New Releases by Neal Stephenson

The convergence of artificial intelligence and immersive computing represents a major inflection point in human history unlike anything we have experienced before. We are about to enter a new reality in which AI and immersive technologies will fundamentally change our lives, impacting not only how we work and play, but how we perceive our world, experience our activities, and interact with each other. And most of all, it will transform how we view our communities, our nationalities, and our personal identities. The core technology underlying it will go by many names - some may call it extended reality (XR) while others will refer to it as spatial computing, immersive media or the metaverse - but whatever it is called, this new AI-powered reality will unleash a magical morphable world that adapts to each of us in real-time, customizing our most basic daily experiences. This will trigger a transformation to society no less significant than the invention of the printing press, the steam engine, the digital computer, or the internet. Of course, this begs the trillion-dollar question - should we be excited, terrified, or something in between? This book provides an honest and balanced view of the benefits and challenges of these transformative technologies, empowering you to make up your own mind and do your part to help steer the future towards positive outcomes. So which future will it be - Utopian or Dystopian?

« Férocement intelligent, toujours surprenant, d’une grande audace spéculative et d'un humour noir ravageur. » Publishers Weekly Parce que la montée des eaux menace l’existence même des Pays-Bas, leur reine Frederika Mathilde Louisa Saskia comprend mieux que quiconque la notion d’urgence climatique. Invitée à une rencontre secrète au Texas par T.R. Schmidt, l'excentrique propriétaire d'une chaîne de fast-food, Saskia découvre non sans inquiétude les plans du milliardaire. En bon Texan, T.R. veut mettre fin, de façon décisive, aux hausses de températures qui accablent le sud des États-Unis. Et si son remède, inspiré par l’explosion du volcan Pinatubo, était pire que le mal ? Du delta du Mississipi à l'Inde, des Pays-Bas à la Papouasie, Neal Stephenson nous plonge dans une incroyable fresque du futur proche. Choc terminal est sans doute le roman le plus audacieux jamais écrit sur l’ingénierie climatique. Neal Stephenson (né en 1959) est l’auteur-culte de Cryptonomicon, L’Âge de diamant (prix Hugo), Le Samourai virtuel et du Cycle Baroque (inédit en français). Ses romans touffus, fourmillant d’idées renversantes, se caractérisent aussi par un humour érudit et débridé. Roman traduit de l’anglais (Etats-Unis) par Benoît Domis. Illustration de couverture : Aurélien Police

Nella sua giovinezza, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast ha fondato la Corporation 9592, una società di videogiochi che lo ha reso un multimiliardario. Ora, raggiunta la mezza età, Dodge apprezza la sua vita comoda e libera, la gestione delle sue miriadi di interessi commerciali e trascorrere il tempo con la sua amata nipote Zula e la sua giovane figlia, Sophia. In una bella giornata autunnale, mentre si sottopone a una procedura medica di routine, qualcosa va irrevocabilmente storto. Dodge viene dichiarato morto cerebrale, tenuto in vita dalle macchine, lasciando la famiglia sbalordita e gli amici intimi attoniti. Molto tempo prima, Dodge aveva redatto il testamento ordinando che il suo corpo fosse dato a una società di crionica, ora di proprietà dell’enigmatico imprenditore tecnologico Elmo Shepherd. Legalmente obbligata a seguire la direttiva nonostante i dubbi, la famiglia di Dodge scansiona il suo cervello e archivia tutti i suoi dati in un cloud in attesa di sviluppi. Negli anni a venire, infatti, la tecnologia consentirà di riaccendere il cervello di Dodge, verrà creato un eterno aldilà, il Bitworld, in cui gli esseri umani continueranno a esistere come anime digitali. Ma questo coraggioso ‘nuovo mondo’ immortale non è l’utopia che potrebbe sembrare a prima vista...

"Dust jacket and interior illustrations ... by Patrick Arrasmith"--Copyright page.

New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book 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 worlds. 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 directed 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. 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. An eternal afterlife—the Bitworld—is created, 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: a grand drama of analog and digital, man and machine, angels and demons, gods and followers, the finite and the eternal. In this exhilarating epic, Neal Stephenson raises profound existential questions 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.

