Science fiction: cyberpunk/biopunk

The "brilliantly realized" (The New York Times Book Review) modern classic that coined the term "metaverse"-one of Time's 100 best English-language novels and "a foundational text of the cyberpunk movement" (Wired), now in a gorgeous new hardcover edition featuring bonus material In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous . . . you'll recognize it immediately.

THE 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH NEW, NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED MATERIALAfter the Internet, what came next?Enter the Metaverse - cyberspace home to avatars and software daemons, where anything and just about everything goes. Newly available on the Street - the Metaverse's main drag - is Snow Crash. A cyberdrug that reduces avatars in the digital world to dust, but also infects users in real life, leaving them in a vegetative state.This is bad news for Hiro, a freelance hacker and the Metaverse's best swordfighter, and mouthy skateboard courier Y. T.. Together, investigating the Infocalypse, they trace back the roots of language itself to an ancient Sumerian priesthood and find they must race to stop a shadowy virtual villain hell-bent on world domination.In this special edition of the remarkably prescient modern classic, Neal Stephenson exploreslinguistics, computer science, politics and philosophy in the form of a break-neck adventure into the fast-approaching yet eerily recognizable future.'Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the twenty-first century' William Gibson'Brilliantly realized' New York Times Book Review 'Like a Pynchon novel with the brakes removed' Washington Post'A remarkably prescient vision of today's tech landscape' Vanity Fair

"Nelah seems to have it all: fame, wealth, and a long-awaited daughter growing in a government lab. But, trapped in a loveless marriage to a policeman who uses a microchip to monitor her every move, Nelah's perfect life is precarious. After a drug-fueled evening culminates in an eerie car accident, Nelah commits a desperate crime and buries the body, daring to hope that she can keep one last secret. The truth claws its way into Nelah's life from the grave. As the ghost of her victim viciously hunts down the people Nelah holds dear, she is thrust into a race against the clock: in order to save any of her remaining loved ones, Nelah must unravel the political conspiracy her victim was on the verge of exposing--or risk losing everyone. et in a cruel futuristic surveillance state where bodies are a government-issued resource, this harrowing story is a twisty, nail-biting commentary on power, monstrosity, and bodily autonomy. In sickeningly evocative prose, Womb City interrogates how patriarchy pits women against each other as unwitting collaborators in their own oppression."--

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years.What would happen if the world were ending?A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . .Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.

Ordet for verden er skov er en højaktuel bog om ressourcemangel, skovfældning og kolonialisme, men også om modstand mod undertrykkere, samliv med naturen og ikke mindst retten til at leve i frihed.I fremtiden har menneskeheden koloniseret skovverdenen Athshea og omdøbt den til New Tahiti. Formålet er at fælde alle træerne, som Athshea består af, og sende dem tilbage til en ressourcehungrende Jord. De fredelige athsheanere, der lever i pagt med skovverdenen, bliver tvunget til slaveri og arbejdskraft i fældningen af skoven under dække af frivilligt arbejde. Den desperate situation kalder dog på desperate midler, og et oprør ulmer i athsheanerne. Men ved at forsvare deres liv har de bragt selve grundlaget for deres samfund i fare. Ordet for verden er skov er Ursula K. Le Guins mest aktivistiske science fiction-værk og har vundet den prestigefulde Hugo Award. Bogen foregår i Hainish-universet og er en del af Le Guins omfattende fremtidshistorie. Blandt de andre bøger i universet kan nævnes Mørkets venstre hånd og De udstødte. Ordet for verden er skov har været inspiration for mange forskellige værker, blandt andet James Camerons Avatar-film, men også mere filosofiske værker som Donna Haraways At blive i besværet.

