If you went to middle school in the mid-2000s or know a kid who goes to?? middle school, you probably? know the name Rick Riordan. One of the most prolific fantasy authors of our time, Riordan has written dozens of addictive books, and he's showing no signs of slowing down.

I can't think of a writer who's changed my life more than Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson and the Olympians came out arou??nd the time I started reading seriously as a hobby, and I've kept myself caught up on his work ever since. There's something magical about Riordan's prose, a charge coursing through every word that magnetizes my eyes to the page whenever I open one of his books.

Riordan has written many books throughout his career, ?and I'd argue all of them are among the best of their respective genres. However, it wouldn't be a ranking list if all of them were of equal quality, would it?

It's "Rick Riordan Presents," NOT "Rick Riordan Writes"

Before we dig into the meat of things, I want to clarify a spot of confusion that pops up often in discussions about Rick Riordan and his body of work. In 2016, Riordan launched a unique publishing imprint called "Rick Riordan Presents." Created in direct response to fans of the author's desire to see YA books based on various world mythologies, Rick Riordan Presents scouts out writers from underrepresented cultural heritages, enabling them to give their history and folklore the "urban fantasy glow-up treatment" Riordan's already given Gr??eco-Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology.

Riordan edited and promoted every standalone book and series published under the Rick Riord?an Presents label, but he wasn't their author. These stories are fantastic in their own right, and I'd recommend them to any fan of?? the "modern mythology" sub-genre Riordan helped prop up.

6. Tres Navarre

Before he set the world of YA literature ablaze, Riordan honed his authorial talents by writing Tres Navarre, a series of neo-noir novels set in his home state of Texas. Jackson “Tres�?Navarre, an unlicensed private investigator and Tai Chi enthusiast, solves mysteries that spring up across San Antonio, encountering a litany of colorful characters and nefarious ne'??er-do-wells along the way.

Reading the Tres Navarre series was a surreal ride for me. There are no fantastical elements here: these books are about the terrible crimes that can unfold on the gritty streets and dusty plains of the Lone Star State. That said, there are glimmers of the author Riordan would become hidden throughout Tres Navarre's pages. The titular detective is an obvious prototype of the snarky, ungovernable protagonists that headline Riordan's later series, and though the ??humor's darker than what you might be used to, these books are still hilarious.

5. The Trials of Apollo

The third and final (for now, at least) installment in Riordan's career-defining Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, The Trials of Apollo series is also the only one in the franchise that doesn't follow a demigod. Instead, our protagonist is Apollo, the god of archery, art, healing, and prophecy. Cast down from Olympus after a series of world-impe??riling slip-ups, Apollo must earn his god-hood back by protecting five oracles from Triumvirate Holdings, a multinational corporation headed by three of? Rome's worst emperors.

ToA has many good things going for it. Riordan takes full adv??antage of the enormous cast he's b??uilt up over a decade of storytelling here. He pushes established characters in new and exciting directions while introducing memorable new faces to his already-expansive roster.

Unfortunately, as fun as ToA is, it's held back by an unescapable air of franchise fatigue. Barring one jaw-dropping twist in the third book, ToA plays it pretty safe, which is a big disappointment. I still remember all the challenging but thrilling turns the previous Camp Half-Blood Chronicles series took, and it's disappointing that ToA never lets itself take similar risks.

4. The Kane Chronicles

Written less than a year after he wrapped Percy Jackson and the Olympians (for the first time), The Kane Chronicles proved Riordan wasn't a one-trick pony. When their estranged Egyptologist father disappear?s after a strange incident at the British Museum, Carter and Sadie Kane discover their family's connection to a hidden world of? magic, sorcerers, and gods of the Nile.

Rather than repeating the pattern he set with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Riordan does something entirely new with the characters and the secret magic world of TKC. The Egyptian gods don't influence the world through their half-mortal children like the Greek Gods of PJO; they act through magicians trained in magical schools. Instead of one smart-mouthed protagonist writing his thoughts in a ??journal, we have two inscribing their adventures as audio files (related not: the audiobook versions of Riordan's books are al?l fantastic).

While the pacing feels rushed after the first book, TKC is a fun romp from cover to cover with well-rounded characters, creative uses of magic, and even a blatant exploration of the prejudic??e bi-racial children face all too often.

3. The Heroes of Olympus

Percy Jackson and the Olympians tell a satisfying story about Greek mythology's most iconic deities and creatures. However, it only scratches the surface of the culture's massive cast of characters. The Heroes of Olympus, a direct sequel to PJO, dives even deeper ?into that mythos, and it's all the bette??r for it.

Following a group of demigods tied together by a prophecy foretelling the end of the world, HoO expands the scope of PJO's world to astronomical proportions. Camp Jupiter, a second demigod camp inhabited by the children and descendants of the Greek Gods' Roman aspects, is introduced, and with it comes a host of enth?ralling new characters, many of w??hom have gone on to become fan favorites.

Everything feels big in HoO; the gods are more awe-inspiring, the odds against our heroes keep escalating, and their journey stretches far beyond the borders of the continental United States. With that said, things get messy by the final book, with too many ongoing plotlines getting wrapped up before they reach their full potential. Despite that, HoA kept the Percy Jackson name alive, triaging most? of t?he damage 20th Century Fox's disastrous and ultimately aborted film series did to the franchise's reputation.

2. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

With stories about the Greeco-Roman and Egyptian pantheons under his belt, Riordan tackled Marvel's favorite classical mythology with Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. We follow Magnus Chase, estranged cousin of Percy Jackson's friend-turned-??girlfriend Annabeth, who discovers he's the son of a Norse god after he dies and ascends to Valha?lla.

MCGA is noticeably more matur?e than most of Riordan's other series. The books use the gods and monsters of Scandinavian myth to explore challenging themes like homelessness, ableism, islamophobia, and anti-LBGTQ rhetoric. Thankfully, the series doesn't ditch the charm that defines other Riordanverse installments. Magnus is a fantastic protagonist, armed with the same razor-sharp wit we've come to expect from Rirodan's leads.

If you're a fan of Norse mythology, you'll have a great time with MCGA. Just be ready to brace yourself when the heavy moments fall like Mjolnir on a giant??'s skull.

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians

What would happen if the gods of Greek mythology were real and they never stopped having kids with mortals? That's the question at the core of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Percy Jackson is a troubled boy with ADHD and dyslexia, and even he's betting against his odds of living a goo?d life. That is until he discovers he's the son of Poseidon and the gods of Olympus' last hope to win a war against the vengeful Titans they overthrew millennia ago.

Riordan weaves one of the most?? engaging fantasy worlds I've ever encountered, putting a fun twist on the gods and monsters of Greek mythology while introducing some unique ideas into the mix. Despite that, the real heart of the series lies in its protagonist.

Percy Jackson is one of the most inspiring YA heroes ever written. His coming-of?-age is a powerful exploration of the struggles neurodivergent youth face, and seeing him rise to the occasion and prove his worth as a hero and a person never loses its luster. Knowing that Percy was inspired by Riordan's son makes it even more touching.

The post Every Rick Riordan book series, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

The Amazing Digital Circus, the indie animated web series that completely took off, is touring t??hrough a streaming service near you. This is not a digital hallucination, folks: Glitch Production's unhinged horror dramedy is coming to Netflix this October.

Glitch Productions' indie animated smash-hit will hit Netflix right after the newest episode's YouTube premiere

News of this show-stopping turn of events comes straight from Netflix itself. On an announcement page posted on their Tudum website, Netflix outlined that all three episodes of The Amazing Digital Circus will be available for streaming on October 4, 2024. Glitch Productions confirmed their new partnership with Netflix in a heartfelt post on their official YouTube page and X account, thanking viewers for their support while confirming that new episodes of The Amazing Digital Circus will premiere on YouTu?be before they become available on Netflix.

October of this year is the perfect month for The Amazing Digital Circus to take such a spectacular, dare-I-say acrobatic leap forward. Not only will this October mark the series' official first anniversary, but The Amazing Digital Circus' horror-themed third episode will hit YouTube on October 4th. 2024. The undercurrent of horror running beneath The Amazing Digital Circus' cutesy aesthetic has always been part of the series' appeal, so why not lean into it by hav??ing the show hit streaming weeks before Halloween??

Some of The Amazing Digital Circus' fans aren't happy the show's coming to Netflix

Fans' response to The Amazing Digital Circus' impending Netflix debut has been pretty positive. Fans have filled the comments sections of Glitch's announcement posts with compliments and well wishes for the series animators, writers, and voice actors. However, some onlookers aren't as thrill?ed by the news.

Less-than-happy responses to The Amazing Digital Circus' jump to streaming are popping up all over social media, but r/TheDigitalCircus on Reddit seems to be their most promi??nent congregation spot. Many of the sho??w's fans have expressed skepticism and dismay over the announcement. Some take issue with Glitch's decision to keep The Amazing Digital Circus exclusive to YouTube. Others have expressed concern that Netflix will exert creative control over the series or, worse, cancel it like they have other animated series.

Fortunately, Glitch has been pushing back against the idea that their deal with Netflix cost them even an ounce of creative control. Glitch and Gooseworx, The Amazing Digital Circus' showrunner and lead animator, have confirmed that the deal they stuck with Netflix is purely about licensing. If what they're saying is true, the show's still being funded by merchandise sales through Glitch Production's online store, so Netflix has no leverage over it.

Speaking for myself, I'm incredibly excited about this. The Amazing Digital Circus is a prime example of indie animation's potential, and it's fantastic to see a big-name streaming service pick it up. If the series does well, other animated pilots like Lackadaisy or Ramshackle could also find their way onto streaming services. Glitch has said they want to put indie animation on the map, and with this deal, they've made much pr?ogress on that front.

The post The Amazing Digital Circus is coming to Netflix appeared first on Destructoid.

The 2000s gave us the Shrek m??ovies and a ton of nu-metal bands, but I think the decade managed to rede??em itself with its literature.

It’s hard to say what the canon wil?l look like a hundred years from now, but I’m willing to bet several of these books manage to stand the test of time. Whether you’re looking for a nostalgic re-read or trying to go back for something you missed, here’s a book that still holds up from each year of the aughts.

House of Leaves - 2000

Picking a favorite book is an impossible task, but if I had to do it, I’d pick House of Leaves. The debut novel from Mark Z. Danielewski is still arguably his best work, and it’s truly unlike any other book you’ll encounter in your life. House of Leaves is part critical film analysis, part drug diary, and part horror? story. The bulk of the novel follows a family whose lives are torn apart when they discover their house has an infinite labyrinth of dark hallways inside of it, but their story is really only the beginning of the terror. 

American Gods - 2001 

American Gods is a sprawling fantasy novel written by Neil Gaiman. The story follows an ex-convict named Shadow who, after being released from jail, gets a job as a bodyguard. The only problem is that Shadow doesn’t know his new boss is secretly the god Odin and that a whole range of mystical and mythological figures are struggling for power all across America. Shadow soon finds himself fi??ghting for his life as he struggles to figure out the nature of the plot he’s been pulled into. 

Middlesex - 2002

Jeffrey Eugenides�?moving novel is a coming-of-age story about Cal (Calliope) Stephanides, who was born intersex and raised as a girl. Cal’s story actually begins long before their birth, however, and the novel travels back to 1922 to explain how Cal’s grandfather immigrated to the United States. Middlesex is a phenomenal example of an intergener??ational story, but it also ??has one of the most memorable protagonists of the aughts. 

Oryx and Crake - 2003

The only thing you really need to know about Oryx and Crake to know it’s worth reading is that it was written by Margaret Atwood. The book is actually the beginning of a trilogy about a post-apocalyptic world and the end of humanity. In typical Atwood fashion, Oryx and Crake is a great read for anyone who loves entertaining genre fiction, but there’s ??also something here for people who want a deeper examination of themes like love, gender, and the dangers of medical technology. 

How I Live Now - 2004

How I Live Now is a post-apocalyptic young adult novel by Meg Rosoff that was adapted into a 2013 movie starring Saoirse Ronan as the protagonist, Daisy. Just as a third world war is beginning to break out, Daisy is sent away to live with her aunt in t??he UK. There, she falls in love with a boy named Edmond, but before their relationship can take off, the country?? collapses, and soldiers seize the property where Daisy’s aunt lives, forcing her to fight for her own survival at all costs. 

Never Let Me Go - 2005

With Never Let Me Go, author Kazuo Ishiguro crafted one of the most emotionally devastating sci-fi novels of all time. The novel is set in an alternate version of the 1990s, where human clones are mass-produced and harvested for their organs. The protagonist is Kathy, a woman who spent her childhood at a boarding school for clones and grew up to be a caretaker providing a kind of hospice care to clones who are kept alive until they’ve donated so many organs they can’t survive. Like the best sci-fi, Never Let Me Go puts the characters at the forefront, and after reading the book, you won’t be able?? to f?orget them. 

Fun Home - 2006 

Fun Home is the only comic on this list, but it more than earns its spot. Drawn and written by Alison Bechdel, the book was published in 2006 and became a smash success. Fun Home is a memoir about Bechdel’s childhood and relationship with her father that also doubles as a story about her coming to terms ??with her own?? gender and sexuality. The book is equal parts moving and hilarious, which is exactly why it worked so well when it was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2015. 

A Thousand Splendid Suns - 2007

Khaled Hosseini is best known for writing The Kite Runner, but I’d argue that A Thousand Splendid Suns is an even better novel. The book is set in the city of Herat and f??ollows two women, Miriam and Laila, struggling to find their place in the world. As a young woman, Miriam is forced to marry a much older man named Rasheed. more than a decade later, Rasheed also marries Laila, their young neighbor. The two women are brought together unwillingly, but their relationship changes their lives forever. 

The Hunger Games - 2008

The Hunger Games is emblematic of the fascination the 2000s had with dystopian fiction. Plenty of the dystopian novels released during that decade don’t hold up, but surprisingly, The Hunger Games really does. Say what you want about the sequels, but Suzanne Collins’s original vision of a TV-obsessed world being ruled by a violent fascist government feels every bit as pres?cient today as it did nearly 20 years ago. 

