Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 20, 2015

And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web:

Speculative fiction in general:

• Thomas Watson remembers Dune by Frank Herbert. 
• At Kirkus, Andrew Liptak remembers Jack Williamson's space operas. 
• At Barnes & Noble, Andrew Liptak remembers Andre Norton.
• Aidan Moher explains how Terry Brooks saved epic fantasy. 
• Seth Shorkowsky talks about sword and sorcery.
• At io9, Charlie Jane Anders sings the praises of the fix-up novel. 
• In response to the debate about Kazuo Ishiguro's new book as well as his alleged feud with Ursula Le Guin, Laura Miller points out that boundaries between literary and genre fiction are eroding and that we are all genre readers now.
• At the Telegraph, Martin Daubney spectacularly misses the point regarding campaigns for more diversity in literature.
• Bogi Takács talks about the migrant experience as protrayed in SFF.
• The Book Smugglers take on the current debate about more diversity in young adult fiction.
• Latonya Pennington explains why we need complex rather than just strong female characters. 
• Heather Massey explains how a Steampunk romance challenged her preconceived notions about violence in fiction. 
• Gareth L. Powell shares his top ten essential space operas.
• Shelf Talk takes a look at the curious hybrid genre science fantasy. 
• Adi Robertson criticises the unquestioned nostalgia of Ernest Cline's 2011 novel Ready Player One. 
• At Vulture, six famous authors talk about having written fanfiction.
• At Mashable, Lindsay Rothfeld attempts to explain why we are so obsessed with zombies.
• The Guardian links to reviews of classic science fiction films over the years.
• At Lady Business, Justira takes a look at how Agent Carter challenges both gender normals and heteronormativity.
• Grantland explains what to expect from the new science fiction TV series The Expanse, based on James S.A. Corey's books.
• Charlie Jane Anders remembers how a Japanese anime called Star Blazers helped her through a rough time during her childhood.
• Amy Dieg recounts how she was reluctant to pursue her interest in comic books, because she had been told all her life that comics weren't for girls. 
• Paul Levinson talks about Marshall McLuhan and the Kindle revolution.
• The Daily Beast remembers the work of legendary science fiction cover artist Richard Powers.
• M.C.A Hogarth explains the SFWA membership requirements for indie and small press writers (video).
  

Awards:

• Nerd of a Feather discuss reforming the Hugo Awards. There is also an addendum.
• The winners of the 2015 Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest have been announced.
• The HWA's Silver Hammer Award goes to Rena Mason.

Tributes to Sir Terry Pratchett:

• At Vice, Gavin Haynes remembers Terry Pratchett. 
• At the Irish Independent, Frank Whelan shares his tribute to Terry Pratchett. 
• At the Observer, Stephen Baxter remembers his collaborator Terry Pratchett.
• At Tor.com, Jo Walton remembers both her personal interactions with Terry Pratchett and her experience with his books. 
• Charles Stross remembers his thirty years acquaintence with Terry Pratchett. 
• John Scalzi remembers sharing a panel and a joke with Terry Pratchett at the 2004 Worldcon.
• Maureen Johnson remembers how Terry Pratchett helped her survive a particularly awful publishing industry party.
• At SF Signal, David Steffen remembers Terry Pratchett and his own introduction to the Discworld novels.
• The Yeovil Express shares their choices for the top ten most memorable characters Terry Pratchett created.
• The writers of Barnes & Noble's science fiction and fantasy blog share their favourite Terry Pratchett novels.
• Brandon Sanderson says good-bye to Terry Pratchett.  
• Robert Dahlen shares his tribute to Terry Pratchett.
• J.B. Whelan shares what Terry Pratchett and his books meant to him.
• Ksenia Anske remember Terry Pratchett and shares her favourite quotes. 
• The XKCD people remember Terry Pratchett with the eloquent comic. 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• The MIT Technology Review publishes a 1959 essay by Isaac Asimov on creativity for the very first time. 
• Zetta Elliott discusses black authors and self-publishing.
• Kari Sperring talks about skiing, writing and confidence. 
• Elena Linville talks about fearing the blank page.
• Genevieve McKay introduces her character Carolina Brown. 
• Kyra Halland interviews her character Arbrey Carden. 
• Jodie Renner shares a step-by-step guide on how to write a prize-worthy short story.
• Michael Brookes discusses how music helps to improve his writing.
• Harry Connolly talks about attack novels.
• Anne R. Allen shares the top ten social media no-nos for authors.
• Debra Purdy Kong warns of those sneaky publishing scams.
• Mary Robinette Kowal attempts to answer the question, "Should you be a full-time writer?"
• Ruth Nestvold offers advice for creating a wrap-around cover for a print-on-demand book.
  

Interviews:

• The Self-Publishing Round Table interviews Stacy Claflin (video link).
• Michael Brookes interviews Fleur Tomargo. 
• Max Pfeffer interviews Lana Axe.
• Larry Ketchersid interviews Michael Moorcock. 

