Books

With Honor’s Knight, Rachel Bach’s Space-Opera Trilogy Gets Truly Epic

We enjoyed Rachel Bach’s first military-science fiction adventure, Fortune’s Pawn, immensely — but with the second volume in the trilogy, Honor’s Knight, she really hits her stride. This is starting to feel like a really epic story that covers some ground that military SF hasn’t trodden too much before. Spoilers ahead… When we reviewed Fortune’s…

Which Mythos Do You Obsess About So Hard, You Even Dream About It?

The best science fiction and fantasy universes have rich, complex backstories, including a lot of mysteries and complicated legends. And it’s easy to get sucked into obsessively wondering about the rich details, and trying to answer all the questions in your head. But which mythos do you obsess about so much, you dream about it?…

Tonight: Erotic Hitchhiker’s Guide Fanfic Read By a Shakespearean Actor

If you’re in San Francisco and you love Douglas Adams as much as we do, then you have absolutely no excuse for not being at The Booksmith, where Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is being tarnished forever. Six writers create erotic fanfic, and the results are read by a Shakespearean actor. This event is described…

Claire North Unmasked! Why 1 Life Isn’t Enough For Harry August Author

There’s been a lot of speculation about the identity of Claire North, the pseudonymous author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August Some thought she might be Clive Barker. But now, her true identity is revealed, and Catherine Webb tells us why she needed more than one life. Claire North is actually Catherine Webb,…

Ann Leckie’s novel Ancillary Justice has won the UK’s prestigious Clarke Award! We read the novel for io9’s book club, and Leckie came to chat with io9 readers about it.

All The Times Science Fiction Became Science Fact In One Chart

Not every science fiction story is meant to predict the future, but some of them have forecast future events with incredible accuracy. This timeline sketches out some of the most exciting examples of times that science fiction became fact. It’s the work of io9-reader Isabelle Turner (who used, among other sources, this io9 open channel)…

The Summer’s Most Exciting Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

This summer, you can spend every free moment reading an amazing book — that’s how many incredible tales are coming in the next few months. So get ready to escape into other worlds, other timelines, and mysterious cities where magic is as ordinary as a hairpin. May Seanan McGuire, Sparrow Hill Road (DAW) Bestselling author…

Two Previously Unknown Octavia Butler Stories Are Getting Published!

Great news for fans of Octavia Butler’s mind-expanding fiction: two previously unpublished stories of hers are coming out this June, in a single volume called Unexpected Stories. Here are the synopses of the two stories, according to Open Road Media, which is publishing the book: “A Necessary Being” tells of how the leaders of two…

10 Questions From Science Fiction That We’re Glad Were Never Answered

We tend to think of science fiction and fantasy as being like mystery novels — the story is over when you solve the case. So we obsess over questions that have no answers. But here are 10 questions that are better unanswered, either because the possibilities are fascinating or because the answers would be terrible.…

Read The Dirty And Scientific Limericks That Isaac Asimov Wrote

When he wasn’t writing science fiction, writer Isaac Asimov was composing his Lecherous Limericks, dirty little ditties he wrote for his own amusement. So what does Asimov’s bawdy poetry sound like? In the foreword to his first Lecherous Limericks volume, Asimov explains that he wrote his first limerick in 1974 while aboard the Queen Elizabeth…

Afterparty Is A Cutting-Edge Story About How Science Will Change Us

Daryl Gregory’s Afterparty is a fantastic thrill ride, presenting an all-too-real future that upends our own world and replaces it with something far more strange. This is science fiction of the cutting edge, on par with stories such as William Gibson’s Neuromancer, McIntosh’s Soft Apocalypse and Orphan Black. Spoilers ahead… Consider, for a moment, the…

This Accidental Game Of Thrones Spoiler Just. Changed. Everything.

Did you watch Game of Thrones on HBO Go last night? Then you may have gotten a surprise bit of information that is so monumentally huge, it’s not just a spoiler for the show but it’s possibly a spoiler for the A Song of Ice and Fire books as well. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK.…

Everyone On Game Of Thrones Is An Amateur Compared To Littlefinger

Last night’s Game of Thrones had a lot of scenes where people tried to consolidate their power. Some people make alliances, others bully their followers, and still others try to send their enemies on suicide missions. When your hold on power isn’t secure, you have to be crafty and ruthless as fuck. Spoilers ahead… Among…

Steven Spielberg To Direct Roald Dahl’s The BFG

Well, this is sensational news. Steven Spielberg may return to genre dramas with the writer from E.T. Even better, he’ll be adapting the Roald Dahl book The BFG. Variety is reporting that Spielberg will re-team with Melissa Mathison, who last worked with Spielberg on E.T., to bring Dahl’s beloved giant tale to life. For those…

Who’s The Most Hilariously (Or Painfully) Conceited Character?

You have to have a pretty high opinion of yourself to venture into space, or fight monsters, or try to take over the world. But some people’s self-esteem is just too high. Who’s the most amusingly (or annoyingly) conceited character in science fiction and fantasy? Please include a picture or clip or book cover for…

Major Landmarks In The History Of Dark Fantasy

Dark fantasy is more popular than ever. Game of Thrones is rocking our TV sets. Tons of authors have moved to the genre. We’re obsessed with bloody tales of morally gray people and supernatural forces. But where does dark fantasy come from? And how did it become so huge? Here’s a brief history of dark…

First Look At The Star Wars Books Of The Post-Expanded Universe

Now that Disney is well and truly ditching the Star Wars Expanded Universe to start with a clean slate, it’s time for the Lucasfilm Story Group to start building again. And its first order of business (well, after working on Episode VII, presumably) will be four books, and we have an exclusive look! First up…

The Plot To The Goosebumps Movie Is Insane

We had assumed that Rob Letterman’s (Gulliver’s Travels) Goosebumps movie would contain a few monsters. Instead, it will feature ALL of the classic Goosebumps monsters. We also did not expect horror author R.L. Stine to play a major character in the movie! In a recent press release it was revealed that Jack Black has been…

What Are You Reading?

What are you reading right now, and what are you holding on to for next? Are you re-reading an old favorite or searching out a new one, diving deep into some non-fiction, or perhaps living vicariously with a biography? Give us a peek at what’s on your reading list — along with any recently finished…

If you’re in the Berkeley area tonight, 4/23, come see io9 editor Annalee Newitz talk about mass extinction and survival at Moe’s Books. That’s at 7:30 in the venerable bookstore’s basement, and admission is free. See you there … if you survive!