The Help - 2009

Kathryn Stockett’s The Help made such an impact when it was first published in 2009 that two years later, we got a film adaptation starring Viola Davis, Olivia Spencer, and Emma Stone. The novel is set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s and follows three women from different walks of life. Aibileen and Minny are maids who work for wealthy white families, and Eug?enia “Skeeter�?is an aspiring writer who starts looking into the disappearance of another maid named Constantine and makes some shocking discoveries.

The post 10 Amazing Books Of The 00s That Are Still Great appeared first on Destructoid.

Pierce Brown's Red Rising stole my heart, held it up, and whispered through a smile, "See this? This is mine, now." Don't let the "Young Adult" label on its Goodreads page fool you; Red Rising is peak science fiction,?? an unflinching story of rebellio?n that unfolds against the backdrop of outer space.

We're still waiting for the next installment of the Red Rising series to hit bookstore shelves, but that doesn't mean fans of Pierce Brown's epic sci-fi saga have to go hungry. The world of sci-literature is bustling with books that will let you relive that electric thrill you felt when you leafed through Red Rising's first chapter for the first time, and I've picked ?out ten of? the best I've read.

10. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Let’s start with another book about the red planet and the plight of those who live on it. The ethical implications of terraforming have always fascinated me. I mean, what right do we as a species have to alter the topography and meteorology of another planet, anyway? That’s just one of the many fascinating questions raised by Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars.

This book follows the tribulations of the first wave of Martian colonists as they struggle to create a sustainable civilization. Resource shortages, logistical issues, and a profound ideological divide over the morality of terraforming keep the tension high and character dynamics fluid from start to finish. Despite this, Robinson keeps hope alive by dropping plenty of wholesome moments of camara??derie and hopeful twists of fortune.

9. The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

Many books explore humanity's efforts to terraform Mars, but far fewer dare to dream of what a society on the red planet might look like. The Mars House by Natasha Pulley does precisely that. January, one o??f many Earth-born ex-pats ostracized by the citizens of Mars?? for their comparatively superior strength and size, agrees to wed Aubrey Gale, a cynical Martian senator, to save himself. As the political situation worsens on the Red Planet, January and Gale’s political marriage–and the genuine bond they form�?may be the only thing that can save the world they both call home.

The Mars House kicks around a few heavy subjects: the impact of climate change, the treatment of refugees, and the many ways ableism manifests itself in the modern world. No matter how grim things get, Pulley’s thoughtful, tender prose keeps the story from drifting too far into the darkness, pushing an inspiring, engaging message of the healing power of love and understanding that made me just a little optimistic about space travel. It also doubles as a charming romance novel.

8. Legend by Marie Lu

When I think of teen sci-fi, my mind almost always drifts into the passionate, ungovernable world of YA dystopia novels. This is my way of saying Legend by Marie Lu won't be the only Y.A book on this list. June Iparis and Daniel "Day" Alta??n Wing exist on opposite ends of the stratified Republic of America; the daughter of a prominent military family and an impoverished revolutionary from the slums. As one would expect, paths cross, conspiracies are unmasked, and romance looms.

Legend's narrative takes many of the same ques as Red Rising's, cataloging an oppressed underclass’s rebellion against a prejudicial system. Like Brown, Lu knows how to write a cast of characters you’ll feel compelled to root for and craft a system of pow?er you want to see burned to the g??round. Espionage, political intrigue, and bouts of cathartic violence keep the pace electric throughout, but Lu never lets her characters' inner turmoil and growing relationships fall to the wayside, either.

7. Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

The cyberpunk genre loves to explore the darker aspects of technological progress, and Altered Carbon ?by Richard K. Morgan is one of the best examples of this. Takeshi Kovacs, a soldier-turned-criminal s?entenced to spend eternity as a disembodied, digitized consciousness, gets the deal of a lifetime when the copy of an influential business magnate hires him to solve his template’s murder.

Altered Carbon is a gritty, cynical neo-noir reflected through a pristine, condensed cyberpunk prism. Korvacs shares quite a few traits with Red Rising’s Darrow; their minds occupy a body that isn’t theirs anymore, and a deep sense of justice drives them to challenge tyrants and upend a calcified status quo. If you ever wanted to see what would happen if Red Rising met Cyberpunk 2077, this book is for you.

6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I adore subversive, genre-jumping retelling of classic fairy tales, and few are more twisted than Cinder by Marrissa Meyer. A cyberpunk reimagining of Cinderella, Cinder’s incarnation of the titular put-upon step-daughter is a cyborg mechanic who winds up caught in a vicious power struggle between th?e rulers of a post-apocalyptic Earth ??and the civilization that’s cropped up on the Moon.

Cinder does what all the best fairy tale rearrangements do: takes everything that made the original story great and translates it into a new setting. At its core, Cinder is a story about an abused gi??rl rising, overcoming her trauma, and discovering her self-worth. It’s also a top-shelf piece of sci-fi fiction that tackles space trav??el, class conflict, and forbidden romance.

5. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is best known for his massive, interconnected fantasy universe, but Steelheart proves he can also write good sci-fi. After a mysterious celes??tial object clipped through Earth’s orbit and turned a small percent into superpowered “Epics,�?the world has become a feudalist nightmare ruled by those claiming to be superheroes. When the Epic Steelheart murders his father, David Charleston? joins a secret resistant movement hellbent on killing Epics.

The world-building of Steelheart isn’t as deep as it is in Sanderson’s other work, but he more than makes up for it by delivering an electrifying deconstruction of the superhero genre. We’ve all seen (or at least heard) of The Boys; we all know how terrifying superheroes can be wh?en they decide they don’t have to answer to the people they fly over. Sanderson uses his incredible literary gifts to explore this idea further than most, and he also lets us feel how satisfying it would be to bring a self-proclaimed god to their knees.

4. The Expanse by James S. A. Corey

Many sci-fi stories have examined the socioeconomic divide that will probably form between the people of Earth and those who end up living on other planets. Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey takes this simple idea and elevates it to epic space opera proportions. The destruction of the ice-hauling ship Canterbury brings the deeply spli?ntered galaxy to the brink of war, and those who survived the ship’s downfall have no choice but to pull together and find ??out what really happened.

Leviathan Wakes leans harder into hard sci-fi ?than any other book on this list, examining what an intergalactic human society running off slower-than-light space travel could look like and the problems that might plague it. If the top-notch sci-fi world-building doesn’t play you, the intense plot, driven by some incredibly engaging characters, will.

3. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I don't get nightmares very often, but the few I wrestle with almost always involve some terrifying creature I don’t have the luxury of seeing chasing me through a claustrophobic space. The Maze Runner by James Dashner taps into humanity’s collective, primordial fear of being hunted. Thomas wakes up in the heart of a massive labyrinth, unable to remember anything except his name. All he knows is that if he wants to get out, he’ll have to make it?? through the maze without becoming lunch for the monsters inside it.

The Maze Runner's premise is about as engaging as it gets, with a plot that starts as a slow burn before exploding into a breakneck race. Like Red Rising’s Darrow, The Maze Runner’s Thomas runs a brutal gauntlet that forces him to become the revolutionary destined to free his people from the walls that bind them. With a new film on the way, now’s the perfect time to learn why this series became one of the most succ??essful products of the late-2000s YA boom.

2. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Yet another proud member of the “corporatocratic space travel sucks�?party, Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff narrows its narrative focus around the story?? of two people caught in a conflict they never asked to be part of. When a war between two megacorporations levels their colony, Kady Grant and Ezra Mason hitch a ride on one of the last escape vessels. Unfortunately, that vessel has a few minor issues: a plague is spreading through its halls, its managing A.I. might be insane, and one of the aggressing corporations�?warships is hot on its tail.

Illuminae’s isn't written like most other space operas. Instead, we learn Kady and Ezra’s sto?ry through interviews, emails, transcripts, and documents presented at a trial. I initially had a hard time understanding the book’s unconventional style. Still, my desire to see the end of the electrifying tale it told gave me more than enough motivation to push through my initial frustration.

1. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Literature inspires literature, and that’s okay. Red Rising shares much in common with The Hunger Games by Suzzane Collins, but that doesn't mean the two books are carbon copies. If anything, their similarities prove that th??e struggle between social classes is engaging and relevant, especially if you throw fun sci-fi elements into the mix.

With that said, it’s hard to deny how well The Hunger Games�?plot and themes align with those of Red Rising. Katniss Everdeen’s struggle against the Capital might induce deva-vu in those familiar with Darren’s blood feud with the Golds, and both book’s villainous regimes love to partake in genetic manipulation. If you’re looking for something to scratch that Red Rising itch, you will find it in the pages of The Hunger Games.

The post 10 Best Books Like Red Rising for Sci-Fi Thr??ills (Ranked) appeared first on Destructoid.

Like everyone else who read Romeo and Juliet in middle school, I know love stories can get gritty. I?? have a medically? concerning soft spot for wholesome romance novels, but I can't turn down a dreadful ballad of passions gone wrong (or right, depending on who you ask) either.

Dark romance stories take our emotions and play with them like putty, bending and beating them until all we can do is beg their star-crossed leads to make out, draw blood, or somehow do both at the same time. So let's break the sentimental Play-Doh and sink our teeth into the top t??en darkest romance books ever penned.

Different strokes for different folks

My time on Archive of Our Own has taught me that people have very different definitions of "dark and twisted romance." Typical common denominators include morally grey protagonists with dubious but co?nsistent codes of ethics and a willingness to explore exceptionally taboo subjects, such as the subversion of c?onsent, one-sided obsession, and the potential for abuse lurking within all relationships.

Every book on this li??st features these elements to some capacity, and I’ve ordered them based on how well each uses these tropes to weave the tale of lust at their shadowed, sweaty centers.

10. Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Dark romance books are, well, dark, but Haunting Adeline is easily the darkest I've read. Best-selling author Adeline Riley thinks she’s in for a relaxing sabbatical when she inherits her late grandmother’s mansion. Instead, she ends up becoming the newest obsession of Zane, a murderous vigilante who preys on human ?traffickers, pedophiles, and other criminals who target women? and children.

I feel obligated to warn you that Haunting Adeline is about as dark as a b??ook can get. It’s almost laughable how grim this bo?ok sometimes gets, and its sheer gratuitousness could be a major turnoff for many readers. I stress again: read with caution.

9. Fifty Shades of Gray by E. L. James

I�?�m probably not winning many originality points with this pock, but it’d be blasphemous not to put this legendary piece of obscene literature on this list somewhere. Anastasia “Ana�?Steele, freshly graduated from Washington State University, chances upon an opportunity to interview Christian Grey,?? an aloof business magnate. Falling for his charm, Ana soon finds herself locked in a surreal relationship with Christian, one defined by emotional distance, paperwork, and the entrepreneur’s obsession with BDSM.

Fifty Shades of Grey is more sexually charged than an elephant swimming in musth, and there’s something commendable abo?ut the boldness with which E. L. James explores BDSM culture. That said, James�?prose is about as papery as papyrus, and BDSM supporters and detractors have both made compelling ar??guments against the book’s representation of the practice.

8. The Risk by S.T. Abby

I’m not much of a “true crime guy,�?but The Risk helped me understand (somewhat) why some people find serial killers so fascinating. Lana’s out for revenge against the people who ruined her life, and she’s not afraid to paint the walls red to get it. When Logan Bennet, an F.B.I. profiler, starts closing in on her, Lana decides the only way to deter him is to g??ive him something else to focus on: a relationship w??ith her.

The Risk doesn’t pull its punches, although I will admit it doesn’t go as far as Chasing Madeline. S.T. Abby knows how to get inside the mind of a screwed-up soul, and she’s not afraid to show how far Lana’s willing to go to achieve her vision of justice against those who’ve wronged her. If you’re looking for a twisted romance that wades into the ?dark but doesn't wallow in it, this book’s for you.

7. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

While it's not nearly as ubiquitous as over a decade ago, Twilight left a bite mark on the public imagination that no metric of contemporary critique can hope to bury. During her first biology class in her new school, Bella Swan sits beside Edward Cullen, a mysterious outcast. After her investigation ?into the Cullen family reveals Edward’s true, vampiric nature, Bella finds herself sucked into a hidden world of ancient secrets, mortal danger, and untamable passion.

Unlike its movie adaption, Twilight is a surprisingly slow b??urn. Stephenie Meyer takes her time pulling back the veil over vampire society's complex inner workings and gives Bella and Edward’s relationship time to develop into something interesting. While a drought of character depth mars it, the book has an undeniable magnetism that later books in the series failed to replicate.

6. The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori

The seedy world of organized crime lends itself well to stories about dangerous, all-or-nothing romance, and The Sweetest Oblivion understands that fact well. Elena, the “princess�?of a well-connected mafia family, is far from the happiest person in the room when she learns of her?? little sister’s engagement to Nicolas Russo, the up-and-coming head of a rival outfit. A secret admirer of the innate brutality of her family's business, Elena finds herself drawn?? to Nicolas, or rather, the power a relationship with him could give her.

High-stakes poker games, shady back-alley dealings, and explosive gun??fights abound in this high-voltage tale of inter-criminal romance. Elena’s smooth tongue and decisive ruthlessness make her a satisfyingly active protagonist, but Danielle Lori never allows her to slip into a thick plate of plot armor. An omnipresent sense of dread permeates every scene, with threats on both sides of the law waiting in the wings to snap up Elena if she loses the game of wits she’s gotten herself into.

5. God of Malice by Rina Kent

Most people see dating as a keystone of the college experience, but God of Malice shows how dangerous a secondary school relationship can get. Killian Carson is a manipulative, remorseless psychopath ??who’s fooled everyone into thinking he’s the softest guy on campus. Well, everyone except Glyndon King, the quick-witted and outspoken black sheep of an artistic family who, in her own way, is just as broken as Killian is.

God of Malice's charm (for severe want of a better word) lies in the mutual instability of its leads. Killian and Glyndon are not the most well-adjusted individuals, and their competitive and volatile relationship propels the novel’s story forward in exciting and unpr??edictable ways. There’s also something bizarrely wholesome about their connection, as the two quickly realize that, for all their quarreling, they've both finally found someone who understands and accepts them.

