Sci-Fi

The io9 Guide To Star Trek

For nearly 50 years, Star Trek has been one of the most dominant forces in pop culture. Trek’s history stretches beyond the shows themselves, because Gene Rodenberry’s vision of the future has inspired generations and broken boundaries. Want to learn more before next year’s anniversary? Look no further. Welcome back to the io9 Guide series,…

The Tremors Critters Are Back With a Terrifying New Strategy

Remember Tremors, the 1990 monster comedy in which Kevin Bacon battles giant underground worms in the desert? Of course you do. Tremors rules. But did you know the series is still going, with a fifth installment—Tremors 5: Bloodlines—coming to Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow? Indeed it is! Here’s the synopsis: The stakes are raised for survivalist…

This Narcopolis Clip Puts An Uber-Futuristic Spin on a Classic Thriller Scene

Ah, the high-tech break-in—an expected scene in any contemporary thriller, and that goes double for a movie set in the future. In Narcopolis, the debut feature from UK writer-director Justin Trefgarne, a pair of hackers go through the ol’ breaking-into-the system routine, with an insanely modern twist. For context, in this exclusive clip, they’re creeping…

Donald Trump Is Running for President of Our Dystopian Future

It’s all well and good to make fun of Donald Trump’s presidential run, but it turns out that you can put his words in the mouths of the classiest fictional dictators, and it really works. Edited by: Chris Person Contact the author at [email protected].

Fans and Cast Members Join All Right-Thinking People In Calling For a Revival of The 4400

Remember The 4400, the show about a group of 4,400 people who mysteriously reappeared at the same time after vanishing at various points since 1946? Remember how the show itself vanished, in 2007, after a cliff-hanger ended its fourth season? Nearly 10 years later, devoted fans are hoping to see the show make a return,…

The Inside Story on Lightless, One of the Year’s Most Exciting New Space Operas!

The brand new space opera novel Lightless is a fast-paced, gripping read, and like all good science fiction, explores the human side of cutting-edge scientific concepts. We talked to debut author C.A. Higgins about using real physics in her story. In Lightless, a prototype spaceship on its maiden voyage on behalf of a totalitarian regime…

So Netflix’s Newest Series is Black Mirror, What Are Some Plot Lines You Want to See?

The rumors are true, Charlie Brooker’s tech-fi thriller Black Mirror is returning as a new Netflix original series. And it’ll likely be just as thought-provoking and chilling as the original. First debuting in 2011, Black Mirror is a hybrid of The Twilight Zone’s anxiety-ridden plot twists mixed with a dark, sometimes satirical theme that is…

Why Brave New World is No Longer the Terrifying Dystopia it Used to Be

Brave New World used to be one of the most terrifying stories about a false utopia. It gave us the concept of “test tube babies,” and its name became synonymous with technological progress run wild. But many of the things Aldous Huxley predicted are coming true, and it turns out they’re not so scary. Ranked…

When you think about reading science fiction, you often look towards the latest novel. The book is a reasonably recent development in the science fiction world, and over on Kirkus Reviews, John DeNardo of SF Signal charts the history of serialized SF.

The Museum of Science Fiction Is Launching A Scholarly Journal!

The Museum of Science Fiction is well on its way to becoming a brick and mortar museum in Washington DC. Now, they’re going to be launching a scholarly journal: The MOSF Journal of Science Fiction, which will examine the science fiction world through an academic lens. According to the publication’s website, the journal will be…

A Collection of Six-Word Stories From a Dark Digital Future

We don’t know much about the future that these very, very short stories come from. But we do know that they have zombies, a robust Craigslist’s Missed Connections section, and very, very few words. Last week, you shared your six-word science fiction submissions with us. Here are just some of our favorites: https://gizmodo.com/write-some-six-word-science-fiction-for-us-1729593277 Belabras Missed…

This freaky spiderman tale has a twist ending that you don’t want to miss

Whether we are talking about a distant planet in a galaxy far far away or uncanny living creatures that are half-men and half-spiders, Mother Nature is ruthless and its rules apply the same everywhere. Make sure you don’t miss the twist at the end of this short because it’s so damn good. Zerogon—directed by John…

Science Fiction’s Best Editors Are Tweeting You Some Recommendations

We’re living in a new ‘golden age’ of short science fiction. Fear not: there’s a new Twitter feed, curated by some of the genre’s top editors, recommending the best new SF: SFEditor Picks. The editors behind the account are Ellen Datlow, Gardner Dozois, Paula Guran, Rich Horton, Steve Berman, Neil Clarke, Liz Grzyb, Michael Kelly,…

Watch How Builders Made That Fantastic Armor From Lawbreakers 

In the release trailer for an upcoming game called Lawbreakers, you’ll spot a trio of armored soldiers riding down an elevator. It’s a cool shot, but what’s even cooler is that that armor actually exists. The guys behind Tested were hired to build the armor used in the shot, which blends a bit of CGI…

“We’re Not Talking About Good Writing. We’re Talking About Wire Racks”: Wolfe, Ellison and Asimov On Genres

This 1982 roundtable discussion on science fiction is amazing. Watch Isaac Asimov, Gene Wolfe and Harlan Ellison talk to Studs Terkel and Calvin Trillin about the randomness of genre distinctions and the difference between “science fiction” and “science fantasy.” [via SFSignal] Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, coming…

The stunning visual symmetry between the old Star Wars trilogy and the new movies

Here is a truly lovely visual comparison between the much loved, original Star Wars trilogy and the much maligned, newer prequel movies. The video, called Star Wars Poetry, shows off how the new movies are so strikingly similar with the old trilogy, honoring the original flicks while creating a sense of familiarity in the world.…

Write Some Six-Word Science Fiction for Us!

Tell me a science fiction story, io9—and do it in only six words. What kind of tale will you this time around? Perhaps a doomed time travel romance (Time Traveler seeks partner; have met.—purdyjpurdy)? Or will you set your sights on a robot bound on a course for both tragedy and puns (“Lost charger,” the…

Norwegian director Andre Ovredal (Troll Hunter) will direct a thriller called Emergence about miners battling a terrifyingly destructive “rogue terraforming organism” on a far-off moon, Variety reports. Ovredal also helmed the upcoming supernatural mystery The Autopsy of Jane Doe, in which Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch play father-and-son coroners.

Princeton Will Host A Symposium On Speculative Arts and Social Justice

Princeton University will be hosting a symposium on how speculative fictions can examine some of society’s most prevalant social problems in order to put help build a better world. Black To The Future is a one day event takes place on September 14th and it features an impressive lineup of authors, artists and academics. Here’s…

The Syrian Refugee Crisis Is Our Children of Men Moment

We often use old sci-fi movies as reference points for our own hopes and fears about our present reality. That computer interface is so Minority Report, we might say. That food is something out of Soylent Green. That building is so Jetsons. It’s imperfect, but it’s a shorthand to talk about the way that the…