History Creator / VernorVinge

* "Literature/TrueNames" (1981)

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An influential modern ScienceFiction writer, best known for his ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'' series, two of which have won the HugoAward for Best Novel, and for his novel ''Literature/RainbowsEnd'', which also won a Hugo. He has also won the Hugo Award for Best Novella twice, for "Fast Times at Fairmont High" (to which ''Rainbows End'' is a SpiritualSuccessor) and the stand-alone "The Cookie Monster".

%%* InstantExpert: Very averted.
%%* ISayWhatISay: In "The Cookie Monster"

* AnyoneCanDie: Named characters fall like flies.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Let's face it, "Vernor Vinge" is a fantastic sci-fi name, let alone one for a sci-fi author.
** Bonus points for 'vinge' being an actual (slang) word in Estonian language. It means something like 'awesome' or 'cool'.

* InstantExpert: Very averted.
* ISayWhatISay: In "The Cookie Monster"

* PsychicPowers: ''The Witling'' is set on a planet where (nearly) everybody has the ability to teleport themselves and nearby objects.

* BrainInAJar: The space-faring slavers in ''Tatja Grimm's World'' kidnap people, remove their brains and then fit them to a computer that [[NightmareFuel suppresses their personality]] without totally trashing their intellect. The result has computer speed and power with some human intuition and intelligence: a WetwareCPU.

An influential modern ScienceFiction writer, best known for his ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'' {{Trilogy}}, two of which have won the HugoAward for Best Novel, and for his novel ''Literature/RainbowsEnd'', which also won a Hugo. He has also won the Hugo Award for Best Novella twice, for "Fast Times at Fairmont High" (to which ''Rainbows End'' is a SpiritualSuccessor) and the stand-alone "The Cookie Monster".

An influential modern ScienceFiction writer, best known for his ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'' series, which has three books so far, two of which have won the HugoAward for Best Novel, and for his recent novel ''Literature/RainbowsEnd'', which also won a Hugo. He has also won the Hugo Award for Best Novella twice, for "Fast Times at Fairmont High" (to which ''Rainbows End'' is a SpiritualSuccessor) and the stand-alone "The Cookie Monster".

Whatever the actual plausibility of the idea, Vinge has the concept of TheSingularity fertile ground for stories. [[{{Irony}} Ironically]], Vinge has yet to write a novel showing an ''actual depiction'' of a singularity[[hottip:*:This is actually consistent with what he believes: any kind of Singularity will not only be inherently unpredictable, but inherently ''inscrutable'' (that is to say, not understandable)]]; his two most well-known series actually sidestep the issue by either contriving circumstances whereby the Singularity doesn't/isn't able to happen, or by having the singularity ''already'' having occurred. For example, the Literature/ZonesOfThought series takes place in a universe where physical laws vary based on location, so TheSingularity isn't something that happens at a certain time but rather is a ''fact of life'' depending on where you are in the galaxy. Further, in the ''Literature/AcrossRealtime'' series, the Singularity is first delayed (via technological stasis) then ''skipped over'' by characters (via literal stasis).

Whatever the actual plausibility of the idea, Vinge has the concept of TheSingularity fertile ground for stories. [[{{Irony}} Ironically]], Vinge has yet to write a novel showing an ''actual depiction'' of a singularity[[hottip:*:This is actually consistent with what he believes: any kind of Singularity will not only be inherently unpredictable, but inherently ''inscrutable'' (that is to say, not understable)]]; his two most well-known series actually sidestep the issue by either contriving circumstances whereby the Singularity doesn't/isn't able to happen, or by having the singularity ''already'' having occurred. For example, the Literature/ZonesOfThought series takes place in a universe where physical laws vary based on location, so TheSingularity isn't something that happens at a certain time but rather is a ''fact of life'' depending on where you are in the galaxy. Further, in the ''Literature/AcrossRealtime'' series, the Singularity is first delayed (via technological stasis) then ''skipped over'' by characters (via literal stasis).

An influential modern ScienceFiction writer, best known for his ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'' series, which has three books so far, two of which have won the HugoAward for Best Novel, and the third of which is a current nominee, and for his recent novel ''Literature/RainbowsEnd'', which also won a Hugo. He has also won the Hugo Award for Best Novella twice, for "Fast Times at Fairmont High" (to which ''Rainbows End'' is a SpiritualSuccessor) and the stand-alone "The Cookie Monster".

An influential modern ScienceFiction writer, best known for his ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'' series, which has three books so far, two of which have won the HugoAward, and the third of which is a current nominee, and for his recent novel ''Literature/RainbowsEnd'', which also won a Hugo. He has also won the Hugo Award for Best Novella twice, for "Fast Times at Fairmont High" (to which ''Rainbows End'' is a SpiritualSuccessor) and the stand-alone "The Cookie Monster".

An influential modern ScienceFiction writer. Along with several minor works, Vinge has written two {{Doorstopper}} novels in the Literature/ZonesOfThought verse and, more recently, ''Literature/RainbowsEnd''; all three won the HugoAward for Best Novel. He has also won the Hugo Award for Best Novella twice, for "Fast Times at Fairmont High" (to which ''Rainbows End'' is a SpiritualSuccessor) and the stand-alone "The Cookie Monster".

