Books

Timeline for The Lord of the Rings told in a giant ring chart

Behold the timeline for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit told in giant ring chart porn! Experience J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantastic quest, in one easy-to-read graphic. Created by Emil Johansson, whose Tolkien infographics we’ve featured before. [via LOTRProjects]

Movies Meredith Woerner

Beautiful Creatures clips still have us confused on this whole magical “Caster” thing

We love young adult fantasy novels. And we love it even more when these YA novels become movies, especially giant franchise sensations that inspire baffeling merchandise and hairstyles. But can the convoluted-seeming novel Beautiful Creatures translate to the screen? https://gizmodo.com/the-most-disturbing-twilight-products-of-all-time-5960554 We’re still confused about the rules distinguishing a “Caster” from a witch. Or is the…

Movies Meredith Woerner

The guy who put zombies in the Star Wars universe is sending Darth Maul behind bars

Joe Schreiber’s zombieriffic Death Troopers and its sequel, Red Harvest, were among the most interesting things to happen to Star Wars lately. Now the horror writer is returning to the Star Wars universe — and we’ve got the exclusive reveal right here. http://io9.com/5390471/turns-out-theres-something-darker-than-the-dark-side This time around, Schreiber’s trading zombies for a classic “infiltrating a prison…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

This Hugo-winning author is also the most dangerous villain on the planet

David D. Levine has been many things, including Hugo-winning short story writer and Martian explorer — but now he’s taking on a new role: supervillain. Check out this brand new Dr. Horrible-esque video, in which he delivers a “Letter to the Editor” from the supervillain Dr. Talon, from his story in the anthology The Mad…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

The book about earthworms that took Charles Darwin 44 years to write

For most of his adult life, Charles Darwin was mulling over the earthworm question. In the years before his famous adventure on the H.M.S. Beagle, he began investigating how these creatures creates soil-enriching mold during their digestive process. Off and on in the decades after that, he continued to ponder earthworm behavior and publish papers…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

China will see a much shorter version of Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas is a huge, sprawling novel, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that the movie version clocked in at 172 minutes — but Chinese audiences will get a much tighter version of the film, lasting just 137 minutes. Unfortunately, thanks to state censors they’re losing some of the good parts, including the gay…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

A single image covers 67 years of Penguin science fiction book covers

Check out this weird timeline of book covers, showing which colors dominated on their Penguin book covers over the years. It looks like War of the Worlds had a long yellow period, while Journey to the Center of the Earth was cream-colored for decades. Arthur Buxton created this graphic to honor Jules Verne’s 185th birthday…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Your Chance to See John Dies at the End for Free in San Francisco!

The gonzo adventure movie John Dies at the End opens in limited release on Friday, but it’s not coming to San Francisco and Berkeley until February 8. Except that a few lucky io9 readers can get passes to a free preview screening this Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the Embarcadero Cinema. Just go to this Eventbrite…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Ron Howard in talks to direct Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book

It’s been a long time since we’ve heard any news about Disney’s movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. We feared this picture had died after Henry Selick of Coraline passed up an opportunity to turn this YA novel into a stop motion feature — the studio and the director parted ways back in…

Movies Meredith Woerner

The Magical App That Inspires Your Next Movie Marathon

As you hibernate, you need to occupy yourself. That means lots of movies and books to catch up on. A simple new app called Done Not Done will help you keep track of everything you want to read, watch, or listen to. It starts like this: You use a website or an iPhone app to…

Movies Leslie Horn

This Friday: Michael Chabon joins Glen David Gold and… Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen?

If you’re in San Francisco this Friday, you really ought to stop by the Nerdist Writers Panel, where Adventures of Kavalier and Clay author Michael Chabon will be part of a pretty interesting lineup, benefiting the writing education nonprofit 826 Valencia: Join Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay;…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

11 Preposterously Manly Fantasy Series

What makes a book series manly? Is it the action? The violence? The lack of female characters? Is it male wish-fulfillment? Misogyny? Or a combination of all these things? I don’t know the answer for sure, but I do know that these 11 fantasy series are all in their own unique way, very, very manly.…

Books & Comics Rob Bricken

Hobbit PSA posters warn this is your brain on the ring

This collection of Hobbit and Lord of the Rings-inspired public service posters are really quite clever. We especially love the brunch posters — NO MORE ELEVENSIES! Hopefully this will get the word out to all the diabetic Hobbits in the Shire. More PSA posters over at Dorkly.