Reviews:

• Gary Alan Henson reviews Little Differences and Loose Ends by Paul Levinson.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews First Activation by Darren and Marcus Wearmouth.
• At the Guardian, Damien Walker gives a shout-out to the Apocalypse Weird series. 
• Ian Sales reviews Starship Seasons by Eric Brown.
• Elena Linville reviews Time Patrol by Bob Mayer. 
• A.C. Wise reviews the film After Earth.

Crowdfunding:

• The epic fantasy novel Citadel in the Sky by Chrysoula Tsavelas is looking for backers.
• Imagined Realms 2, a new book of fantasy and science fiction art by Julie Dillon, is looking for funding.
• Beyond, a queer science fiction/fantasy comic anthology edited by Sfé R. Monster and Taneka Stotts, is looking for backers.
• A collection of the Journals 1990 - 2014 of Rudy Rucker is looking for funding.
• The revival of Fantastic Stories of the Imagination is looking for backers.
• Con Man, a new web comedy series starring Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk, is looking for funding.
• The short film Wasp Men from Mars! is looking for funding.  

Con reports:

• Geek Mom shares some lessons learned from science fiction and comic book conventions.
• Geeky Pleasures discusses the Women in Gaming panel at GottaCon 2015 in Victoria, British Columbia.
  

Science and technology:

• NASA confirms that there is an ocean on the Jupiter moon Ganymede. 
• A NASA probe has also discovered hot springs on the Saturn moon Enceladus.
• NASA has also validated a seemingly impossible microwave based space drive.
• Next Big Future points out that the Saturn moon Titan is the best colonisation target in the outer solar system.
• Popular Science takes a look at inflatable space habitats. 
• Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a fully transparent solar cell that looks like a regular pane of glass.
• The strange case of the Dutch woman haunted by dragons.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Crossing the River Styx" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
• "Battle Plan" by A. Lee Martinez.
• "Fleet United", part 43 of Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts. 
• Chapter 6 of "Darkness Falling", part 84 of The Descendants by Landon Porter. 

Odds and ends: 

• Watch the battle of Hoth reenacted by Lego figures.

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 13, 2015

And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web:

Speculative fiction in general:

• Shaun Duke looks at the common roots of space opera and epic fantasy.
• Gerry Canavan points out that the current space opera renaissance is less optimistic than its golden age predecessors and still influenced by the more pessimistic science fiction of the 1970s. 
• At The Spectator, William Cook argues that Blade Runner foresaw the way we live today.  
• At Reason, Jesse Walker discusses the blurry line between man and machine in the work of Philip K. Dick.
• The New Yorker profiles Liu Cixin.
• At The Guardian, David Barnett asks whether it really matters whether Kazuo Ishiguro considers his new novel The Buried Giant fantasy or not.
• At Flavorwire, Jonathan Sturgeon calls genre writers and readers tyrannical for trying to claim Kazuo Ishiguro as one of their own.
• Meanwhile, Kazuo Ishiguro himself rejects claims of genre snobbery. 
• And at Esquire, Stephen Marche declares the genre wars over.
• The Middle East Monitor takes a look at Arab science fiction.
• At the BBC World Service, Lauren Beukes takes a look at African science fiction.
• At the Guardian, Jessica Bland introduces Afrofuturism.
• Justina Robson tackles the issue of women in science fiction.
• Open Road Media has a video in which male writers talk about women in science fiction.
• Legion of Leia takes a look at ten female SFF roles that defied stereotypes.
• Robert Jackson Bennett wonders why it is so hard for many male writers to write convincing female characters.
• So does Junot Diaz, albeit in somewhat harsher words.
• Annalee Flower Horne discusses the portrayal of sexual violence survivors in science fiction and fantasy. 
• Various women writers discuss the issues and pitfalls of using rape and sexual violence as a plot device.
  
• At The Galaxy Express, Heather Massey looks at black women authors of science fiction romance.
• Cora Buhlert takes a look at the disparate reviews of Jupiter Ascending.
• At the Independent, Sarah Hughes wonders about the secret of Outlander's success.
• At The Atlantic, Sophie Gilbert reappraises Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the show's eighteenth anniversary. 
• Also at The Atlantic, Noah Berlatsky remembers Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic.
• Landon Porter explains why superheroes need supporting casts.
• At The Conversation, Luke Moffett claims that Chappie suggests it's time to think about the rights of robots.
• Is Guardians of the Galaxy just a D&D campaign played by the Avengers (plus Falcon and Bucky) during their downtime?
• Jessie Stickgold-Sarah explains how early 2000s theories about the Web 2.0 were both fulfilled and subverted by the online fandom cultures.
  

