Computer & Technology

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

View / Buy On Amazon


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.

View / Buy On Amazon


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 …

View / Buy On Amazon


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.

View / Buy On Amazon


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.

View / Buy On Amazon


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.

View / Buy On Amazon


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.

View / Buy On Amazon


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?

View / Buy On Amazon


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.

View / Buy On Amazon


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

View / Buy On Amazon


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.

View / Buy On Amazon



The 125+ Additional Best Books About Or Featuring Virtual Reality



# Books Authors Lists
12 AlterWorld: Play to Live. A LitRPG Series D. Rus Upload VR
Goodreads
13 Armada Ernest Cline Haptic
Goodreads
14
Augmented Human: How Technology Is Shaping the New Reality
Hub Stop
Briovr
15
Augmented Reality: Principles and Practice (Usability)
Hub Stop
Briovr
16 Bluescreen Dan Wells Goodreads
Haptic
17 Brasyl Ian McDonald Haptic
Upload VR
18 City of Golden Shadow Tad Williams Goodreads
Upload VR
19 Disclosure Michael Crichton Haptic
Upload VR
20 Donnerjack Haptic
Upload VR
21 Elusion Claudia Gabel Goodreads
Haptic
22 Epic Conor Kostick Haptic
Goodreads
23 Feersum Endjin Iain M. Banks Upload VR
Haptic
24 Halting State Charles Stross Haptic
Upload VR
25 Headcrash Bruce Bethke Haptic
Upload VR
26 In Real Life Cory Doctorow Haptic
Goodreads
27 Insignia S.J. Kincaid Goodreads
Haptic
28 Killobyte Piers Anthony Haptic
Upload VR
29 Lock In John Scalzi Haptic
Goodreads
30 Masters of Doom David Kushner 3D Coil
QZ
31 Otherworld Jason Segel Goodreads
Book Trust
32 Permutation City Greg Egan (Subjective Cosmology #2) Haptic
Upload VR
33 Ready Player One Ernest Cline Goodreads
Upload VR
34 Rim Alexander Besher Upload VR
Haptic
35 Saga Conor Kostick Haptic
Goodreads
36 Simulacron-3 Daniel F. Galouye Haptic
Upload VR
37 Surface Detail Iain M. Banks (Culture #9) Haptic
Upload VR
38 Tea from an Empty Cup Pat Cadigan Haptic
Upload VR
39 The Eye of Minds James Dashner Goodreads
Upload VR
40 The Fourth Transformation Robert Scoble & Shel Israel 3D Coil
Briovr
41 The Futurological Congress Stanislaw Lem Upload VR
Haptic
42 The Hacker and the Ants Rudy Rucker Haptic
Upload VR
43 The Reality Bug D.J. MacHale (Pendragon #4) Upload VR
Haptic
44 The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Philip K. Dick Haptic
Upload VR
45 The Three-Body Problem Liu Cixin Goodreads
Upload VR
46 The VR Book: Human Centered Design for Virtual Reality Jason Jerald
Virtual Reality Pop
3D Coil
47 Tomorrow and Tomorrow Thomas Sweterlitsch Haptic
Upload VR
48 Virtual Light William Gibson (Bridge #1) Haptic
Upload VR
49 Virtual Reality Analytics Joerg Osarek 3D Coil
ARPost
50 Virtual Reality For Beginners Murray Ramirez 3D Coil
ARPost
51
Virtual Reality Insider: Guidebook for the VR Industry
ARPost
Briovr
52 Warcross Marie Lu Goodreads
Book Trust
53 We Can Remember It For You Wholesale Philip K. Dick Haptic
Upload VR
54 A Christmas Carol Signature reads
55 A Game of Thrones Signature reads
56 A Virtual Dream Brent Roth Goodreads
57 Accelerando Charles Stross Upload VR
58 An Elephant in our Garden Appreal VR
59
Animal Kingdom Education Book
Appreal VR
60 Arena Holly Jennings Goodreads
61 At the Mountains of Madness Signature reads
62
Augmented Reality: A Practical Guide
Hub Stop
63
Augmented Reality: Innovative Perspectives across Art, Industry, and Academia
Hub Stop
64
Augmented Reality: Where We Will All Live
Briovr
65
Awaken Online: Catharsis by Travis Bagwell
Book Trust
66 Better than Life Grant Naylor (Red Dwarf #2) Upload VR
67 Better than Life (Red Dwarf) Haptic
68
Cardboard VR Projects for Android
Briovr
69 Catalyst S.J. Kincaid Goodreads
70
Caverns and Creatures (4 books series)
Haptic
71
Color Alive Series – Augmented Reality Coloring Books
Appreal VR
72 Complete Atopia Chronicles Haptic
73 Count Zero William Gibson Goodreads
74 Dawn of the New Everything Jaron Lanier 3D Coil
75
Defying Reality: The Inside Story of the Virtual Reality Revolution
Briovr
76
Developing Virtual Reality Applications: Foundations of Effective Design
Briovr
77 Edge of Reality Andrei Livadny Goodreads
78 Everywhere But No Place Mark Foster (Messages from the Unseen World #1) Upload VR
79 For The Win Haptic
80
Getting Started with React VR: Build immersive Virtual Reality apps for the web with React
Briovr
81 Ghosts of ARCADIA Ramsey Isler Upload VR
82
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Signature reads
83
Holistic Game Development with Unity: An All-in-One Guide to Implementing Game Mechanics, Art, Design and Programming
Virtual Reality Pop
