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Title: The Collected Stories of Verner Vinge
Author: Verner Vinger
Genre: Science fiction short story anthology
Thingummies: 3
Synopsis: Short stories from the whole of Vinge's career.
Thoughts: Vinge has had a fairly lengthy career, and these stories span the breadth of it. Unfortunately, that means that this collection is wildly uneven.
I'm not going to go as far as to say the earlier stories are bad, but they read like exactly what they are: works by an immature writer that easily blended in with all the others in magazines such as Astounding. They're typical of the era--unsophisticated characters, one or two clever conceits that get somewhat overplayed, kind of clunky writing style. Mostly absent or useless female characters. Stories like "Bookworm, Run!" and "Long Shot" (about a computer enhanced chimp and a last ditch colony ship, respectively) have a cute premise, but inadequate development. They're clunky. They are exactly what they started as--pure pulp.
Then the last couple stories, from later in his career, suddenly develop the richness that I had expected from having read some of his novels. "The Blabber" is from the universe of A Fire Upon the Deep (and will make more sense if you've read it--it's entertaining to see at what point you catch on to what is going on). "Fast Times at Fairmount High" is slightly confusing, but well developed and charming. "The Barbarian Princess" may actually be gently poking fun at some of Vinge's own early work, as well as that of his contemporaries.
The later stories are well worth reading. The earlier ones, not so much. Whether one outweighs the other is arguable.
Author: Verner Vinger
Genre: Science fiction short story anthology
Thingummies: 3
Synopsis: Short stories from the whole of Vinge's career.
Thoughts: Vinge has had a fairly lengthy career, and these stories span the breadth of it. Unfortunately, that means that this collection is wildly uneven.
I'm not going to go as far as to say the earlier stories are bad, but they read like exactly what they are: works by an immature writer that easily blended in with all the others in magazines such as Astounding. They're typical of the era--unsophisticated characters, one or two clever conceits that get somewhat overplayed, kind of clunky writing style. Mostly absent or useless female characters. Stories like "Bookworm, Run!" and "Long Shot" (about a computer enhanced chimp and a last ditch colony ship, respectively) have a cute premise, but inadequate development. They're clunky. They are exactly what they started as--pure pulp.
Then the last couple stories, from later in his career, suddenly develop the richness that I had expected from having read some of his novels. "The Blabber" is from the universe of A Fire Upon the Deep (and will make more sense if you've read it--it's entertaining to see at what point you catch on to what is going on). "Fast Times at Fairmount High" is slightly confusing, but well developed and charming. "The Barbarian Princess" may actually be gently poking fun at some of Vinge's own early work, as well as that of his contemporaries.
The later stories are well worth reading. The earlier ones, not so much. Whether one outweighs the other is arguable.
