It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the 2017 Nebula Awards, Avengers: Infinity War, The Handmaid's Tale, Deadpool 2 (spoilers mostly marked, but reader beware), Solo: A Star Wars Story, Cloak and Dagger, the new adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, various TV show cancellations and rescues, an uproar involving FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, yet more sexual harrassment and rape allegations 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:
- Unbound Worlds shares the best 100 fantasy novels of all time.
- Randy Henderson shares his foundational fantasy reading list.
- Donna Bryson explains how writers of colour are redefining fantasy.
- Jess Kidd shares eight classic supernatural mysteries.
- Corey J. White shares five unforgettable science fiction and fantasy prisons.
- Joel Cunningham shares his appreciation for Hannu Rajaniemi's Jean le Flambeur trilogy.
- John Scalzi attempts to explain whether Robert A. Heinlein's influence on the field has declined in the thirty years since his death.
- Alan Brown revisits the 1962 science fiction novel Raiders from the Rings by Alan E. Nourse and finds that the suck fairy got there first.
- Joe Kenney revisits the 1935 Spider pulp Reign of the Death Fiddler by Grant Stockbridge a.k.a. Norvell Page.
- Alan Baumler asks whether 19th century writer Hirata Atsutane was Japan's first science fiction writer.
- Sulagna Mishra is thrilled that movies like Black Panther and Ocean's 8 finally give women of colour a space in action movies.
- Chris Klimek shares his thoughts on the film version of Neil Gaiman's How To Talk To Girls at Parties.
- Beth Elderkin shares her thoughts on the series finale of Once Upon a Time and on the series as whole.
- Alan Brown shares his thoughts on the season 5 finale of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Sam Wollaston shares his thoughts on season 3 of Humans.
- Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the Cyberpunk thriller Mute.
- Peter Foy reviews the French thriller Revenge.
- The BBC reports that Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, Leon, Lucy, Nikita and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, has been accused of rape.
- An Phung and Chloe Melas report that sixteen women have accused actor Morgan Freeman of sexual harrassment.
- Author Philip Roth has died aged 85.
Comments on Solo: A Star Wars Story:
- James Whitbrook shares everything you need to know before watching Solo: A Star Wars Story.
- Kaila Hale-Stern calls Solo: A Star Wars Story a return to the simpler joys of Star Wars.
- Tom Beasley wonders whether anybody is really desperate to see Solo: A Star Wars Story.
- Benjamin Lee responds to the revelation that Lando Calrissian is pansexual by demanding that screenwriters should not say such things after the fact, but put them in the actual film.
- James Whitbrook reports that Chewbacca swears quite a lot, when his speech is translated into English.
- Julie Muncy reports that actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge did not know what a droid was when she auditioned to play one in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
- Lizo Mzimba interviews Emilia Clarke who plays Qi'ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Comments on Deadpool 2:
- Emily Asher-Perrin calls Deadpool 2 a breakneck action comedy about found families.
- Gary Thompson calls Deadpool 2 an offbeat action comedy with legs.
- Abigail Chandler calls Deadpool 2 so much fun that it's easy to overlook its flaws.
- Tom Glasson calls Deadpool 2 not quite as subversive as the original, but definitely worth your time.
- Vivian Kane enjoyed Deadpool 2 and particularly praises Zazie Beetz' performance as Domino.
- David Edelstein calls Deadpool 2 tedious and predictable.
- Katie Walsh calls Deadpool 2 annoying and bad.
- Emily Asher-Perrin shares her thoughts about the issue of fridging in Deadpool 2 (spoilers).
- Angie Dahl also addresses Deadpool 2's fridging problem (spoilers).
- Emily Asher-Perrin also declares that if the Deadpool movies do not want the audience to believe that Deadpool is bisexual (which he is implied to be in the comics), then they are doing a terrible job.
- Hannah Collins discusses the portrayal of LGBT characters in Deadpool 2.
- David Buesing shares ten things he loved about Deadpool 2 and ten things that disappointed (spoilers).
- Germain Lussier ranks his ten favourite surprises in Deadpool 2 (spoilers, obviously)
- Albert Ching explains who played the surprise villain in Deadpool 2 (spoilers, obviously).
