Charlie Jane Anders, Author at Gizmodo

10 Great Stories About Epic Power Struggles

By Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders. This weekend sees the return of Game of Thrones, and once again we’ll be watching the nobles of Westeros slaughtering and betraying each other. But George R.R. Martin isn’t the only terrific author to capture the huge sweep of battles over power and glory. Here are 10 other…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

The Host is the most terrible movie you’ll ever fall in love with

Everybody loves dystopias right now. And we’re in the middle of a huge boom in movies about sexy young people who are struggling to figure out their identities and which hottie they want to boink. Both of these trends are inherently absurd, so it’s a pleasure to encounter a movie that embraces the absurdity as…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Help raise money for this kickass NASA video to appear before Star Trek Into Darkness!

When you go to see Star Trek Into Darkness in May, you’ll be watching a lot of trailers for action movies and summer tentpoles. But what if you could be watching a video that shows the dream that launched Star Trek is still alive today? NASA released this video, called “We Are the Explorers,” last…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

R.I.P. Paul Williams, pioneering music journalist and Philip K. Dick’s literary executor

Paul Williams is probably best known as a rock critic who started the groundbreaking magazine Crawdaddy! as a teenager and sang with Timothy Leary on John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Give Peace a Chance.” But Williams, who died yesterday after a battle with dementia, also has a major place in science fiction history, including as…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

The market has spoken! Atlas Shrugged Part 3 comes out next year!

This is the best news today. The first two installments of the Atlas Shrugged trilogy are a source of endless campy fascination, especially Esai Morales’ performance in the second. So we’re beyond thrilled that the third movie has gotten a green light, because men of genius cannot be suppressed. According to the press release, the…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Why can’t Hollywood make a decent fairy tale movie?

Fairytales contain some of the most delightful make-believe in literature, even with all their creepiness and weirdness. These stories of bargains and trials, distilled by the oral tradition, pack some of the most potent storytelling in any genre, for any audience. So why can’t anybody manage to make a halfway decent fairytale movie? https://gizmodo.com/10-creepy-sexy-fairy-tales-that-should-be-films-5823293 https://gizmodo.com/10-totally-psychotic-fairy-tales-that-hollywood-should-5880769…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

What Happens When a Sex Machine Tears You Apart Instead of Bringing You Together

It’s our biggest fear about sexual technology, like teledidonics — that instead of bringing us closer together, it’ll come between you and your partner, and you’ll start to prefer the artificial to the natural. In response to io9’s story about teledildonics a while back, literary magazine Tin House posted a cautionary short story online. https://gizmodo.com/internet-connected-sex-toys-let-you-access-your-long-453555520…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Come see Evil Dead with us this Tuesday!

Can’t wait to see the horrifying, revolting new Evil Dead movie? You don’t have to! We’re giving away free passes to see Evil Dead in San Francisco this Tuesday evening. All you have to do is go to this link, create an account or sign in, and enter the code “io9” if it asks for…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

We can’t wait for Steven Universe, the new show from one of Adventure Time‘s best creators!

Did you love this week’s Adventure Time episode, focusing on the post-apocalyptic adventures of Simon and Marcy, as much as we did? If so, then you’ll be stoked to hear the episode’s writer is creating her own show for Cartoon Network, Steven Universe. Over at Indiewire, there’s a great piece arguing that Adventure Time is…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Doctor Who really does need more female writers

There hasn’t been a woman writing for Doctor Who in several years — and you can make a strong argument the BBC’s famous time-travel show has suffered as a result. Over at the Guardian, there’s a pretty compelling article about the lack of women writing for Who, and why this matters. The last time a…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Is the Prometheus sequel stalled out just because nobody knows how to follow that ending?

Prometheus made more than $400 million worldwide (although it underperformed stateside) — so a sequel seems like a safe bet. Except, according to one report, there’s no forward movement on a sequel, because nobody can figure out what happens next after the first movie’s somewhat baffling ending. A report over at Bloody Disgusting claims that…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Was a famous patient who believed he lived on other planets actually novelist Cordwainer Smith?

