Resultados de "Tony Bertauski" en Todas las categorias

Work comes first for 16-year-old Socket Greeny's mother ever since his father died 11 years ago. Now, in this tech-driven futuristic society, he's zoned on energy drinks and living in virtual worlds. He doesn't know what his mom does for a living, but the bills get paid and the refrigerator is full, so why bother with details? His only real-world thrill is fighting. He doesn't always win, but that's not the point. Breaking skin is a reality rush. But worlds change. Socket starts hearing other people's thoughts. He thinks he's hallucinating, even when time seems to stop. But when his mom arrives at school, he knows it's for real.

Tyler Ballard was in prison when his son created a dreamworld called Foreverland, a place so boundless and spellbinding that no one ever wanted to leave. Or did. Now his son is dead, his wife is comatose, and Tyler is still imprisoned. But he planned it that way. The final piece of his vision falls into place when Alessandra Diosa investigates the crimes of Foreverland.

There is no escape. There never was. Freddy Bills is retired. Back in the day, he was fishing people out of unreality tanks and pulling needles from their heads. That was when it was against the law. Now everyone is doing it, including him...His plans were to fade into retirement, just him and his dog. That was before someone from his past appeared. There’s no escaping his past or future. He was destined to solve the Maze. He just has to figure out why.

Sunny Grimm finds a strap around her son's head with an embossed symbol between his eyes. This is the mark of awareness leaping, where players launch into alternate realities and anything goes. Investors make millions. Critics, however, refuse to call it a game. They argue that reality confusion will end humanity. Labels aside, there are many who play. And many who lose. Sunny Grimm goes on a mad search for her son and the people responsible for allowing him to play. The only way she will find him is to not lose herself in the search. The Maze is more than a game.

A name was tattooed on his finger. Marcus woke in a cell. No memory of how he got there or what his name was. Just a tattoo. There were others like him. They called this place unreality. They told him this was where someone was hiding him. Clues lead him on a journey in search of who he is, who he was, and why someone did this to him. Each time he finds someone connected to a mysterious symbol, something inconceivable happens. Something even the people who live in unreality can't explain.

Arthur woke up in a realm where fairy tales are born and Christmas never ends. Naturally, he thought he was dreaming. Who wouldn’t? This wasn’t his world. He had no idea how he got there, and even the natives were clueless about how or why a crosser came to Candyland. But there was a reason—there was always a reason. The kind-hearted natives tried to help Arthur find his way back home, but he’s quickly caught up in the endless battle between naughty and nice.

The place didn’t feel like Christmas. Nothing did anymore. What Marie wanted, she couldn’t possibly have. A leaky air mattress and a self-absorbed aunt was all she got. But Christmas wasn’t about what you wanted; it was about what you needed. Godfather told her that. That was when he told her the tale of the nutcracker.

Hiro’s parents rearrange the furniture every December. They make space in the corner for something tall. They plug in string lights and leave them on the floor. Sometimes, they cut down a tree but don’t know what to do with it. It’s not just Hiro’s parents. Everyone does it. Come January, they all straighten up their living rooms and everything goes back to normal. They do this every year. No one knows why. Something’s missing, and they all feel it, but they never wonder what it is. And every year that passes, the world becomes colder and grayer. Until Hiro has a dream.

When Tin’s family inherits an enormous rural estate, they discover the hidden treasures of Toyland. The eccentric mansion was built long ago by a toy magnate named Wallace Noel, a man made famous by his beloved Noel toys. Tin discovers an authentic-looking elf hat and knows what made his toys so special.

It started with a present. One Christmas morning, a mystery gift appeared under trees around the world. It was the exact same gift, inscribed with the maker’s initials in tiny letters: BT and Company. It was months before anyone knew exactly what the gift did. Avery Tannenbaum’s brother was one of the lucky few to receive one. It was on her birthday when the mysterious gifts came to life. A contest was announced. It was also on that very same day Avery’s grandmother passed away.

