SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
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James Nicoll wrote:
> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.

RIP.

Vinge's "Peace War" trilogy (or whatever you call it) was read by me
after a former frequenter of rasw, ?Greg? (the Vancouver government
bureaucrat), talked about it. Now, in Vinge's honor, the trilogy will be
heard by me next as soon as my _Martian Time-Slip_ (PKD) audio book
wraps up.

Danke,

--
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telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

On 21/03/2024 08.24, James Nicoll wrote:
> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.

Damn, that's too bad!

Run, bookworm!
--
Michael F. Stemper
If you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much
more like prunes than rhubarb does.

On 3/21/24 9:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.

Aw, crud. Sad to hear that. Thanks for letting us know.
- Tony

On 3/21/2024 8:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/vernor-vinge-father-of-the-tech-singularity-has-died-at-age-79/

RIP. I always thought his "Peace War" novels were his best works. And
his "Rainbows End" book was neat.

Lynn

In article <uticjg$2ffb5$3@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 3/21/2024 8:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>
>https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/vernor-vinge-father-of-the-tech-singularity-has-died-at-age-79/
>
>RIP. I always thought his "Peace War" novels were his best works. And
>his "Rainbows End" book was neat.
>
>Lynn
>

I always remember encountering him first with a story about a mission on a
floating world to save an SF magazine's archives (but there's more going
on than the protag understands).. I really liked that.

I liked the bobble stories well enough, but wasn't really motivated
to seek him out.

--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

On 2024-03-22, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
> In article <uticjg$2ffb5$3@dont-email.me>,
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On 3/21/2024 8:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>>
>>https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/vernor-vinge-father-of-the-tech-singularity-has-died-at-age-79/
>>
>>RIP. I always thought his "Peace War" novels were his best works. And
>>his "Rainbows End" book was neat.
>>
>>Lynn
>>
>
> I always remember encountering him first with a story about a mission on a
> floating world to save an SF magazine's archives (but there's more going
> on than the protag understands).. I really liked that.
>
> I liked the bobble stories well enough, but wasn't really motivated
> to seek him out.

Both _A Fire Upon the Deep_ and _A Deepness in the Sky_ are in my list of
absolute top Favorites. The novella _True Names_ is another Favorite, having
a large impact when I first read it (it was the first real introduction
of cyberspace.) All three of these fell into a rare category for me: books
that upon finishing my first reading demanded an immediate re-read.

Chris

On 3/21/2024 11:49 PM, Chris Buckley wrote:
> On 2024-03-22, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
>> In article <uticjg$2ffb5$3@dont-email.me>,
>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 3/21/2024 8:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>>>
>>> https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/vernor-vinge-father-of-the-tech-singularity-has-died-at-age-79/
>>>
>>> RIP. I always thought his "Peace War" novels were his best works. And
>>> his "Rainbows End" book was neat.
>>>
>>> Lynn
>>>
>>
>> I always remember encountering him first with a story about a mission on a
>> floating world to save an SF magazine's archives (but there's more going
>> on than the protag understands).. I really liked that.
>>
>> I liked the bobble stories well enough, but wasn't really motivated
>> to seek him out.
>
> Both _A Fire Upon the Deep_ and _A Deepness in the Sky_ are in my list of
> absolute top Favorites. The novella _True Names_ is another Favorite, having
> a large impact when I first read it (it was the first real introduction
> of cyberspace.) All three of these fell into a rare category for me: books
> that upon finishing my first reading demanded an immediate re-read.
>
> Chris
>

I also thought those were great.

Mike Glyer's site has an appreciation.

https://file770.com/vernor-vinge-1944-2024/

--
Kevin R

--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software.
www.avg.com

On Fri, 22 Mar 2024, Chris Buckley wrote:

