Books

How to read the landscape from your airplane window

Do you ever wonder what you’re seeing when you look out of your airplane window and spot bizarre red pools or strange green circles on the ground below? You’re not alone. We talked to Gregory Dicum, author of the incredible aerial landscape guide Window Seat, about the weirdest and most beautiful views from an airplane.…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Deepest, Darkest Coming of Age Stories from Science Fiction and Fantasy

When it comes to discovering strange new worlds, there’s nothing like a young protagonist venturing out into a world where it feels like absolutely anything can happen. Many of science fiction and fantasy’s coolest stories are about coming of age — but coming of age, in the end, means losing your innocence and confronting the…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

10 Literary Devices, And Where You Can Find Them in Science Fiction

For thousands of years, humans have been creating stories — and for just as long, they’ve been coming up with words to describe all the tools and techniques that make a story work. But these “literary devices” don’t just show up in classical drama and Anglo-Saxon poetry. They also show up in today’s science fiction.…

Movies Annalee Newitz

New Hobbit trailer shows off a bit more Gandalf

The latest trailer for Peter Jackson’s Hobbit is similar to the first, but this one has a much more serious temperament, along with more footage of Gandalf and the forest of Mirkwood. This makes sense, as we’ve picked apart the earlier trailer and interviews and both Gandalf and the elves of Mirkwood have two character…

Trailers Meredith Woerner

In 1987, a Young Fantasy Fan Ran Away From Home to Live With Author Piers Anthony

Many of us feel like we know our favorite authors through their novels and from the various details of their lives they choose to share. In 1987, a 15-year-old boy named Andy felt that he knew science fiction and fantasy author Piers Anthony so well that he wanted to live with him. So, he packed…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

How American delicacy turned Belgium into a dirty word

Because all the Americans I know tend to think that we’re in a progressive, modern country, it sometimes surprises us to learn that other nations consider us big ol’ prudes. And it’s not just France! Our delicate sensibilities have been catered to by the English in a maneuver that gave us one of the better…

Books & Comics Esther Inglis-Arkell

All The Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Can’t Afford to Miss in August

Emily Dickinson had it wrong: There is no star cruiser like a book. When you want to journey past the furthermost limits of your own imagination, you turn to books. And August’s new book releases are just packed with brilliant new ideas and thrilling stories, from some of the world’s best writers. Here’s every book…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Why are these headshots from Cloud Atlas so disturbing?

Holy cow, the future world according to Cloud Atlas is scary as hell, and weird. A crop of new character portraits from the Cloud Atlas website via Collider have us making frowning and terrified, but hopelessly intrigued. Is that Asian Hugo Weaving and Jim Sturgess? What is tattooed on Susan Sarandon’s face, and is that…

Movies Meredith Woerner

The io9 Survival Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy in August!

August’s science fiction and fantasy is full of wonders and revelations. There are no fewer than 10 new genre movies coming out this month — including the acclaimed Robot and Frank! There’s a new Ringworld novel co-written by Larry Niven, plus new books by Neal Stephenson and Sherwood Smith. There are a ton of conventions,…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Why do epic fantasies always take place in monarchies, instead of democracies?

While we eagerly await the next installment of Game of Thrones, it’s worth asking — why do there have to be thrones in the first place? Over at Pyr Books’ Pyr-A-Zine, there’s a great interview with James Enge, author of the new book A Guile of Dragons, who addresses the burning question: Why do so…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Everything Peter Jackson added to The Hobbit — with PROOF!

Now that it has been officially confirmed that Peter Jackson will be making a trilogy out of The Hobbit, everyone is asking one basic question. How is that possible? The Hobbit just isn’t as big as Lord of the Rings. But Jackson has sworn up and down that there’s plenty of material in the book’s…

Movies Meredith Woerner

This is how you build a labyrinth out of 250,000 books

We recently told you about artists Marcos Saboya and Gualter Pupo, and their plan to erect a massive maze made entirely out of books for the London 2012 Festival. At the time, we wrote that “the construction of the maze and the visitors’ participation [would be] filmed for general consumption.” Well, as of yesterday the…

Books & Comics Robbie Gonzalez

How a Crappy Unauthorized Sequel Created All of Science Fiction’s Main Plot Devices

Over at Cracked, there’s a pretty fantastic rundown of all of the science fiction plot mainstays that came from one terrible book: Edison’s Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss. Including ray guns, a spaceship with a working airlock, spacesuits, and epic space battles. As Cracked explains, “A good chunk of modern sci-fi actually comes…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Science Fiction Authors Who Could be Hollywood’s Next Philip K. Dick

