Ursula K. Le Guin

A Whole Month of Earthsea Discussions, with Charles Yu, Lev Grossman, Samuel Delany, Kelly Link and More!

If you’re lucky enough to be in New York, then October is going to be a brilliant month for you — the Center for Fiction is putting on a whole month of science fiction and fantasy discussions, in honor of Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea. It’s all part of “The Big Read,”…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Sep 28

Ursula K. Le Guin has a brand new reason to be scared of immortality

You probably already think you know why immortality is a bad idea — after all, Torchwood just got done showing us, and there’s a whole complicated computer model of why immortality would suck. But trust Ursula K. Le Guin to make immortality seem terrifying all over again. https://gizmodo.com/computer-model-reveals-what-would-happen-if-humans-beca-5844172 Top image: The Day We Left Earth…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Sep 27

The Awful, Wonderful Truth Behind Grimm’s Fairy Tales

The world is full of retellings of the Brothers Grimm lately, but Lisa Goldstein’s new novel The Uncertain Places makes the world of fairy tales feel like a living place, with a long history that intersects with our own world. The Grimms’ stories are much stranger and darker than many people realize from looking at…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders May 31

Hollywood Take Note: 50 Amazing Science Fiction Books that Haven’t Been Filmed Yet

The Register asked its readers to name the best science fiction books that haven’t been turned into movies, and hundreds of nominations came in. Now the Register has whittled the list down to the 50 that got the most votes. And there’s some pretty great stuff in there, with everyone from Jack Vance and Robert…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Apr 20

10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories

Looking for an antidote to Star Trek’s utopian but overbearing Federation? Like your science fiction with a bigger emphasis on personal liberties? Then check out our list of the greatest libertarian science fiction. Here’s an io9 flashback to a list we originally published in 2009. https://gizmodo.com/10-greatest-libertarian-science-fiction-stories-5254742 Top image: Detail from the cover of Heinlein’s The…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Apr 18

Breaking Waves showcases the fury and fragility of the sea

Need a break from holiday commercialism? Want to send a much-needed gift to groups cleaning up one of 2010’s worst disasters? Great! Check out Breaking Waves, an anthology featuring award-winning writers like Ursula K. Le Guin and Vonda McIntyre. After the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April, YA fantasy author Tiffany…

Books & Comics Josh Wimmer Dec 26

Best television adaptations of science fiction and fantasy novels

Can a book really become a decent television show? Yes, and here’s the proof! Here are 12 shining examples of science fiction and fantasy books that actually got turned into television series that are worth watching in their own right. The other day, we listed the worst TV adaptations of SF books, now here are…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Nov 3

Worst television versions of science fiction and fantasy books

The Walking Dead carried all our dreams on its undead shoulders. We’re all hoping HBO’s Game of Thrones will also rule. But sadly, television has an even worse record of adapting books than movies. Here are 10 book-to-television embarrassments. And welcome back to Monday Hate, where we hate things because it’s Monday. So there’s a…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Nov 1

Science fiction and fantasy stories that can help you deal with death

Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter and this week’s Doctor Who crossover both served up poignant meditations on death. But fantastic stories often explore the darkest frontier of them all: Here are 12 other great stories to help you to cope with mortality. As Ray Bradbury writes in Fahrenheit 451: Everyone must leave something behind when he dies,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders and Michael Ann Dobbs Oct 27

15 classic science fiction and fantasy novels that publishers rejected

Science fiction’s greatest authors have brilliant ideas, storytelling mojo… and plenty of stubbornness. Many of the field’s greatest writers were buried in rejection slips, before they finally broke in. Here are 15 classic novels that publishers didn’t want to touch. When we were doing our list of 10 science fiction classics that the publishers originally…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders and Michael Ann Dobbs Oct 19

Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin debate science fiction vs. “realism”

Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood are two of SF’s most famous living writers. Claire Evans was lucky enough to join 2,000 other people in listening to them discuss Star Wars, fantasy… and telling the truth in fiction. Earlier this year, when I went to an event to meet NASA astronaut Jim Dutton at…

Books & Comics Claire L. Evans -- Space Canon Sep 28

What are the ingredients for great science fiction?

