Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century


Sean Patrick - 2013
    It’s no coincidence that geniuses not only dare to dream of the impossible for their work, but do the same for their lives. They’re audacious enough to think that they’re not just ordinary players. Few stories better illustrate this better than the life of the father of the modern world, a man of legendary imaginative power and wonder: Nikola Tesla.In this book, you’ll be taken on a whirlwind journey through Tesla’s life and work, and not only learn about the successes and mistakes of one of history’s greatest inventors, but also how to look at the world in a different, more imaginative way.Read this book now and learn lessons from Nikola Tesla on why imagination is so vital to awakening your inner genius, and insights into the real “secret” to creativity, as explained by people like Jobs, Picasso, Dali, and Twain.

Time Travel: A History


James Gleick - 2016
    Gleick's story begins at the turn of the twentieth century with the young H. G. Wells writing and rewriting the fantastic tale that became his first book, an international sensation, The Time Machine. A host of forces were converging to transmute the human understanding of time, some philosophical and some technological the electric telegraph, the steam railroad, the discovery of buried civilizations, and the perfection of clocks. Gleick tracks the evolution of time travel as an idea in the culture from Marcel Proust to Doctor Who, from Woody Allen to Jorge Luis Borges. He explores the inevitable looping paradoxes and examines the porous boundary between pulp fiction and modern physics. Finally, he delves into a temporal shift that is unsettling our own moment: the instantaneous wired world, with its all-consuming present and vanishing future.

Shadow of a Dead Star


Michael Shean - 2011
    The future hasn't been kind to the spirit of humanity; commercial obsession and technological fetishism rules the day, religion and belief has died screaming in the fires of war, and what remains is moral decrepitude. Life in the future is hard on the soul.As an agent of the Industrial Security Bureau, Thomas Walken knows that better than anyone. His job is to keep the worst kind of black-market technology out of the hands of citizens, technology born out of the shadowy nation nicknamed Wonderland. But the kind of fantasies that come out of that place aren't for the good people of the world. Wonderland technology is like black magic made real.Walken's newest assignment starts out simply: intercept a smuggled shipment of Princess Dolls, little girls turned into sex toys, and bring them into custody. But when the girls are hijacked from federal custody and Walken gives chase, he finds a trail of bodies in their wake. Before he's through, Walken will find himself confronted revelations that will answer every question that the troubled lawman has ever had about himself and the world he lives in - but his mind and soul may not survive it.A dark, brooding piece of future noir, SHADOW OF A DEAD STAR will take you down the rabbit hole on a ride you won't soon forget.

Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?


Judith B. Kerman - 1991
    Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Essays consider political, moral and technological issues raised by the film, as well as literary, filmic, technical and aesthetic questions. Contributors discuss the film's psychological and mythic patterns, importance political issues and the roots of the film in Paradise Lost, Frankenstein, detective fiction, and previous science fiction cinema.

What If Our World is Their Heaven?: The Final Conversations


Gwen Lee - 1982
    Dick is unparalleled. His novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" became the classic science-fiction film "Blade Runner". His short story, "The Minority Report," was recently adapted for the screen by Stephen Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise. Dick's appeal and influence has reached the world over, creating the standard for the literary science fiction novel.In November 1982, six months before the author's death, journalist Gwen Lee recorded the first of several in-depth discussions with Philip K. Dick that continued over the course over the next three months. These extraordinary interviews are filled with the wit and aplomb characteristic of Dick's writing, helping make "What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick" not only an engaging read, but a unique and compelling historical document of once (sic) of science fictions most innovative and visionary minds. It's a must read for anyone interested in the field of science fiction.

Whatever It Takes


Leif Sterling - 2014
    A dangerous game. How far would you go to save your family? In 2114, there’s no such thing as a fair trial. Roland’s father has just been sentenced to death in a sham case controlled by the all-powerful Pinnacle Corporation. He only has one chance to find out the truth: enter Pinnacle’s death-defying Tech Games and do everything he can to survive. Roland must undergo a risky procedure to install the necessary extra-human tech enhancements. Success could mean a shot at a $100 million prize and the evidence he needs to clear his father’s name. If he fails, both of them will surely die… Whatever It Takes is the first episode in the Nano Contestant series of sci-fi serials. If you like futuristic technology, evocative new worlds, and action-packed sci-fi, then you’ll love Leif Sterling’s incredible series.

