Books

This Is Why We’ll Never Have Innovative E-Books

Push Pop Press, an e-publishing startup founded by ex-Apple engineers Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris, has announced its acquisition by Facebook. Push Pop published one multimedia book for the iPad, Al Gore’s Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. At that time, Push Pop, as Wired.com’s Brian Chen wrote, sought to create a…

Social Media Michael Zhao

The Complete Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy in August

What do August’s science fiction and fantasy have in store for you? There’s loads of movies, including David Tennant’s vampire-hunting Fright Night. There’s the return of Doctor Who! Loads of conventions, including Renovation/Worldcon! And tons of author appearances! Here’s the ultimate io9 guide to everything fantastical the month of August. Top image by Jason Chan.…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of All Time, According to NPR

Back in June, we asked you to help NPR choose the 100 best science fiction and fantasy books of all time — and now the list of finalists is out! It includes some pretty surprising choices, like The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri S. Tepper. And The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. Not…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Ghost Story: Harry Dresden and the Jim Butcher Promise

Jim Butcher’s latest entry in the Dresden Files series, Ghost Story, feels like the gutsiest of his popular paranormal detective novels so far. Like its immediate predecessor, Changes, Ghost Story showcases Butcher’s willingness to enact huge, sweeping changes to the status quo that he’s established. Spoilers ahead. At the end of Changes, Harry Dresden was…

Books & Comics Chris Braak

Help make science fiction and fantasy conventions more awesome, by bringing in cool writers from overseas

Here’s a rare chance to help a few important voices in the global science fiction conversation — and help make conventions more interesting at the same time. The World SF Travel Fund aims to “enable one international person involved in science fiction, fantasy or horror to travel to a major genre event.” The first recipient:…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Daniel H. Wilson Unleashes Robopocalypse in Episode 41 of The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy

Daniel H. Wilson, author of Robopocalypse, joins us to discuss super intelligent AIs, working with Steven Spielberg, and how to survive a robot uprising. Art by Roberto Robert Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy is hosted by John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley. You can download the MP3 for this episode here, subscribe to The…

Books & Comics Johnjosephadams

Ask Genevieve Valentine anything about Mechanique

In July, the io9 Book Club read Genevieve Valentine’s Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti. Now Valentine is coming to answer your questions about the book tomorrow, July 29. https://gizmodo.com/the-io9-book-club-is-in-session-lets-discuss-genevieve-5824985 She’ll be popping into the comment thread on this very post July 29 between 1:00 and 2:00 PM Pacific Time. Start posting your questions…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

New Hunger Games pics want to make it clear, Peeta is a SUPER SEXY baker

A whole crop of new Hunger Games photos have been released and while Gale Hawthorne is looking fly as hell, Peeta Mellark’s “sexy baker” photoshoot is leaving us a little worried. The Hunger Games is the live action adaptation of Suzanne Collins post-apocalyptic YA novel about a group of kids who must battle to the…

Movies Meredith Woerner

Alastair Reynolds Writing a Doctor Who Novel — Starring Jon Pertwee’s Doctor!

Alastair Reynolds is known for huge, sweeping space operas, like Revelation Space. So it’s sort of fascinating that he’s chosen to write a novel about Doctor Who’s most Earthbound era, the days of Jon Pertwee’s dashing military advisor. Reynolds announced that he’s joined Michael Moorcock, Naomi Alderman and Stephen Baxter in writing a new Doctor…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Why Jon Favreau is glad he’s not directing John Carter

Long ago, Cowboys & Aliens director Jon Favreau was slated to direct his own John Carter of Mars movie adaptation. Alas, the project was damned to development purgatory. https://gizmodo.com/a-glimpse-of-the-john-carter-of-mars-creatures-well-nev-5191565 So what does Favreau think of Andrew Stanton’s version of the film? How does he feel about seeing another director take it past the finish line.…

Movies Meredith Woerner

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s discuss Genevieve Valentine’s Mechanique

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In July we read Genevieve Valentine’s novel Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special book club…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

SF Gateway puts tons of out-of-print SF classics online as e-books

The great British SF publisher Gollancz has launched a new “digital SFF library,” called SF Gateway, which will make thousands of out-of-print SF classics available as e-books. It launches this fall, and will be integrated with the online launch of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. According to Cheryl Morgan, the list of authors includes: Poul…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

