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75th out of 77 books
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13 voters
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The Peace War (Across Realtime #1)
by
Vernor Vinge
The Peace War is quintessential hard-science adventure. The Peace Authority conquered the world with a weapon that never should have been a weapon--the "bobble," a spherical force-field impenetrable by any force known to mankind. Encasing governmental installations and military bases in bobbles, the Authority becomes virtually omnipotent. But they've never c...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
December 1st 2003
by Tor Books
(first published June 1st 1985)
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This novel is published both as a singleton and in the omnibus edition Across Realtime together with the sequel Marooned in Realtime.
The “Peace Authority” has stopped war by encasing warring factions in impenetrable force fields known as “bobbles” created by the “Bobbler”. Then all high technology was banned. Fifty years later, the inventor of the Bobbler leads a revolution.
Vinge skillfully describes the human condition in this very odd future world. While most humans are poo...more
The “Peace Authority” has stopped war by encasing warring factions in impenetrable force fields known as “bobbles” created by the “Bobbler”. Then all high technology was banned. Fifty years later, the inventor of the Bobbler leads a revolution.
Vinge skillfully describes the human condition in this very odd future world. While most humans are poo...more
The Peace War is a near-future science fiction novel that is first carried by ideas, then by the characters.
During the first half of the novel, a reader is initially puzzled by the flash-forwards and other action occurring in somewhat-familiar settings. The mystery is compelling enough to keep you going and find out what calamity has befallen our world to make it into something so unrecognizable. By the time you are a third of the way through, the characters take over. Paul, Wil...more
During the first half of the novel, a reader is initially puzzled by the flash-forwards and other action occurring in somewhat-familiar settings. The mystery is compelling enough to keep you going and find out what calamity has befallen our world to make it into something so unrecognizable. By the time you are a third of the way through, the characters take over. Paul, Wil...more
Sort of a parallel version of Joe Haldemen's "Forever Peace," "The Peace War" is another example of what happens when academics go to war. In this case, a rogue outfit of scientists discover a way to make war impossible, and arise like Praetorians and assume world control. This understandably angers a lot of people, and while most don't care, it's a lot of the former scientists who are out of a job, advanced energy and pharmacological research is banned, and they become tough...more
I had to check the publishing date on this book and saw it was 1984, which would explain the feeling of chronic fear from Authorities, the aftermath of another world wide war, and the fall of civilization. All speculative fiction surrounding the Cold War. However, I thought it read like a blend of the scifi from the 1950's and the early 1980's.
I also noted this was a Hugo Nominee in 1985, pitted against the likes of:
Neuromancer by William Gibson [Ace, 1984]
Emergen...more
I also noted this was a Hugo Nominee in 1985, pitted against the likes of:
Neuromancer by William Gibson [Ace, 1984]
Emergen...more
Solid science fiction novel with both post-apocalyptic and dystopia themes. Vinge crafts a compelling, tyrannical "post-war" society based in California where self-appointed peace keepers use absolute power to repress development and use of weapons technology. Written during the cold war, the novel explores the logical conclusion of US imperial designs - a benign empire that uses power only for the good of humanity (e.g., spread of democracy, development of pre-capitlist economies, et...more
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One-sentence summary:
Paul Hoehler, the naive polymathic genius inventor of the bobbles, takes on a young apprentice and works to overthrow the Peace Authority, the evil government who subverted his technology (ostensibly to prevent the Earth from destroying itself through its wars and plagues) and now controls the world.
Plot summary:
In a relatively modern-day Earth, the Peace Authority controls the world through their bobble technology. They are seen as a savior to some -...more
Paul Hoehler, the naive polymathic genius inventor of the bobbles, takes on a young apprentice and works to overthrow the Peace Authority, the evil government who subverted his technology (ostensibly to prevent the Earth from destroying itself through its wars and plagues) and now controls the world.
Plot summary:
In a relatively modern-day Earth, the Peace Authority controls the world through their bobble technology. They are seen as a savior to some -...more
This book was first published in 1984, and is classic "hard" science fiction, but surprisingly doesn't seem dated. Using a technique called "bobbling" to enclose their opponents, a group called the "Peace Authority" has taken over the world and outlawed all individual governments. Collateral damage in the form of a number of plagues has wiped out a substantial part of the earth's population, and those who remain are living in a technology-poor society, sometimes lit...more
What I like about this book is that author Vernor Vinge created a rich and compelling fantasy by describing the world exactly as we know it, but added just a single invention: the Bobble, and then speculated how it would change everything in civilization. The Bobble is essentially a device which can temporarily stop time within a small limited volume of space, while the rest of the world marches on around it. How would life as we know it change if we had the technology to do this? What could we...more
This is the first of a two book sci-fi series revolving around the concept of “bobbles” Bobbles are these absolutely impenetrable creations that man discovers how to make. Unlike my dad, I won’t spoil all the ins and outs of bobbling in case you want to read it yourself ; ) To be fair, when Dad was telling me about the story a few years ago he couldn’t remember the name of the book or the author or anything, so he didn’t figure I would be reading it. But I found the name of the book a couple yea...more
Relatively short book, overall. It has the pulpy sort of feel that several of Vinge's others do, and that is a really appealing quality to me. It doesn't feel as "raw" as the old Space Operas in the origins of sci-fi did, yet he still manages to capture something about that era of writing that I love.
