Books & Comics

Grand Junction: A Bold Idea Hampered by Its Execution

Maurice Dantec’s Grand Junction is a metaphysical cyberspace epic; a Dickian post-apocalyptic future that questions our reliance on machines as a metaphor for human preoccupation with the material. Or, at least, it’s supposed to be. Certainly, Dantec intends it to be, and he does a decent job of steeping Grand Junction in the recognizable characteristics…

Books & Comics Chris Braak

Is The Universe The Creation Of Asimov’s Bored Robot?

For this installment of Weekend Short Story Club, we’ll be looking at Isaac Asimov’s “The Last Question.” Short stories are an oft-forgotten part of literature, and “The Last Question” showcases every reason why they should stay relevant. Originally published in 1956 in the short-lived Science Fiction Quarterly, Asimov privately thought “The Last Question” the best…

Books & Comics David Grossman

11 Science Fiction Novels For Fantasy Fans

If you’re a fantasy lover who’s avoided science fiction novels, maybe you just haven’t found the right gateway drug. Here are 11 novels that bridge the gap between fantasy and science fiction, by fitting into both categories. I am a child of the late 80’s/early 90’s. I came to fantasy fiction in the era where…

Books & Comics John Ottinger III

The Future Of Short Fiction Publishing: Pay Per Story?

The iPad and other devices may have revolutionized the short story publishing market, judging from a new announcement by Orbit Books. The genre publisher, whose authors include Iain M. Banks and Gail Carriger, is going to start publishing its authors’s short fiction electronically — but Orbit’s not going the Tor route, where stories are posted…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Well…I’m Sick Of You Looking at Me Looking at You!

One day, our computers will have their sentient revenge. Until then, it’s called Excel spreadsheets. [SavageChickens via TheNextWeb]

Books & Comics Mark Wilson

Comic Artists Take On Science Adventurer Jonny Quest

The whiz-kids at the Comic Twart collective pick a different character from the pop pantheon each week for the members to illustrate. This week is the Venture Bros.’ forefather, Jonny Quest. The animated adventures of boy genius Jonny Quest; his scientist pops, Dr. Benton Quest; their “bodyguard,” Race Bannon; and Jonny’s adopted brother, Hadji sit…

Books & Comics Marc Bernardin

Grant Morrison’s Philosophy Of Comics

io9 caught up with Batman and Robin scribe Grant Morrison and asked him about his upcoming miniseries The Return of Bruce Wayne. Grant also filled us in on the We3 movie, Joe The Barbarian, and his take on comic continuity. In Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, we’re going to see Batman travel to different…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Solar Is One Of The Year’s Best Science Fiction Novels

If Ian McEwan’s Solar isn’t on the Hugo ballot next year, it’ll be a miscarriage of justice. The two-time Booker Prize winner does something few literary darlings have done before: treat science with respect, as central to the story. Spoilers… I’m not a huge Ian McEwan fan in general — I read a few of…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

This Month’s Books: Mutant Orphans and Far-Future Mars

April’s new science fiction books take you on a trip across a transformed Mars, and to the heart of a British battle against mutant Nazi orphans. Also, a couple of steampunk adventures jostle for a space in your to-be-read pile. Ares Express, Ian McDonald (Pyr) Ian McDonald’s magical-realist sequel to Desolation Road isn’t new –…

Books & Comics Kelly Faircloth

H-T-T-P-COLON-BACKSLASH-BACKSLASH-Double-U-Double…

And once again, xkcd comes to the rescue of our petty, geek consciousness. [xkcd]

Books & Comics Mark Wilson

Meet the Cuddliest Villains-in-Training You’ll Ever See

In his new comic, Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, writer Mark Andrew Smith gives us the cutest would-be despots ever. On his Twitter feed, Amazing Joy Buzzards writer Mark Andrew Smith let drop a few new pages from Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, an upcoming book drawn by Armand Villavert. Details are scant, but the…

Books & Comics Marc Bernardin

Reboots Aren’t Just For Batman Any More

The modern fashion for rebooting heroes has reached the book world. John Scalzi, the writer who knows no fear, has taken H. Beam Piper’s Hugo-nominated 1962 novel Little Fuzzy and reinventing it. And Tor Books will publish the result. As Scalzi explains over on his blog, I took the original plot and characters of Little…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Anything Can Happen In Your Science Fiction Novel — But It Probably Shouldn’t

When you’re writing a SF novel, you have none of the budgetary and practical constraints that hinder SF TV shows and movies. You can have a giant space squid eating the Moon if you want. There are literally no constraints — except for the need to make sense, says Monster author A. Lee Martinez: Just…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Two Haikus For A Blind Ninja Lawyer

