Vernor Vinge: US Guest of
Honor
Vernor Vinge is the Hugo winning author of A Fire Upon The
Deep, a fantastic journey across a dangerous galaxy, which re-defined
space-opera for the `90s (and amused the many folk who recognised its "the
Net of A Million Lies"). Among his many other works are True Names,
often seen as one of the first cyberpunk stories, and the Across
Realtime diptych, where he began to explore the idea of an upcoming
`Singularity' in human evolution. Despite this indescribable future just
around the corner, Vernor writes Sf that is both intelligent and
entertaining. He lectures in computer science at a Californian
university, and Evolution will be his first appearance at a UK
convention.
The relationship between the human boy Jefri and the
pack intelligences is a central theme in A Fire Upon The Deep.
-Simon Bisson
"A friend, a rescuer, an enemy? It wasn't till
years later that Jefri Olsndot realized how deep and real the question
had been. So many times he had sat amongst the Flenser, thinking himself
safe and never seeing the pack as an older human might, as a clawed hand
that delicately held him."
From A Fire Upon The Deep
Illustration reproduced with permission of Vernor Vinge.
©1993 Vernor Vinge
"A friend, a rescuer, an enemy? It wasn't till
years later that Jefri Olsndot realized how deep and real the question
had been. So many times he had sat amongst the Flenser, thinking himself
safe and never seeing the pack as an older human might, as a clawed hand
that delicately held him."