The sad news of John Hurt’s passing naturally got us thinking about his long career—particularly his many wonderful contributions to science fiction and fantasy films (this is io9, after all). We’ve gathered our eight favorite John Hurt scifi and fantasy movie roles here.
George Orwell’s dystopian classic 1984 occupied the number one spot on Amazon’s best-selling books list yesterday, where it remains today. A cautionary tale about a brutal, amoral dictator has evidently felt relevant to people lately. But as of today, Amazon—the world’s largest bookseller—is unable to keep up with…
Apple haters rejoice! SNL and Dr. Strange himself took Apple’s history of over-the-top marketing of (occasionally underwhelming) iterative design to task and yeah, it was actually funny.
Earlier this week The Information reported that Apple is making a smart hub to compete with the very cool Amazon Echo and recently announced Google Home. This is not shocking. Consumer technology companies’ new favorite thing is to get their remarkably well-designed talons into every aspect of our lives. If we want…
Set a century after George Orwell’s chilling portrait of a dystopian future, scifi short 2084 works perfectly thanks to the twin powers of simplicity (it was filmed in director Taz Goldstein’s living room) and hilarity (the “annoyed computer voice” has seldom been so well-executed).
Over at The Monitor, David Bowles is reviewing some of the best science fiction books of all time. Read his reviews of The Left Hand of Darkness, Ender’s Game, 1984 and Dune, and keep your eyes open for more installments.
George Orwell’s estate is watching you—at least if you try and use the number ‘1984’. In an ironic turn of events, the Orwell estate has recently issued a copyright takedown to prevent the use of the four digits without permission, reports Torrent Freak.
We all learn a lot from reading science fiction books—not just the cool ideas, but also the fascinating thought experiments. But college professors often reach for classic science fiction when they’re planning classes on literature, society or philosophy. Here are 11 science fiction books that are often taught in…
Now that we're living in a world of pervasive surveillance, and Big Brother really is watching you, the D.C. Public Library is hosting a live reading of George Orwell's 1984 in its entirety. "Special guest readers" will take part, but you can also sign up to read — or watch the whole thing streaming on YouTube.
Sony's setting up another adaptation of George Orwell's classic, this time with Paul Greengrass in the director's chair. Well, it's not like it's a book that gets less relevant as time goes on.
British company The Affair has created a number of science fiction themed fashion lines, but their latest is a masterpiece. The clothing is all modeled on what people wore in George Orwell's 1984, and comes with a shielded phone pocket made from material can effectively pull you off the grid.
Alt-country crooner Ryan Adams typically makes music fit for a rom-com's opening credits, but he has a lesser-known punk side, and 1984 showcases the best of it.
Have you noticed that a lot of really awesome things are celebrating their 30th anniversaries this year? The Macintosh computer, Tetris, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? 1984 was also a really good year for movies, but I'll go farther than that: This particular week in 1984 was probably the best week ever to see a movie…
This map shows the global superpowers described in George Orwell's 1984, but does this map truly reflect the political state of the world in the novel or is it just another form of Party propaganda?
30 years ago. The Los Angeles Raiders are slaughtering the Washington Redskins at halftime. You decide it's time for a refill on your Crystal Light. You're headed to the kitchen when something stops you in your tracks—a chick with a Brigitte Nielsen haircut and a hammer, running towards you.
Oh my god. OH MY GOD. Okay. Deep breath. For the full effect of this news, I'm going to have to let US Magazine explain it, because I think it most effectively sells the horror of what's happening here.
Over at Artsy Musings, there's a great roundup of science fiction book cover reimaginings that ought to be actual book covers. Including this beautiful design by Luke James. Check out a few more of our favorites below.
David Bowie's 100 favorite books include George Orwell's 1984, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus, Peter Ackroyd's Hawksmoor, Don DeLillo's White Noise... and Viz, the satirical comics magazine known for characters like "Buster Gonad and his Unfeasibly Large Testicles." Awesome.
Too often, we hear that a science fiction story has "succeeded" if it predicts the future accurately. But that's the wrong measure of success. The most powerful works of SF don't describe the future — they change it.
