Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 9, 2018

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with more tributes to Ursula K. Le Guin, Star Trek Discovery (spoilers again mostly marked, but reader beware), Black Panther, Altered Carbon, The Cloverfield Paradox, Winchester, revies of classic science fiction, a whole lot of movie and TV trailers as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, con reports, crowdfunding campaigns, science articles, free online fiction and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• The participants of the latest Mind Meld share which SFF books they cannot wait to read in 2018.
• Charles Stross grumbles about the state of contemporary science fiction. 
• Michael Burianyk offers an overview over science fiction in Ukraine. 
• David Mack talks about facts versus story in secret history fiction. 
• Abigail Nussbaum discusses how Autonomous by Annalee Newitz tackles current political issues.  
• K.M. Alexander explains that it's okay to like problematic characters and challenging narratives.
• Jennifer Weiner explains how romance novels can help women explore issues of consent and sexual desire. 
• S.E. Smith explains why romance novels are feminist.
• Judith Tarr revisits Andre Norton's 1959 novel The Beast Master and praises how subversive it still is almost sixty years later. 
• Howling Frog Books revisits Leigh Brackett's 1974 science fiction novel The Ginger Star as well as its sequels The Hounds of Skaith and The Reavers of Skaith.
• Mark Chiocco revisits the 1955 science fiction novella The Big Jump by Leigh Brackett.
• Mark Chiocco also revisits Larry Niven's 1970 science fiction novel Ringworld.  
• Off the TBR revisits the 1974 science fiction novel The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
• Bookforager revisits the 1974 science fiction novel The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe by D.G. Compton. 
• AQ's Reviews revisits the 1961 science fiction novel Time is the Simplest Thing by Clifford D. Simak. 
• Jeff LaSala shares his appreciation for the works of R.A. Salvatore. 
• Meghan Ball shares her appreciation for the works of Tamora Pierce.
• Ryan Sayles shares the secret of horror novels and films that stand the test of time.
• Steve Rose takes a look at the movie Bright and other tortured racial analogies and at what point they tip over into pure racism. 
• Angie Dahl wonders why movies featuring female superheroes such as Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel tend to be set in the past. 
• John Boitnott find some business insights for entrepreneurs in The Last Jedi. 
• Dean E.S. Richard explores the character arc of Poe Dameron in The Last Jedi.
• Meanwhile, Kevin Burwick reports that some people are freaking out because at least two Porgs are shown to be gay in The Last Jedi.
• Sulagna Misra praises the afterlife sitcom The Good Place for its insight into characters.
• Mark Jenkins shares his thoughts on the Japanese science fiction movie Before We Vanish.  
• Niko Maragos shares his thoughts about the German horror series Dark and particularly praises its female characters.
• Mike Glyer reports that Lou Antonelli has apologised to blogger Camestros Felapton as well as writer Foz Meadows and her husband for false claims made about them.
• Mike Glyer also shares some further comments from Foz Meadows about the issue.
• Horror writer David F. Case died aged 80.
  

Tributes to Ursula K. Le Guin:

• Ricky Grove shares a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
• Emily Popek shares her appreciation for Ursula K. Le Guin and particularly for her essay "Introducing Myself".
  

Comments on Star Trek Discovery:

• Katharine Trendacosta is still displeased with episode 14 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on episode 14 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Zack Handlen shares his thoughts on episode 14 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Kayti Burt shares her thoughts on episode 14 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Keith DeCandido shares his thoughts on episode 14 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on episode 14 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on episode 14 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Ethan Siegel shares his thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her appreciation for the character of Sylvia Tilly in Star Trek Discovery.
• Kayti Burt wonders whether Star Trek Discovery will end the season by resetting the timeline.
  

Comments on Altered Carbon:

• Benjamin Lee calls Altered Carbon flashy, flawed and fun. 
• Clara Mae declares that Altered Carbon has the potential to become a truly diverse science fiction series. 
• Damien Walter calls Altered Carbon a flat and shiny series adapted from an equally flat and shiny novel. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Altered Carbon proves that Cyberpunk had failed to progress.  
• Bob Mayer calls Altered Carbon an intriguing journey.
• Sam Reader shares five books to read after watching Altered Carbon.
  

