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Rainbows End: A Novel with One Foot in the Future Mass Market Paperback – April 3, 2007

by Vernor Vinge (Author)

222 customer reviews

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Four time Hugo Award winner Vernor Vinge has taken readers to the depths of space and into the far future in his bestselling novels A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. Now, he has written a science-fiction thriller set in a place and time as exciting and strange as any far-future world: San Diego, California, 2025.

Robert Gu is a recovering Alzheimer's patient. The world that he remembers was much as we know it today. Now, as he regains his faculties through a cure developed during the years of his near-fatal decline, he discovers that the world has changed and so has his place in it. He was a world-renowned poet. Now he is seventy-five years old, though by a medical miracle he looks much younger, and he's starting over, for the first time unsure of his poetic gifts. Living with his son's family, he has no choice but to learn how to cope with a new information age in which the virtual and the real are a seamless continuum, layers of reality built on digital views seen by a single person or millions, depending on your choice. But the consensus reality of the digital world is available only if, like his thirteen-year-old granddaughter Miri, you know how to wear your wireless access―through nodes designed into smart clothes―and to see the digital context―through smart contact lenses.

With knowledge comes risk. When Robert begins to re-train at Fairmont High, learning with other older people what is second nature to Miri and other teens at school, he unwittingly becomes part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to use technology as a tool for world domination.

In a world where every computer chip has Homeland Security built-in, this conspiracy is something that baffles even the most sophisticated security analysts, including Robert's son and daughter-in law, two top people in the U.S. military. And even Miri, in her attempts to protect her grandfather, may be entangled in the plot.

As Robert becomes more deeply involved in conspiracy, he is shocked to learn of a radical change planned for the UCSD Geisel Library; all the books there, and worldwide, would cease to physically exist. He and his fellow re-trainees feel compelled to join protests against the change. With forces around the world converging on San Diego, both the conspiracy and the protest climax in a spectacular moment as unique and satisfying as it is unexpected. This is science fiction at its very best, by a master storyteller at his peak.

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Editorial Reviews

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“A Deepness in the Sky more than justifies the old tag 'eagerly anticipated.' It's a space opera dealing with the age-old themes of exploration, first contact, different cultures, exploitation and, inevitably, conflict. An intriguing and mind-stretching epic. Highly recommended.” ―SFX

“When I was young and had to write my address in a school notebook, I would begin with my street and apartment number and then go on through city, county, state, country and continent in a litany of ever more grandiose place names that did not end until I reached ‘Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, The Universe.' In those days, it thrilled me that my small corner of the Bronx was just a one part of the vastness I could see in the sky at night. This is the feeling I got from reading A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.” ―Gerald Jonas, New York Times Book Review

“Marooned in Realtime is a cracking good story that leaves the reader with plenty to think about. Vernor Vinge draws fine characters and writes a compelling plot. In the end, almost all the mysteries are solved―the only loose ends are those which will leave you pondering the future of Mankind and of the earth for weeks after you finish the book.” ―The Baltimore Sun on Marooned in Realtime

About the Author

Vernor Vinge has won five Hugo Awards, two of them in the Zones of Thought series: A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. Known for his rigorous hard-science approach to his science fiction, he became an iconic figure among cybernetic scientists with the publication in 1981 of his novella "True Names," which is considered a seminal, visionary work of Internet fiction. His many books also include Marooned in Realtime, Rainbows End and The Peace War.

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Product details

Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction; First edition (April 3, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812536363
ISBN-13: 978-0812536362
Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 7 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 222 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #910 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Cyberpunk
- #4759 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary
- #6127 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction

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HaoRan

Just plain awesome! Vernor Vinge has done it again

September 13, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I felt like a was reading the future on computers but presented in a extremely interesting way. The main character is an anti hero. Every character in the book doesn't like him. You really grow to root for him even though he is a snot of a person sometimes. His choice of main character was masterful. The perfect character for this book. Since he had had alzheimer's and he did not know how to "wear" (put on clothing and contact lenses that are a computer and gives you access to the internet) you really get to explore/ learn the technology with him. He learns from a child which is really fun because they like to experiment with the gaming world. A person "wearing" is about to change the environment/ reality around them by changing channels. If you want to live in a medieval fantasy world then just switch to the right channel and everything you see will change into a medieval reality (such as walls turning into old stone castle walls). You are also able to project a avatar to locations other than were your body is. So you can be sitting on your couch visiting Rome. Pretty cool stuff.