La seconde et dernière partie du chef d'oeuvre de Neal Stephenson. Fraa Erasmas est un jeune chercheur vivant dans la congrégation de Saunt Edhar, un sanctuaire pour les mathématiciens et les philosophes. Depuis des siècles, autour du Sanctuaire, les gouvernements et les cités n'ont eu de cesse de se développer et de s'effondrer. Par le passé, la congrégation a été ravagée trois fois par la violence de conflits armés. Méfiant vis à vis du monde extérieur, la communauté de Fraa Erasmas ne s'ouvre au monde qu'une fois tous les dix ans. C'est lors d'une de ces courtes périodes d'échanges avec l'extérieur, qu'Erasmas se trouve confronté à une énigme astronomique qui n'engage rien moins que la survie de toutes les congrégations. Ce mystère va obliger le jeune homme à quitter le Sanctuaire pour retrouver son mentor Fraa Orolo. Une quête qui lui permettra de découvrir Arbre, la planète sur laquelle il vit depuis toujours et dont il ignore quasiment tout.

« Il faudrait te décider. Ce Snow Crash, au juste, c’est un virus, une drogue ou une religion ? Elle hausse les épaules. — Quelle différence ? demande-t-elle. » Magnat d’une vaste entreprise de médias, L. Bob Rife a développé, à partir de découvertes dans des fouilles sumériennes, le Snow Crash, une drogue qui attaque le cerveau humain, désorganise le système nerveux et rend fou. Mais la particularité de celle-ci est d’agir également comme un virus dans le Métavers, la réalité virtuelle. Hackeur réputé et champion de sabre dans le Métavers, Hiro Protagoniste, livreur pour Pizza CosaNostra dans le monde réel, et Y. T., une jeune kourière qui se déplace avec sa planche à roulettes Intelliroues, se retrouvent sous l’œil protecteur du parrain tonton Enzo pour lutter contre le métavirus. Deux mondes vont s’affronter jusqu’à la victoire du bien sur le mal. Roman culte du genre SF cyberpunk, lauréat du Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire et du prix Ozone en 1997, Le Samouraï virtuel est en cours d’adaptation au cinéma par le réalisateur Joe Cornish.

Debido a la colisión con un meteorito, la Luna estalla en siete pedazos y el cielo de la Tierra deja de ser tal y como lo conocemos. Al contrario de lo que se podría pensar, las mareas no son el principal problema de la ausencia de la Luna, sino los restos de ella que siguen orbitando alrededor de nuestro planeta. Los científicos calculan dos años antes de que una incesante lluvia de meteoritos que durará unos 5000 años caiga sobre la Tierra y haga que la vida en ella sea imposible. La humanidad marcha hacia el espacio, se crea una colonia alrededor de la Estación Espacial Internacional con la idea de esperar a que el planeta vuelva a ser habitable. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. Nations around the globe band together to feverishly 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.

Der Mond explodierte ohne Vorwarnung und ohne erkennbaren Grund. Die Uhrzeit würde man später als A+0.0.0 oder schlicht Null bezeichnen ... 05:03:12 Weltzeit. Die Stunde Null. Nach der Explosion des Mondes wütet über Jahrtausende ein Meteoritensturm, der die Erdoberfläche in eine unbewohnbare Wüstenei verwandelt. Um die Menschheit vor der Auslöschung zu bewahren, schicken die Nationen der Erde eine Flotte von Archen ins All. Der Asteroid Amalthea – ursprünglich zu Forschungszwecken an eine internationale Raumstation angedockt –, soll der Kolonie als Schutzschild dienen. Doch das Leben im Weltraum fordert einen hohen Tribut, und der Fortbestand der menschlichen Zivilisation steht auf Messers Schneide ...

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.

