Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s name to Meta last week – and launched a vision for his company that he claims will transform the way we interact with the internet and each other. So what exactly is the metaverse? And will it ever leave the realm of science fiction?When Facebook scheduled a major announcement for last week, news quickly got out that Mark Zuckerberg was planning to change the company’s name – and that he would explain how Facebook would move towards its next incarnation, the “metaverse”. But few expected he would set out a vision with such far-off ambitions – and show so little evidence of what it is doing today to get there. Zuckerberg’s presentation was derided in some quarters as wooden, narcissistic, dystopian, and unintentionally hilarious. But it was also a vastly ambitious and risky pitch for how the company will leave its present-day brand and focus behind to re-emerge as the leading player in a version of the internet that doesn’t exist today.So what exactly is the metaverse? What is the business case for Facebook’s pivot to such an undeveloped and complex technology? And how much was the decision to rebrand as Meta driven by the toxification of Facebook’s brand by months of damaging leaks from the US whistleblower Frances Haugen? In this episode, Nosheen Iqbal is joined by the Guardian’s UK technology editor, Alex Hern, who explains what we already know about the metaverse, its origins in science fiction stories, and its likely real-world... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-04 03:00:23 UTC ]
Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy has long been one of the great unadaptable science fiction works (read more on that here, along with a catalogue of Asimov’s awful serial harassment of women), but after 50 years, it has finally made it to screens. Starring noted tall man, Lee Pace (along with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-23 14:28:10 UTC ]
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THE STARLESS SEA, Erin Morgenstern’s sophomore fantasy novel, takes effort to read, but there are countless narratively complex works of science fiction and fantasy that amply reward such effort: N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season comes to mind as one recent, prominent example of the type. The... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-06-20 17:00:48 UTC ]
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Many years ago, I heard a teacher of mine, the late John Gardener, once say that there are only two plots in all of literature: you go on a journey or a stranger comes to town. Or, as Stanley Elkin put it even more succinctly (in reference to science fiction), you go there or they […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-08 08:47:33 UTC ]
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Get to know the fantastic and thrilling world of the DINOSAUR TRAIN series, a shining example of science fiction for early readers. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-06-02 10:35:52 UTC ]
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Penguin Classics is to launch a new series of world science fiction "to challenge stereotypes about the genre". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-28 09:00:55 UTC ]
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A NUMBER OF RECENT ESSAYS and articles have revisited classic literary texts that depict disease pandemics, scouring them for ideas and strategies that might prove useful in our current predicament. An essay in The Boston Review examines Boccaccio’s Decameron (1353), which emerged out of... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-05-27 19:00:30 UTC ]
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Robin Sloan, the author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, discusses his new short story for The Atlantic. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2020-05-15 13:00:00 UTC ]
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For about two months in 1970, ITV aired episodes of a bonkers science fiction comedy series based (oh so very loosely) on Miguel de Cervantes’ literary classic Don Quixote. The show, entitled The Adventures of Don Quick, follows an astronaut named Don Quick (Ian Hendry) and his sidekick, Sam... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-12 17:39:44 UTC ]
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Looking for your new favorite science fiction podcasts? We've got you covered, from sci-fi podcast dramas to podcasts about science fiction books. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-11 10:39:41 UTC ]
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If you are currently living out your quarantine with an argumentative reader of fantasy and science fiction (possibly this person is your child, who knows), or if you aren’t but would like to be, you may get a kick out of this new video series from Penguin Random House, in which noted authors of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-07 14:08:45 UTC ]
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Congratulations to the winners of the 6th Annual Self-Published E-Book Awards! Grand Prize Steel Hand, Cold Heart by Rachel Menard (rachelmenard.com) Fantasy First Place Willow of Ashes by Ellie Raine (ellieraine.com) Honorable Mentions Fog & Mist: The Canens Chronicles,... Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2020-05-05 14:08:04 UTC ]
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Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels, Christopher Priest’s “The Islanders” and more Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-04 14:00:00 UTC ]
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This 1956 article by renowned science-fiction writer Richard Matheson explains his thoughts about the limitless possibilities in the genre. The post Richard Matheson: Science Fiction Is Unlimited by Amy Jones appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2020-04-30 10:57:16 UTC ]
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These 20 feel-good science fiction books will suit different tastes and moods, but they’re all comfort food of some variety. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-14 10:34:55 UTC ]
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Today, the finalists for the Hugo Awards, as well as for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, were announced by CoNZealand, the 78th Worldcon. The prestigious Hugo Awards, first presented in 1953 are “the longest-running fan-voted awards in science fiction and fantasy,” and they recognize... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-07 20:51:28 UTC ]
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IN HIS FOREWORD to Matthew Schneider-Mayerson and Brent Ryan Bellamy’s An Ecotopian Lexicon, acclaimed science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson notes, “people playing with language can help bring things and events into sharper cognitive focus.” Indeed, since familiar objects and ideas often... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-04-04 19:00:34 UTC ]
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Taking a look at some of the most magical cities in science fiction and fantasy books for your next trip across the page. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-26 10:42:56 UTC ]
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Don't miss exploring the magical cities of these fantastic urban science fiction and fantasy books hitting the shelves this year. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-26 10:41:17 UTC ]
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I often talk about how I created A Phoenix First Must Burn, my anthology of fantasy stories by black women authors, for my younger self, a girl who loved fantasy and science fiction and so desperately wanted to see herself in those worlds. It’s a strange experience to create the thing you wanted... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-03-25 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House UK has announced a new partnership between its audio division and Rebellion, a publisher of comic books, fiction and video games, in response to increasing demand for science fiction audio. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 22:09:16 UTC ]
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