Robert A. Heinlein

Helldivers 2 Is Giving Starship Troopers the Renaissance It Deserves

Starship Troopers is suddenly shooting up the charts, some 27 years after its release.

Grimes Enters the AI Race With a Baby Grok Doll

The Grok doll is unrelated to Elon Musk’s chatbot "Grok." But hey, what's a little brand confusion between friends?

This Video Explores Starship Troopers’ Messy Satirical Relationship With Fascism

Starship Troopers is a seductive satire. Let’s dig into why, and how. In a thoughtful new video posted by YouTube channel Wisecrack, the creators of the channel take a deep look at Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven’s adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s classic novel. Troopers is a complicated film, a satire that’s so straightforward that some people…

Scientists Reveal The Science Fiction Stories That Inspired Them

Great works of science fiction can help us become more aware of real science, and more curious about the wonders of the cosmos. But for some people, they can actually help inspire a career in the sciences. The Conversation asked scientists to name their favorite science-fiction stories, and the results are inspiring. Astrophysicist Duncan Galloway…

10 Ultra-Weird Science Fiction Novels that Became Required Reading

You want a really weird ride? A science fiction or fantasy epic that stretches your brain like taffy and ties it into strange irregular shapes? Forget television or movies: books are where the really off-kilter stories are told in speculative fiction. A while ago, we listed 10 ultra-weird science fiction books that you’ve never read.…

A brand new Heinlein story! Robert A. Heinlein wrote a funny cyborg story in response to a cyborg anthology that was dedicated to him, Human Machines. And this rare find is finally appearing in a magazine, the May issue of Galaxy’s Edge. Contact the author at [email protected].

Yet Another Attempt To Turn Moon Is A Harsh Mistress Into A Movie

No sooner did the rights to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress reverted back to Robert A. Heinlein’s estate than another studio has come along to snatch them up. This time, Fox is bringing some A-List names to the project. Fox has brought Bryan Singer on board — he’s listed as a producer along with…

Yes, It Matters If The Science In Your Science Fiction Story Is Accurate

There’s been a lot of debate lately over whether science fiction needs accurate science — or whether it’s even worth discussing the accuracy of science in science fiction. What kind of person expects a science textbook instead of just a fun romp? But as a new essay points out, this is really a matter of…

From Lazarus Long To Capt. Jack Harkness: Bisexuality In Science Fiction

Why were there so many bisexual heroes in the 1970s (including Robert A. Heinlein’s Lazarus Long), and was bisexuality viewed as “futuristic”? More to the point, why did bi heroes mostly vanish throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and what brought them back? Erotic science fiction author and Circlet Press publisher Cecilia Tan explains. https://gizmodo.com/this-erotica-book-might-actually-be-the-years-most-dang-5969540 Tan…

10 Great Novels That Aren’t About What You Heard They Were About

Science fiction and fantasy novels become famous for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they catch the zeitgeist, or maybe they have one idea that everybody falls in love with. But sometimes, we all fixate on something that’s not the actual point of the book. Here are 10 great novels that aren’t about what everybody thinks.…

Predestination Could Be The Greatest Time Travel Mindf-ck Ever Filmed

The time-travel thriller Predestination, is already gaining a cult status, and it’s easy to see why. This movie takes the most famous story about time paradoxes and elevates it to a great psychological study. And it features one of the most powerful performances we’ve seen in ages. Spoilers ahead… Predestination is very closely based on…

How Predesination‘s Sarah Snook Tackled The Weirdest Love Story Ever

Sarah Snook is winning raves for her intense performance in the time-travel thriller Predestination. And if you’ve read the Heinlein story it’s based on, “All You Zombies,” you’ll know how tough her role is. We talked to Snook about dealing with paradoxes — and relationships — that would make your head explode. We were lucky…

First 7 Minutes Of This Time Travel Movie May Draw You Into A Paradox

They made a movie of Robert A. Heinlein’s time-travel paradox story “All You Zombies,” and now you can watch the first seven minutes of Predestination, right here. They showcase the newly-added subplot about a terrorist bomber, but also hint at just how this character’s timeline gets so tangled. Check out the opening minutes of Predestination…

10 Science Fiction Authors Whose Books Just Kept Getting Stranger

A lot of authors tend to become more conventional over time. They get more mainstream cred, mellow out, and sand the rough edges off their work. But some of science fiction’s most famous authors have just kept pushing the limits of storytelling. Here are 10 science fiction and fantasy authors whose books only got weirder.…

The Eccentric Polish Count Who Influenced Classic SF’s Greatest Writers

You’ve probably never heard of Alfred Korzybski, but he was famous in the mid-20th century. He didn’t just invent a whole new science, he also had a huge influence on Robert A. Heinlein and a ton of other important science fiction authors. Author Lee Konstantinou brings us the strange tale of Count Korzybski. L. Ron…

21 Books That Changed Science Fiction And Fantasy Forever

Speculative fiction is the literature of change and discovery. But every now and then, a book comes along that changes the rules of science fiction and fantasy for everybody. Certain great books inspire scores of authors to create something new. Here are 21 of the most influential science fiction and fantasy books. Top image: Magrathea…

All The Ways You Can Screw Up Your Own Timeline

Time travel and temporal anomalies can be messy and unpleasant. When time starts getting out of whack, anything can happen. People can be born over and over, meet themselves, relive the same day, or just screw up all their relationships. Here are all the ways people get tangled in their own timelines in science fiction.…

Women aren’t just destroying science fiction, but other genres too

Looks like someone touched a nerve. The Lightspeed Magazine kickstarter to raise money to publish a special “Women Destroy Science Fiction” issue of all-women contributors has massively exceeded its goals. So now they’re doing “Women Destroy Fantasy” and “Women Destroy Horror” issues too. Top image: Scott Grimando. With around 30 hours remaining, the Kickstarter has…

What great novel sounds really dumb if you try to sum it up quickly?

A lot of the greatest science fiction movies and TV shows have concepts you can sum up in a sentence, and it will make total sense. But books? Many of the greatest novels just sound ridiculous if you try to explain them in a single breath. What’s your favorite science fiction or fantasy novel that…

Great Lost Manuscripts of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Some of the greatest authors of science fiction and fantasy have put words on paper — only to see those words lost or destroyed. Before there were computers, manuscripts got burned or lost in the mail all the time. Here are the famous authors whose books were lost, destroyed, misplaced or erased. Actually, some of…