Nel 1972, Richard Forthrast, fuggito nella Columbia Britannica per evitare rogne giudiziarie, lavora come guida da caccia specializzata, poi accumula una fortuna contrabbandando marijuana attraverso il confine tra Canada e Idaho. Passano gli anni, Richard torna negli Stati Uniti dopo l’amnistia concessa dal governo e investe la sua ricchezza in un vero e proprio impero. Crea anche T’Rain, un gioco di ruolo online di ambientazione fantasy con milioni di fan in tutto il mondo. Ma T’Rain è diverso dagli altri giochi del genere, perché l’oro virtuale che qui si scava e si conquista può essere trasformato in soldi nel mondo reale. Un gruppo di fanatici dell’informatica cerca di colpirlo creando Reamde, un virus che codifica tutti gli archivi elettronici e li conserva fino al pagamento di un riscatto. Si tratterebbe solo dell’ennesima truffa virtuale, se il virus non colpisse però le persone sbagliate: il ragazzo di Zula Forthrast, nipote di Richard, ha un passato da hacker, e ha appena concluso una transazione illegale vendendo dei numeri di carte di credito alla mafia russa. Quei dati sono stati resi inaccessibili da Reamde, perciò Zula e Peter vengono rapiti dai russi e portati nell’Estremo Oriente per aiutarli a rintracciare e colpire il fantomatico creatore di Reamde. Per la prima volta, il mondo virtuale rischia di scatenare una guerra senza esclusione di colpi: in palio c’è il destino del mondo reale.

The conclusion of the epic adventures of the Shield-Brethren.

In 1241, warriors try to stop the Mongols from invading Europe; in the nineteenth century, a group of martial artists provide a language expert with lost manuscripts to translate that chronicle their ancestors' thirteenth century battles.

Es ist nur ein Spiel. Aber es geht um sehr viel Geld. Und für manche bald um ihr Leben. Richard Forthrast kann so leicht nichts erschüttern: Quasi aus dem Nichts hat er mit der Schöpfung des Computerspiels T'Rain ein millionenschweres internationales Unternehmen geschaffen. Doch er ahnt nicht, was für eine dramatische Kettenreaktion er in Gang setzt, als er seiner Nichte Zula einen Job bei T'Rain verschafft. Denn es ist Zulas Freund Peter, der durch einen fatalen Fehler den Rechner eines sehr gefährlichen Mannes mit einem neuartigen Computervirus infiziert. Der Geschädigte sinnt auf Rache - und binnen kurzem reisst dieses Missgeschick Zula und alles, was Richard wichtig ist, in einen tödlichen Strudel der Gewalt ... Neal Stephenson wurde 1959 in Fort Meade, Maryland, geboren. Seit seinem frühen Roman "Snow Crash" gilt der mehrfach ausgezeichnete Autor als eines der grössten Genies der amerikanischen Gegenwartsliteratur. "Cryptonomicon", seine Barock-Trilogie mit den Bänden "Quicksilver", "Confusion" und "Principia", sowie der Roman "Anathem" und sein jüngstes Werk, der Thriller "Error", stiessen weltweit auf euphorische Begeisterung und stürmten die Bestsellerlisten.

“Stephenson has a once-in-a-generation gift: he makes complex ideas clear, and he makes them funny, heartbreaking, and thrilling.” —Time The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Neal Stephenson is continually rocking the literary world with his brazen and brilliant fictional creations—whether he’s reimagining the past (The Baroque Cycle), inventing the future (Snow Crash), or both (Cryptonomicon). With Reamde, this visionary author whose mind-stretching fiction has been enthusiastically compared to the work of Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, Kurt Vonnegut, and David Foster Wallace—not to mention William Gibson and Michael Crichton—once again blazes new ground with a high-stakes thriller that will enthrall his loyal audience, science and science fiction, and espionage fiction fans equally. The breathtaking tale of a wealthy tech entrepreneur caught in the very real crossfire of his own online fantasy war game, Reamde is a new high—and a new world—for the remarkable Neal Stephenson.

Eliza, Countess de la Zeur, master of markets, pawn and confident of enemy kings, one-time Turkish harem girl, is stripped of her immense personal fortune by France's most dashing privateer.

In the wake of a power struggle between the throne-seeking Tories and Whigs in early eighteenth-century England, Daniel Waterhouse teams up with Isaac Newton to hunt down a shadowy group that uses time bombs to kill Natural Philosophers.