> On 2024-03-22, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
>> In article <uticjg$2ffb5$3@dont-email.me>,
>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 3/21/2024 8:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>>>
>>> https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/vernor-vinge-father-of-the-tech-singularity-has-died-at-age-79/
>>>
>>> RIP. I always thought his "Peace War" novels were his best works. And
>>> his "Rainbows End" book was neat.
>>>
>>> Lynn
>>>
>>
>> I always remember encountering him first with a story about a mission on a
>> floating world to save an SF magazine's archives (but there's more going
>> on than the protag understands).. I really liked that.
>>
>> I liked the bobble stories well enough, but wasn't really motivated
>> to seek him out.
>
> Both _A Fire Upon the Deep_ and _A Deepness in the Sky_ are in my list of
> absolute top Favorites. The novella _True Names_ is another Favorite, having
> a large impact when I first read it (it was the first real introduction
> of cyberspace.) All three of these fell into a rare category for me: books
> that upon finishing my first reading demanded an immediate re-read.
>
> Chris

I read and like all three. Out of those True Names is my favourite. RIP.

James Nicoll wrote:
> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>
I bought his "Grimm's World" just before an unexpected hospitalization.
It provided a welcome and necessary distraction from unwelcome truths.

My alternative buy was Dish's "The Genocides". Which might have killed me.

William Hyde

On 3/21/2024 10:49 PM, Chris Buckley wrote:
> On 2024-03-22, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
>> In article <uticjg$2ffb5$3@dont-email.me>,
>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 3/21/2024 8:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>>>
>>> https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/vernor-vinge-father-of-the-tech-singularity-has-died-at-age-79/
>>>
>>> RIP. I always thought his "Peace War" novels were his best works. And
>>> his "Rainbows End" book was neat.
>>>
>>> Lynn
>>>
>>
>> I always remember encountering him first with a story about a mission on a
>> floating world to save an SF magazine's archives (but there's more going
>> on than the protag understands).. I really liked that.
>>
>> I liked the bobble stories well enough, but wasn't really motivated
>> to seek him out.
>
> Both _A Fire Upon the Deep_ and _A Deepness in the Sky_ are in my list of
> absolute top Favorites. The novella _True Names_ is another Favorite, having
> a large impact when I first read it (it was the first real introduction
> of cyberspace.) All three of these fell into a rare category for me: books
> that upon finishing my first reading demanded an immediate re-read.
>
> Chris

Immediate rereads are incredibly rare for me. The only one I remember
is the first Murderbot book which I have read three times now.

However, I am contemplating my tenth read of "Mutineer's Moon". Sadly,
I do not keep a log so that number ten read is a pure SWAG (scientific
wild ass guess).

Lynn

On 2024-03-21, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:

> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.

I saw him at one of the conferences organized by the Extropians,
some 25 years ago. He was a very influential author in transhumanist
circles.

Of his works, I have read:

* _The Peace War_
I'm sorry to say, but that one was forgettable, other than setting
up _Marooned in Realtime_.

* _Marooned in Realtime_
Takes an idea and runs with it. Thinking at a rare scale.
Disparate people use stasis fields to travel into a future of
ever accelerating human progress... until, at some point, humanity
is gone. Disappeared. Without a trace. The befuddled time
travelers leave each other messages and eventually meet up 50
million years from now. This is a story where people need to
consider geological events. IIRC, one character killed some time
by exploring the galaxy at STL speed. If I had something like
Lynn's six-star list, this book would feature prominently there.

* _A Fire Upon the Deep_
His magnum opus. An exuberant display of ideas.

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

On 3/22/2024 5:06 AM, D wrote:
>
>
> On Fri, 22 Mar 2024, Chris Buckley wrote:
>
>> On 2024-03-22, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
>>> In article <uticjg$2ffb5$3@dont-email.me>,
>>> Lynn McGuire  <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 3/21/2024 8:24 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>>>>
>>>> https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/vernor-vinge-father-of-the-tech-singularity-has-died-at-age-79/
>>>>
>>>> RIP.  I always thought his "Peace War" novels were his best works.  And
>>>> his "Rainbows End" book was neat.
>>>>
>>>> Lynn
>>>>
>>>
>>> I always remember encountering him first with a story about a mission
>>> on a
>>> floating world to save an SF magazine's archives (but there's more going
>>> on than the protag understands)..  I really liked that.
>>>
>>> I liked the bobble stories well enough, but wasn't really motivated
>>> to seek him out.
>>
>> Both _A Fire Upon the Deep_ and _A Deepness in the Sky_ are in my list of
>> absolute top Favorites.  The novella _True Names_ is another Favorite,
>> having
>> a large impact when I first read it (it was the first real introduction
>> of cyberspace.)  All three of these fell into a rare category for me:
>> books
>> that upon finishing my first reading demanded an immediate re-read.
>>
>> Chris
>
> I read and like all three. Out of those True Names is my favourite. RIP.

