Books

The Best Device For Reading Is Still the Phone In Your Pocket

For long-time book lovers, reading on an electronic device can be disorienting experience. The most obvious choice for those going down the e-book path is a device like the Kindle, completely and utterly dedicated to emulating the traditional experience of reading. I’ve been seduced by the promise of an e-reader many-a-time, but I always find…

Books & Comics Michael Hession

My First Kindle: I Finally Stopped Multitasking and Got Lost in a Novel

Still don’t have an e-reader? I can respect that. Physical books just feel better. Print is sacred. I’m with you—or at least I was, until our reviews editor thrust a Kindle in my hand and made me use it. Amazon has just updated its bare-bones, entry-level Kindle to finally include touchscreen navigation like phones and…

Reviews Meg Neal

Dolores Umbridge Returns In A New Harry Potter Halloween Story

Looks like J.K. Rowling is planning on giving everyone a treat this Halloween. The author has announced on Pottermore.com that she will release a new short story that will detail the life of everyone’s least favorite Hogwarts teacher, Dolores Umbridge. Given how many Hogwarts teachers were outright servants of Voldemort, that’s saying something. According to…

io9 Rob Bricken

Hot Damn, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice Got Optioned For Television!

And not only that, but it’s been optioned by Fabrik and Fox Television Studios, who previously worked together on The Killing and Burn Notice. No guarantee anything will ever happen, but this is still very, very good news. As Aidan Moher points out, with a TV series based on James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series already…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

The Future Is a Lonely Place, in William Gibson’s The Peripheral

With his new novel The Peripheral, William Gibson returns to the genre that made him famous: near-future science fiction. But the world of The Peripheral is very different from the hyperactive cyberpunk citiscapes of Neuromancer. His canvas is much bigger — and his prophesies are far more melancholy. The Peripheral centers on two characters, Flynne…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

If You Read One Thing Today, Make It This Canticle For Leibowitz Essay

Walter M. Miller’s three-part novel A Canticle for Leibowitz is one of the acknowledged classics of science fiction… that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. Over in the New Yorker, there’s a fascinating, must-read essay about this book, putting it in context. Apart from other things, the New Yorker essay talks about the fact that…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Book: Incredible Lego Technic

Slated for shipment in November of 2014, Incredible Lego Technic—Cars, Trucks, Robots & More is now available for pre-order on the no starch press website. Curated by Paweł “Sariel” Kmieć, a Lego Technic enthusiast based in Warsaw, Poland, this book is a stunning visual overload of just how versatile and amazing Lego Technic really is.…

Books & Comics Michael Schulte

5 Books For Expanding Your Photography Knowledge

There are many ways to learn about photography, not least of which are the vast depths of the internet, replete with tutorials and how-to videos. But getting past mere technical proficiency and learning valuable lessons about the art form isn’t as easy as a Google search. Luckily, there are those old things called books. The…

Books & Comics Michael Hession

Every Single Urban Fantasy Cliche In One Glorious Story

And yes, that’s a tall order. But over at Fantasy Literature, they’ve decided to put their heads together and create a single story that contains every urban fantasy cliche ever. Can you help them? Top image: Cover of MLN Hanover’s Vicious Grace, as lampooned by Jim C. Hines here. Here’s how their story begins: My…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

MIT’s Science Fiction Society Has 60,000 Books And Some Zany Traditions

Reason number 5,000,000,000 to wish you’d gone to MIT… There’s a great article in MIT News Magazine about the MIT Science Fiction Society, with its incredibly awesome library. Which started with a wooden crate dragged between dorm rooms in 1949 and is now a massive storehouse of awesome. According to one chemistry grad student, D.W.…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

This Is How We Imagined Aerial Warfare 120 Years Ago

These gorgeous illustrations from the late nineteenth century reveal what people imagined air combat would be like in the future. It’s pretty spectacular — and weirdly prescient, too. These illustrations come from the novels The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror and its sequel Olga Romanoff (also known as The Syren…

Books & Comics Vincze Miklós

Which Series Did You Love — Until It Killed Your Favorite Character?