Comments on Black Panther:

• Kendra James declares that Black Panther is as good as people expected it to be.
• Joshua Evans declares that Black Panther is everything people have been asking for and more. 
• Kristy Puchko is thoroughly pleased with Black Panther and particularly praises Michael B. Jordan as the antagonist Killmonger.
• Don Kaye is also extremely pleased with Black Panther. 
• Ramin Setoodeh explains how Black Panther makes history.
• Steve Rose wonders whether Black Panther will fall into the same trap as other Hollywood movies in problematiclly portraying Africa. 
• Carolyn Hinds declares that Black Panther is an allegory for people wanting blackness, but not black people.
• Germain Lussier explains how the country of Wakanda was created for Black Panther.  
• Clarkisha Kent explains how Black Panther tackles colourism by casting dark-skinned actresses in several prominent roles.
• Baraka Kaseko, Marah Eakin and Danette Chavez shares everything you should know about Black Panther before watching the movie. 
• Germain Lussier reports how Chadwick Bosemen was cast to play T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther. 
• Ashley Weatherford interviews Camille Friend, the hairstylist who created the stunning styles seen in Black Panther. 
• Graeme Virtue reports how Black Panther was targeted by disgruntled fans who promised to ruin the films Rotten Tomatoes score. 
• Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Sidney Madden explain how the Black Panther soundtrack album came together.

Comments on The Cloverfield Paradox: 

• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky delcares that The Cloverfield Paradox is not nearly as original as its marketing gimmick.
• Germain Lussier declares that The Cloverfield Paradox lacks the tensions and twists of its predecessors.
• Reuben Baron shares eight things he loved and seven things he hated about The Cloverfield Paradox.
• Germain Lussier also explains how The Cloverfield Paradox links to the other Cloverfield movies.
• Phil Owen also explains how The Cloverfield Paradox fits in with the other two Cloverfield movies.
• Angel Wilson shares her thoughts on The Cloverfield Paradox and also detects a pattern in the Cloverfield franchise.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw wonders why The Cloverfield Paradox was distributed via netflix with barely any advance notice and not shown in theatres with months of pre-publicity and whether this is actually a way to bury a film with a black director and black star.
• Camestros Felapton and Timothy the Talking Cat shares their not entirely serious thoughts on The Cloverfield Paradox.
  

Comments on Winchester:

• Cheryl Eddy declares that Winchester may be full of ghosts, but that it's not haunting or scary.
• Kristy Puchco shares her thoughts on Winchester.

Awards:

• The nominations for the 2018 Hugo Awards and the 1943 Retro Hugo Awards are open.
• The 2018 Locus Poll and Survey is open for voting.  
• The final ballot for the 2017 Bram Stoker Awards has been announced.
• The winners of the 2017 SFR Galaxy Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2018 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award have been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2017 Brave New World Awards has been announced. 
• The winners of the Horror Writers Association's 2017 Specialty Press Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2018 Audie Awards have been announced. 
• Neal Stephenson has won the 2018 Robert A. Heinlein Award.
• The horror anthology Dark Fantasies, edited by Mariano Villareal, has won the 2017 Guillermo de Baskerville Award.
• David Cullen explains what he learned judging the Arthur C. Clarke Award.
• The winners of the 2018 Directors Guild Awards have been announced with some love for genre productions.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Kameron Hurley explains what she has learned about being a writer.
• D.J. Collins shares some writing tips for new authors. 
• Lauren Sapala implores writers to trust their own process.
• Lauren Sapala also explains why it is so difficult for certain personality types to share their writing with others.
• Thomas Pluck debunks bad writing advice. 
• E.J. Swift talks about writing a time travel novel.
• Sandra M. Odell shares some worldbuilding tips regarding accomodating characters with disabilities. 
• Stacy Whitman takes a look at the role of cultural experts and sensitivity readers. 
• Michael Coorlim talks about author identity as a marketing tool.
• Kim Pruett discusses the reasons why writers use pen names.
  

Interviews:

• Locus interviews J.Y. Yang. 
• Scott Simon interviews Tamora Pierce. 
• The Qwillery interviews Maria Vale.
• The Qwillery also interviews Sue Burke.
• Adrian Van Young interviews Chandler Klang Smith.
• The Horror Writers Association interviews Michael Arnzen.
• Alex Heimbach interviews Adrianne Finlay.
• Antonia Saxon interviews Diane Dillon. 
• Greg Fleming interviews Neil Cross, creator of Luther and Hard Sun.
• Bryan Cairns interviews actress Odette Annable who plays Samantha Arias a.k.a. Reign in Supergirl.
  

Reviews:

• The Romance Reviews reviews The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard.
• Paul Weimer reviews Moonshine by Jasmine Gower.
• Adrienne Martini reviews Artemis by Andy Weir and The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt. 
• Niall Alexander reviews Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin.
• Ross Johnson reviews Semiosis by Sue Burke.
  
• The Middle Shelf reviews The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson. 
• Galhalla Book Blog reviews An Unkindness of Ghosts by River Solomon.
• Liz Bourke reviews The Sisters of the Crescent Empress by Leena Likitalo. 
• Faren Miller reviews Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. 
• Jana Nyman and Tadiana Jones reviews Tarnished City by Vic James.
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch.
• Sam Reader reviews The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. 
• Mark Chitty reviews Invaders From Beyond by Colin Sinclair, Tim Major and Julian Benson.
• Ardi Alspach reviews The Sky is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith. 
• Rob Bedford also reviews The Sky is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith.
• Off the TBR reviews Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft.
• Jana Nyman reviews Bright Thrones by Kate Elliott. 
• Corrina Lawson reviews Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra.
• The Qwillery reviews The Way Into Chaos by Harry Connolly.
• Mark Yon reviews Age of Assassins by R.J. Barker.
• Jeff Somers reviews Child of a Mad God by R.A. Salvatore.
• The Fantasy Café reviews The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco.
• Alex Brown reviews The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert.
• Angela Slatter reviews The Silver Well by Kate Forsyth and Kim Wilkins.
• Katie Burton reviews Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge.
• Kirkus reviews Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay.
• Jesse Hudson reviews Graft by Matt Hill.
• Michael Patrick Hicks review Devil's Row by Matt Serafini.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Natalie Riess is looking for funding for a two volume print edition of her fantasy webcomic Snarlbear. 
  
• Good Society, a Jane Austen inspired roleplaying game, is looking for funding.
• The English language edition of the Keyring RPG, an RPG so compact it fits on a keyring, is looking for funding.
• Latonja S. Richardson is looking for funding to send 1000 girls to see the upcoming film A Wrinkle in Time and give every girl a copy of the book.
• Tarie Crawford, the mother of podcaster and critic Shaun Duke, needs some help with medical expenses following abdominal surgery.
  

Con reports:

• Diane King shares some cosplay photos of SciFi Con in Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Martin Morse Wooster reports about a performance of It's the Rest of the World That Looks So Small: A Theatrical Revue of Jonathan Coulton in Silver Spring, Maryland.
  

Science and technology:

• Space X's Falcon Heavy rocket has launched successfully and sent a Tesla sportscar into orbit.
• Ethan Siegel talks about satellite galaxies.
• New laser technology has revealed more than 60000 hidden Maya ruins in the Guatemalan jungle.

Free online fiction:

• "Where would you be now?" by Carrie Vaughn at Tor.com. 
• "Your Slaughterhouse, Your Killing Floor" by Sunny Moraine in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" by Charlie Jane Anders in Boston Review.
• "Wind Will Rove" by Sarah Pinsker in Asimov's.  
• "Persephone of the Crows" by Karen Joy Fowler in Asimov's.
• "Four-Point Affective Calibration" by Bogi Takács in Lightspeed. 
• "The Seventh Expression of the Robot General" by Jeffrey Ford in Lightspeed.
• "Silver Bullet" by Dyane Forde.

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story. 
• Watch a TV spot for Solo: A Star Wars Story. 
• Watch a trailer for Deadpool 2.
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Jessica Jones. 
• Watch a TV spot for Avengers: Infinity War. 
• Watch a Japanese trailer for Pacific Rim: Uprising.
• Watch a trailer for Krypton.
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Westworld.
• Watch a trailer for The Quiet Place.
• Watch a trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
  