There is a great overarching plot that is really exciting! There is some really interesting well fleshed out characters (such as Rabbit). Awesome book! This is top class Science Fiction! Microsoft take note!

This is a MUST read for any hard-science fiction fan! If you are familiar with Vernor Vinge then you know that you will need to read the book slowly. Sometimes you will need to read something twice. He is a masterful hard science writer but sometimes it can be a little hard to understand what is going on. Just read it again slower and you will have no problem. This is especially true for the opening chapter. DON'T GIVE UP ON IT. Slow down and read it again! It's soooo good.

I liked the ending but understood why some people found it lacking.

In conclusion, if you are a Vernor Vinge fan or a sci-fi fan of any sort then you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. Keep em comming Vinge!

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Ren Jiyuan

Prominent features-to those dithering readers.

May 14, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Vernor venge... a Big Name in scifi field.
But this is my first time reading his work.Impressive.

- Very unique, the ideas are novel, and there are plenty of them.(reminds me of Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, although not as “strong”)

-Very “unfriendly” ( crammed with jargons ,reminds me of Blindsight by Petter Watts, but I like it!)

-Very exquisite, I LOVE the characters! The Gu family is so...mesmerizing, making me wanna know more about them. The personalities are well “balanced”,they are ordinary yet extraordinary. They are beautiful yet flawed. They have their problems and dark sides yet they are so lovely!(reminds me of Neuromancer by William Gibson)

-And, incidentally, Rainbows End has very good language.(at least for me, a non-native-English-speaker)

-Meticulous use of language. I am a Chinese and it’s a bit surprising to see a scifi of American origin yet featuring “untypical Americans”, so many people are Chinese and the interjected Chinese(right, legitimate Chnese language, mandarin) are
100%accurate.( Although it’s a bit troublesome for me to switch between Eng and Chnese during the reading experience)

If you like hard-core scifi, this one is a good choice.

(OMG Why am I frittering away my time writing comments on Amazon when there is an imminent major English Exam tomorrow???)

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Paul Miller

a dismal future with dismal characters

September 6, 2011

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I found this book harder to read than some of his other stuff, particularly the first half-or-so, but it was fascinating. It was fascinating because it was a professor of computer science writing about topics that he understands well. It was also fascinating because every character in the book is both good and bad. The protagonist is completely despicable, unlikeable, and really just plain awful -- but he's a good guy I think. It's really up to you of course. With the exception of just a few, I think, all the characters wear hats of gray and my opinion of whether they were good or evil vacillated in each chapter.

The book incidentally outlines various cataclysms and horrible futures as well (all based in new technologies that are right around the corner, if they aren't here already). But like the characters, they are good and bad at the same time. You simultaneously want the new developments and don't. If I could, I'd learn to wear my wearable computer tomorrow ... but there are downsides (cite: book). I would fight tooth and nail against the SHE, but your opinion may differ from mine. The idea of not driving to work anymore (if I have to go there at all) is a fantastic one, but I would surely lose my temper of I couldn't get the car to stop. I'm also personally (literally) working to help bring ubiquitous computing to the world -- in my own small way.

Here I am, days later, and I'm still wondering which parts are good or evil. What just happened??!

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Henry Cate III

A glimpse into a possible future

January 23, 2008

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Vernor Vinge is one of my favorite Science Fiction authors. He popularized the term singularity. My only complaint is he is not very prolific. I wish he would write more.

Rainbow's End is set in 2025, down in San Diego where Vernor lives. The story revolves around an elderly man who goes back to high school to learn how to use the advance technology. Robert Gu had been a famous poet. He had Alzheimers, which gets cured. He has missed all the changes in technology. We are introduced to much of the technology through Robert's experience.

The plot rotates around secret spy stuff. A company has contracted with the university to copy all of the books in the library up into the internet. The process will destroy the books. Several people are opposed to this. Robert gets caught up in the intrigue.

Vernor extrapolates current trends in technology and paints a world rich with possibilities. It will be interesting to see in 2025 how close his predictions came to reality.

If you enjoy Science Fiction, give Rainbow's End a read. I think you'll enjoy it.

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