The 100 Greatest Players In NHL History (And Other Stuff): An Arbitrary Collection of Arbitrary Lists


Greg Wyshynski - 2017
    Then check out their other lists and insights from the first 100 years of the NHL, including: - The Top 10 Ways The NHL Will Be Different in 25 Years - The Top 10 Most Questionable Decisions Under Gary Bettman - The 10 Worst Teams In NHL History - And the biggest gripes the authors had with each other’s rankings All of this makes THE 100 GREATEST PLAYERS IN NHL HISTORY (AND OTHER STUFF) a must-read for sports fans who love raging debates and the glorious weirdness of hockey!

Bandwidth


Eliot Peper - 2018
    But when a close brush with death reveals that the influence he wields makes him a target, impossible cracks appear in his perfect, richly appointed life.Like everyone else, Dag relies on his digital feed for everything—a feed that is as personal as it is pervasive, and may not be as private as it seems. As he struggles to make sense of the dark forces closing in on him, he discovers that activists are hijacking the feed to manipulate markets and governments. Going public would destroy everything he’s worked so hard to build, but it’s not just Dag’s life on the line—a shadow war is coming, one that will secure humanity’s future or doom the planet to climate catastrophe. Ultimately, Dag must decide the price he’s willing to pay to change the world.

Damnation Alley


Roger Zelazny - 1968
    He's also expendable - at least in the eyes of the Secretary of Traffic for the Nation of California. Tanner doesn't care much for those eyes. You'd also never mistake Hell Tanner for a humanitarian. Facing life in prison for his various crimes, he's given a choice; rot away his remaining years in a tiny jail cell, or drive cross-country and deliver a case of antiserum to the plague-ridden people of Boston, Massachusetts...if anyone is still alive there to receive it, that is. The chance of a full pardon does wonders for getting his attention. And don't mistake this mission of mercy for any kind of normal road trip - not when there are radioactive storms, hordes of carniverous beasts, and giant, mutated scorpions to be found along every deadly mile between Los Angeles and the East Coast. But then, this is no normal part of America, you see. This is DAMNATION ALLEY...

Tainted


Alexandra Moody - 2014
    All she has ever known are the artificial confines of underground fallout shelter, the ARC. Under the Council’s rule, ruthless officials roam the hallways, community comes first and everyone lives in fear of failing their annual testing. With one simple blood test you could be taken away without any warning or a word of goodbye.There are only a few people in the ARC who Elle truly cares about and she desperately tries to keep them at arm’s length away for fear of losing someone else. Especially, her best friend Sebastian who she denies her feelings for, even from herself. Chilling secrets and mysterious disappearances plague the ARC, but Elle would never dare to voice the forbidden questions that linger on her lips. That is until they take the wrong person.No one is truly safe in the ARC and Elle is about to experience her own personal apocalypse. With nothing left to lose she will risk everything to uncover the truth about the tainted.Will she find what she's looking for or are some secrets better left buried deep underground?Don't miss the first book in this young adult series!

After Series Box Set


Scott Nicholson - 2015
    NASA scientists warn of the possible effects of heightened solar activity, but the threat is downplayed until it's far too late.After #1: The Shock- Rachel Wheeler flees the dangers of Charlotte to seek her grandfather's remote compound in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is joined by several other survivors as they fight back against a hostile world.After #2: The Echo- The survivors discover the mutant Zapheads are evolving by imitating human speech and behavior, but the threat of savage violence remains.After #3: Milepost 291- As Rachel and the others near her grandfather's compound, new dangers emerge, including a military unit that has established its own harsh laws.

