The Corroded Man


Adam Christopher - 2016
    Faced with the possibility that their deadliest foe has returned, Emily and Corvo plunge headlong into a life-and-death race against time. If they fail to learn the truth about this mysterious enemy, the result would be destruction on an unimaginable scale.

Halo: Cryptum (Forerunner Saga, #1)


Greg Bear - 2011
    100,000 years ago, the galaxy was populated by a great variety of beings. But one species--eons beyond all others in both technology and knowledge--achieved dominance. They ruled in peace but met opposition with quick and brutal effectiveness. They were the Forerunners, the keepers of the Mantle, the next stage of life in the Universe's Living Time. And then they vanished. This is their story. Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting is a young rebellious Forerunner. He is a Manipular, untried, yet to become part of the adult Forerunner society, where vast knowledge and duty waits. He comes from a family of Builders, the Forerunners' highest and most politically powerful rate. It is the Builders who create the grand technology that facilitates Forerunner dominance over the known universe. It is the Builders who believe they must shoulder the greatest burden of the Mantle, as shepherds and guardians of all life. Bornstellar is marked to become a great Builder just like his father. But this Manipular has other plans. He is obsessed with lost treasures of the past. His reckless passion to seek out the marvelous artifacts left behind by the Precursors, long-vanished superbeings of unknowable power and intent, forces his father's hand. Bornstellar is sent to live among the Miners, where he must come to terms with where his duty truly lies. But powerful forces are at play. Forerunner society is at a major crux. Past threats are once again proving relentless. Dire solutions, machines and strategies never before contemplated, are being called up, and fissures in Forerunner power are leading to chaos. On a Lifeworker's experimental planet, Bornstellar's rebellious course crosses the paths of two humans, and the long lifeline of a great military leader, thus forever changing Bornstellar's destiny ...and the fate of the entire galaxy.

A History of Video Games in 64 Objects


World Video Game Hall of Fame - 2018
    Pithy, in-depth essays and photographs examine each object’s significance to video game play—what it has contributed to the history of gaming—as well as the greater culture.A History of Video Games in 64 Objects explains how the video game has transformed over time. Inside, you’ll find a wide range of intriguing topics, including:The first edition of Dungeons & Dragons—the ancestor of computer role-playing gamesThe Oregon Trail and the development of educational gamingThe Atari 2600 and the beginning of the console revolutionA World of Warcraft server blade and massively multiplayer online gamesMinecraft—the backlash against the studio systemThe rise of women in gaming represented by pioneering American video game designers Carol Shaw and Roberta Williams’ game development materialsThe prototype Skylanders Portal of Power that spawned the Toys-to-Life video game phenomenon and shook up the marketplaceAnd so much more!A visual panorama of unforgettable anecdotes and factoids, A History of Video Games in 64 Objects is a treasure trove for gamers and pop culture fans. Let the gaming begin!

The Million Word Crossword Dictionary


Stanley Newman - 2004
     Meticulously compiled by two crossword professionals with a combined fifty years in the field and based on a massive analysis of current crosswords, there has never been a crossword dictionary with the breadth, depth, and currency of this one. From Jim Carrey to Sister Carrie, Homer Simpson to Homer’s Iliad, the wide-ranging entries include 500,000+ synonyms, 3,000+ literary works, 3,000+ films, 20,000+ famous people from all fields, and more than 50,000 fill-in-the-blank clues so popular in today’s crosswords.Featuring an introduction by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, The Million Word Crossword Dictionary makes every other crossword dictionary obsolete.This updated edition offers thousands of new entries, including slang terms; brand names; celebrity names; and the latest films, novelists’ works, sports Hall of Famers, automobile models, and more. The new, larger type size makes finding the answers easier than ever.

WRONG! Retro Games, You Messed Up Our Comic Book Heroes! (Awesomely Nerdy Nitpicks 1)


Chris Baker - 2014
    This ebook documents the most egregious – and most hilarious – offenders from the moment Superman flew onto the Atari 2600 in 1978 all the way through 1992, when Konami's classic X-Men sucked in quarter after quarter in arcades. NEARLY 80 SUPERHERO GAMES Some you've played. Some you haven't. And quite a few you never even knew existed in the first place. Some high-/lowlights: Purple Dark Knight vs. Green Joker in Batman: The Video Game (NES) Proven instances of "slapping a license" on an already-developed game Games that stripped Wolverine and He-Man of their most iconic weaponry A questionable transportation method for the Man of Steel in Superman (NES) A Transformers game from the creator of Pitfall! The strangest comic book license ever to hit the Sega Genesis The most unnecessary tie-in to a superhero animated series of all time The Danger Mouse Trilogy That one lonely Thundercats game ANSWERS TO BURNING QUESTIONS YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW TO ASK Who is "the Princess Peach of superhero games"? Who was the first Marvel character to be featured in three games? And what's the single gaming appearance he's had since 1985? Which super-character is most consistently misrepresented in games? What common superhero gaming feature was pioneered by LJN's otherwise absolutely horrible X-Men NES game? Which hero's primary gaming nemesis is someone he still has yet to even meet in the comics? What do an NES game and a major restaurant chain agree is Wolverine's favorite food? Why is Carnage getting naked on my SNES?! GAMING PLATFORMS YOU LOVED...OR DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED Atari 2600 | Intellivision | Commodore 64 | Nintendo Entertainment System | Game Boy | Super NES | Sega Master System | Genesis | Game Gear | Lynx | ZX Spectrum | MSX | PC-DOS | MORE! YOUR FAVORITE HEROES (AND SOME YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF) From Marvel! Spider-Man | Wolverine and the X-Men | Hulk | Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Vision, and a bunch of other Avengers | Punisher | Human Torch and the Thing from the Fantastic Four | Silver Surfer | Howard the Duck From DC! Superman | Batman | Flash | Swamp Thing From Other Comic Publishers! Conan | Flash Gordon | Judge Dredd | Ex-Mutants From Toy Lines and Cartoons! Transformers | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | He-Man and the Masters of the Universe | Bartman and Radioactive Man from The Simpsons | G.I.

BioShock: Rapture


John Shirley - 2011
    FDR's New Deal has redefined American politics. Taxes are at an all-time high. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has brought a fear of total annihilation. The rise of secret government agencies and sanctions on business has many watching their backs. America's sense of freedom is diminishing . . . and many are desperate to take that freedom back.Among them is a great dreamer, an immigrant who pulled himself from the depths of poverty to become one of the wealthiest and admired men in the world. That man is Andrew Ryan, and he believed that great men and women deserve better. And so he set out to create the impossible, a utopia free from government, censorship, and moral restrictions on science--where what you give is what you get. He created Rapture---the shining city below the sea.But as we all know, this utopia suffered a great tragedy. This is the story of how it all came to be . . .and how it all ended.