I really liked True Names, by Vinge, but haven’t been as impressed with some of his other stuff, like A Fire upon the Deep, and A Deepness in the Sky. However, when I saw this for $1 at the used bookstore, I figured I’d give it a shot, especially since some of his other short stories are set in this universe. It was a decent read. Some interesting speculation about what would happen if a hypothetical “bobble” technology were developed (bobbles are essentially impenetrable spherical forcefields that are used to isolate anybody causing trouble). Nothing too spectacular, but for a buck, it was worth it.