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The protagonist of ''Rainbows End'' is an elderly man who was cured of both age and Alzheimer's Disease. One segment of the book deals with fictitious novels written by Creator/TerryPratchett in the intervening 20 years or so between the book's writing and near-future setting. Several years later, Terry Pratchett himself was diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer's Disease.
* FuturisticSuperhighway: ''Rainbows End'' shows cars that are quite futuristic, but there is not much need for superhighways themselves precisely because of how much cars have changed. Most cars are not privately owned but automatically drive themselves to wherever they are needed, acting as a sort of automated, fast, incredibly efficient taxi service. This keeps transit efficient, and roads normal-sized. The biggest indicator of futuristic roads is omnipresent transit loops, roadways where automatic cars briefly stop to drop off and pick up passengers.

* MindVirus: The YGBM ("You Gotta Believe Me") virus in ''Rainbows End''

* MoleInCharge: In ''Rainbows End'', when Grünberk Braun discovers the existence of the MindControl virus, he reports it to his superior, Albert Vaz, the man who has secretly created it as part of his plan to [[WellIntentionedExtremist save the world from itself]].

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Library Cabal in ''Rainbows End'', who are ostensibly trying to stop the destructive digitization of the library's contents.
* SyntheticPlague: In ''Rainbows End'', the Sunrise Plague was an artificial pseudomimivirus released by a cult, and the "second worst Euro-terror of the decade". A large part of the book revolves around the search for a new virus designed not to kill, but for MindControl.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: ''Rainbows End''
* WellIntentionedExtremist: In ''Rainbows End'', Albert Vaz has created a MindControl virus because he sincerely believes it's the only way to keep the world safe, when even terrorists and cults can afford nukes and deadly viruses.

An influential modern ScienceFiction writer. Along with several minor works, Vinge has written two {{Doorstopper}} novels in the Literature/ZonesOfThought verse and, more recently, ''Rainbows End''; all three won the HugoAward for Best Novel. He has also won the Hugo Award for Best Novella twice, for "Fast Times at Fairmont High" (to which ''Rainbows End'' is a SpiritualSuccessor) and the stand-alone "The Cookie Monster".

* Literature/TrueNames (1981)
* Literature/AcrossRealtime series (1984-1986)
* Literature/ZonesOfThought series (1992-2011)

* MindControl: The YGBM ("You Gotta Believe Me") virus in ''Rainbows End''

* WellIntentionedExtremist: In ''RainbowsEnd'', Albert Vaz has created a MindControl virus because he sincerely believes it's the only way to keep the world safe, when even terrorists and cults can afford nukes and deadly viruses.

* MindControl: ''Rainbows End''

* FuturisticSuperhighway: ''Rainbows End'' shows cars that are quite futuristic, but there is not much need for superhighways themselves preciously because of how much cars have changed. Most cars are not privately owned but automatically drive themselves to wherever they are needed, acting as a sort of automated, fast, incredibly efficient taxi service. This keeps transit efficient, and roads normal-sized. The biggest indicator of futuristic roads is omnipresent transit loops, roadways where automatic cars briefly stop to drop off and pick up passengers.

* Literature/TrueNames
* Literature/AcrossRealtime series
* Literature/ZonesOfThought series

* Literature/TrueNames

* Literature/AcrossRealtime series

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The protagonist of ''Rainbows End'' is an elderly man who was cured of both age and Alzheimer's Disease. One segment of the book deals with fictitious novels written by TerryPratchett in the intervening 20 years or so between the book's writing and near-future setting. Several years later, Terry Pratchett himself was diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer's Disease.
* FuturisticSuperhighway: ''Rainbows End'' shows cars that are quite futuristic, but there is not much need for superhighways themselves preciously because of how much cars have changed. Most cars are not privately owned but automatically drive themselves to wherever they are needed, acting as a sort of automated, fast, incredibly efficient taxi service. This keeps transit efficient, and roads normal-sized. The biggest indicator of futuristic roads is omnipresent transit loops, roadways where automatic cars briefly stop to drop off and pick up passengers.

Whatever the actual plausibility of the idea, Vinge has the concept of TheSingularity fertile ground for stories. [[{{Irony}} Ironically]], Vinge has yet to write a novel showing an ''actual depiction'' of a singularity[[hottip:*:This is actually consistent with what he believes: any kind of Singularity will not only be inherently unpredictable, but inherently ''inscrutable'' (that is to say, not understable)]]; his two most well-known series actually sidestep the issue by either contriving circumstances whereby the Singularity doesn't/isn't able to happen, or by having the singularity ''already'' having occurred. For example, the Literature/ZonesOfThought series takes place in a universe where physical laws vary based on location, so TheSingularity isn't something that happens at a certain time but rather is a ''fact of life'' depending on where you are in the galaxy. Further, in the ''Literature/AcrossRealtime'' series, the Singularity is first delayed (via technological stasis) then ''skipped over'' by characters (via literal statis).

* KillSat: The Fingers of God in ''True Names''.