Books with category Virtual Reality
Displaying 10 books

Coldwire

2025

by Chloe Gong

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes the start of a daring new dystopian series where humanity has moved to virtual reality to flee their deteriorating world, following two young soldiers who must depend on unlikely allies in their fight for survival.

The future is loading…

To escape rising seas and rampant epidemics, most of society lives “upcountry” in glistening virtual reality, while those who can’t afford the subscription are forced to remain in crumbling “downcountry.”

But upcountry isn’t perfect. A cold war rages between two powerful nations, Medaluo and Atahua—and no one suffers for it more than the Medan orphans in Atahua. Their enrollment at Nile Military Academy is mandatory. Either serve as a soldier or risk being labelled a spy.

Eirale graduated the academy and joined NileCorp’s private forces downcountry, exactly as she was supposed to. Then Atahua’s most wanted anarchist frames her for assassinating a government official, and she’s given a choice: cooperate with him to search for a dangerous program in Medaluo or go down for treason.

Meanwhile, Lia is finishing her last year upcountry at Nile Military Academy. Paired with her academic nemesis for their final assignment, Lia is determined to beat him for valedictorian and prove her worth. But there may be far more at stake when their task to infiltrate Medaluo and track down an Atahuan traitor goes wrong…

Though Eirale and Lia tear through Medaluo on different planes of reality, the two start to suspect they are puzzle pieces in a larger conspiracy—and the closer they get to the truth, the closer their worlds come to a shattering collision.

Galactic Energies

2014

by Luca Rossi

Galactic Energies takes you on a thrilling journey through a universe where technology and fantasy collide.

The artificial intelligences of DataCom are trying to save the planet by exterminating the human race. Aurelia finds her perfect man: a robot.

The space explorer Captain Arcot sacrifices his life for an impossible conquest, the heart of Vril the vampire queen.

A shape-shifting mutant ignites the erotic desires of the galactic police officer who's been tracking her down.

Alessio fights against corruption in a universe of his own creation.

An innocent man is forced to submit to the domination of a ruthless prison director.

A king who's forgotten his own past wanders through a magical dimension where he discovers his own history.

Two souls separated after one abandons the other meet again in another life.

In an exciting virtual reality game, the hunter of the fearsome black widow becomes her prey.

The Eye of Minds

2013

by James Dashner

Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?

But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery. The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker. And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team.

But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.

The Roar

2012

by Emma Clayton

Mika and Ellie live in a future behind a wall: solid concrete topped with high-voltage razor wire and guarded by a battalion of Ghengis Borgs. This wall was built to keep out the animals, because animals carry the plague. At least that's what Ellie, who was kidnapped as a child, has always been taught.

But when she begins to suspect the truth behind her captivity, she's ready to risk exposure to the elements and answer the call of the wild. Listen. Can you hear it? She's strapping on her headset, jumpstarting her Pod Fighter, and—with her capuchin monkey at her back—she's breaking out!

Erebos

Enter. Or turn back. This is Erebos.

An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda. When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname. Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives.

When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game. Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur.

This utterly convincing and suspenseful thriller originated in Germany, where it has become a runaway bestseller.

The Reality Bug

2003

by D.J. MacHale

Virtual Reality? The territory of Veelox has achieved perfect harmony. Fifteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon arrives on this territory in pursuit of the evil Saint Dane, but all is peaceful on Veelox - because it's deserted. The inhabitants have discovered a way to enter their own personal dream worlds, where they can be whomever they want, wherever they want. Their bodies lie in stasis while their minds escape to this dream realm.

Fresh from his battle with Saint Dane in 1937 Earth, Bobby is confident that they can defeat whatever Saint Dane has planned for this world. But once Bobby enters the virtual world, will he be able to resist the lure of the ultimate in escapism?

Diaspora

2000

by Greg Egan

By the end of the 30th century, humanity has the capability to travel the universe, to journey beyond Earth and beyond the confines of the vulnerable human frame.

The descendants of centuries of scientific, cultural, and physical development divide into three groups: fleshers — true Homo sapiens; Gleisner robots — embodying human minds within machines that interact with the physical world; and polises — supercomputers teeming with intelligent software, containing the direct copies of billions of human personalities now existing only in the virtual reality of the polis.

Diaspora is the story of Yatima — a polis being created from random mutations of the Konishi polis base mind seed — and of humankind. An astrophysical accident spurs the thousandfold cloning of the polises, leading to the discovery of an alien race and a kink in time that ensures humanity — in whatever form it takes — will never again be threatened by acts of God.

Mountain of Black Glass

1999

by Tad Williams

The Grail Brotherhood has built the most powerful, sophisticated simulation network imaginable. At the same time, they have manipulated and injured the minds of thousands of children.

This proclamation from the mysterious Mr. Sellars confirmed what Renie Sulaweyo had feared to be true when she first broke into the Otherland network in a desperate search for the cause of her brother Stephen's deathlike coma. Now Renie, the Bushman !Xabbu, and their companions find themselves navigating a treacherous and ever-changing course—from a strangely unfinished land to a seemingly endless labyrinthine House—pursuing a sociopathic killer who has stolen one of their group.

To Renie's despair, she is no closer to uncovering the secrets which could help save Stephen's life, and now it appears that something may be very wrong with the Otherland network itself.

As Paul Jonas, Orlando, Renie, and the rest strive to reach Priam's Walls, in the heart of Troy, they know that their quest is running perilously short of time. For the Grail Brotherhood has finally set the date for the Ceremony when they will make their bid for immortality, and thereby seal the fate of Earth's children forever.

But before Renie and her allies can hope to stop the Brotherhood, they must first solve the mysteries of Otherland itself, and confront its darkest secret—an entity known only as the Other.

Permutation City

1995

by Greg Egan

Permutation City is the story of a man with a vision—immortality for those who can afford it, found in the boundless realm of cyberspace. The tale unfolds around a visionary's attempt to create immortality, a vision that spirals beyond his control.

Encompassing a diverse cast of characters, the narrative explores the lives and struggles of an artificial life junkie desperate to save her dying mother, a billionaire banker scarred by a terrible crime, and lovers for whom, in their timeless virtual world, love is not enough. It's a story brimming with wonder and profound questions about the essence of humanity.

Can what makes you human be distilled into data? And what happens if you can't afford to pay the price for this digital eternity?

Permutation City challenges readers with its mind-bending exploration of cyberspace, afterlife, and immortality, offering a unique perspective on what it means to be human in a digital age.

Better than Life

1993

by Grant Naylor

Better than Life is a wild and wacky science fiction novel that continues the adventures of the beloved Red Dwarf crew. Inspired by the popular BBC-TV series, this book is reminiscent of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The story follows Lister, who finds himself in a peculiar predicament. After passing out drunk in London, he awakens in a locker on a moon of Saturn. Now, Lister is trapped in a computer game that transports players to the perfect world of their imaginations. However, this is no ordinary game; it’s a game people are literally dying to play.

Join Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Holly, and the Cat as they navigate through this addictive virtual reality called Better Than Life. Each character experiences their own version of paradise: Lister lives in a replica of Bedford Falls from It's a Wonderful Life, Rimmer is married to a supermodel, and the Cat lives in Denmark in a palace surrounded by a moat of milk. Life's good on Earth. Or is it?

To escape this perilous paradise, the crew must face the ultimate challenge: they have to want to leave. This book promises a journey through frontal-lobe knotting realities where none dare venture but the bravest of the brave, the boldest of the bold, and the feeblest of the feeble-minded.

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