Science Reality

A newborn dragon is forced to come to terms with his reality: his body is not made of flesh and blood—but of ice cream. No fate is worse than being a failure before birth. His future holds endless troubles and dangers—wild animals, greedy humans, and ancient secrets. What can a small mutated hatchling do? He must grow stronger.

Neal Stephenson is a blazing new force on the sci-fi scene. With the groundbreaking cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, he has "vaulted onto the literary stage." It weaves virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility - in short, it is the gigathriller of the information age.

In the mid-1870s, a violent spray of comets hits Earth, decimating cities, erasing shorelines, and changing the world's climate forever. And just as Earth's temperature dropped, so was civilization frozen in time. Instead of advancing technologically, humanity had to piece itself back together.... In the 21st century, boats still run on steam, messages arrive by telegraph, and the British Empire, with its capital now in Delhi, controls much of the world.

Would you be prepared to work for free? How would you like to bust your hump for a large corporation 60-plus hours a week without a wage or a single day off for the vague promise of some mysterious perks in the distant future? You'd refuse point blank, wouldn't you? But what if the job in question was playing a state-of-the-art fantasy MMORPG game? And what if this was the only thing you're really good at? Especially considering that your in-game partner is someone really special to you - and this person already lives a virtual life?

Digitally reincarnated into the world's most powerful online video game, Clay must now find out what's happening on the outside to save those living in his world. On top of this, he's been pushed into a quest by a young paranoid king, nations are preparing for war, and a malevolent glitch continues its path of destruction.

2044. The world of games changed long ago. "Ascension" has become one of the most popular VRMMO games. It is a huge world divided into a hundred Floors, with each Floor a boundless location with its own countries, tribes, and millions of players. The object of the game is to unlock all the gates and conquer the top. Having joined the game, Will Thomson doesn't realize that he is all by himself. Then he accepts the first quest...Cursed Rat: level 46....

Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous evolutionary biologist, presents a gorgeously lucid, science book examining some of the nature’s most fundamental questions both from a mythical and scientific perspective. Science is our most precise and powerful tool for making sense of the world. Before we developed the scientific method, we created rich mythologies to explain the unknown. The pressing questions that primitive men and women asked are the same ones we ask as children. Who was the first person? What is the sun? Why is there night and day?

The Singularity - the merger of man and machine into a greater whole - is finally within humanity's grasp. When programmer Jeff Lawing gets the opportunity to join Singularity Online, the world's first realistic VRMMO and the testing ground that will lead to the Singularity, he leaps to accept. Singularity is much more realistic and darker than Jeff had imagined, though.

One of our great contemporary scientists reveals the 10 profound insights that illuminate what everyone should know about the physical world.

Half-norn event planner Anders Skuldsson is under strict orders from Asgard not to meddle with Fate. But with Enchanted Occasions’ latest booking - the competition for the hand of Faerie’s one true prince - crashing around his ears, it’s really, really, really difficult to toe that particular line. So...if Andy just happens to pose as a contender for the prince? It’s an emergency, damn it. Besides, it’s only temporary, so Odin can hardly blame him. Right?

When half-human Kai Schiffer steps into the Interstices—the post-creation gaps between realms—his supernatural half kicks in, and he literally disappears unless…well, don’t ask. But in a stroke (heh) of good fortune, Kai finally has a chance to show his face (and other parts, stars willing) to his long-time crush Jovan Kos—Interstitial Law Enforcement agent, wolf warrior, occasional berserker, and best man at their mutual best friends’ Imbolc wedding. Jovan is grateful his best man duties are light enough that he can focus on Kai. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Sander Fiala, Duke of Roses, is fourth in line to the South Abarran throne, even though his rogue power earned him the nickname “The Monster of Roses” and got him banished from the castle. But right before he’s about to set off on his annual birthday sailing trip, the queen asks him to meet with the notoriously volatile North Abarran Duke of Arles. Tarik Jaso, Duke of Arles, expects the worst from people. So when he’s attacked and wakes up in the cabin of a stranded boat, he knows he’s royally screwed. Because the man looming over him is the infamous Monster of Roses.

At a time when the crises of income inequality, climate, and democracy are compounding to create epic wealth disparity and the prospect of a second American civil war, four billionaires are hyping schemes that are designed to divert our attention away from issues that really matter. Each scheme—the metaverse, cryptocurrency, space travel, and transhumanism—is an existential threat in moral, political, and economic terms. In The End of Reality¸ Jonathan Taplin provides perceptive insight into the personal backgrounds and cultural power of these billionaires.

Neal Stephenson, "the hottest science fiction writer in America", takes science fiction to dazzling new levels. The Diamond Age is a stunning tale; set in 21st-century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens what a state-of-the-art interactive device falls into the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life, and the entire future of humanity, is about to be decoded and reprogrammed.

Mike Hagen, an American nicknamed "Crybaby", became one of those chosen to be given an augmented reality interface. However, his favorite game was an MMA fighter - possibly, for the reason that he'd never fought in real life, and the interface adapted itself to him.

Finn Harris should have been the one to die. But he wasn't - his wife took his place. What was worse, he only had himself and his company to blame. They let their passion outpace their prudence, determined to revolutionize the world. While all innovation comes with a price, he never imagined it would cost him Rachael. Nearly a decade later, Finn is content to hole himself up and wait out the rest of his life. That is, until his daughter intervenes, forcing him out of his grief and into a new virtual reality game developed by his old employer. They're calling it Awaken Online.

Log-in or die. Those are the only choices left for Clay Hopewell. Infected with the ZERO virus, he has less than 24 hours before he bites the dust. With no cure available, there's only one option left: digitally reincarnate himself in the most advanced virtual reality game ever, the mysterious and newly released Arcane Kingdom Online. But cheating death and gaining immortality isn't that easy. If Clay survives the risky cognitive upload process, he'll still have to contend with a fantasy world teetering on the brink of crisis.

King Bastien’s father locked him into an ironclad betrothal contract with Lady Helena Rey when the two of them were only seven-years-old. Bas and Helena have never been friends—and not only because she marked their first meeting by dropping a frog down his shirt. He’s been unsuccessfully petitioning Parliament to annul the damn contract ever since he took the throne nine years ago. But with the deadline for officially confirming the engagement rapidly approaching, Bas is getting desperate.

Deadly competition. Deep desert. A dying tyrant. Finn Harris was declared the Mage Guild's champion. However, that was only the beginning of the Emir's competition. The next stage will send Finn and his companions deep into the desert north of Lahab in search of a long-lost relic. The magical artifact is said to be held within the Abyss. Except, this time, he's not just facing novice mages. Everyone in the region seems to be arrayed against him, god and man alike.

While cutting through the Interstices—the post-creation gap between realms—Smith, half-demon tech specialist for Enchanted Occasions Event Planning, spies the person he yearns for daily but dreads ever seeing again: the ifrit, Hashim of the Windrider clan.