe Moe shares his appreciation for Basil Gogos' cover art for Famous Monsters of Filmland.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Rebecca Nicholson wonders whether The Handmaid's Tale will break its cycle of cruelty in season 4. 
• Cheryl Eddy declares that season 2 of Evil offers one hell of a good time.
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls American Horror Stories a dark and twisted delight. 
• Paul Levinson explains what is good and what is not good about the Australian science fiction film 2067.
  
• Phil Hoad calls Sound of Violence a neo-giallo film that's big on lurid violence. 
• Leslie Felperin calls Bloodthirsty a horror film that puts the gore front and centre.
  
• Joe Bonadonna calls Blood Quantum a fresh, Native American inspired horror film. 
• Cath Clarke calls Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon an animated adventure which focusses on indigenous characters.
  
• James Whitbrook discusses the radical sincerity of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.
• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the season 12 premiere of Archer.
  
• Dan Persons celebrates a century of animated science fiction. 
• Rob Bricken shares some early reactions to Ghostbusters Afterlife.
  
• Bob Brinkman takes a look at film adaptations of H.P, Lovecraft stories.
  
• Jason Sacks revisits the 1966 science fiction movie Fantastic Voyage.
  
• Guy Lodge revisits the 1981 horror film An American Werewolf in London for its fortieth anniversary. 
• The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1981 animated fantasy film Heavy Metal for its fortieth anniversary. 
• A.A. Dowd revisits the 2003 science fiction noir film Code 46. 
• Alex McLevy revisits the 2006 animated adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly. 
• Andrew Paul reports how the 1974 martial arts movie The Street Fighter became the first film to receive an X rating for extreme violence in the US.
  
• Simran Hans lists movie remakes she believes outshine the original.
• John Bleasdale interviews special effects specialist Phil Tippett.
• Katie Rife and Matt Schimkovitz share their favourite martial arts movies starring the late Sonny Chiba.
• Ryan Parker reports that Gene Kelly was not mad at Malcolm McDowell about McDowell performing "Singin' in the Rain" in A Clockwork Orange, but that he was actually mad at Stanley Kubrick, because Kubrick hadn't paid Kelly for the use of the song.
  

 

Comments on What If...? and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers):

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What If...?
• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on the latest episode of What If...? 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore shares his thoughts on the latest episode of What If...? 
  
• Ryan Van Loan discusses the role of ego (the self, not the living planet) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Tom Breihan revisits Avengers: Infinity War.
• Charles Pulliam Moore interviews A.C. Bradley and Bryan Andrews, producer and director of What If...?
• Matt Goldberg interviews Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios. 
• Danette Chavez interviews Kathryn Hahn who played Agatha Harkness in WandaVision.
• Steven Wong interviews Elizabeth Olsen who plays Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
• Elise Brisco reports that Disney is pushing for arbitration in the lawsuit brought against them by Scarlett Johansson. 
• Andrew Pulver reports that Elizabeth Olsen has expressed her support for Scarlett Johansson in her lawsuit against Disney.
  
• Eugene Masterson reports that Barry Keoghan, one of the stars of Eternals, was left hospitalised after an assault in Galway, Ireland. 
• Tatiana Tenreyro reports that actress Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri, has been injured on the set of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
  
• Jordan Moreau reports that the character of Ironheart a.k.a. Riri Williams will be introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
• Watch a trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Comments on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings a spirited martial arts action fest. 
• Nancy Wang Yuen declares that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings brings compelling new heroes and awe-inspiring action to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  
• Katie Rife calls Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings a martial arts movie meets superhero film. 
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw finds some parallels between Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Jackie Chan movies. 
• Chelsea Tang interviews Tony Leung who plays Wenwu a.k.a. the Mandarin in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
  
• Watch a teaser for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
  

 

Comments on Free Guy:

• Owen Gleiberman calls Free Guy one of the most original movies of the summer and also a genuine box office success, even though you can only see it in the theatre. 
• Arturo Serrano calls Free Guy so chock-full of allegories that it gets its message confused.
  
