Charlie Jane Anders

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meet 4/14 To Discuss A Darker Shade Of Magic!

This month, the io9 Book Club is reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Scwhab. We’ll meet on Tuesday, April 14 to discuss it. Join us! What is this io9 Book Club all about? We meet once a month to discuss a book we’ve all read together, and then we have an online chat…

Ex Machina Proves Science Fiction Movies Can Be Smart AND Kick Your Ass

Ex Machina is one of the smartest, most thought-provoking science fiction movies in ages. And that probably conjures images of a slow, introspective Sundance-y film — but actually, Ex Machina moves at a ruthless pace, and kicks your ass up one all and down the other. Minor spoilers ahead… (And here, “minor spoilers” means that…

Here’s What The Night Sky Would Have Looked Like 10 Billion Years Ago

Our sun has only been around for 4.5 billion years — which means it missed the cute early years of the Milky Way galaxy. If you were standing on a planet 10 billion years ago, when the Milky Way was relatively young, the night sky would have looked very different. Top image: NASA/ESA/Z. Levay (STScI)…

Still confused about this year’s Hugo nominations controversy? Kameron Hurley wrote a great rundown of how it happened, and why it matters. Meanwhile, George R.R. Martin has written three blog posts about this issue in the past 24 hours or so, all worth reading.

I Still Like Michael Bay’s First Transformers, And I Am NOT Ashamed

When Transformers came out in 2007, it was a cute movie about big robots that turn into cars, with a somewhat lovable hero and a cute boy-and-his-first-car storyline. Purist fans of the 1980s cartoons weren’t thrilled, but the rest of us enjoyed it. But now that it’s had three awful sequels, people want me to…

10 Doctor Who Villains That Really Deserve To Make A Comeback

Doctor Who has a history of overusing its most popular villains, going back to the age of Dalekmania. But meanwhile, some villains haven’t gotten nearly enough screentime, or haven’t achieved their full potential. Here are 10 Doctor Who villains who ought to have another go at conquering the universe. 1) The Dream Lord (from “Amy’s…

Person Of Interest Shows What Happens When You Look A God In The Eye

Person of Interest’s A.I. war seems to be heating up once again — and the above clip shows a chilling moment where this week’s Number comes a little too close to the truth about Samaritan. Spoilers ahead… Actually, the most interesting thing about this week’s Person of Interest, “Search and Destroy,” is that it seems…

These “Minimalist” Simpsons Posters Are Absolutely Perfect

The Simpsons is often represented by clutter — the most famous posters for the show feature hundreds of characters, crammed into Springfield. But this show also contains a wealth of distinctive imagery, that stands alone. Shirts.com created a set of minimalist Simpsons posters, that are instantly recognizable. These images are available as desktop wallpapers over…

Here’s An Awards Ballot That Includes A Lot Of 2014’s Best Books

Seriously, this year’s Clarke Award shortlist, announced today, is just spot-on. It has a really strong claim to representing the best books of 2014 — daring storytelling that left a lasting impression on us. Top image: Memory of Water. The Clarke Award has done a pretty good job, this year, of pinpointing books that were…

Two Fake-Outs That Totally Tricked Us In Last Night’s Agents of SHIELD

Last night’s Agents of SHIELD was mostly about getting the pieces in place for the final episodes of the season — but “Afterlife” did contain a couple of clever misdirects, that totally pulled the rug out from under us. Spoilers ahead… The main part of last night’s “Afterlife” was about the Real SHIELD hunting down…

It’s Amazing How Far The Originals Manages To Push Klaus’ Superdickery

Behold my favorite scene from last night’s episode of The Originals — Mama Original has been compelled to tell the truth to Klaus, so we know she has no hidden agenda. And she says she just wanted him to love her again. His response is totally priceless. (And also incredibly vicious.) Spoilers ahead… One of…

They’re Making Radio Plays Out Of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Novels!

This is excellent. They’re doing audio versions of three of the Earthsea books, along with The Left Hand of Darkness. Plus a new radio documentary, Ursula Le Guin at 85. More details from Den of Geek: The programming gets underway with a documentary about Le Guin’s influence on the sci-fi and fantasy genres, presented by…

Director Alex Garland Explains Why Ex Machina Is So Disturbingly Sexy

You’ve probably seen some pretty sexy robotic imagery from Ex Machina — and yet, it’s kind of weird and off-putting as well. The new film from 28 Days Later and Dredd writer Alex Garland, takes the “sexualized robot” archetype and makes it weirder. We talked to Garland about why his robot is both sexy and…

Looks Like Tonight’s Person Of Interest Will Kick Us In The Teeth Again

Here’s an exclusive clip from tonight’s brand new episode of Person of Interest — in which Reese tries to teach Finch a skill that Finch does not want to learn. But more importantly, you can see just how desperate things have gotten, and how much Reese is trying to prepare for the very, very worst.

Find Out Why Everybody Is Freaking Out About Ken Liu’s Grace Of Kings

Ken Liu is one of the most award-winning and acclaimed writers of the past few years. And today sees the publication of his first novel, The Grace of Kings, which is already getting rave reviews. We’ll have a review later this week, but first here’s an an exclusive excerpt. Chapter Five The Death of the…

Game Of Thrones Built “World’s Largest Fire-Breathing Crane” For Drogon

This year on Game of Thrones, the dragons are bigger and nastier — so the VFX crew bringing them to life had to come up with two new methods for portraying Drogon, the biggest of the bunch. Including “the world’s largest fire-breathing crane.” TV Insider has a great feature about the VFX behind Drogon in…

This Moment Is Why We Can’t Stop Obsessing About Syfy’s 12 Monkeys

Here’s the most intense moment in last night’s 12 Monkeys — it’s a moment that turns some crucial stuff from the Terry Gilliam movie on its head, while also playing with time travel in a pretty uniquely cool way. And it reminds us just why we got sucked into obsessing about this show in the…

What TV Show Makes More Sense When You Binge-watch It?

This weekend, we’re all going to be watching 13 episodes of Daredevil in one giant binge of media consumption. Because Netflix believes TV shows are best watched all in one go — but which episodic TV show, which originally aired in hourly installments, is best watched in large doses? Please include a picture, clip, promo…

First Gorgeous Look At Mark Z. Danielewski’s New Series, The Familiar!

Mark Z. Danielewski made a huge stir with his experimental novel House of Leaves, but now he’s aiming even bigger — with a 27-volume illustrated book series that aims to be like a television show. We’ve got an exclusive first look at a few pages of this series’ beautiful art and design. The Familiar will…

The io9 Guide To Star Wars

Star Wars occupies a huge place in the history of science fiction and fantasy. The first movie, in 1977, changed the genre forever. And this year marks the first new Star Wars film in a decade, with revamped continuity. So now’s the perfect time for a refresher course. Here’s io9’s easy-to-read guide to Star Wars.…