Eternal Sonata

A few dead bodies are a small price to pay in the quest for immortality. In 2025 America, it’s hardly news when a renowned octogenarian scientist dying of cancer disappears from a local hospice, but when Kansas City Star reporter Rich Azadian begins to dig, he discovers that other elderly scientists around the world have also vanished recently—all terminally ill and receiving the same experimental treatment from a global health company. His investigation leads him to the reclusive Noam Heller, a brilliant researcher exploring new technologies to reverse-age cancer and other cells. Using revolutionary stem cell treatments and snippets of DNA from rare, immortal Arctic jellyfish, his breakthrough promises the genetic equivalent of the fountain of youth. But when Heller is murdered and his lab destroyed, Rich and his girlfriend Antonia become targets themselves. With the local police and federal authorities failing to see the big picture, he realizes he must take matters into his own hands to survive and stop the killing. His only hope is to mobilize his network of brilliant misfits and infiltrate the vast and lethal race—among cutthroat corporations, national intelligence services, rogue scientists, and a mysterious international organization—to control the new technologies and perhaps the secret of life itself. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

This book explores the intersections of values and meanings in two types of replay: where video games meet classical music, and vice versa. From the bleeps and bloops of 1980s arcades to the world's most prestigious concert halls, classical music and video games have a long history together. Medieval chant, classical symphonies, postminimalist film scores, and everything in between fill the soundtracks of many video games, while world-renowned orchestras frequently perform concerts of game music to sold-out audiences. Yet combining video games and classical music also presents a challenge to traditional cultural values around these media products. Classical music is frequently understood as high art, insulated from the whims of popular culture; video games, by contrast, are often regarded as pure entertainment, fundamentally incapable of crossing over into art. By delving into the shifting and often contradictory cultural meanings that emerge when classical music meets video games, Unlimited Replays offers a new perspective on the possibilities and challenges of art in contemporary society. - William Gibbons is Assistant Professor of Musicology at Texas Christian University.

What does it mean to interact with sound? How does interactivity alter our experience as creators and listeners? What does the future hold for interactive musical and sonic experiences? This book answers these questions with newly-commissioned chapters that explore the full range of interactive audio in games, performance, design, and practice.

In the midst of World War I, love blossoms amidst chaos, echoing its eternal melody through the lives of the determined artist, Aria Kensington, and the talented composer, Daniel Reynolds Set against the poignant backdrop of a war-torn world, their stories intertwine to create a symphony of love and art that transcends boundaries. Aria Kensington, a gifted artist residing in the idyllic town of Willowbrook, possesses an unwavering belief in the transformative power of love. As war casts its shadows, she sets out to spread love through her art, believing it can heal even the deepest wounds. Her journey unfolds as destiny weaves its intricate threads, guiding her path and connecting her with kindred souls. Daniel Reynolds, a prodigious composer, embraces the melodies within his heart, yearning to compose music that will touch the souls of humanity. His compositions are a testament to his belief in the universal language of love and music, carrying the hope of healing a world torn apart by war. Their paths converge at The Cosmic Heart, a sanctuary that becomes a crucible for their beliefs and endeavors. As they navigate the tumultuous era, they discover the resilience of love, the power of expression through art, and the symphony that unites their souls. Through a tapestry of emotions, fate, and the enduring legacy of love, "Love's Eternal Melody" narrates a timeless story—a story of love's resilience in the face of adversity, the symphony that echoes through the ages, and the legacy that lives on, inspiring generations to believe in the transformative power of love and art.

A wide-ranging survey of video game music creation, practice, perception and analysis - clear, authoritative and up-to-date.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. How do keyboards make music playable? Drawing on theories of media, systems, and cultural techniques, Keys to Play spans Greek myth and contemporary Japanese digital games to chart a genealogy of musical play and its animation via improvisation, performance, and recreation. As a paradigmatic digital interface, the keyboard forms a field of play on which the book’s diverse objects of inquiry—from clavichords to PCs and eighteenth-century musical dice games to the latest rhythm-action titles—enter into analogical relations. Remapping the keyboard’s topography by way of Mozart and Super Mario, who head an expansive cast of historical and virtual actors, Keys to Play invites readers to unlock ludic dimensions of music that are at once old and new.

This text is intended to serve as an introduction to the study of video game music. It was initially conceived as a companion to an introductory video game music course that takes a multi-faceted survey approach to the material. Therefore, this text can be used in accompaniment with an academic setting. It can also be useful for anyone that is generally interested in learning about video game music, but does not have a very solid musical or technical foundation. As it was intended to accompany a course in which non-music majors could freely enrol, the text is accessible to nearly everyone, and covers the topic of video game music very generally.

The Rough Guide to Videogames is the ultimate guide to the world’s most addictive pastime. Both a nostalgic look at the past and a celebration of the latest in joystick-wrecking wonders, this book covers the full story from the first arcade machines to the latest digital delights. Easy access to 75 of the greatest games of all time, from Civilization and Pro Evolution Soccer to We Love Katamari and World of Warcraft. The guide profiles the stories behind the software giants, famous creators and the world’s favourite characters, including Mario, Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog. All the gadgets and devices for consoles, hand-helds, phones and PCs are explored as well as the wider world of gaming, from websites and movies to books.