Books & Comics

Watching the truck turn into a sentient mecha was like seeing origami fold itself

Why do you assume that a bulldozer has no consciousness? Perhaps because you have not looked at it properly, and seen the mouth that opens in its shovel. Or the finger that points at you in its drill bits. Illustrator David White creates concept art for videogames and magazines, and his work hovers delightfully between…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

The world’s most popular science fiction magazine fires its editor

After an author uprising that shook the Chinese publishing establishment, the editor of China’s Science Fiction World has been fired. But some question whether it’s too late to save the magazine, many of whose experienced editors have already quit. [Xinhua] https://gizmodo.com/worlds-largest-science-fiction-magazine-faces-author-up-5502176

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Page 11, fall in a pit and die: critical assessments of Choose Your Own Adventure novels

Edward Packard’s Choose Your Own Adventure book series was a heady mix of genre conventions, RPG identity-swapping, and dying for no apparent reason. These novels weren’t high art, but their innovative structure has prompted analysis decades later. Over at The Comics Journal, Sean Michael Robinson discusses the transformative aspects of CYOA novels. Despite their wacky…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Kate Wilhelm’s Sweet Birds: How protecting a species can endanger it

The musical, measured Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, by Kate Wilhelm — which won the Hugo in 1977 — is an artful admixture of clones and poetry, with a message that’ll never get old. Here’s a funny thing: After I finished this book, literally the next one I happened to pick up, absolutely coincidentally,…

Books & Comics Josh Wimmer

What if the Hardy Boys went to school with Mystery Inc?

John Allison’s latest webcomic Bad Machinery revolves around two rival groups of friends who solve supernatural mysteries. But amidst the soccer curses, toddler-eating beasts, and magic pencils, they have to survive grammar school. Bad Machinery is a follow-up to Allison’s earlier webcomics Scary Go Round and Bobbins. Like Allison’s earlier comics, Bad Machinery takes place…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

The thing I couldn’t say to Mr. Spock’s dad

Vonda McIntyre, author of beloved Star Trek novels like The Entropy Effect, tells us the story of how she met Spock’s dad – and what she was too embarrassed to tell him. Photo by Peter Meimon Despite having done quite a bit of media tie-in work, I haven’t been in the habit of attending media…

Books & Comics Vonda McIntyre

New novel will show H.G. Wells grappling with mega-stardom

Amazing news: One of Britain’s funniest, cleverest authors is writing a novel about the life of H.G. Wells, and it comes out next April. David Lodge, author of the Booker-shortlisted Nice Work, will provide “fascinating insight” into Wells’ life. The “fascinating” quote comes from Lodge’s long-time editor, Geoff Mulligan, who adds: Wells emerges from this…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Mark Z. Danielewski on his new cat-centric book project, and why he won’t let House Of Leaves be a movie

A new novel from Mark Z. Danielewski would be a cause for celebration… so how much better is it that he’s finished a 27-volume opus? In a new interview, he also explains why House Of Leaves won’t be a movie. The introspective, informative (and somewhat oddly capitalized) interview with Danielewski, conducted by Kasey Carpenter, appears…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Read the strangest superhero origin of them all! Enter… The Fly!

Jack Kirby and Joe Simon didn’t just create Captain America — they had a long partnership, during which they created countless other heroes. Here’s an exclusive first look at a new collection of their lesser known stories, featuring… the Fly! The Simon and Kirby superheroes comes out Sept. 29. Here’s the official description: Beginning with…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Read science fiction to understand the things that mainstream pundits won’t talk about

Why should you be reading more science fiction? Not just for the thrills or awesome science. You should read SF to explore ideas about society that academics and pundits won’t talk about, writes Walter Russell Mead in The American Interest. “Taken as a whole, the field of science fiction today is where most of the…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Scenes from terrible, creepy, and outdated library books

At the awesome blog Awful Library Books, Michigan librarians Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner showcase old, bizarre books that probably shouldn’t be in circulation. The blog contains many science, engineering, and computing texts. Here are some of the most lamentable. [Awful Library Books via The Presurfer] In 1972’s Science Projects You Can Do, George Stone…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

What are the ingredients for great science fiction?

It’s hard enough to define science fiction — but what makes for truly great SF? What’s the crucial element, the X-factor? TimeSplash author Graham Storrs argues it’s all about exploring who we are as humans. https://gizmodo.com/how-many-definitions-of-science-fiction-are-there-5622186 I’ve just been reading a blog post by Mike Brotherton which presents (yet another) definition of science fiction. This…

Books & Comics Graham Storrs

What made Cordwainer Smith the perfect man to describe cyborg consciousness?

