Books

Charles Stross Reveals How His Laundry Files World Is About to Change Forever

When Charles Stross isn’t writing mind-blowing space opera about the future of banking, he’s the ultra-prolific author of two long-running series. And one of those, the Laundry Files, has won praise (and a Best Novella Hugo) for its look at a spy agency that deals with other-worldly threats. We’ve got the exclusive first look at…

The Most Wonderfully Alternative Families in Science Fiction and Fantasy

The holiday season has officially begun, and of course the holidays are a time for families. But science fiction and fantasy readers know that families come in all shapes and configurations. Here are 30 of the most wonderfully alternative families in science fiction and fantasy. Please suggest your own in the comments—I have a feeling…

Why The Hunger Games Books Will Always Be Better Than the Movies

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 arrived this past weekend, and now it’s official: This outstanding series of dystopian young-adult novels have gotten an equally outstanding movie series. These films aren’t just financial successes like the Twilight series; they’re genuinely good, exciting and emotionally thrilling movies that stand on their own—but still, they’ll never be…

Throb’s Holiday Gift Guide for the Sexily Inquisitive

Know someone who enjoys the stimulation of a good book? What about someone who enjoys stimulation of another sort? This holiday season, Throb has got some great gift ideas to show your special someone that you appreciate both their mind and their body. The Reason for Flowers by Stephen Buchmann Flowers have a ton of…

Peter Sellers Is the March Hare In The Most Demented Alice in Wonderland of All

There have been a lot of adaptations of Alice in Wonderland over the years, including a Disney animated version, an X-rated musical, and Tim Burton’s lavish CG fantasia (which is getting a sequel!). But the strangest, and maybe best, is the 1972 version…featuring Peter Sellers as the March Hare and Dudley Moore as the Dormouse,…

This Star Wars Expanded Universe Story Proves That Luke Is the Worst Jedi Master

Hello, and welcome to a nostalgic trip through the old Star Wars Expanded Universe. This time, I’m looking at the first EU books I ever read, Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy trilogy. Brace yourselves, because there’s a lot of stupid going on in here. Twenty-year-old spoilers follow. To this day, I remain shocked that third-grade…

Our Visit to the Mind-Blowingly Realistic Spaceship Sets of Syfy’s The Expanse

Last night, Syfy released the first episode of The Expanse, its space opera based on James S.A. Corey’s novels, and everyone learned what we’ve known for months: This show is going to blow your mind. We visited the set back in May, and here’s what we saw. Everybody knows that the Sci-Fi Channel changed over…

They Saved The Most Brutal Hunger Games Movie For Last

The Hunger Games book and movie series has always been about resistance, and particularly about using the machinery and iconography of the oppressor to fight back. Katniss Everdeen is a creation of a violent, manipulative system, but she turns all of its symbolism against it. And in the final movie, Mockingjay Part 2, she turns…

Check Out Some Amazingly Heartfelt Comics About Falling In Love With Games

Chainmail Bikini is a new anthology of comics “by and about female gamers.” Some 40 cartoonists have contributed their own perspectives on everything from video games to card games to role-playing games, and the results are pretty hilarious. The book doesn’t come out until next April according to Amazon—but if you’re in Portland on December…

It’s a Freaking Miracle That We Got a Man in the High Castle TV Show

The producers of the Man in the High Castle TV series spent eight years trying to get it off the ground, and having doors slammed in their faces. For a while, the BBC was going to make it, but it fell through. In order to finally get it made, they had to make one crucial…

This Book’s Collected All the Original Topps Star Wars Cards So You Don’t Have To

As part of the merchandising blitz for the original Star Wars, Topps released five series of trading cards tied to the film. Finding a complete set today that doesn’t cost a small fortune is all but impossible, unless you’re happy to settle with this new book featuring detailed scans of every last one. Topps originally…

The Doomed TV Adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle Was Just Undoomed

Ever since it was announced that the vaguely named IM Global Television would turn Kurt Vonnegut’s classic science fiction satire Cat’s Cradle into a TV series, I have been dreading it. Oh, I love Vonnegut’s bleak novel, but I was 100 percent certain no one could transform the slim, wonderful, esoteric book into live-action. I…

Turning Logan’s Run Into The Next Hunger Games Is a Really Silly Idea

The Hunger Games movie franchise is about to make another billion quatloos this weekend, so it’s probably not surprising that the people making the Logan’s Run remake want it to be another Hunger Games. But patterning Logan after Hunger, in any way, is an immensely silly idea. Put simply, Logan’s Run is a book (and…

The Amazing Books That Will Make Your Loved Ones Fall in Love With Reading Again

Books can transport you to strange new worlds—but they can also make your home more beautiful. And it’s the beauty and luxuriousness of nice books that make them such terrific gifts. These gift items will remind your friends and loved ones why they love books to begin with. Nemesis Games (Signed Edition) by James S.A.…

Author Patrick Rothfuss Is Here to Talk About The Kingkiller Chronicle

Today, from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. (Eastern time), fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss will be joining us to answer questions about his Kingkiller trilogy, writing about magic, stories-within-stories, and anything else you want to know. In addition to his latest work in the Kingkiller world, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Rothfuss is also the…

As dystopias have proliferated throughout science fiction, more optimistic authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson have tackled a brighter future for humanity. The New Republic has a fascinating article on the subject that’s well worth reading.

Start Your Weekend Right By Checking Out This Tiny Book of Awesome

Sometimes, the smallest things can brighten up a miserable day. No, I mean literally. One glance at this teensy, tiny, hand-illustrated book was a poignant reminder that everything in the Universe is not actually terrible. You know what’s not terrible? Sleeping in. Bubbles! Perfectly separating an Oreo (and then ditching the pointless creamless half). And…

This New Space Colonization Novel Will Mess With Your Head In The Best Possible Way

Planetfall by Emma Newman isn’t what you’re expecting from a book about humans colonizing another planet. It’s much weirder, and in the end, a fair bit darker. This is a story about human failings—and the fact that we expect to understand alien beings, when we can’t even understand each other. Some spoilers ahead… In Planetfall,…

6 Ways to Make SciFi and Fantasy Weapons More Believable

Ever read a fantasy book or watched a science fiction movie and struggled to suspend your disbelief due to the total lack of reality in some make believe weapons? Here’s advice for people writing this stuff on how to get guns and lasers and bow and wands right. When it comes to real-world weapons in…

Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Syfy’s Version of Clarke’s Childhood’s End

Syfy is taking on the ambitious task of adapting one of science fiction’s greatest novels for the big screen. But how well with Childhood’s End live up to Arthur C. Clarke’s original vision? And how will they portray the themes of the book? Allow Charles Dance and the rest of the cast to explain, in…