Odyssey Con - 2001 GOH Vernor Vinge

Vernor Vinge

by James Frenkel

Vernor Stefan Vinge, born in Wisconsin, raised in Michigan and a longtime resident of San Diego, California, is the reigning Hugo Award winner for best novel, for his most recent book, A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY (Tor Books, 1999). This is his second Hugo,and his second novel in a row to win the Hugo. His previous Hugo Award winner was A FIRE UPON THE DEEP (Tor, 1992). These two novels are set in a future universe he calls the "Zones of Thought". Think of our galaxy as having some force that makes it impossible for people, other beings, or machines, from being very smart at the galactic core, and which allows greater intelligence as you move outward, through the "Beyond"--we're in there--where can have smarter people, machines, etc., and faster-than-light drive, and further outward toward the far reaches, the "Transcend," where the entities that live there are vast intelligences, pure thought. Mind-boggling concept. You might want to ask him if you see him, how he came up with this idea.

Both books are what I like to think of as neo-classical hard science fiction epics. Neo-classical because to call them classic hard SF would damn them with faint praise. They share the hallmarks of great hard science fiction, with boldly imagined premises that utilize extrapolation of science by rigorous logic, and they both have their share of adventure, strange creatures, and of course a terrific sense of wonder . . . but they're more as well. Both are epic in scope, in length, both are nothing short of brilliant in execution, managing to balance all the aforementioned virtues with characters he makes you care for deeply, regardless their race or planetary origin; and both tell their hugely entertaining stories with the excitement a great tale should have . . . all while exploring themes of universal import to sentient beings that claim to be human. And that's not something you could say about classic hard SF.

Vinge may or may not be the best science fiction writer working in the field today, but he certainly is as good as any, and has been turning out consistently entertaining SF since 1967. Why hasn't he become a household name? Well, he's working on it, but there was a time, after his first novel, GRIMM'S WORLD (1969) had been published, when his production of stories and longer pieces slowed, because he was working toward a graduate degree in mathematics and becoming a computer science professor at San Diego State University. He did write THE WITLING (DAW, 1975) but nothing much more until TRUE NAMES (Dell Books, 1981). Since that short novel was a Hugo Award finalist, he's written mostly novels, the other two of which, THE PEACE WAR (Bluejay Books, 1984) and MAROONED IN REALTIME (Bluejay Books, 1986) also were Hugo Award finalists.

O.k. So he writes cool science fiction, and he's a mathematician and computer scientist. So what? Well, in some of his work, and in articles and essays, he's written about a concept he calls "The Singularity", and that's something that a lot of people find absolutely fascinating. He believes that we're at a stage in our development of intelligence that will enable us, if advances continue to be made in artificial intellignece, to transcend physical bodies and become entities of pure thought. This concept has appeared in MAROONED IN REALTIME and A FIRE UPON THE DEEP most notably, and in other works as well.

It's a most intriguing notion, not entirely original to him, but he's given it his own spin that makes his speculations most intriguing.

But that's just one of his neat ideas. Someone once wrote, in a review of one of his novels, that his books have more ideas in a single novel than most SF writers have in their entire careers. I'm not going to guarantee that, and neither will he, but if you read his science fiction, I can guarantee that you won't be bored--unless you don't really like SF. His sf follows a rule I've always thought was good for writers to follow: write the kind of stuff you'd love to read, but which isn't being written by anyone else. Poul Anderson is one of his idols, so that gives you an idea of some of his likes in SF, but if you haven't read any of his books yet, don't pre-judge. His SF is uniquely his own, not bound by any restraints but the limits of imagination and good story.

If you see him at the convention, don't be afraid to ask him questions about his work. Like anyone who's been reading SF for his whole life, he loves to talk SF, his own, or other stuff. But do be gentle. He hasn't read a lot of the SF published in the last twenty years or so--because he's been so busy writing his own, and being a professor. If you do talk with him, I hope you'll tell him how much you like his work--he's too modest to toot his own horn, and it would be a shame if such a terrific writer and nice guy came to Madison and didn't find out how much Madison fandom loves his books. And in case you were wondering, he's now writing full-time, and plans to have books coming out every year or so, starting later this year, when TRUE NAMES is reprinted in an anthology of essays about cyberspace, TRUE NAMES AND THE OPENING OF THE CYBERSPACE FRONTIER, from Tor, a collection of his complete short fiction in the Fall, and a new novel either next year or the year after. In the meanwhile, he's having a great time, going to conventions, writing SF, and right now experiencing the glories of early Spring in Madison. What more could one ask?

Well, there is one more thing one could ask. And the answer is, "No. He's not also Joan D. Vinge. They were married in the 1970s and remain good friends, but despite their bond of great science fiction, they REALLY ARE two different people. And you can prove this to yourself by watching a panel both are on together this weekend.

How do I know all this about Vernor Vinge? Hey, I'm his editor.

Last Updated 10/17/2001