Virtual Unrealities

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Virtual Unrealities

Author : Alfred Bester
Publisher : ibooks
ISBN 13 : 159687578X
Total Pages : 485 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (968 download)

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Book Synopsis Virtual Unrealities by : Alfred Bester

Download or read book Virtual Unrealities written by Alfred Bester and published by ibooks. This book was released on 2013-05-31 with total page 485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Dazzlement and enchantment are Bester's methods. His stories never stand still a moment." —Damon Knight, author of Why Do Birds Alfred Bester took science fiction into hyperdrive, endowing it with a wit, speed, and narrative inventiveness that have inspired two generations of writers. And nowhere is Bester funnier, speedier, or more audacious than in these seventeen short stories—two of them previously unpublished—that have now been brought together in a single volume for the first time. Read about the sweet-natured young man whose phenomenal good luck turns out to be disastrous for the rest of humanity. Find out why tourists are flocking to a hellish little town in a post-nuclear Kansas. Meet a warlock who practices on Park Avenue and whose potions comply with the Pure Food and Drug Act. Make a deal with the Devil—but not without calling your agent. Dazzling, effervescent, sexy, and sardonic, Virtual Unrealities is a historic collection from one of science fiction's true pathbreakers. "Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction. " —Harry Harrison Alfred Bester (1913-1987) was the author of two of science fiction's seminal works, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination. He also wrote some fast-moving, sizzling short stories that were very highly regarded; many of them are included in the 17 stories showcased in Virtual Realities; two were never before published. Highlights include "Disappearing Act," in which shell-shocked soldiers vanish from their hospital ward; "Hobson's Choice," in which a statistician uncovers a disturbing population trend in post-nuclear Kansas; "Time Is the Traitor," wherein powerful business people manipulate their most valuable consultant; and "The Devil Without Glasses," a conspiracy tale with an X-Files feel. The science fiction and literary classic "Fondly Fahrenheit" stars wealthy Vandaleur and his mad android who has an unfortunate habit of turning murderous when the temperature gets too hot... All reet!

Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester

Author : Alfred Bester
Publisher : Turtleback Books
ISBN 13 : 9781417719327
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (193 download)

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Book Synopsis Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester by : Alfred Bester

Download or read book Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester written by Alfred Bester and published by Turtleback Books. This book was released on 1997-11-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Available for the first time in a single volume: the pioneering short stories of Alfred Bester, author of "The Stars My Destination", including two never-before-published pieces.

Presidential Unrealities

Author : Sebastian M. Herrmann
Publisher : Universitätsverlag Winter
ISBN 13 : 3825363333
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (253 download)

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Book Synopsis Presidential Unrealities by : Sebastian M. Herrmann

Download or read book Presidential Unrealities written by Sebastian M. Herrmann and published by Universitätsverlag Winter. This book was released on 2014-06-12 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes and historicizes an important and popular motif in contemporary US political discourse: the notion that politics has become increasingly ‘unreal.’ At the turn of the millennium, the simulated quality of politics in general and of the US presidency in particular has become a major object of concern across a broad range of venues and media: publications in media studies and political science, newspaper editorials, novels, films, and TV shows alike worry over how much or how little we can actually know about the reality of the US president when all our knowledge is based on carefully staged media representations. Rather than adding another voice to this concern, ‘Presidential Unrealities’ investigates the cultural work such discussions do. Charting their histories and their cultural resonances, the book argues that debating ‘presidential unreality’ provides a crucial vocabulary by way of which the US public negotiates the postmodernization of American culture and society.

Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction

Author : Mark Bould
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135285349
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (352 download)

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Book Synopsis Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction by : Mark Bould

Download or read book Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction written by Mark Bould and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-09-10 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction is a collection of engaging essays on some of the most significant figures who have shaped and defined the genre. Diverse groups within the science fiction community are represented, from novelists and film makers to comic book and television writers. Important and influential names discussed include: Octavia Butler George Lucas Robert Heinlein Gene Roddenberry Stan Lee Ursula K. Le Guin H.G. Wells This outstanding reference guide charts the rich and varied landscape of science fiction and includes helpful and up-to-date lists of further reading at the end of each entry. Available in an easy to use A-Z format, Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction will be of interest to students of Literature, Film Studies, and Cultural Studies.