84
Horrible Hauntings: An Augmented Reality Collection of Ghosts and Ghouls
Appreal VR
85 House of Leaves Signature reads
86 Human Plus David Simpson (Post-Human #4) Upload VR
87 Inferno: Play to Live. A LitRPG Series D. Rus Goodreads
88 Infinite Jest Signature reads
89 Infoquake David Edelman (Jump 225 #1) Upload VR
90 Introduction to Virtual Reality Briovr
91
iStorm: Wild Weather and Other Forces of Nature
Appreal VR
92
Jack Hunter: The French Connection
Appreal VR
93
Making Sense of Space: The Design and Experience of Virtual Spaces as a Tool for Communication (Chandos Information Professional Series)
Briovr
94
Marketing New Realities: An Introduction to Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Marketing, Branding, & Communications
Briovr
95 Mirror World (3 book series) Haptic
96
Mortality Doctrine (3 book series)
Haptic
97 Mountain of Black Glass Tad Williams Goodreads
98 Murder on the Orient Express Signature reads
99 Otherland (4 book series) Haptic
100 Phantom Server (3 book series) Haptic
101 Play To Live (7 book series) Haptic
102
Practical Augmented Reality: A Guide to the Technologies, Applications and Human Factors for AR and VR (Usability)
Hub Stop
103 Presence Haptic
104 Project Daily Grind Alexey Osadchuk Goodreads
105 Reamde Neal Stephenson Upload VR
106
Red Cell, White Cell: A STEM Based Augmented Reality Book
Appreal VR
107 River of Blue Fire Tad Williams Goodreads
108
Rocks In My Socks: Children’s Story Book with 3D Augmented Reality Activities
Appreal VR
109 Schismatrix Bruce Sterling Upload VR
110 Schismatrix Plus Haptic
111 Sea of Silver Light Tad Williams Goodreads
112 Seveneves Haptic
113 Sleep Sweet Appreal VR
114
Storytelling for Virtual Reality: Methods and Principles for Crafting Immersive Narratives
Briovr
115 Survival Quest Vasily Mahanenko Goodreads
116
Tagme3D: Augmented Reality Books
Appreal VR
117 Terminal Connection Haptic
118 The Atopia Chronicles Mathew Mather Upload VR
119 The Battle D. Rus Goodreads
120 The Clan: Play to Live. A LitRPG Series D. Rus Goodreads
121 The Demi-Monde: Winter Haptic
122
The Dragon’s Wrath (3 book series)
Haptic
123 The Dueling Machine Ben Bova Upload VR
124 The Duty: Play to Live. A LitRPG Series D. Rus Goodreads
125 The Fellowship of the Ring Signature reads
126 The Game Terry Schott Goodreads
127 The Game of Lives James Dashner Goodreads
128 The Great Gatsby Signature reads
129 The Judas Mandala Damien Broderick (The Faustus Hexagram #2) Upload VR
130 The Kartoss Gambit Vasily Mahanenko Goodreads
131 The Leveller Julia Durango Goodreads
132 The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality Michael Heim 3D Coil
133 The Rule of Thoughts James Dashner Goodreads
134 The Shining Signature reads
135 The Terminal Connection Dan Needles Upload VR
136 The Three Body Problem Haptic
137 The Ultimation D. Rus Goodreads
138
The VR Book: Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality
Briovr
139 The War: Play to Live. A LitRPG Series D. Rus Goodreads
140
The Way of the Shaman (4 book series)
Haptic
141 Trading Reality Michael Ridpath Upload VR
142 True Names Verner Vinge Upload VR
143
Understanding Augmented Reality: Concepts and Applications
Briovr
144 Understanding Movies Raphael Sharge QZ
145 Unity Virtual Reality Projects
Virtual Reality Pop
146 Upload Mark McClelland Upload VR
147 User Unfriendly Haptic
148 v Haptic
149
Virtual & Augmented Reality For Dummies
Briovr
150
Virtual Reality and the Built Environment
Briovr
151
Virtual Reality Blueprints: Create compelling VR experiences for mobile and desktop
Briovr
152 Virtual Reality Insider Sky Nite 3D Coil
153 Virtual Reality: Future Of Health Care Lynne Edgar 3D Coil
154 Virtual Reality: Representations in Contemporary Media Melanie Chan 3D Coil
155 Virtual Reality: The Revolutionary Technology of Computer-Generated Artificial Worlds and How It Promises to Transform Society Howard Rheingold 3D Coil
156 Vortex S.J. Kincaid Goodreads
157 Vurt Jeff Noon Upload VR
158 Ways of Seeing John Berger 3D Coil
159 Wildcard Marie Lu Goodreads
160 Winter Rod Rees (Demi-Monde Saga #1) Upload VR


12 Best Virtual Reality Book Sources/Lists



Source Article
3D Coil Best VR and AR Books
Appreal VR 10 Augmented Reality (AR) Books That Will Blow Your Kid’s Mind
ARPost Four Books to Give You an Insight into Virtual Reality
Book Trust 5 virtual reality books for your gaming-mad tweens and teens
Briovr Top 17+ Books To Learn Augmented & Virtual Reality
Goodreads Popular Virtual Reality Books – Goodreads
Haptic 60+ science fiction books on virtual reality
Hub Stop Augmented Reality (AR) Books to Add to Your Reading List
QZ These five books will help you understand the future of virtual reality
Signature reads 10 Novels Perfect for Virtual Reality
Upload VR Reading List: 50 Scifi Books Featuring AR and VR Technology
Virtual Reality Pop Five essential books for Virtual Reality coders
A.M. Anderson

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