Economist Bryan Caplan explains how standard socialist complaints about free markets are similar to longstanding fan claims that Tolkien's Giant Eagles didn't do enough in the war against Sauron.
The message of the hit new series cuts across conventional ideological lines - and features a highly skeptical view of government.
In a chaotic universe full of infinite realities where all choices are relative, individualism still matters.
Today's Star Wars fulfills the promise of the late '90s internet.
It's the story of a distant future where rich denizens meddle in the affairs of the past.
The consequences of our obsession with urban dystopias and utopias
An aeronautical engineer considers writing a novel about a new start on the moon.
Weir's books take seriously the limits of human knowledge and planning when it comes to space travel.
What if our interplanetary future involved train heists, legal sex work, and a lot of running from the feds?
Reality has failed to match author Arthur C. Clarke's hopes.
Taking humanity from Earth to the stars isn't easy.
A new generation of companies has made space travel affordable.
Tracer takes mind control to a new level.
A wannabe prestige picture that works better as a pulpy mind-trip.
It's early going. But the first episode is a promising start to HBO's prequel to the famous "Game of Thrones" series.
On streaming and the big screen, we're paying more for less, even as new ideas seem few and far between.
Disturbing, eerie, and strangely relevant, it's a return to form for the Canadian horror master.
Despite caricaturing (some) gun owners, Nick Mamatas' conspiracy-fueled science fiction novel avoids moralizing in favor of dark humor.
The latest attempt to adapt the novel comes as an HBO miniseries.
In honor of this major holiday, I post a round-up of my writings, interviews, and talks about one of the world's most popular science fiction franchises.
An anthology looks back at science fiction's New Wave.
The TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic trilogy is still fundamentally about the ways in which politics and objective truth inevitably clash.
It's the strangest, most meta sequel of the year.
In Stephenson's near-future novel, innovation, not legislation, is the best response to a changing climate.
Marvel's latest superhero epic is a boring movie about boring people.
It's by far the best cinematic version of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel.
Just like the characters, this short-lived sci-fi show makes a mysterious return years later.
This is Denis Villeneuve's movie, but it's fully Frank Herbert's Dune.
Sci-fi novelist Sarah Pinsker's new book deals with the ways technology shapes how we conceive of the inner self.
Both literally and in terms of quality
In the new sci-fi novel, humanity manages to save itself not with social revolution but through reason, technology, and innovation.
In Zack Snyder's latest, zombies are a public health issue, much like COVID-19.
The show perfectly encapsulates the feelings of grief, confusion, and isolation born of the pandemic.
Too Close and The Underground Railroad provide wildly different experiences.
For sci fi fans who enjoy getting lost in internet rabbit holes
People are people and politics is politics, no matter how far you get from planet Earth.
Oh look, two mismatched government agents investigating alien technology.
Gerry Reith's raw, paranoid, apocalyptic fables were shot through with distrust for just about every institution around.
In a glimpse of a gloriously rule-breaking future, contraband has boldly gone where more is sure to follow.
If you’re looking for a coherent, compelling version of Stephen King’s pandemic opus, keep on walking.
His angry insistence that "I'm the President of the United States!" is reminiscent of Joffrey's famous similar statement: "I am the King!"
A good teens-and-creatures movie, and a deep dive into a glorious fake cult
Sadly, he's far from the only one. If we want to "break the wheel" of poverty and housing shortages, we need to roll back zoning.