http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/the space merchants http://io9.com/tag/the space merchants

In 1953, a tiny publishing house called Ballantine released The Space Merchants, a novel-length adaptation of "Gravy Planet," a Frederik Pohl short story that had taken the SF world by storm. That story was about the future of the advertising industry, written by a guy who had been an ad man for several years. Dark and snarkily political, The Space Merchants expanded on the original story (it was co-authored by C.M. Kornbluth), becoming a novel that Pohl says nobody wanted to publish. But it influenced at least two generations of SF writers, and offers a satire so sharp that it still draws blood even today. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880721&view=rss&microfeed=true

Click to viewIn a few centuries, everybody will be a rube. Centuries of in-breeding in deep space will remove everyone's street smarts and turn people seriously gullible. That's the only explanation for why anybody would ever get taken in by some of the grifters you run into in science fiction, who practically have a sign around their neck that says "CON ARTIST!!!" With the three exclamation marks and everything. Here's our round-up of some of the most obvious and least crafty con-men and women in SF. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=378097&view=rss&microfeed=true