The postmodern Prometheus

'Frankenstein' might be the first science fiction novel, but its literary heritage has a vibrant afterlife in pulp fiction. Victor Frankenstein and his moping, depressed creation was conceived of by Mary Shelley a good century or more before the golden age of pulp fiction, but the monster and the genre had always seemed made for each other. Reanimated corpses, hubristic scientists, secret laboratories, rogue humanoid creations-each of these tropes scream "pulp"!

Man behind 'Sophia' AI robot plans to create 'super-intelligent genius machines' that win humans' trust

* David Hanson worked as a sculptor for Walt Disney and created animatronic robots for their theme park shows before starting his own firm
* He now aims to create machines that are life-like enough to win people's trust
* His 'masterpiece' is Sofia, a wise-cracking machine based on Audrey Hepburn
* Previous works include a robotic Albert Einstein which teaches children science

This is not the future sci-fi writer Charlie Stross predicted (Q&A)

By Seth Rosenblatt

Spreading computer viruses with human DNA. Stalking romantic partners with malware. Recording someone's every move with Internet-connected security cameras.

Much to learn you still have: 10 aliens you should know from Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Canto Bight

Much to Learn You Still Have is a rundown of trivia and fun facts, both in-universe and behind-the-scenes, about the aliens of the Star Wars galaxy. Whether you've never set foot in a cantina or you're a well-traveled Jedi Master, you'll find the intel you need.

Actress Hong Chau drew on refugee past for role in science-fiction satire Downsizing

By Alison de Souza

Hong Chau, who drew on her refugee past for her role in the science-fiction satire, is the critics' darling this awards season. For her breakout performance in the science-fiction satire Downsizing starring Matt Damon, actress Hong Chau drew on her past as the child of Vietnamese refugees. The film envisions a world where some people choose to be irreversibly shrunk down to the size of toys to drastically reduce their living costs.

Our most anticipated science fiction novels of 2018

It's a new year, which means a new spacefaring lineup of awesome YA sci-fi to take you to other worlds and galaxies!

Solo could explore an iconic unseen moment from Star Wars history

The Orville could cross paths with another Seth McFarlane show. You'll be waiting a while for the next season of Rick and Morty. There's more discussion of the future of The X-Files after Gillian Anderson's departure. Plus, Captain Marvel casting, a new clip from Agents of SHIELD, and more. To me, my spoilers!

9 awesome items that will transform your room into a Star Wars-themed paradise

With the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, our obsession for the adventurous galactic universe is at an all-time high.

While the new movie totally blew our minds, our love for Star Wars goes way back, so we've had plenty of time to dream ourselves into every one of its storylines.

Science fiction: 3 new short story collections worth reading

British artist and graphic novelist Dave McKean is probably best known for many collaborations with his friend Neil Gaiman. Here he turns the tables on nine distinguished writers: Instead of illustrating their stories, he's invited them to write original tales inspired by his evocative and often surrealistic paintings, reproduced in a muted palette of browns and blacks.

Could you be our new Sci-Fi Eye?

The Engineer's resident science fiction writer, Jon Wallace, is relinquishing his hold on our crystal ball, and we're looking for a successor.

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire is a VR game you can feel and smell

A new VR attraction invites users to strap into a haptic vest, grab a VR gun, and embark on a real-world indoor adventure as an undercover stormtrooper from the Star Wars movies. Complete with props, smells, sound effects, and weather, the experience is called "hyper reality" and it looks awesome.

Disney wants you to buy a 'Star Wars' book to find out what didn't make it into 'The Last Jedi'

If you weren't satisfied with "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" or have been on the edge of your seat waiting for deleted scenes some of the wait is almost over.

YouTube's "The Star Wars Show" confirmed the tie-in novelization for "The Last Jedi" will contain expanded and deleted scenes from the "Star Wars" sequel. Director Rian Johnson said he met with Jason Fry, the author behind "The Last Jedi" novelization, to write new scenes for the book.