'Tis done. The world is a most confused and unsteady place -- especially London, center of finance, innovation, and conspiracy -- in the year 1714, when Daniel Waterhouse makes his less-than-triumphant return to England's shores. Aging Puritan and Natural Philosopher, confidant of the high and mighty and contemporary of the most brilliant minds of the age, he has braved the merciless sea and an assault by the infamous pirate Blackbeard to help mend the rift between two adversarial geniuses at a princess's behest. But while much has changed outwardly, the duplicity and danger that once drove Daniel to the American Colonies is still coin of the British realm. No sooner has Daniel set foot on his homeland when he is embroiled in a dark conflict that has been raging in the shadows for decades. It is a secret war between the brilliant, enigmatic Master of the Mint and closet alchemist Isaac Newton and his archnemesis, the insidious counterfeiter Jack the Coiner, a.k.a. Jack Shaftoe, King of the Vagabonds. Hostilities are suddenly moving to a new and more volatile level, as Half-Cocked Jack plots a daring assault on the Tower itself, aiming for nothing less than the total corruption of Britain's newborn monetary system. Unbeknownst to all, it is love that set the Coiner on his traitorous course; the desperate need to protect the woman of his heart -- the remarkable Eliza, Duchess of Arcachon-Qwghlm -- from those who would destroy her should he fail. Meanwhile, Daniel Waterhouse and his Clubb of unlikely cronies comb city and country for clues to the identity of the blackguard who is attempting to blow up Natural Philosophers with Infernal Devices -- as political factions jockey for position while awaiting the impending death of the ailing queen; as the "holy grail" of alchemy, the key to life eternal, tantalizes and continues to elude Isaac Newton, yet is closer than he ever imagined; as the greatest technological innovation in history slowly takes shape in Waterhouse's manufactory. Everything that was will be changed forever ... The System of the World is the concluding volume in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, begun with Quicksilver and continued in The Confusion.

The New York Times Book Review called Neal Stephenson's most recent novel "electrifying" and "hilarious". but if you want to know Stephenson was doing twenty years before he wrote the epic Cryptonomicon, it's back-to-school time. Back to The Big U, that is, a hilarious send-up of American college life starring after years our of print, The Big U is required reading for anyone interested in the early work of this singular writer.

This is "the Word" -- one man's word, certainly -- about the art (and artifice) of the state of our computer-centric existence. And considering that the "one man" is Neal Stephenson, "the hacker Hemingway" (Newsweek) -- acclaimed novelist, pragmatist, seer, nerd-friendly philosopher, and nationally bestselling author of groundbreaking literary works (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, etc., etc.) -- the word is well worth hearing. Mostly well-reasoned examination and partial rant, Stephenson's In the Beginning... was the Command Line is a thoughtful, irreverent, hilarious treatise on the cyber-culture past and present; on operating system tyrannies and downloaded popular revolutions; on the Internet, Disney World, Big Bangs, not to mention the meaning of life itself.

In the year 1689, a cabal of Barbary galley slaves -- including one Jack Shaftoe, aka King of the Vagabonds, aka Half-Cocked Jack -- devises a daring plan to win freedom and fortune. A great adventure ensues -- a perilous race for an enormous prize of silver ... nay, gold ... nay, legendary gold. In Europe, the exquisite and resourceful Eliza, Countess de la Zeur, is stripped of her immense personal fortune by France's most dashing privateer. Penniless and at risk from those who desire either her or her head (or both), she is caught up in a web of international intrigue, even as she desperately seeks the return of her most precious possession. Meanwhile, Newton and Leibniz continue to propound their grand theories as their infamous rivalry intensifies, stubborn alchemy does battle with the natural sciences, dastardly plots are set in motion ... and Daniel Waterhouse seeks passage to the Massachusetts colony in hopes of escaping the madness into which his world has descended. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

For ten years Fraa Erasmas, a young avout, has lived in a cloistered sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside world. But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the brink of cataclysmic change—and Erasmas will become a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world, as he follows his destiny to the most inhospitable corners of the planet . . . and beyond. Anathem is the latest miraculous invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle—a work of astonishing scope, intelligence, and imagination.