Books & Comics

George R.R. Martin is setting aside all other writing work until he finishes The Winds of Winter, the infinitely anticipated next installment of A Song of Ice and Fire. The author announced this on his blog in the comments of this post. There’s still no ETA on when the book might be done, but he’s…

Teen Mulder and Scully Will Investigate Crime in New X-Files Young Adult Novels

Mulder and Scully’s newest adventures might be coming to a close on TV tonight, but they’re getting more stories to tell in a duo of new Young Adult novels… or at least their teenaged versions are. Sadly—or thankfully, depending on your point of view—these books won’t see teen Mulder and Scully team up for some…

Martin Freeman’s Character in Captain America: Civil War Has Been Confirmed

Ever since Martin Freeman was revealed as part of the cast of Civil War, there’s been a ton of rumors about just which mysteriously unidentified character he’d play, but the name that popped up the most often is Black Panther supporting character Everett Ross. Now, we can confirm that Freeman is totally playing the guy…

10 Books That Will Change How You Think About Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are everywhere these days. They rival superheroes at the movies and TV, and novelists rush to create their own darker, more relevant versions. But how well do you really know fairy tales? Here are 10 books that will change how you see the fairy tale. Top image: Fairies by Arthur Rackham 1) Seven…

Rejoice! Pierce Brown Is Planning Another Red Rising Trilogy

Pierce Brown has been making waves with his fantastic Red Rising trilogy, and now that the third book in the trilogy, Morning Star, has been released, he’s announced that he’s writing three more books! Brown’s trilogy takes place in a stratified society, where people are divided into color groups. A Red miner named Darrow is…

Return To The World Of Dara In Ken Liu’s Next Fantasy Epic, The Wall Of Storms

We really loved Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings when we tore into it last year. He took us to a deeply unique fantasy world in the grips of a fantastic transformation, and we have a long excerpt from the next book in the series, as well as a first look at its…

Umberto Eco Asked the Hard Questions About the Myths We Can’t Help Believing In

Most people know Umberto Eco as the author of The Name of the Rose (pictured above), a Medieval detective story that caused a sensation. But the postmodern author, who died today, published a slew of novels that questioned the nature of belief and truth. Eco wasn’t really known as a science fiction author, although he…

Want to add some fresh excitement to your reading list? Over on Twitter, people are tweeting lists of amazing science fiction and fantasy authors (who happen to be women and people of color) under the #YouDon’tKnowSFF hashtag. As in, you don’t know the whole genre unless you’re reading these folks. Top image: The Vorkosigan saga…

What Happens When You Burn Out on Writing?

Elizabeth Bear is one of those authors who seems like an incredible writing machine. She’s put out a huge number of books in the past 10 years, winning tons of acclaim along the way. But in a brave post on Charles Stross’ blog, she talks about the cost of being that prolific. She writes: Between…

This New Warcraft Guidebook Is Jam Packed With Gorgeous Art

The world of Warcraft is very frequently a ridiculous place—mainly because game makers Blizzard have been making up the fantastical universe as they merrily went along for 22 years. A new book however, is attempting to sort all that out, and in the process, give us some rather smashing art to gawp at. For all…

Richard Kadrey Has Written His Craziest Novel Yet—and We’ve Got The First Look

Richard Kadrey has written some pretty demented stuff, including the out-of-control Sandman Slim urban fantasy series. But his latest book, The Everything Box, could be his wildest ride yet. It’s been getting compared to Chris Moore, and we’ve got the exclusive first look! In The Everything Box, an angel misplaces an all-powerful device that’s basically…

The Sherlock Manga Is Officially Heading to the West

Four years ago, the first episode of the BBC’s modernized Sherlock series was adapted into a manga in Japan. Now, all these years later, it’s finally being officially translated for Western audiences. Behold, the exotic cheekbones of Benedict Cumberbatch, in two dimensions! https://gizmodo.com/japans-getting-a-manga-adaptation-of-sherlock-5940011 Titan Comics has announced that they have secured the rights to bring…

Praise the Emperor, Warhammer 40K Is Heading to Comics

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war… and comic books, apparently. Yes, Warhammer, Games Workshop’s ludicrously over the top tabletop game, is one of the wackiest, macho universes in science fiction—and after a long hiatus from comics, the series is getting a new swath of books from Titan Comics. https://gizmodo.com/the-15-most-ridiculous-badasses-from-warhammer-40k-1720388310…

Good news for fans of one of Marvel’s best comics, The Vision. Earlier today DC Comics announced the signing of an exclusivity deal with writer Tom King, leading fans to wonder if he would leave his incredible Marvel series before its 12-issue run ended—but that won’t be the case, according to King himself. Yay!

Even Alfred Has to Be Grim and Gritty in Batman v Superman

Pity poor Alfred Pennyworth, hapless butler to the Dark Knight. Or should I say ex-butler, as his role as the stalwart, stiff-upper-lipped servant of Bruce Wayne has been needlessly changed to something more in keeping with the BvS universe. A new companion book about Batman v Superman has made it out into the wilds a…

The Walking Dead Has the Most Wonderfully Gory Pop-Up Book You’ve Ever Seen

Castles, spaceships, maybe even a few animals, those are the typical things that will jump out as you turn the pages of most pop-up books. But when it’s a pop-up book about The Walking Dead, you instead get zombie heads that explode with incredibly gory details. Designed by paper engineers David Hawcock and Becca Zerkin,…

C.J. Cherryh Is Becoming a SFWA Grandmaster

In totally awesome news, C.J. Cherryh—author of Foreigner, Downbelow Station (pictured above), and tons of other amazing books—is being named a Grandmaster by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. This honor will be bestowed upon Cherryh at the 51st annual SFWA Nebula Conference, May 12-15 in Chicago. Cherryh previously won the Campbell Award…

Harley Quinn Just Cut Ties With the Joker in the Most Satisfying Way

Harley Quinn’s current ongoing series has been all about Harley moving on from her past life with the Joker, and finding her own identity. Today’s issue made that struggle a very literal one—and it had an immensely satisfying resolution. Spoilers ahead for Harley Quinn #25, by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Chad Hardin, Alex Sinclair, and…

Power Man and Iron Fist Have a Hilarious Way to Get Around Marvel’s ‘No Swearing’ Policy

Characters frequently swear in Marvel comics, but you’ll never see a foul-mouthed curse make it to print. They’re always censored by a string of nonsensical skulls and symbols… that is, except for Luke Cage in his new team up book with Danny Rand, and it makes perfect, adorable sense for the character. Minor spoilers ahead…

Everything You Need To Know About Black Panther Before Marvel’s Civil War

It’s going to be a good year for Marvel’s Black Panther. Not only is he getting an extremely promising new comic book series, in a few months he’s making his Marvel cinematic universe debut in Captain America: Civil War. If you’re not familiar with the superhero, king and Avenger, here’s your primer. 1) He was…