This book was revolutionary for its portrayal of hackers who commit feats of electronic derring-do while hiding behind their online avatars. The phrase "true names" comes from the idea that these hackers are all-powerful until you find out who they really are, at which point it becomes easy to sic the authorities onto them. The idea in this book is amazing when you realize that this was published way, way before the Internet became a big thing, and yet the lifestyles and challenges it depicts are present, in one form or another, even today. Unfortunately, because of its familiarity, this book loses a lot of its appeal as well, except as a historical curiosity. I never got drawn into the storyline, nor were the characters too interesting (indeed, too often they seemed no more real than their online counterparts).

If you want to read Vinge, check out his A Fire Upon the Deep instead. I think I'll be rereading that soon and posting up a review.

Copyright © 2001 Steven Wu