Virtual Worlds

Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of “technophilosophy,” David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already.

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...

Experience hard-hitting military science fiction from Germany! Immerse yourself in a gripping story that tells of an alternate war. Author Hermann Weinhauer, known for his nerve-wracking frontline reports, presents “Imperium Germanicum,” an alternate history of the highest order. His series skillfully blends the genres of political thriller and war novel as Weinhauer answers what is arguably the most intriguing of all questions: What if …? February 1943: The Italian and German troops fighting in North Africa are urgently needed in Europe. The Kaiser has long since decided to abandon ...

To save her life, a woman tells a story — and breaks it off at dawn, on a cliff, so the king who has sworn to kill her by morning must let her live one more day to hear the end. A thousand nights and one night later, Scheherazade has talked her way out of death and given the world its greatest treasury of tales. This Erato Press edition presents the Nights complete and unabridged — the full nine-volume cycle in the first complete English translation, made by the poet John Payne (1842–1916). Payne was the first to render the entire Arabic compendium into English; Richard Burton's more ...

The lights went out. The world fell apart. Now, survival is the only rule. When a devastating solar storm wipes out the power grid, civilization collapses nearly overnight. No power. No running water. No law. Panic ignites the streets as food disappears, cities burn, and violence spreads like wildfire. Retired Army Captain James “Hunter” Seaton always knew society was hanging by a thread—just nine missed meals from anarchy—but even he wasn’t prepared for how fast everything would unravel. In his quiet Tennessee neighborhood, fear turns neighbors into threats, and survival means ...

Before April 12th, Ava Garcia knew exactly who she was: daughter, girlfriend, best friend, high school junior. Then her boyfriend died. Her best friend died. And Ava found out she could run at two hundred miles an hour — a secret that's made her both more and less alone than she's ever been. When a tanker truck explodes on the highway outside Sunvail, Arizona, Ava is first on scene — and first to realize it's no accident. Someone is hunting people with powers. There's a list. There's money behind it. And there's no sign it's finished growing. With her allies scattered and her trust ...

World War III has begun. And no one is safe. ⭐ “The closest thing to Tom Clancy I’ve read in years.” ⭐ “Chillingly realistic—and impossible to put down.” ⭐ “A nonstop, adrenaline-fueled ride from start to finish.” The first missiles fall without warning. Within hours, the world is at war. Across the Pacific, American and allied forces are shattered—airbases reduced to ash, fleets scattered, defenses overwhelmed. What was once unthinkable becomes reality as the balance of power collapses in a single, devastating blow. Now, the fight to survive begins. Deep beneath the...

A Brief History of the World offers a sweeping yet accessible journey through the grand story of humanity—from the origins of life on Earth to the rise of civilizations, empires, revolutions, and global connections. Written for curious minds and lifelong learners, this book distills the most significant moments in human history into a clear, engaging narrative that reveals how our world came to be. Rather than an exhaustive chronicle, this concise guide highlights the pivotal ideas, cultures, achievements, and conflicts that have shaped the human experience. It begins with the emergence ...

Wade Callahan knows how to fix problems. As a lineman in rural New Mexico, he’s spent his life keeping the power on, the lights working, and the world running the way it’s supposed to… until the day it doesn’t. It starts with a flicker, then the grid goes down, and it doesn’t come back. At first, it feels temporary. The days pass and nothing returns. The world outside begins to go quiet. Cut off from any contact and running out of answers, Wade is forced to do what he’s never had to before—stop fixing the system and start surviving without it, but as supplies thin and ...

YOUR ULTIMATE NIGHTLY ESCAPE AROUND THE WORLD. 100 World Travel Deep Sleep Stories. Tired of staring at the ceiling while your mind replays endless worries? Jet lag dreams or wanderlust keeping you awake? You crave deep sleep and peaceful escape—but stress, anxiety, and racing thoughts steal your rest night after night. Packed with 100 deep sleep stories transporting you worldwide, it outshines basic bundles by immersing you in authentic, soothing destinations—from the Patagonia Glaciers to Kyoto’s bamboo groves, Santorini’s cliffside sunsets to Iceland’s geothermal pools. What ...

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,...