Before the Pilgrims: the Untold History before Jamestown and Plymouth


Pippa Pralen - 2019
    40 years before the Jamestown colony, the Spanish founded a "Jamestown-type" colony in Virginia. Early explorers met Indians who surprisingly spoke English. Long before 1619 the recognized arrival of slaves, in 1526, the first African slaves were brought to America by the Spanish. A fierce competition arose between France, Spain and England to win the New World. Colonies floundered, were abandoned or destroyed by the English. It wasn’t easy surviving in this “new world” in spite of the early glowing reports. Why did Jamestown and Plymouth colonies succeed when others failed? The 2nd half of this book explores the first successful English colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth and why they succeeded when others could not. Strange and curious facts: the first Indian contact in Plymouth was an Indian asking for a glass of beer! Enjoy a detailed look of what really took place in America’s beginnings. It’s more interesting than your school history books!

The Element in the Room: Science-y Stuff Staring You in the Face (Festival of the Spoken Nerd)


Helen Arney - 2017
    This hilarious and informative book is designed for anyone who is sci-curious and wants to know more about the world around them, especially the elements of everyday science that other books ignore.

Search For Philip K. Dick 1928-1982


Anne R. Dick - 1995
    Much of Dick's work, currently being celebrated in college courses and prestigious anthologies like The Library of America, consists of a kind of surreal autobiography and Anne's memoir helps us connect his fictional characters to his life. Philip K Dick was quite a character himself, both on and off the page, and Anne's memoir bravely explores her tumultuous relationship with this mercurial man in an attempt to better understand him and his writing. A touching aspect of this memoir is that it represents Anne's search as well.Anne witnessed first-hand the most prolific period in Dick's career, a five year period year stretch from 1958 - 1964 during which time Philip wrote many of his most celebrated novels including: The Man in the High Castle, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Martian Time-Slip, Confessions of a Crap Artist, Dr Bloodmoney, We Can Build You, Now Wait For Last Year, and The Simulacra. Anne, a fifty four year resident of Point Reyes Station, still lives in the modern Campbell and Wong house she shared with Philip, a house that was featured in many of Dick's books. Reading Anne's memoir will open up many of Philip's works, revealing the autobiographical material often buried deep in his texts. Biography lovers will enjoy the intensity of detail Anne brings to Dick's complex and intense struggles. Anne spent several years conducting interviews with Dick's friends, family, and colleagues, assembling perhaps the most thoroughly researched biography of Philip K Dick currently available. --- Editor's description:Brilliant, talented, and charismatic, Philip K. Dick had it all. Already a successful young writer with a highly promising career, in 1958 he met his intellectual and romantic soulmate, his soon-to-be third wife Anne Rubenstein.To his new family and friends, Dick appeared cheerful and loving. But behind the facade of an untroubled life was a man struggling with inner demons. Slowly and always in denial, Anne watched his disconnect from reality and witnessed his increasing paranoia. Philip K. Dick had begun his descent into madness.In this riveting memoir and biography, Anne Dick creates an extraordinary portrait of one of the twentieth century's most important writers. Through this no-holds-barred account, she reveals the compelling genius and private hell of Philip K. Dick, for better and for worse.

Tears of the Anaren


C.W. Longbottom - 2021
    Longbottom, the Nebula Award-winning science-fiction and fantasy author and head writer of Mythic Quest. C.W. found literary fame with Inside the Caves of Beneroth and Tears of the Anaren, but even his most loyal fans don’t know that Tears of the Anaren began as a short story he wrote in the early 1970s while interning at Amazing Tales magazine.This never-before-published draft is now yours to discover, complete with C.W.’s (extremely) colorful commentary and an Introduction and Afterword by Ian Grimm, the iconoclastic creator of Mythic Quest. As sparks fly between heroic scoundrel Zeb and space seductress Merrith, we get a glimpse into the mind of a talented young man yearning for greatness. Like early Mozart, it is raw and green — but also magic.From Charlie Day, Megan Ganz, and Rob McElhenney, the Apple TV+ original comedy series, Mythic Quest, goes behind the scenes to follow the game’s creators. In a workplace focused on building worlds, molding heroes, and creating legends, the most hard-fought battles don’t occur in the game — they happen in the office. Rob McElhenney stars as Ian Grimm alongside Charlotte Nicdao and F. Murray Abraham.