Books

Hear the garage-band bootlegs of Tom Waits and William Burroughs’ Black Rider

The devil offers you a gun full of magic bullets. The only catch? One of those bullets will betray you. That’s the premise of The Black Rider by Tom Waits, William Burroughs and Robert Wilson. Someone’s posted the garage-band bootleg. Here’s how From This Swamp, the Lovecraftian and Dystopian Music blog, describes the Black Rider…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

When the future is overrun by cats, feral kitty boy will inherit the Earth

Herds of cats roam the post-apocalyptic future in the short Vermin. And nothing says “Goodbye weekend!” like two grown men pretending to be cat people. Well done. In other news, Miley Cyrus readies to haunt your dreams. Vermin Dean Francis’ short starts off in a city overrun by cats. The local exterminator discovers a feral…

Movies Meredith Woerner

Great moments in alternate history: the golden age of zeppelins

If I’ve learned anything from Alternate History fiction, it’s that in 90% of all alternate universes are timelines where A.) Hitler won WWII; or B.) people fly zeppelins instead of planes. Today we’ll explore the latter. Note: This week’s column contains plot details regarding io9’s Book of the Month, Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker. If you’re going…

Books & Comics David Daw

Ringworld is a lot like Lost, but there’s a crucial difference

Larry Niven’s Hugo-winning novel from 1971 has a surprising amount in common with network television’s biggest sci-fi hit. But what’s really interesting is how Ringworld differs from Lost. Now, the cynics among you might think I’m comparing a classic 40-year-old book to a massively popular TV show that recently ended simply because I hope it…

Books & Comics Josh Wimmer

R.I.P. José Saramago, author of Blindness and Seeing

José Saramago, Nobel Prize-winning author of the subversive, savage novels Blindness and Seeing, along with many other great books, has died at age 87. His fables and weird tales have one thing in common: the question “What if?” [NPR]

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Heads up, New Yorker! Here’s a “writers under 40” list that includes SF authors

Many of us were left scratching our heads when the New Yorker’s list of 20 great writers under 40 included no genre authors whatsoever. Now Britain’s Telegraph newspaper has come up with its own list — that includes science fiction. The Telegraph’s article about its own list of 20 British authors under 40 notes that…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Where’s Waldo and I Spy For iPad: Worth Seeking Out

Where’s Waldo and I Spy are two kids books that work best when they’re held right up to the face, just like the iPad. Thankfully, both of them got gorgeous, thoughtful treatments for their newly-available iPad apps. I Spy: Spooky Mansion, presumably the first in a series of I Spy titles, takes you through a…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

28 Days Later screenwriter taking on Logan’s Run?

Could the upcoming Logan’s Run movie actually be better than the campy 1976 original? Alex Garland, who wrote the Danny Boyle-dircted films Sunshine and 28 Days Later, is in talks to write the screenplay, going back to the original 1967 novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson for inspiration. And Carl Erik Rinsch,…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

With “Zendegi,” Greg Egan plunges us into the techno-future of Iran

In Zendegi, Greg Egan has created a beautiful, brilliant, near-future world that expertly explores the consequences of mind-mapping technology in the politically volatile world of Iran. Zendegi is two stories told in parallel. The first is the story of Martin Seymour, an Australian journalist sent to Iran to cover another disputed election (this one in…

Books & Comics Chris Braak

Return to Narnia with Voyage of The Dawn Treader’s first trailer

Check out the first ever trailer for the third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia, Voyage of The Dawn Treader — now with more Jesus Lion. Watch very closely and you’ll see the first ever monopod! The film which is based of the novels by C.S. Lewis, brings back sexy long-haired King Caspian and the…

Movies Meredith Woerner

Geek Parents, do NOT read this book to your children

Star Wars: Luke Skywalker’s Amazing Story looks innocent enough — an easy-reader take on the Star Wars saga — but inside these pages is the father of all spoilers. Literally. It’s hard enough raising a child to be a responsible geek. It’s a lot like curating a museum — gathering the right materials, arranging them…

Books & Comics Marc Bernardin

The weirdest story ideas come from your own obsessions

Kelly Link has carved out a unique place at the intersection of magic realism and literary fantasy. Her short stories leave many questions unanswered, but stick in your mind for weeks afterwards. Now she explains where her ideas come from. Kate Wilhelm is a writer of mystery novels, classic science fiction novels like Where Late…

Books & Comics Kelly Link

A handy chart shows Robert Heinlein’s complete future history

When will the Venusian colonists declare independence, according to Robert Heinlein’s early stories? Now you can consult this handy future history chart, first published in the 1941 Astounding Science Fiction, and find out. Click to make huge. [Potrzebie]

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Is Never Let Me Go the new Children of Men?