I won't summarize plots or give away anything about the characters. They weren't campy, they developed well, and although I will say I had a few of the plot elements figured out ...more
I won't summarize plots or give away anything about the characters. They weren't campy, they developed well, and although I will say I had a few of the plot elements figured out ...more
This is tightly plotted book with great plot twists and interesting characters. The science fiction premise is also fairly cleverly realized. This is that humanity invented a weapon which could surround targets with an impenetrable force field which freezes time inside of it. Nothing can get in or out of the force field. I could only think of a few problems with premise, and these did not ruin the suspension of disbelief. I also really liked the ending. The good guys don't quite win in the way ...more
Read this many years ago, and its sequel, and I'm still impressed by the invention of the ultimate peaceful weapon, the bobble.
The genius of this work is in the way a weapon that kills absolutely nobody, in short a pacifist's weapon, can somehow conquor a world, overthrow governments, put scientists in charge of the world, and then completely screw society. One simple idea, which thankfully no one has invented yet, with such enormous implications, and the author does a wonderful job ...more
The genius of this work is in the way a weapon that kills absolutely nobody, in short a pacifist's weapon, can somehow conquor a world, overthrow governments, put scientists in charge of the world, and then completely screw society. One simple idea, which thankfully no one has invented yet, with such enormous implications, and the author does a wonderful job ...more
Although I am a fan of Vernor Vinge, I did not expect to like this book. I loved his A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep, but I did not like Rainbows End, and The Peace War, set on the earth in the not-too-distant future, appeared much closer to Rainbows End. I read it because I heard that the sequel, Marooned in Realtime, was excellent, but that it was recommended to read the Peace War first. I am glad I did.
The plot has been well summarized elsewhere. The things I liked...more
The plot has been well summarized elsewhere. The things I liked...more
TCL Call#: Science Fiction Vinge
Madeleine - 4 stars
Another great Vinge story. If you're looking to dabble into sci-fi I'd recommend starting with one of his books. They are always Earth as we know it but with a twist. In this one it's Earth after a corporation takes it over by "bobbling" all the "violent" governments. Only the corporation has high technology - it's deemed too easily abused by the unreliable population so everyone lives in a fuedal Middl...more
Madeleine - 4 stars
Another great Vinge story. If you're looking to dabble into sci-fi I'd recommend starting with one of his books. They are always Earth as we know it but with a twist. In this one it's Earth after a corporation takes it over by "bobbling" all the "violent" governments. Only the corporation has high technology - it's deemed too easily abused by the unreliable population so everyone lives in a fuedal Middl...more
The eighties was a great time for apocalyptic fiction. Reagan came to office in 1981 and was definitely a sabre-rattler. Scifi writers looked at his tough guy act and gazed into their crystal balls at the possible outcomes. Peace breaks out? Meh, not too interesting. But WW3 certainly had possibilities for drama, didn't it?
In The Peace War, Vinge looks at a variation on WW3. Instead of nuclear Armageddon, he has a defense contract discover a miracle technology that effectively gives ...more
In The Peace War, Vinge looks at a variation on WW3. Instead of nuclear Armageddon, he has a defense contract discover a miracle technology that effectively gives ...more
I liked this but I realize more & more that I expect more from a novel than for it to have an interesting plot premise & an engaging & quick-moving narration, etc. Supposedly this bk got the 1st of 4 Hugo Awards for the author. Is the selection out there THAT weak?!
A plot outline of this is that a device called a Bobbler is invented wch encloses threats to peace - at wch point the people inside are hypothesized to die from suffocation. A "Peace Authority" becomes the n...more
A plot outline of this is that a device called a Bobbler is invented wch encloses threats to peace - at wch point the people inside are hypothesized to die from suffocation. A "Peace Authority" becomes the n...more
I would have put this in my "dystopia" bookshelf, but the future tyranny of the Peace Authority is so upbeat. You know from the beginning (or from reading the jacket) that somehow the underdog will win in the end. The novel has an interesting juxtaposition of future tech and horse drawn wagons (seriously!), but somehow I don't believe civilization would have worked this way in semi-stasis for 50 years with such a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Regardless, I'm ...more
Regardless, I'm ...more
After rereading A Fire Upon the Deep and loving it, I decided to check out the rest of Vernor Vinge's catalog. Of course the DC library has only a small number of his novels, and this is the first I picked up.
