A collection loosely based around Vinge’s early cyberpunk short, True Names, and his concept of the singularity. Some entertaining work, but I find him better in long form.
Bookworm, run! (1966) ⭐⭐
An experimental chimp is connected to a computer containing all of humanity’s knowledge. Its intelligence rapidly outstrips humans and, realising the danger it’s in, it makes its escape.
An early singularity story written by Vinge when he was young (his second published story), it suffers from weak prose and plotting.
True Names (1981) ⭐⭐⭐
Vinge foresees a virtual cyberspace populated with hackers and infiltrated by AI, laying much of the groundwork for Gibson’s Neuromancer. What’s different is Vinge’s mythic feel — a world of magic and warlocks, more an RPG than the gritty cyberpunk noir which was to come.
Its cyberspace action sequences deliver the 80s style of virtual combat, which took me back to my excitement when first watching the film Hackers. But beyond that, it’s now a story mostly interesting for its foresight.
The Peddlers Apprentice (1975) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
A simple encounter with a travelling Peddler escalates as mysteries compound and the forgotten history of the world is revealed. Great little story.
The Ungoverned (1985) ⭐⭐⭐
Set between his novels The Peace War and Marooned In Realtime, America is split between the Republic and the anarco-capitalist ungoverned. When New Mexico launches an invasion, it’s down to the commercial protection services and the preppers to save the day.
Confusing in this short form, where there’s not enough time to explain the complicated social and political landscape without the context of the bracketing books.
Long Shot (1972) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An extinction-level event prompts the launch of an automated 10,000-year mission to Alpha Centauri. Coping with decay and malfunction resulting in the loss of knowledge of its mission, the unmanned ship finds a habitable world and prepares for landfall.
Very beautifully written - you feel the deep time and existential struggle as the little ship tries against the odds to complete its mission.
