Books

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg already got people reading Iain M. Banks’ The Player of Games for his “A Year of Books” challenge. Now he’s picked another science fiction book: The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin. And translator Ken Liu is hanging out in the comments! Contact the author at [email protected] and follow her on…

Mummy Cat Is The Utterly Adorable Undead Creature That Your Kids Will Love

Everybody loves spooky creatures and weird apparitions—but a new book about a mummified cat, called appropriately Mummy Cat, is especially wonderful. Writer Marcus Ewert and artist Lisa Brown have created a lovely children’s book about a cat who comes back every 100 years. In Mummy Cat, a loyal feline companion was mummified with his queen,…

Space is Vast and Deadly in a New Poster for Syfy’s The Expanse

We were just luxuriating in the fact that space exploration is big at the movies again. And now here’s a reminder that we’re finally getting some more big space action on television as well: We’re less than two months away from Syfy’s The Expanse. If you’re already a fan of the book series by James…

I wish these animated graphics of vintage book covers were real

We as a society have failed because our dead tree book covers don’t do anything. We as a society have screwed up because instead of making e-readers, we should have dedicated more resources into inventing paper thin displays that could animate basic graphics like this video by Henning M. Lederer. I would read every single…

Which Franchise Was The Most Successful At Cashing in on Fan Nostalgia?

We’re running out of helium and possibly chocolate, but there’s one resource that will never be exhausted: Fan nostalgia. Especially nostalgia for the classic series of the last four decades of the 20th century. But which franchise made the most successful bid for fan nostalgia? With the Star Wars trailer burning up the internets and…

Check Out The Creepy Trailer For Joe Hill’s Upcoming Thriller, The Fireman

Joe Hill is one of our favorite authors out there, and his next novel, The Fireman, will be coming out in May of next year. Gollancz books has just released a trailer for the novel, which gives us some hints about what it’ll be about. The story looks like it’ll depict a plague that causes…

Akeela Is Tired Of All This Precog Nonsense in a Clip From Monday’s Minority Report

Akeela is fast becoming a standout character on Fox’s Minority Report. And in Monday’s episode—which also guest-stars Reed Diamond from Dollhouse and Agents of SHIELD—she discovers the downside of trying to keep a secret from a clairvoyant. Check out an exclusive clip! The above clip comes from the episode “The Present,” airing Monday at 9…

Ann Leckie’s Picks for the 10 Best Science Fiction Books Include Some Big Surprises

Publishers Weekly asked Ancillary Mercy author Ann Leckie to name her picks for the 10 best science fiction novels. And there are some consensus choices in there—but also a few out-of-left-field candidates. Including Jack Vance, Leigh Brackett, and C.J. Cherryh. Do you agree? Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the…

Rejoice Researchers: Court Rules That Google Books Is Not Infringement

Google’s been embroiled in a battle with writers and the Authors Guild over whether or not the company’s book scanning project infringed on their copyright. Today the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals held that it’s fair use. In case you’ve never used Google Books before, it’s a searchable database of millions of books that Google…

Great Scott! Check Out Some Never-Before-Seen Photos from the Official Back to the Future Art Book

We’re only a few days away from the day Marty and Doc arrived in 2015 and things are about to get very Back to the Future. Online, in stores, basically everywhere, fans will soon be celebrating the great film series. Among the new pieces of merch that are being tied to this unique anniversary is…

Bask In The Gothic Glory Of This Amazing First Look At Crimson Peak: The Art Of Darkness

Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak is just jam packed with amazing visuals. If you want a look at some of that stunning imagery close up, you’re in luck: Crimson Peak: The Art of Darkness is out this week, and we’re exclusively revealing some gorgeous pictures from it—well as giving away a copy signed by Del…

An Inside Look at the Genesis of Zeroes, the Bestselling New Superhero Book

Zeroes is an unusual sort of young-adult novel: It’s a collaboration between authors Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti, about young people with superpowers. But it’s already on the bestseller list. Check out an inside look at how they pulled this off. Zeroes is about six teenagers with superpowers that are “crowd-based.” Each of…

War Robots Don’t Have Minds of Their Own 

War, as structured state-sponsored fighting and dying, has given rise to venerated professions to manage its risks and bound its ethical dilemmas. The nature of those professions, and the meaning of their experiences, changes when the human body is no longer present in the fight, fueling a public debate. This excerpt is taken from from…

10 Audiobooks That Are Worth Getting for the Voice Acting Alone

Do you ever outgrow the pleasure of having a story read to you? Not if you’re listening to these books. From A-list celebrities to talented voice actors with multiple pseudonyms, these voices will make you love literature, even if you’re listening to it instead of reading it. 10) To Kill a Mockingbird, read by Sissy…

Where’s the Wookiee? Has Kids Searching For Chewbacca Instead of Waldo

Martin Handford’s Where’s Waldo (or Where’s Wally if you were in the UK) were some of the most popular children’s books of the late ‘80s. Not surprisingly there have been countless knock-offs which are all worth ignoring, except now that Chewbacca the Wookiee has gone missing all over the Star Wars universe. Where’s the Wookiee?…

Come See io9 Editors Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders at New York Comic Con!

If you’re at New York Comic Con this weekend, you can see the founding editors of this very site, in our natural habitat. Including a panel with economist and science fiction guru Paul Krugman! Today at 2 PM, io9 Editor in Chief Charlie Jane Anders is signing copies of her upcoming book All the Birds…

A Whole Book Full of Incredible Never-Before-Seen Star Trek Costume Pictures

We’re pretty obsessed with the costumes from Star Trek, both the original series and the later iterations. After all, Trek has a long and proud record of pushing the fashion envelope, from its military pajamas to its alien lingerie. Here’s a look inside a stunning new book about Star Trek’s greatest costumes. Star Trek: Costumes:…

These Brand New Peter Pan Illustrations Will Absolutely Make You Believe in Fairies

It’s just over a century since Scottish novelist J.M. Barrie adapted his stage play Peter and Wendy into a novel. And now, there’s a beautiful new edition of Barrie’s book, illustrated by MinaLima, the firm that did the graphics in the Harry Potter films. Check out an exclusive look inside the brand new Peter Pan!…

Accio iBooks: Harry Potter‘s Apple Editions Have Animations and Annotations By Rowling

Being a Muggle is boring. That’s why we reread Goblet of Fire for the seventeenth time in hand-knit Slytherin scarves–to flee banal adulthood. Well, the Harry Potter books are cranking up the magic even more, with special editions for Apple devices, beautifully animated and full of little notes from JK Rowling herself. Starting today, the…

The 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Must Read Before You Die, According to Amazon

Assembling the list of the most essential science fiction and fantasy books is a huge undertaking, but Amazon has tackled it. And their list is not bad. Good mix of old and new, and enough different types of book to please almost anybody. Talking to CNN, Amazon Editor Adrian Liang explained this list: We wanted…