io9
john shirley
Posts Tagged “
Books
”
john shirley
must read
Environmental Fascists Fight Gun-Loving Lesbians for Alien Technology
Two spies, one trained in the art of lying and the other in the art of reading people for signs of subterfuge, have been sent to steal alien technology from Amazonia, a planet ruled by man-enslaving lesbians. Our spies are emissaries from a male-dominated, interplanetary government ruled by ruthless artificial intelligences who enforce carbon neutrality on all worlds by genociding any group that uses too much energy. Their hope is that the alien technology can end the eco-fascist reign of terror by providing an infinite source of renewable energy. This premise for Elizabeth Bear's novel Carnival, published a little over a year ago, is so intriguing that you'll keep reading just to watch the fine machinery of her thought experiment unfold. More »
weaponized orgasms
Tremble and Cry Out -- These Orgasm Weapons Are Unstoppable
What is the most devious and unstoppable weapon throughout space and time? No, it's not the Doomsday Device or Death Star — it's a weapon that delivers orgasms. Whether they mind-control you with lust or cripple you with knee-buckling climaxes, the orgasm-inducing weapon of the future will be powerful indeed. We've already told you about scifi aphrodisiacs that come from rays and parasites, and now it's time to count the ways you can weaponize aphrodisiacs and begin the orgasm onslaught. More »
ya fiction
Are Adults More Ignored Than Children In SF Lit?
They've published books, linked to and even interviewed each other, but now authors Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi are collectively wondering whether anyone is paying attention to their most recent books, and just what is the most under-appreciated genre of literature: Young Adult or Regular Science Fiction? More »
jose canseco
There Is Joy In Mudville: Mighty Casey Has Been Cloned
Could there be an unlikelier science fiction author than former baseball star (and confessed steroid user) Jose Canseco? Maybe, but we can't think of one right now. Canseco, who just put out a sequel to his bestelling steroid memoir Juiced, says his next project will be a "very dark dark scifi story." More »
the jewels of aptor
Welcome to The Jewels of Aptor, a biweekly column about the intersection of art and the fantastic. Never heard of French artist Stephan Martiniere? Well, you've definitely heard of the projects he's been involved with: Star Wars II and III, The Astronaut's Wife, Red Planet, I, Robot, Virus, and several other SF movies. That's in addition to creative work on videogames, animated projects, TV, and book covers. Even better, he's helped design theme parks like Fantastik Pukoland in Japan (and check out the TVLand theme park production paintings in the gallery below). His credits might be glitzy, but we love Martiniere's art because of its organic feel, the sense of the future being as much biological as mechanical—a trait he shares with French genius Moebius.
More »
Stephan Martiniere: The Future Will Be Bio-Mechanical
Welcome to The Jewels of Aptor, a biweekly column about the intersection of art and the fantastic. Never heard of French artist Stephan Martiniere? Well, you've definitely heard of the projects he's been involved with: Star Wars II and III, The Astronaut's Wife, Red Planet, I, Robot, Virus, and several other SF movies. That's in addition to creative work on videogames, animated projects, TV, and book covers. Even better, he's helped design theme parks like Fantastik Pukoland in Japan (and check out the TVLand theme park production paintings in the gallery below). His credits might be glitzy, but we love Martiniere's art because of its organic feel, the sense of the future being as much biological as mechanical—a trait he shares with French genius Moebius.
More »
9:00 AM on Fri May 2 2008
By Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
3,667 views,
24 comments
Latest by dhelor: He's also done some artwork for Magic: the Gathering. Great stuff. more »
Tom Holt Explains Why Do-Gooder Time Travelers Muck Things Up
Scifi satirist Tom Holt, author of several weird books, has just written up a short article explaining why it would be a bad idea to save the world if you were to travel in time. Specifically, he points out that if you were to try to stop the Black Death from ravaging Europe, you would save Feudalism and screw the future forever. See, why don't the people in the Terminator franchise ever think about that? By destroying Skynet, they're probably preserving some crappy thing that will bite us all in the ass in 500 years. [Orbit]
Scifi satirist Tom Holt, author of several weird books, has just written up a short article explaining why it would be a bad idea to save the world if you were to travel in time. Specifically, he points out that if you were to try to stop the Black Death from ravaging Europe, you would save Feudalism and screw the future forever. See, why don't the people in the Terminator franchise ever think about that? By destroying Skynet, they're probably preserving some crappy thing that will bite us all in the ass in 500 years. [Orbit]
international space station
On the International Space Station, You Can Watch Star Wars But Not Star Trek
In a stroke of weird genius, the people at GovernmentAttic.org issued a FOIA (freedom of information act) request to the US government to reveal the contents of the multimedia library on the International Space Station. Probably happy that they weren't being asked about the Patriot Act, the government happily complied, supplying us with a 13-page document containing the titles of every book, movie, and TV show in the ISS library. Not surprisingly there's a lot of science fiction in the mix, plus (of course) The Right Stuff. But there are some shocking choices in terms of what got put in — and what got left out. More »
horrorhead
Welcome back to Horrorhead, a column all about the connections between horror and scifi. On Battlestar Galactica, there's an ongoing theme of torture: humans gang-rape an imprisoned Cylon; the Cylons beat a man so badly he loses his eye (not to mention all the humans they kill outright); and there's even a little human-on-Cylon washboarding early in the series. These are not scenes that take place entirely offscreen. We see beatings; we see the bloody, freaked-out face of Six the Cylon after she's been raped so many times she can't stand up and has lost the will to eat. The question is, do we need to see these scenes? Would this series be as powerful without them? And by extension, would any torture-laced scifi flick like The Hills Have Eyes or Cube be as enticing if it lost the mutilations or the razor net that falls from the ceiling and reduces living humans to little cubes of flesh? (Spoilers ahead.)
