Reality Game

Fake news posts and Twitter trolls were just the beginning. What will happen when misinformation moves from our social media feeds into our everyday lives? Online disinformation stormed our political process in 2016 and has only worsened since. Yet as Samuel Woolley shows in this urgent book, it...

Eternal Realm is famous for one thing above all else: 99.9999% realism. It isn't merely a full-immersion VRMMO. It's humanity's second world. In an age where prices climb and paychecks don't, a decent job is hard to come by. Daisy couldn't find one either — not for lack of ability, but because her staggering beauty proved to be a liability rather than an asset. Then she happened to see an ad for Eternal Realm. She logged in, named her character Nightfall, and found two impossible numbers staring back at her: Charm: 999. Luck: 999. And something more — a unique Talent called Apotheosis. ...

In the year 2061, artificial superintelligence has solved most of humanity’s problems from global warming to viral diseases, while synthetics have become impeccable lovers for humans. But there are those that resist AI technology, fearing the gradual enslavement of the human mind by an all-powerful superintelligence. Following the mysterious suicide of his wife, history professor Max Wheeler welcomed a synthetic into his home. Programmed to help Max overcome his grief, his synthetic, Miri, is an exact physical and psychological replica of his late wife, Miriam, a fact that provokes ...

Jax thought he was done with video games after barely escaping the chaos of Battle Royale. But when a new glitch pulls him into Spartan Arena, he’s thrust into a futuristic combat simulator where survival isn’t guaranteed, and teamwork is the only way out. Thrown into intense matches of Capture the Flag, Oddball, Team Slayer, and Firefight, Jax must quickly adapt to the fast-paced world of the arena. Armed with high-tech gear and joined by a team of elite warriors—including the sharp-shooting Ace, grenade-loving Kai, and his returning ally Skye—Jax must face relentless challenges ...

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST AND THE GUARDIAN “Absorbing. . . . A revealing look at the hidden role that games have played in human development for centuries.” —Kirkus “By turns philosophical and polemical, this is a provocative and fascinating book.” —The Economist...

People paid me to make their characters legendary. Then the game turned real — and trapped them inside. I’m a booster — a carry. You pay me, I grind your character to the cap while you live your ordinary life. Launch night of the expansion, I deliver one last rush order. At zero, my rig goes dark. Fine. I needed cigarettes anyway. Except the hallway is gone. My one-room apartment is a concrete cube in black grass under two moons. No logout. No support. Just a welcome panel for a classification no player has ever had: [Service Provider] The System rebuilt my account into a unique class...

Level up. Build your crew. Save the Galaxy. Byron Jones was just another lonely gamer until saving a mysterious old man earned him a once-in-a-lifetime invite to VENUS ONLINE, the most immersive sci-fi VRMMORPG ever created. Inside the game, Byron becomes commander of a starship with a crew of beautiful alien women, each with their own skills, secrets, and charms. But paradise becomes a nightmare when he realizes he can’t log out and the galaxy is ruled by Lady Necralia, a cruel warlord who thrives on the suffering of trapped players. To survive, Byron must grind levels, upgrade his ship,...

Nightfall came to the Gorlan Wastes to hunt monsters. Thousands of people are about to stake their lives on her success. With a talent that turns Potential into extraordinary upgrades, Nightfall has pushed her spells far beyond their intended limits. Now she’s ready to leave the starter village behind and find out what the wider world has to offer. Preferably something with excellent loot. The Gorlan Wastes seem perfect. Powerful monsters. Rare resources. A mercenary contract that could open doors across the empire. With Iris, her adorable divine beast companion, at her side, Nightfall ...

The problem of online disinformation is only getting worse. Social media may well play a role in the the US 2020 presidential election and other major political events. But that doesn't even begin to describe what future propaganda will look like. We may not be able to alter how the internet was used to challenge democracy in years past, but we can follow the signals to prevent manipulation in the future - and to use these powerful new tools not to control people but to empower them. 