Psychologist Robert Lindner’s 1955 book The Fifty-Minute Hour details the case of a man who believed he was “living part of the time in another world—on another planet.” And many people now believe this famous case study was actually Norstrilia author Paul Linebarger, aka Cordwainer Smith. Over at The Alantic, there’s a fascinating rundown of…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

12 Most Mortifying Moments in the History of Doctor Who

He’s an ageless savior. He’s a style icon to millions. But sometimes, Doctor Who’s nameless time traveler… stumbles. Sometimes, the Time Lord’s timing is just off, and it’s cringe-making to watch. Here are 12 moments when Doctor Who became downright embarrassing. Note: We mostly steered clear of mocking terrible special effects, except for one or…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

The 1969 novel that accurately predicted the world of 2013

John Brunner isn’t just one of the great underappreciated science fiction authors — he also has a pretty amazing track record at predicting the actual future. At least, in one novel, the Hugo-winning Stand on Zanzibar, he makes a number of predictions that turn out to be spot-on about 2013. Zanzibar is set in 2010,…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Which Star Wars character do you most NOT want to see in Episode VII? (Besides Jar Jar)

Everybody’s obsessing over which fan favorite Star Wars characters will be in the upcoming sequel to the classic space opera trilogy. Will Harrison Ford play Han again? Will Lando be back? But what about the characters you absolutely do not want to see again? Vote below for the Star Wars character you’re actively praying won’t…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Revolution is a lot more interesting now that it’s a show about an arms race

Revolution started out as a show about America becoming a third-world country. And last night’s episode showed what happens when someone gets first-world weapons. The result is sort of like the Star Trek episode where Kirk and the Klingons start giving people flintlocks. Spoilers ahead… From here on out, at least for the foreseeable future,…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

The second funniest superhero comic of the 1990s is back… but will it be any good?

The funniest superhero comic of the 1990s was probably 1963, the period spoof created by Alan Moore and a host of co-conspirators. But for my money the second funniest was the buddy comedy Quantum and Woody, which deconstructed race alongside superhero tropes. And now, it’s back. Valiant is putting out a new Quantum series this…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Joss Whedon’s Biggest Setbacks (And How They Could Help Make S.H.I.E.L.D. Better)

Joss Whedon recently finished filming the pilot for his new TV show, a spinoff of his $1.5 billion dollar movie The Avengers. And we’re all expecting S.H.I.E.L.D. to rock, and to last at least year or two. Whedon’s had a bumpy ride on his way to Marvel Universe supremacy, including more than a few wipe-outs.…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Daft Punk hasn’t had a good album in 12 years, but we still love them because we love science fiction

At least, that’s the provocative argument over at Vice’s Motherboard, where Brian Merchant argues that Daft Punk are better at creating a science-fictional mythos than they are at making great pop music. Writes Merchant: Daft Punk’s greatest trick wasn’t pulling warped melodies out of vocoders. It was transforming two better-than-average French DJs into cheeky interstellar…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Where are your gods now? Brett Ratner is really filming a Hercules movie!

Yes, Brett Ratner, director of X-Men: The Last Stand, is doing a sword-and-sandal movie about Hercules, which is slated for release on July 25, 2014. The film begins shooting any day now, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson playing Herc. Be very, very afraid. Actually, the Hercules film, based on a graphic novel called Hercules: The…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Charlie Jane Anders

10 Great Stories About Epic Power Struggles

The Host is the most terrible movie you’ll ever fall in love with

Help raise money for this kickass NASA video to appear before Star Trek Into Darkness!

R.I.P. Paul Williams, pioneering music journalist and Philip K. Dick’s literary executor

The market has spoken! Atlas Shrugged Part 3 comes out next year!

Why can’t Hollywood make a decent fairy tale movie?

What Happens When a Sex Machine Tears You Apart Instead of Bringing You Together

Come see Evil Dead with us this Tuesday!

We can’t wait for Steven Universe, the new show from one of Adventure Time‘s best creators!

Doctor Who really does need more female writers

Is the Prometheus sequel stalled out just because nobody knows how to follow that ending?

Was a famous patient who believed he lived on other planets actually novelist Cordwainer Smith?

12 Most Mortifying Moments in the History of Doctor Who

The 1969 novel that accurately predicted the world of 2013

Which Star Wars character do you most NOT want to see in Episode VII? (Besides Jar Jar)

Revolution is a lot more interesting now that it’s a show about an arms race

The second funniest superhero comic of the 1990s is back… but will it be any good?

Joss Whedon’s Biggest Setbacks (And How They Could Help Make S.H.I.E.L.D. Better)

Daft Punk hasn’t had a good album in 12 years, but we still love them because we love science fiction

Where are your gods now? Brett Ratner is really filming a Hercules movie!

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Travelers Experiencing the Longest Security Lines in TSA History

Could There Be a ‘Project Hail Mary’ Sequel?

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees