The Best Books About Or Featuring Virtual Reality

“What are the best books about Virtual Reality?” We looked at 160 of the top Virtual Reality books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 11 titles, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Virtual Reality” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 125+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 11 Best Virtual Reality Books

11 .) Daemon written by Daniel Suarez

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

In a near-future run by thousands of autonomous computer programs that control the world’s wireless networks, a dormant program activates in the wake of a legendary game designer’s premature death and launches a sinister effort to dismantle society and enforce a new world order

10 .) Ender’s Game written by Orson Scott Card

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast. But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military’s purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler.

9 .) Erebos written by Ursula Poznanski

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

Erebos ist ein Computerspiel, das an einer Londoner Schule als Raubkopie von Schüler zu Schüler herumgereicht wird; wer es einmal spielt, wird “süchtig” danach. Die Spielregeln sind rigide: Jeder hat nur eine Chance, Erebos zu spielen; wer stirbt, fliegt raus und kann nicht wieder zurück ins Spiel; Spieler dürfen mit niemandem darüber reden und müssen immer allein sein, wenn sie spielen, und auch wer gegen diese Spielregeln verstößt, fliegt ohne die Chance auf Rückkehr in die virtuelle Welt von Erebos. Fortgeschrittenen Spielern stellt das Erebos Aufgaben, und die werden nicht in der virtuellen, sondern in der tatsächlichen Realität erledigt, und so verschwimmen die Fiktion des Spiels und die Realität mit zunehmender “Verweildauer” im Spiel. Nick is one of the students at the London School; he too gets into the virtual world of Erebos, and he too becomes addicted to it, but then the game orders him a very real murder …

8 .) Heir Apparent written by Vivian Vande Velde

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

In the virtual reality game Heir Apparent, there are way too many ways to get killed–and Giannine seems to be finding them all. Which is a darn shame, because unless she can get the magic ring, locate the stolen treasure, answer the dwarf’s dumb riddles, impress the head-chopping statue, charm the army of ghosts, fend off the barbarians, and defeat the man-eating dragon, she’ll never win. And she has to, because losing means she’ll die–for real this time.

7 .) Neuromancer written by William Gibson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards Case was the sharpest data thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a mirror-eyed girl street-samurai riding shotgun, he’s ready for the silicon-quick, bleakly prophetic adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction.

6 .) Oculus Rift in Action written by several authors

Lists It Appears On:

• 3D Coil
• Briovr
• Virtual Reality Pop

The Oculus Rift is an exciting next generation VR headset developed by OculusVR. Whether it’s in a game, an architectural walk-through, or a teaching simulation, the goal of any immersive virtual reality experience is making users feel like they’re in the middle of the action. With precise, high-quality optics and a flexible programmatic interface, the Rift provides real-life field of view and head tracking hardware for natural interaction that finally nails the feeling of being there. Oculus Rift in Action introduces the powerful Oculus Rift headset and teaches you how to integrate its many features into 3D games and other virtual reality experiences. You’ll start by understanding the capabilities of the Rift hardware. Then you’ll follow interesting and instantly-relevant examples that walk you through programming real applications using the Oculus SDK.

5 .) Rainbows End written by Verner Vinge

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

Robert Gu is a recovering Alzheimer’s patient. The world that he remembers was much as we know it today. Now, as he regains his faculties through a cure developed during the years of his near-fatal decline, he discovers that the world has changed and so has his place in it. He was a world-renowned poet. Now he is seventy-five years old, though by a medical miracle he looks much younger, and he’s starting over, for the first time unsure of his poetic gifts. Living with his son’s family, he has no choice but to learn how to cope with a new information age in which the virtual and the real are a seamless continuum, layers of reality built on digital views seen by a single person or millions, depending on your choice. But the consensus reality of the digital world is available only if, like his thirteen-year-old granddaughter Miri, you know how to wear your wireless access—through nodes designed into smart clothes—and to see the digital context—through smart contact lenses. With knowledge comes risk. When Robert begins to re-train at Fairmont High, learning with other older people what is second nature to Miri and other teens at school, he unwittingly becomes part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to use technology as a tool for world domination. In a world where every computer chip has Homeland Security built-in, this conspiracy is something that baffles even the most sophisticated security analysts, including Robert’s son and daughter-in law, two top people in the U.S. military. And even Miri, in her attempts to protect her grandfather, may be entangled in the plot. As Robert becomes more deeply involved in conspiracy, he is shocked to learn of a radical change planned for the UCSD Geisel Library; all the books there, and worldwide, would cease to physically exist. He and his fellow re-trainees feel compelled to join protests against the change. With forces around the world converging on San Diego, both the conspiracy and the protest climax in a spectacular moment as unique and satisfying as it is unexpected.

4 .) Solarversia written by Toby Downton

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

Solarversia is the story of an epic year-long game played by 100 million people inside a virtual world modelled on the real world Solar System. Given three lives, three vehicles, and told to master The Science of Solarversia to stand a chance of winning, players compete for the £10m grand prize, and the chance to help design the next game, starting in 2024. Nova Negrahnu and her friends Burner and Sushi cannot wait to start playing. But when an international terrorist organisation sets its sights on the game and it’s creator, Nova finds her life turned upside down, as the line between simulation and reality blurs. Can she navigate between playing the game, coping with all the issues an eighteen-year-old girl faces and avoid the very real and present danger mounting outside Solaversia?

3 .) The Diamond Age written by Neal Stephenson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Haptic
• Upload VR

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.

2 .) Learning Virtual Reality: Developing Immersive Experiences and Applications for Desktop, Web, and Mobile written by Tony Parisi

Lists It Appears On:

• 3D Coil
• ARPost
• Briovr
• QZ
• Virtual Reality Pop

As virtual reality approaches mainstream consumer use, a vibrant development ecosystem has emerged in the past few years. This hands-on guide takes you through VR development essentials for desktop, mobile, and browser-based applications. You’ll explore the three go-to platforms–OculusVR, Gear VR, and Cardboard VR–as well as several VR development environments, programming tools, and techniques. If you’re an experienced programmer familiar with mobile development, this book will help you gain a working knowledge of VR development through clear and simple examples. Once you create a complete application in the final chapter, you’ll have a jumpstart on the next major entertainment medium. Learn VR basics for UI design, 3D graphics, and stereo rendering Explore Unity3D, the current development choice among game engines Create native applications for desktop computers with the Oculus Rift Develop mobile applications for Samsung’s Gear VR with the Android and Oculus Mobile SDKs Build browser-based applications with the WebVR Javascript API and WebGL Create simple and affordable mobile apps for any smartphone with Google’s Cardboard VR Bring everything together to build a 360-degree panoramic photo viewer

1 .) Snow Crash written by Neal Stephenson

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Trust
• Goodreads
• Haptic
• QZ
• Upload VR

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo’s CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he’s a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous… you’ll recognize it immediately.

The 125+ Additional Best Books About Or Featuring Virtual Reality

12 Best Virtual Reality Book Sources/Lists