Science Reality

One of the chosen has gone renegade. Turning his back on all that he once believed, Billos does the forbidden and enters into a Book of History. He lands in a reality as foreign to him as water is to oil - a place called Paradise, Colorado. He has strange new powers given to him courtesy of a mysterious figure known as Marsuvees Black. The chosen four have survived the desert, escaped the Black Forest, battled the Horde, and added a spirited refugee to their number. But nothing has prepared them for the showdown that Billos, the renegade, is luring them into.

None of them wanted to leave Earth. It might have been nightmarish, but it was all they knew. Gary wanted to concentrate on his exams in hopes of leaving the CityBlock and its bullies far behind. Kailee wanted to become an actress. Darrin merely wanted to live. But when the three teenagers win a competition, they find themselves taking the trip of a lifetime, a voyage to a colony world where they can see how the colonists live.

Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick doesn’t think his life could get any worse: He’s been exiled from Faerie with a cursed and useless right hand. When he’s not dodging random fae assassins in the Outer World, he’s going toe-to-toe with his tree-hugging neighbor. And when he discovers that the tree hugger is really a druid, he’s certain the gods have it in for him - after all, there’s always a catch with druids. Then he’s magically shackled to the man and expected to instruct him in Supernatural 101.

In the coming decades, the technology that enables virtual and augmented reality will improve beyond recognition. Within a century, world-renowned philosopher David J. Chalmers predicts, we will have virtual worlds that are impossible to distinguish from non-virtual worlds. But is virtual reality just escapism? In a highly original work of 'technophilosophy', Chalmers argues categorically, no: virtual reality is genuine reality. Virtual worlds are not second-class worlds. We can live a meaningful life in virtual reality - and increasingly, we will.

Embark on a mind-expanding journey through the nature of reality itself! Is our universe one of many? Are we living in a simulation? What does quantum physics tell us about the fabric of reality? "The Beginner's Guide to Reality" breaks down these profound questions into three fascinating, accessible books that will forever change how you view existence.

The Naughty Nineties: The Triumph of the American Libido examines the scandal-strafed decade when our public and private lives began to blur due to the rise of the web, reality television, and the wholesale tabloidization of pop culture. In this comprehensive and often hilarious time capsule, David Friend combines detailed reporting with first-person accounts from many of the decade's singular personalities, from Anita Hill to Monica Lewinsky, Lorena Bobbitt to Heidi Fleiss, Jesse Jackson to key members of the Clinton, Dole, and Bush teams.

What are things made of? What is the sun? Why is there night and day, winter and summer? Why do bad things happen? Are we alone? Throughout history people all over the world have invented stories to answer profound questions such as these. Have you heard the tale of how the sun hatched out of an emu’s egg? Or what about the great catfish that carries the world on its back? Has anyone ever told you that earthquakes are caused by a sneezing giant?

After escaping the chaos of his first Bigfoot encounter, author Steven Armstrong feels lucky to be alive. But the aftermath soon sets in, not just in the form of trauma from seeing the creatures but also from a phone call from someone claiming to work for the FBI. Why would an intelligence agency have any interest in Steven? Could it have something to do with the Sasquatch species?

Since its premiere in 2002, ABC’s The Bachelor has become a staple of American television. Now, discover the fascinating history of the show, uncover the ins and outs of the phenomenon that has become Bachelor Nation, and take a deeper look at what separates the winners from the losers. From how best to exit the limo on Night One, to strategies for making a run for the all-important First Impression Rose, to how to avoid being labeled a villain, this clear-eyed guide illustrates the rules and strategies any would-be contestant should know.

Silent film actor Casimir Moreau had imagined that life as a vampire would be freewheeling and glamorous. Instead, he’s plunged into a restrictive society whose rules he runs afoul of at every turn. To “rehabilitate” him, the vampire council orders him mated to an incubus with impeccable breeding. As an inactive beaver shifter, construction engineer Rusty Johnson has fought - and overcome - bias and disrespect his entire life. Rusty can’t face returning to his clan, and Cas needs somebody on his arm to keep the council happy, so they agree to pretend to be married.