• Claire Armitstead interviews Jodie Comer, star of Killing Eve and Free Guy, as well as Stephen Graham, her co-star in Help.
• Aaron Couch interviews Matt Lieberman, screenwriter of Free Guy.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. De Candido shares his thoughts on "We'll Always Have Tom Paris", the latest episode of Star Trek Lower Decks.
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on "We'll Always Have Tom Paris". 
  
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the Star Trek Voyager episodes "Nightingale" and  "Flesh and Blood".
  
• James Whitbrook explains how Star Trek will be celebrating its 55th birthday.
  
• Rob Bricken reports that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry is getting a biopic.
  

Comments on the various DC Comics based movies and TV shows:

• Sam Barsanti shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Legends of Tomorrow.
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Supergirl. 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Stargirl.
  
• Arturo Serrano shares his thoughts on season one of Superman and Lois. 
• Chancellor Agard interviews Mellisa Benoist, star of Supergirl.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that season 8 of The Flash will open with a five part crossover event. 
• Molly Templeton reports that Black Canary, as portrayed by Jurnee Smollett in Birds of Prey, will be getting her own movie.
  

 

Comments on Doctor Who past, present and future: 

• Morgan Jeffery interviews Tom Baker who played the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. 
• Adam Whitehead wonders who might replace Chris Chibnall as Doctor Who showrunner.
  
• Patrick Cremona reports that Babylon 5 showrunner J. Michael Straczynski has contacted the BBC about succeeding Chris Chibnall as Doctor Who showrunner.
• Rob Bricken reports that a never produced Russell T. Davies Doctor Who script from the 1980s will be produced as an audio drama starring Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford.
• Ty Johnston revisits the 1985 Doctor Who roleplaying game.
  

 

Comments on the new Candyman:

• Peter Bradshaw calls the new Candyman a superb horror film for the Black Lives Matter era. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore calls the new Candyman a haunting fairytale trapped in a horror movie.
  
• Anya Stanley calls the new Candyman a thoughtful if overstuffed reboot of a horror classic.
  
• Jenelle Riley interviews Nia DaCosta, director of the new Candyman. 
• Steve Rose interviews Ni DaCosta.
• Ellen E. Jones interviews Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, star of the new Candyman.
• Angelique Jackson reports about the #TellEveryone social impact initative launched by the director and producers of Candyman.
  

 

Comments on Reminiscence:

• Owen Gleiberman calls Reminiscence a science fiction noir love story that's déjà vu all over again. 
• Molly Templeton calls Reminiscence a tired mystery dressed up in nice science fiction clothes.
  
• Paul Levinson finds a lot to like about Reminiscence.
  
• Elizabeth Aubrey interviews Lisa Joy, director of Reminiscence. 
• Marah Eakin interviews Hugh Jackman, star of Reminiscence. 
• Isaac Feldberg interviews Thandiwe Newton, star of Reminiscence, Westworld and Solo.
  
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Reminiscence is a box office flop and that movies aimed at adult audiences are struggling in general.
  

 

Comments on The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf:

• James Whitbrook declares that Nightmare of the Wolf brings more than just bloody action to the world of The Witcher.
  
• Huw Fullerton calls The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf a missed opportunity.
  

 

Comments on Demonic:

• Mike McCahill calls Demonic a pulpy science fiction horror film.
• Benjamin Lee interviews Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9, Chappie and Demonic.

 

Comments on Jungle Cruise:

• Foz Meadows watches Jungle Cruise, so you don't have to, and finds it suffused with nostalgia.  
• Christina Radish interviews Veronica Falcón, who plays Trader Sam in Jungle Cruise.
  

 

Comments on season 11 of The Walking Dead: 

• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the season 11 premiere of The Walking Dead.
• Rob Bricken shares his thoughts on the season 11 premiere of The Walking Dead. 
• Rob Bricken interviews Jeffrey Dean Morgan who plays Negan in The Walking Dead.
  