They called them freaks. History rarely bothered to learn their names. FREAKSHOW is the true story of the performers who built one of the strangest and most profitable industries in American history, and the real people history reduced to a single word on a ticket booth banner. Meet Joseph Merrick, exhibited as the Elephant Man before finding four years of genuine peace at the London Hospital. Meet Chang and Eng Bunker, sold as children and exhibited across two continents before building a fortune, a family of twenty-one children, and an uncomfortable legacy of their own. Meet Julia ...

When Erin returns home, it means dealing with the grief of losing her father and the secret surrounding his death. It also means facing her best friend's mom, the woman she has been lusting and pining after for the past year. Then, finally, Erin gets what she wants, but it's not all it's cut out to be. And one weekend of endless lovemaking turns to tragedy that threatens to destroy everything. There was no denying that Macy had grown closer to Erin that fateful night when her ex-husband did what he did. And even closer when Erin shared a most intimate yet devastating secret with her. As ...

Once again reunited with Gisel, Mizza and Night, Theo's group have to cut their holiday short to go and rescue Rath, who has been captured by dwarves and demons. Of course, it can't just be a simply jailbreak, and they end up in the middle of a dwarven war. That all done, they return to the academy, and Theo enters a new phase of his life, one as a married man! He's upset a lot of powerful people though, and even his special day isn't going to be spared. It's time for a Green Wedding!

“Realistic and Frightening” • “A Must Read” • “Captivating” Straits of Fire plunges readers into the tense opening act of a new world war. As the next installment in The Eagle & The Dragon Series, this military technothriller captures the razor’s edge of geopolitics where power, deception, and firepower collide. For decades, Pax Americana’s Navy kept the sea lanes open and the global order intact. But Beijing’s ambitions have outgrown its patience. While the world watches Chinese carriers mass in the Taiwan Strait, the real trap is being laid thousands of miles away. ...

Struggle and distress are not caused by life. They are created by how the mind responds to it, and that you can change. Your Thoughts Create the World offers a clear and compassionate way to understand why overthinking, anxiety, and inner conflict arise, and how they naturally dissolve when we rest in our innate, spacious awareness. This is not a book about fixing yourself, controlling your thoughts, or forcing positivity. It shows how misunderstanding the mind creates suffering, and how understanding it restores joy and ease without effort. Inside, you’ll discover: Why overthinking fuels...

25 Essential Philosophical Concepts Every Thinker Should Know is a clear and engaging guide to the foundational ideas that have shaped human understanding for centuries. From ancient paradoxes to modern thought experiments, this book explores the key concepts that philosophers use to investigate truth, morality, knowledge, and the nature of reality. Each chapter focuses on one essential idea, explaining what it means, why it matters, and how it continues to apply in the world today. Whether you’re puzzling over Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am”, debating Kant’s Categorical ...

"Combining forensic precision with moral urgency, this book redefines pandemic history—not as a health event, but as a blueprint for a technocratic takeover. A must-read for anyone who suspects the true contagion was not viral, but political."—Robert Malone, MD, MS. Physician and Scientist, Adjunct Professor, Vice Chair, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. "Sonia Elijah used a sword to cut through thickets of obfuscation that grew like a jungle around the truth of what occurred during the pandemic..."—Dr. Peter McCullough, New ...

Title: Princess of the Court: World of Ryyah, Donnagarian Age A High Fantasy Romance Novel In the ancient citadel of Donnagar, where elven royalty navigates centuries of courtly tradition and political alliance, Princess Adelwen has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight. Copper-haired and sharp-witted beneath a carefully cultivated facade of charming eccentricity, she deflects ambitious suitors and prying eyes with scattered observations that mask her true depth. Yet her heart has long been captured by an impossible figure: Kevin Drayton, a mysterious Otherworlder who arrived through a...

ALONE AT THE END OF THE WORLD: BOOK 1 In a world ravaged by a deadly virus, 13-year-old Ethan, single mother Cassie, and fisherman Noah face the harsh reality of survival. As they navigate a desolate landscape filled with danger and despair, their paths cross, forcing them to confront the challenge of trusting strangers in a world where the Sympatico Syndrome shows no mercy. ENDURE AT THE END OF THE WORLD: BOOK 2 Ethan, Cassie, and Noah, having escaped the virus, face relentless challenges in a world forever changed by the pandemic. Ethan, striving to prove his worth, takes risks to belong ...