T-Rex? Check. Terror birds? Check. They all want to kill you? Check. Corter Laurence beat the odds to get selected as a contestant for Darwin's Quest, the most popular reality show in the galaxy. All he has to do is outlast his other 15 castmates and the money and fame will be his. Darwin's Quest is not for the faint-hearted, though. The show is beset with dangers, both natural and man-made, and the winner truly is the "Ultimate Survivor." Although each season is a little different and has its own theme, initially, the show proceeds as can be expected. Contestants are eliminated, and the ...

In the late 1940s, a handful of visionaries were working to steer Europe toward a more peaceful future through science, and CERN, the European particle physics laboratory, was duly born. James Gillies tells the gripping story of particle physics, from the original atomists of ancient Greece through the people who made the crucial breakthroughs to CERN itself, one of the most ambitious scientific undertakings of our time, and its eventual confirmation of the Higgs boson.

When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show Haunt Sweet Home, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplicity. But as she hides fog machines in the woods and improvises scares to spook new homeowners, a series of unnerving incidents on set and a creepy new coworker force Mara to confront whether the person she's truly been deceiving and hiding from all along—is herself.

Ever wondered about the discrepancies between Western perceptions of Islam and its genuine teachings? In a world where outward appearances can obscure deeper truths, this book delves into one of the most misinterpreted religions today. Elass reveals the stark discrepancies between the image of Islam portrayed by Western media and Muslim advocates and the religion’s genuine teachings and historical practices that remain less visible. The book navigates the core of Islam, challenging common narratives and shedding light on the traditional teachings at the heart of its sacred texts. Elass ...

As far as rock star Gareth Kendrick, the last true bard in Faerie, is concerned, the only good Unseelie is...well...there’s no such thing. Two centuries ago, an Unseelie lord abducted Gareth’s human lover Niall, and Gareth has neither forgotten nor forgiven. Niall O’Tierney, half-human son of the Unseelie King, had never lost a wager until the day he swore to rid the Seelie court of its bard.

Devilishly clever, Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems, and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn. Next challenges our sense of reality and notions of morality. Balancing the comic and bizarre with the genuinely frightening and disturbing, Next shatters our assumptions and reveals shocking new choices where we least expect.

If a megalomaniacal earth mage kidnaps your little sister, do you: A) Kill him, B) Kill him, C) Kill him, D) Magically indenture yourself to him to ensure her safe return. Welsh water horse Nevan Quirke would have happily opted for A, B, or C but had no idea where his sister was hidden—so, option D it is. He’s not a fool, though. He made sure to limit his obligation to a single task. Unfortunately, he neglected to nail down a few tiny details before the geas brand was seared into his skin,

ZeitgeistIt's 1999 in Cyprus, an ancient island bejeweled with blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers and littered with rusting land mines, corroding barbed wire, and illegal sewage dumps. Here, in the Turkish half of the island, the ever-enterprising Leggy Starlitz has alighted, pausing on his mission to storm the Third World with the "G-7" girls, the cheapest, phoniest all-girl band ever to wear Wonderbras and spandex. And his market is staring him in the face.

A decade has passed since the city of Pittsburgh was reduced to ash. While the rest of the world has moved on, losing itself in the noise of a media-glutted future, survivor John Dominic Blaxton remains obsessed with the past. Grieving for his wife and unborn child who perished in the blast, Dominic relives his lost life by immersing in the Archive - a fully interactive digital reconstruction of Pittsburgh, accessible to anyone who wants to visit the places they remember and the people they loved.

I've spent my entire life running from my past and staying out of trouble. That's how I've kept alive ever since my parents were killed by the Black Dragon, who's ruled the world under her oppressive talons for as long as anyone can remember. But it's hard to keep a low profile when four handsome strangers turn up in your village claiming you're destined to save the world. According to them, they've been chosen by the gods to become elemental dragons--and I'm their mate.