If you haven’t read Chris Roberson’s The Dragon’s Nine Sons, you can now read the first three chapters online to get you started. I really like the universe he sets this story in; the two superpowers in the space race are the Chinese and Aztec empires, with the split from our timeline coming somewhere around the Black Plague. Both cultures are alien, but the people and motivations are fully fleshed out, believable and sympathetic. While Sayonara Jupiter may have gotten a few bad reviews, and even deserved them, it still contained some of the best special effects ever seen on screen in the 1980s. Like the first Star Trek movie or 2001, the effects also got more screen time than most of the actors. Still, this is a fun movie for space cadets of all variations, and especially those who love a good Godzilla/Gamera flick.
IO9 has some nice images and video of the Dr Who Special that may never air.
John Scalzi does it again, with a short list of books that should become movies. He has a good little list here, from the classic cyberpunk that spawned Second Life (Neil Stephenson’s Snowcrash) to a wonderfully strange Steampunk fantasy (China MiĆ©ville’s Perdido Street Station), and more. There are also a number of good suggestions in the comments, including an assortment of Zelazny’s works.
Cinema Blend has the set of 6 retro-SciFi posters released for Monsters vs. Aliens, and they look pretty good. Rumors abound for a sequel to Blade Runner, but nothing is actually in the works yet.
Finally! John Carter of Mars is coming to a big screen on Earth, according to Quint’s Report over at Ain’t It Cool News. Andrew Stanton, the genius behind Wall-E, is at the helm and shared a panel and some news about the project. And even with the Pixar involvement, this one is going to be live action. I can’t wait!
New Scientist has a listing of 10 SciFi devices you can buy soon. While not quite in production yet, things like the invisibility cloak and an artificial gill are certainly on my xmas list.