Drayton can’t leave the Lowcountry. He once believed he was a vampire when he terrorized villages and slaughtered for blood. Now he absorbs essence from the dying’s final breath and rarely stays in one place. He has been in the Lowcountry far too long. Everything is about to change. After witnessing an elderly man’s death, Drayton vows to protect his wife. He assumes the job of her gardener in Charleston’s historic district. But when a young woman named Amber enters the garden, he soon questions who he is protecting. And from whom.

Christmas is hot. When Kandi’s dad gets a mysterious call, they fly to a tropical island where the buildings are enormous and the rooms empty. Kandi meets a boy living all alone in one of the empty resorts. When he goes missing, she enlists the help of the technological wonders that haunt the island to find him. What she uncovers is a much deeper mystery that will affect more than just Christmas. The world doesn’t know it yet, but Santa Claus is missing.

His real name is Christmas. It’s embarrassing. He’s been accepted into the Institute of Creative Mind, a prestigious institute for eccentrics, outliers, and gifted students. Christmas trees, ornaments, and lights decorate the castles. Presents are given out every month, and students are pitted against each other in creative challenges. Chris soon finds out, however, the stakes are high. The losers are expelled. This place is more than a demanding school for gifted students. Chris finds a clue in a textbook his first night, written in code. Run, run as fast as you can....

Six teenage girls wake with no memories. One of them is in a brick mansion, her blonde hair as shiny as her shoes. The others are in a cabin, their names tagged to the inside of their pants. Their heads, shaved. Slashes mark the cabin wall like someone has been counting. Hundreds of them. There's wilderness all around and one dead adult. The girls discover her body rotting somewhere in the trees. As the weeks pass, they band together to survive the cold, wondering where they are and how they got there.

Fabbers, slabbers, and fakies were dehumanizing slurs for fabricated humans. Bricks, however, was the People's favorite. The Sentience Laws were created to protect the rights of Bricks, but the laws didn't last long. Banished to a remote gulag called the Settlement, Paul and Raine are sentenced to live the rest of their lives in the wilderness. Escape and freedom will depend on Marcus Anderson, the man responsible for all the suffering that's been endured since the invention of biomites - the synthetic stem cells used to fabricate halfskins and Bricks.

Biomites are artificial stem cells that can replace any cell in your body. No more kidney failure, no severed spines or blood disease. No cancer. Pharmaceuticals become obsolete. With each dose of biomites, we become stronger, we become smarter and prettier. We become better. At what point are we no longer human? Jamie wants to be a halfskin. But Jamie's body is already 49.9% biomites. The rest is clay - her God-given organic cells. Any more biomites and she becomes a halfskin. And halfskins are shutdown.

The Annihilation of Foreverland: When kids awaken on an island, they're told there was an accident. Before they can go home, they will visit Foreverland, an alternate reality that will heal their minds. Foreverland Is Dead: Six teenage girls wake with no memories. One of them is in a brick mansion. The others are in a cabin, their heads shaved. Slashes mark the cabin wall like someone has been counting. Hundreds of them. Ashes of Foreverland: Tyler Ballard was in prison when his son created a dreamworld called Foreverland....

The Drayton Chronicles is a collection of novellas chronicling the evolution of a vampire. In "Drayton, The Taker:" Blake Barnes commits suicide by freezing on Mt. Hood. As his life fades, he assumes Death has come to him in the form of a young man. In his last moments, he asks Death to find his family, to tell them he's sorry. Drayton honors this last request as he absorbs Blake Barnes' waning essence. He travels to the Lowcountry of South Carolina to find his family. But saying sorry is not always as easy as the words imply.

A year has passed since the Paladin Nation was exposed to the public. Their mission is still to protect humanity from whatever may threaten them. Previously, it was the human duplications, but now that they've been extinguished their biggest challenge is dealing with the complications of public image.

Book 3 in the Socket trilogy. The Paladin Nation is rebuilding. Socket Greeny is leading them into a new era of compassion and understanding. But when Pike returns, Socket discovers nothing is what he expected, that his life has been planned from the beginning. He is faced with ultimate betrayal. In the end, he won't be asked to save the world. It'll be the entire universe.