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The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge Hardcover – November 17, 2001

by Vernor Vinge (Author)

25 customer reviews

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Since his first published story, "Apartness," appeared in 1965, Vernor Vinge has forged a unique and awe-inspiring career in science fiction as his work has grown and matured. He is now one of the most celebrated science fiction writers in the field , having won the field's top award, the Hugo, for each of his last two novels.

Now, for the first time, this illustrious author gathers all his short fiction into a single volume. This collection is truly the definitive Vinge, capturing his visionary ideas at their very best. It also contains a never-before-published novella, one that represents precisely what this collection encapsulates--bold, unique, challenging science fictional ideas brought to vivid life with compelling storytelling.

Including such major pieces as "The Ungoverned" and "The Blabber," this sumptuous volume will satisfy any reader who loves the sense of wonder, and the excitement of great SF.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A career-spanning collection of science fiction from one of the field's most highly regarded writers, The Collected Stories contains all of Vinge's published short fiction with the exception of two stories--almost 40 years of work including his first professional sale and his most recent novella (published here for the first time). It's a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable review of his career, made richer by the addition of forewords and afterwords to the individual stories in which he discusses everything from the ideas that drove the story to insights on his own writing process.

Vinge's writing is characterized by a clear love of science and an empathy for human needs and feelings. He's intensely curious about what happens when people and science collide. His stories explore the legacies of racism and xenophobia, the pros and cons of anarchy, alien contact, and the sometimes even more difficult contact between humans. He's a master of big ideas, epic settings, and stories well told. --Roz Genessee

From Publishers Weekly

Though probably best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels (A Fire Upon the Deep; A Deepness in the Sky), Vinge, a mathematician and computer scientist, began his writing career with short stories, most of which are gathered in this not quite definitive collection (where are cyberpunk precursor "True Names" and "Grimm's Story"?), along with one new entry, the pop culture-weighted "Fast Times at Fairmont High." Vinge's stories are prime hard SF and also rich with ideas, if often weak on character. Some are also quite dated now, such as the Cold War setting of "Bookworm, Run!" where the future rests on an escaped experimental subject, the first "person" enhanced by direct computer link. "The Accomplice" predicts computer animation the hard way, while "The Whirligig of Time" anticipates space-based missile defenses like SDI. Vinge frames many stories, such as "The Ungoverned" and "Conquest by Defeat," which consider future anarchies, with the idea of a technological singularity the belief that we can't accurately predict what life will be like after the creation of "intelligences greater than our own." Too short to be a story, "Win a Nobel Prize" is a humorous deal with the devil with a biotech twist. "The Barbarian Princess," with its sly pokes at some of the oldest tropes of speculative fiction writing (and editing!), maintains all the color and charm of its original publication. Vinge's comments surrounding each story provide entertaining counterpoint. This collection is a bonanza for hard SF fans, particularly those who prize challenging extrapolation.

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Product details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (November 17, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312873735
ISBN-13: 978-0312873738
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.4 x 9.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
Average Customer Review: 25 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #206 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Short Stories
- #438 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Anthologies
- #2231 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories & Anthologies > Anthologies

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John M. Ford

Singularly Good Reads

May 12, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

These seventeen stories are all written by Vernor Vinge, author of A Fire Upon the Deep,A Deepness in the Sky, and The Children of the Sky. One of them, "The Blabber," relates to these books--and should not be read before at least the first two books in this series. Another, "The Ungoverned," relates to the author's Peace War series. The collection is a good representation of the range and quality of Vinge's writing.

My favorite five are:

"The Blabber" is one of my all-time favorite science fiction stories--for reasons I won't explain because of how it connects to the Zones of Thought series.

"The Accomplice" takes place in a "future" 1993 as envisioned by Vinge from 1966. Vinge reports being embarrassed by the various ways he got the future wrong, but he got some interesting things right, too. The story itself is enjoyable enough. Although the story within the story is better, of course.

In "Long Shot" we witness Earth's last and best explorer leaving our solar system behind. The explorer has an important mission. If memory serves.

