This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Darryl Vidal will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
On the eve of the Global MindCraft Universe Challenge, Justin Turner, a teenage master of the titular virtual reality game, and his friends (known online as the Digital Mavericks) discover a sinister underbelly within the MindCraft Universe that may use artificial intelligence and virtual manipulation to end the world as we know it.
Enjoy an Excerpt
A neon blue sky with puffy white cumuli-nimbus clouds provided the background for a grassy landscape speckled with pastel flowers. Eucalyptus trees lined the sides of some sort of football or soccer field. In the distance, hundreds of armored medieval warriors came thundering down the hills, shields and swords in hand.
They were storming toward a massive medieval castle of limestone and granite stretching across the near end of the playing field; a vast mote surrounding it. The massive walls stretched twenty to thirty feet high, which normally provided sanctuary from siege. But in this instance, a large hole had been blown through the castle walls with granite boulders, near the gates and bridge that secured entry into the castle.
A closer group of workers and warriors, commanded by the screaming artillery master and aided with oxen, moved giant catapults away from the castle walls to expose the holes for the armored warriors coming down the hill. Next, they started loading giant balls of pitch, a thick black tarry substance, to be set on fire and launched over the castle walls.
Justin Turner, in full VR regalia, used his hand controllers to assemble 3D blocks to repair the wall before the hordes of warriors arrived. The glow of the forty-two-inch curved gaming monitor cast an illuminating light on his determined expression. In the virtual realm of MindCraft, Justin went by the handle ByteMaster, due to countless strategic victories and an uncanny ability to outsmart opponents.
About the Author:
Darryl Vidal is an accomplished entrepreneur, author and education technology consultant with over 30 years of experience working with the largest school districts in Southern California. He is a futurist and fan of Artificial Intelligence, and an avid reader of the sciences, philosophy, and techno-thrillers.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Information Management and a Master’s Degree (MA Ed) in Education (Instructional Technology) from California State University, San Bernardino. He has also published eight critically acclaimed books on Educational Technology, Ed Tech Strategic Planning and Digital Transformation, and has developed the formal strategic planning and project management methodology known as MapIT.
Darryl has been a student and teacher of the art of Kenpo Karate for over 50 years. He has been teaching Karate in Murrieta for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for the past 30+ years. He also founded and heads the Murrieta Stick Fighting Club (Filipino Martial Arts). This has led to him earning the highest honor given in martial arts when he was promoted to Grandmaster – Ju Dan, 10th Degree Black Belt in 2012.
He is widely known for his appearance in 1984’s The Karate Kid, playing himself in the tournament semi-finals, as well as acting as a stunt-double for Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi). He is also credited with inventing the iconic Crane Kick.
MindCraft: The Educational Singularity is Darryl’s second novel in over twenty years and his first science fiction endeavor.
Buy the book at Amazon.