4. Her Soul to Take by Harley Laroux

What if a demon fell for a sacrificial virgin? That question summarizes the inciting incident of Her Soul to Take well. Leon, an infernal conjured from the depths of the Underworld, finds himself at a loss when he feels compelled to spare Rae, the captive sacrifice offered to him by a cult. Ra?e’s just as confused by this development, and the two soon find themselves locked in a battle to save Rae’s soul from the persistent cult.

Her Soul to Take is an occult rom-com filled with supernatural hijinks. Leon and Rae's dynamic is unique and entertaining. Throughout, the two swap between being the master and the student as each learns more about the other’s world. Harley L?aouroux’s prose occasionally comes off a shade too serious, but the author knows how to have fun with their demoni??cally creative premise.

3. Hooked by Emily McIntire

Hooked is a book that shows how much fun an author can have with a classic story that’s crossed into the realm of the public domain. In this re-telling of ?Peter Pan, “Captain�?James Hook is the dashing young leader of a rebellious band of ruffians locked in a war with Peter, reimagined here as an aging, child-exploiting crime boss. The perfect opportunity for revenge comes to James when Peter’s daughter Wendy crosse??s his path, but things, naturally, get complicated as his feelings for his enemy’s offspring deepen.

My favorite part of any genre-bending fairy tale reimagining is seeing what the writer does with elements from the original. Peter Pan is already one of the most imaginative stories ever told. Emily McIntire constantly finds clever ways to adapt the Lost ??Boys, Smee, and other iconic characters, locales, and themes from J.M. Barrie’s childhood-defining classic, and these new interpretations help bolster the surprisingly endearing romance that blossoms between James and Wendy.

2. We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Young adult dystopia novels love to lock their adolescent protagonists in a cramped room with their hormones, but We Set the Dark on Fire pushes this element onto?? center stage. The authoritarian nation of Medio trains aristocratic young women to become the wives of the country's ruling elite, and they’ve paired Daniela Vargas with the son of a prominent military family. What Medio’s rulers don’t know is that Daniela’s a member of the revolution, and she’s planning to tear her nation’s oppressive government down from the inside.

We Set the Dark on Fire combines the ominous social commentary of A Handmaid’s Tale with the cathartic “eat-the-rich�?vibes of Red Rising. Daniela is an insightful and ??inspiring protagonist, and Tehlor Kay Mejia’s thoughtful prose allows her to speak artfully about some very relevant issues, like female autonomy and class division. Daniela's relationship with her young, idealistic husband-to-be provides plenty of steamy material for romance fans to work with and adds much-needed levity to an otherwise heavy story.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

If you didn't see this one coming,? you either haven't been to a coffee shop in a while or weren’t paying attention while you were there last. Feyre, the daughter of a fallen noble family, isn’t thinking about much other than survival when she puts an arrow through a wolf that tries to steal a deer she was hunting. So when a High Fey lord bursts into her family’s cabin, reveals the wolf she killed was his servant, and explains that she must accompany the lord to the realm of Prythian to repay her debt, she willingly goes to spare her loved ones.

A Court of Thorns and Roses has everything a fan of twisted romance books could ask for: a pair of deep and nuanced leads with unique moral codes, a world of strange? creatures and stranger magics, and a plot that touches on themes of guilt, redemption, and the restorative power of love. Grab a copy and hop on the “A?COTAR�?bus. I’ll save you a seat.

The post Best Dark Romance Bo??oks For Fans of Twisted Love Stories appeared first on Destructoid.

The newest trailer for Venom: The Last Dance gave us our first look at the film's villain, and it's not another of Venom's children. In the final chapter of his titular trilogy, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) faces off against Knull, Lord of the Abyss a?nd creator of all symbiotes.

If you're a Marvel Comics fan, you already know why the sound of his name was enough to make the Venom Symbiote want to peel themselves off Eddie's skin. If you don't know who Knull is, worry not! I'm here to tell you everything you need to know about Marvel's most terrifying deity and what his intro?duction could mean for Sony's Spider-Man universe.

The tale of Marvel's Knull

Knull is a relatively recent addition to the Marvel universe, fully debuting in 2018 within the pages of Donny Cates' Venom. This is ironic, since Knull is one of the oldest beings in the Marvel Universe. Born from the primordial darkness sandwiched between each ??iteration of the cosmos (Marvel lore is wil?d), Knull is the embodiment of the void, and in classic dark god fashion, all he wants is to bask forever in the infinite blackness he spawned from.

Unfortunately for Knull, his eternal slumber ended abruptly when the deific Celestials began laying down the framework of the universe. As the god of nothing, Knull looked at things like color, warmth, and dreams, and said, "Yeah, I'm not about this." So he did what any rational eldritch horror would do: create a living sword from his shadow and declare war on everything.

With the? newly-forged All-Black, the Necrosword, Knull decapitated the first Celestial he saw, becoming the universe's first murderer. Armed with the raw, cosmic power of the Celestial's head, Knull brought an army of dark dragons to life, linked? to him through an intricate hive mind. These dragons would become the first generation of Symbiotes, and Knull used them to drown galaxies in darkness and bring entire pantheons of gods to their knees.

After untold eons, Knull's campaign came to a screeching halt when one of his dragons made its way to Earth in the Middle Ages. This dragon, Grendel by name, crossed paths with a young Thor and got a face full of Mjolnir for its troubles. The electricity from Thor's blow rippled up the Symbiote hive mind, hitting Knull head-on a?nd knocking the Lord of the Abyss into a coma.

Free from their tyrannical pr?ogenitor's influence, the Symbiotes sealed Knull away within the core of his throne worl??d, which they would name "Klyntar." Despite the Symbiotes' best attempts to erase any lingering trace of Knull from the universe, their efforts would ultimately be in vain.

S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually unearthed Grendel's remains and used them to create a platoon of Symbiote-bonded super-soldiers. Grendel's return kicked off a series of Symbiote-related events, culminating with Knull's resurrection at the hands of Cletus Kasady. Knull launched an all-out symbiote invasion of Earth in the 2020/2021 King in Black crossover e??vent, in which the Lord of the Abyss finally met his end at the hands of a divinely powered Eddie Brock.

Knull's debut in Venom: The Last Dance could save Sony's Spider-Verse... or destroy it

Knull is one of the most potent threats ever to menace the Marvel universe, and I'm honestly surprised he's showing up in Venom 3. Hardy's spent most of his tenure as Venom fighting other Symbiote hosts, and Venom 3's first few trailers made it look like that pattern could continue. If my earlier ??summation didn't clarify it enough, Knull's anything but "another Symbiote villain."

With deific stre??ngth, a healing factor, and command over a legion of Symbiotes, Knull's easily the most powerful villain to appear in Sony's Spider-Verse. He fought gods and won countless times, and his ability to control Symbiote in the universe means he always has an intergalactic army at his beck and call. With that much power at his command, Knull could become the Big Bad the Sony Spider-Verse has needed for a while.

However, while I am excited to see what Kelly Marcel does with Knull in Venom 3, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little worried. Knull was a slow-burn villain in the comics, giving readers plenty of time to stew in dread and morbid curiosity before the foretold "God of the Symbiotes" finally appeared. If there's one thing a villain of Knull's scale deserves, it's a good amount of build-up, and the previous two Venom movies didn't mention him at all. It'd be a shame to see the mystique and morbid majesty of Knu?ll restricted to a single film, even if it is a series-ending threequel.

A tweet from Alec Perez of My Cosmic Circus implied Sony has big plans for Knull, so Venom 3 may not be the last time we see the God of the Symbiotes. We'll have to wait until the movie comes out ??on October 25th to find out.

The post Venom: The Last Dance’s new ?trailer introduces M?arvel’s darkest god appeared first on Destructoid.

Summer's finally winding down, and most of us are about to have much less time to read. Luckily, bibliophiles still have time to pick?? up and read through all the outstanding novels, anthologies, and collections that landed on bookstore shelves this season.

More than a few cozy, ??thrilling, and thought-provoking books have come out recently, and most of them are well worth the price tagged onto them. So before Autumn truly settles in, here are the ten best books of September 2024.

10. Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX's Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire - Andrew R. Chow

If Andrew R. Chow's Cryptomania can't convince you that cryptocurrency was one of the worst things ever created by human hands, I'm not sure anything will. Even i?f you're one of the many who've already recognized and reconciled with this truth, I'd still re??commend picking this up if you're in the mood for a delightful shot of schadenfreude.

Following the meteoric rise and biblical fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, one of crypto's most prominent pioneers, Cryptomania is a captivating exploration of its controversial subject. Thorough in its research and wry in its p??rose, this tell-all nonfiction inquisition leaves nothing u??nsaid about the financial fad that tried (and spectacularly failed) to change the world.

9. Hera - Jennifer Saint

From The Penelopiad to Lore Olympus, role-bending retellings of Greek mythology’s greatest sagas and tragedies have become a stable of the contemporary fiction scene. Jennifer Saint’s fledgling portfolio consists only of subversive reimagining of classic Greek heroines, and her latest book, Hera, shifts focus to one of Greece’s most i??conic and controversial goddesses.

Told from the titular character’s perspective, Hera kicks off in the immediate aftermath of the gods�?apocalyptic war with the Titans. Forced into a less-than-storybook marriage with the power-hungry Zeus, Hera resolves to use the power her new role gives her to subvert her husband’s rule. Packed with acts of divine wrath and Game of Thrones-style power plays, Hera is an empowering epic guaranteed to appeal ??to Greek mytho?logy fans.

8. There Are Rivers in the Sky - Elif Shafak

Writers have been playing with time and space for centuries. While sci-fi authors analyze our relationship with these omnipresent forces by unraveling and reshaping them, contemporary fiction writers like Elif Shafak dial the scale back a few notches and explore the subtle ways they influence our lives. There Are Rivers in the Sky does this by telling the tales of f??our people with one thing in common: they live along a river.

Told over millennia, There Are Rivers in the Sky follows a quartet of characters from radically different time periods and backgrounds whose lives revolve around the River Tigris. W??oven to??gether by Shafak’s poetic prose, this tale of four souls celebrates the incalculable ways water ties our history and lives together.

7. Hum - Helen Phillips

Many dystopian novels revolve around the chaos sown by unmoored artificial intelligence. Helen Phillips�?Hum isn’t as unapologetically bleak as I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream or as grandiose as 2001: A Space Odyssey, bu??t it’s still a terrifying and unflinching tale about technology’s ability to transform society and our personal lives for better and worse.

After losing her job to one of the artificially intelligent robots, or “Hums,�?that inhabit her climate-change-wracked city, May Webb agrees to become the test subject for a radical experiment. Now invisible to the surveillance systems that watch over her world, May moves her family to ?the Botanical Garden, one of the few green spaces left. However, when a deadly threat targets her children, fate forces May to ally with a mysterious Hum wi??th even more enigmatic motives.

6. The Seventh Veil ??of Salome - Silvia Moreno??-Garcia

Hollywood is a fantastic setting for any story, but the City of Angels lends itself particularly well to suspense. Silvia Moreno Garcia’s The Seventh Veil of Salome spins a saga of intrigue, romance, and betrayal that will put a live wire i?n thriller fans�?spines.

Set in the 1950s, The Seventh Veil of Salome follows Vera Larios, a beautiful recept?ionist from Mexico City who miraculously lands the starring role in a sword-and-sandals epic recounting the biblical tale of Salome. Unfortunately, Vera’s sudden success puts her in the crosshairs of Nancy Hartley, a bitter ensemble player who makes it her mission to steal Vera’s role, fame, and newly kindled relationship with a dashing cameraman.

5. Group Living and Other Recipes - Lola Milholland

The word “home�?often channels images of a close-knit (or dysfunctional) blood family living behind the same walls. But what if the place you called home was open to anyone and everyone? Lola Milholland lived in a home like this, and hers is the story behind Group Living and Other Recipes.

One part cookbook, one part memoir, Group Living and Other Recipes sheds light on the unde?r-explored world of communal living. Through her recollections of the many colorful characters who lived in her childhood home (and the many incredible recipes those eccent?ric travelers taught her), Milholland opens your mind to a new, surreal, and delicious way of living.

4. This Is Why We Lied - Karen Slaughter

The intrigue at the heart of any good whodunit story lives and dies off the strength of its prime suspects. Murder on the Orient Express and Knives Out prove this. This Is Why We Lied by Karen Slaughter honors this tradition, bringing together a colorful cast of potential murderers under one roof and leaving it to the read?er to deduce which did the deed.

Eager to escape their stressful careers?? for one weekend, GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton spirit themselves away to M??cAlpine Lodge, a scenic tourist trap in the heart of the mountains. Unfortunately, their dream vacation turns into a nightmare after someone murders the lodge's owner, and they quickly realize that no one on the summit is being honest about where they were the night he died.

3. By Any Other Name - Jodi Picoult

The great William Shakespeare once said "all the world’s a stage," and that we all have a part to play in the grand performance we call life. The truth beneath those words lays itself bare on every page of Jodi Picoult’s By Any Other Name, a rousing story a??bout the risks two women born centuries away from each other take to ensure the world hears their voices.

Melina Green, a struggling playwright, has just finished her latest script, inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor, Emilia Bassano. Emilia, a talented writer smothered by the restrictions Elizabethan society forced upon women, conspires with a then-little-known actor named William Shakespeare to bring one of her plays onto the stage. As charming as it is insightful, By Any Other Name is a clever spin on the “Shakespea??re didn’t write his own plays�?story that’ll leave you in the mood to stand up and applaud.

2. The Pairing - Casey McQuiston

Summer is a time to relax and put your worries away, if only for a while. Cozy books are a fantastic way to spend a lazy summer day, and few things are more comfortable than a playful rom-com. Casey McQuiston’s The Pairing is yet another top-shelf romantic outing from one of the?? best contemporary romance writers out there.