The fascinating ways Star Wars and Star Trek are challenging their own franchises

It's very rare to see contemporary versions of Star Wars and Star Trek make similar creative choices. After all, part of what's fueled the age-old Wars v. Trek debate are the series' wildly different approaches to scifi. But with The Last Jedi in theaters and Discovery airing online, both franchises seem to be tackling something fascinating, questioning institutions in each world that fans have held dear for decades.

Both The Last Jedi and Discovery have been met with a certain level of fan backlash. Mostly, this has been driven by a belief that these entries into their respective, venerable franchises have chosen to eschew what came before and do something "new"-something that, in the detractors' eyes, goes against the ideals of the older material that defined each series. Additionally, a

A new anthology will honour Arthur C. Clarke with 2,001-word stories

Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke would have turned 100 years old in 2017. Over the course of his long career, he left a legacy that science fiction authors still follow, by putting a premium on the scientific realism in his stories. A new anthology aims to honor the late author's legacy by collecting a series of stories. Each story will have exactly 2,001 words, a reference to his most famous work, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The team behind the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award - an annual recognition for the best science fiction novel published in the UK - is assembling the anthology in partnership with NewCon Press. The anthology will honor the century of Clarke's life and his works. The organizers say they "wanted to make sure that the scope of the anthology was as broad as the fluid

Women in science fiction: If Mary Shelley invented the genre why are so few female sci-fi writers household names?

Two hundred years ago, Mary Shelley sat down to write a ghost story and created science fiction. Women still pen the genre's finest, exemplified by Ursula K Le Guin, who died this week. Yet so often they are overlooked.

David Barnett asks: whither the brides of Frankenstein?

Two centuries. Two hundred years. That's how long we've had science fiction. From the birth of Frankenstein, to the death of Ursula K Le Guin. Two hundred years.

Rian Johnson had some pretty insane ideas for Rey's parents in The Last Jedi

The latest Star Wars almost turned out really weird.

I's hard to imagine the pressure Rian Johnson was under to write the middle chapter in the final trilogy of the Skywalker Saga. And the guy had some tough choices to make-including how to reveal one of the biggest remaining mysteries in the Star Wars franchise: Who the hell are Rey's parents?

Ursula K Le Guin: The 'fearless' author who showed us a different world

By Ian YoungsArts & entertainment reporter

Ursula Le Guin was loved for her groundbreaking fantasy novels that tackled questions of gender, race and the environment. She influenced generations of authors from Margaret Atwood to Neil Gaiman - and wrote about a boy wizard 30 years before Harry Potter.

In her writing and in her life, Ursula Le Guin refused to blindly accept how the world is supposed to work. In life, if something was illogical or unjust, she simply decided that things would be different. "I am a man," she said in a 2015 BBC Radio 4 documentary, somewhat surprisingly. "When I was born, there were actually only men. People were men."

10 underrated science fiction movies you must see

It's not all about replicants, Terminators, and galaxies far, far away. Across the spectrum of literary and cinematic genres, science fiction has long since proved one of the most enduring and popular of them all. This is no doubt largely down to its tremendous malleability.

Hard science fiction (SF as opposed to 'sci-fi') has a rich history in its own right, historically with a fairly select audience; and yet, most readers, and certainly most film lovers are bound to have at least a few favourites that in some way qualify as science fiction, even if the reader/viewer in question doesn't necessarily regard themselves a genre fan.

Final Frontier Friday: 'Threshold'

Hello and welcome as always to 'Final Frontier Friday.' This week I'll be continuing my quest to focus on things that aren't the original 'Star Trek' or 'The Next Generation' by tackling an episode of 'Voyager'. In fact, for some of you, 'Threshold' may very well be "that episode" of 'Voyager'. Suffice to say, last time I was to some extent taking up the defense of an unpopular (or at least divisive) character in Ezri Dax.

But I'd be shocked, if anything, if I had to say about 'Threshold' was terribly controversial.