Are you one of those individuals who have taken gain by others for their benefit? Has somebody you loved came to your life quickly and then left without explanation after they took everything from you? If your answer to these questions is yes, then this is the right book for you! The majority of individuals have a difficult time identifying false statements and distinguishing fake from genuine emotions. That’s especially true, even with the individuals around them. Indeed, the small lie about how amazing your mother’s pie tastes won’t hurt. It might even be needed for smooth and ...

In the quiet corridors of a forgotten childhood, Lena’s past begins to resurface. After a series of disturbing dreams, Lena is haunted by the name "Lia"—a name she can’t recall but feels deeply tied to. As she digs deeper into her lost memories, she uncovers a fractured identity buried beneath years of trauma. Driven by an obsession to piece together her past, Lena is drawn to a decaying house that holds more than just forgotten memories—it holds the truth. But as the line between Lena and Lia blurs, hallucinations and forgotten horrors rise to the surface, threatening to consume ...

Former Secret Service agent and star of Bravo’s Spy Games Evy Poumpouras shares lessons learned from protecting presidents, as well insights and skills from the oldest and most elite security force in the world to help you prepare for stressful situations, instantly read people, influence how...

Manifest your dream reality and unlock your highest potential through rewiring your brain with neuroscience-driven techniques, from neuroscientist and manifestation expert @EmontheBrain. In MindCraft, Emily McDonald—known to her millions of Instagram and TikTok followers as...

With 174 million gamers in the United States alone, we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation. But why, Jane McGonigal asks, should games be used for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking book, she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world—from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change—and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business, education, and nonprofit worlds.

She logged in for escape. She stayed because the game wouldn’t let her leave. Virelle Knox didn’t expect much from DevineFlame, the bleeding-edge AR fantasy game everyone whispered about behind closed doors. It was just another survival hack—another gig between barista shifts and the kind of sex work no one ever asks twice about. But when the system scans her body, maps her memories, and offers a class called Courtesan, Virelle makes a decision that seems simple. Say yes. Now, she’s not just a player. She must become the object of every scripted desire and unspoken ache in the ...

Galactic Harem: The Complete Series (Empire • Dominion • Ascension • Reign) When ordinary Londoner Alex slips on a mysterious VeeAre Deck, he awakens as Ryker Hale — a towering, dominant warlord with nothing but a failing escape pod and a dying galaxy at his feet. To survive and rise, Ryker discovers that true power in this universe is forged through raw, explicit, and passionately consensual bonding rituals. Every willing surrender from the extraordinary women who join him doesn’t just create unbreakable loyalty — it literally powers his technology, upgrades his fleets, and ...

What the MECH is going on here? In a future where the line between man and machine blurs, the fate of humanity rests in the hands of a daring mech pilot and his ragtag band of rebels. Amidst the unforgiving landscape of the Rocky Mountains, they wage a desperate war for survival and freedom against the relentless march of AI overlords. Enter a world ravaged by technological tyranny, where Hunter, once a noble defender of the people, now navigates the treacherous pathways of rebellion. Joined by Lee, a brilliant tactician with a knack for unraveling AI deceit, and Jester, the wildcard pilot ...

Luna Rossi is a veritable crafting genius — she can bedazzle and bead so hard her Etsy site is one of the hottest in the world. So it’s only natural that Luna would convince her brother and his husband-to-be to compete on The Wedding Game, a “do-it-yourself” TV show, for the title of Top DIY Wedding Expert.

There are the laws you’ve been taught — and then there are the ones you were never meant to know. In this chilling and atmospheric account, Lucian Vale reveal the seven forbidden laws hidden beneath the everyday rules of the world: truths that bend walls, stretch time, give thought physical weight, and open doors that should never be opened. Part memoir, part survival guide, part occult field manual, this book takes you from the first subtle cracks in reality to the shadowy custodians who patrol its edges — the Gatekeepers. But knowledge has a cost. Once you’ve read these pages, you...

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?