- Ian Cardona finds Cable's backstory in Deadpool 2 unexpectedly heartbreaking.
- Ian Cardona also explains Deadpool 2's mid credits sequence (spoilers, obviously).
- Bryan Cairns interviews David Leitch, director of Deadpool 2.
- Jason Guerrasio interviews Terry Crews who plys Bedlam in Deadpool 2 (spoilers).
Comments on the new TV adaptation of Fahrenheit 451:
- Evan Narcisse declares that the new Fahrenheit 451 translates a science fiction classic for the modern day with mixed results.
- Paul Levinson delcares that the new adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 lives up both to the novel and to the 1966 film adaptation by Francois Truffault.
- Theresa DeLucci is not very thrilled with the new adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 and wonders whether the problem doesn't lie with the fact that the novel itself is very dated.
- Phil Nichols shares his thoughts on the new adaptation of Fahrenheit 451.
- Monique Jones explains why the character of Millie Montag was cut from the TV adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, even though an actress had been cast for the role.
- Jeff Somers shares ten things you probably did not know about Ray Bradbury's classic dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451.
- Michael Moorcock explains why Fahrenheit 451 endures.
Comments on Avengers: Infinity War:
- Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg discuss Avengers: Infinity War.
- Tom Chapman explains why the character of Sharon Carter was absent in Avengers: Infinity War.
- Sam Stone reports that Brie Larsen filmed her scenes as Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel for Avengers 4 before she started shooting the upcoming Captain Marvel movie.
- Steve Weintraub interviews Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, screenwriters of Avengers: Infinity War.
Comments on season 2 of The Handmaid's Tale:
- Julia Raeside shares her thoughts on the season 2 premiere of The Handmaid's Tale.
- Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale.
- Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts about the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale.
Comments on Cloak and Dagger:
- Charlie Ridgley declares that Cloak and Dagger defies expectations and raises the bar for Marvel's TV series.
- Charles Pulliam-Moore calls Cloak and Dagger more than just a moody teen drama.
- Daniel Fienberg declares that Cloak and Dagger shares the slower pacing of other Marvel TV shows, but is a lot of fun.
- Joivonnah Childs shares a spoiler-free review of the series premiere of Cloak and Dagger.
- Michael Ahr interviews Joe Pokaski, creator of Cloak and Dagger.
Discussion of various TV show cancellations and rescues:
- Jay Bushman shares five reasons why Amazon should save The Expanse.
- Sam Stone reports that the US network Fox will still air the two bonus episodes of Lucifer, but that the series hasn't been picked up by another network yet.
- Beth Elderkin shares a list of all the genre TV shows that have been cancelled or were not picked up in the first place.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2017 Nebula Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2017 Analog AnLab Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2017 Asimov's Readers Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2017 Gaylactic Spectrum Award for Best Novel has been announced.
- The finalists of the 2018 Eugie Foster Memorial Awards have been announced.
- The winners and runners-up of the 2018 Tomorrow Prize have been announced.
- The winners and runners-up of the 2018 Roswell Award have been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire have been announced.
- The shortlist for the 2018 Geffen Awards has been announced.
- The winner of the first ever Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2018 British Book Awards have been announced.
- Thomas Pynchon has won the Christopher Lightfoot Walker Award.
- Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2017 Nebula Awards winners.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Luisa Perkins explains why story structure is essential.
- Brian Berni shares twenty mistakes to avoid when writing your first novel.
- Rebecca Alexander talks about transforming a ghost story into a crime novel.
- Aja Gabel explains how her passion for classical music influenced her writing.
- Michael Patrick Hicks talks about the demise of Kindle Worlds and why diversification is so important.
Interviews:
- Locus interviews Ada Palmer.
- Locus interviews Nick Harkaway.
- Christian A. Coleman interviews Sam J. Miller.
- The Qwillery interviews R.R. Haywood.
- Juliette Wade interviews Kelly Robson.
- John Tuttle interviews Suzie Wilde.
Reviews:
- The Civilian Reader reviews The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.
- Liz Bourke reviews Records of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers.