Theo and Kit were inseparable during their younger days, child??hood friends who transitioned into star-crossed lovers. But time pulled them apart, and both have barely thought about each other in the decades they’ve been apart. That is until they run into each other by chance after spontaneously and simultaneously deciding to embark on a food-and-wine tour passing through most of Europe’s most famous cities. Forced to spend a weekend together in some of the most romantic locales in the world, Theo and Kit's long-dormant relationship begins to spark back to life.

1. A Sorceress Comes to All - T. Kingfisher

The Brothers Grimm's fairy tales are some of the darkest stories you’ll ever read. From old witches being baked alive inside of ovens to wicked step-sisters getting their eyes plucked out by birds, these “children's stories�?give horror movies a run for their money. T. Kingfisher’s A Sorceress Comes to All retells one of Grimm’s lesser-known and uniquely terrifying fairy tales, “The Goose Girl.�?/p>

Cordelia lives alone with her mother, a wicked sorceress who keeps her daughter under heel with a healthy mix of emotional abuse and paralyzing magic. When her mother concocts a scheme to ??murder the kindly brother-sister duo that took them in off the streets, Cordelias’s forced to make an impossible choice: stand with the woman?? who raised her or risk it all to save the only people who have ever treated her like family.

The post 10 New Books To Read September 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

Trivia board games pit the brightest against each other to determine who kn??ows the most about a range of subject matters. If you be?lieve you have what it takes, then have a look at this list of fantastic trivia games to play this year.

Wits and Wagers

Wits and Wagers may not be the trivia game you'd expect to see here, but you'll be gla?d you d??id.

In Wits and Wagers, all the answers to the questions are numerical, and players will either provide an a??nswer, or bet on someone else's answer. If no players get the question right, then the player closest to the answer will be right. As long as you bet on the right player, or provide a correct answer, you'll be closer to winning.

In a game of trust an?d betting, it's all about who you know, not what you know.

CDSK

CDSK is all about assessing how well you know about a topi?c, and?? then having to prove it.

Each card will have a subject, with 10 questions that get progressively harder. The ??player will have to say how confident they are about the subject matter on a scale of 1 to 10, and then will have to answer that question. With four categories and over 2,500 questions, there's plenty of meat here for players to get stuck into.

Allowing players to put their m??oney where?? their mouths are is an interesting twist on the standard trivia format.

Box One

Box One is more than a trivia game. It's a solo game that unfolds like a secret box of trivia?, puzzles??, codes and secrets.

By yourself, you'll have to beat the box by using your smarts, by answering questions as you solve the box. It's difficult to talk about Box One? without spoiling it, although I will say it reminds me of a puzzle or escape room of sorts t?hat uses trivia and codes as the puzzles.

What's more, is that Box One is resettable, so you can ?pass it on to a friend when you're done wi??th it.

Outsmarted

Outsmarted is an incredib??ly innovative board game that has a companion app to allow for constantly updating questions. This is truly the only trivia board game to have new and changin??g questions over time, to make it as replayable as possible.

With adaptive difficulty, everyone playing Outsmarted has a chance to win. There are six categories as well as over 6,500 questions. With remote play, you and your friends and family can join in without being present in the room. Truly, Outsmarted is a revolutionary trivia board game.

If you're not a fan of companion apps, however, then you may find Outsmarted to not be a great pick.

Half Truth

Half Truth is another party trivia game where play??ers won't have to know exactly the right answer.

Each question has six answers, three being right, and three being wrong. Players will have to guess which answer is right, with a ??50% success rate. However, players will want to make educated guesses, else they may fall behind.

For a lighter trivia game that can be played with anyone, Half Truth is a solid pick.

Um, Actually

Ever seen the hit show Um, Actually? Well, if you enjoyed that then ?you can play the same game show with your friends with the trivia game with the same name.

In Um, Actually, someone will read out a sentence t??hat relates to nerd culture and the others will have to figure out what's wrong with it. T?here will be a hidden incorrect fact baked into the phrase, and it's up to the players' specific nerd knowledge to figure it out.

If you've got quite the group of nerds, then let them duke it out in Um, Actually.

Trivial Pursuit: Master Edition

I couldn't not include the most brain-busting Trivial Pursuit game into this list. We all know Trivial Pursuit, but Trivial Pursuit: Master Edition brings the trivia game to a whole new level.

With around 3,000 questions, Trivial Pursuit: Master Edition is set to have the hardest and most niche questions in the Trivial Pursuit franchise. So if you think you're pretty smart, the??n this i?s the ultimate way to test that.

Out of all the trivia games on this list, Trivial Pursuit: Master Edition is likely the hardest one of them all, for those who really like a ??challeng?e.

Bezzerwizzer

Bezzerwizzer is a tri??via game of trickery and cunning. Instead of simply answering questions, you'll be swapping category tokens between yourself and your opponent to avoid answering questions you aren't confident on, and forcing them to answer hard questions.

You don't need to be a trivia buff to access Bezzerwizzer, how?ever, the more you know the easier the ga??me will generally be. Unless your opponents thwart you by making you answer categories that you are the weakest in...

The perfect blend of know-how and subterfuge, Bezzerwizzer is an incredibly popular game enjoyed all over?? Europe and the US.

Balderdash

In Balderdash, players will be bluffing to their friends and hoping they don't get caught out. Interestingly, this trivia game is all about players not knowing the an?swers to the questions, and hoping that you can keep your bluff and call other players'.

You will advance along the track if you manage to catch out ano??ther player, so knowing at least what's definitely made up will get you far, even if you don't know the right answer.

A fun and lighter trivia game, you'll also learn who i?s the best among your friends at lying.

Stay Cool

Stay Cool is the high pressure trivia? game that's all about acting fas??t, but remaining calm.

Although the questions are simpler in Stay Cool, you'll be answering two questions at once. One verbally, and the other ?by spelling it out with dice. Keeping track of both answers whilst delivering them simultaneously in different ways is a thrilling challenge.

What's more, is that each player has to keep track of their own sand timer whilst doing this to flip it at the right moment. It'??s ludicrously fun.

With a fine list of the best trivia board games out there, you'll be able to test the mental m?ettle of ??your friends.

The post 10 Best Trivia Board Games to Play in 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

Collins's The Hunger Games changed young adult literature forever. The bloodthirsty nation of Panem served as an entire generation of adolescent readers' introduction to dystopian fiction, setting imaginations across the globe ablaze with vision??s of alternate worlds where human civilization took a dark turn somewhere along the road.

Unfortunately, the next installment of The Hunger Games, Sunrise on the Reaping, won't hit bookstore shelves until March 2025. But don't despair, my fellow Tributes! That means you have almost a year to read one of the many fantastic dyst?opian series out on the market before diving back into Katniss Everdeen’s world for the fifth time.

There’s no consensus on what makes a dystopian novel great—to me, it’s a? healthy mix of vivid characterization and competent world-building–but the series I’ve picked out should keep that “Hunger Games itch�?we’ve all got scratched until Sunrise on the Reaping comes out. Each one’s a classic in its own right, and once you've put them down, th??ey may find a permanent home on your bookshelf.

10. The Divergent Series

Divergent gets a lot of grief in dystopian literary circles, but that doesn’t mean the series isn’t worth a read. To avoid repeating the?? mistakes of the past, a post-apocalyptic Chicago has divided society into five castes, each based on a specific personality-type. “Divergents,�?people blessed with a bit too much independent thought, are public enemy #1, slated for execution as soon as they’re discovered through the tests every citizen undergoes at age sixteen.

The personality-based caste system Veronica Ross creates and explores across the trilogy is a little sloppy from a world-building standpoint, but it’s undeniably ?unique. The series�?focus on emotions also compliments Ross�?character-voice-driven prose, which grows with her protagonists as they make the turbulent transition from children to adu?lts in a world that fears emotion, something young adults have a surplus of.

9. Legend

Legend takes the “star-crossed�?lovers�?trope that defines many of the best YA books and mixes it in with some thrilling politically driven?? intrigue. Marie Lu sets the reader up for a wild ride by positioning her two protagonists, June and Day, on the opposite end of a deeply divided class-based society. When a brutal murder forces the two to work together, sparks fly and ro??mance blooms.

Lu’s three-part saga takes a slower approach to pacing than most YA dystopia series, forcing the readers to soak in the suspense as the twists pile up and the odds against June and Day stack higher and higher. Luckily, Lu keeps the tone balan??ced by injecting a healthy dose of teen romance, enticing world-building, and cathartic action into her pages.

8. Uglies

In the age of social media, manipulative marketing campaigns are working day-and-night to convince children and teens that looks are everything. Scott Westerfield Uglies challenges us to ask ourselves how importan??t looking good really is by showing how devastating the pursui??t of beauty can be.

The powers that rule Uglies�?world put beauty above all else, forcing those they govern to undergo mandatory cosmetic surgery o??nce they turn sixteen. When Tally Youngblood’s best friend runs away days before they’re slated to go under the knife, she finds herself on a journey that forces her to see the ugly side of the “perfect�?world she grew up in and helps her discover all she needs to do to be beautiful is stay true to herself.

7. The Giver Quartet

Lois Lowry’s The Giver deserves a place on every “dystopia books�?list. A staple of middle school core curriculums worldwide–and paradoxically, a common sight on the?? American Library Association's annual “Most Challenged Books�?list–this seminal coming-of-age tale was a part of many readers�?childhoods. But far fewer people seem to know that it’s the first in a four-book series.

The Giver’s sequels take quite a while to resolve the cliffhanger that ended the first b?ook, but they do eventually come back around to finish Jonas�?story. Along the way, we get to see a clearer picture of the dystopian world Lowry’s built, learning about other isolated communities that’ve collectively agreed to turn their back on the most fundamental elements of the human experience in the name of “safety,�?drawing clear parallels to the ongoing “freedom vs. security�?debate.

6. Gone

What if everyone over the age of fifteen disappeared from a small town on the California coast? What if the teenagers and children left behind found themselves trapped behind an insurmountable wall of psychic energy that kept them from leaving and caused them to develop superhuman abilities? These are the questions that Michael Grant’s Gone sets out to answer.

Gone’s what you get when you mix X-Men and The Lord of the Flies. T?rapped in an inescapable prison for reasons they don’t understand, the young inhabitants of Perdito Beach find themselves locked in an endlessly escalating battle for survival, breaking off into factions that, more often than not, end up fighting for control over the town's dwindling resources. Oh, and there’s also an ancient alien parasite lurking somewhere in the streets.

5. The Maze Runner

If you've read the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, you know the idea of sending children into monster-infested labyrinths has always fascinated people. James Dashner’s The Maze Runner trilogy is, in every way that matter??s, a modern day adaptation of Theseus�?story, one that takes e??verything that made the original myth so timeless and modernizing it for young readers.

Much like the titular structure, the story that ties The Maze Runner together is a puzzle waiting to be solved. Dashner knows how to keep readers on their toes, giving us just enough information about the world outside the walls of the maze to keep us glued to t?he pages, even as the echos of inhuman things creep closer and closer.

4. Red Rising Saga

Scientists, philosophers and politicians have been arguing for decades over whether commercialized space travel will end or escalate class divide. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising saga comes down hard in the latter camp, presenting readers with a terraformed and colonized Mars?? dominated by the “Golds�?the genetically altered top rung of a brutal color-coded caste system.

After he’s forced to watch the love of his life’s execution, the lowborn “Red�?Darrow joins the ranks of an anti-Gold revolution, willingly undergoing genetic modification so he can infiltrate the Golds and destroy them from within. While Darrow’s campaign against the Golds reaches John Wick levels of violent catharsis more than once, his increasingly violent methods leave? readers ??to ask whether Darrow’s suffering justifies the pain he inflicts on others.

3. Mortal Engines Quartet

Few YA series reach the same level of scale as Philip Reeve’s�?Mortal Engines Quartet. This four-part?? epic’s set in a dystopian future where cities and towns have gone mobile and gotten caught in an endless game of cat-and-mouse, with larger settlements hunting down their smaller counterparts and devouring them for resources.

We see this epic world through the eyes of Tom Natsworthy, a young Londoner whose life changes course when he meets Hester Shaw, a disfigured girl with a murderous grudge against one of London’s most powerful citizens. From that point on, Tom and Hester’s lives become irreversibly?? entangled, and the journey they embark on together will stay with you long after you put the last book down.

2. The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest speculative fiction authors of our time, and few works show her talent better than The Handmaid’s Tale. For decades, this genre-defining experience stood on its own, but that changed in 2019 when Atwood wrote a direct sequel,The Testaments, which like its predecessor, is going to be adapted into a show by Netflix.

The hooded cloak the Republic of Gilead forces the women who live under its patriarchal rule to wear has become a universally recognizable symbol of systemic oppression. Atwood’s? empathetic prose seamlessly conveys the terror that the women of Gilead live in daily, an?d their struggle to beat back the forces that strive to keep them enslaved remains one of the most inspiring tales of our time.

1. Unwind Dystology

Before there was The Hunger Games, there was Unwind. This series unfolds in a dystopian future in which a second American Civil War broke out over reproductive rights. Eventually, both sides agreed to a compromise, one that gave América’s parents the authority to have their teenage children surgically unmade through a process known as “unwinding.�?/p>

The Unwind series boldly explores challenging themes, touching on issues that have remained relevant long after the book’s initial publ??ication. Neil Shusterman’s incredible prose immerses you in the world the aut?hor’s crafted, making you live and breathe with the series�?teenage protagonists as they fight back against the tyrannical government that decided their organs are more important than their lives.

The post Best Book Series Like Hunger Games for L?overs of Dystopian Worlds appeared first on Destructoid.

Video games offer some specta?cular narrative experiences, but every once in a whil??e, a game's story needs a little bit more room to breathe, and some stories find that through novelizations.

Some of my favorite video game franchises hide their coolest story moments in tie-in novels and short stories. Because of that, I long ago started exploring literature attached to my favorite games. Changing mediums is always?? a risk, but it turns out that some video game novels are actually pretty spectacular in and of themselves.

Halo: Contact Harvest

The Halo series is surprisingly full of great novels and short stories. Books like The Fall of Reach and Ghosts of Onyx give some interesting insight into the Spartan program and describe humanity’s darkest moment in the Covenant war, but my personal favorite is Contact Harvest by Joseph Staten. The book explores a side character, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, someone I wanted more of in the games, and weaves a compelling story about the very beginning of the war. This is a must-read for any Halo fan.

