Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 3, 2017

Here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with dystopian fiction, the Locus recommended reading list, discussion about the future of Doctor Who as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, con reports, crowdfunding projects, science articles and free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Locus shares its 2016 recommended reading list.
• The participants of the latest Mind Meld share alternate histories they love. 
• Strange Horizons hosts a roundtable about indigenous futurism. 
• Shveta Thakrar shares an introductory reading list for South Asian literature.
• Carrie Vaughn shares five books that make living and working in space seem ordinary.  
• James Walsh shares seven dystopian novels that reflect the current political situation. Unfortunately, he couldn't find a single work by a female author.  
• Brian Wheeler also takes a look at classic dystopian novels experiencing a revival due to Donald Trump. He, too, could not find a single work by a female author.
• Colin Robinson discusses how the far right is influencing the US publishing industry and also touches on speculative fiction. 
• J.K. Rowling has a response to people who burn her books because of her public criticism of Donald Trump.  
• Ursula K. Le Guin reminds everybody of the difference between fiction and alternative facts.
• Steven Brust shares the five Roger Zelazny books that changed his life. 
• T.W. O'Brien shares his appreciation for Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.
• Jen Zink shares her appreciation for The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.
• Mari Ness discusses the many incarnations of Littel Red Riding Hood.
• Adam Roberts shares his appreciation for the Wolfshound Century trilogy by Peter Higgins.
• Sarah Laskow shares the criminal history of French supervillain Fantomas.
• Sarah Laskow also looks at the counterintuitive history of black hats and white hats in the western genre.
• Eric Grundhauser tackles the mystery of the damsel on the railroad tracks. 
• George Cotronis shares a primer for the Southern Gothic subgenre.
• Leah Schnelbach declares that Groundhog Day breaks the rules of every genre. 
• Luke Holland shares his love for the Resident Evil franchise. 
• Leigh Butler shares her appreciation for Ray Harryhausen's 1981 movie Clash of the Titans. 
• Michael Livingston shares his appreciation for the 1999 movie The 13th Warrior.
• Brian Phillips profiles Russian animator Yuri Norstein. 
• Ross Johnson celebrates 25 years of Image Comics by sharing his 25 favourite titles.
• Julia Alexander reports that Arrival director Denis Villeneuve will direct another adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune.
• Lorraine Ali traces how Hollywood's one-sided portrayal of Muslims helped to fuel islamophobia in the US. 
• Monica Valentinelli talks about representation in RPGs.
• Andrea James reports that the FBI has released a declassified and redacted dossier about the GamerGate movement. 
• Actor John Hurt, whose SFF credits include Doctor Who, V for Vendetta, 1984, Snowpiercer, Hellboy, Harry Potter, Spaceballs, Indiana Jones and of course, the first ever chestbuster victim in Alien, has died aged 77.  
• Belgian comic artist Pascal Garray has died aged 51.

Awards:

• Dan Koboldt shares five reasons to nominate and vote for the Hugo Awards.
• Mike Glyer reports about a controversy surrounding the Rhysling Awards and the definition of speculative poetry in general.  
• The 2017 Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award has been awarded to Toni Weisskopf.
• The finalists for the 2017 D.I.C.E. Video Game Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced with several nods towards speculative films and TV shows. 
• Watch a video of the acceptance speech of the Stranger Things cast.
• Watch a video of Taraji P. Henson's acceptance speech. 

Comments on the future of Doctor Who:

• Emily Asher Perrin reports that Peter Capaldi will be leaving Doctor Who with the 2017 Christmas special. 
• Alasdair Stuart points out that it's time for someone other than a white man to play the Doctor. 
• Former companion Billie Piper also believes it's time to cast a woman as the Doctor, though she says she is not interested.
• Tor.com shares a list of potential new Doctors. 
• Nick Cannata-Bowman shares four reasons why people are tired of Doctor Who.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Clive Thompson explains how boredom makes people more creative. 
• Tobias Carroll shares storytelling lessons from Neil Gaiman, Benjamin Percy and Samuel R. Delany. 
• K. Tempest Bradford shares a literary call to arms. 
• Steven Barnes talks about his motivation for writing and paying it forward.
• Amy Rose Davis shares some tips for writing romantic SFF.
• Oren Ashkenazi talks about how to realistically depict evil.
• Mac Childs shares some tips for horror writers about revealing the antagonist. 
• Jeffrey M. Poole reports about a recent problem with Amazon.
• Joseph Malik discusses some future possibilities for indie publishing. 
• Lish McBride shares a guide to no-show events for authors.

Interviews:

• Kyra Halland interviews B.R. Kingsolver.
• The Geekiary interviews Robin Talley.
• Julia Rios interviews A. Merc Rustad.
  

Reviews:

• Ceridwen Christensen reviews Feversong by Karen Marie Moning.
• Ceridwen Christensen also reviews the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. 
• Martin Cahill reviews The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley.
• Ross Johnson reviews Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor. 
• Corrina Lawson reviews The Poison Eater by Shanna Germain.
• Lieze Neven reviews Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. 
• The Geekiary reviews Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley. 
• Niall Alexander reviews Caraval by Stephanie Garber.
• Camestros Felapton reviews City of Stairs and City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett.
• Paul Weimer reviews Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling, edited by Jaym Gates and Monica Valentinelli.
• Joanne Hall reviews Forever Hungry, edited by Pete Sutton and Kimberly Nugent. 
• Leah Schnelbach reviews the season 2 premiere of The Expanse. 

Crowdfunding:

• Sharkpunk 2, an anthology of killer shark stories edited by Jonathan Green, is looking for funding.
• Problem Daughters, an anthology of speculative fiction stories by and about marginalised women, is looking for funding. 

Con reports:

• Trae Dorn reports about a potential problem at Cosplay Unplugged in Los Angeles, California. 
• Rich Johnston reports about a banning following a case of theft at New York Comic Con.
• R. Graeme Cameron shares Walt Willis' report about Chicon II, the 1952 WorldCon in Chicago, Illinois.
• Paul Weimer had been nominated for the 2017 Down Under Fan Fund to send him to Continuum in Melbourne, Australia.
  

Science and technology:

• Scientists have confirmed the existence of time crystals, a brand-new form of matter. 
• The Milky Way is being pushed across the universe by a large unseen force. 
• What was the universe like before the big bang?
• How an interstellar spaceship could explore Alpha Centauri.
• What would it be like to land on Pluto?
• A stasis chamber for space travel may be available by 2018.
• The Ukrainian government is planning to turn part of the Chernobyl exclusion zone into a solar farm.
• Robots could help solve the elderly care crisis in the UK.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Assassins" by Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier in Clarkesworld Magazine.
• "Take Us To Your Chief" by Drew Hayden Taylor in Strange Horizons.
• "The Greenest Gecko" by Ploy Pirapokin at Tor.com.
• "How Bees Fly" by Simone Heller in Clarkesworld Magazine.
• "Goddess, Worm" by Cassandra Khaw in Uncanny Magazine.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Slice of Life.
• Watch a trailer for The Beauty and the Beast.
• Watch a trailer for American Fable.
• Watch a trailer for Brimstone.
• Watch a clip from Rings.