Avatars, Book One: So This Is How It Ends


Book Description

In this enthralling fantasy debut, five teenagers experience an Earth that's familiar but dramatically different, with voices that hover at the edges of consciousness, urgently calling.




Avatars, Book Three: Kingdom of Twilight


Book Description

In a post-apocalyptic future, four teenagers, created by mythological gods and goddesses to be pawns in a game, prove once more to be unpredictable as they battle in Africa and wander through the underworlds.




The Avatars


Book Description

In The Avatars, AE presents his own picture of what might happen if the socialistic State assumed control. So efficient has it become, that no one is homeless or insecure; everything is taken care of by the State. Yet, there is something in man that rebels against it. "The spirit of man has lost itself in many illusions, and last of all it may lose itself in the most pitiful of any, the illusion of economic security and bodily comfort. These now fail to satisfy it, and there is nothing for it but spiritual adventures. Poet, artist, visionary, all are there. This work written in old age, when his journalistic activities had been abandoned and he had leisure to give to it, contains something so quintessential of his nature that to pick it up is to find oneself for a little space once more in his company.




Avatars, Book Two: Shadow Falling


Book Description

Five teenagers are expected to battle to the death in the post-apocalyptic New York City of 2087 as representatives of the different pantheons of gods, who chose them from their own ranks to be born and raised as humans.




Avatars!


Book Description

With "Avatars!", readers can grab their avatar (a digital representation of themselves) and run to the nearest virtual world where they can experience the Internet. "Avatars!" focuses on what people do inside virtual worlds, such as building three-dimensional structures, navigating through the worlds, and learning digital etiquette and social interaction skills. A CD-ROM provides readers with ready-to-run worlds that connect them with thousands of other people on the Internet, and which are referenced in a companion Web site.




Ministry to the Avatars


Book Description

The world is changing rapidly, and perhaps the most compelling evidence of this change is found in the way people use technology to access services that formerly required an in-person visit. Now, for the first time, a real church with denominational standing is as close as ones computer. In Ministry to the Avatars: Building a Real Church in a Virtual World, author and reverend Dr. Jerold A. Garber shares the transcendent story of First United Church of Christ Second Lifea virtual church designed and built in Second Life, a 3-D virtual world with over thirty-six million individual accounts and over one million active users each month. While it began as an experiment in faith and inclusivity, First UCC SL today has full standing in the Eastern Association of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, and it is the first church in a mainline denomination to achieve full standing while owning no physical property. Since its founding, First United Church of Christ Second Life has grown into a multifaceted, vibrant ministry with a 365-day-a-year presence in Second Life, and it is also a member of the Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC, an association of churches affirming the full inclusions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons in the churchs life and ministry. Come and witness the wonderful things that can be achieved when service to others transcends the boundaries of reality! Visit the First United Church of Christ Second Life website at http://www.firstuccsl.org and Second Lifes 3D virtual world created by Linden Lab at http://www.secondlife.com.




Avatar, The Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi (Chronicles of the Avatar Book 1)


Book Description

From the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender comes the instant USA Today and New York Times bestselling novel starring Avatar Kyoshi—now in paperback! Written in consultation with Michael Dante DiMartino, the visionary cocreator and executive producer of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra animated TV series. Justice begins with one woman. After nine years of desperate searching for the next Avatar, the discovery of young, charming Avatar Yun has brought stability to the four nations—that is, until Earth Kingdom-born Kyoshi, Yun’s unassuming friend and servant, demonstrates remarkable bending during a mission to the South Pole. With the identity of the true Avatar at stake and the growing unrest among her allies turning into violence, Kyoshi is forced to flee the Avatar mansion with her fiery friend Rangi, taking little more than the metal war fans and headdress her parents left behind. It isn’t easy finding Avatar training on the run, but Kyoshi and Rangi find unlikely supporters in the daofei: ragtag criminals and outlaws living in the shadows of the Earth Kingdom. Torn between following the traditional path of an Avatar and seeking vengeance for those she has lost, Kyoshi struggles to accept her newfound power as she trains in secret. But while Kyoshi, Rangi, and her daofei friends face off against brutal underworld rivals, those who seek to control the Avatar draw ever closer to her, leaving trails of the dead in their wake. The story behind the longest-living Avatar in the history of this beloved world, The Rise of Kyoshi maps Kyoshi’s journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice still feared and admired centuries after becoming the Avatar. “Yee artfully weaves in political entanglements as well as complex cultural identities to fully immerse readers in Kyoshi’s world. . . . An action-packed tale that answers some long-awaited questions; fans will look forward to the promised sequel.” —Kirkus Reviews




Alter Ego


Book Description

Introduction by Julian Dibbell. Text by Tracy Spaight.




Avatars of the Master


Book Description

‘A picture may tell a thousand words, but a story can reveal a thousand Truths’ Avatars of the Master is an exciting journey that delves deep into the sacred stories of the Indian tradition. Through these stories, we learn about love, surrender and the conquering of pride. We understand the power of grace, the yearning of the heart and the true meaning of humility. This book describes and explains the first five incarnations of the supreme deity—Narayana (Vishnu). Each one of these incarnations opens a portal to the inner world where we gain a vivid picture of who the Master is and how He can transform our life. To anyone who has a thirst for Truth, the teachings expounded in these pages will provide a rich source of wisdom to carry forward on their path. They are honestly delivered and spring from the authentic experience of one who has taken shelter under a true Master. This is about real spirituality with real divinity.




The Social Life of Avatars


Book Description

Virtual reality (VR) technology has been developed commercially since the early 1990s [1]. Yet it is only with the growth of the Internet and other high-bandwidth links that VR systems have increasingly become networked to allow users to share the same virtual environment (VE). Shared YEs raise a number of interesting questions: what is the difference between face-to-face interaction and interaction between persons inside YEs? How does the appearance of the "avatar" - as the graphical representation of the user has become known - change the nature of interaction? And what governs the formation of virtual communities? This volume brings together contributions from social scientists and computer scientists who have conducted research on social interaction in various types of YEs. Two previous volumes in this CSCW book series [2, 3] have examined related aspects of research on YEs - social navigation and collaboration - although they do not always deal with VRIVEs in the sense that it is used here (see the definition in Chapter 1). The aim of this volume is to explore how people interact with each other in computer-generated virtual worlds.