 

Awards: 

• The winners of the 2021 Asimov's Readers' Awards have been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2021 Munsey Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Prix Rosny Aîné have been announced.
• The winners of the 2021 Splatterpunk Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2021 Silver Falchion Awards have been announced. 
• The finale ballot for the 2021 Ringo Awards has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 Young Readers Choice Awards have been announced.
• The 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Cover Contest is open for voting.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• William Kent Krueger talks about the storyteller's promise.
  
• Karen Hamilton shares some tips for creating characters. 
• Karen Rose shares the secret to writing great romantic suspense.
  
• Sarah Chorn shares ten tips for writing believable pain. 
• T.J.Klune explains how grief influences his writing.
• Scott Oden shares his writing process.
• Benjamin C. Kinney shares expectations and best practices for short fiction rejection letters. 
• Stephen Womack talks about returning to an abandoned series.
  

Interviews:

• Locus interviews T.J. Klune. 
• Paul Weimer interviews John Appel.
  
• Leonard Maltin interviews R.L. Stine.
  
• Laurel Amberdine interviews Tobi Ogundiran.
• Andrea Johnson interviews Davis Liss.
  
• Janna Miller interviews Alice Paige. 
• Gordon B. White interviews Zin E. Rocklyn.
• Cat Rambo interviews Juliet Kemp.
• David E. Cowen interviews Corrine De Winter.
• The Science Fiction Book Club interviews Eric Leif Davin. 
• Cora Buhlert interviews Oliver Brackenbury.
  
• Jenn Northington interviews Jen Zink.
  

Reviews:

• Sarah Wendell reviews A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. 
• Ralph Harris reviews Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell.
  
• Paul Weimer reviews Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 
• L.A. Young reviews The House of Always by Jenn Lyons. 
• The Quill to Live reviews When the Goddess Wakes by Howard Andrew Jones. 
• Jason Ray Carney reviews A Sorcerer of Atlantis by John Shirley.
  
• Mark Yon reviews A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlì Clark. 
• Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman review The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker.
  
• Greg Mele reviews The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. 
• Colleen Mondor reviews The Girl from Shadow Springs by Ellie Cypher.
  
• Marion Deeds reviews The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner. 
• Alice Jolly reviews The Infernal Riddle of Thomas Peach by Jas Treadwell.
  
• Joanna Z. Weston reviews Finna by Nino Cipri.
• Lucy Hughes-Hallett reviews The Women of Troy by Pat Barker.
• Anthony Cummins reviews The Women of Troy by Pat Barker. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North.
  
• Char's Horror Corner reviews Road of Bones by Christopher Golden. 
• Marion Deeds reviews Revelator by Daryl Gregory.
  
• Tobias Grey reviews Civilizations by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor.
  
• Ian Mond reviews Slipping by Mohamed Kheir. 
• Oliver Brackenbury reviews The Red Man and Others by Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten.
  
• Maya C. James reviews The Tangleroot Palace by Marjorie Liu.
  
• Paul di Filippo reviews Everything in All the Wrong Order by Chaz Brenchley. 
• Arley Sorg reviews We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020, edited by Charles Payseur and C.L. Clark.
  
• Richard Fisher reviews Volume 2 of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy, edited by David A. Riley.
  
• J. Thomas Howard reviews the latest issue of Witch House Magazine.
  

 
Classics reviews:

• Jason Ray Carney revisits the 1936 Conan sword and sorcery story "Red Nails" by Robert E. Howard.
  
• G.W. Thomas revisits the 1937 space opera story "Raider of the Spaceways" by Henry Kuttner. 
• G.W. Thomas revisits the 1938 prehistoric adventure story "The Whacker" by Austin Gill.
  
• Kat Hooper and Bill Capossere revisits the 1953 space opera Star Rangers by Andre Norton.
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1954 horror story "More Than Shadow" by Dorothy Quick. 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 1957 space opera Star Born by Andre Norton. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the September 1966 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
• John O'Neill revisits the 1969 horror novel The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1970 anthology Orbit 6, edited by Damon Knight.
  