Alfred Bester

Author : Jad Smith
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
ISBN 13 : 0252099079
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis Alfred Bester by : Jad Smith

Download or read book Alfred Bester written by Jad Smith and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alfred Bester's classic short stories and the canonical novel The Stars My Destination made him a science fiction legend. Fans and scholars praise him as a genre-bending pioneer and cyberpunk forefather. Writers like Neil Gaiman and William Gibson celebrate his prophetic vision and stylistic innovations. Jad Smith traces the career of the unlikeliest of SF icons. Winner of the first Hugo Award for The Demolished Man, Bester also worked in comics, radio, and TV, and his intermittent SF writing led some critics to brand him a dabbler. In the 1960s, however, New Wave writers championed his work, and his reputation grew. Smith follows Bester's journey from consummate outsider to an artist venerated for foundational works that influenced the New Wave and cyberpunk revolutions. He also explores the little-known roots of a wayward journey fueled by curiosity, disappointment with the SF mainstream, and an artist's determination to go his own way.

In the Land of the Unreal

Author : Lisa Messeri
Publisher : Duke University Press
ISBN 13 : 1478059222
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis In the Land of the Unreal by : Lisa Messeri

Download or read book In the Land of the Unreal written by Lisa Messeri and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-02 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the mid-2010s, a passionate community of Los Angeles-based storytellers, media artists, and tech innovators formed around virtual reality (VR), believing that it could remedy society’s ills. Lisa Messeri offers an ethnographic exploration of this community, which conceptualized VR as an “empathy machine” that could provide glimpses into diverse social realities. She outlines how, in the aftermath of #MeToo, the backlash against Silicon Valley, and the turmoil of the Trump administration, it was imagined that VR—if led by women and other marginalized voices—could bring about a better world. Messeri delves into the fantasies that allowed this vision to flourish, exposing the paradox of attempting to use a singular VR experience to mend a fractured reality full of multiple, conflicting social truths. She theorizes this dynamic as unreal, noting how dreams of empathy collide with reality’s irreducibility to a “common” good. With In the Land of the Unreal, Messeri navigates the intersection of place, technology, and social change to show that technology alone cannot upend systemic forces attached to gender and race.

The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

Author : George Mann
Publisher : Robinson
ISBN 13 : 1780337043
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (83 download)

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Book Synopsis The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by : George Mann

Download or read book The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction written by George Mann and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2012-03-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This encyclopedia is the most up-to-date, concise, clear and affordable guide to all aspects of science fiction, from its background to generic themes and devices, from authors (established and new) to films. Science fiction has evolved into one of the most popular, cutting-edge and exciting fiction geners, with a proliferation of modern and classic authors, themes and ideas, movies, TV series and awards. Arranged in an A-Z format, and featuring a comprehensive index and cross-referencing system, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is also the most accessible and easy to use encyclopedia of its kind currently available.

Sideways in Time

Author : Glyn Morgan
Publisher : Liverpool Science Fiction Text
ISBN 13 : 1789620139
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (896 download)

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Book Synopsis Sideways in Time by : Glyn Morgan

Download or read book Sideways in Time written by Glyn Morgan and published by Liverpool Science Fiction Text. This book was released on 2019-09-30 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alternate history is a genre of fiction that, although connected to science fiction, has its own rich history and lineage. With its roots in the writings of ancient Rome, alternate history matured into something close to its current form in the essays and novels of the nineteenth century. In more recent years a number of highly acclaimed novels have been published as alternate histories, by authors ranging from bestselling science fiction writers to Pulitzer prize-winning literary icons. The popularity of the genre is reflected in its success on television, where original concepts have been developed alongside adaptations of classic texts such as Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. This collection of essays, by both leading scholars in the field and rising stars, seeks to redress an imbalance between the importance and quality of alternate history texts and the available critical scholarship on the genre. The essays acknowledge the long and distinctive history of alternate history whilst also revelling in its vitality, adaptability, and contemporary relevance.

