CyborgHobbit reviewed True Names by Vernor Vinge
Review of 'True Names' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
At its core, this is a good story. Concepts of AI, virtual reality, and computer-augmented intelligence that would be cliché today were cutting edge when Vinge introduced them here nearly 20 years ago. But I can only recommend this one to well established Vernor Vinge fans. The idea that the human mind would naturally interpret cyberspace as a medieval fantasy world (without any intentional design or construction) is laughable. I didn't find the writing itself to be at all "bad" as some reviewers have said, but being a rabid Vinge fan, I was already looking beyond the silly naturally-fantasy premise that may have already given some readers a bad taste they couldn't get past.
Worth mentioning but not factored into my rating:
-Bob Walters' illustrations. The cheesy, pulpy sketches dated this book more than any of the actual text could have. Worse, the illustrations often contradict what the actual story …
At its core, this is a good story. Concepts of AI, virtual reality, and computer-augmented intelligence that would be cliché today were cutting edge when Vinge introduced them here nearly 20 years ago. But I can only recommend this one to well established Vernor Vinge fans. The idea that the human mind would naturally interpret cyberspace as a medieval fantasy world (without any intentional design or construction) is laughable. I didn't find the writing itself to be at all "bad" as some reviewers have said, but being a rabid Vinge fan, I was already looking beyond the silly naturally-fantasy premise that may have already given some readers a bad taste they couldn't get past.
Worth mentioning but not factored into my rating:
-Bob Walters' illustrations. The cheesy, pulpy sketches dated this book more than any of the actual text could have. Worse, the illustrations often contradict what the actual story describes. A man wearing a leather jacket is show in a t-shirt. A dark skinned woman with Asian-eyes is drawn with neither attribute.
-Marvin Lee Minsky's afterword. I can't really judge the afterword, as I got bored quickly and ended up only skimming it. It may be good reading for someone who needs to be convinced of the possibility of artificial intelligence ever being as "alive" as human intelligence, but for me he was preaching to the choir. This isn't to say I wouldn't enjoy (and learn volumes from) any of Minsky's full length works; this afterword's fault for me was mainly its top-level, introductory nature.