Diablo: The Sin War

It’s easy enough to get through an entire Diablo game without absorbing much of the story. The series has some dense lore, and it can be a little hard to see through all the blood and particle effects. If you’ve ever wondered about what’s happening in the background of Sanctuary, then there’s no better place to start with The Sin War. The trilogy is written by Richard A. Knaak, and it explores the war between good and evil as it was thousands of years before the first game. The first book, Birthright, is a great introduction to the fascinating lore of the Diablo universe.

The Infernal City

There are only so many times you can replay The Elder Scrolls games while waiting for Bethe??sda to finish its next?? installment. Luckily, when your patience wears thin, there’s The Infernal City by Greg Keyes. The book is set along the coast of the Black Marsh 40 years after the events of Oblivion. ??A floating city named Umbriel arrives above the land, and the chaos that ensues pu??lls in people from all walks of life, including the prince of Tamriel himself.

Deus Ex: Icarus Effect

I had a blast playing through Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the first time, but when I finished my playthrough, I felt like I’d only scratched the surface of the game’s world. Of course, there are other Deus Ex games to play that have incredible stories of their own, but the novel Deus Ex: Icarus Effect by James Swallow ties directly into the story of Human Revolution. It’s a prequel that, ?like all the best cyberpunk stories, combines elements of the hard-boiled detective genre with the plotting and pa??ranoia of a YouTube conspiracy video. 

Mass Effect: Revelation

It makes perfect sense that Mass Effect would get a novel tie-in, and Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn is actually just the first book in a four-part series. Mass Effect sets up the exact kind of epic sci-fi universe that leaves room for authors to shape as they tell their own stories. Revelation takes place before the original game and focuses on Lieutenant David Anderson. While telling his story, the book expands the ga?me’s worldbuil?ding and introduces a few new wrinkles to the overall lore. 

BioShock: Rapture

Prequels are where many video game tie-in books seem to shine, and BioShock: Rapture is no exception. Written by John Shirley, the book examines the history of the titular city and tells how Andrew Ryan came to found his underwater utopia. Rapture makes a perfect companion to the first game, as it answers some lingering questions about the citizens of Ryan’s city and gives us a window into the collapse that took place before Jack’s plane fell out of the sky at the beginning of BioShock. 

Splinter Cell

Unsurprisingly, fantasy and sci-fi games tend to get the most tie-in novel, but they aren’t the only genres that get in on the fun. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell by David Michaels was published just two years after the original game debuted, and it tells an original story starring Sam Fisher. This time around Fisher is hunting down a clandestine terrorist group called The Shadows and the arms dealers supplying them, but at the very same time, T?he Shadows are hunting and killing the other members of Fisher’s o??rganization, Third Echelon. 

EVE: The Empryrean Age

The community that plays EVE has a huge impact on how the game’s story unfolds, but the lore that’s already been established for the EVE universe is well worth exploring on its own. Eve: The Empyrean Age by Tony Gonzales is a spacefaring sci-fi story about political intrigue, escaped clones, corporate revolutions, and humanity’s expansion through the stars. Even if you don’t have the patience or free time to commit to playing EVE, The Empyrean Age is still well worth a read. 

The Myst Reader

I need to make a confession. I’ve never been able to finish playing through Myst. The puzzles have always confounded me, and every time I’ve tried, I’ve found myself quickly losing interest in the game. Despite that, the story has always intrigued me, and The Myst Reader is a collection of three books that?? explore the backstory of the game and give me, as a non-player, exactly the kind of experience I want. Get ready for an engaging series of adventures following the Atrus family and their world-hopping magic Art.&n??bsp;

Warcraft: War of the Ancients: The Well o?f Eternity

Just like with Diablo: The Sin Wars, Richard A. Knaak collaborated with Blizzard to write The Well of Eternity. The book is the first of a trilogy set in the World of Warcraft universe, and it’s perfect for WoW heads or for anyone who’s a fan of great high fantasy books. A magical rift sends a dragon mage, human wizard, and orc warrior 3,000 years into the past. Together, they have the chance to forever alter the course of a conflict called?? The War of the Ancients, but they may die, or destroy the world itself, in the process. 

The post Top 10 video game tie-in books appeared first on Destructoid.

When I first got into manga, it felt almost taboo or l?ike a style of books I shouldn't be into because most of my friends only dipped their toes into graphic novels. But that's definitely not the case,?? and there are some great picks out there for true beginners.

As I was growing up, I was almost ashamed to read graphic novels in public because I thought people would look down on me for the images and contents. I didn't think The Walking Dead could stand up to Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, but it absolutely can, and manga does so even better. But it's difficult to know where to start with manga, which is why I've put together this list of the best books you can pick up as a beginner that'll help you ease yourself?? into the genre before you take off ?the training wheels and start exploring on your own.

Manga that will give you an intro to the medium

Below are the best ma??nga you can read as a beginner. They're not too overwhelming in their content and don't require much prior knowledge of the stories told on their pages. In fact, most of the franchises you'll recognize below started life as manga.

14. Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket is a great manga series for beginners that's a bit of a classic having been originally published in 1998. Protagonist Tohru Hond?a moves out of her family home after tragedy strikes, but she doesn't have anywhere to go. So she pitches up a tent and settles in for what she thinks will be a quieter life for the time being. However, she's soon discovered by the lands owners, the Sohma clan, and it becomes apparent that they're not all that they seem. You see, when touched by someone of the opposite sex, they transform into animals from the Chinese Zodi?ac. It's an odd but ultimately compelling introduction to shojo stories.

13. Blue Box

Blue Box is a manga for those who want something a bit more modern. You follow Taiki Inomata, a student who adores badminton and wants desperately to become good enough to play on a national level. He falls for Chinatsu Kano, an upperclassman when he sees her practicing with ev??ery ounce of effort she has for the girls' basketball team. Events transpire that see the pair come closer together, and somehow sports isn't the only thing they can think about anymore. Stories like this that feel grounded and realistic always make my heart sing when I'm reading them, and I think that makes it a perfect manga to kick your journey off with.

12. Monster

Monster is a gritty adult manga with a twisting murder mystery at its heart. After opting to save a young man's life over the major's Dr. Kenzo Tenma loses his social standing in the hospital? where he works. Years later, Tenma saves another man who mutters about a monster, but the man escapes the hospital. Tenma pursues him and sees his patient shot to death. Tenma is immediately suspected by the police, and uncovers the horrific past of the young man he saved while seeking to prove his innocence. Note: this does deal with some serious subject matter, so please research the content warnings?? for it if you're at all worried about it.

11. Dungeon Meshi / Delicious in Dungeon

Dungeon Meshi, which you might also know as Delicious in Dungeon, this manga follows a party of adventurers after a colossal red dragon attacks the??m, consuming the most powerful mage among them, who happens to be warrior Laios' sister.

T??he party were, mercifully, saved by their mage companion right before she was eaten, but vows to return to face the red dragon and kill it before she is digested. However, they're low on funds and can't afford all the rations ne?eded to traverse the dungeon, so they're going to cook whatever monsters they find while delving back through it.

This series is part-dungeon adventure and part-cooking show. It's an unexpectedly great combination because you feel like you're learning while you see th??is party kill and then cook up fantastical creatures that get featured in games, TV shows, movies, and books.

10. Look Back

Look Back is a one-shot manga about an elementary school student who, after having her manga published in the school paper and praised for her work, finds herself competing with another student in t?he school who begins publishing her own manga. Over the years, the two grow close, working on several on-shots together, but life choices see them drift apart. It's an emotional story that wi?ll definitely tug on your heartstrings and makes for a fantastic entry point into the genre.

9. One Piece

One Piece is another gateway manga I used to get into this genre. It's a franchise many manga fans discuss because it's got not only an incredible long-running anime series but also a Netflix show. There are dozens of volumes of this series for you to read. A??s with all manga, starting at the beginning to see if you like it is t?he best place.

The One Piece manga follows Monkey D. Luffy on his quest to find the ultimate treasure, known as One Piece, and become the ultimate pirate by claiming it. Luffy is pretty special, having been rubberized af??ter e??ating a Devil Fruit. The series is packed with exciting pirate battles and has some of the most memorable characters you could hope to read. It's the pirate angle that gets me, though, and I think everyone finds a series easier to digest if it's built on such a familiar concept.

8. Attack on Titan

Another manga better known for its anime counterpart, Attack on Titan is a brutal series that blends sci-fi and fantasy within a steampunk world that I find very intriguing. Every page makes you want to dive into the next beca??use you never know what's coming.

The books follow Eren Yeager, a you?ng soldier who vows to kill the colossal Titans that plague humanity and force them to live behind giant walls for protection. The characters in this series are great, and the overarching story of where the Titans originate from is fascinating. It kept me reading and working through Yeager's journey without it ever feeling like a chore. Very easy reads and a univers??e you'll be glad you checked out.

7. Death Note

When you're scanning through the Death Note covers in your local bookstore, it looks pretty daunting. However,? the story itself isn't difficult to understand or get into, but i?t is a thrilling read and an extremely unique idea. It's a great series demonstrating some of the brilliant tales being told in manga that you'd miss out on if you discounted the genre.

In Death Note, you'll follow protagonist Light Yagami. This high school student discovers a notebook called Death Note and quickly realizes that it grants the owner the power to kill anyone whose name is written on its pages. This is because it was once owned by the Shinigami Ryuk, a spirit ??that beckons humans towards death. That kind of power coming from a book is one thing, but the way the series expands to cover even larger ones, such as wiping out all crime in a region used in said book, is what sets it apart from stories that might not make the most of the power they explore.

6. Sand Land

Sand Land is an easy series to get into from Akira Toriyama, one o??f the best-known crea??tors in the genre. It's set in a far future on Earth when war has decimated the planet, and a greedy king controls and distributes water. The series follows Sheriff Rao, a Thief, and the king of demons, Beelzebub, who happens to be the king's son, in search of a long-lost lake and liquid freedom.

I??n this travel adventure, the trio knocks heads with some epic foes,?? including dragons and bandits. But the deadliest foe they'll face is the king's army itself, forcing them into fights where the odds seem pretty stacked against them.

5. REAL

The story of REAL revolves around wheelchair basketball and follows three teenagers in various stages of life around high school. The most intriguing arc is for Takahashi Hisanobu, who was?? the school's ba??sketball team hotshot until an accident left him wheelchair-bound as a paraplegic.

While it might sound like REAL tackles with some heavy subjects, it's actually very relatable. The manga's three characters are all marginalized by society and sometimes each other, but they share a common goal and simply want to be accepted for who they are and what they love doing. I like it because I find any media difficult to digest if there's no way I can relate to it, but we've all felt marginalized in some way before, and that's why I think it's easy to connect with REAL as a beginner manga enthusiast.

4. My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is another manga series that always comes up in conversations about the subject, but?? it can be hard to gauge if it's right for you as a beginner. However, I can tell you right now that this is absolutely a great place to start because it puts you in the shoes of a true starter from the very first page.

This series follows a young boy called Izuku Midoriya. He was born without superpowers, known as ??Quirks, but dreams of becoming a superhero. the world's greatest hero sees potential in him and enrolls him in a school for those with Quirks after bestowing his own on the boy. You follow someone learning about their powers in a world where superpowers are the bog standard basic, and your confusion and ignorance are accepted because the protagonist you enter the world as is just the same.

3. Uzumaki

Uzumaki is perhaps Junju Ito's best known work and the perfect place to get into his incredibly brand of horror in manga. The story is centered around Kurouzu-cho, a small town constantly shrouded by fog on Japan's coastline. It's not haunted by ghosts of the past, though, it's haunted by Uzumaki, a sharp, the mysterious spiral, and a? secret kept by our world. It's incredibly dark and has some memorable scenes that are going to stick with you long?? after you're done reading.

2. One-Punch Man

One Punch Man is a character who has transcended manga, making it into all sorts of other media, including a workout from The Bioneer. It tells the story of Saitama, a man who has become a hero because he's trained himself ??to defeat any opponent and do a lot of other things with a single punch. That's not an exaggeration, and it's just as cool as it sounds.

The manga tells a bonkers tale of this character, someone who basically fights villains and monsters in his spare time if he feels like it, and how he ends up saving the world with his sheer strength. As you read, you'll also appreciate who Saitama is and why people might want to train themselves to reach a personal goal of enjoyment over recognition fr??om others.

1. Polar Bear Café

Polar Bear Cafe is a really dif?ferent manga, but one I think you should try if you're looking for a complete beginner's list. It's a beautifully simple concept o?f animals mingling with humans in a café run by a polar bear, the best animal in the world.

If you're getting into manga, you should read Polar Bear Café because it's a great example of the playful side of the genre. Not all manga is death, fighting, and? martial arts. some of it's just telling stories through a new lens.

With this list of manga to go out and read through, you should have the basics every beginner needs. Once you've worked your way through them, even ?if you put some of them down after Volume?? 1, you should have the confidence to head out to your local bookstore, browse through the shelves, and decide which one you're going to jump into next.

The post 14 best manga for beginne??rs to help ease you into the medium appeared first on Destructoid.

If you’re a Hunger Games fan, it��s time to rejoice - we’re ??getting another dive into the dystopian world of Panem, created by Suzanne Collins, in the shape of Sunrise on t?he Reaping. Interestingly, we know not only the book release date, but the movie release date too. 

Sunrise on the Reaping will be set 40 years after the events of the last title, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, during the Second Quarter Quell (otherwise known as the 50th anniversary of the first Hunger Games). We already know that Haymitch Abernathy won the 50th Hunge?r Games, so the book will likely focus on him and his experience during the years' games. 

On June 6, it was revealed that the Sunrise on the Reaping book is set to release on March 18, 2025 and with all of the previous books receiving epic movie adaptations, it will come as no surprise that the fifth instalment will also be getting one too. Also on June 6, Lionsgate revealed that Sunrise on the Reaping already has a release date, coming 18 months later than the b??ook on November 20, 2026, around the ??same time of year that all of the movies were released aside from the first. 