We’re starving for a new science-fiction drama that doesn’t substitute special effects for real character-based storytelling. So we’re very hopeful for Mark Romanek’s understated English drama, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go. Watch the film’s first trailer. It’s hard to talk about this film without completely giving away its big surprise. Just…

Trailers Meredith Woerner

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is getting a (probably bad) movie.

The movie for Atlas Shrugged, that brick o’ Objectivist philosophy by chain-smoking aficionado Ayn Rand, is in a weird place. Its director was canned right before filming. The new director? The male lead, the dad from One Tree Hill. Cool? The film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged — which takes place in a dystopian America where…

Movies Cyriaque Lamar

Ken MacLeod explains the science of galactic princesses

Ken MacLeod, author of The Execution Channel, has a new book coming out in the UK next month: The Restoration Game. I interviewed him for Bloggingheads, and he told me about his future projects – including one with galactic princesses. He’s currently working on a book about synthetic biology called Sin Bio, but he’s also…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

“House of Discarded Dreams” is a biologist’s hallucination

With The House of Discarded Dreams, Ekaterina Sedia has written a satisfyingly complicated coming-of-age novel where “adulthood” isn’t about leaving fantasy behind. In this beautiful, surreal story, a young biologist discovers that dreams are as meaningful as empirical research. Vimbai is an undergraduate biology major in New Jersey, struggling to separate from her immigrant parents…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Skiff, the Giantest, Skinniest Ereader, Is Dead

Skiff looked like an ideal, if gigantic, dedicated ereader—especially as a newspaper facsimile. Dan liked it in January. News Corp. has purchased the software platform from Hearst—but not the hardware. So consider it dead, for now. [MediaMemo]

Books & Comics Matt Buchanan

io9 Book Club: One week reminder!

Next week, we’ll be meeting here to discuss our book club selection this month, Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker. Don’t forget to read it! Priest is going to stop by to chat with us, too. For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We post here when the meeting…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

First ever trailer for HBO’s fantasy epic, Game of Thrones

Get a first look at the fantastic Westeros landscape, in the first picture and footage from HBO’s Game of Thrones. But can it live up to the epic book series? The show is based on George R. R. Martin’s series based in a fantasy world, similar to Medieval Europe, and the richness of the source…

Television Meredith Woerner

Hear the garage-band bootlegs of Tom Waits and William Burroughs’ Black Rider

When the future is overrun by cats, feral kitty boy will inherit the Earth

Great moments in alternate history: the golden age of zeppelins

Ringworld is a lot like Lost, but there’s a crucial difference

R.I.P. José Saramago, author of Blindness and Seeing

Heads up, New Yorker! Here’s a “writers under 40” list that includes SF authors

Where’s Waldo and I Spy For iPad: Worth Seeking Out

28 Days Later screenwriter taking on Logan’s Run?

With “Zendegi,” Greg Egan plunges us into the techno-future of Iran

Return to Narnia with Voyage of The Dawn Treader’s first trailer

Geek Parents, do NOT read this book to your children

The weirdest story ideas come from your own obsessions

A handy chart shows Robert Heinlein’s complete future history

Is Never Let Me Go the new Children of Men?

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is getting a (probably bad) movie.

Ken MacLeod explains the science of galactic princesses

“House of Discarded Dreams” is a biologist’s hallucination

Skiff, the Giantest, Skinniest Ereader, Is Dead

io9 Book Club: One week reminder!

First ever trailer for HBO’s fantasy epic, Game of Thrones

Roku’s 2025 Streaming Stick HD Is 40% Off to Compete With Amazon Fire TV Stick During Spring Sale

Epstein Victims Sue Google, Claim AI Mode Exposed Personal Information

‘Wicked Spot’ Is a Fun, Sapphic Rom-Com That Yeets a Witch Into the Magical World of Influencer Culture

Anthropic and OpenAI Just Gave Us a Glimpse Into the Future of Model Pricing

Amazon Slashes 63% Off Acer Aspire Desktop for a Limited-Time Spring Sale, With Keyboard and Mouse Included

Smart Glasses Now Have One of the Vision Pro’s Best Features

Marvel Just Put ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 in a Very Weird Place in the MCU Timeline

Trump Drops $1B to Kill 2 Wind Farms, Then Watches a Bigger One Go Online

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

Let us help find what you are looking for...