In a galaxy of cutthroat companies, shadowy clans and a million agendas, spy agency RIM barely wields enough control to keep order. Maximus Black is RIM’s star cadet. But he has a problem. One of RIM’s best agents, Anneke Longshadow, knows there’s a mole in the organisation. And Maximus has a lot to hide.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • A gripping science fiction saga about three students from a school for those with extraordinary powers, from the award-winning author of The Best of All Possible Worlds “A smart science fictional fable as inventive and involving as it is finally vital.”—Tordotcom On the verge of adulthood, Rafi attends the Lyceum, a school for the psionically gifted. Rafi possesses mental abilities that might benefit people . . . or control them. Some wish to help Rafi wield his powers responsibly; others see him as a threat to be contained. Rafi’s only freedom at the Lyceum is Wallrunning: a game of speed and agility played on vast vertical surfaces riddled with variable gravity fields. Serendipity and Ntenman are also students at the Lyceum, but unlike Rafi, they come from communities where such abilities are valued. Serendipity finds the Lyceum as much a prison as a school, and she yearns for a meaningful life beyond its gates. Ntenman, with his quick tongue, quicker mind, and a willingness to bend if not break the rules, has no problem fitting in. But he too has his reasons for wanting to escape. Now the three friends are about to experience a moment of violent change as seething tensions between rival star-faring civilizations come to a head. For Serendipity, this change will challenge her ideas of community and self. For Ntenman, it will open new opportunities and new dangers. And for Rafi, given a chance to train with some of the best Wallrunners in the galaxy, it will lead to the discovery that there is more to Wallrunning than he ever suspected . . . and more to himself than he ever dreamed. Includes two bonus short stories “There is a weight and grace to [Lord’s] prose that put me in mind of pewter jewelry.”—NPR “This novel is a satisfying exercise in being off-balance, a visceral lesson in how to fall forward and catch yourself in an amazing new place.”—The Seattle Times

In over 1000 color photographs, video games made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Atari, Colecovision, and Intellivision systems are displayed, ranging from Asteroids to Zaxxon, including Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. Games from less familiar systems such as Bally's Astrocade and Magnavox's Odyssey are featured as well. Also included are examples of each game system, current market values, and much more.

In a galaxy of cutthroat companies, shadowy clans and a million agendas, spy agency RIM barely wields enough control to keep order. Maximus Black is RIM's star cadet. But he has a problem. One of RIM's best agents, Anneke Longshadow, knows there's a mole in the organisation. And Maximus has a lot to hide.

For more than eighty years, The New Yorker has been home to some of the toughest, wisest, funniest, and most moving sportswriting around. The Only Game in Town is a classic collection from a magazine with a deep bench, including such authors as Roger Angell, John Updike, Don DeLillo, and John McPhee. Hall of Famer Ring Lardner is here, bemoaning the lowering of standards for baseball achievement—in 1930. John Cheever pens a story about a boy’s troubled relationship with his father and the national pastime. From Lance Armstrong to bullfighter Sidney Franklin, from the Chinese Olympics to the U.S. Open, the greatest plays and players, past and present, are all covered in The Only Game in Town. At The New Yorker, it’s not whether you win or lose—it’s how you write about the game. Including: “The Web of the Game” by Roger Angell “Ahab and Nemesis” by A. J . Liebling “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu” by John Updike “The Only Games in Town” by Anthony Lane “Race Track” by Bill Barich “A Sense of Where You Are” by John McPhee “El Único Matador” by Lillian Ross “Net Worth” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. “The Long Ride” by Michael Specter “Born Slippy” by John Seabrook “The Chosen One” by David Owen “Legend of a Sport” by Alva Johnston “A Man-Child in Lotusland” by Rebecca Mead “Dangerous Game” by Nick Paumgarten “The Running Novelist” by Haruki Murakami “Back to the Basement” by Nancy Franklin “Playing Doc’s Games” by William Finnegan “Last of the Metrozoids” by Adam Gopnik “The Sandy Frazier Dream Team” by Ian Frazier “Br’er Rabbit Ball” by Ring Lardner “The Greens of Ireland” by Herbert Warren Wind “Tennis Personalities” by Martin Amis “Project Knuckleball” by Ben McGrath “Game Plan” by Don DeLillo “The Art of Failure” by Malcolm Gladwell “Swimming with Sharks” by Charles Sprawson “The National Pastime” by John Cheever “SNO” by Calvin Trillin “Musher” by Susan Orlean “Home and Away” by Peter Hessler “No Obstacles” by Alec Wikinson “A Stud’s Life” by Kevin Conley

A broad treatment of computer and video games from a wide range of perspectives, including cognitive science and artificial intelligence, psychology, history, film and theater, cultural studies, and philosophy. New media students, teachers, and professionals have long needed a comprehensive scholarly treatment of digital games that deals with the history, design, reception, and aesthetics of games along with their social and cultural context. The Handbook of Computer Game Studies fills this need with a definitive look at the subject from a broad range of perspectives. Contributors come from cognitive science and artificial intelligence, developmental, social, and clinical psychology, history, film, theater, and literary studies, cultural studies, and philosophy as well as game design and development. The text includes both scholarly articles and journalism from such well-known voices as Douglas Rushkoff, Sherry Turkle, Henry Jenkins, Katie Salen, Eric Zimmerman, and others. Part I considers the "prehistory" of computer games (including slot machines and pinball machines), the development of computer games themselves, and the future of mobile gaming. The chapters in part II describe game development from the designer's point of view, including the design of play elements, an analysis of screenwriting, and game-based learning. Part III reviews empirical research on the psychological effects of computer games, and includes a discussion of the use of computer games in clinical and educational settings. Part IV considers the aesthetics of games in comparison to film and literature, and part V discusses the effect of computer games on cultural identity, including gender and ethnicity. Finally, part VI looks at the relation of computer games to social behavior, considering, among other matters, the inadequacy of laboratory experiments linking games and aggression and the different modes of participation in computer game culture.