In "Original Sin" humanity encounters an alien race that is shorter-lived, more intelligent, and more aggressive. The outcome seems foreordained.

"Win a Nobel Prize!" is one of those short-short science fiction stories that appeared in Nature during 1999-2000. It's notable for its mention of the "focus" that played a central role in A Deepness in the Sky.

Vinge supplies both introductions and afterwards for each story, establishing a conversational style that escorts the reader through each story. More anthologies could benefit from this technique, which allows authors to set the stage without spoilers, then offer post-reading analysis to the fully-informed reader afterward. Vinge does this well. The stories are very good, too.

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Great Sci-Fi from the earlier years

August 13, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

As someone who grew up in the 50s and 60s and read all the scifi available in a small town, I would have thought that I had already read all of these stories. Yet, somehow, I missed all of Vernor Vinge's stories, even though I read the magazines in which he published. Go figure. This collection is a truly wonderful find, some "new" (to me at least) stories that embody what made old science fiction great: Adherence to true science with minimal exceptions. No fantasy, no magic, no voodoo, just hard science. Stories from the chaotic end of humanity in Conquest By Default to a long suppressed society in The Peddler's Apprentice, there are wonders to delight the inquisitive mind. Two thumbs up.

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Awesome collection of stories by one of my favorite authors

February 6, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Awesome collection of stories by one of my favorite authors. I admit I bought this just to reread the Blabber short-story, but found myself working my way through all of the stories. This is a great collection of quality writing and a must-read for any fan. If you're not a fan, these stories will captivate you and hopefully suck you into some of Vernor Vinge's books, so go on and grab A Fire in the Deep. :)

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Tenchi in DC

A writer's attic of little known short stories

March 12, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I plowed through this due to my interest in Vernor Vinge. Apparently written in 2002, it is a collection of short stories strung together with the thoughts of Vinge introducing each. For a student writer this might prove interesting but it seemed to me to be an attempt by the author to explain his early unfinished works. While he doesn't make apologies for his early works, they are what they are: early works by someone who was still gaining experience and footing. As such, these stories capture a coresponding level of the reader's interest. Approach with caution, purchase only to round out your collection of Vinge literature.

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Valerie Aurora

A writer's evolution

April 2, 2002

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

My introduction to Vernor Vinge was "A Fire Upon the Deep," the novel that finally won him the long awaited Hugo award. With that and "A Deepness in the Sky" as an introduction, I was a little surprised to discover that Vernor Vinge was also once a beginning writer, just like the rest of us.
This collection of short stories is interesting both for the stories themselves and for the way they chart a truly excellent writer's evolution. The first few stories are amateurish and awkward. Very soon, they improve in both content and style. I ended up buying several of the books that grew out of the short stories included in this collection, and they were even better than the stories that inspired them.
I really enjoyed this collection of stories. Mostly, I was just pleased to realize that even someone who is as mind-blowingly intelligent and skilled as Vinge did not spring full-formed from his father's forehead, but developed incrementally into the writer he is today. I especially recommend this book to aspiring writers as inspiration.

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Peter Buck

Glad to have the Vinge backstory

January 30, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Some of these are a little juvenile but still full of big ideas. I'm just starting at the beginning and working my way through. I really bought this book for the last one (Fast Days at Ridgemont High) which is the precursor to the magical Rainbows End. I'm anxious to get to that one, but also glad to be following Vinge's maturation through these early stories.

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Bob LAzar

Vinge is my hero

March 10, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is an interesting walkthrough of Vernor Vinge's history as a writer. I've always enjoyed his writing so seeing the short fiction pieces that sparked some of his longer works was very entertaining. If you are a Vernor Vinge fan or a fan of true science fiction, this is worth a read.

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Steve Brennan

Sci-Fi Short Stories from the Master

May 18, 2007

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge is an excellent, mostly thematic group of short stories by the author including his earliest. As a big fan, it's interesting to note the progression of his craft, his story-telling ability, over the years.

The other surprise was how many of the stories were similar in theme, especially with his later popular novels like Deepness and Marooned in Realtime.

An excellent read in small doses.

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The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge Hardcover – November 17, 2001

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