Home > Vernor Vinge

Vinge published his first short story, "Bookworm, Run!", in 1965 in Analog Science Fiction, then edited by John W. Campbell. He was then a moderately prolific contributor to SF magazines in the 1960s and early 1970s, including adapting two of his stories into a short novel, Grimm's World ( 1969For other uses, see Number 1969. For the movie, see 1969 (movie). Events January January 1 Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch purchases the largest selling British Sunday newspaper The News Of The World January 5 The Derry Riots leave over 100 people i), and publishing a second novel, The Witling ( 1975Events January January 1 Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail on February 21 January 5 The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, i).

Vinge came to prominence in 1981Events January-February January Sarawak Chamber found January 1 Greece enters the EEC January 1 Palau becomes self-governing January 4 Sheffield police arrests Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper January 16 Protestant gunmen shoot and wound Bernadette D with his novella " True NamesTrue Names was the science fiction novella which brought Vernor Vinge to prominence in 1981. It was one of the earliest stories to present a fully fleshed-out concept of cyberspace, which would later be central to stories by William Gibson, Neal Stephenso", which is one of the earliest stories to present a fully fleshed-out concept of cyberspaceCyberspace is a (virtual) reality within the world's computers and computer networks. Cyberspace is a common theme in science fiction. The word "cyberspace" (a portmanteau of cybernetics and space) was coined by William Gibson, the Canadian science fictio, which would later be central to stories by William GibsonWilliam Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an author, mostly of science fiction novels, who lives in Canada. He is one of the leading members of the cyberpunk movement. Gibson was born in Conway, South Carolina, USA. In 1968, he moved to Canada, and in, Neal StephensonNeal Stephenson (b. October 31, 1959 in Fort Meade, Maryland) is known primarily as a science fiction writer in the postcyberpunk genre with a predisposition to divert into explorations of math, currency, and the history of science. He also writes non-fic and others (and particularly to the cyberpunkCyberpunk (a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk) is a sub- genre of science fiction which focuses on computers or information technology. The plot of cyberpunk literature often revolves around the conflict between hackers, artificial intelligences, and m genre).

His next two novels, The Peace War ( 1984) and Marooned in Realtime ( 1986), concern the impact of a technology which can create impenetrable force fields called " Bobbles" (with other properties which aren't revealed here as they are spoilers for the former book). These books built Vinge's reputation as an author who would explore his science fictional ideas to their logical conclusions and in novel and particularly inventive ways. He was nominated for the Hugo Award for both books, but in each case lost to novels by William Gibson and Orson Scott Card.

These two novels and "True Names" also emphasized Vinge's interest in the technological singularity. "True Names" takes place in a world on the cusp of the singularity. The Peace War shows a world in which the singularity has been postponed by the Bobbles, while Marooned in Realtime follows a small group of people who have managed to miss the singularity which otherwise encompassed Earth.

Vinge finally won the Hugo Award with his 1992 novel, A Fire Upon the Deep. In it, Vinge envisions a galaxy that is divided up into "zones of thought", in which the further one moves from the center of the galaxy, the higher the level of technology one can achieve. Earth is in "The Slow Zone", in which the speed of light cannot be achieved. Most of the book, however, takes place in a zone called "The Beyond," where the computations necessary for faster than light travel is possible, but transcendence beyond the Singularity to superhuman intelligence is not. Thus Vinge could write a classic space opera despite his belief that the technology required for such stories would push us past the singularity. Fire includes a large number of additional ideas making for an unusually complex and rich universe and story.

A Deepness in the Sky ( 1999) was a prequel to Fire, following competing groups of humans in The Slow Zone as they struggle over who has the rights to exploit a technologically emerging alien culture. Deepness also won a Hugo Award in 2000.

Vinge has also won Hugos for his novellas, " Fast Times at Fairmont High " in 2002, and " The Cookie Monster " in 2004.

Vinge retired in 2002 from teaching at San Diego State University in order to write full-time.

His ex-wife Joan D. Vinge is also an accomplished science fiction author.

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