An Android Awakes


Book Description

A new way to combine art and prose in storytelling. Your world is manipulated by computer coding, search engines and social networks. It’s just a matter of time before everything you watch, read and listen to will be created by autonomous machines... An Android Awakes : The struggle for survival and the fate of a story teller. In the future some of us will become great writers, renowned artists, visionary filmmakers and talented photographers. Most of us though will just have more sex. Go forward a few more generations and none of us are creative save that of our procreation. Our culture is shaped by machines. The novel has become a mere 1000 words. Android Writer PD121928 is part of the Android Publishing Program. To replicate a writer’s life, his wife has been forcibly removed and he lives in solitude with an allowance for drugs and prostitutes. Having just had his novel The Eating of Citizen Kane rejected, he now has 14 more attempts to get a story accepted for the program or he will be deactivated. Can one of his characters and their story save him? Featuring Absolute Zero (the coolest spaceship ever built – literally), an ocean in the sky, sub-atomic particles, a Märchen zoo, android communion, naked angels and mockingbirds, An Android Awakes hurtles towards the shocking conclusion of Android Writer PD121928’s fate. Story by Mike French, Art by Karl Brown. “Cool & punchy” STEVE DILLON HELLBLAZER / PREACHER / X-MEN / WOLVERINE “Sex, violence, androids ... very much in the style of classic 2000AD” LEE SULLIVAN DOCTOR WHO / TRANSFORMERS / JUDGE DREDD / ROBOCOP “Reminiscent of the great Brett Ewins, keep your eyes on this promising young artist” BRYAN TALBOT WRITER & ARTIST OF THE GRANDVILLE GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES / EISNER AWARD WINNER FOR THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT “An evocative blend of Blade Runner aesthetics and Sin City style characters creating an atmosphere similar to Michael Valuta’s illustrated edition of Metropolis” RICHARD COLLINGRIDGE WE / MISSION TELEMARK / THE DESERTER




An Android Awakes


Book Description

A new way to combine art and prose in storytelling. Your world is manipulated by computer coding, search engines and social networks. It’s just a matter of time before everything you watch, read and listen to will be created by autonomous machines... An Android Awakes : The struggle for survival and the fate of a story teller. In the future some of us will become great writers, renowned artists, visionary filmmakers and talented photographers. Most of us though will just have more sex. Go forward a few more generations and none of us are creative save that of our procreation. Our culture is shaped by machines. The novel has become a mere 1000 words. Android Writer PD121928 is part of the Android Publishing Program. To replicate a writer’s life, his wife has been forcibly removed and he lives in solitude with an allowance for drugs and prostitutes. Having just had his novel The Eating of Citizen Kane rejected, he now has 14 more attempts to get a story accepted for the program or he will be deactivated. Can one of his characters and their story save him? Featuring Absolute Zero (the coolest spaceship ever built – literally), an ocean in the sky, sub-atomic particles, a Märchen zoo, android communion, naked angels and mockingbirds, An Android Awakes hurtles towards the shocking conclusion of Android Writer PD121928’s fate. Story by Mike French, Art by Karl Brown. “Cool & punchy” STEVE DILLON HELLBLAZER / PREACHER / X-MEN / WOLVERINE “Sex, violence, androids ... very much in the style of classic 2000AD” LEE SULLIVAN DOCTOR WHO / TRANSFORMERS / JUDGE DREDD / ROBOCOP “Reminiscent of the great Brett Ewins, keep your eyes on this promising young artist” BRYAN TALBOT WRITER & ARTIST OF THE GRANDVILLE GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES / EISNER AWARD WINNER FOR THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT “An evocative blend of Blade Runner aesthetics and Sin City style characters creating an atmosphere similar to Michael Valuta’s illustrated edition of Metropolis” RICHARD COLLINGRIDGE WE / MISSION TELEMARK / THE DESERTER




Fictional Alignment


Book Description

Our culture is generated by machines. It’s ten years after Android Writer PD121928 from An Android Awakes was fed into a sink grinder by its replacement PD121929. The human prostitute Sapphira, believing PD121929 to be PD121928 for all that time, has tried and failed to save PD121929 from being destroyed for selling less than a hundred copies of its novel. Sapphira herself has written the bestselling novel Humans (An Arrangement of Minor Defects) based on the stories PD121928 told her on the night they first met. It has been marketed by Altostratus as the first work of fiction by a human for over a hundred years. Unhappy, a handful of zealot androids massacre the senate and a new regime is formed fuelled with a passion to eradicate the evil of fiction from android society.




Freedom's Prisoners


Book Description

The Blueprint trilogy takes us to a future in which men and women are almost identical, and personal relationships are forbidden. In Book 3 of the trilogy, tensions have escalated since the outbreak. Michael and his army of rebels may have won the first battle in their fight against the Citidome authorities, but can they win a war? The Citidomes are fighting back and no-one is safe any more as RotorFighters rain down fire on defenceless villages destroying them and their inhabitants. For Suna, this is a time of difficult decisions as she struggles to adjust to life outside the Citidomes. Where do her loyalties lie? Is she capable of understanding human emotion? After an unexpected betrayal Michael and Cathy finds themselves back in Sigma-2, where Cathy must confront her worst fears. Can Joy and Harry recapture the magic of first love, or have the horrors they have witnessed scarred them forever? And do they have any chance of succeeding in the most ambitious mission the Alliance of Outside Communities has ever undertaken? Is there anyone in the world beyond the shores of State Eleven who cares enough to help? Even if there is, will they be able to do anything in time? Freedom’s Prisoners explores betrayal, guilt, hope and endurance in an explosive conclusion to the Blueprint trilogy.