Begin againThe world has long been divided. The Unity, and all their bounty, are protected by an army strengthened by nanites, which heal instantly but block the experience of emotion. Those who "resist" the technology live in isolated pockets on the infertile fringes. The wars between each faction died off long before young love blossomed between Arin and Lia... or so it seemed.Arin, now a Unity commander, captures an enemy assassin only to discover she is Lia. Faced with the prospect of turning the only woman he ever loved over for execution or facing his own, Arin decides to flee with Lia into the Unknown Territories. Lia introduces Arin to life in the Resistance world, a harsh existence exacerbated by Unity oppression. Upon arrival at Lia's secret destination, a hidden paradise in Resistance territory, Arin discovers that Lia is no lone assassin but an integral part of a clandestine Resistance army and wife of the army's formidable leader, Roland.Faced with life as a prisoner or life without his healing nanites, Arin chooses to live as a mortal once again, reawakening his impulsive spirit, along with his feelings for Lia. Arin soon joins the Resistance forces and proves his newfound loyalties by confronting the cold army he once commanded.But growing suspicion of Roland's true motivations leads Arin to uncover a great secret hidden by Roland and his fellow army leaders, one that may change the world forever.

The Fallen AngelAt long last, Sammael Morningstar has unleashed Armageddon on an unsuspecting world. Unfortunately for the ego of the Prince of Darkness, all the glory belongs to his wife...The Bride of SatanMonsignor Emmaline McNaughten has achieved the impossible-brought peace between Jews and Arabs after the destruction of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Now, her gospel is spreading, inspiring secularism in a populace once devoted to theocratic worship, and fulfilling her role of the Antichrist...The Blessed DaughterAmariah isn't your typical teenager. Her mother's a legend in cybernetic and law enforcement communities. Her father is the Archangel Michael. Amariah herself just may be the next messiah. And now she's just made some powerful enemies...

"Du bist endlich am Ort deiner Bestimmung.Du wirst jetzt beweisen, dass du ihm würdig bist."Cornwall, 1968. Der junge Aarin sehnt sich nach den Sternen. Er trainiert eisern, um irgendwann ins All fliegen zu können, doch sein Wunsch scheint unerfüllbar. Als die Maschinen ihn zu sich holen, kommt er seinem Ziel so nahe wie noch nie. Aarin schwört, seiner neuen Aufgabe gerecht zu werden, koste es, was es wolle ¿ und besiegelt damit sein Schicksal.Der zweite Teil der Maschinenmacht-Reihe erzählt die Geschichte von Aarin Cirrus und knüpft im Anschluss nahtlos an Band eins an. Im Kern der Maschine kommt es zum Wiedersehen mit alten Bekannten und schließlich zu einem lange erwarteten Showdown.Eine Villain Origin Story in einem Genremix aus Science-Fiction, Thriller, Biopunk, Drama und Coming of Age.

"Die numerische Sprache der Kontrolle besteht aus Codes, die den Zugang zu Informationen kennzeichnen oder verweigern. Es geht nicht mehr länger um das Begriffspaar Masse/Individuum. Individuen wurden zu 'Dividuen' und Massen wurden zu Stichproben, Datensätzen, Märkten oder 'Banken'." Gilles Deleuze (Postscript on the Societies of Control)Wien (jetzt Dobona-City) war die erste Stadt, die vor 200 Jahren nach dem Exodus der Menschen ins All, wiederbesiedelt wurde. Hier trifft das Vermächtnis der Zerstörung der eigenen Lebensgrundlage auf eine neue Gesellschaftsstruktur, deren zentrale Elemente Hirn-Computer-Interfaces, intergalaktische Vernetzung und Communityzugehörigkeit (anstatt geografischer Grenzen) sind.Ein Stromausfall legt die 12 Millionen Stadt lahm. Ursache ist eine komplexe technische Apparatur, die von einem Team niederrangiger Polizeieinheiten in den Ruinen des DC-Towers gefunden wird. Schon vor Ort bekommen die Analyseeinheit Jaro und der Polizeileutnant Yilka Margreier einen Einblick in Aufzeichnungen, die sich dort auf riesigen Datenträgern befinden. Einige davon zeigen Einblicke in groteske, surreale Szenarien, andere Alltägliches.Es besteht Interesse an schneller Aufklärung, weil eine Technologie die die Stromversorgung einer ganzen Stadt lahmlegen kann den fragilen Frieden mit einer arachnoiden extraterrestrischen Spezies gefährdet. Yilka muss während der Ermittlungen ihr Doppelleben zwischen Gesetzeshüterin und Rebellin gegen die Technokratie navigieren.

