Books

The Thriving Industry That Helps Encourage Book Censorship

We have rating systems for movies, television shows, and video games—so why not rating systems for books? That’s the thought behind services that rate books with the aim of helping parents and protecting children. But these services are contributing to censorship in schools—and harming public education in the process. When many of us think of…

Warning: These Adventure Time Art Books Are The Ultimate Time Sink!

There’s so much beautiful weirdness packed into every 11-minute episode of Adventure Time, it’s hard to appreciate it all. Which is where two new books come in. Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo and The Title Cards give you a closer look at the show’s creativity. We’ve got some never-seen artwork from both books. Above…

Which Legendary Hero Would Be Dead Within A Day In Real Life?

There are many forms of protection in science fiction and fantasy stories — but the most powerful is Plot Armor. Someone wearing Plot Armor can walk through a nuclear explosion unscathed, or go sunbathing on the sun. But which awesome character has the strongest Plot Armor of them all? Please include a picture, clip, comics…

Post-Scarcity Societies (That Still Have Scarcity)

One of the most alluring dreams in science fiction is the post-scarcity society — a place or time where nobody goes without, because technology has improved. But when you dig deeper, most post-scarcity worlds still have some scarcity, because otherwise it’s hard to tell a story about them. See for yourself! The Jump 225 trilogy…

Why Nobody Ever Asks If Irony Has Ruined Science Fiction

Every few years, there’s another essay insisting that irony is ruining culture. Hipsters and postmodernism have created an insincere world where nothing means anything. But you never hear anybody insisting that irony has ruined science fiction. That’s because irony is part of the creative life-force of the genre. Top image: Cover of Thomas Pynchon’s Crying…

Which Story Went Terribly Wrong, But Then Managed A Beautiful Ending?

The world is full of stories that stoked up your excitement, only to deliver a weak ending. But sometimes, the opposite happens — sometimes you get a disastrous middle, and then a story randomly pulls out a beautiful ending. What’s the most wonderful ending to a weak story you’ve ever seen? Please include a picture,…

Maybe the Cutest Science Fiction Book Ever

This is just too adorable. In 1931, Czech author Josef Hais Týnecký and illustrator O. Stáfl published the children’s novel The Moon and Beyond. It’s the story of a group of beetles who take a tour of the planets of the solar system. I can’t really say much about the plot, my knowledge of Czech…

Why Twisted Fairy Tales Are The Kind We Deserve

Fairy tales are more popular ever, inspiring hit movies, huge TV shows, and a flood of books. But aren’t fairy tales also kind of… regressive? They always feature princesses in trouble, and the dashing princess who rescue them, right? Wrong. Poison author Sarah Pinborough argues that fairy tales should be subversive. Top image: Annie Leibovitz…

Classic Science Fiction Book Covers from Hungary Are Mind-Blowing

We love these incredible Hungarian interpretations of classic science fiction novel covers. Jules Verne: From Earth to the Moon, 1956/1961 H. G. Wells: The First Men in the Moon, 1957 Isaac Asimov: Foundation, Second Foundation, and Foundation and Empire, 1971/1973 Stanislav Lem: Solaris, 1977 Aldoux Huxley: Brave New World, 1982 Ray Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles,…

Vintage Zine Art Is Like Staring Into The Dreams Of A Lost Subculture

Lenny Kaye, the long-time guitarist for the Patti Smith Group, amassed a collection of 1500 mimeographed science fiction zines from the 1940s to the 1970s, and they’re on display this weekend at the New York Art Book Fair. These zine covers are wild and in some cases kind of alarming. Writing in Thought Catalog, Mark…

Michael Moorcock Reveals Why This Elric Comic Is Superior To The Books

Julien Blondel and Robin Recht’s first sumptuous comic adaptation of legendary fantasy author Michael Moorcock’s Elric saga is in comic stores now, and no one’s a bigger fan than Moorcock himself. In fact, the author told io9 that he thinks it’s superior to his original stories! We spoke to Moorcock about what makes Elric: The…

Dystopian Fashion Comes with Special Signal-Blocking Pocket for Phones

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. Zoltan Csaki designed this line…

An Amazing Excerpt from Ancillary Sword, Sequel to Ancillary Justice

This year Ann Leckie’s debut novel Ancillary Justice swept the science fiction awards, taking home Hugo, Nebula, British Science Fiction, Locus and Arthur C. Clarke Awards for best novel. Now the sequel, Ancillary Sword, is about to hit bookstores, and we’ve got an exclusive excerpt for you! Cover art by John Harris Below, we’ve got…

The 12 Weirdest Reasons For Banning Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

It’s Banned Books Week! But people are trying to keep great books out of libraries and schools every hour of every day, year round. And often, people’s reasons for challenging these titles are really, really… outlandish. Here are 12 SF and fantasy books that people have given incomprehensible reasons for banning. Top image: Neverwhere, art…

Nick Harkaway’s Tigerman Takes Superheroes Where They’ve Never Gone

Nick Harkaway’s Tigermanis a funny, original and very human novel about a man who puts on a costume and rights wrongs. It’s also an echt superhero novel – it gives us a new take on superheroics, different from either superhero comics or films, by showing them through the lens of literary prose. All the familiar…

Which Character Was Better When They Were The Only One Of Their Kind?

Sometimes you have a character who’s really cool and unique… and then someone comes along and decides that if one of those characters is good, then a whole bunch of them would be even better. Who’s the best example of a character who was way better when he or she was the only one around?…

Two speculative fiction books getting literary acclaim. The 10 books on the National Book Award longlistinclude the post-apocalyptic novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and the gaming-oriented Wolf in White Vanby John Darnielle, which we reviewed here .

What Book Changed The Way You Look At The World?

When you flip open the cover of an unfamiliar book, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to find inside. It might be a great story, it might be some new information, or it just might be something that changes your entire perspective. Whether it was a novel, a biography, a reference book, or even…

I Don’t Want Any Of These People Under Me Any More

Did you ever have an infestation you just can’t get rid of? Bedbugs, maybe? Or ants? Pubic lice? You spray and you clean and you put down traps, but you just can’t get rid of it. That’s how I feel about the humans who have been living inside of me. They’re annoying, but hard to…

Who’s The Toughest Mother In All Of Science Fiction And Fantasy?

Everybody says there’s nothing more dangerous than a mother protecting her young — but some moms go way above and beyond, in their ambition and grit. Some mothers are just unstoppable. But who’s the baddest mother in all of science fiction or fantasy? Please include a picture, poster, book cover, comics panel or clip for…