{"product_id":"9781936460236","title":"Constellation Games","description":"First contact isn't all fun and games. \u003cp\u003eAriel Blum is pushing thirty and doesn't have much to show for it. His computer programming skills are producing nothing but pony-themed video games for little girls. His love life is a slow-motion train wreck, and whenever he tries to make something of his life, he finds himself back on the couch, replaying the games of his youth. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen the aliens show up. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOut of the sky comes the Constellation: a swarm of anarchist anthropologists, exploring our seas, cataloguing our plants, editing our wikis, and eating our Twinkies. No one knows how to respond--except for nerds like Ariel who've been reading, role-playing and wargaming first-contact scenarios their entire lives. Ariel sees the aliens' computers, and he knows that wherever there are computers, there are video games. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAriel just wants to start a business translating alien games so they can be played on human computers. But a simple cultural exchange turns up ancient secrets, government conspiracies, and unconventional anthropology techniques that threaten humanity as we know it. If Ariel wants his species to have a future, he's going to have to take the step that nothing on Earth could make him take. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe'll have to grow up.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Candlemark \u0026 Gleam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47033829556464,"sku":"9781936460236","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781936460236_p0.jpg?v=1763659529","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781936460236","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}