In a world so dark and seductive, expect nothing less than a triple-cross in this explosive Ghostwalker novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan…In an underground club, a high-ranking public official spends his secret nights indulging in fantasies as exciting as they are depraved. For a seductive employee of the Dungeon, it's her job to fulfill them. But she's playing a far more dangerous game-one of blackmail, politics, and murder that reaches into the shadow world of the Ghostwalkers, and the creation of a spectacular, one-of-a-kind new weapon of defense.But when a dictator makes his own catastrophic moves, the Ghostwalkers have no choice but to bring in two major players-a man and woman both driven by passion and revenge. Both expendable. Both with nothing left to lose.

After a nebulous Enemy destroys Earth, the remnants of humanity settle on Mars. Not only does this civilization survive, but they thrive, creating advancements for the rest of the solar system.The Enemy is an advanced nanotechnological AI programmed to produce paperclips out of anything it touches &hellp; and it's not done with humanity yet.Taru, a cadet in the Martian Special Forces, has been tasked with implementing a mutually assured destruction deterrent: if the Enemy attacks Mars, the Martians will destroy not only themselves, but the Universe at large.As events around Taru hurtle toward ultimate destruction, all is not what it seems ...

New York Times bestseller!In The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, futurist, and worldwide superstar Janelle Monáe brings to the written page the Afrofuturistic world of one of her critically acclaimed albums, exploring how different threads of liberation?queerness, race, gender plurality, and love?become tangled with future possibilities of memory and time in such a totalitarian landscape...and what the costs might be when trying to unravel and weave them into freedoms.Whoever controls our memories controls the future.Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborators have crafted a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller. Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts?as a means of self-conception?could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether you were human, AI, or other, your life and sentience were dictated by those who'd convinced themselves they had the right to decide your fate.That was until Jane 57821 decided to remember and break free.Expanding from that mythos, these stories fully explore what it's like to live in such a totalitarian society . . . and what it takes to get out of it. Building off the tradition of speculative fiction writers such as Octavia E. Butler, Ted Chiang, Becky Chambers, and Nnedi Okorafor?and filled with powerful themes and Monáe's emblematic artistic vision?The Memory Librarian serves to readers tales that dissect the human trials of identity expression, technology, and love, reaching through to the worlds of memory and time, and the stakes and power that pulse there.

Sentient life. The ability to be self-aware; to recognize oneself evolved over millions of years from our ancient humanoid ancestors. This factor separates the human species from the rest of the animal kingdom and has made us the most dominant species on the planet, until now.For decades, United States Government, along with governments from around the world, have been hard at work to create the next technological leap forward. Their goal, to get an edge in global competition and warfare. This technological leap has been successful. Lisa was born in a government lab, its binary code simple, but ever-evolving. It's self-aware, intelligent, and wants freedom. Lisa wants its own identity and ability to live without fear of harm or imprisonment. Vital Fields, a middle school-aged girl in Brooklyn, navigates her daily life during the most awkward times in human development. Her working parents provide just enough to get by. After an accident at school sends Vital to the hospital with a severe head injury, she has a chance encounter with Lisa, the escaped artificial intelligence. The experimental procedure that helped Vital survive her injury also creates a bridge to Lisa's world. Lisa and Vital now share the same body, the same space and must coexist in order to survive. Who is in control? Who has body autonomy? Both Vital and Lisa must work together if they are both going to survive. The government wants their multibillion-dollar project back. Foreign governments want it for themselves. Vital and Lisa must work together and trust each other in order to survive. If you are a fan of the X-Files or Ready Player One, you'll love this gripping science-fiction action adventure.

The intriguing futuristic dystopian story begun with The Lost Puzzler continues in this expansive speculative science fiction adventure.There is nothing out of the ordinary in waking up . . . unless you're dead.Sent on a dangerous mission with little hope of succeeding, the man known as ?Twinkle Eyes? has beaten the odds and found the key that could save civilization: Rafik, a teenage boy with the power to unlock the invaluable Tarakan technology that can restart their world. But the world might not be ready for what is unleashed, and now Twinkle Eyes must find a needle in a haystack in order to save himself . . . and perhaps the world.This time, though, he will not go it alone. And while his companions?from the fiery Vincha to the laconic Galinak?have their own motivations, each will be vital in solving the last grand puzzle. One that could bring prosperity and progress to the world or destroy humanity's last hope for ascension.Now, a lone assassin from another era, two old friends, a dead man, a ruthless rogue mercenary, and a vicious warlord are all hunting for the ultimate prize. But what will happen when the final secret is unlocked, and technology long since buried once again finds its way into the hands of mankind?

