The Killer App And Other Paranormal Stories

A wildly popular app that feeds on hatred; a trek that literally brings out the beast in man; a luxury resort you don't want to visit on a new-moon night; a swimming pool with a deadly secret. These fiendishly unnerving tales by best-selling authors David Hair, Ranjit Lal, Deepa Agarwal, Murdering ghosts, enchanted amulets, a haunted medical school, an uncle with a resemblance to a vengeful lion...all these bring the paranormal uncomfortably close. Read if you dare..

RavenWing creates a popular app. Readers can download their favorite horror tales. But the app sends more than eBooks their way. Hungry ravens swarm out of thin air!

Roma's friend, Michael has a killer new app that promises to make your dreams come true. It sounds fun, but for Roma it's a nightmare . . .

A penetrating look at near-future disruption as truly autonomous vehicles arrive. For decades we have dreamed of building an automobile that can drive itself. But as that dream of autonomy draws close, we are discovering that the driverless car is a red herring. When self-driving technology infects buses, bikes, delivery vans, and even buildings…a wild, woollier, future awaits. Technology will transform life behind the wheel into a high-def video game that makes our ride safer, smoother, and more efficient. Meanwhile, autonomous vehicles will turbocharge our appetite for the instant delivery of goods, making the future as much about moving things as it is about moving people. Giant corporations will link the automated machines that move us to the cloud, raising concerns about mobility monopolies and privatization of streets and sidewalks. The pace of our daily lives and the fabric of our cities and towns will change dramatically as automated vehicles reprogram the way we work, shop, and play. Ghost Road is both a beacon and a warning; it explains where we might be headed together in driverless vehicles, and the choices we must make as societies and individuals to shape that future.

The race is on to construct the first quantum code breaker, as the winner will hold the key to the entire Internet. From international, multibillion-dollar financial transactions to top-secret government communications, all would be vulnerable to the secret-code-breaking ability of the quantum computer. Written by a renowned quantum physicist closely involved in the U.S. government’s development of quantum information science, Schrödinger’s Killer App: Race to Build the World’s First Quantum Computer presents an inside look at the government’s quest to build a quantum computer capable of solving complex mathematical problems and hacking the public-key encryption codes used to secure the Internet. The "killer application" refers to Shor’s quantum factoring algorithm, which would unveil the encrypted communications of the entire Internet if a quantum computer could be built to run the algorithm. Schrödinger’s notion of quantum entanglement—and his infamous cat—is at the heart of it all. The book develops the concept of entanglement in the historical context of Einstein’s 30-year battle with the physics community over the true meaning of quantum theory. It discusses the remedy to the threat posed by the quantum code breaker: quantum cryptography, which is unbreakable even by the quantum computer. The author also covers applications to other important areas, such as quantum physics simulators, synchronized clocks, quantum search engines, quantum sensors, and imaging devices. In addition, he takes readers on a philosophical journey that considers the future ramifications of quantum technologies. Interspersed with amusing and personal anecdotes, this book presents quantum computing and the closely connected foundations of quantum mechanics in an engaging manner accessible to non-specialists. Requiring no formal training in physics or advanced mathematics, it explains difficult topics, including quantum entanglement, Schrödinger’s cat, Bell’s inequality, and quantum computational complexity, using simple analogies.

The year's best, and darkest, tales of terror, showcasing the most outstanding new short stories by both contemporary masters of the macabre and exciting newcomers. As ever, this acclaimed anthology also offers a comprehensive overview of the year in horror, a necrology of recently deceased luminaries, and a list of indispensable addresses horror fans and writers. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror remains the world's leading annual anthology dedicated solely to presenting the best in contemporary horror fiction.

"I never believed in ghosts until I became acquainted with Madison Keith." This collection includes novellas seven through nine in the Madison Keith Ghost Story series: Last Chance, Eaten Alive, Empty Home. Even though she doesn’t believe in them, Pastor Kate believes she’s been assaulted by a ghost in the novella, Last Chance. She asks Madison to spend a few nights at the home where she’s helping one of the church deacons and his wife with their new baby. Not only does Madison encounter a ghost who is bloody with pain, she alienates her hosts with her constant questions about the history of the quirky, moldy house. When Madison encounters the ghost herself, none of her questions are answered. When she pushes harder to find out the identity of the angry spirit, JD tells her she doesn’t need to investigate, not all ghosts are her responsibility. Madison is determined to get an answer. Will she also find the courage to look for answers to murders in her own past? In the eighth novella, Madison feels she’s being “eaten alive” with thoughts about her past, but when she asks Pastor Joe for time off to look for closure, he questions her commitment to her job. When she discovers her murdered neighbor’s body, she resorts to minor crimes herself to find out more about his life. An ugly ghost with cryptic messages and an uncertain identity drives her curiosity to the point of obsession. In the ninth ghost story in this series, Madison is determined to get some answers about the ghosts from her past. Returning to her childhood home, she finds more than she bargained for: a detective who no longer cares, an aunt and uncle who are not the people she thought they were, and a ghost from a different murder altogether. Her desire to find out the truth pushes her close to the edge. Both the living and the dead like to reveal their secrets to Madison. As the administrative assistant in the basement office of a suburban church, she gets plenty of opportunity to hear from both. Through it all, Madison continues to offer up a steady stream of opinions on everything from the subject of religion and ghosts to finding a soul mate.

Here can be found a dozen tales of Sword & Sorcery, horrors, and of recent pasts unimagined before now. Discover worlds where stout warriors face off against mighty foes, common folk gain powers undreamed of, and the edges of the dark sometimes loom oh, so close. The Stories Iron Men of the Amazon Daedalus Reborn Violence Claimed Culination of a Cold Year Blotting Out the Sun App Flip Phone Assassins of Opportunity Marazook Cold Snap Promises Whispered in Days of Darkness That Time Nazis Kidnapped a Serial Killer and Took Him Back to the Past to Become a Monster

Want to identify fiction books that boys in grades three through nine will find irresistible? This guide reveals dozens of worthwhile recommendations in categories ranging from adventure stories and sports novels to horror, humorous, and science fiction books. In Get Those Guys Reading!: Fiction and Series Books that Boys Will Love, authors Kathleen A. Baxter and Marcia A. Kochel provide compelling and current reading suggestions for younger boys—information that educators, librarians, and parents alike are desperate for. Comprising titles that are almost all well-reviewed in at least one major professional journal, or that are such big hits with kids that they've received the "stamp of approval" from the most important reviewers, this book will be invaluable to anyone whose goal is to help boys develop a healthy enthusiasm for reading. It includes chapters on adventure books; animal stories; graphic novels; historical fiction; humorous books; mystery, horror, and suspense titles; science fiction and fantasy; and sports novels. Within each chapter, the selections are further divided into books for younger readers (grades 3–6) and titles for older boys in grades 5–8. Elementary and middle school librarians and teachers, public librarians, Title One teachers, and parents of boys in grades 3–9 will all benefit greatly from having this book at hand.