r/scifi • u/Darksmithe • 1d ago
Recommendations Vernor Vinge - Adrian Tchaikovsky
I’m a fan of VV and haven’t read Tchaikovsky. From reviews it seems like Tchaikovsky is influenced by Vinge. Are his spider race similar? Is he as good a writer? I’m on the fence since I’ve read some so so reviews of Children of Time. Is Tchaikovsky a better idea man than writer? That’s the impression I get. From those who’ve read both, what is your impression?
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u/bythepowerofboobs 1d ago
The similarities between Children of Time and A Deepness in the Sky are pretty striking, but Tchaikovsky claims he didn't read Vinge until after he wrote Children of Time.
Personally, I enjoy Vernor Vinge a lot more. I think Vinge is much better at writing characters and making you care about them. Tchaikovsky reads more like a hard sci-fi emotionless textbook to me, but the concepts still make the experience very worthwhile.
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u/amaturelawyer 1d ago
I love A Deepness in the Sky, and likewise Children of Time, which I read a few years after Deepness. I, personally, did not notice anything that made me think of A Deepness in the Sky when reading it, so I'm unsure what you consider striking similarities there.
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u/bythepowerofboobs 1d ago
Both books alternate chapters between a developing arachnid society and and space faring human society, both books span thousands of years and track how they develop from primitive states into an advanced technology state, both show humans interfering with that development, etc.
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u/Round_Bluebird_5987 1d ago
Aside from rapidly evolving technological spiders . . . ? And nothing against Tchaikovsky for that. He did it well whether he had read Vinge or not. I have rarely encountered any alien in SF that didn't have an antecedent in Starmaker, and I'm sure plenty of them hadn't read it.
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u/Comfortable-Fall1419 1d ago
If you bounce off dated novels that are “of their time” avoid VV.
Otherwise both are excellent reads although CofT is a bit draggy in places IMO.
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u/Slunto-Max 1d ago
I enjoy both authors immensely. I think Vernor Vinge’s characters have tended to be more interesting and compelling in the books that I’ve read. But Tchaikovsky’s concepts are really well thought out and perhaps more grounded, and his aliens are more alien.
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u/s1gn1fy 1d ago
I've read both, multiple times, and I never thought about similarities between them. I can't classify one as "better" but I'd choose VV if I had to make choice simply because his books are presented in a way I'm more comfortable with; slower pacing, more characterization, plots are more complex. AT's style is faster, with stories playing out across a trilogy of books (or more). AT writes space combat incredibly well (The Final Architecture series) and made sentient animals compelling which could have easily become laughable, but never did. The first two Children of Time books are among my favorites, the next two not so much. You certainly wouldn't be wasting your time reading AT!
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u/Palenehtar 1d ago
For me, there are few books that better define page turner than A Fire Upon The Deep. It is a fantastic book. AT is a good writer and I enjoy his books, but he hasn't gotten to that level, yet anyway.
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u/Big_Arachnid_365 1d ago
It's hard to compare writers as people's opinions differ so much. I really like 'Cage of Souls' and looking at Goodreads so do a lot of other people, but some of the reviews are scathing.
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u/ChronoMonkeyX 1d ago
I haven't actually read any Vinge yest, but I listen to everything Tchaikovsky writes, sight unseen. He writes it, I buy or borrow it, period.
So, obviously, I like him and think he's a great writer. Specifically, I think he is great at writing non-human POVs, and he has a lot of character and heart in his hard scifi, and lots of high concept stuff in his character driven works.
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u/BrotherFishHead 1d ago
They are both great writers that write fun books. Despite some overlapping themes (spider civilization) the stories and books are wildly different and stand alone. Each has really fun ideas that they explore.
I do think VVs villains are a little too over the top mustache twirling evil and as a result I think I slightly prefer Tchaikovsky.
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u/NecessaryIntrinsic 1d ago
Their alien design is wonderful. They both try to eschew anthropomorphism in their work, but I think Tchaikovsky did a better job with the spiders than Vv, but to be fair, shoulders of Giants.
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u/Round_Bluebird_5987 1d ago
I'm a big fan of Vinge (as well as his one-time wife Joan) and in general a fan of classic SF. I've read quite of bit of Tchaikovsky. IMO, he's quite good and has a bit of classic SF feel to him. Children of Time is my favorite of his novels and none I've read have been disappointing. That being said, I also feel he keeps falling just short of great, which is also frustrating. My favorite work of his is actually his novella Ogres (with Ironclad not far behind it). Both are in the some novella collection, Terrible Worlds: Revolutions, which looks to be the first of three thematically connected novella collections. The second, Terrible Worlds: Destinations, came out recently and I haven't picked it up yet, but plan to.
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u/Darksmithe 1d ago
Can you elaborate why he hasn’t reached great writing yet? After all these comments I’m going to have to give him a try.
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u/Round_Bluebird_5987 1d ago
It's hard for me to put my finger on. His character work is generally weak and they are largely forgettable, but that's a case with a lot of classic SF that I love, so that's never been a dealbreaker for me on a book. He doesn't have much linguistic flair, but again, neither does Asimov or a number of others whom I think highly of. CofT might well be regarded as a masterpiece at some point, and it's probably well on its way there already, but it fell just short of that for me. I will say it's a book that's stuck in my mind way more than most, and the older I get the more I appreciate books that do that.
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u/c4tesys 1d ago
I would say they are very compatible. They both have their moments when it comes to big ideas, and they both communicate those ideas well. Tchaikovsky takes his time a little bit more than Vinge. But, imo, both of them have problems with action and the heightened drama of excitement - so they're both equal in that respect, too.
I'd say if you like one you'll probably like the other. And there's the bonus that AT will not shut up - all he seems to do is write!
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u/inigo_montoya 1d ago
To me, they are in the same ballpark. AT is a looser and seems more focused on generating ideas. VV has more care about writing a complete, coherent story. Where VV goes south for me is explaining things I don't care about. AT on the other hand will confuse you, and he's okay with that. He likes to prime you for a massive aha or reveal.
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u/Rurumo666 1d ago
I'm a huge Vinge fan and can't tolerate Tchaikovsky at all and have tried several times.
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u/Beginning_Holiday_66 1d ago
Of the books i've read by AT, Preaching To The Choir is my standout favorite. I really enjoy his scifi adjacent horror. I have not read Children Of Time yet, which seems to be his magnum opus.
For Vernor Vinge, a Fire Upon the Deep has so much that I enjoyed, but True Names is much more my speed.
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u/vasex1990 16h ago
This is the reason why I cannot read Tchaikovsky - it is too much similar to Vinge, and at the same time overhyped, while not so many people know about Vinge. His books Fire upon Deep and Deepness in the Sky are masterpieces , and should be on in cinema theaters (together with Hyperion)
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u/WestGotIt1967 6h ago
His Mars books.could have cut about 1/3,.been tighter and better. He.lost me.with those bro
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u/Taste_the__Rainbow 1d ago
I can’t imagine anyone who would enjoy A Fire Upon the Deep but not enjoy Children of Time. They’re very different in plot, but similar in character, tone and world-building. Tchaikovsky is a little more humorous, I guess.
I think they are similar in quality, but Tchaikovsky is a machine. He’s pushed out books faster than I can keep up and I’ve yet to read one that was below 4 stars.