Reviews for The collected stories of Vernor Vinge

The average rating for The collected stories of Vernor Vinge based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-07-07 00:00:00 John M Alo This is a collection of shorter works (from short story to novella size, mostly the later) of award-winning SF author Vernor Vinge. I've read it after I enjoyed his Hugo-winning novels A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. The collection contains almost all his smaller works written between the mid-60s and 2001. Moreover, each work had his preface and afterthought, which makes it even more interesting. Here is a list of titles with short synapses with minimum of spoilers: "Bookworm, Run!" a chimpanzee linked to ability-enhancing computer escapes the military base "The Accomplice" it is 1993 (written in 1967) and someone stole computer time to do something artistic "The Peddler's Apprentice", written with his then-wife Joan D. Vinge, the story of a mysterious trader and a young band planning to full him. I'd say quite a lot of the ideas (from free trade vs. totalitarian, to methods of control) were later re-introduced in A Deepness in the Sky. "The Ungoverned" an ode to anarcho-capitalism and its better protection against armed invasion, clearly showing his libertarian views "Long Shot" a smallest possible viable interstellar colony written as a log of the delivery ship "Apartness" after nuclear war, the Earth is governed by former smaller nations and one old group is found on the Antarctica "Conquest by Default" the same setting as in the previous story but now human-like aliens from another planet invade the Earth. Problem of who prevents forming a strong group withing libertarian society to oppress others is thought out. "The Whirligig of Time" another nuclear war and the revenge of the defeated "Bomb Scare" during a war between to civilizations, the third group appears that can destroy both. A bit silly piece "The Science Fair" a scientist ought to present something new on a regular fair… "Gemstone" a granddaughter stays for a summer with her grandma to find out her secrets. "Just Peace" an investigator from post-singularity Earth is rayed on a failed colony "Original Sin" a reverse of 'wise eternal aliens vs short-lived angry humans" trope with aliens that are even shorter living and more aggressive "The Blabber" an addition to A Fire Upon the Deep "Win A Nobel Prize!" short humorous letter "The Barbarian Princess" a strange world, where editor and publisher of fantasy pulps like Rad Sonya travels on a sea-ship with some semi-circus semi-science crew "Fast Times at Fairmont High" teenagers do their school project in the near future with ubiquitous internet access

Review # 2 was written on 2007-10-19 00:00:00 Lenard Williams I've been reading Vinge's stories since the mid-80's and this is a really nice compendium of (almost) all of them -- most notably lacking his most famous, "True Names", which apparently the publisher wants to sell on its own for $10. It's fun to see the short stories that later grew into some of his novels or somehow exist in the same universe: "The Ungoverned" in the world of The Peace War & Marooned in Realtime, "The Blabber" in the Zones of Thought universe ( A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky), "Barbarian Princess" ( Tatja Grimm's World), and "Fast Times at Fairmont High" ( Rainbow's End), and to witness Vinge's development as an author. Personally, I found his early stories, while highly uneven and not as polished as the later ones, to be generally more fun -- or maybe it's because so many of the later stories are tied to books, and are (in hindsight) early explorations into those worlds, so they tend to feel lacking. In summary, if you like Vinge's novels, read this book. If you didn't, but you thought he had some neat ideas, read this book. If you don't know Vinge, I don't think this is the right place to start.