Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Witling | 1976 | Vernor Vinge | Buy |
| 2 | Rainbows End | 2006 | Vernor Vinge | Buy |
Vernor Vinge wrote two standalone novels that sit outside his longer series work. The Witling came first in 1976, followed thirty years later by Rainbows End in 2006. Both are independent stories with no shared characters or continuity, so they can be picked up in either order.
The three-decade gap between the two books reflects the fact that Vinge spent much of his career writing within his series settings. These standalones give readers a chance to see his fiction writing in a self-contained format, without needing any background from his other work.