The Genocides

Author : Thomas M. Disch
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0375705465
Total Pages : 164 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (757 download)

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Book Synopsis The Genocides by : Thomas M. Disch

Download or read book The Genocides written by Thomas M. Disch and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2000-11-14 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This spectacular novel established Thomas M. Disch as a major new force in science fiction. First published in 1965, it was immediately labeled a masterpiece reminiscent of the works of J.G. Ballard and H.G. Wells In this harrowing novel, the world's cities have been reduced to cinder and ash and alien plants have overtaken the earth. The plants, able to grow the size of maples in only a month and eventually reach six hundred feet, have commandeered the world's soil and are sucking even the Great Lakes dry. In northern Minnesota, Anderson, an aging farmer armed with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other, desperately leads the reduced citizenry of a small town in a daily struggle for meager existence. Throw into this fray Jeremiah Orville, a marauding outsider bent on a bizarre and private revenge, and the fight to live becomes a daunting task.

Psycho Shop

Author : Alfred Bester & Roger Zelazny
Publisher : ibooks
ISBN 13 : 0679767827
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (797 download)

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Book Synopsis Psycho Shop by : Alfred Bester & Roger Zelazny

Download or read book Psycho Shop written by Alfred Bester & Roger Zelazny and published by ibooks. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A dark acid curio, brisk, fast, memorable, a rare improvisational duet from two of our best.”—Greg Bear “Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction.” —Harry Harrison, author of Adventures of the Stanless Steel Rat “Let there be light, and let there always be Roger Zelazny.”—Philip José Farmer, author of To Your Scattered Bodies Go From Publishers Weekly: This odd novel, left incomplete when Bester died in 1987, was finished by Zelazny, who himself died in 1995. In his introduction, Bear refers to Bester (The Deceivers) and Zelazny (Donnerjack) as masters of SF jazz, geniuses of improvisation, and the book has that feel to it. The plot is full of bizarre twists and turns. Neat ideas surface and disappear in an eyeblink and characters transform radically from one page to the next. Alf Noir, an investigative reporter, is sent to Rome to look into the mysterious Black Place of the Soul-Changer and its enigmatic proprietor, Adam Maser. Alf discovers that Maser is a Psychbroker, a sort of pawnbroker of the spirit, dealing in emotions, talents and psychological traits. Want more courage, the ability to see into the infrared, an understanding of ancient Persian? Maser will trade it to you for your mind-reading ability, or a rare coin, or perhaps for the secret of the collective unconscious. Alf discovers that Maser isn't human, but a highly evolved cat from the far future. Nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted, not even Maser's sexy assistant, an evolved snake with whom Alf has an affair. There's much fun to be had here, but the book doesn't represent either writer in top form. Bester's style in the first part of the novel seems dated, and things don't gel until Zelazny takes over halfway through the book. Vintage has brought Bester's finest work back into print, and for this it deserves praise, but this novel is most likely to appeal to Zelazny's much larger readership.

The Demolished Man

Author : Alfred Bester
Publisher : ibooks
ISBN 13 : 1596879882
Total Pages : 535 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (968 download)

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Book Synopsis The Demolished Man by : Alfred Bester

Download or read book The Demolished Man written by Alfred Bester and published by ibooks. This book was released on 2018-01-08 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #4 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. The first Hugo Award winner for best novel in 1953. “One of the all-time classics of science fiction.”—Isaac Asimov “Bester's two superb books have stood the test of time. For nearly sixty years they’ve held their place on everybody’s list of the ten greatest sf novels” —Robert Silverberg In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn’t been heard of in 70 years: murder. That’s the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D’Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face and driven to the edge after D’Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence. Alfred Bester was among the first important authors of contemporary science fiction. His passionate novels of worldly adventure, high intellect, and tremendous verve, The Stars My Destination and the Hugo Award winning The Demolished Man, established Bester as a s.f. grandmaster, a reputation that was ratified by the Science Fiction Writers of America shortly before his death. Bester also was an acclaimed journalist for Holiday magazine, a reviewer for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and even a writer for Superman.

The Stars My Destination

Author : Alfred Bester
Publisher : ibooks
ISBN 13 : 1876963468
Total Pages : 236 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (769 download)

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Book Synopsis The Stars My Destination by : Alfred Bester

Download or read book The Stars My Destination written by Alfred Bester and published by ibooks. This book was released on 2011-06-06 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #5 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. “Science fiction has only produced a few works of actual genius, and this is one of them.” —Joe Haldeman #5 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. “Science fiction has only produced a few works of actual genius, and this is one of them.” —Joe Haldeman "Bester at the peak of his powers is, quite simply, unbeatable” —James Lovegrove Marooned in outer space after an attack on his ship, Nomad, Gulliver Foyle lives to obsessively pursue the crew of a rescue vessel that had intended to leave him to die. When it comes to pop culture, Alfred Bester (1913-1987) is something of an unsung hero. He wrote radio scripts, screenplays, and comic books (in which capacity he created the original Green Lantern Oath). But Bester is best known for his science-fiction novels, and The Stars My Destination may be his finest creation. With its sly potshotting at corporate skullduggery, The Stars My Destination seems utterly contemporary, and has maintained its status as an underground classic for fifty years. (Bester fans should also note that iBooks has reprinted ReDemolished, which won the very first Hugo Award in 1953.)

