Science Fiction Virtual Reality

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 ...

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 ...

A disgraced hero. A galaxy on the brink. The fate of humanity lies in the balance. Kel Chaada was once a celebrated war hero—until his victories uncovered the dark secrets of humanity’s immortal rulers. Branded a fugitive and forced into exile, Kel flees to the edges of the galaxy, only to discover ancient alien civilizations with unimaginable powers. These forces could reshape the future of the Milky Way, but they come with a dangerous allure. When a new galactic threat emerges, Kel must decide: will he harness these newfound powers to protect humanity, or succumb to their temptation ...

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.

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, ...

Can an apprentice Huntress, a grizzled veteran, a lone sorceress, and a tech witch find a way to stop a newer, even greater evil? As Quinn finds her way with her new abilities, she and her new clan continue their work to counter the efforts of demons bent on invading our world. Caught in an epic battle between the light and the dark as old as time, the Huntress and her team may only have one chance to save those she's sworn to protect. Will it be enough? Join Quinn and her friends as she continues to learn and explore what it means to be the Huntress.

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 ...

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.

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.

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 ...

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 ...

Otherland, a universe where any fantasy can be made real, but which is ruled by Earth's wealthiest and most ruthless power brokers, the Grail Brotherhood. Shrouded in secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares. Vast amounts of money have been lavished on it. The best minds of two generations have laboured to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming Earth's most valuable resources - its children

In the heart of a decaying city, where the air is thick with the scent of rot and despair, Samuel and Lindsay find themselves trapped in the newest iteration of the reversion. Beyond the veil of reality, they stand on the precipice of an apocalyptic world overrun by an undead army, led by the formidable and malevolent Kole—Samuel’s own brother. Their harrowing odyssey takes them through a labyrinth of crumbling streets, where the line between life and death blurs. The decaying urban expanse becomes a treacherous battleground, a place where the dead walk and shadows speak. As they ...

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 ...

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.

"Every bit as mind-bending and captivating as classic Murakami." -- Rusted Reviews “Stick with it to the plot twist and then you won’t want it to end.” -- A Feast of Books -------------------------------------------------- Why did she die? How much did I really know her? These are the questions Benny asks himself after finding Staci in the bathtub with her wrists slit. He spirals into a bout of depression. Two weeks later, she reappears as if nothing happened. But only for one night, and then she’s gone again. Two weeks later, it happens again, forcing Benny to ask himself a new set...

When disaster strikes a cargo flight over the arctic, pilot Andre decides it's time to upload. He pays to have his brain sliced and scanned so his mind can live in the computerized, virtual world of Talespace. Since Talespace runs on the logic of a game, Andre takes full advantage. He becomes a high-flying pegasus learning the magic of the sky and battling monsters for the Night Queen. He's even in time for a fun little war.

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.

Robinette Thornburg, the half-human daughter of ultra-rich Robert Thornburg, thought she was fully human, just weird, for the first twenty-one years of her life. She went to expensive private schools, then Harvard. On her twenty-first birthday, she learned that she was half Mangi, the result of an encounter between her father and a primitive near-human woman from the Wild, an alternate reality North America where primitive humans arrived half a million years ago, but no modern humans ever did. That was the first she had heard of Mangi or the Wild, closely held secrets of the wealthy ...