I was also blown away by True Names. At that time I was already deep
into Usenet, and its world seemed just around the corner.

AFUTD and ADITS were also great - I loved the idea of the Zones of
Thought.

The Zones were, to some extent, a mechanism to allow telling
human stories in a universe where Technological Singularities
were also possible. His essay on the Singularity made a very
deep impression on me when it came out.

pt

On 21/03/2024 13:24, James Nicoll wrote:
> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.

Was it news to me only that his name
is pronounced "Verner Vinjee"? Is it
in "About the Author"? I didn't think
of it until BBC radio started talking
about his work this last week or weekend -
I don't know which programme - but it
is in no real way a secret. Wikipedia
will say it on demand. Likewise, of
course, the former Mrs. Vinjee.

On 3/26/24 7:46 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On 21/03/2024 13:24, James Nicoll wrote:
>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>
> Was it news to me only that his name
> is pronounced "Verner Vinjee"?  Is it
> in "About the Author"?  I didn't think
> of it until BBC radio started talking
> about his work this last week or weekend -
> I don't know which programme - but it
> is in no real way a secret.  Wikipedia
> will say it on demand.  Likewise, of
> course, the former Mrs. Vinjee.

This is news to me as well - thank you for passing it along.[1]
Tony
[1] One place (of many) that supports that this is indeed his
pronunciation is the first question asked and answered at
https://reactormag.com/a-chat-with-vernor-vinge/

On Tue, 26 Mar 2024 23:46:27 +0000, Robert Carnegie
<rja.carnegie@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 21/03/2024 13:24, James Nicoll wrote:
>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>
>Was it news to me only that his name
>is pronounced "Verner Vinjee"? Is it
>in "About the Author"? I didn't think
>of it until BBC radio started talking
>about his work this last week or weekend -
>I don't know which programme - but it
>is in no real way a secret. Wikipedia
>will say it on demand. Likewise, of
>course, the former Mrs. Vinjee.

That is news to me also, but, looking it up on Bing, it appears that
that is correct -- and the "ng" is pronounced as in "wing". I, being
ignorant, thought it rimed with "hinge".

Old Norse appears to be involved, which may or may not explain
anything.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

On 3/27/2024 12:08 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Mar 2024 23:46:27 +0000, Robert Carnegie
> <rja.carnegie@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 21/03/2024 13:24, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> SF author Vernor Vinge (1944 - 2024) is reported to have died, age 79.
>>
>> Was it news to me only that his name
>> is pronounced "Verner Vinjee"? Is it
>> in "About the Author"? I didn't think
>> of it until BBC radio started talking
>> about his work this last week or weekend -
>> I don't know which programme - but it
>> is in no real way a secret. Wikipedia
>> will say it on demand. Likewise, of
>> course, the former Mrs. Vinjee.
>
> That is news to me also, but, looking it up on Bing, it appears that
> that is correct -- and the "ng" is pronounced as in "wing". I, being
> ignorant, thought it rimed with "hinge".

I knew it: he once turned up a convention I attend
pt

On 22/03/24 16:49, Chris Buckley wrote:
snip

>
> Both _A Fire Upon the Deep_ and _A Deepness in the Sky_ are in my list of
> absolute top Favorites.

Same with me but book 3, The Children of The Sky, was just a 2 star OK.
The short stories that I read were mediocre or worse (Fast Times At...),
The Peace War series was good peaking with 4 star Marooned In Realtime
but the other 5 star book for me which hasn't been mentioned is Rainbows
End whose science may be dated already?
I have a copy but haven't yet read The Witling and probably won't read
Zones of Thought 4, After the Battle on Starship Hill.

The novella _True Names_ is another Favorite, having
> a large impact when I first read it (it was the first real introduction
> of cyberspace.) All three of these fell into a rare category for me: books
> that upon finishing my first reading demanded an immediate re-read.
>
> Chris
>