Charlie Jane Anders

10 Novels That Are Scarier Than Most Horror Movies

You can’t do jump-scares in a book. There’s no computerized special effects, or actors covered with gruesome makeup and KY jelly. You can always put a book down for a few days. And yet, the creepy prose of horror’s greatest writers has the power to hold you trapped in a spell of terror that no…

Meet the First New Agent in Joss Whedon’s S.H.I.E.L.D.: Stargate‘s Ming-Na.

Ming-Na Wen, formerly from ER and Stargate Universe, will play a “soulful” and “damaged” pilot named Melinda May in Joss Whedon’s new S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show. Melinda May is described as “an ace pilot, a weapons expert and a soldier who can – and has – gone beyond the call of duty.” And apparently she’s the…

The History of Sexy Monsters

Monsters are horrifying, revolting… and often alluring. It makes sense that so many monsters would be hawt, since they’re the ultimate predators and they need to be able to lure us into their clutches and stuff. But also, monsters represent the forbidden, and sexy danger, and they can get away with wearing outfits that the…

Lifeforce, Species and other sexy naked alien movies [NSFW]

Novels don’t have to be “good reads.” Sometimes, the best book is the one you throw across the room.

Over in the Guardian, there’s a provocative article that we’re judging novels by the wrong standards. Instead of expecting them to be “good reads” or judging them according to their “re-readability,” argues Kirsty Gunn, we should be celebrating more books that are frustrating reads that we would never, in a million years, re-read: Novels can…

The Bride of Frankenstein

Cover of Dan Brereton’s book The Goddess and the Monster, featuring a mostly nude Bride. Bride of Frankenstein pin-up by the great Aly Fell By FionaStrange on Deviant Art By David Andrew Frizell, via Pinup Lifestyle Bride of Frankenstein Pinup for GoresTruly Charity Calendar by Buddhafulx on Deviant Art Bathers by Damien Fulton, via Frankensteinia.…

Vampirella, Elvira and Other Cleavage Vamps

Maila Nurmi aka Vampira, the original sexy horror host, who started in 1953. Vampirella Fridge/Beer Magnet by Chuck Bauman, sold via eBay. Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, via Morbidementia Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, via Morbidementia Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, via Donald Schwab Elvira, Mistress of the Dark,…

Alphas falls victim to one of the weakest science fiction cliches

Last night’s Alphas season finale was pretty decent, for the most part. Rosen’s blood-thirsty rampage culminates in an all-out quest for vengeance, and meanwhile the rest of the team struggles to save the city in the nick of time. But that ending? Not so sure about that — it fell prey to one of the…

By all the Gods, this standalone epic fantasy novel is a fun ride

When was the last time you read an epic fantasy saga that was one self-contained volume, with all of the sweeping adventure and huge mythic sacrifices in just one book? These days, it seems as though any epic fantasy has to be at least a half-dozen volumes, and this often appears to be driven by…

At Last, Official Maps of George R.R. Martin’s World, From Westeros to Qarth

We’ve seen some amazing maps of the lands of Westeros and Essos, from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. There are nifty maps in the front of every volume of Martin’s series, but also fans have created detailed, stylized, spoilery and Easter Egg-filled cartographies. https://gizmodo.com/the-most-detailed-map-of-the-game-of-thrones-world-yet-5892140 https://gizmodo.com/stylized-game-of-thrones-maps-make-westeros-and-essos-l-5928086 https://gizmodo.com/this-spoiler-filled-map-tracks-the-travels-of-every-maj-5917835 https://gizmodo.com/massive-easter-egg-filled-map-of-game-of-thrones-seven-5819555 But now at…

Are we no longer willing to go through the Looking Glass?

Over at Genreville, Rose Fox makes a connection I’ve never seen anyone make before, which instantly feels to have a lot of truth to it. On the one hand, the whole publishing industry has decided that it will no longer welcome “portal fantasy,” like Narnia or Alice in Wonderland — stories where someone goes through…

Iron Man 3 trailer screencaps reveal Tony Stark’s worst nightmares. Plural.

By now, you’ve probably watched the first Iron Man 3 trailer. It reveals that Iron Man is facing his absolute worst case scenario here — but that’s not all. https://gizmodo.com/first-iron-man-3-trailer-tony-starks-darkest-hour-5954054 When you go through the trailer frame by frame, it becomes obvious that Tony’s actually facing two different nightmares. Spoilers ahead… In particular, there’s the…

First Iron Man 3 Trailer: Tony Stark’s Darkest Hour!

It’s not looking so hot for Tony Stark in the first trailer for Iron Man 3. The formerly cocky mega-genius is feeling haunted by his own mortality and beset by nightmares — and that’s before the Mandarin strikes. This is some of the same footage we saw at San Diego Comic Con last summer, but…

Our New Favorite Tumblr: The Afrofuturist Affair

There’s so much great Afrofuturism going on, both online and in realtime, that you need a place to keep track of it all. Luckily, the Afrofuturist Affair Tumblr collects a lot of the best writing, event announcements, art, videos and random cultural detritus in one place. According to its description page: The AfroFuturist Affair is…

Paul Krugman explains what Asimov’s Foundation and Jordan’s Wheel of Time have in common

Even if you’re not a huge fan of Paul Krugman, the trouble-making economist and New York Times columnist, you should check out his introduction to a new edition of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy (PDF). He explains pretty succinctly just why these novels are great, and why they had such a huge impact on the young…

The Year’s Most Thrilling (and Heartbreaking) Wildlife Photos

Yes, it’s an alligator that appears to be shooting laser beams out of its eyes. And that’s pretty awesome. But this image by Larry Lynch is just one of the absolutely stunning and revelatory images in this year’s Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. There are over 100 images among the contest winners and…

Please explain Babylon 5 to us!

We at io9 know about a lot of science fiction and fantasy stuff, but we have some gaps in our knowledge. So sometimes, we ask you, the readers, to help plug those gaps and enlighten us about your favorite stuff. Today, we’re asking you to educate us about Babylon 5, the space opera TV show…

This Week’s TV: The Biggest Wasted Opportunity in Ages. Plus Brand New Venture Bros.!

This week on TV, the Venture Bros. are celebrating Halloween in their own unique style. There’s the single best cast of a Syfy Original Movie you could possibly imagine, including one Star Trek star and Ernest Hemingway’s grandkid. One of DC Comics’ coolest characters is coming to Arrow, and Buzz Aldrin is playing himself on…

You’ve never seen the Wizard of Oz like this before

There are a lot of new takes on L. Frank Baum’s Land of Oz coming up, including Sam Raimi’s Oz The Great and Powerful, and a new animated film featuring Patrick Stewart and Lea Michele. But the most unique takes might come from a new anthology, edited by John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen. Oz…

Best of the Week: October 13-19, 2012

TRON ENERGY | “Star-trail” photos from the International Space Station are even cooler when they’re turned into a time-lapse video and stacked on top of each other. Check out the actual video here. https://gizmodo.com/holy-moley-this-guy-just-turned-earths-atmosphere-into-5952155 A massive and illegal geoengineering project has been detected off Canada’s west coast https://gizmodo.com/a-massive-and-illegal-geoengineering-project-has-been-d-5952101 A private company backed by a controversial…