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 2, 2018

It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with tributes to Ursula K. Le Guin, Jack Ketchum and Mort Walker, Star Trek Discovery (spoilers again mostly marked, but reader beware), Black Panther, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, The Maze Runner: The Death Cure as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, con reports, crowdfunding campaigns, science articles, free online fiction and much more. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Locus has issued its 2017 recommended reading list.
• Marina Berlin shares five ways to build a more believable future military. 
• James Davis Nicoll takes a look at science fiction concepts and settings that deserve a better execution.
• Meghan Ball shares ten SFF supporting characters who deserve their own stories.
• Ana Marie Cox takes a look at the most important pets in science fiction and fantasy.
• Oren Ashkenazi and Vectober explain why the term "Mary Sue" is sexist.
• Mimi Mondal shares a short history of South Asian speculative fiction.
• Stephen Aryan discusses the link between beer and fantasy books. 
• Marc Turner shares five magical weapons you don't want your enemy to bring to a fight.
• John Tuttle shares four reasons why everybody loves Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings.
• Doris V. Sutherland revisits the 1930 space opera Tarrano the Conqueror by Ray Cummings.
• Doris V. Sutherland also takes a look at how the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher works as urban fantasy. 
• Ryan W. Mueller shares his appreciation for the Harry Potter books.
• Leah Schnelbach shares her appreciation for the 1984 film adaptation of Michael Ende's The Neverending Story.
• Jeanette Ng explains how much she loves The Last Jedi. 
• Graeme McMillan shares a complete guide to all Easter eggs in The Last Jedi.
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on The Shape of Water. 
• Alasdair Stuart explains why Jordan Peele's horror film Get Out is Oscar-worthy. 
• David Annandale talks about his love for horror movies.
  
• Phil Harrison discusses the resurgence of British folk horror. 
• William Meikle revisits the 1956 science fiction horror film X - The Unknown.
• Cheryl Eddy is not pleased with the portrayal of Scully's son William in The X-Files.
• Evan Narcisse share his thoughts on episodes 1 and 2 of the parallel universe spy thriller series Counterpart.  
• Justina Ireland shares her hot take on The Good Place.
• Zack Sharf reports that the upcoming movies The Crimes of Grindelwald will ignore the fact that Albus Dumbledore is gay.
• Steve Vertlieb remembers film composer Miklos Rozsa.
• Foz Meadows offers her thoughts on the latest uproar in the SFF community as well as some personal background. 
• Jim C. Hines offers a summary of the latest SFF uproar. 
• Comic writer and editor Bill Harris died aged 84. 
• Cartoonist Mort Walker has died aged 94. 
• Michael David Wilson shares a tribute to Dallas Mayr a.k.a. Jack Ketchum.
  

Tributes to Ursula K. Le Guin:

• Neil Gaiman shares his memories of Ursula K. Le Guin. 
• Marie Brennan remembers Ursula K. Le Guin. 
• Alma Alexander remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
• Phoebe Wagner shares a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin. 
• George R.R. Martin shares a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin. 
• Nancy Jane Moore shares a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
• Michael Dirda explains why Ursula K. Le Guin matters. 
• Victoria Varga shares her appreciation for Ursula K. Le Guin and particularly for her novel The Dispossessed.
• Gabrielle Bellot shares her appreciation for Ursula K. Le Guin's story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" and also wonders whether it is science fiction, fantasy or something else altogether.
• Peter S. Beagle remembers Ursula K. Le Guin. 
• Amy Sterling Casil remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
• Lisa Goldstein explains what Ursula K. Le Guin meant for other female science fiction writers. 
• Cora Buhlert remembers Ursula K. Le Guin.
• Katherine Brooks remembers the night Ursula K. Le Guin was named SFWA Grand Master and promptly pranked the patriarchy.
• Cara Giaimo reminds us that Ursula K. Le Guin also wrote a genuine space opera entitled Rigel 9 together with composer David Bedford.
  

Comments on Star Trek Discovery:

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Swapna Krishna shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Katharine Trendacosta continues to be very annoyed with episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Zack Handlen is also annoyed with episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Liz Shannon Miller shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Keith DeCandido shares his thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Kayti Burt shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery. 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on episode 13 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Ethan Siegel shares his thoughts on episode 11 and episode 12 of Star Trek Discovery.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also explains some historical connections to the Roman Empire in recent episodes of Star Trek Discovery.
• James Whitbrook finds some parallels between Star Trek Discovery and The Last Jedi in how both seem to undemining cornerstones of their own franchises.
• J.J. Nattrass shares their appreciation for the character of Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek Discovery.
• Ryan Britt interviews Jason Isaacs who plays Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek Discovery. 
• Liz Shannon Miller also interviews Jason Isaacs.
• Nate Jones profiles Doug Jones who plays Saru in Star Trek Discovery.
• Kevin Melrose finds a link between Star Trek Discovery and the upcoming superhero movies Ant-Man and The Wasp.
  

Comments on Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams:

• Paul Levinson offers an episode by episode review of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
• Evan Narcisse ranks all episodes of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.

Comments on Black Panther: 

• Germain Lussier reports about a visit to the set of Black Panther and offers some insights into the film.
• Hannah Collins explains why Shuri, the teenaged sister of T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther, is the genius movies need right now. 
• Tom Chapman shares some audience reactions from the premiere of Black Panther.  
• The BBC also shares some early reactions to Black Panther.
• Stephen Galloway profiles Lupita Nyong'o, one of the stars of Black Panther.
  

Comments on The Maze Runner: The Death Cure: 

• Germain Lussier declares that The Death Cure doesn't give the Maze Runner trilogy the ending it deserves.
• Gary Westfahl calls The Death Cure a routine action thriller with some interesting aspects.
• Scott Tobias shares his thoughts on The Death Cure.
  

Awards:

• Nominations are open for the 2018 eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards.
• Nominations are open for the Booktube SFF Awards.
• Nominations are open for the 2017 Ursa Major Awards.
• The finalists for the 2018 Darrell Awards have been announced. 
• The longlist for the 2018 Branford Boase Award has been announced.
• Charles Payseur awards the 2017 Sippy Awards.  
• The longlist for the 2018 Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour has been announced.
• Ursula K. Le Guin's final essay collection No Time To Spare has been nominated for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Claudie Arsenault explains how she found new passions and hobbies via researching her novels. 
• Patty Janssen explains that time is the secret ingredient to overnight success.
• Aidan Doyle shares his experiences crowdfunding a genre anthology.
• Tracy Cooper-Posey explains how distributing her books wide raised her sales.
• Patty Janssen shares some tips regarding what to look for in a book cover designer.
• The BBC takes a look at stereotypical book cover designs for various genres.
  

Interviews:

• The BBC interviews Hao Jingfang.
• Jim Curtis interviews Paul Levinson.
• The Qwillery interviews Andrew Valencia.
• Ilana C. Myer interviews David Mack.
  

Reviews:

• Camestros Felapton reviews The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander.
• Liz Bourke reviews The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera.
• Allison Brennan reviews Dark in Death by J.D. Robb. 
• Amal El-Mohtar reviews Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon.
• Tom Whitmore reviews March of War by Bennett R. Coles. 
• Rebecca Fisher reviews Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.
• Rachel Swirsky reviews The Fisher of Bones by Sarah Gailey. 
• Shellie Horst reviews The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman. 
• Kate Macdonald reviews La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman.
• Mark Yon reviews The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale.
• Nicole Hill reviews Starlings by Jo Walton.
• Liz Bourke reviews The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson. 
• Kev Harrison reviews Hardened Hearts, edited by Eddie Generous.
• Sam Reader reviews Sleep Over by H.G. Bells.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Off Season by Jack Ketchum.
• The Qwillery reviews Chaos Trims My Beard by Brett Herman.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Stardust Explores the Solar System, a science book for children by Douglas and Bailey Harris, is looking for funding.
  

Con reports:

• Marissa Lingen talks about an experience with a disruptive audience member and the response of the con com at ConFusion in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Leah Schnelbach reports about the launch event for The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander and a discussion featuring Brooke Bolander, Maria Dahvana Headley and Amal El-Mohtar in New York City.
• Mike Glyer shares the line-up for the 2018 Philip K. Dick Film Festival in New York City.
• Martin Morse Wooster reports about a performance of the post-apocalyptic play The Dog Must Die by Madison Middleton in Silver Spring, Maryland.
• Carol Pinchefsky traces the history of cosplay from the very first WorldCon in 1939 onwards and shares plenty of photos of early cosplayers.
  

Science and technology:

• Ethan Siegel sheds some light onto the mysterious interstellar object Oumuamua that passed through our solar system.
• Ethan Siegel also explains what you would see if you fell into a black hole.
• Ethan Siegel also explains how Hawking radiation and relativistic jets can escape from a black hole.
• The Economist takes a look at the future of military robots.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Ghost Stories We Tell Around Photon Fires" by Cassandra Khaw in Apex Magazine. 
• "The Quiet Like a Homecoming" by Cassandra Khaw in Lightspeed.
• "Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance" by Tobias S. Buckell in Lightspeed.
• "The Starship and the Temple Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
• "El is a Spaceship Melody" by Maurice Broaddus in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "The Hydraulic Emperor" by Arkady Martine in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Conservation Laws" by Vandana Singh in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Dead Men Walking" by Jeremy Szal in Abyss & Apex.
  