More »
Do We Need Graphic Torture in Our Dystopias?
Welcome back to Horrorhead, a column all about the connections between horror and scifi. On Battlestar Galactica, there's an ongoing theme of torture: humans gang-rape an imprisoned Cylon; the Cylons beat a man so badly he loses his eye (not to mention all the humans they kill outright); and there's even a little human-on-Cylon washboarding early in the series. These are not scenes that take place entirely offscreen. We see beatings; we see the bloody, freaked-out face of Six the Cylon after she's been raped so many times she can't stand up and has lost the will to eat. The question is, do we need to see these scenes? Would this series be as powerful without them? And by extension, would any torture-laced scifi flick like The Hills Have Eyes or Cube be as enticing if it lost the mutilations or the razor net that falls from the ceiling and reduces living humans to little cubes of flesh? (Spoilers ahead.)
More »
10:43 AM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Annalee Newitz
2,944 views,
58 comments
Latest by thephotoman: Does BSG need torture? Well, to answer this question, I ask what it would look like without the torture. Then I point out two shows that have similar overarching plots (in one case, the same exact overarching plot) more »
Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi Are Doing It for the Kids
Scifi authors Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi both have books coming out (Little Brothers and Zoe's War respectively) that are aimed at young adults. It's great to see two smartypants writers aiming their often-subversive messages at the next generation. Now they've just done a great mutual interview about their new books, plus a little digression into lighting things on fire and putting bacon on cats. You can see the video on YouTube via BoingBoing.
Scifi authors Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi both have books coming out (Little Brothers and Zoe's War respectively) that are aimed at young adults. It's great to see two smartypants writers aiming their often-subversive messages at the next generation. Now they've just done a great mutual interview about their new books, plus a little digression into lighting things on fire and putting bacon on cats. You can see the video on YouTube via BoingBoing.
must read
20 Science Books Every Scifi Fan (and Writer) Should Read
You can't have great science fiction writing without great books about science. Ever since the nineteenth century, when Charles Darwin's classics On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man took the reading public by storm, popular science writing has been inspiring fictional thought experiments, as well as possibly less-inspiring political debates. What are the science books you should be reading now if you want your brain turned inside-out by weird new ideas that might just change the world for real? We've got 20 brilliant, and brilliantly-written, science books that have already influenced science fiction — or are about to. More »
alternate history
A Crash Course in Alternate History Novels
So you've snapped up Michael Chabon's Nebula Award winning novel The Yiddish Policeman's Union, and now you want more thoughtful alternate histories to fill your brain and bookshelf. While there are literally hundreds of alternate histories out there (many of them written by various Michael Moorcocks and Harry Turtledoves in different timelines), a few standouts will help you get into the genre and lead you down the happy path to historical mindfuckery. Check out our our suggestions for some brilliant alternate history reading. More »
nebula awards
Michael Chabon and Nancy Kress Top the List of Nebula Winners
Over the weekend, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America presented its annual Nebula Awards for best works of science fiction and fantasy. Held in Austin, the Nebula Award weekend is celebration of the speculative literary scene, including everyone from the most literary to the most pulpy authors around. Unlike the Hugo Awards, which are won by popular vote, the Nebulas are chosen by a committee — sort of Academy Awards style. This year, nobody was surprised when Michael Chabon's alternate history novel The Yiddish Policeman's Union took the coveted "best novel" award. More winners below, plus links to the stories for your week's lunchtime reading. More »
karen joy fowler
Karen Joy Fowler Talks to io9 About Writing in the Future
What happens to old-fashioned storytelling when we spend all our time inventing stories about ourselves and other people online? Do stories become less magical? Does ordinary life become more science fictional? Last week I sat down with Karen Joy Fowler, author of Sarah Canary and the recently-published Wit's End, to find out what she thinks. Wit's End is about, in part, the way the internet has made all of our lives a lot more fictional. And Fowler is fine with that. More »
urawaza
How to Outrun Zombies, and Other Ways to Solve Problems Japanese-Style
My new book Urawaza is a collection of over 100 tips and tricks from Japan for honing your survival skills, fine-tuning your appreciation of Japanese culture, and eventually making you superhuman. The book is full of quirky Japanese solutions to common problems, along with scientific explanations of why they work. Imagine, for example, that you need to outrun a flock of zombies, like Will Smith in I Am Legend. With the help of a little old-school Japanese wisdom, you can actually run faster. Find out how!More »
wit's end review
Karen Joy Fowler's Latest Novel is Science Fiction in the Present
Bewildered by the death of her father, a woman named Rima finds her balance by plunging into a thicket of half-true tales and half-real avatars on the web. Online, she meets her father again — or at least, the many constructs of him he's left behind via a website he's devoted to his writing, and in the fan fiction people have written about a fictional murderer named after him in a series of mystery novels. Karen Joy Fowler's unsettling, wistful new novel Wit's End offers us a present-day world that is science fictional in the same way William Gibson's recent present-day novels are: Her characters' lives are so deeply bound up with technology that it's hard to tell where human connection ends and internet connectivity begins. The author of brilliant scifi novel Sarah Canary, and more recently of non-scifi bestseller The Jane Austen Book Club, Fowler is back in fine form with Wit's End. More »
milliways
Secret History of Infocom's Never-Released "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" Game
One of the coolest text adventure games of the 1980s was Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, based on Douglas Adams' bestselling novel of the same name. Though the game was wildly popular, and a sequel to it was rumored repeatedly, nobody has ever known exactly what happened to that sequel. Until now. Andy Baio, the investigative journo-technologist at Waxy, has received a mysterious network drive from which he recovered all the notes, plans, emails, and information about what Infocom was going to do with the sequel that would have been called Milliways. And he's published it for all to see. More »
the sex sphere