- Caroline Cushman reviews Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs and The Boy Who Went Magic by A.P. Winter.
- Mark Yon reviews Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Empress of Timbra by Karen Healey and Robyn Fleming.
- Liz Bourke reviews A Study in Honor by Claire O'Dell.
- Liz Bourke reviews Armed in Her Fashion by Kate Heartfield.
- Liz Bourke reviews Point of Sighs by Melissa Scott.
- Liz Bourke reviews The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides.
- Gary K. Wolfe reviews Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller.
- Ceridwen Christensen reviews 84K by Claire North.
- Niall Alexander reviews 84K by Claire North.
- Mark Chitty reviews Buying Time by E.M. Brown.
- Paul Di Filippo reviews Sisyphean by Dempow Torishima.
- Niall Alexander reviews The Outsider by Stephen King.
- The Real Book Spy reviews The Outsider by Stephen King.
- James Smythe reviews The Outsider by Stephen King.
- Paul Weimer reviews Gate Crashers by Patrick Tomlinson.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Night Society by Ambrose Ibsen.
- Josh Langan reviews The Teardrop Method by Simon Avery.
- Rob Bedford reviews The Queen of Sorrow by Sarah Beth Durst.
- Colleen Mondor reviews The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
- Becca Evans reviews The Architect and the Castle of Glass by Jade Mere.
Crowdfunding:
- Issue 2 of Circadia, an LGBTQ fantasy comic by a team of queer and non-binary creators, is looking for funding.
- Sculptor Bryan Moore is looking for funding to create a bust of Mary Shelley.
Con reports:
- Mike Glyer reports about an uproar involving the way FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, handled a harrassment complaint by author Shannon Hale and violated her privacy in the process.
- Sean P. Means and Taylor Stevens report how author Richard Paul Evans muses about when hugging is appropriate in the wake of the harrassment allegations at FaX Salt Lake Comic Convention.
- Sean P. Means also reports that Richard Paul Evans and other authors have not been invited back to FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention following harrassment allegations.
- Rachel Piper and Sean P. Means also report about Shannon Hale's complaints against FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention.
- Shannon Hale offers her take on her issues with FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention.
- Bryan Brandenburg, co-founder of FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention apologises to Shannon Hale.
- Good4Utah reports that Bryan Brandenburg has stepped down from FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention.
- Rozanne Els reports about the Star Trek Discovery panel at the 2018 Vulture Festival in New York City.
- Ellen Datlow shares some photos of the latest Fantastic Fiction reading in New York City featuring Tina Connolly and Caroline M. Yoachim.
- WorldCon 76 in San José, California, has issued its third progress report.
Science and technology:
- China had launched a relay satellite in preparation for a planned moon landing of an automated rover later this year.
- Jonathan Amos reports about the launch of the Grace satellites intended to measure and weigh Earth's water.
- Ethan Siegel explains how dark matter can be seen in the earliest pictures of the universe.
- Ethan Siegel declares that we will not like the consequences of declaring Pluto a planet again.
- George Dvorsky reports about a new theory that Pluto was formed from a billion comets.
- Ryan F. Mandelbaum reports that hurricane Patricia hurled a bolt of antimatter towards Earth in 2015.
- Valeria Perasso reports about a project in Iceland to solidify carbondioxide into rock .
- Nick Perry reports that a New Zealand scientist is planning to take DNA samples of Loch Ness to determine what lives in there.
Free online fiction:
- "Your Mama's Adventures in Parenting" by Mary Robinette Kowal in Shimmer.
- "The Wild Ride of the Untamed Stars by A.J. Fitzwater in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "The Ghostpotion Games" by Christian A. Martinez in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
- "A Green Moon Problem" by Jane Lindskold in Lightspeed.
- "His Artist Wife" by John Grant in Lightspeed.
- "Luisah's Church" by Nisi Shawl in Apex Magazine.
- "The Guile" by Ian McDonald at Tor.com.
- "Yiwu" by Lavie Tidhar at Tor.com.
- "Greywalker" by Rayne Hall.
Odds and ends:
No comments:
Post a Comment