It’s hard enough to define science fiction — but what makes for truly great SF? What’s the crucial element, the X-factor? TimeSplash author Graham Storrs argues it’s all about exploring who we are as humans. https://gizmodo.com/how-many-definitions-of-science-fiction-are-there-5622186 I’ve just been reading a blog post by Mike Brotherton which presents (yet another) definition of science fiction. This…

Books & Comics Graham Storrs Sep 21

What science fiction writers can learn from the flood of SF lit novels

We’re in the middle of a flood of literary novels that play with science fiction ideas right now. What’s causing it? And how can science fiction benefit from all of this fresh energy? There have always been a lot of literary writers trying their hand at writing about time travel, post-apocalyptic worlds or monsters, but…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Sep 2

Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed: When you want to like a book but don’t

After a short break, “Blogging the Hugos” is back with 1975 Hugo winner The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin. I thought it was right in so many ways — so what went wrong? For about three weeks now, I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about The Dispossessed.* I don’t know that…

Books & Comics Josh Wimmer Aug 29

The original pilot script for television’s most famous disaster, the Starlost, coming out as a comic book

It should have been the greatest television show ever: conceived by Harlan Ellison, with science advisor Ben Bova and scripts by Dick, Le Guin, Herbert and Van Vogt. A new comic based on The Starlost shows what could have been. Today sees the first issue of IDW’s new comic series A Phoenix Without Ashes, written…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Aug 18

Ursula K. Le Guin gives away the film rights to one of her stories for free

The Disposessed author Ursula K. Le Guin is famously protective of her copyrights, and has expressed extreme reluctance to let Hollywood touch her work. So how did a group of film students get permission to film one of her stories? After the SciFi Channel (as it was then known) made a miniseries based on her…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 27

Words to live by: advice from 34 science fiction/fantasy authors

Great science fiction and fantasy novels don’t just expose us to other worlds and alternate timelines — they expand our minds and give us compass to steer by. Here are our favorite bits of advice and maxims from SF books. You could do a lot worse than living your life according to principles espoused in…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 22

The truth is self-evident: Ursula Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness isn’t about gender

It’s 1970, and with this Hugo winner — Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness — we finally got the ladies up in here! And the men too! And of course, the menwomen. So this is daunting. I mean, these are always daunting, but The Left Hand of Darkness — that’s daunting. It’s…

Books & Comics Josh Wimmer Jun 5

19 fictional islands you can visit now that Lost is over

On Sunday, you’ll have your last visit to Lost’s mysterious island, so what fictional islands should you visit next? Luckily, science fiction is full of weird islands full of secrets, so call your metafictional travel agent today! Be sure to book your travel plans soon, many of these locations have limited availability. Now if you…

io9 Mary May 21

20 Great Infodumps From Science Fiction Novels

A truly great infodump is a work of art. The best science fiction authors can brief you on everything you need to know about their worlds, without making you feel lectured. Here are 20 great examples of the smooth infodump. Because you demanded it! We all love science-fiction books that have rich world-building — but…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Mar 19

A Whole Month of Earthsea Discussions, with Charles Yu, Lev Grossman, Samuel Delany, Kelly Link and More!

Ursula K. Le Guin has a brand new reason to be scared of immortality

The Awful, Wonderful Truth Behind Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Hollywood Take Note: 50 Amazing Science Fiction Books that Haven’t Been Filmed Yet

10 Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Stories

Breaking Waves showcases the fury and fragility of the sea

Best television adaptations of science fiction and fantasy novels

Worst television versions of science fiction and fantasy books

Science fiction and fantasy stories that can help you deal with death

15 classic science fiction and fantasy novels that publishers rejected

Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin debate science fiction vs. “realism”

What are the ingredients for great science fiction?

What science fiction writers can learn from the flood of SF lit novels

Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed: When you want to like a book but don’t

The original pilot script for television’s most famous disaster, the Starlost, coming out as a comic book

Ursula K. Le Guin gives away the film rights to one of her stories for free

Words to live by: advice from 34 science fiction/fantasy authors

The truth is self-evident: Ursula Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness isn’t about gender

19 fictional islands you can visit now that Lost is over

20 Great Infodumps From Science Fiction Novels

Ryan Coogler Is Shifting ‘Animorphs’ Into a Disney+ Show

No Fooling, ‘Spaceballs 2’ Will Hit Theaters April 2027

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