It's impressive because it's ~3 years before Neuromancer, and in many ways it's a better predictor of "the internet" as a cultural thing. It nails a lot of the social aspects of online forums, for instance. It lacks the raw style of Neuromancer, alas.
It helps that Vinge is a computer scientist; he probably had a better view of what was coming down the pike than Gibson did. And no, he's a solid writer, but not the stylist Gibson was (and, actually, still is).
