Free Republic

In this collection of potential reading, Mark Yon suggests books that you may appreciate whilst considering your vote. It may have escaped your attention that during this week there are elections in the US. Whilst we do not endorse any particular candidate or party at SFFWorld (and the person mainly writing this is non-US anyway!)  but on behalf of SFFWorld we thought we would compile a list of ten SF books that use politics as an important part of their world. Be warned – not all of these are future visions you may like…

We do not see, often enough, the people who love Hillary Clinton, who support her because of her qualifications rather than because of her unqualified opponent, who empathize with her. Yet millions of Americans, women and men, love her intelligence, her industriousness, her grit; they feel loyal to her, they will vote with enthusiasm for her. Human beings change as they grow, but a person’s history speaks to who she is. There are millions who admire the tapestry of Hillary Clinton’s past: the first-ever student commencement speaker at Wellesley speaking boldly about making the impossible possible, the Yale law student...

Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange" is expected to draw a massive audience this weekend, providing some much needed medicine for Hollywood during a bruising fall box office season. Analysts expect the visually stylish Benedict Cumberbatch comic book movie to collect $65 million to $75 million in ticket sales from the United States and Canada through Sunday. Some more optimistic industry observers predict the film, about a former neurosurgeon who harnesses mystical powers, may reach $80 million in domestic grosses... "Doctor Strange is a C-level Marvel character, and the fact that you can pull an $80-million debut is ludicrous when you think...

The New York Times’ multi-part series profiling President Barack Obama’s legacy on global warming reveals the president is a fan of a book on how “climate change and overpopulation” could cause modern civilization to collapse. Obama was apparently a fan of Jared Diamond’s 2005 book “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,” which “explored the environmental changes that wiped out ancient societies like Easter Island and discussed how modern equivalents like climate change and overpopulation could yield the same destruction,” according to NYT. An Obama aide told NYT he “recalled” the president mentioning Diamond’s book. Diamond is also the...

<p>Just what we need in these fractured times — a smart parable about open-mindedness and unification.</p> <p>Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner play academics enlisted by the military to make contact when alien spacecraft land on Earth in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi drama.</p>

The 2016 Hugo Awards were presented on the evening of Saturday, August 20, 2016 at a ceremony at MidAmeriCon II, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention. Administration of the 2016 Hugo Awards is exclusively the responsibility of MidAmeriCon II. The Hugo Awards are not administered by the Hugo Awards Web Site. 3,130 valid final ballots were cast by the members of MidAmeriCon II. Per the WSFS Constitution, each category must have at least 25% (1,488 ballots) participation; otherwise “No Award” must be presented in this category. This did not happen in any category. In the list below, we show the...

This November, the National Geographic Channel will take audiences into outer space in a way we haven't seen before. From producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer comes Mars, a six-part TV miniseries that blends documentary and science fiction to dramatize humankind's first trip to Mars in 2033--and io9 is proud to exclusively debut the first trailer.

Actor Jerry Doyle, also a talk host, has died at 60

It's odd to think that, once upon a time, a TV show set in space -- one that declared, in its opening narration, as the cosmos being the "final frontier" -- was considered the pop-cultural equivalent of an unwanted party-crasher. Yes, a concept like Star Trek was both of its time and clearly ahead of it; history has more than vindicated Gene Roddenberry's notion of boldly going where no man had gone before. But given the number of top-notch shows set in the far reaches of the galaxy and that used genre for pulpy and profound purposes over the last...

Were the 1950s the Golden Age of Science Fiction Cinema? I think so. What do you think? From Wikipedia: List of science fiction films of the 1950s A list of science fiction films released in the 1950s. These films include core elements of science fiction, but can cross into other genres. They have been released to a cinema audience by the commercial film industry and are widely distributed with reviews by reputable critics. This period is sometimes described as the 'classic' era of science fiction theater. Much of the production was in a low-budget form targeted at a teenage audience....

To survive, they must go beyond. Watch the new trailer for Star Trek Beyond now!

A series based on wonderfully weird 1984 cult science fiction classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension is likely coming to TV, courtesy of Kevin Smith, and we have The Flash to thank (or blame, depending on your point of view). Read on, Hong Kong Cavaliers. The source of this unholy tidbit is Smith himself, who said on a recent installment of his podcast that his directorial stint on The Flash was such a slam dunk that it opened new doors all over Hollywood. One of those doors was at MGM, a studio that found great success...

This is an under appreciated low budget sci-fi flick. This was a series and they made several of them but this is the best. Dr. Bernard Quartermass is prominent scientist/astrophysicist who has various adventures in the films. The film was released with the title "5 million years from Earth" in the US. Quartermas and the PitEnjoy

Admittedly, they don’t seem to be having a lot of trouble finding out what love is, but the futuristic dystopian society they live in where all emotion is supposed to have been eradicated probably doesn’t approve. We’ve already seen a brief glimpse of Drake Doremus’ creepy scifi romance movie, but this fresh new trailer gives us a lot more insight into the horrifying world Nia (Stewart) and Silas (Hoult) live in, where people who feel anything get taken away and pumped with drugs to genetically alter themselves back into calm, emotionless citizens.

(This is an archived PDF file. Please click the link to read it.)

National Space Society members have voted the 2016 Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award to Dr. Jerry Pournelle... (This award is distinguished from the Heinlein Award given by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society and co-funded by The Heinlein Society, and the Heinlein Prize for Accomplishments in Commercial Space Activities administered by The Heinlein Trust.)

The Martian was one of the biggest hits of 2015, and was nominated for tons of year-end awards. But being as it's set in space and in the near future, we thought it best to bring back Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson to help us separate this movie's sins from its wins.

Nicholas Meyer, who directed one of Star Trek’s most-popular films “The Wrath of Khan”, has announced that the film will receive a 4K/Ultra HD release.

The Stainless Steel Rat is James Bolivar DiGriz, who goes by many aliases, including "Slippery Jim" and "The Stainless Steel Rat". He is a futuristic con man, thief, and all-round rascal. He is charming and quick-witted. He is also a master of disguise and martial arts, an accomplished bank robber, a criminal mastermind, an expert on breaking and entering, and (perhaps most usefully) a skilled liar. Master of self-rationalization, the Rat frequently justifies his crimes by arguing that he is providing society with entertainment; and besides which, he only steals from institutions that have insurance coverage. He displays a strong...

There were some surprising science fiction nods among the major Oscar nominations this year. Despite complaints about STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS not getting a nomination for Best Picture (and in my opinion, it didn't deserve one), both MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and THE MARTIAN managed to secure Best Picture nominations. I only caught the last fifteen minutes of FURY ROAD on cable, so I can't really judge it beyond that, but THE MARTIAN while not perfect, was one of the better movies in a mediocre year for movies, and so I have no problem with its nomination. Ridley Scott...