It’s unusual for a book and its movie adaptation to b??e announced simultaneously, but it should come as no surprise given the huge box office success of the previous movies:

Thanks to the popularity of Haymitch during the original trilogy, where he became Katniss Everdean’s mentor during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, it’s likely that Sunrise on the Reaping will outshine The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, providing the focus is actually ?on his c??haracter’s hardships as expected. 

While we know that Francis Lawrence will be returning as Director for Sunrise on the Reaping, no casting choices have been made for the movie as of yet. It’s also wor??th noting that with such a long time to go before the curr?ently expected release date, there may be some changes to this originally planned date.

The post The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping release date for bo?th book and movie appeared first on Destructoid.

The Star Wars galaxy continues to expand on the ???small screen, specifically on the Disney+ streaming service.

Following up such titles as The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and Star Wars: Visions comes Star Wars: The Acolyte from showrunner Leslye Headland. Based on promotional material for the series so far, it's safe to say that the Star Wars RPG-inspired program ?is quite a departure from most recent franchise endeavors.

Set long before the events of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte sees a period of relative peace interrupted in the worst way. Mysterious forces are conspiring against the Jedi, killin?g those within its ranks. Thus, it's up to a few brave members of the Jedi Order to figure out? who is responsible for these heinous acts and put a stop to them before it's too late.

The Acolyte puts a host of new characters front and center for this mystery, from Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) to Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae). However, it's no secret that Star Wars loves nothing more than tossing viewers cameos of their favorite legacy heroes and villains. In fact, it has come to light that a staple of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimed?ia initiative, Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson), will appear on the program. Can fans expect more preexisting characters to appear?

Though it takes place far ahead of the Skywalker saga, one might think that characters with long lifespans like Yoda (Frank Oz), Yaddle (Bryce Dallas Howard), and potentially Plo Koon (James Arnold Taylor) could appear on The Acolyte. In reality, however, this isn't the case. Headland herself revealed to ComicBook.com that cameos from such characters, specifically Yoda, who has appeared in High Republic stories already, aren't on the table.

With that said Headland did mention that she and the Acolyte team pulled from existing Star Wars material to fill out the show's roster. "We are pulling characters from the High Republic and characters from the EU, but that's it," she said. So, one has to wonder which other High Republic-era characters besides Rwoh could pop up, and, more intriguingly??, who from the Expanded Universe could do the same.

This time period could allow for Emperor Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) Sith Master, Darth Plagueis, or even his master, Darth Tenebrous, to appear. After all, The Acolyte i??s about the sudden and violent reemergence of the Sith to the galactic forefront, so if there were ever a production for them to make their live-action introductions, this seems to be the one.

Time will tell which High Republic and Expanded Universe names could be on the table as The Acolyte unfolds across its eight-episode debut season. For those curious, here's the series' release schedule.

The post The Acolyte: Can Star Wars fans expect any bi?g cameos? appeared first on Destructoid.

Is there any better genre than s?cience fic??tion? Reasonable people may disagree, but the answer is no. 

Sci-fi novels take us out to the stars or force us to confront our pasts or lock us? inside the dark cages of our minds. Sci-fi can do anything and everything, and the best novels of the genre can change your life. 

Because the rank?ings would completely change if you asked me again in a week, here are the 10 best sci-fi books o?f all time in chronological order. 

Frankenstein - 1818

No “best of science fiction�?list would be complete without the book that unofficially gave birth to the genre. Some people might not immediately associate the story of Frankenstein with sci-fi, but when you read Mary Shelley’s original novel, all the hallmarks of the genre are there. Frankenstein, or a Modern Prometheus is basically the first speculative sci-fi novel all about how far some men are willing to go in order to pursue scientific ??discovery. It’s as prescient today as it was back in the 19th century. 

Dune - 1965

Frank Herbert’s novel is a classic for a reason. Dune is not just an action-packed sci-fi epic set on one of the most memorable alien planets in the entire genre. It’s also a dense story about politics, religion, and intergenerational traum??a. When his family is betrayed shortly after taking control of the desert planet Arrakis, Paul Atreides rises up against the planet’s imperial oppressors, but just because he saves Dune doesn’t mean Paul is real?ly a hero. 

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - 1968 

There is hardly any sci-fi author more influential than Philip K. Dick. He was a prolific writer who produced a seemingly endless amount of novels and short stories, many of which have been adapted into hugely popular sci-fi movies like Total Recall and Minority Report. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was the inspiration for Blade Runner, and it tells the story of an ecologically destroyed Ea??rth, super advanced robots, a??nd tired bounty hunters struggling to make a life for themselves. 

The Left Hand of Darkness - 1969

There are few sci-fi authors as beloved as Ursula K. Le Guin. She could expertly shift between genres, and though she’s created some great sci-fi novels, she’s also responsible for the enthralling Earthsea fantasy series. The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a human diplomat named Genly Ai, wh?o’s sent to the planet Gethen to convince them to join his planet’s federation. Ai experiences extreme culture shock as the novel explores the ut?terly alien culture of the Gethen people. 

Rendezvous with Rama - 1973

Arthur C. Clarke is probably best known for writing 2001: A Space Odyssey, but honestly any of his novels deserves a spot on this list. I’m particularly fond of Childhood’s End, a deeply haunting first contact story like no other, but Rendezvous with Rama might just be Clarke’s masterpiece. The book is set in the 22nd century and begins as a strange alien object enters the solar system. The crew of the Endeavour go to scout the object out, but th?ey couldn’t be less prepared for what they d?iscover. 

Dhalgren - 1975

You really can’t pin author Samuel R. Delany down. Sometimes he wrote silly space epics and other times he wrote hard sci-fi thrillers. Dhalgren is one of his most complicated, and most disturbing, works of fiction. The book takes readers on a journey through the city of Bellona, which has been completely isolated from the rest of the world after some unname??d catastrophe took place. An amnesiac man known only as the Kid wanders the streets and meets the city’s bizarre inhabitants. If you’re a fan of Joycean tales or unsolvable mysteries, then th?is one's for you. 

Kindred - 1979

Octavia E. Butler’s brilliant novel weaves together the world of 1970s Los Angeles and antebellum Maryland to explore themes of race, power, gender, and love. The book follows a writer named Dana who finds herself shifting through time, stuck between life with her white husband in California and another life on a plantation with her enslaved ancestors. Dan??a is forced to confront a dark history while trying to find a way to stay locked in the present. 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - 1979

Not every sci-fi novel needs to take itself seriously to tell a great story. Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a tongue-in-cheek romp through?? a wildly imaginative version of outer space. After Earth is destroyed for the construction of a hyperspace express route, surviving human Arthur Dent is thrust into the universe against his will. The novel’s world is rich with characters and exotic settings, and just about every page will have you laughing until you’re in te?ars. 

Neuromancer - 1984 

Neuromancer is William Gibson’s debut novel and the book that really kicked off the cyberpunk subgenre. The story is set in a high-tech, low-life future where corporations control just about every aspect of modern life, and cyberspace cowboys are the stars of society’s criminal underbelly. Neuromancer elevates a typical heist plot into an enchanting tale about the birth of AI and how the past haunts people. Cyberpunk has never been more popular than it is today, but the genre’s also never been better than it was in Neuromancer. 

Oryx and Crake - 2003

Margaret Atwood is a masterful writer whose contributions to fiction span multiple genres. Her best-known work, The Handmaid’s Tale, leans into some sci-fi tropes while telling what’s essentially an alternate history story, but Oryx and Crake dives headfirst into heavy sci-fi eleme?nts. The book explores an Earth decimated by climate change and other apocalyp??tic catastrophes, but it’s as touching and human as anything Atwood has ever written. 

The post 10 best sci-fi books of all time appeared first on Destructoid.

Serving as the inspiration not only for a string of massively successful video games, but also a hit Netflix series about to head into its fourth season, The Witcher ?series of books by Andrzej Sapkowski is an ?absolute phenomenon.

The first glimpse of Geralt of Rivia and the world of The Witcher actually took the form of a submission to a literary competition in a Polish fantasy magazine named Fatastyka. Challenged to keep the story within 30 pages, Sapkowski submitted the original short story �?em>The Witcher�?in 1986. He came in third place in the competition, but this original short story wa?s the jumping-off point for an entire fantasy empire. 

This first short story, as well as four others, were later collated and published as a collection of short stories, under the title of �?em>The Witcher�?in 1990, but this book is now out of print and difficult to find. However, three of these short stories (�?  are still available as part of a differe?nt book as part of the now-established series of novels?? and short stories.

Novels and short story collections in universe of The Witcher

In total, there are six full novels and 15 short? stories that make up the world explored by Geralt of Rivia. In order to soak up the story chronologically, you may need to have more than one book on the go at any time. 

Here’s the full list of boo??ks ??available, in the order that they were translated into English:

As you can see, English-speaking audiences had to wait a long time to be able to read The Witcher books, and they were translat??ed out of order. So how should you read them?

The definitive reading order of The Witcher books

It should go without saying th?at the reading order is more or less obvious if you consider the original Polish release dates, but even that is slightly out of order. On top of that, at least one of t??he novels should be read at a specific point between short stories. I know it sounds confusing, but don’t worry.

Here’s the order in which you’ll need to read The Witcher novels and short stories:

1. “The Road With No Return�?(Short story that was originally part of the 1990 collection of short stories and is currently out of publication, but an English PDF copy can be found here)
2. “A Grain of Truth�?(Short story in The Last Wish)
3. “The Lesser Evil�?(Short story in The Last Wish)
4. “The Edge of the World�?(Short story in The Last Wish)
5. “The Last Wish�?(Short story in The Last Wish)
6. Season of Storms (only the main story)
7. “A Question of Price�?(Short story in The Last Wish)
8. “The Witcher�?(Short story in The Last Wish)
9. “The Voice of Reason�?(Short story in The Last Wish)
10. “The Bounds of Reason�?(Short story in Sword of Destiny)
11. “A Shard of Ice�?(Short story in Sword of Destiny)
12. “Eternal Flame�?Short story in Sword of Destiny)
13. “A Little Sacrifice�?(Short story in Sword of Destiny)
14. “Sword of Destiny (Short story in Sword of Destiny)
15. “Something More�?(Short story in Sword of Destiny)
16. Blood of Elves
17. Time of Contempt
18. Baptism of Fire
19. The Tower of the Swallow
20. The Lady of the Lake
21. Season of Storms (epilogue)
22. “Something Ends, Something Begins�?(considered non-canon, but written by Sapkowski and a nice way to tie off the series. Currently not officially translated to English, but an unofficial translation can be found here)

The post The definitive Witcher reading order appeared first on Destructoid.

Frank Herbert's Dune series is a hefty one to get into, but one that's v??ery muc?h worth giving a go if you're at all into sci-fi. The books tell a very long and sprawling tale that goes beyond most other sci-fi series, but it pays to read it in order to have the best experience.

Regardless of whether you've been playing a Dune game, have watched the movies, or just know about the novels and want to give them a try, there's a reason Frank Herbert told this epic story in a specific order. However, Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson have also contributed to the series with prequels and expansions of the universe. Not all Dune fans enjoy these books, and they definitely impact the read?ing orders you could use. That's why I've offered a few of them below.

How to read Frank Herbert's Dune series in order

Frank Herbert carefully crafted the first six books in the Dune series, though many fans know he had a seventh planned based on notes found for it, the conclusi??on of the sixth, and hints throughout each book. These are the books that started it all, and they're what I recommend everyone reads if they want to get into the series and read the story that sparked so many people's imaginations.

• Dune - Frank Herbert (1965)
• Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert (1969)
• Children of Dune - Frank Herbert (1976)
• God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert (1981)
• Heretics of Dune - Frank Herbert (1984)
• Chapterhouse: Dune - Frank Herbert (1985)

If you enjoy these books and want to dip into the othe?r novels that have been added to the universe over time, the next two reading lists allow you to do so and show where they fit with ??these original six.

The entire Dune series in order of publication

This reading order features every Dune book, including those written by authors other than Frank Herbert, in order of publication. Outside of the original six, this is the order in which I'd recommend ??reading the books because it's going to be the best way to digest every extra bit of information about the universe.

• Dune - Frank Herbert (1965)
• Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert (1969)
• Children of Dune - Frank Herbert (1976)
• God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert (1981)
• Heretics of Dune - Frank Herbert (1984)
• Chapterhouse: Dune - Frank Herbert (1985)
• House Atreides - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (1999)
• House Harkonnen - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2000)
• House Corrino - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2001)
• The Butlerian Jihad - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2002)
• The Machine Crusade - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2003)
• The Battle of Corrin - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2004)
• Hunters of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2006)
• Sandworms of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2007)
• Paul of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2008)
• The Winds of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2009)
• Sisterhood of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2012)
• Mentats of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2014)
• Navigators of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2016)
• The Duke of Caladan - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2020)
• The Lady of Caladan - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2021)
• The Heir of Caladan - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2022)
• Princess of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2023)
• Sands of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2024)

The way I see it, every book released in the Dune series uses the knowledge of what was available before it. So??, even if a book is a prequel, it's based on every book that's been released so far at the time of publication. I'd say that means you need to know everything the authors did at the time so you don't miss out on the more subtle elements of the storytelling.

The entire Dune series in chronological order

This last order is a controversial one. Some Dune fans don't see the books outside of Frank Herbert's original six as canonical. I don't think you should let that influence you, though. Instead, you should read them and then decide for yourself. The list below is the chronological order of every Dune book.

• The Butlerian Jihad - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2002)
• The Machine Crusade - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2003)
• The Battle of Corrin - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2004)
• Sisterhood of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2012)
• Mentats of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2014)
• Navigators of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2016)
• House Atreides - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (1999)
• House Harkonnen - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2000)
• House Corrino - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2001)
• Princess of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2023)
• The Duke of Caladan - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2020)
• The Lady of Caladan - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2021)
• The Heir of Caladan - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2022)
• Dune - Frank Herbert (1965)
• Paul of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2008)
• Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert (1969)
• The Winds of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2009)
• Children of Dune - Frank Herbert (1976)
• God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert (1981)
• Heretics of Dune - Frank Herbert (1984)
• Chapterhouse: Dune - Frank Herbert (1985)
• Hunters of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2006)
• Sandworms of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2007)
• Sands of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2024)

The strongest argument I've seen against reading in this order is that the writing is much less complex in the prequel ??novels, making the jump to Frank Herbert's work feel jarring.

A note on Sands of Dune: I've included it at the bottom of this list because it's a novella and collection of three stories set in underexplored parts of this universe. I think you should read it if you're trying to read every book, but it's?? hard to say exactly where it should f??it in the chronological order.

The post How to read Frank Herbert’s Dune series in order appeared first on Destructoid.

As soon as fiction began introducing absurdly powerful heroes, fans started needing to pit them against each ??other to determine who would win.

These battles take place in crossover scenarios that would likely never happen �?even if only because that kind of defeats the purpose of them being the good guys. Still, here's the only ranking on the Inte??rnet that tells you with pinpoint accuracy who the most powerful hero in all of fiction is.

10. Kratos

Kratos was always strong, but what made him powerful to the point of challenging the gods was a deal he made with one. He received immense power from Ares, but that power came with?? a blinding rage that cost Kratos everyone he loved. He set out to get revenge against one god but then ended up killing the entirety of Mount Olympus and pretty much every Norse God in existence.

The only argument you can have against Kratos from God Of War as being one of the most powerful characters in existence is the fact that he dies three ??times in his series. Then again, dying only really helps set him up to kick the ass of whoever's working as the warden of hell at that point and ret??urn even stronger, so maybe he really does belong on this list.

9. Doom Slayer

The original DOOM games play like a horror movie where humans pay for messing with the wrong thing. The DOOM reboot from 2016 turns the tables and has the demon horde as the dumbasses that open the wrong sarcophagus and unleash something that they cannot d??eal with: the Doom Slayer.

The Doom Slayer is what the biggest and baddest demons in the DOOM universe see in their nightmares at 666 in the evening. He's like a version of Kratos who has guns and who can make use of interstellar travel to get close enough to perform a glory kill on any demonic entity in the universe. Also, he already spends most of his time in hell, so dying and being ??sent there would feel more like waking up from a nap than a proper respawn �?not that he would die, anyway.

8. Asura

Even though it's a tremendous game, Asura's Wrath doesn't ever play like a regular game. You play as a god here, and a true god doesn't care for the tiny zombies that Kratos and the Doom Guy need to kill in their respective games' ea?rly levels—unless there are a million of them at once.

Every level in Asura's Wrath is a set piece of enormous proportions where Asura has to go against Akuma, giants, entire fleets of combat spaceships, or even planet-sized gods. If the Doom Slayer is the sci-fi version of Kratos, then Asura is the?? anime version of Kratos, which naturally means he's at least an order of magnitude above in terms of power and wildness.

7. Kirby

Kirby's power level isn't immediately obvious, but he's a wildcard of such magnitude that you just cannot help but respect it. It??'s almost impossible to make a list of all his abilities because they make up new ones whenever a new Kirby game comes out, but he's basi?cally able to eat anyone (or anything) and gain their powers.

If you want more clear proof of Kirby's power, just look at the trailer for Super Smash Bros. World Of Light. It shows Galeem, the god who controls the master hands, wiping out an entire galaxy �?the galaxy where every character you've ever seen in SSMB lives �?but failing to even put a bruise on Kirby. You don't? mess with that kind of power.

6. Superman

When not failing to fly? through some hoops because of bad controls, Superman is your quintessential strong character. he's the character every comic book hero cribs from, wh?ether they realize it or not.

Superman is SO strong, in fact, that it works against him. Many com?plaints from modern fans are that he's boring because there are so few instances when someone was able to present him with an interesting physical challenge.

5. Goku

While kid Goku from the original Dragon Ball would likely take no more than one half-charged slap from Superman to explode and die, the same definitely doesn't apply to DBZ's Goku. I believe there's one point in Dragon Ball Z, likely the time when Goku fi?rst reaches SSJ, when Goku just leaves Superman in the dust and never returns.

I've read very detailed scientific number crun??ches detailing how Superman is actually stronger than Goku, but here's the thing: you've picked the only place where science does??n't matter. Frieza's weakest form was able to conjure enough energy to destroy a planet in one of his fingers, and Goku still slapped his final form silly.

Goku's ??biggest advantage? A genetic trait that makes him stronger whenever he gets beat. Do you know who also shares that genetic trait? Doomsday, the only c??reature who ever killed Superman, and it wasn't even powerful enough to destroy a planet with a finger gun.

4. Vegito

I know Vegito is half-Goku, so that may invalidate his form for this tournament, but he's? here to prove a point and also too strong for me to just push away?.

Vegito, who is a fusion of Vegeta and Goku using the Potara Earrings, is significantly stronger than Goku alone. Even though no character in Dragon Ball Z can match up to him, he avoids becoming boring simply because the mix between Goku and Vegeta's personalities makes him too fu??nny not to enjoy.

3. Dr. Manhattan

Dr. Manhattan's powers go well beyond those of mere strength. This is a being so powerful he can end or create life in an instant. He exists at the current moment but also in all moments. Dr. Manhattan is an omnipotent being above all beings, which might somehow make him the most human character in Watchmen.

His only weakness comes not from any imaginable lack of power but rather from having too much of it. By the time of Watchmen's event, Dr. Manhattan has gone so far past the line separating humans from deities that he no longer feels empathy for humank?ind.

2. Saitama

Impossibly powerful "gag" characters aren't a new thing —children and Reddit users come up with them every day. Still, It's not common for a gag ch??aracter to get promoted to the main character role in a legit and spectacular anime.

Saitama feels like an alien even in the incredibly wild world of One Punch Man, as he goes through the sufferi??ng that a real human who's too good at his job would, but keeps the invulnerability that only a joke character would have. Though he's known for finishing off any enemy with one single punch, no aspect of Saitama is bound to any sort of power or ability ruleset, meaning that he'll always be more powerful than whatever enemy you put in front of hi??m.

1. Herbie Popnecker

The most powerful character on the list is, interestingly, the least famous one. Herbie Popnecker dates back to the '50s, and his powers are, well, pretty much all of them. He's capable of teleportation, but also he can just walk anywhere in the universe. Herbie is so strong he tends not to?? notice even when incredibly powerful beings are physically attempting to kill him. Also, he can communicate with animals, and ghosts are afraid of him.

I cannot say that this is the first godlike gag character in history, but he's at least the most influential one. If you love Saitama, which you should, know that he mig?ht only exist because of Herbie, and that's why he's not number one.

Don't agree with my pick for number one? Well, I only even know of Herbie because he's the favorite hero of Watchmen creator Alan Moore, so good luck taking it up with him.

The post 10 strongest fantasy heroes, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

The first two proper episodes (discounting the? Christmas special) of Doctor Who season 14, starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, have reached Disney Plus and BBC iPlayer, meaning that viewers are now able to dig deep and overanalyze everything for clues about what’s to come. 

If there’s one thing that Whovians do really well, it’s looking beneath the surface to find foreshadowing. This week, there’s one thing that’s got a few fans ?talking—The One Who Waits. This as-yet-unknown character was mentioned during The Giggle, which aired back in December, but the moniker comes back up ??during this week's second released episode, The Devil’s Chord.

I’m going to hed??ge my bets and say that The One Who Waits is not a confirmation that Amy and Rory (the Doctor’s companions from the time of the Eleventh Doctor, portrayed by Matt Smith) are about to return. Yes, Rory was known as “the boy who waited�? which is a very s?imilar moniker, but not quite the same. 

Now that???’s out of the way, there is a theory floating around Twitter and other corners of the internet about the identity of The One Who Waits. Buckle in because this one is a bit of a ride. 

During The Devil’s Chord, during a ?discussion with Ruby on a London rooftop, the Doctor talks of his Granddaughter Susan, who he says is currently living with a previous version of himself on the other side of the city. He also admits to Ruby that he currently doesn’t know what became of Susan after the Genocide, which took the lives of all Time Lords except himself. 

At the ?end of The Devil’s Chord, before we’re assaulted by a slightly out-of-place song and dance number, the Doctor breaks the fourth wall and winks ?at the camera after saying, “There’s always a twist at the end.�?Still with me? Good.

Now, if you dig a little deeper into the casting of this series, you’ll find that there is actually an actress called Susan Twist in the cast, and this is where things start to get really interesting. Susan Twist has had a very short cameo appearance in every single one of Ncuti’s episodes so far, one of the 60th Anniversary Specials with David Tennant, and, according to the sneak peek clip that is available for the next episode, Boom, she’s in that one too.

I’ve raked through all of the episodes so far and pinpointed h?er character in all of them:

• Wild Blue Yonder 

  • Twist plays Mrs Merridew, who speaks to Isaac Newton before he heads down to the apple tree 

• The Church on Ruby Road 

  • She appears in the crowd at the pub where Ruby is playing the keyboard, saying, “give it some welly!�?before asking for Gaudete, a Christmas carol from the 16th century, which would make sense if she was around at the time of Isaac Newton.

• Space Babies

  • She plays Comms Officer Gina Scalzi, who appears on the monitor inside the room where Jocelyn is hiding

• The Devil’s Chord

  • Twist appears as one of the tea ladies in EMI Studios, which would later become Abbey Road Studios. She says she wishes she could be “Margaret Lockwood�? What a woman, indeed.

According to the cast l?ist for Boom, which is written by Steven Moffat, Twist will appear again, though her role is simply called?? “Ambulance�?

There are unconfirmed rumors that Twist will play a bigger part in the future of the series, taking the also unconfirmed role of Susan Triad. She will be the head of a company named Triad, which has already been name-dropped during the 60th anniversary special, The Giggle when Mel? Bush is attempting to align the satellites. Remember, this is an unconfirmed rumor, but I'm ?counting nothing out of possibility.

So what’s the theory here? Well, we know that The One Who Waits has some connec?tion to both the Toymaker and Maestro, considering the apparent relation between the two and the fact that they both issue a warning to the Doctor about The One Who Waits. It’s also been revealed, though in the Doctor Who audiobooks rather than the TV show, that the Toymaker has a sister who goes by the name of Hecuba.

Hecuba, other??wise known as “The Queen of Time�? would be able to t?raverse through time in order to appear at any moment, which would explain why Twist’s characters never look as though they’ve aged, regardless of how many years in the past or future she appears. It would make sense, then, to assume that Hecuba, if that’s who this turns out to be, has been waiting a long time to confront the Doctor for whatever reason, likely in retaliation for what happened to her brother. 

Whether or not this theory turns out to be true remains to be seen, but it’s definitely interesting to dive deep into Doctor Who and find the connections o??r even just speculate. There’s no telling what could happen in the coming episodes, with Russell T Davies (who is responsible for writing the vast majority of this season's episodes) well known for putting twists and turns in his writing.

The post Doctor Who: Who could be ‘The One Who Waits’? appeared first on Destructoid.

Since its first airing back in 1963, Doctor Who has built up a staggering repertoire of almost 900 episodes, not including spin-off shows like Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Chronicles. That’s a lot of Doctor Who to get throug?h, but we’ve all got our?? favorite episodes.

While I’ve been around long enough to have seen some of the older ??episodes, I’m not ashamed to admit that I don’t think they stand the test of time very well. So rather than narrowing down almost 900 episodes to a nice even 10, I’m going to focus solely on the newer generation of the show, start??ing in 2005. 

With that said, there’s still a lot to choose from, and I don’t expect anybody's personal list of favorites to line up exactly with mine, but here are my top 10 episodes of Doctor Who.

10. The Lodger & Closing Time

These two aren’t a two-part episode, but I feel like I can’t mention one without the other, so we can consider one of these a bonus entry on th?is list. I’ll let you decide which.

The Lodger stars Matt Smith as the Doctor and James Cordon as Craig. Interestingly, we lear?n through this episode that vicious headbutting is the primary way of passing information from the Doctor’s head into someone else's head. 

Although this is the first time we meet Craig, I have to mention the follow-up episode, Closing Time, in ??which he s?tars, after he has begun his relationship with Sophie and the two have had a child. This episode had parents across the country hoping that the Doctor would rock up on their doorstep and provide baby translating services after we learned he could communicate with baby Alfie, who hilariously apparently preferred the name Stormaggedon, Dark Lord of All. 

9. Blink

Aside from the Daleks, one of the most iconic enemies faced by the Doctor through the years are the Weeping Angels, which make their first appearance during this 2007 episode. While being focused on the terrifying statues, this episode also features a lot of �??�timey wimey�?stuff that will give you a headache.

When Sally Sparrow explores an abandoned home with her friend Kathy, they encounter some Weeping Angels. Sent back in time by them, Kathy instructs her grandso??n to deliver?? a message to Sally, telling her about the life she goes on to lead. As well as this, the Doctor leaves a message embedded on a DVD, warning Sally of the dangers the Weeping Angels pose. It’s all a bit baffling, but that just makes the episode better. 

8. Midnight

The Doctor (played by David Tennant) and Donna decide to take a relaxing vacation on the planet Midnight, but while Donna does get the chill time she was needing, it doesn’t quite end up being as serene for the Doctor as he was hoping. This is not a plotline that’s unique to Doctor Who (the premise of FFXIV: Dawntrail is rem??arkably similar), but it’s one that the show does incredibly well. 

“What could possibly go wrong�?are perhaps the most famous last? words anyone could ever say and this is exactly what the Doctor says to Donna before setting off on a guided tour around the planet. Stuck on a shuttle with a bunch of strangers awaiting rescue after a ‘technical malfunction�? the Doctor is submerged into chaos as whatever is outside tries to tear apart the psyche of everyone on board, killing some of them in the process. 

7 The Empty Child

“Are you my Mummy?�?is not a sentence that I ever thought would make my bloo??d run cold, but after this The Empty Child, written by Steven Moffat and staring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, it definitely does. With children of the Blitz running around in gas m?asks and asking everyone they see whether they’re their Mummy, this one is a chilling watch. 

