Sci-Fi

Rudy Rucker’s The Big Aha is a psychedelic futurist’s dream come true

Rudy Rucker’s latest novel, The Big Aha, is pure transreal Ruckeriana featuring extreme biological and quantum technologies, steamy techno-sex, nasty aliens from higher dimensions — and all soaked in the unique atmosphere of the magical 1960s. “Regarding the origins of The Big Aha, one of my basic inspirations was that I’ve always felt like the…

io9 Giulio Prisco

The io9 Calendar: Everything Brilliant That’s Happening in December!

December is bursting with science fiction and fantasy greatness. George R.R. Martin has a new novella set in Westeros. The Hobbit saga continues. Doctor Who’s Eleventh Doctor departs. And there are loads of conventions and readings. Here’s our complete guide to December’s science fiction and fantasy. Top image: Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi As always, you…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Comment of the Day: The Very Best (and Shortest) Science Fiction

Today, we fell down the rabbit-hole of the internet’s list making capabilities, debated the relative merits of every single Doctor Who episode ever made, and wrote over 1000 (and counting!) very short pieces of science fiction. In response to today’s call for six-word science fiction stories, there were plenty of fantastic entries. Here’s just a…

io9 Ria Misra

Write Some Six-Word Science Fiction Stories with Us!

We had a lot of fun last time with your six-word stories that covered everything from a moon-landing with a very different ending (“That’s no moon!” screamed Neil Armstrong. –Armagh-Planet) to a rewrite of Hemingway’s original six-word tale (“Kid has tentacles. Sell baby shoes.” –angusm). Let’s write some more! https://gizmodo.com/write-some-very-very-short-scifi-for-io9-1458712865 So, whether you’re working on…

io9 Ria Misra

An artist recreated Blade Runner with 12,000 water color paintings

Holy wow this is impressive. Artist Anders Ramsell animated Blade Runner by painting 12,597 different water color paintings and stringing them together into beautifully fluid sequences. It’s incredible, you feel like you’re watching Blade Runner, you get to hear Harrison Ford and follow the story but you’re seeing it like never before—in moving art. The…

Sploid Casey Chan

Enjoy the delicious eye candy in this cool sci-fi short

Azarkant—a 3D short by Andrey Klimov—doesn’t have much of a plot, but it’s delicious computer generated eye candy for lovers of spaceships, robots, dead cosmonauts and Haloesque things in general.

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Comment of the Day: Six Little Words Edition

Today, we clung tight to the jobs that robots could never take away from us, counted all the ways Marvel is not adhering to the strict theological conception of Thor, and wrote over 1300 (!) very, very short stories. In response to this post asking you for six-word science fiction tales, there were stories that…

io9 Ria Misra

Write Some Very, Very Short Scifi for io9!

“For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” So goes the sad (and rather brief) short story famously attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Today, we’re putting a scifi twist on Hemingway’s literary experiment with six-word stories, and asking you for your own very, very short science fiction. So write up a six-word, scifi mini-epic and post it into…

io9 Ria Misra

The Complete Guide to November’s Must-See Science Fiction and Fantasy!

November is exploding with science fiction and fantasy goodness. There are new books by Gene Wolfe and Cherie Priest. The TV debuts of Steven Universe and Almost Human. J.J. Abrams is doing a book event. Plus the Hunger Games! Here’s everything you need to know about this month. Top image: Starhawk by Jack McDevitt. As…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

What Are Science Fiction’s Best and Worst Predictions?

Sometimes scifi foreshadows the future with incredible accuracy (the fiction of Jules Verne, for instance, predicted the moon landing and the electric submarine) and sometimes not (he also imagined an Earth that had a core full of mastodons.) Today, we want to know your picks for the best and the worst predictions about the future…

io9 Ria Misra

Fraudster Busted for Selling Fake Star Trek Tricorder

What do you get when you cross Star Trek jargon, a decent knowledge of Photoshop, and Florida? Well, judging by Howard Leventhal’s attempt to secure around $3 million in funding for a fake tricorder, the answer is one impressively delusional case of fraud. Last year, Laventhal decided to tell executives at Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Paragon…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg

Comment of the Day: The Tradeoff Between Science and Story

In today’s comments we fretted over the definition of average, oohed and aahed over some DIY costume skills, and (with the help of Gravity’s science advisor) teased out the precise intersection of science and story-telling. We were joined for an “Ask The Expert” session by Kevin Grazier (whose credits, in addition to Gravity, also include…

io9 Ria Misra

Comment of the Day: Fictional Science Edition

In today’s comments, we envisioned life on a cold and sunless planet far from our own, exposed the soft underbelly of our worst technological nightmares, and dug deep into some of the tangled mythology surrounding science fiction itself. In response to this post, on the 10 biggest myths about science fiction, commenter nadirzenith throws in…

io9 Ria Misra

Record/Play: A Walkman Time Machine Is Tragic Sci-Fi Love

Here’s a fantastic short for you sci-fi fans: Record/Play, directed by Jesse Atlas, is a short film that covers time travel, love, changing fate, war, memories and cassette tapes. It’s slow building yet tense, you’re itching to see what new wrinkles each play of the tape will bring. The film originally debuted at the 2012…

Tech News Casey Chan

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Gravity (Spoilers)

Neil deGrasse Tyson took to Twitter last night to offer up his thoughts—largely scientific—on the sci-fi stomer Gravity. It’s received rave reviews, but what does everyone’s favorite scientist think? In a rare moment of artistic insight, he admits that he “enjoyed ‘Gravity’ very much”—but he also saw some problems. (If you’re looking for even more,…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Why most science-fiction aggressive species are stupid and easy to kill

io9 has selected 11 fearsome warrior races that would be ridiculously easy to defeat—but we all know that this is the case only because our storytelling is, understandably, too anthropocentric. If there are real aggressive species out there, they will probably annihilate us before we could even realize how silly they are.

Sploid Jesus Diaz

The io9 Calendar: October’s Can’t-Miss Science Fiction and Fantasy!

What does October have in store for science fiction and fantasy lovers? There are new books by Catherynne M. Valente, Paul Pope and Dan Simmons. Tons of new TV shows make their debuts. And there are loads of author appearances, conventions and new movies. Here’s the io9 calendar! Top image: The Lost Stars by Jack…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

The Honest Truth About The Matrix

It’s been 14 years since The Matrix came out in theaters and became one of our favorite sci-fi movies ever. It’s been 10 years since The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions straggled onto screens and changed the way we thought about one of our favorite sci-fi movies ever. Honest Trailers smacks down the series…

Movies Casey Chan

Hip-Hop From the Future: Inside Deltron’s First New Record Since 2000

In May of 2000 three legends of hip-hop formed a supergroup and created something nobody saw coming: A futuristic, sci-fi rap album. Over the years, Deltron 3030 has developed an almost fanatical cult following. The long awaited sequel—officially released today—is likely to do the same. Deltron’s debut was different. It was weird. It was awesome.…

Tech News Brent Rose

Watch a Supercut of The Final Shot in Popular Movies

Here’s a supercut showing the last scene of movies you’ve probably seen before. And if you haven’t seen these movies, well, then you can consider this compilation as an ultimate spoiler reel. Nearly 70 movie endings are in here, ranging from your favorite sci-fi movie like Tron, 2001 and Solaris to old greats like Rocky…

Movies Casey Chan

Rudy Rucker’s The Big Aha is a psychedelic futurist’s dream come true

The io9 Calendar: Everything Brilliant That’s Happening in December!

Comment of the Day: The Very Best (and Shortest) Science Fiction

Write Some Six-Word Science Fiction Stories with Us!

An artist recreated Blade Runner with 12,000 water color paintings

Enjoy the delicious eye candy in this cool sci-fi short

Comment of the Day: Six Little Words Edition

Write Some Very, Very Short Scifi for io9!

The Complete Guide to November’s Must-See Science Fiction and Fantasy!

What Are Science Fiction’s Best and Worst Predictions?

Fraudster Busted for Selling Fake Star Trek Tricorder

Comment of the Day: The Tradeoff Between Science and Story

Comment of the Day: Fictional Science Edition

Record/Play: A Walkman Time Machine Is Tragic Sci-Fi Love

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Gravity (Spoilers)

Why most science-fiction aggressive species are stupid and easy to kill

The io9 Calendar: October’s Can’t-Miss Science Fiction and Fantasy!

The Honest Truth About The Matrix

Hip-Hop From the Future: Inside Deltron’s First New Record Since 2000

Watch a Supercut of The Final Shot in Popular Movies

Did AMD Just Make the Best CPU for Gamers and Creators?

AI Just One-Shotted Another CEO

6 Magic School Anime and Manga to Discover Instead of Thinking About ‘Harry Potter’ Ever Again

Unprecedented Images Show Sperm Whales Acting as Midwives to Help a Mom Give Birth

‘Butt Birth’-ing Rhinoceros from Ace Ventura Sequel Sold at Auction for a Whopping $60,000

The Ryan Gosling Sci-Fi Streak Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Study Challenges Popular Theory on Why Primordial Bugs Were So Darn Huge

Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway’s Mystery’s Sci-Fi Film Has Its First Trailer

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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