Chris Braak, Author at Gizmodo

Ghost Story: Harry Dresden and the Jim Butcher Promise

Jim Butcher’s latest entry in the Dresden Files series, Ghost Story, feels like the gutsiest of his popular paranormal detective novels so far. Like its immediate predecessor, Changes, Ghost Story showcases Butcher’s willingness to enact huge, sweeping changes to the status quo that he’s established. Spoilers ahead. At the end of Changes, Harry Dresden was…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Aug 2

Your Empathy Will Be Tested: A New Stage Adaptation Of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”

Adapting Dick’s seminal novel is guaranteed to be a difficult process, and would have been even if Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner weren’t already a 30-year-old SF classic. Untitled Theater Company #61 took on the ambitious challenge. And mostly, it worked. The novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a paranoid meditation on personal identity…

io9 Chris Braak Dec 6

On the principle motivating spirit of monsters

King Kong’s monstrous motivations aren’t the same as Dracula’s — one wants a castle made of bananas, the other a swimming pool full of hemoglobin — but, on a psychological level, their motivations differ too. Here’s Chris Braak’s monster taxonomy. All this talk about evil got me thinking about monsters. I’m going to eventually have…

io9 Chris Braak Oct 30

“Lonely Werewolf Girl” is a bittersweet tale of friendship and werewolf fashion

Internecine politics, clan rivalries, and werewolf-posturing serve as the backdrop for World Fantasy Award winner Martin Millar’s novel Lonely Werewolf Girl, a story about anxiety and the slow agony of making friends. Lonely Werewolf Girl is the story of Kalix MacRInnalch, a laudanum-addicted, socially-anxious, anorexic, bipolar werewolf who, in a fit of rage, grievously injured…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Jul 21

With “Zendegi,” Greg Egan plunges us into the techno-future of Iran

In Zendegi, Greg Egan has created a beautiful, brilliant, near-future world that expertly explores the consequences of mind-mapping technology in the politically volatile world of Iran. Zendegi is two stories told in parallel. The first is the story of Martin Seymour, an Australian journalist sent to Iran to cover another disputed election (this one in…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Jun 17

The first steampunk superhero haunts George Mann’s “Ghosts of Manhattan”

Geroge Mann’s Ghosts of Manhattan bills itself as introducing the world’s first steampunk superhero. Atmospheric and pleasingly enigmatic, the novel pulls us into world of pure pulp. Ghosts of Manhattan introduces the Ghost, a millionaire-playboy ex-army pilot and engineer turned vigilante. He haunts the streets of an alternate 1920s Manhattan, in which all the cars…

Books & Comics Chris Braak May 20

Far-Future Martian Charm and Railway Adventure In “Ares Express”

At long last available stateside, Ian McDonald’s Ares Express is a phantasmagoria of nuclear locomotives and wild Martian awesomeness. It’s a definite must-read. In an unimaginably distant future Mars has been terraformed by machines so powerful that they’re understood as (and might as well be) angels. Across the Martian deserts, enormous trains carry passengers, resources,…

io9 Chris Braak May 10

“Changes” Gives The Dresden Files Series A Welcome Shakeup

After what seemed like an interminable lull, Jim Butcher uses his new novel, Changes, to blow the lid off of Harry Dresden’s hard-won but stable world. The Dresden Files are Jim Butcher’s long-running series about Harry Dresden, a wizard private detective in Chicago. It’s an engaging, modern-noir fantasy series that follows Harry as he deals…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Apr 23

Grand Junction: A Bold Idea Hampered by Its Execution

Maurice Dantec’s Grand Junction is a metaphysical cyberspace epic; a Dickian post-apocalyptic future that questions our reliance on machines as a metaphor for human preoccupation with the material. Or, at least, it’s supposed to be. Certainly, Dantec intends it to be, and he does a decent job of steeping Grand Junction in the recognizable characteristics…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Apr 17

Last Drink Bird Head is a Surrealist Extravaganza

When Jeff VanderMeer posed the surrealistic question “Who, or what, is Last Drink Bird Head?”, the 500-word responses included luminaries like Michael Moorcock and Stephen Donaldson as well as newer authors you’ll be thrilled to discover. The result is thirst-quenching. VanderMeer’s odd question is actually an old surrealist game, designed to stimulate the unconscious and…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Feb 19

Geekadelphia’s Gore-Soaked Zombieland Screening

Philadelphia’s Trocadero Theater is the oldest operating 19th century theater in the US. Last night, it was invaded by zombies. (from left to right: Jason Faris, George Faris, David Evans, and Karen Housman, in zombie regalia) Monday night marked a confluence of modern geekage and Victorian architecture, as more than four hundred people showed up…

io9 Chris Braak Feb 9

Couch is Benjamin Parzybok’s Slacker Odyssey

Benjamin Parzybok’s Couch is an epic for the apathetic, a journey to save the world undertaken by the post-college American slacker – for the essential reason that there doesn’t seem to be anything better to do. Couch effortlessly evokes those depressing after-school but just-before-life years of weird roommates, cramped apartments, and the yearly ritual of…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Feb 8

One Liposuctionist’s Wild Ride Through American Gluttony

Andrew Fox‘s The Good Humor Man is a gonzo novel about state-deputized vigilantes tasked with keeping deadly fatty calories out of the hands of an irresponsible America by going after delicious cheese and sugary snack cakes with napalm and flamethrowers. It’s a little tricky to get going with a novel like this. The novel begins…

Books & Comics Chris Braak Feb 1

Chris Braak

Ghost Story: Harry Dresden and the Jim Butcher Promise

Your Empathy Will Be Tested: A New Stage Adaptation Of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”

On the principle motivating spirit of monsters

“Lonely Werewolf Girl” is a bittersweet tale of friendship and werewolf fashion

With “Zendegi,” Greg Egan plunges us into the techno-future of Iran

The first steampunk superhero haunts George Mann’s “Ghosts of Manhattan”

Far-Future Martian Charm and Railway Adventure In “Ares Express”

“Changes” Gives The Dresden Files Series A Welcome Shakeup

Grand Junction: A Bold Idea Hampered by Its Execution

Last Drink Bird Head is a Surrealist Extravaganza

Geekadelphia’s Gore-Soaked Zombieland Screening

Couch is Benjamin Parzybok’s Slacker Odyssey

One Liposuctionist’s Wild Ride Through American Gluttony

Antarctic Expedition to ‘Danger Zone’ Accidentally Discovers Previously Uncharted Island

How Two Indie Darlings Are Challenging a Collapsing Industry With Their Next Game

‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’ Trailer Promises Many Kills, Actually

Forget Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch 8 (2025) Is Now Priced Lower on Amazon Than at Samsung’s Official Site

Artemis 2 Day 9: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

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15 Major Pieces of Movie News That Might Break Next Week

This Portable Dual Foldable Monitor Hits Its Lowest Price on Amazon, Making Triple-Screen Setup More Affordable Than Ever

With Artemis 2 Flying Home, NASA Is Already Teasing Artemis 3

Laptops Are About to Get Very Exciting Again… Thanks to Nvidia

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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