30 'Star Wars'-inspired names parents are giving their babies

The "Star Wars" universe has officially influenced parents' baby name choices. The Social Security Administration revealed in 2017 that Kylo was the fastest-growing baby name for boys, following the character Kylo Ren's introduction in the 2015 movie "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

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Making magic with star wars: secrets of the empire

Starwars.com speaks with some of the key minds behind the groundbreaking hyper-reality experience. The odds aren't good. I'm a rebel, so already the cards are stacked against me. My squad and I have to infiltrate an Imperial base. There are four of us against what I'm sure will be many, many more than that.

'Aliens: Dust To Dust' will show us xenomorphs through the eyes of a terrified 12-year-old!

When Xenomorphs attack we see people die, though 'Aliens' has shown that children can survive these attacks and 'Aliens: Dust to Dust' will give us a story told through the eyes of a 12-year-old. The 4-issue miniseries is being penned and illustrated by Gabriel Hardman who was the storyboard artist for 'Logan', 'Dawn of Planet of the Apes', 'Batman: The Dark Knight Rises' and more!

'Star Wars Rebels' sets 90-minute series finale

(via CNN)"Star Wars" is officially closing one chapter in its universe, with the animated series "Star Wars Rebels" to conclude March 5 with a 90-minute series finale.

The program, which airs on Disney XD, will return February 19 with back-to-back episodes leading up to its conclusion.

Star Wars 9: FIRST major Episode IX details CONFIRMED - Fans will be VERY happy

Star Wars 9 is about to start production and fans will be very happy with the first important piece of news about Episode IX. Star Wars fans haven't been so easy to please recently.

The Last Jedi is still powering ahead at the global box office (China excepted) but the hardcore fan reaction must have shocked Disney and Lucasfilm bosses. With JJ Abrams back at the helm for the final movie in the triple trilogy, there should be less controversy ahead. And the first piece of strong news about how the film will shape up has just been revealed...

Moving from science fiction to science fact-Intel and Linden Lab partner to create the fourth dimension at CES

By Frank Soqui

Linden Lab's Sansar, a new VR-enabled online community provides content creators with powerful tools to unleash immersive, dreamlike digital worlds. Create and enjoy your very own Sansar VR world on 8th Gen Intel(r) Core(tm) processor-based PCs, add HTC Vive headsets equipped with Intel's Wigig technology, and the end result is a Fourth Dimension wireless experience that defies human imagination.

Steven Knight creating sciencefiction series for Apple

You might think that, between his film work and shows such as Peaky Blinders and Taboo, writer/producer/director Steven Knight had enough to be going on with. Yet he's now sold a new small screen concept called See to Apple.

New photos surface from Syfy's 'Krypton' pilot!

If you've been looking forward to more details on Syfy's upcoming 'Krypton' series, then you'll be happy to hear that we've got new images from the pilot to share with you today! Seven images to be exact that show off the cast in various situations that promises tension and action right off the bat.

Star Wars 9 shock: Rey is NOT that powerful in the Force and can NEVER be a Jedi

Rey is constantly shocking everyone around her (and often the audience) with her incredible displays of power.

How did she hold her own against Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens with no training? How did she battle Snoke's Praetorian Guard - supposedly the greatest warriors in the galaxy - with half an afternoon's training on Ahch-To? How did she lift a landslide of boulders in a messianic moment?
It simply stretches credulity and has tried the patience of many hardcore fans.

The Force is real: how 'Star Wars' neuroscience is revolutionizing healthcare and more

More than 40 years after it hit theaters for the first time, the cultural influence of the "Star Wars" movie franchise is undeniable. You can see that reach in the skyrocketing box-office take of the most recent installment, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, whose ticket sales worldwide raced past the $1 billion mark just before New Year's Day.What most people don't realize is how impactful "Star Wars" has been on science and technology.

Media black out: first 'The X-Files', now Gillian Anderson is leaving 'American Gods'

Gillian Anderson has already expressed that the current eleventh season of 'The X-Files' will be her last. (Considering that ratings for the first episode were considerably lower than those of last year's revival, the show may not be back again, anyway.)

Science fiction and folk medicine inspire novel wound dressings

A relatively inexpensive egg-based formula and a Star Trek-like plasma patch can accelerate healing of serious and chronic wounds, which affect millions of Europeans every year.