When Hollywood wants a futuristic, paranoid thriller where nothing is what it seems, the studios reach for the work of one man. This week, Philip K. Dick continues his reign as Hollywood’s idea spigot, with a remake of Total Recall. More PKD films are in the works, and there’s no shortage of material out there.…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Confirmed: The Hobbit will now be a trilogy

Peter Jackson has finally confirmed what he told us at Comic Con: his Hobbit movies will officially be three films, instead of the previously announced two. https://gizmodo.com/peter-jackson-wants-to-shoot-more-hobbit-footage-and-ho-5926074 Here’s the full announcement from Peter Jackson’s Hobbit facebook page: It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down…

io9 Meredith Woerner

Ask Saladin Ahmed Anything You Want About Throne of the Crescent Moon

In July, the io9 Book Club read Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon. Now Ahmed is coming to answer your questions about the book today, July 30, from 11:30-12:30 PST. Ask him whatever you want about the book! https://gizmodo.com/the-io9-book-club-is-in-session-lets-talk-about-saladi-5928840 Ahmed will be joining us in the comment thread on this very post starting at…

io9 Annalee Newitz

World War Z might not be an undead disaster after all

After a round of truly terrible set reports calling Marc Forster’s adaptation of World War Z “headless” and doomed, Cabin In The Woods writer and director Drew Goddard was hired to smooth out any script issues. And Goddard has come out swinging for the much-maligned picture. In an interview with Collider, Goddard defended the project…

io9 Meredith Woerner

Revealed: Bane Sketches and A Deleted Scene Script Page from Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises came up with a look for the Batman villain Bane, that moved away from his “Mexican wrestler” look while still respecting the core of the character. But there’s a newly released picture of some early design sketches for the character — some of which are a lot closer to the comics…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

The Best Science Fiction Writer You Didn’t Know You’d Read, Part 2

Last month, we took a look at the comic novels of Fredric Brown — the greatest science fiction writer that everybody’s read without realizing it. Now, let’s take a look at his three more serious novels. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-science-fiction-writer-you-didnt-know-youd-rea-5918638 In between his classic comic SF novels What Mad Universe and Martians Go Home!, Fredric Brown came out…

io9 John Marr

The Hobbit’s Thorin Oakenshield tells us what happens when you get a dwarf drunk

The Hobbit’s Richard Armitage plays the stoic Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves and a very strong presence throughout The Hobbit. But how will this lofty, Lordly character play with today’s movie audiences? We asked, and Armitage answered — plus find out what other songs we’ll be hearing from Armitage in the movie! Is…

io9 Meredith Woerner

How to read the landscape from your airplane window

Deepest, Darkest Coming of Age Stories from Science Fiction and Fantasy

10 Literary Devices, And Where You Can Find Them in Science Fiction

New Hobbit trailer shows off a bit more Gandalf

In 1987, a Young Fantasy Fan Ran Away From Home to Live With Author Piers Anthony

How American delicacy turned Belgium into a dirty word

All The Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Can’t Afford to Miss in August

Why are these headshots from Cloud Atlas so disturbing?

The io9 Survival Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy in August!

Why do epic fantasies always take place in monarchies, instead of democracies?

Everything Peter Jackson added to The Hobbit — with PROOF!

This is how you build a labyrinth out of 250,000 books

How a Crappy Unauthorized Sequel Created All of Science Fiction’s Main Plot Devices

Science Fiction Authors Who Could be Hollywood’s Next Philip K. Dick

Confirmed: The Hobbit will now be a trilogy

Ask Saladin Ahmed Anything You Want About Throne of the Crescent Moon

World War Z might not be an undead disaster after all

Revealed: Bane Sketches and A Deleted Scene Script Page from Dark Knight Rises

The Best Science Fiction Writer You Didn’t Know You’d Read, Part 2

The Hobbit’s Thorin Oakenshield tells us what happens when you get a dwarf drunk

Sun’s Latest Outburst Complicates Planned Launch of Artemis 2

Instagram Will Finally Let You Lurk to Your Heart’s Content—for a Price

Popular Sweetener Found in Protein Bars Tied to Stroke, Blood Clot Risk

HBO’s Boss Has Yet to Be Approached About Partnering on ‘Doctor Who’

AI Agent Runs the ‘I’m Being Censored’ Playbook After Getting Banned from Wikipedia

‘Scream 7’ Comes Home With Deleted Scenes We Hope Will Improve the Movie

A QR Code Too Small to See Hints at a New, Non-Annoying Use for the Format

Andy Weir Apologizes After ‘Star Trek’ Comment Backlash

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

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

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

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