Streaming

Author : Wheeler W. Dixon
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813142172
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis Streaming by : Wheeler W. Dixon

Download or read book Streaming written by Wheeler W. Dixon and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2013-06-19 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analyzes the culural and social effects of the increasing digital distribution of movies, discussing the ways in which it has impacted the making of motion pictures and altered the behavior and habits of the film audience.

Todd Howard

Author : Wendi Sierra
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1501350986
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Todd Howard by : Wendi Sierra

Download or read book Todd Howard written by Wendi Sierra and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2020-12-24 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The newest addition to our Influential Video Game Designers series explores the work of Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Studios, known for how he consistently pushes the boundaries of open-world gaming and player agency. Howard's games create worlds in which players can design their own characters and tell their own stories. While many games tell the story of the game's main character, Todd Howard's worldbuilding approach to game design focuses more on telling the story of the game's world, whether it be the high fantasy environments of the Elder Scrolls series or the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Fallout series. This focus on sculpting the world allows for remarkable amounts of player freedom and choice in an expansive game environment by creating a landscape rich with open opportunity. Drawing on both academic discussions of narrative, world design, and game design, as well as on officially released interviews, speeches, and presentations given by Howard and other designers at Bethesda Games, Wendi Sierra highlights three core areas set Howard's design perspective apart from other designers: micronarratives, iterative design, and the sharing of design tools. Taken as a whole, these three elements demonstrate how Howard has used a worldbuilding perspective to shape his games. In doing so, he has impacted not only Bethesda Studios, but also the landscape of game design itself.

As If

Author : Michael Saler
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199887802
Total Pages : 492 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis As If by : Michael Saler

Download or read book As If written by Michael Saler and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-12-29 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many people throughout the world "inhabit" imaginary worlds communally and persistently, parsing Harry Potter and exploring online universes. These activities might seem irresponsibly escapist, but history tells another story. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, when Sherlock Holmes became the world's first "virtual reality" character, readers began to colonize imaginary worlds, debating serious issues and viewing reality in provisional, "as if" terms rather than through essentialist, "just so" perspectives. From Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and Tolkien's Middle-earth to the World of Warcraft and Second Life, As If provides a cultural history that reveals how we can remain enchanted but not deluded in an age where fantasy and reality increasingly intertwine.

A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology

Author : Vanda Zajko
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119072107
Total Pages : 500 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology by : Vanda Zajko

Download or read book A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology written by Vanda Zajko and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology presents a collection of essays that explore a wide variety of aspects of Greek and Roman myths and their critical reception from antiquity to the present day. Reveals the importance of mythography to the survival, dissemination, and popularization of classical myth from the ancient world to the present day Features chronologically organized essays that address different sets of myths that were important in each historical era, along with their thematic relevance Features chronologically organized essays that address different sets of myths that were important in each historical era, along with their thematic relevance Offers a series of carefully selected in-depth readings, including both popular and less well-known examples

Science Fiction Authors

Author : Maura Heaphy
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1598845063
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (988 download)

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Book Synopsis Science Fiction Authors by : Maura Heaphy

Download or read book Science Fiction Authors written by Maura Heaphy and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-11-30 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For students, scholars, readers' advisors, and curious SF readers and fans, this guide provides an easy-to-use launch pad for researching and learning more about science fiction writers and their work. Emphasizing the best popular and contemporary authors, this book covers 100 SF writers, providing for each: • a brief biographical sketch, including a quote from theauthor, awards, etc. • a list of the author's major works (including editions and other writings) • research sources-biographies, criticism, research guides, and web sites • In addition, you'll find read-alike lists for selected authors. For anyone wanting to find information on popular SF authors, this should be the first stop.