Tributes to Sir Terry Pratchett:

• The BBC has an obituary for Sir Terry Pratchett.
• Tor.com remembers Terry Pratchett.
• At the Guardian, Dean Burnett remembers Terry Pratchett.
• The Guardian also has an obituary for Terry Pratchett by Christopher Priest.
• Finally, the Guardian also shares tributes to the late Sir Terry from various well known writers, actors, politicians and other celebrities.
• The Independent shares the best Terry Pratchett quotes.
• The Globe and Mail has an obituary for Terry Pratchett.
• Neil Gaiman shares his memories of Terry Pratchett.
• George R.R. Martin shares his tribute to Terry Pratchett. 
• Scott Lynch also has a tribute to Terry Pratchett.
• At Can't Talk, Bell recounts how reading Terry Pratchett helped her grow up and realise her full potential. 
• A petition has been started at Change.org imploring Death to bring back Terry Pratchett.

Awards:

• The winners of the 2014 Kitschie awards have been announced.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Dave Farland shares some tips for creating believable characters.
• Elena Linville talks about writing a story that just keeps on growing. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about the importance of writing routines.
• Sherry Soule shares some tips for working with critique partners.
• Antara Man shares three surefire way to get book reviews.
• Mark Lawrence wonders how much blog reviews really influence sales.
• Ruth Nestvold shares some tips for formatting your book for Createspace or another POD service. 

Interviews:

• Lela Markham interviews Ted Cross. 
• Michael Brookes interviews Allen Miles.
• Michael Anton interviews Simon R. Green.
• August S. Evrard interviews Myke Cole. 
• Robyn Lupo interviews Linda Nagata. 
• Nick Sharps interviews Charles E. Gannon.
• The Civilian Reader interviews Markus Heitz.
  

Reviews:

• Anthony Vicino reviews the anthology No Way Home.
• Edi's Book Lighthouse reviews The Immortality Game by Ted Cross.
• Tome Tender also reviews The Immortality Game by Ted Cross.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Doll Face by Tim Curran. 
• Emily Asher Perrin reviews Chappie and compares it to a grown-up E.T. 
• Time reviews the movie Chappie.
• KSDK also reviews Chappie.
  

Crowdfunding:

• A Star Trek anthology edited by James A. Bray is looking for funding.
• Speculations K.C., a Kansas City Worldcon anthology edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt, is looking for backers.
• The fourth annual volume of Unidentified Funny Objects, an anthology of humorous fantasy edited by Alex Shvartsman, is looking for funding.
• The Alpha workshop for young writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror is looking for supporters.
  

Con reports:

• The Visalia Times Delta reports on the second annual Tulare Sci-Fi Con in Tulare, California.
• The Campus also reports on the Tulare Sci-Fi Con.
• Shannon Page recounts her experiences at RadCon in Pasco, Washington, and also shares a few photos.
• Jim Hines also shares some photos of RadCon.
• The Tri-City Herald also reports about RadCon.
• Andrea Blythe shares her experiences at FogCon in San Francisco.
  

Science and technology:

• The NASA spacecraft Dawn has achieved orbit around Ceres, making it the first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet. 
• Brazilian astronomers have discovered two newborn star clusters.
• Astronomers have also discovered a gigantic black hole with a weight of 12 billion suns. 
• NASA has shared a model of what Mars might have looked like when it had oceans.
• See some concept drawings for the Mars One habitat. 
• Discover argues that ion engines are the future of space travel.
• At Time.com, two economists argue that galactic empires make no sense.
• Cyber warriors need not be soldiers in the traditional sense. 
• A start-up that uses 3D printing techology to create prosthetic arms for children with partially developed limbs has given a bionic arm to a 7-year-old boy, presented by Robert Downey Jr. in character as Tony Stark himself.
• Some cases of synaesthesia might be caused by alphabet magnets.
• Check out this awesome timelapse video and photos of the launching and transfer of the cruise liner Anthem of the Seas in Papenburg, Germany.

Free online fiction:

• "Simon Clash: The Galaxy's Greatest Hero" by James Aquilone in Nature. 
• "The Thyme Fiend" by Jeffrey Ford in Tor.com.
• "Phantom" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
• "On a Spiritual Plain" by Lou Antonelli.
• "The River Stole the Gods" by R.M. Webb.
• Chapter 20 of Dragon Physician by Joyce Chng.
• "Communications in Outer Space", part 42 of Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts.
• "The Pink Parlor", part 6 of Room by Jodi Ralston. 
• Chapter 5 of "Darkness Falling", part 84 of The Descendants by Landon Porter. 

Odds and ends:

• Lauren Panepinto asked several female fantasy artists to redesign famous female SF and fantasy characters with stunning results.
• Watch the first episode of Powers, a streaming video series based on the comic by Brian Michael Bendis, online for free.
• Watch a trailer for season 5 of Game of Thrones. 
• Watch a trailer for Tomorrowland.
• Watch a trailer for the new Marvel streaming video series Daredevil. 
• Watch a trailer for the movie Selfless.