Death adds real stakes to a fictional universe. If nobody ever dies, then nothing feels real. And yet some deaths don’t just diminish us all, they just plain ruin a series. For good. Which science fiction or fantasy series lost its heart, or just became less good generally, when one character died? Please include a…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Read Our Exclusive Excerpt from Gail Carriger’s Waistcoats & Weaponry

Gail Carriger has been burning up the bestseller lists with her Finishing School series, and now you can read an exciting excerpt from book three, Waistcoats & Weaponry. Warning: Bladed fans ahead! Here’s a plot summary of the book, from the publisher: Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style—with a steel-bladed fan…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

This Massive Spiral Structure in the Sahara Is Visible from Space

This geological formation is probably not what you think it is. It’s the result of gradual erosion, not some ancient asteroid impact. All these gorgeous photos and captions are from Chris Hadfield’s book You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes. Published with permission from Little, Brown and Company. Above: Mauritania: The Richat Structure…

io9 Annalee Newitz

What Story Did You Recognize As An Important Work Of Art Right Away?

Sometimes, it takes decades or longer for something to be recognized as a timeless, vitally important artwork. Great art stands the test of time after all. But sometimes, you see something and just know immediately that it’s a great life-changing artwork. Which science fiction or fantasy story did you recognize as “greatart” right away? Please…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Why Are Many Of Today’s Hottest Authors Writing Post-Apocalyptic Books?

If there was any doubt that post-apocalyptic fiction rules the book world, it was probably erased when Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven became a National Book Award finalist. But why do today’s hottest writers write stories set after the end? We talked to Mandel and four other post-apocalyptic authors, to find out. Top image:…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

No, Bram Stoker Did Not Model Dracula On Vlad The Impaler

It’s one of those so-called facts that everyone knows: Bram Stoker’s character Count Dracula was loosely based on Vlad the Impaler. But while there’s no doubt that Stoker took the name from Vlad III’s patronymic, it’s doubtful that the Impaler was actually the basis for the famous vampire. Who Made The Vlad-Dracula Connection? It certainly…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

What Are You Reading?

Whether your library is digital or hard copy, we want to peruse it. Tell us what books you’ve been reading — and which ones are coming up next! Compile a recent reading list of all the fiction, non-fiction, biographies, classics, and classics yet-to-be-recognized-as-such that you’ve been reading and tell us what you thought of them.…

Books & Comics Ria Misra

Just Because Magic Has Rules, Doesn’t Mean It Should Be Predictable

A lot of fantasy writers and readers will tell you that magic needs to have a clear set of rules, so you don’t just have a situation where magic can do whatever the author needs it to do. A system of magic. But go too far in that direction, and you end up with something…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meet 10/28 to Discuss Lockstep

This month, the io9 Book Club is reading Karl Schroeder’s Lockstep. We’ll meet on October 28 to discuss it. Join us! Sorry for the delay, but the meeting is still on! We’re hoping Schroeder will join us later that week to talk about the book. What is this io9 Book Club all about? We meet…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

The Best Device For Reading Is Still the Phone In Your Pocket

My First Kindle: I Finally Stopped Multitasking and Got Lost in a Novel

Dolores Umbridge Returns In A New Harry Potter Halloween Story

Hot Damn, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice Got Optioned For Television!

The Future Is a Lonely Place, in William Gibson’s The Peripheral

If You Read One Thing Today, Make It This Canticle For Leibowitz Essay

Book: Incredible Lego Technic

5 Books For Expanding Your Photography Knowledge

Every Single Urban Fantasy Cliche In One Glorious Story

MIT’s Science Fiction Society Has 60,000 Books And Some Zany Traditions

This Is How We Imagined Aerial Warfare 120 Years Ago

Which Series Did You Love — Until It Killed Your Favorite Character?

Read Our Exclusive Excerpt from Gail Carriger’s Waistcoats & Weaponry

This Massive Spiral Structure in the Sahara Is Visible from Space

What Story Did You Recognize As An Important Work Of Art Right Away?

Why Are Many Of Today’s Hottest Authors Writing Post-Apocalyptic Books?

No, Bram Stoker Did Not Model Dracula On Vlad The Impaler

What Are You Reading?

Just Because Magic Has Rules, Doesn’t Mean It Should Be Predictable

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meet 10/28 to Discuss Lockstep

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

How to Watch the F1 Japanese GP 2026 on a Free Channel

Ranking 2016’s Superhero Debuts, 10 Years Later

Fourth Most Populous Country in the World Bans Most Social Media for Kids

How to watch UFC Fight Night Adesanya vs Pyfer live this Saturday

‘Steel Ball Run’ Will Return This Year…Eventually

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

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

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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