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Summary: In only nine years, this book went out of print...
Review: ...And no one seems to miss it but those who read it. What happened? Across Realtime is by far one of the most incredible books I have ever read. It took me 5 years to hunt it down again (I only remembered the story, not the title). Now that I have found it, I discover it is no longer in print. I struggle to find a copy anywhere. Vinge never got the recognition he deserved. I was moved to tears as I read about the main character left to fend for herself alone in an almost primitive Earth, yet only inches from her friends and loved ones(Marooned in Realtime). She lived her life alone and she died alone. It was heart-wrenching. An incredible murder mystery set against the eerie echoes of that main character as she relayed her life eons previously. This is the perfect story for making you think. Just when you thought the story was as big as it could get, it explodes, making you see a whole different angle. I think the revewer previous had the right quote: "Ordinary people caught up in struggles of vast importance." Now thats my kind of book.
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Summary: I've read it 3 times... it's become one of my all time favs!
Review: A fascinating study on the social impact of a major technical breakthrough... a very compelling storyline and well written.
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Summary: Mind-blowing-idea SF at its finest
Review: Across Realtime (My version) is an omnibus collection of two novels by Vernor Vinge: The Peace War, and Marooned in Realtime. The Second book, especially, is among the best SF books I've read.The Peace War is, seemingly, a fairly standard SF novel: in a post apocalyptic world, a dictatorship took over, and the brave heroes fight it off. Except that it is much more than that - Vinge's talent, his characters and his ideas all turn this B movie premise to an original, powerful SF novel. Especially important is Vinge's simple but brilliant invention of the 'Bubble's - spheres which are completely shielded off the world, in which time doesn't move. 'Marrooned in Realtime' takes the premise established in the first novel, and pushes it beyond belief. The beginning of 'Marooned', especially, is idea oriented SD at it's finest - you read going WOW every two seconds. Idea oriented SF is probnably the hardest thing in the universe to write - you need not only to know how to write well, not only to understand science, but also to come up with a scientific idea which has mind opening reprecussions. I think I can count on 1 hand the number of times I've seen Idea oriented SF done right - this is one of the prime examples. If you're a lover of SF, Across Realtime will be a parade of ideas, characters, action and thrills. So don't miss it.
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Summary: The Most Awesome Sci-Fi Story of All Time
Review: Across Realtime is really three books (depending on which edition you get): The Peace War, The Ungoverned (really a short story about how Brierson got framed) and Marooned in Realtime. Some editions don't include 'The Ungoverned'. 'Marooned in Realtime' is by far my favorite Sci-Fi book, as good or better than 'Dune' (my second favorite), and far outshines anything I've read in the last 20 years. It has everything I like in a sci-fi story: time travel, hi-tech and a murder mystery. I don't understand why this is no longer in print or why it was never heavily publicized. I wish Mr. Vinge would write another installment to this series, perhaps exploring what happens to the people that wanted to stay 'embobbled' till the end of the universe.
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Summary: 2 different versions of the same title
Review: be careful!! I ordered this book and received the book with only two stories. "The Peace War" and "Marooned in Realtime". "The Ungoverned" could be missing!!! Check the index.
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Summary: 3 stars for Peace War + 7 stars for Marooned in Realtime
Review: Bobble Book 1 (Peace War) is ok, fair science fiction, somehow dated (as every novel including the word "soviet" is). But then comes Bobble Book 2 (Marooned in Realtime) which is a masterpiece. Page after page, ideas come in massive amounts while the mystery deepens. You 'll feel awed by the science and never be able to guess the villain in the detective story part. Across Realtime should have given Vinge his first Hugo instead of A Fire Upon the Deep. And since a SF author is sure to be reading the amazon reviews... please Mr Vinge. Give as a Bobble Book 3.
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Summary: Near and far futuristic fantasy
Review: For "The Peace War", the first of the short novels. This I thought was a brilliant piece of work. A classic struggle against an oppressive power through the use of technology and ingenuity. There is a wonderful mix of action and stealth to create this epic story. While this isn't the best of Vinge's work, I definitely see this book as potential for a high budget special effects film. "Marooned in Realtime" was an upset in my opinion. Vinge implausibly reunites several characters from "The Peace War" several hundred thousand years in the future. This book was more of a murder mystery than a sci-fi novel, and he used sci-fi as a device to justify his implausibilities.
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Summary: Near and far futuristic fantasy
Review: For "The Peace War", the first of the short novels. This I thought was a brilliant piece of work. A classic struggle against an oppressive power through the use of technology and ingenuity. There is a wonderful mix of action and stealth to create this epic story. While this isn't the best of Vinge's work, I definitely see this book as potential for a high budget special effects film. "Marooned in Realtime" was an upset in my opinion. Vinge implausibly reunites several characters from "The Peace War" several hundred thousand years in the future. This book was more of a murder mystery than a sci-fi novel, and he used sci-fi as a device to justify his implausibilities.
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Summary: One of the finest hard science fiction novels ever
Review: I agree with an earlier reviewer in saying I'm surprised this pair of novels isn't more widely read. It has the perfect combination of believable characters and wonderfully creative yet scientifically realistic ideas and settings. The concept of the technological "singularity" is, I believe, an original and perhaps prophetic SF concept. And the governmental systems postulated in the stories actually make one believe there could be societies even freer and fairer than our current representational democracies.
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Summary: Why is Vinge so obscure?
Review: I have in recent years managed to squirrel together an almost complete collection of Vernor's works, and I am still astonished that this Californian mathematician's visionary works are not far better known. He surpasses Clarke's best works easily, and blends the art of the true story -teller with the profound prophetic power and magination of the scientist-philosopher.
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