Charles Stross

Here Come Tons of New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books for May

Feast your eyes on these 55 new releases—is it summer reading season yet, or what?

63 New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Tempt Your Eyeballs in March

Looking for some fresh reading material? io9's got you covered with this giant list of new genre releases.

Marvel to Deal Out George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards Comics

The adaptation of the author's long-running superhero anthology series will premiere this June.

47 New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Start 2022 Off Right

Aiming to read more new books in 2022? We've got January releases galore to get you going.

Read the Entire First Chapter of Charles Stross’ New Laundry Files Novel, The Delirium Brief, Right Here

Charles Stross’ Laundry Files is one of the best and best-loved scifi series running (and a personal favorite). His upcoming installment, The Delirium Brief, not only begins with the titular secret occult-protection organization being dragged into the public eye—spoiler: everyone is very upset—but brings back beloved narrator/protagonist/unwilling executive/Eater of Souls Bob Howard back, too! We…

Charles Stross on Why Scifi Matters More When the Future Looks So Dangerous

“Hello? Is this the complaints department? I want to register a complaint about last year’s future; it’s completely broken!” Quite a few of us have probably snarked like that about the anno horribilis 2016 (leaving politics aside entirely let me just say: David Bowie, Prince, Carrie Fisher*) but there’s a germ of truth in the…

18 Scifi and Fantasy Novels You Should Add to Your Bookshelves This June

It’s June, and that means a whole new cohort of books coming out to load up on this month. We’ve got new books from established pros Stephen Baxter, Brenda Cooper and Naomi Novik, as well as exciting new debuts from Malka Older, Yoon Ha Lee, and Joe Zieja! It’s a good thing mst TV shows…

Could a Society Develop Advanced Technology WithOUT Written Language?

It’s a fascinating question. Over at Charles Stross’ blog, he responds to a reader question: What would a technological society look like without written language? And could such a thing even happen? Stross’ answer: probably not. After a certain point, a lot of things that we think of as necessary for an advanced technological civilization…

The Essential Cyberpunk Reading List

It’s now been over three decades since cyberpunk first exploded, and in that time we’ve seen gorgeous movies, read fascinating books, and seen dozens of offshoots like steampunk (and my new favorite, deco punk) develop. Here are the 21 cyberpunk books you absolutely must read. The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester This 1956 novel,…

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…

MIT Just Put Out One of The Year’s Best Collections of Science Fiction

MIT’s Technology Review has a bit of a secret: just about every year, they put together a science fiction edition titled Twelve Tomorrows. It’s one of the best collections of short science fiction out there, and you can now preorder the upcoming issue. This upcoming issue features a pretty incredible group of authors: Paola Antonelli,…

Some Of Your Favorite Authors Are Writing James Bond Stories!

Here in the United States, we’re excited because James Bond has another big movie coming up. But in Canada, James Bond just entered the public domain. Or at least, Ian Fleming’s books did. To celebrate, ChiZine Publications is putting out a book of “unauthorized” James Bond stories. Licence Expired: The Unauthorized James Bond is edited…

There Are Too Many Must-Read Science Fiction And Fantasy Books In July!

Seriously, cut it out, publishers. Are you trying to ruin us? There are so many incredible books coming out this month, it’s unreal. China Mieville, Charles Stross, Austin Grossman, Jesse Ball, William T Vollmann… it’s all happening. Here are July’s must-read science fiction and fantasy books. Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit) Robinson returns once…

Great Science Fiction Stories That Can Help You Make Sense Of Economics

We all know that economists love science fiction — especially Isaac Asimov fan Paul Krugman. But science fiction and fantasy can also help teach ordinary people about the Dismal Science. Here are 22 great science fiction and fantasy stories that can help you make sense of economics. Top image: Making Money by Terry Pratchett The…

When You Can’t Tell The Difference Between Science And Science Fiction

As more and more stuff from science fiction feels as though it’s coming true, we run into more situations where straight-up descriptions of real discoveries feel science fictional. But it works the other way, too — some SF writers go out of their way to make their fiction feel like real science writing. Top image:…

All The Most Exciting Moments From The 2014 Hugo Awards!

Tonight at the World SF Convention, we saw the brilliance and inventiveness of science fiction and fantasy on full display. Tonight’s Hugo Awards winners include Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, along with stories by Charles Stross, Mary Robinette Kowal and John Chu. And Kameron Hurley, twice. Photo by Kevin Standlee This was really a year…

Tough time for Orbit authors. First Orbit Books’ parent company Hachette clashed with Amazon, causing the online retailer to delay sending books and raise prices. Then Orbit announced it won’t send free copies of books to Hugo voters, putting authors at a distinct disadvantage.

The dangerous beast known as the “attack novel.” It seizes you and will not let go until it’s been deposited on paper, as Charles Stross explains. If you see one, do not call the authorities.

Those brain implants may be trickier than you realized

Ramez Naam, author of Nexus and Crux, has speculated a lot about humans being merged with machines — but he’s actually quite skeptical about how quickly this will happen in reality. He’s also not sure the Singularity is coming in his lifetime. Naam is guest blogging over at Charles Stross’ blog AntiPope, and all of…

Charles Stross has canceled the third book in his Halting State trilogy because reality has caught up to his near-future visions. Specifically, the NSA spying in Warcraft.