Celebrated SF author Cordwainer Smith grew up among anti-imperial revolutionaries in China, then became a master of psychological warfare. Over at PLoS blog Neurotribes, Steve Silberman has a terrific article about Smith and his cyborg masterpiece “Scanners Live In Vain.” Fifty years ago, the word “cyborg” was coined by scientists Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline,…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Super Scary Dystopian Nightmare: Gary Shteyngart’s satire delivers

Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story is one of the most talked-about novels of the year — but it’s also a genuinely impressive piece of dystopian satire. Anyone who wants to see clever near-future worldbuilding should check it out. Spoilers ahead — although no major plot twists are given away. Honestly, after reading the…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Read Alan Moore’s parody of Frank Miller’s Daredevil from 1983

A 1983 issue of the UK Marvel anthology Daredevils featured an odd back-up story that spoofed Frank Miller’s acclaimed run on Daredevil. This throwaway strip would’ve probably been forgotten…if it weren’t written by Alan Moore. This strip — entitled “Grit!” — was a pitch-perfect mock-up of Miller’s gritty depiction of New York City. Artist Mike…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

New Thor, vintage horror, and an Elvis impersonator hitman invade Wednesday comics

It’s a diverse line-up at your friendly neighborhood comic book store tomorrow. Among many things, there’s new Thor and Walking Dead, classic horror tales from comic masters, and a reprint of a great graphic novel from the director of Mirrormask. First off, there are some interesting Thor titles on the stands this week. Thor: The…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Discover the shocking stories behind the year’s most baffling image!

We all marveled at the fan art that showed Wil Wheaton riding a unicorn-dragon-kitten into battle with an Orc John Scalzi. And now you can read the true, and unquestionable stories behind the image. For charity! https://gizmodo.com/why-is-wil-wheaton-charging-down-on-orc-john-scalzi-whi-5552393 Clash Of The Geeks, the chapbook that the year’s most bizarre image spawned, is available now. You can…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

This is what a book looks like when it has been pickled

Cameron Pierce has just published his new planet-hopping tale, The Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island. Looks like somebody took the “pickled” thing too literally. Pierce writes to io9: My fourth book, The Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island, just came out from Eraserhead Press. To celebrate, I pickled copies of the book. Eraserhead Press can do…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Celebrate Caturday with Marvel Kitties

If the Internet was built so that people could post pictures of their cats, then Twitter was built for this. Artists came up with their best kitty-Marvel mashups and tweeted the adorable results. Cartoonists Chris Eliopoulos and Katie Cook started the meme earlier this week, trading pictures of felinized Galactus and MODOK. Soon enough, the…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

Grant Morrison talks Pax Americana, his “updated” Watchmen

As part of DC’s Multiversity project, All-Star Superman team Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely will be helming a comic entitled Pax Americana, a tribute to Alan Moore’s Watchmen that uses analogues to Alan Moore’s characters in modern times. In an interview with the magazine Comic Heroes, Morrison described the project as a 21st century Watchmen…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Watching the truck turn into a sentient mecha was like seeing origami fold itself

The world’s most popular science fiction magazine fires its editor

Page 11, fall in a pit and die: critical assessments of Choose Your Own Adventure novels

Kate Wilhelm’s Sweet Birds: How protecting a species can endanger it

What if the Hardy Boys went to school with Mystery Inc?

The thing I couldn’t say to Mr. Spock’s dad

New novel will show H.G. Wells grappling with mega-stardom

Mark Z. Danielewski on his new cat-centric book project, and why he won’t let House Of Leaves be a movie

Read the strangest superhero origin of them all! Enter… The Fly!

Read science fiction to understand the things that mainstream pundits won’t talk about

Scenes from terrible, creepy, and outdated library books

What are the ingredients for great science fiction?

What made Cordwainer Smith the perfect man to describe cyborg consciousness?

Super Scary Dystopian Nightmare: Gary Shteyngart’s satire delivers

Read Alan Moore’s parody of Frank Miller’s Daredevil from 1983

New Thor, vintage horror, and an Elvis impersonator hitman invade Wednesday comics

Discover the shocking stories behind the year’s most baffling image!

This is what a book looks like when it has been pickled

Celebrate Caturday with Marvel Kitties

Grant Morrison talks Pax Americana, his “updated” Watchmen

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

Sun’s Latest Outburst Complicates Planned Launch of Artemis 2

Instagram Will Finally Let You Lurk to Your Heart’s Content—for a Price

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

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

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