10 Creepy, Sexy Fairy Tales That Should Be Films

If there’s one thing we learned this past week at Comic-Con, it’s that Hollywood is obsessed with fairy tales. They’re magical, they’ve got instant recognition… and they’re public domain. But Hollywood keeps hitting on the same five stories. With all due respect to both Emma Watson and Guillermo del Toro, the absolute last thing we…

Movies Kelly Faircloth

Zora Neale Hurston, Zombie Hunter

She’s best known as the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God and one of the luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. But in her capacity as a folklorist, Zora Neale Hurston also recorded an encounter with a real-life zombie. In Tell My Horse, her 1938 recounting of her fieldwork in Haiti, she talked about what…

Books & Comics Kelly Faircloth

Watch Tyra Banks explain her new fantasy novel about magical supermodels while wearing golden eye feathers

Tyra Banks was on Good Morning America yesterday, and she was talking up her new fantasy novel Modelland, which comes out in September. And her explanation of the book’s premise kind of needs to be seen to be believed. Apparently the weird thing over her eye is called a “Smize,” and if you find one,…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

When a robot girl loses her inhibitions, it can only end badly

If you love weird, thought-provoking stories about robot consciousness, then you’ll be as excited as we are to learn about vN, the debut novel by Madeline Ashby which just sold to Angry Robot Books. Ashby’s novel shows what happens when a robot girl loses her inhibitions. Spoilers ahead… The book will be out in August…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Seriously Strange Photos Make Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children Something Special

In Ransom Riggs’ novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, a somewhat sullen American teenager goes looking for his grandfather’s past. Expecting to find elderly friends of the family, he instead uncovers an extremely unusual legacy. On his mother’s side, Jacob is the scion of a Floridian drug-store empire. He expects he’ll go to college…

Books & Comics Kelly Faircloth

Saying Goodbye to Borders: The Place We Ate, Drank, Pooped, and Sometimes Bought Books

Borders is dead, now relegated to memory. And it turns out we have a lot of memories of the place, sad and dying as it might have been for a while! Join us as we pay tribute to a hangout. https://gizmodo.com/the-borders-goodbye-email-is-like-watching-old-yeller-i-5823760 We asked you all for your Borders memories via Twitter, and your collective hearts…

Books & Comics Sam Biddle

Bestselling authors explain how to put the “epic” in epic fantasy

A gathering of giants took place this morning at San Diego Comic-Con. Michael Spradlin (author of the Youngest Templar series) moderated a panel discussion between George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Christopher Paolini, Peter Orullian, K. J. Taylor, and Kevin J. Anderson about the nature of epic stories, why we are attracted to…

Books & Comics Keith Veronese

Great Character Descriptions from Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

The best science fiction and fantasy books aren’t just about amazing ideas, or huge vistas — they’re about people. So part of the key to a really successful SF/fantasy book is to describe people in a memorable, cool fashion. A good description of a character goes a long way to letting you get to know…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders and Mandy Curtis

This Is Why We’ll Never Have Innovative E-Books

The Complete Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy in August

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of All Time, According to NPR

Ghost Story: Harry Dresden and the Jim Butcher Promise

Help make science fiction and fantasy conventions more awesome, by bringing in cool writers from overseas

Daniel H. Wilson Unleashes Robopocalypse in Episode 41 of The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy

Ask Genevieve Valentine anything about Mechanique

New Hunger Games pics want to make it clear, Peeta is a SUPER SEXY baker

Alastair Reynolds Writing a Doctor Who Novel — Starring Jon Pertwee’s Doctor!

Why Jon Favreau is glad he’s not directing John Carter

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s discuss Genevieve Valentine’s Mechanique

SF Gateway puts tons of out-of-print SF classics online as e-books

10 Creepy, Sexy Fairy Tales That Should Be Films

Zora Neale Hurston, Zombie Hunter

Watch Tyra Banks explain her new fantasy novel about magical supermodels while wearing golden eye feathers

When a robot girl loses her inhibitions, it can only end badly

Seriously Strange Photos Make Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children Something Special

Saying Goodbye to Borders: The Place We Ate, Drank, Pooped, and Sometimes Bought Books

Bestselling authors explain how to put the “epic” in epic fantasy

Great Character Descriptions from Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

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

2027 Is Shaping Up to Be a Great Year for Big Sci-Fi RPGs

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

Ahead of the SpaceX IPO, xAI Has Now Shed All 11 of Its Non-Elon Musk Founders

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

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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