Joan D. Vinge

Author Information
Joan D. Vinge's Latest Book

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  • Bibliography:
    26 Books (2 Series)
  • First Book:
    January 1976
  • Latest Book:
    December 2013
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About the Author

Joan D. Vinge, born 2 April 1948 as Joan Carol Dennison, is an American science fiction author. She is best known for Hugo Award novel The Snow Queen and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books. Robert A. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Joan. Vinge has been married twice: first to fellow SF author Vernor Vinge, and then to SF editor James Frenkel.

In 2002, Vinge was severely injured in an accident that left her with "minor but debilitating" brain damage that, along with her fibromyalgia, left her unable to write. She recovered to the point of being able to resume writing around the beginning of 2007. Her first book post-accident is the 2011 novelization of the movie Cowboys & Aliens. (Source: Wikipedia)

Full Series List in Order

Cat

1 - Psion (1982)
2 - Catspaw (Sep-1988)
3 - Dreamfall (Jun-1996)

Queen

1 - The Snow Queen (Mar-1980)
2 - World's End (Jun-1984)
3 - The Summer Queen (1991)
4 - Tangled Up in Blue (Oct-2001)

Multi-Author Series List

Fairytale Retellings: The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen (Mar-1980)

Lost in Space

Lost in Space (1998)

Book List in Order: 26 titles

  • Heaven Chronicles

    • / Science Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    Heaven System has no habitable planets, but Heaven Belt asteroids once supported space colonies richer and more advanced than even Earth... Until the Civil War. Now Heaven Belt is a vast ruin, where the yet-living prey on the artifacts of the dead...

  • Fireship

    Ethan Ring was on the run with a half-million dollar price on his head -- for Ethan was the amazing fusion of an ordinary man and the most incredible computer ever devised -- and the man had decided to run with his other half to Khorram Kabir's fanta...

  • Outcasts of Heaven Belt

    Paradise Lost They came from the distant plant called Morningside on a desperate quest for aid from Heaven Belt. Heaven Belt -- the fabulous asteroid system that was, so legend said, as rich as old Earth. But before the starship Ranger could even ex...

  • Eyes of Amber and Other Tales

  • Legacy

  • The Snow Queen

    Queen - 1
    Fairytale Retellings: The Snow Queen

    The Winter colonists have ruled Tiamat for 150 years, slaughtering the gentle sea mers in trade for off-world wealth. But soon the gate to the galactic Hegemony will close, Tiamat will be isolated, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will...

  • Psion

    • / Science Fiction
    • Buy Buy
    Cat - 1

    Without warning, Cat becomes a hunted pawn in a three-sided mind-war, and every deadly faction is determined to use him-or destroy him. A secret government project wants Cat to join a suicide psion-commando squad-or die, enslaved to hard labor in...

  • World's End

    Queen - 2

    Book two of Joan D. Vinge's beloved Snow Queen cycle of classic science fiction, back in print!When BZ Gundhalinu’s irresponsible older brothers go missing in World’s End, a badlands rumored to drive people mad, he begrudgingly goes after them. T...

  • The Dune Storybook



  • Phoenix in the Ashes

    From the Hugo Award-winner comes a collection of six of her finest short works--"Psiren," "The Peddler's Apprentice," "Phoenix in the Ashes," "The Storm King," "Mother and Child," and "Voices from the Dust"...

  • Ladyhawke

  • Return to Oz

    Dorothy returns to Oz during a storm only to find that the magical kingdom has been conquered by the evil Nome King and Mombi the Witch, and she sets out with the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and other new friends to find the rightful ruler...

  • Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

    Wandering the post-nuclear holocaust desert of the near future, Mad Max wanders into Bartertown, an outpost of civilization run by a resourceful and sensual woman, Auntie Entity, for whom he takes on a perilous mission...

  • Santa Claus

  • Willow

  • Catspaw

    Cat - 2

    CAT. Street punk. Psion. Telepath. Kidnapped by an interstellar corporation and dragged to Earth, Cat is forced to protect those he most hates, those who most hate him... The taMings. A cyber-augmented, DNA-incestuous clan of such wealth and power...

  • Tin Soldier

  • The Summer Queen

    • / Science Fiction
    • Buy Buy
    Queen - 3

    MOON DAWNTREADER is Lady of Tiamat, pledged to forever end offworld exploitation and save the mers, whose blood gives immortality. But hostile Summer tribes and treacherous Winters plot to subvert... INSPECTOR BZ GUNDHALINU, driven mad by his love...

  • Alien Blood



  • Dreamfall

    Cat - 3

    Once, Cat was a pawn; once, he was bait... Now Cat is a scholar, studying the cloud-whales of Refuge: remarkable aerial beings whose very thoughts fall from the sky to form vast reefs of pure, marketable data. But suddenly, Cat plunges through Ref...

  • Lost in Space

    Lost in Space

    The Robinsons are blasting off again in an all-new, major motion picture. This all-new Lost in Space combines the familiar pleasures of the classic television show with an exciting contemporary cinematic edge, as the Robinsons find themselves lost in...

  • The Random House Book of Greek Myths

    Greek myths make up the very pillar of Western culture. But they are more than classic stories every child should know. They are rousing tales -- rich in character, drama, and high adventure -- that have captured readers through the ages. In The Rand...

  • Tangled Up in Blue

    Queen - 4

    BLUES ON THE RUN They call the city Carbuncle because it is both jewel and fester: the personal playground of the Snow Queen, it's also the place where the high and mighty get their water-of-life youth serum. But it's just become Hell for Hegemoni...

  • Cowboys and Aliens

    1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution ...

  • Ladysmith

  • 47 Ronin

    From ancient Japan’s most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure 47 Ronin is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous...

Award-Winning Books by Joan D. Vinge

The Snow Queen
1981 Hugo Award -- Novel
1981 Locus Award -- Science Fiction


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Joan D. Vinge has published 26 books.

Joan D. Vinge does not have a new book coming out soon. The latest book, 47 Ronin, was published in December 2013.

The first book by Joan D. Vinge, Heaven Chronicles, was published in January 1976.

Yes. Joan D. Vinge has 2 series.
Author Series
Multi-Author Series
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