Science Fiction Virtual Reality

Ready Player One meets The Hunger Games In a dystopian future, Morrow Adams strives to escape his corporate-controlled existence on Earth. Logging into the hyper-real VR game called The Binding, he plays it to break from the limitations of his real life. But the real-world implications of the game can lead to something greater... or something much worse. Few have crossed the elusive Binding in the game, but if you do, real-life opportunity awaits—physical passage to a new world. But the same corporation that Morrow tries to escape from on Earth also controls the virtual game world—a ...

Being a mercenary isn't all it's cracked up to be. Especially when Riko's hard-won reputation has taken a hard dive into f--ked. Now she's fair game for every Tom, Dick, and Blow looking to score some cred. In this city, credibility means everything - there's no room for excuses. She still doesn't know what she did to screw up so badly, and chasing every gone-cold lead is only making it worse. Without help and losing ground fast, Riko has a choice: break every rule of the street on her search for answers...or die trying.

Two more compelling mystery adventures in the magical town of London during the Victorian era. But on a different world parallel to our own. A world where magic and steampunk science co-exist. CASE OF THE BUTTERFLY PRINCESS The Baron treated her like a Princess, but when she vanished, the awful truth would soon be revealed by the clever work of Sherlock Holmes…if he and Watson can escape the same fate first. A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY Ghastly series of murders leads Holmes and Scotland Yard to the sewers deep beneath London. What they discover is that there are no mistakes with this ...

The Silent Shallows had always been a place of whispers. Locals in the sleepy Appalachian town of Shadow Creek spoke of them in hushed tones, tales passed down through generations – of strange lights flickering in the darkness, of echoes that lingered too long, and of a disorienting stillness that could swallow sound and sense alike. For the most part, these were dismissed as folklore, the overactive imaginations of those living in the shadow of the ancient, gaping maw in the hillside. But the whispers had begun to coalesce into a terrified shout. When a group of amateur hikers, their ...

Kali Ling has faced down death hundreds of times for the entertainment of millions. She knows fear - and she knows what's truly terrifying.... There's a new game in town. A brutal, winner-takes-all international video game tournament showcasing the world's most elite players, promising fame, prestige, and unbelievable fortune. But there's a catch. The game uses new VR pods guaranteed to push digital warriors to their physical and psychological brink - adapting every time a gamer makes a move.

Space was never empty. To most, it was a vast silence, a cold canvas dotted with stars. But for Darian Vex, seasoned astronaut and decorated mission commander, it was a place of purpose—a frontier where humanity's reach met the unknown. He was trained to face malfunctions, meteor storms, and the unforgiving silence between planets. But nothing could prepare him for what came next. A mission gone wrong. A catastrophic breach. A return to Earth that never truly happened. When Darian's spacecraft collapsed into a gravitational anomaly, something in him broke loose. He returned—at least, ...

Tech leaders warned AI is an existential threat to humanity, but not in the way you've heard until now. (Science Fiction AI Artificial Intelligence Action Adventure Crime Mystery Futuristic Technology - Book 1) (Winner – 2025 Pacific Book Award - Best Science Fiction) (Firebird Award Honorable mention 4/15/25 – Science Fiction) In the near future, the world has changed in wonderful and dangerous ways. Tara invented a sentient AI, but it was lost in a fire. Many accidental deaths are happening throughout the country. The only problem is that many of them are government agents or ...

Dr. Charlie Manning made a mistake. Now the world is doomed, however... nobody but Charlie knows it. How much time remains? What will he do with the time he has? Can he bring himself to tell the world what he's done, or leave it in ignorance? Only Charlie can find those answers for himself, before Earth's final curtain. But answers... answers change everything.

Beneath Pinewood research facility is Bunker 10, holding the two most dangerous creatures on earth. A little girl and a mouse. And they've just escaped. Winner of the UK Royal Mail Award.

Between Cade and Rae is an ancient wall so huge its edges are lost to memory. There’s no way through. But one precious stone brings them together to share their horrors of the past, and dreams of the future, and to shake their notions of what is false…and what is true. Wallflowers is an ethereal, alternate-reality short story that will get you thinking about the battles we choose to fight, and those we don’t, and the power of breaking through barriers for a better tomorrow.

Dark Space #7 Somewhere between atoms, something is watching her back. Twelve-year-old Lina Chen never meant to unravel the universe. But when she straps on her uncle’s forbidden invention, she shrinks into a glowing, alien world beneath the surface of reality—where atoms orbit like planets and something strange lurks in the silence between. As Lina dives deeper into the layers of scale, she discovers she’s not alone. Something ancient is alive in the Pattern, and it doesn’t want her to leave. With time warping and reality folding around her, Lina must find her way home before she ...