Also during this episode, Rose (played by Billie Piper) meets Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman) in London during the Blitz when he rescues her from the certain death of a very long fall. This is the first introduction of Jack, who later got his own spin-off show in the Doctor Who universe, Torchwood.

6. Silence in the Library

With fan favorite David Tennant? as the Doctor and Catherine Tate as his also fan favorite companion Donna, Silence in the Library is the viewers first introduction to River Song. It’s also the Doctor’s first meeting with her, but I won’t say much more because “spoilers, sweetie�?

Focusing on the danger of darkness, Silence in the Library is set in a planet sized library in the 51st Century. Despite being the only humanoid lifeforms on the planet, the Doctors scan for lifeforms shows trillions of unseen life forms surrounding them. Archaeologist River Song shows up to investigate why the library sealed itself shut a century before and at the time, neither the Doctor or viewers know who she is, but she?? becomes a staple in the show moving forwards. 

5. Heaven Sent

Watching Heaven Sent will spark in you the same feeling as banging your head against a brick wall. A constant battle to escape something, ending up right back where you started and having to fight your way thr??ough the same experience all over again. 

Peter Capaldi plays as the Doctor, stuck in a time prison on a loop that continues for billions ?of years, reliving the same harrowing exper?ience time and again until he finally breaks through the wall of Azbantium. At some point during the episode, he faces the realization that this time prison was created solely for him, and all of the skeletal remains and personal belongings he’s found during his time there are his own. 

There’s a whole lot more to this episode that can’t be confined to a small number of words, but Heaven Sent i??s a testament of strength and perseverance?? against all odds.

4. The Time of the Doctor

The Time of the Doctor was 2013s Christmas Special episode featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor. After discovering the origin of a constantly broadcasting message is a village called Christmas on the planet Trenzalore, the Doctor and Clara go off to investigate, only t??o get stuck in the middle of the Siege of Trenzalore.

During the original timeline of Doctor Who, the Siege of Trenzalore ended with the death of the 11th Doctor and the TARDIS transformed into his tomb, but this episode threw the original timeline out of the window. This is the last episode to feature Matt Smith as the Doctor and his goodbye to the universe was and will remain a particularl?y heart-wrenching moment.

3. The Sound of Drums & Last of the Timelords

The main premise of this two-part episode is the Master becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and using his new found political power to cause complete and u?tter chaos, including aging the Doctor by 100 years. 

The reason this episode makes this list is because of Martha and her unflinching loyalty to the Doctor. After using the Vortex Manipulator to teleport away, Martha spends a year traveling around the country planting the idea of the Doctor in the minds o??f everyone she meets as a way to counter the Master and his nefarious plans. This, in turn, allows the doctor to recover his strength and defeat the Master.

2. The Stolen Earth & Journey’s End

If ever there was a class reunion episode of Dr Who, this two part episode is it. The Stolen ?Earth and Journey’s End see the return of previous companions alongside Donna in the shape of Rose and Martha, but also the return of S?arah Jane and Jack Harkness, as well. 

That’s not the reason these episodes make the list, though. During these episodes, the Doctor is facing off against the Daleks to prevent the end of ever?ything. There’s a long and convoluted story about how the Doctor’s severed hand ended up inside the TARDIS, but Donna manages to touch the hand and becomes imbued with the mind of the Doctor through absorbing regeneration energy. I promise it makes more sense if you watch the episode. 

Essentially, Donna ends up becoming overwhelmed by the knowledge she now carries and the Doctor must say goodbye to her, as if she ever lays eyes on him again s?he will likely die, something which was revisited during the latest Special episod?es.

1. Vincent and the Doctor

Featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor, Vi??ncent and the Doctor pays homage to the creative visionary that was Vincent Van Gogh, albeit with an otherworldly twist.

This episode wholly deserves its top spot on this list because of the overwhel??ming emotion it triggers, especia?lly for those who are more creatively aligned. Vincent and the Doctor deal with loneliness, mental health, the fear of being forgotten, and the battle to do what you love even when it feels pointless or your work is overlooked by peers. 

At the end of the episode, to prove to Vincent that his efforts aren’t in vain, ?the Doctor brings him to the future to see his own work displayed in a gallery, spoken ab??out by someone who loves the artist despite having been born long after his time. Who doesn’t want to be remembered after they’re gone or leave their mark on the world? 

The post 10 best Doctor Who episodes of all time appeared first on Destructoid.

We’ve alrea?dy gotten a peak at Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor in “The Giggle�?and the Christmas Special “The Church on Ruby Road,�?but later this month we’ll g??et to see him tackle the role for an entire season .

Doctor Who season 14 premieres at 7:00pm on May 10. Showrunner Russell T. Davies, who previ??ously worked on seasons 1 through 4 post-revival, is back, and as always he’s trying to raise the stakes on The Doctor’s story. The show has a brand-new cast with some familiar faces working behind the scenes, like Steven Moffat returning to write the episode “Boom.�?Season 14 is already off to a promising start. 

Doctor Who season 14 episode schedule

When Doctor Who season 14 premieres, the first two episodes will be available to stream on Disney Plus right away, and after that, episodes will  be released every week on Friday at 7:00pm ??EST. Ahead of the premiere, we know the titles for every e??pisode in the season.

• Episode 1 “Space Babies�?- May 10
• Episode 2 “The Devil’s Chord�?- May 10
• Episode 3 “Boom�?- May 17
• Episode 4 �?3 Yards�?- May 24
• Episode 5 “Dot and Bubble�?- May 31
• Episode 6 “Rogue�?- June 7
• Episode 7 “The Legend of Ruby Sunday�?- June 14 
• Episode 8 “Empire of Death�?- June 21

Is there a Doctor Who season 14 trailer?

So far we’ve gotten two full length trailers for Doctor Who season 14. The first one dr?opped at the end of March, and it gave us a look at the relationship between The Doctor and his ne??w companion Ruby, as well as some peaks at their travel destinations. It looks like dinosaurs are going to be in the mix again, and there’s apparently going to be a supernatural bend to some of these adventures. 

While our core duo is galivanting through time, Ruby’s family back home in London seem to be �?probably rightly �?concerned about her safety. The second trailer shows us a fiercely angry Doctor threatening to destroy an entire battlefield, but we aren’t told why. My money?? is on yet another companion being at risk of death or complete deletion from the timeline. The show may be more than 50 years old,? but some things never change.

Who’s in the Doctor Who season 14 cast?

The Doctor Who season cast obviously includes Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th version ?of the titular character and Millie Gibson as The Doctor’s new companion Ruby. Ruby’s adoptive mother and grandmother will be played by Michelle Greenridge and Angela Wynter, respectively. The season’s main antagonist, a villain called Maestro, will be played by Jinkx Monsoon. 

The show also has some return?ing characters like former companion Melania Bush, played by Bonnie Langford. Jemma Redgrave is also back as Kate Stewart, the head of Unit, and we’ll be seeing Donna Noble’s daughter Rose, once again played by Yasmin Finney. 

There will also be an array of new historical characters to meet. Jonathan Groff is joining the show in an episode with big Bridgerton vibes. In another episode The Doctor a??nd Ruby will meet The Beatles, with John, Paul, George, and Ringo being played by Chris ??Mason, George Caple, Philip Davies, and James Hoyles. 

Season 14 looks like the most thrilling collection of Doctor Who adventures we’ve gotten in a long while, and I can’t wait to tune in with the rest of the world when the season kicks off on D?isney P??lus at 7:00pm on May 11. 

The post Doctor Who season 14 premiere release date, trailers, cast, episode list,? and more appeared first on Destructoid.

W??e’re checking back in with the world of sci-fi after a busy weekend. 

We’ve gotten another look at Alien: Romulus and some interesting insight into Doctor Who. It was a big weekend for sequels, and there’s more of those to come. Here’s the?? latest. 

Meet your facehugger

April 26th has been called Alien Day as a reference to LV-426, the planet where the Xenomorph first made its appearance in the original movie. This year also happens to be the 45th anniversary of the original film’s release, so writer and director Fede Álvarez gave us a look at some of the special effects being used to create the upcoming Alien: Romulus. 

Álvarez showed off the coolest little mechanical facehugger. It’s operated by a remote control, so it can actually chase down potential victims. The Alien sequels have been fairly hit or miss, but the fact that Romulus features practical effects like this has me more than ??a little excited to ch?eck it out. 

Russell T. Davies on representation in Doctor Who

The next season of Doctor Who will be Ncuti Gatwa’s first outing as the beloved character, but it’s a return to business-as-usual for showrunner Russell T. Davies. Back in 2005, Davies worked as showrunner on the Doctor Who reboot series, and he continued working on the show all through 2011 when s??tar David Tenant left th?e series. 

Speaking with RadioTimes at the London premiere of the new season, Davies opened up about his experience working on the show and commented on the praise he’s received for bringing LGBTQ+ representation into the long running series. “And I kind of [am] rather bemused when people say you're representing things now, because I think that's just people I live with, and know and love.�?He went on to say, “I think Doctor Who’s a great big open door for everyone to come and see.�?Hopefully?? Davies’s new take on the series recaptures the old magic of his original run. 

Dune 2 and Godzilla X Kong win more at the box office

This past weekend was a big one for sci-fi sequels. According to Variety Dune 2 passed a major box office milestone. The movie has officially raked in $700 million globally. At the same time, Godzilla X Kong crossed the $500 million mark, and it’s been in theaters for a full month less than Denis Villeneuve’s Dune sequel. This is great news for fans of both franchises, as well as Warner Bros. of course, but it does mean that a little more fuel just got tossed on the never-ending sequels trend. That said, if the glut of sequels we’ve gotten over the past decade had all been as good as Dune 2, I probably wouldn’t be complaining. 

Jeff Bridges is returning to Tron

According to Deadline, there’s some big news for Tron fans: Jeff Bridges is coming back. He’ll presumably be reprising his role from Tron and Tron: Legacy, but since we still don’t have many det??ails about the up??coming movie, there’s always a chance that he’ll be playing an alternate version of Kevin Flynn.

Tron: Ares has been in some stage of development ever since Tron: Legacy debuted all the way back in 2010. Needless to say, the movie has gone through several iterations, but the current version is being directed by Joachim Rønning and stars Jared Leto alongside Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson. That’s quite a cast, and on October 25th, 2025, we’ll see if they can pull off a Tron sequel that does the franchise justice.

The post Latest sci-fi news: Alien, Doctor Who, sci-fi sequels, and what’s going on with Tron: Ares appeared first on Destructoid.

Western fans of Haikyu!! can rejoice as its first movie adaptation, Haikyuu!! THE MOVIE: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump, i??s confirmed to be getting a worldwide theatrical release. It already came out in Japan this past Feb?ruary, so here's what you need to know about its Western release.

What is the Haikyuu!! THE MOVIE: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump release date?

According to Crunchyroll, Haikyuu!! THE MOVIE: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump (simply titled HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle in the West) is scheduled to release worldwide starting May 30, with it slated for North America and the UK on May 31. Be sure to pay attention to Crunchyroll's social media or your local theater's website. It will? be available in both English and in Japanese with English subtitles.

Is there a trailer for Haikyuu!! THE MOVIE: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump?

Crunchyroll released a trailer for Haikyuu!! THE MOVIE: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump on April 24, which we've sha??red below. It's brief and doesn't give away too much of the plot, but it will naturally feature a high-stakes?? volleyball match between protagonist Shoyo Hinata's team and a rival school's as they enter the third round of nationals.

This movie picks up where the anime's fourth season ended, and serves as the first half of Haikyuu!!'s finale. After this, the plan is to release a second movie that should adapt the final chapters of the original manga. Said manga ended in 2020 after an eight-ye??ar run that began in 2012, but anime-only fans will soon experience how the st??ory concludes, or at least the first half of it.

A slice-of-life story centered around volleyball, Haikyuu!! sees Shoyo Hinata create his own volleyball team during his final year of middle school, only to lose in his first tournament to another team lead by the 'King of the Court' Tobio Kageyama. Both Hinata and Kageyama, however, wind up joining the same high-school and enlisting in its vo??lleyball ??team, with the two becoming rivals and allies as they strive to become professional players.

The post H??aikyuu!! THE MOVIE: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump release dates and trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Move over Wesker, there's a new mascot in town

Video game adaptations are all the rage, and Resident Evil is taking no breaks. Today, Netflix put out the official teaser for its live-action Resident Evil series and it's got zombies. It's got chainsaws. Also, there'??s a bear hologram.

"Nothing eventful ever happens in the peaceful New Raccoon City," the video description reads. The series apparently follows two timelines, surrounding the outbreak and ramifications of a bio-weapon disaster. In the teaser,? we can see that flip happening, as we see the time and location leap midway through.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tb9ENbFWvQ

It all seems a bit more general zombie movie with some Resident Evil flavor sprinkled in. You can spot some references like Umbrella, and of course an angry undead dog. But I'm also left a bit curious how deep into Resident Evil lore we're going to be cutting.

Under the Umbrella

To be fair, Resident Evil has had success in the past when it was loosely adapted. There's just also been a string of recent and highly faithful Resident Evil ad?a??ptations to compare Netflix's effort directly against.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is the most recent live-action effort, and it didn't exactly light the world on fire. Netflix itself brought another Resident Evil series, Infinite Darkness, to its service last year too. That o??ne was CGI though, and followed Leon and Claire in a Washington D.C. horror-fest.

The Netflix live-action Resident Evil series' ace in the hole might be its cast. The production even has Lance Reddick taking up the mantle of ??Wesker. And maybe this two-timeline thing works out okay. Just don't trust the giant talking teddy bear hologram.

I'm interested to see where this adaptation takes Resident Evil. At the end of the day, big mega-corp starts zombie outbreak is a pretty broad setting to work in. But the lukewarm reception to the Halo seri??es gives me just the slightest of pauses. We'll see what Netflix has in store on July 14.

The post Netflix live-action R??esident Evil teaser has zombies, chainsaws, and a teddy bear hologram appeared first on Destructoid.