I quite liked it. The idea of "bobblers," devices that put a field around a mass of space, which stops time inside them, is pretty cool. In the novel, the bobblers were used to stop a major war 50 years in the past, by "embobbling" all the nukes. Even thou...more
I quite liked it. The idea of "bobblers," devices that put a field around a mass of space, which stops time inside them, is pretty cool. In the novel, the bobblers were used to stop a major war 50 years in the past, by "embobbling" all the nukes. Even thou...more
Drew
rated it
I find reading books written during the cold war written about the future so interesting. I find how these authors perceive what war would be like in the future and what peace might be like. Sometimes, in the case of this book - Peace is a concept of War.
I must give credit back to Chronos from www.ultimatetimetravel.com for his review of this book from 2009... Read it here and then get the book - http://bit.ly/orbMaK
I must give credit back to Chronos from www.ultimatetimetravel.com for his review of this book from 2009... Read it here and then get the book - http://bit.ly/orbMaK
Bryan
added it
So so. The dystopian future that Vinge envisages is a good starting point, but the exposition is a little clunky and there are sudden jumps in time or perspective that are hard to follow. I didn't feel too much investment in any of the characters so didn't get caught up by the final climax in the way I was supposed to. Nowhere close to being in the same league as 'Fire Upon The Deep' or 'Deepness In The Sky'.
William Freedman
added it
My first exposure to Vinge, who comes so highly recommended from so many sources.
I was a little disappointed with how conventional the novel seemed, but maybe that's because I'm so late to the table and maybe the conventions have come to conform to Vinge's vision. I can see how he must have influenced writers from Gibson to Bacigalupi and will give Vinge another chance, perhaps with one of his better known works.
I was a little disappointed with how conventional the novel seemed, but maybe that's because I'm so late to the table and maybe the conventions have come to conform to Vinge's vision. I can see how he must have influenced writers from Gibson to Bacigalupi and will give Vinge another chance, perhaps with one of his better known works.
I enjoyed this book. Complex, original, grand scale, and as with most science fiction, a commentary on the age in which it was written. Vinge takes cues from William Gibson, there is an evolution of the 'net', a vast global communications network and direct mind interface computers. Great ideas.
Some copies of this book include 2 novels and one short story, and this review includes all of those:
The Peace War
The Ungoverned (short story)
Marooned in Realtime.
All in the same universe. This collection is probably my all time favorite. This is hard core science fiction: the author picks one interesting scientific idea: "what if..." and tries to bring it to it's logical conclusions. I think that's the essence of hard SciFi.
In this case, that ...more
The Peace War
The Ungoverned (short story)
Marooned in Realtime.
All in the same universe. This collection is probably my all time favorite. This is hard core science fiction: the author picks one interesting scientific idea: "what if..." and tries to bring it to it's logical conclusions. I think that's the essence of hard SciFi.
In this case, that ...more
A dark look at what happens when scientists/ private organisations are allowed to stop a war without thinking through the consequences.
While the science is interesting, some of the characterisation is a little lacking. Still, a thought provoking read
While the science is interesting, some of the characterisation is a little lacking. Still, a thought provoking read
similar to red lightning just a quick read. Didn't delve into too much novel territory. Any cool idea that did come along wasn't given enough to get real good. Read it quick over a weekend when you need to stay in.
Miss Ginny Tea
marked it as rejected_2009
I tried, I really tried. I was curious about what the spheres represent, but I couldn't deal with the racism and misogyny. Ugh. Sure, some of it was on purpose, but that doesn't mean I gotta endure it.
I probably should reread this. I read it maybe 10-15 years ago, and all I remember was that it was awesome and I had to read the rest of his books... Sorry, I know that's not very helpful.
Really had a hard time rating this. couldn't decide between 3 and 4. Good original ideas but I didn't care about the characters so i had to force myself to finish the book.
Although I enjoyed VV's series beginning with The Forever War, this one was rather slow, and the characters were a little shallow.
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Vernor Steffen Vinge is a retired San Diego State University Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels A Fire Upon The Deep (1992), A Deepness in the Sky (1999) and Rainbows End (2006), his Hugo Award-winning novellas Fast Times at Fairmont High (2002) and The Cookie Monster (2004), as well as for his 1993 essay "...more
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