The Machine Awakes


Book Description

Branded terrorists and on the run from the Fleet, ex-Marines Carmina Serra and Charlie Carter and mining superstar Zia Hollywood crash land on Lucifer, a planet at the end of the universe. Populated by two warring factions a religious cult and a crime syndicate Lucifer is blighted with a spate of murders that threaten to plunge the planet into civil war.




Ultimate Marvel


Book Description

Every significant Marvel Comics character, location, weapon, gadget, and vehicle: one ultimate encyclopedia. Packed full of incredible facts and stunning images, this authoritative encyclopedia contains more than 650 entries and features a foreword by the legendary comic book writer Roy Thomas. All of Marvel's iconic superheroes and villains are here, from Captain Marvel to Corvus Glaive and Iron Man to Gwenpool. Amazing vehicles are examined, such as the Avengers' Quinjets and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers. Magical artifacts, including Thor's hammer Mjolnir, are analyzed and extraordinary locations, such as Wakanda and Asgard, are explored. Advanced technology is explained, including Iron Man's incredible armor, and key events in the Marvel Comics universe are richly unpacked. Ultimate Marvel is an ideal go-to resource for enthusiasts who wish to brush up on their Marvel knowledge, and for a new generation of fans eager to start delving into the world of Marvel comics. © 2017 MARVEL




Gaming and the Divine


Book Description

This book formulates a new theological approach to the study of religion in gaming. Video games have become one of the most important cultural artifacts of modern society, both as mediators of cultural, social, and religious values and in terms of commercial success. This has led to a significant increase in the critical analysis of this relatively new medium, but theology as an academic discipline is noticeably behind the other humanities on this subject. The book first covers the fundamentals of cultural theology and video games. It then moves on to set out a Christian systematic theology of gaming, focusing on creational theology, Christology, anthropology, evil, moral theology, and thanatology. Each chapter introduces case studies from video games connected to the specific theme. In contrast to many studies which focus on online multiplayer games, the examples considered are largely single player games with distinct narratives and ‘end of game’ moments. The book concludes by synthesizing these themes into a new theology of video games. This study addresses a significant aspect of contemporary society that has yet to be discussed in any depth by theologians. It is, therefore, a fantastic resource for any scholar engaging with the religious aspects of digital and popular culture.




A Leap of Faith


Book Description

For the first time in human history, cases of mental disease have surpassed those of physical disease. This can be attributed to any number of causes, but chief among them are increasing loss of balance in our lives, increasing self-degradation, and growing reliance on material wealth to convince ourselves we are happy. In the darkest moment does shine the greatest light--we are not lost, and we are not alone. In A Leap of Faith, wellness specialist, writer, and former model Anna Jane Wilson shares with us her journey through darkness--loss, heartbreak, disease, depression, fear--and into the maturity of her heart and soul, into the glory of discovering true love for herself and for the world. Anna Jane's tale, told through both prose and poetry, hides nothing and is one to which all can relate, especially young people and those searching for answers in this time of Earth's ascension. Her travels from childhood through the struggles of a divided family, debilitating disease, failed relationships, and finding a home are traced to the present, in which, by choice, focus, and faith, she is constantly learning and sharing the delights of life and living. Her lessons are ours as well--from the moment we decide to stop and look inward--to question what our life is really about--we begin the journey out of fear, hate and sorrow and towards the full expression of love and compassion, the full expression of our hearts and souls.




The Android Tablet Developer's Cookbook


Book Description

The Android Tablet Developer’s Cookbook helps experienced Android developers leverage new Android 4.2.2 features to build compelling applications that take full advantage of tablets’ bigger screens, dual-core processors, and larger, faster memory. Tightly focused on Android 4.2.2’s tablet-related capabilities, it presents an unparalleled library of easy-to-reuse code for solving real-world problems. Everything’s organized in modular, standalone sections to help you quickly find what you’re looking for, even when you need to use multiple classes together. Throughout, B.M. Harwani clearly explains how Android tablet apps are unique, how to leverage Android skills and libraries you’ve already mastered, and how to efficiently integrate tablet APIs and features. From media to NFC, porting phone apps to integrating analytics, this book will help you do it fast and do it right. Coverage includes Providing user control via the system clipboard, notifications, and pending intents Supporting drag and drop for both text and images Displaying navigation and core app functionality via the ActionBar Using widgets to present calendars, number pickers, image stacks, and options lists Delivering powerful graphics via animation and hardware accelerated 2D Recording audio, video, and images Responding to sensors Pairing tablets to other Bluetooth-enabled Android devices or PCs Using Wi-Fi Direct to share media Creating custom home screen widgets Making the most of threads and the AsyncTask class Exchanging data via JSON Displaying and browsing Web content via the WebView widget Creating fragments dynamically at runtime and implementing communication between fragments Porting apps from smartphones to tablets and building new apps for both Supporting older versions of the Android SDK Sharing data and messages via NFC with Android Beam Integrating app analytics and tracking Turn to The Android Tablet Developer’s Cookbook for proven, expert answers--and the code you need to implement them. It’s all you need to jump-start any project and quickly create compelling Android tablet apps that sell!




The Chronic Martian


Book Description

The future is now. It is here. After the tragic death of his wife, Andrea, Donovan orders an android to take her place from Robotics R Us. The memories he must use to program the unit soon travel down an unexpected path as he dreams of Josie, his first love. After much deliberation, he saves her memories to a SIM card and inserts it into the android, uncertain of what might happen. He soon finds himself both ensnared and intrigued at the results as the story races to a climax that has an all too typical ending in the clash between man and machines. Who will win?