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Vernor Vinge 1944-2024

Vernor Vinge (1944-2024) - File 770

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

Vernor Vinge, author of many influential hard science fiction works, died March 20 at the age of 79. Vinge sold his first science-fiction story in 1964, "Apartness", which appeared in the June 1965 issue of New Worlds. In 1971, he received a PhD (Math) from UCSD, and the next year began teaching at San Diego

He passed on March 20. One of the greatest "hard" science fiction writers, author of True Names, A Fire Upon The Deep, and other cyberspace classics. Link is to his death notice in the old school fanzine File 770. Moment of silence please. RIP.

6 comments

Crackhappy

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Oh. My. God. No..... I am really upset.

The Peace War was my first introduction to his works, and I have read all of his works. The science fiction community has lost another luminary to the vestiges of time.

Vernor, you were the best. I remember your writings and musings fondly.

FlyingSquid

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Out of all of his work, I only read A Fire Upon the Deep. I don't remember it very well at this point because I read it decades ago, but I do remember it being very good. And as it says, he was very influential. 79 isn't super long, but it isn't a short life either. And it was clearly a good one.

ElderWendigo

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If you enjoyed A Fire Upon the Deep, you should definitely check out the other 2 books. The Children of the Sky is a straightforward sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep, more fun with the pack intelligences of the Tines. I really liked the idea of a pack intelligence surviving longer than an individual member in those books. A Deepness in the Sky has a hibernating technological spider civilization and human savants exploited and enslaved as basically hyper focused biological automatons. Also there are inflatable space ships. Working my memory to type this, I realize that I kinda want to read them again.

FlyingSquid

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I'd have to re-read the first one again. I think I read it in high school and I graduated high school in 1995.

oDDmON

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Wow. Did not expect that this morning.
RIP to one of the greats.

foofy

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Reread A Fire Upon the Deep just a week or two ago.

Amazing SF writer.