Odds and ends:

• Watch a trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp. 
• Watch a TV spot for Black Panther.
• Watch a trailer for I Kill Giants.
• Watch a trailer for Castle Rock. 

Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for November 28, 2014

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

Speculative fiction in general:

• Watch Ursula K. Le Guin's acceptance speech at the National Book Awards. There's also a transcript available here.
• The Guardian and the Boston Globe also offer profiles of Ursula K. Le Guin. 
• At the Book View Café, Sherwood Smith shares her comments on Ursula K. Le Guin's acceptance speech.
• Damien Walter wonders why imagination has been sidelined in literature for so long and whether it's experiencing a renaissance.
• At Nothing but the Rain, Ardi explains why science fiction and fantasy matter.
  
• At Black Gate, M. Harold Page attempts to answer the question what science fiction is for, particularly anachronistic science fiction set in futures that no longer make any sense if they ever did.
  
• Paste Magazine commemorates the 30th anniversary of Cyberpunk. 
• William Gibson, the Godfather of Cyberpunk himself, explains how he wrote Neuromancer.
• At The Guardian, Alex Campbell attempts to explain the appeal of dystopian fiction for teenagers.
• James Whitbrook shares some worldbuilding tropes that SF and fantasy should stop using.
• At Kirkus Reviews, Andrew Liptak offers an appreciation of Joanna Russ.
• The SF Signal Mind Meld discusses the best book openings in speculative fiction.
• The AV Club talks about the problematic tendency of speculative TV shows to cast geek girls in stereotypical tech support roles.
• On a similar note, Dr. Nerdlove tackles the problem of superhero girlfriends remaining clueless about their significant other's double life. 
• At Omni Reboot, Adam Wells remembers the late Glen A. Larson, creator of science fiction shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and The Six Million Dollar Man. 
• Patty Jansen shares some observations on the Dutch SFF market.
• Phronk points out the hope is the reason zombie apocalypses spread.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Ursula K. Le Guin talks about where ideas come from, the secret of great writing and the marketing trap. 
• Kameron Hurley talks about why writers need to "level up".
• Chuck Wendig explains why it's important to finish your shit (and abuses the German language, while he's at it).
• Kameron Hurley also explains why it's important to finish what you start.
  
• Elena Linville talks about what to do after NaNoWriMo.
• Robert Dahlen introduces his character Beth McGill in the "Meet My Character" blog hop.
• Kyra Halland interviews her character Lainie Banfrey. 
• At io9, several speculative fiction writers share which words they are sick of hearing.
• Damien Walter offers a contrarian position on branding for writers.
  

Interviews:

• Publishers Weekly profiles indie publishing pioneer M.C.A. Hogarth. 
• M.C.A Hogarth also adds her own thoughts to be Publishers Weekly profile.
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show interviews Ann Leckie.
• Michael Brookes interview Aida Jacobs.
• Buddy Gott interviews Michael G. Munz.
  

Reviews:

• Spectrum Books reviews Defiance by Lucas Bale.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Apocalypse Weird: The Red King by Nick Cole. 
• Elena Linville reviews The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton.
• Nadine Ducca reviews The One-Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.

Crowdfunding:

• Lunar Mission One is looking for funding to send an unmanned probe to the moon and drill into the previously unexplored south pole. 
• C.E. Murphy is looking for funding for her new novel Redeemer.
• Judith Tarr is looking for backers for her novella series Horses of the Moon. 
• The memorial anthology The Society for the Preservation of CJ Henderson is looking for funding.
• Writer Joyce Chng needs some help with her medical bills. 
• Writer TNae Wilcox needs help with a medical emergency in the family.

Con reports:

• Liz Bourke shares her experiences at the Toronto International Book Fair. Part 2 is here and part 3 is here.
• Fran Wilde shares some notes from a panel held at the 2014 Philcon.
• At SF Signal, John Wenger talks about thirty years of attending conventions. 

Science and technology:

• A new study explains why we need more women in space.
• Meanwhile, Italy has already heeded the call and sends its first female astronaut into space.
• Architect and designer Neri Oxman has created some striking spacesuit designs.
• io9 answers the question why vultures don't die of food poisoning.
• A German inventor has built a James Bond gadget inspired laser watch.
• Watch this footage taken by a camera drone in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Enjoy these beautiful Star Wars themed papercut snowflakes.
• Watch the trailer for Jurassic World.