Movies Meredith Woerner

Scifi authors pose half-naked on this genderflipped book cover—for charity

What possessed four of science fiction and fantasy’s superstar authors to strip down to their skivvies and gather around Hugo-award-winning writer Mary Robinette Kowal? It’s not just to skewer the skin-baring cover illustration of Poul Anderson’s Young Flandry (although that was certainly part of it). It’s all part of Jim C. Hines’ charity poses drive…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

Pulp Science Fiction in Spain, Before And During Totalitarianism

This is the fourth part of a four-part series on the pulps under totalitarianism. Read more: Pulp Scifi Under German Totalitarianism | Pulp Scifi Under Russian and Soviet Totalitarianism | Pulp Scifi Under Japanese Totalitarianism Like most European countries Spain has a tradition of science fiction and proto-science fiction which predates the genre’s 20th century…

Books & Comics Jess Nevins

First images from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 make us uncomfortable

We loved Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs loved it. Love the original picture book, loved the snarky but heartfelt movie translation, we even loved the fun little CG world the animators created. So naturally we were pretty excited that they were making a sequel. But then we found out the original movie directors and…

Movies Meredith Woerner

A Chart that Shows a Dismal Trend in Sales of Print Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

Science fiction and fantasy book sales, as measured by Nielsen Bookscan, have dropped dramatically in recent years. Just in 2012, science fiction book sales dropped 21 percent, and fantasy book sales dropped a startling 28 percent. In one year. Before you panic too much, bear in mind that Nielsen is only measuring print book sales…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

10 Ways John Milton’s Paradise Lost Is Like a Bad Comic Book

Yes, it’s a great achievement of English literature. Yes, it’s a deep work of spiritual belief and should be given due consideration. And yet, for some reason, Paradise Lost stumbles over the same things that bad comic books do. We’re going to look at ten mistakes that serial-fiction writers make — even the famous seventeenth…

Books & Comics Esther Inglis-Arkell

Check out the massive upgrade Gollum got in these gorgeous Hobbit FX reels

Peter Jackson and his production army have released their FX reels for three of the most CG-heavy creatures from The Hobbit. Check out just how much digital magic went into the making of Azog the Defiler, The Goblin King and Gollum’s upgrades. Thanks to the LA Times (which also has an extensive interview with FX…

Movies Meredith Woerner

Do not operate heavy machinery while watching this creeptastic trailer for Warren Ellis’ Gun Machine

We already showed you the moody, intense first trailer for Warren Ellis’ new novel Gun Machine, with narration by Wil Wheaton and art by Ben Templesmith. Now check out a crazier, possibly creepier trailer directed by Siege, aka Clayton Cubitt. https://gizmodo.com/watch-the-gorgeous-trailer-for-warren-ellis-gun-machine-5972832 The “dream” version of this trailer appeared the other day at Vulture — but…

Trailers Charlie Jane Anders

Timeline for The Lord of the Rings told in a giant ring chart

Beautiful Creatures clips still have us confused on this whole magical “Caster” thing

The guy who put zombies in the Star Wars universe is sending Darth Maul behind bars

This Hugo-winning author is also the most dangerous villain on the planet

The book about earthworms that took Charles Darwin 44 years to write

China will see a much shorter version of Cloud Atlas

A single image covers 67 years of Penguin science fiction book covers

Your Chance to See John Dies at the End for Free in San Francisco!

Ron Howard in talks to direct Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book

The Magical App That Inspires Your Next Movie Marathon

This Friday: Michael Chabon joins Glen David Gold and… Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen?

11 Preposterously Manly Fantasy Series

Hobbit PSA posters warn this is your brain on the ring

Scifi authors pose half-naked on this genderflipped book cover—for charity

Pulp Science Fiction in Spain, Before And During Totalitarianism

First images from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 make us uncomfortable

A Chart that Shows a Dismal Trend in Sales of Print Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

10 Ways John Milton’s Paradise Lost Is Like a Bad Comic Book

Check out the massive upgrade Gollum got in these gorgeous Hobbit FX reels

Do not operate heavy machinery while watching this creeptastic trailer for Warren Ellis’ Gun Machine

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

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

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

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MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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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

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