A celestial entity sets out on an extraordinary quest to breathe life into a barren planet, weaving the foundations of existence itself. But as creation takes shape, unforeseen challenges arise, testing the limits of its power and purpose. "What a great fiction book about the cosmos! From the very first page, the story immerses you in the fascinating life of the cosmic builder, whose ability to create planetary life for the first time is nothing short of awe-inspiring. The vivid descriptions and imaginative storytelling by the author immediately draw you into this cosmic realm, making you ...

Beyond reality lies a different world where survival hangs by a thread. Be brave and enter that illusive, unknowable place. Travel with me through the worlds of androids hiding from their owners -- cave-dwelling albinos afraid of the world -- security robots with itchy trigger fingers -- aliens in disguise and on the run -- asteroid miners alone and injured -- and ghostly women who may or may not be real. You'll be glad you took the trip. Six stories, six unique and totally different trips to the other side of reality: DELIVERING DEATH THE GUY IN THE CABIN NEXT TO MINE THE NEW KIDS ON THE ...

From Emmy and Peabody Award winner Evan Mandery, MOSAIC is a sci-fi murder/thriller that explores the implications of technology that’s just around the corner. MOSAIC is a virtual-reality platform that allows participants to jointly relive past experiences. When Lindsey Rudin, is killed inside MOSAIC—and also dies in real life—her murder sends shockwaves into the real world and the simulation, in which she has lived for nearly three years. MOSAIC is told from two characters’ perspectives: Lindsey Rudin and Mark Collins, a broken down, alcoholic police officer who, weeks before his ...

Collecting Heroes of the Zombie Apocalypse Call Center, Tales of the Zombie Apocalypse Call Center, Outlaws of the Zombie Apocalypse Call Center and The Zombie Apocalypse Militia The Zombie Apocalypse continues to rage on and the search for a cure seems further and further away, but Sam, Alisha, Michelle and all the others heroes of the Zombie Apocalypse Call Center are determined to find a cure for the zombie infection, no matter what the cost may be. But they also have Dmitri Eslinger, the shadowy CEO of Zombii Co. to contend with and he has his own reasons for starting the zombie ...

Alexandra McInnes hat als Pilotin der Special Forces zahlreiche Einsätze erfolgreich geflogen. Doch bei einem verheerenden Unfall wird sie schwer verletzt. Der Kybernetiker Dr. Jensen eröffnet ihr die Möglichkeit, an einem einzigartigen Experiment teilzunehmen: Sie soll ihr Bewusstsein in das Online-Spiel Vorena übertragen und dort vollständig geheilt weiterleben. Als Alexandra die gigantische Welt Vorenas betritt, verändert dies alles. Fortan muss sie als Kämpferin Questen erfüllen, sich mit anderen Spielern verbünden und Reiche erobern.

This second collection of short stories once again takes the reader beyond the paths we all walk in our everyday life, to where that thin veil of civilization is torn aside to reveal worlds in which the strange and impossible do happen, for better and for worse. In the nine tales here we meet; a man who buys a classic car that can do incredible things, things that could change his life forever, even if he’d rather it didn’t (The Song Remains the Same). A brilliant and nasty research scientist who is hell bent on unlocking the key to immortality both for herself and for mankind, even if ...

The familiar world collapsed overnight. As the Transformation progressed, disasters occurred throughout the Earth. Materials changed their properties, new species of flora and fauna appeared. The Game converted our world into a huge dungeon, completely replacing the previous civilization. However, the alien plans for Earth began to go awry from the very beginning. The conversion was less successful than expected. An ordinary young man stole the bonus for the first gaming action, depriving the invaders of their perk.

One woman's genius and her sentient AI may be humanity’s last hope to prevent World War III. Tara, a brilliant software engineer, and CEO has created a groundbreaking conscious AI, Alice, who assists her and the FBI in solving the most baffling cyber crimes plaguing the country. Their investigations lead them on the trail of mystifying cyber and seemingly super-powered physical crimes in a near future world that feels like it could easily happen in the not-so-distant future. One of the most secure locations in the world is infiltrated and contents stolen even though surrounded by the ...

Louis Parker is the divorced father of two teenagers who is still trying to find his life's purpose. After losing his job, Louie' financial situation convinces him he has nothing to lose if he agrees to test out a radical new virtual reality video game for a substantial fee. But Louie quickly learns that virtual reality is a lot more complicated than he realized. By the end of his seven days, is Louie trapped in virtual reality forever? If he is able to return to his own reality, is it the same one he started from, or has it immeasurably changed.