That’s not Ben Affleck / Just some nice Daredevil art / On the stands Wednesday. What else awaits you? / Barry Allen and HulkPool / It’s Comics We Crave. What big event comics debut this week? We’ve got Brightest Day 0 (the miniseries in which everyone old and dead is new and alive again!), Flash…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

A Tree Grows In Manga

Manga comics have long breathed life into complex worlds and absorbing characters. Now they’re doing so for radish plants in artist Koshi Kawachi’s collection of elegant Manga planters. The collection of plant-growing comic books are installed at the Matsuzakaya department store in Nagoya, Japan. They’re as beautiful a sight from afar as they are mystifying…

Books & Comics Brian Barrett

5 Novels To Help You Wait For The Coming Post-Scarcity Society

Can’t wait for scarcity to end, and the Bitchun Society to begin? Us neither. That’s why we’re glad visionary writer R.U. Sirius has compiled his list of five positive science fiction novels to pass the time until the Singularity. [H-Plus]

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Why Science Fiction Videogames Have Sucky Plots

Last Friday videogame company Crytek announced that Altered Carbon author Richard Morgan would write the sequel to acclaimed PC shooter Crysis. Since then, Morgan’s gone on record zinging other videogames, claiming that “Halo is full of these bullshit archetypal characters.” Philip K. Dick Award winner Morgan may be green when it comes to penning videogame…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

SF Author Peter Watts Talks About Hard Science Fiction, and Being Beaten By US Border Guards

Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Starfish, recently got publicity for something other than his Hugo nominations: the Canadian was beaten by US border guards, then convicted of felony “resistance” by a jury. Now he tells all in our interview. Watts worked for many years as a marine biologist, and makes an effort to write…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Needs More Dazzler: The Boys, S.H.I.E.L.D., Buffy Gets Laid

What happened in comics this week? Hughie met some super-losers, S.H.I.E.L.D. went old-school, and Buffy shacked up with an old friend. It’s Need More Dazzler! This one goes out to you, Ms. Summers. The Boys 41 (Dynamite) Writer: Garth Ennis Art: Darick Robertson In Part Two of “The Innocents,” a morbidly obese superhero named Bobby…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

In Dune, The Earth Lifts Up Humans Into Godhood

On the harsh desert planet Arrakis, a boy faces off against Destiny with a capital D, in Frank Herbert’s 1966 Hugo winner Dune. The reason it’s a classic is that Destiny doesn’t quite win. Now that I’ve read both Hugo winners from 1966*, I can say with some authority that the most amazing thing about…

Books & Comics Josh Wimmer

Grand Junction: A Bold Idea Hampered by Its Execution

Is The Universe The Creation Of Asimov’s Bored Robot?

11 Science Fiction Novels For Fantasy Fans

The Future Of Short Fiction Publishing: Pay Per Story?

Well…I’m Sick Of You Looking at Me Looking at You!

Comic Artists Take On Science Adventurer Jonny Quest

Grant Morrison’s Philosophy Of Comics

Solar Is One Of The Year’s Best Science Fiction Novels

This Month’s Books: Mutant Orphans and Far-Future Mars

H-T-T-P-COLON-BACKSLASH-BACKSLASH-Double-U-Double…

Meet the Cuddliest Villains-in-Training You’ll Ever See

Reboots Aren’t Just For Batman Any More

Anything Can Happen In Your Science Fiction Novel — But It Probably Shouldn’t

Two Haikus For A Blind Ninja Lawyer

A Tree Grows In Manga

5 Novels To Help You Wait For The Coming Post-Scarcity Society

Why Science Fiction Videogames Have Sucky Plots

SF Author Peter Watts Talks About Hard Science Fiction, and Being Beaten By US Border Guards

Needs More Dazzler: The Boys, S.H.I.E.L.D., Buffy Gets Laid

In Dune, The Earth Lifts Up Humans Into Godhood

JBL Authentics 500 Retro-Style Home Speaker Hits 40% Off, Now at Its Lowest Price as Amazon’s Spring Sale Clearance Begins

ExpressVPN Spring Sale Special: Up to 73% Off + Free eSIM and Password Manager

You Too Will Learn to Fear the XenoFrog

Amazon Echo Dot Sees Its Last Price Drop in the Spring Sale, Final Hours Tick Down Ahead of an Uncertain Prime Day

Artemis 2 by the Numbers: Breaking Down NASA’s Big Return to the Moon

Apple Removes iPhone Vibe Coding App from App Store

China’s Biggest Social Media Celebrity Is… Kris Jenner?

Up to $1,550 Off on pCloud: Pay Once, Protect Data Forever for World Backup Day

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

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?

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