C-LIT: Vernor Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep" (was: Re: True Names)

At 1:48 pm 1/5/95, Angus Patterson wrote:
>I've been trying to get True Names by Vernor Vinge, and have been told it's
>out of print (like most good cypunk ), does anybody have it scanned?
>I realize this is without permission, so does anybody have Vinge's address?
>(e-mail or otherwise) or could anybody ask him? Btw, does he have any other
>crypto/anonymity related stories? Thanks in advance.

Amazing that you should mention this, Angus: I *just* finished reading "A
Fire Upon the Deep" and it is not only exeedingly gnarly, but also features
a universal net, galactic-wide relays and Netscum-like service providers
and associated user kvetching, a sinister-billions-of-years-old-AI-virus,
newsgroups, lists populated by aliens - and even _crypto_ as the key to the
whole shebang. There's also a great futuristic "dig" on pub key encryption
buried in it. Neural net stuff. A possible explanation for the existence of
both God and Newt Gingrich...and I could go on.

Great read, true anus-clenching adventure... and this from one who does NOT
normally read anything more sci-fi than certain software manuals. :)
Strongly recommended for c-punks who can last 600 pages (after the first
ten, you're hopelessly hooked if you have half a brain left afdter reading
this list for a year or two).

I _WISH_ I had VV's email address! I'd like to send the guy a big thank-you
and ask if he's writing a sequel (yet). If anyone does know it, puh-LEEze
mail me. First book of his I've read, first of it's kind I've enjoyed in a
very long time. I'll scan my favorite crypto-related (legal-length) excerpt
and post it next week, howzat?

  dave
_________________________
 Big books small
 Books high books tall
 Just give me a good
 Little book,
 That's all.

     -Truman Capote (age 11)



C-LIT = Cypherpunk LITerature. Gitcher mind outta the gutter there, Lancelot.

> I _WISH_ I had VV's email address! I'd like to send the guy a big thank-you
> and ask if he's writing a sequel (yet). If anyone does know it, puh-LEEze
> mail me. First book of his I've read, first of it's kind I've enjoyed in a
> very long time. I'll scan my favorite crypto-related (legal-length) excerpt
> and post it next week, howzat?

   Ditto that.  I've enjoyed all of his works.  He's one of my top three 
favourite SF writers of all time.

   Any of you who are in contact with VV have an e-mail address for him?  
He deserves accolades, but snailmail is too slow for my liking.

-jon

( --------[ Jonathan D. Cooper ]--------[ entropy@intnet.net ]-------- )
( PGP 2.6.2 keyprint: 31 50 8F 82 B9 79 ED C4  5B 12 A0 35 E0 9B C0 01 )
( home page: http://taz.hyperreal.com/~entropy/ ]---[ Key-ID: 4082CCB5 )

I knew that old compuserve account was good for something.
They list Vinge, Vernor  San Diego CA   72267.2656@compuserve.com

Lou Poppler says:
> I knew that old compuserve account was good for something.
> They list Vinge, Vernor  San Diego CA   72267.2656@compuserve.com

Too bad for him that he used his true name. Now lots of "fans" are
going to bother him....

.pm