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1973 science fiction novel The Sins of the Fathers by Stanley Schmidt.
  
• James Maliszewski revisits the 1979 sword and sorcery story "A Hero at the Gates" by Tanith Lee.
• The Appendix N Book Club revisits the 1982 sword and sorcery fix-up novel Nift the Lean by Michael Shea.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1983 horror thriller Pranks. 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1985 science fiction novel Helliconia Winter by Brian W. Aldiss.
  
• James McGlothlin revisits the 1988 science fiction collection The Best of John Brunner. 
• Joe Kenney revisits Killer Steele, a 1990 novel in the Steele science fiction men's adventure series by J.D. Masters.
  
• The Por Por Books Blog revisits the 1991 science fiction novel Salt by Gabrielle Lord.
  
• Emmet Asher-Perrin revisits the 1991 Discworld fantasy novel Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett.
  

Con and event reports:

• Frank Schiavo reports that Contraflow X in Kenner, Louisiana, has been postponed to 2022 due to the covid resurgence. 
• Conflux 2021 in Camberra, Australia, has been cancelled due to the covid resurgence.
  
• William Lampkin shares photos from PulpFest 2021 in Mars, Pennsylvania, in a three part post. 
• Mike Glyer shares the line-up for the 2021 Philip K. Dick Film Festival in New York City.
  
• Katie Rife reports about the virtual Fantasia 2021 film festival.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Ashwini Sakharkar reports that Japan has tested a rotating detonation engine in space for the first time.
  
• Kait Hanson reports that ten members from Afghanistan's all-girl robotics team have been evacuated from the country.
• Rachel Scully reports that Tesla is developing a humanoid robot.
• Brooks Barnes reports that Disney's latest animatronic robots will be sentient.
• Zach Helfand reports about the Automated Ball-Strike System, an AI baseball umpire, and wonders whether it will catch on. 
• Meghan O'Gieblyn talks about consciousness and robot dogs.
• Kaye Dee shares the latest space exploration news from 1966.
• Ashley Jean Yeager shares her appreciation for astronomer Vera Rubin.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Ghost Riders at Hutchinson's Two-Pump" by Inez Schaechterle in Fantasy Magazine. 
• "L'Espirit de L'Escalier" by Catherynne M. Valente in Tor.com. 
• "The Bonfire of the Unknown and the Foreign" by Abhijeet Sathe in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "For Rain is to Wet and Fire to Burn" by Robert Minto in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Brief Lives" by Nelson Stanley in The Dark.
• "Resistance in a Drop of DNA" by Andrea Kriz in Clarkesworld.
• "Forensic Analysis of a Body, Still Warm" by P.L. Watts in Nightmare Magazine. 
• "Anything Short of Death is Survivable" by David Anaxagoras in Lightspeed.
• "My Sister is a Scorpion" by Isabel Cañas in Lightspeed.
• "Mother Haskell" by Maeghan Klinker in Luna Station Quarterly. 
• "Osu" by Kingsley Okpii in Apex Magazine.
  
• "The Jini" by Wangari Wamae in Omenana.
• "The Mixed Medium" by Erica Plouffe Lazure in Fireside Magazine.
• "Small Worlds of Black and White" by James Van Pelt in Daily Science Fiction.
• "Your Attention Please" by Karl El-Koura in Daily Science Fiction. 
• "Prepare for Respawn" by Eric Fomley in Daily Science Fiction.
  
• "Mindlessness" by J.P. Reynolds in Daily Science Fiction.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Lady of the Manor. 
• Watch a trailer for The King's Man.
  
• Watch a trailer for Witches of Blackwood.
  
• Watch a trailer for Nightbooks. 
• Watch a trailer for Welcome to the Blumhouse. 
  
• Watch a trailer for The Wonderful.
• Watch a trailer for Maya and the Three.
  

 

Odds and ends:

• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books share some fannish knitting patterns.
• James Davis Nicoll shares his appreciation for the Worlds of Wonder RPG created by the late Steve Perrin.
• Lucas Blaine wonders what a modern Conan videogame should be like.