io9Books & Comics

My Neighbor Hayao Is Packed With Gorgeous Ghibli Art

Big, beautiful, coffee table books have become a beacon of hope during quarantine. Basically, if you don’t have time for a movie or to read a regular book, they are easy ways to kick back and escape reality for a few short minutes. If you’re looking to escape reality, why not do it with the … Continued

io9Books & Comics

The Sword of Truth Writer Terry Goodkind Has Passed Away

Fantasy author Terry Goodkind, who created the decades-long series The Sword of Truth, has died at 72 years old. He leaves behind an important but complicated legacy, as his personal views and attitude tended to collide with his work. As reported by Tor and the New York Times, Goodkind passed away at his home on … Continued

io9Books & Comics

A Tense Traveler Awaits a Crucial Meeting in This First Look at West Africa-Inspired Fantasy Son of the Storm

A new epic fantasy begins this spring with Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s Son of the Storm, the first book in the Nigerian author’s Nameless Republic trilogy, which takes inspiration from pre-colonial West Africa. Today, io9 has a first look at the stunningly beautiful cover, and a first peek inside this exciting new title. Here’s a brief … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Steven Universe: End of an Era Is Here to Save the Day

Steven Universe: Art & Origins gave us all a greater understanding of the Crewniverse’s creative process and an in-depth look at some of Steven Universe’s inner workings. If you looked closely enough, it provided clues about what to expect from the series’ finale, the movie, and Steven Universe Future. Today, io9 has an exclusive look … Continued

io9Television

The Haunting of Bly Manor Delivers Spooky Horrors With Surprising Heart

It’s been two years since Mike Flanagan and Netflix turned classic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House into a series that earned raves not just for its story, characters, and creativity, but also for scaring the bejesus out of viewers. Can lightning strike twice? The Haunting of Bly Manor is here to find out. … Continued

io9

Lovecraft Country Went Meta and Got Even More Disturbing

With each episode of Lovecraft Country’s first season, a new family member or friend in Atticus Freeman’s midst has been unceremoniously dragged into a dark convergence of events that might result in a Lovecraftian apocalypse. By shifting its focus onto each member of its supporting cast, Lovecraft Country’s been able to make its fantastical world … Continued

io9Books & Comics

This Book About a High School Coven Understands Just How Ridiculous Teens Can Be

The opening chapter of Hannah Abigail Clarke’s The Scapegracers is a little rough. It starts with a group of girls gathering in the middle of a party to do some magic and freak everyone out. Then the narrator breaks off to do more magic with a girl she’s only just met, and the feeling that … Continued

io9Movies

The Trailer for The Witches Remake Will Terrify a Whole New Generation

It looks like Halloween 2020 plans are covered. HBO Max has unveiled the first trailer for Warner Bros.’ adaptation of The Witches, starring Anne Hathaway, which will be heading to HBO Max just in time for the spookiest of holidays. HBO Max revealed on Twitter this morning that The Witches, based on the terrifying children’s … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Don’t Be Afraid of All the New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Coming in October

There is one book on this list involving a giant, hungry, ancient spider, so you actually might want to be afraid of that one. But in a good way! It’s Halloween season, and though this list isn’t only scary stories, it offers plenty in the way of fantastical escapes both perilous and wondrous, sometimes at … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Dungeon & Dragons & Novels: Revisiting Spellfire

In 1987, Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, released his first novel in the giant, fantastical world he’d wrought (and his first published fiction, period). It’s hard to say what was more enticing to me back then: the amazing Clyde Caldwell cover art of a furious dracolich on the cover or its … Continued

io9Books & Comics

This Limited-Edition Dune Novel Is Gorgeous and Flowing with Spice

Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune is on its way to Arrakis, so it seems like there’s never been a better time to crack open a copy of Frank Herbert’s science fiction classic. His story is amazing no matter how it’s being presented, but for folks wanting a copy that’s as beautiful as the world Herbert … Continued

io9

Lovecraft Country Has Given Up Cohesive Storytelling in Favor of Something More Dramatic

What little hope there was for Lovecraft Country’s first season trying to tell a single, cohesive story went completely out the window this week with “I Am,” a statement episode that gave Aunjanue Ellis’ Hippolyta Freeman everything she’d ever dreamed of…just to ask her to give it all up. The episode plays by Chekov’s narrative … Continued

io9Movies

Your Guide to Chiss-tory: Everything We Know About Star Wars‘ Hidden Empire

Ever since Timothy Zahn introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn and his mysterious people in Heir to the Empire, the Chiss have remained one of Star Wars’ most fascinating factions. In a galaxy filled with beings and civilizations, their mystery has endured for years—and across two iterations of Star Wars canon. Now that we’ve properly met them … Continued

io9Movies

Rachel Talalay’s A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting Looks Like Spooky Fun

It’s Halloween, and a babysitter realizes the boogeyman is real! It’s a familiar plot for horror fans, but a new Netflix movie takes that same premise and puts a far more family-friendly spin on the whole thing. However, as the trailer makes clear, A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting is definitely stuffed with monsters. Fortunately … Continued

io9Trailers

Lupin‘s First Trailer Introduces Omar Sy as the Legendary Gentleman Thief

The gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc’s novels casts a long shadow that’s spread over a number of different adaptations over the years, like Lupin the Third and Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger. Where those series played up the more outlandish and fantastical elements of the ideas that define the character, Netflix’s upcoming live-action series … Continued

io9

Netflix’s Three-Body Problem Decried by U.S. Senators Over Liu Cixin’s Muslim Commentary

Earlier this month, Netflix announced that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would partner with The Terror: Infamy’s Alexander Woo to adapt the beloved, Hugo-winning Chinese sci-fi epic The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. But now, the company is facing calls from a cadre of Republicans demanding the show be scrapped. Variety … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Star Wars: The High Republic‘s Answer to Excalibur Is Exquisite

The books that compose the first phase of Star Wars: The High Republic are set to introduce readers to the deep, rich histories that defined the Jedi Order long before the events of The Phantom Menace. They’ll also provide more information about the interstellar wars that have defined the galaxy for countless generations. Because the … Continued

io9Books & Comics

A Glorious Space Brawl Kicks Off Cassandra Khaw’s Sci-Fi Adventure The All-Consuming World

When a group of former crooks reunites for a rescue mission, they’ll need to battle a fierce AI and overcome their own differences if they hope to succeed. io9 is thrilled to reveal the cover and an excerpt from Locus and British Fantasy Award-nominated short fiction writer Cassandra Khaw’s first novel, The All-Consuming World. First, … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Who Is the Lord of the Rings, Exactly?

It’s been a little while so it’s possible my memory isn’t as fresh on the subject of Middle-earth as it once was. But a thought occurred to me this weekend that I cannot shake: Did J.R.R. Tolkien name the Lord of the Rings trilogy after the bad guy? Let me cover my ass a little … Continued

Earther

All We Can Save Redefines ‘We’ in the Climate Fight

The how-to-fix-it climate genre has become an increasingly crowded space in nonfiction publishing these days. From Eric Holthaus’ Future Earth to Christiana Figueres’ and Tom Carnac’s The Future We Choose, the roadmap to fixing the damage done to the climate is being filled in. All We Can Save is the latest entry into the field, … Continued