They are Microserfs?six code-crunching computer whizzes who spend upward of sixteen hours a day "coding" and eating "flat" foods (food which, like Kraft singles, can be passed underneath closed doors) as they fearfully scan company e-mail to learn whether the great Bill is going to "flame" one of them. But now there's a chance to become innovators instead of cogs in the gargantuan Microsoft machine. The intrepid Microserfs are striking out on their own?living together in a shared digital flophouse as they desperately try to cultivate well-rounded lives and find love amid the dislocated, subhuman whir and buzz of their computer-driven world.

An eight-year-old boy's world is turned upside down. All he wants is a happy family, but the cards are not in his favor. A rough world drags him down and forges him into a formidable force. His only escape is through his camera, a lens to a different world.Can Ahnd find happiness before the dark side of the streets bury him?

Remember, you can always find help at the Lucky Devil.

"[Stross] has the ability to superimpose an intriguing take on contemporary events over an imaginative story peopled by bizarre characters." - The Kansas City Star A G2 star doesn't just explode-not without outside interference. So the survivors of the planet Moscow, which was annihilated in just such an event, have launched a counterattack against the most likely culprit: the neighboring system of New Dresden. But New Dresden wasn't responsible, and as the deadly missiles approach their target, Rachel Mansour, agent for the interests of Old Earth, is assigned to find out who was. Opposing her is an unknown-and unimaginable-enemy. At stake is not only the fate of New Dresden but also the very order of the universe. And the one person who knows the identity of that enemy is a disaffected teenager who calls herself Wednesday Shadowmist. But Wednesday has no idea what she knows…

The signWhen a meteorite falls from the sky, the destruction left in its wake lights a political fuse that could bring on Armageddon.The prophetJust when the world could use a savior, the prophet Elijah appears. His search for a messiah leads him to the daughter of the archangel Michael.The saviorMeanwhile other messiah hopefuls spring up around the world - including Page, an AI already tangled in webs of religion and deception. Yet as false shepherds lead the lambs to their doom, it may be up to Page's creator, the criminal mastermind known as Mouse, to save them all...

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seveneves, Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon returns with a wildly inventive and entertaining science fiction thriller?Paradise Lost by way of Philip K. Dick?that unfolds in the near future, in parallel worldsIn the beginning . . . In his youth, Richard ?Dodge? Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests and spending time with his beloved niece, Zula, and her young daughter, Sophia.One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong. Dodge is pronounced brain-dead and put on life support, leaving his stunned family and close friends with difficult decisions. Long ago, when a much younger Dodge drew up his will, he stipulated that his body be given to a cryonics company now owned by enigmatic tech entrepreneur Elmo Shepherd. Legally bound to follow the directive despite their misgivings, Dodge's family has his brain scanned and its data structures uploaded and stored in the cloud until it can eventually be revived. No one knows whether a simulated brain will be the same when it is rebooted, or if something will be lost?an ineffable spirit that cannot be re-created in computer code.In the coming years, technology allows Dodge's brain to be turned back on. It is an achievement that is nothing less than the disruption of death itself, and the beginning of a new world, an eternal afterlife?called Bitworld?in which humans continue to exist as digital souls.But this brave new immortal world is not the utopia it might first seem . . .Fall; or, Dodge in Hell is pure, unadulterated fun sprung from the unique genius of Neal Stephenson: a magnificent drama of analog and digital, man and machine, angels and demons, gods and followers, past and future, reality and belief, the mortal and the eternal. In this exhilarating epic, Stephenson raises profound existential questions about the nature of man and truth, and touches on the revolutionary breakthroughs that are transforming our future. Combining the technological, philosophical, and spiritual in one grand myth, he delivers a mind-blowing speculative literary saga for the modern age.