A Fire Upon The Deep (Zones of Thought, 1)

Finally, a science fiction novel that does actually live up to the hype. "A Fire Upon the Deep" is a fast-paced, exciting, and incredibly inventive book. As many others have mentioned, Vinge's unique vision of the future is one of the novel's biggest strengths. He has created a galaxy where different species are moving upwards through a series of "zones of thought" as their technology becomes more sophisticated. The catch is that once humanity has ventured into "the beyond", it's difficult to go back to "the slow zone" because the new spaceships and computers won't work there. Vinge's ingenious plot device is to have a spaceship carrying two children and some vital information crash-land on a planet that's right on the border of "the slow zone", forcing a ragtag group of spacefarers to attempt a desperate rescue mission. While almost all science fiction writers include intelligent aliens, the species that Vinge dreams up are quite different from anything I've ever seen in any other book. There are the Tines, a race where a single consciousness controls a group of several individuals, the Skroderiders, a species that was sessile until they were provided with mechanical carts, and numerous others that help add color to the book.But in addition to its remarkable futuristic world, "A Fire Upon the Deep" also contains an action-packed plot. The author springs a major surprise on you in almost every chapter: characters that you though were good turn out to be traitors and vice versa, certain groups turn out to be more powerful than you thought, etc... The bottom line is that you never know what's going to happen next, and Vinge manages to keep the suspense up throughout the entire book, despite its 613 page length. "A Fire Upon the Deep" is very well paced, and Vinge never keeps you confused about a concept for very long before providing an explanation. I personally felt that the ending did a good job of wrapping up the plot while at the same time giving readers a few facets to wonder about. Overall, this book deserved its Hugo Award, and a place on the shelf along with the best science fiction works of all times.

Fact: Vinge is a computer scientistResult: His characterization is his weakest point, but the ideas he presents are wonderfully expressed and worthy of all the awards this book has garnered.Fact: This is a space opera through and throughResult: Prepare to be whisked all over the darn galaxy, and be sure to bring your camera as you will meet some REALLY interesting alien species (including the skrode riders, surely one of the most ingeniuous creations i have met in my 20+ years reading SF.Fact: This is hard SF at its very bestResult: If you're into psychological or social SF, then this book will seem too "rigid" for you...the cold seep of techno-worship permeates every page.Fact: This book is a great intro to the pre-quel, A Deepness in the Sky, which (believe it or not), is actually better in many cases than aFUtD.Result: you can read one or the other book first, but be sure to read both because stories like these come only a few times every decade (esp since Vinge is one heck of a slow writer).

I read this shortly after "A Deepness In The Sky", its 'prequel'. (A note: except for the character of Pham Nuwen there is no connection between the two books; this is neither a praise, nor a critique; simply an information which might be useful if you are looking for any connection between the two.) The style is very similar: two different and initially completely distinct threads of action, one involving humans and one aliens, come together slowly to a common conclusion. One thread involves two humans (well, one not-so-human: an 'evolved' Pham Nuwen from Deepness) and a pair of aliens on a desperate quest: an all-powerful evil force is rapidly taking over parts of the galaxy and the only possible solution is aboard a ship crashed on a medieval world at the other end of the known space. The other thread takes place on the medieval world and involves two children survivors of the crashed ship and the local intelligent race, dog-like creatures who are only able to achieve consciousness in packs.I found the ideas in this book to be wonderful. The description of the pack intelligence of the dog race was completely new to me; perhaps it has been used before, but not to my knowledge (there is a short note somewhere on the first pages about a short story by somebody else who used the same idea). The possibilities deriving from this kind of civilizations are many, and the author explores them to the reader's complete satisfaction: partial awareness of one's self, what happens when only part of an individual survives, the nature of the soul, how the memories and personality of each individual play a distinct role. Also, the author explores the frigthful liberty this unique situation gives for the ones who want to create super beings, or packs with special characteristics.Another idea I enjoyed was the 'Zones of Thought': the galaxy is divided into several concentric regions in which different rules of physics apply. Coming from the center of the galaxy ('The Unthinking Depths') and going outwards to the 'Transcend', FTL travel becomes possible. What functions in one zone doesn't in another. This separation ensures the protection of the under-evolved races, making it possible for them to build their own civilizations and expand outward at their own pace.The minus of this book comes from the fact that this division is never explained in scientific terms; you just have to accept it as it is. Perhaps the author himself could not think of an explanation :).Many reviewers have complained about the description of the Net, the communication network which unites all the worlds in the more evolved regions of the galaxy, saying that it was simplistic (being only text-based). Don't forget that this book was written in 1992, when the Internet wasn't what it is now. And the issue is not so important at all to the plot, it is just collateral.The characters were nicely built; I have to admit that I cared more for the Tines (packs) than for the humans, though (the same a

I read A Fire Upon the Deep right after completing Donaldson's Gap novels which was promoted as a huge epic story. Although the Gap series left me drained and exhausted, A Fire Upon the Deep had me craving for more. The story also reminded me of David Brin's Uplift novels, although I enjoy Vinge's characters more. They both have an epic feel which encompases an ensemble of characters from a variety of races, who must solve major problems against all odds. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys science fiction.

Most of us are probably aware of how, as you read more and more science fiction, your stack of 'extremely good' books stays mostly level while the stack of 'acceptable' books outgrows your bookshelf. You start to appreciate the writers who have done their duty to science fiction by studying the Drexlers, the Minskys and Feynmans -- the scientists whose sheer extrapolative powers really push the borders of imagination. Vinge is one of those hardworking writers. He is the author of the hard-to-find "True names and other dangers..." which means you can credit him for adding several of the future- or tech-based memes most of us take for granted today. The ratings for this book waver between 6-10, with a '2' thrown in by some poor fellow. Don't worry about Vernor Vinge's grammatical capabilities -- he writes a mean sentence, and some of the best technical descriptions I've ever read. For a genre which pedestalizes Asimov, who could hardly string 6 words together coherently (guess he was moving too fast), some people are MIGHTY picky! Also, you won't find the "-oid" syndrome which you get with Bujold, for example, where contemporary items are made to sound science-fictiony just by giving them a new name. You won't read sentences like "He grabbed his key-oids and jumped in his car-oid..." Vinge's science is deep, and the ramifications of everything from the 'slow zone' to the 'unthinking deeps' to the 'agrav fabric docks' to the hi-tech of the beyond, to the cute extrapolation of an Internet of galactic scope, to the effect of radio upon the Tines (a sophont race), to the matter-of-fact acceptance of racial senescence... all of these things are well thought out and brilliantly presented. You will see many of Vinge's concepts become commonplace in science fiction, and you'll be able to say you saw it here first. :) Vinge is a scientist/mathmetician, after all, and he seems constitutionally unable to write the soft-science glop which is taking over science fiction. His science fiction is as hard as diamond, and the only bad side effect is that the people you read between the 'good ones' will seem much more inept and unimaginative. Don't worry about Vinge's characterizations... they're strong and capable (especially those of the skroderiders (plants) and the tines (pack intelligences)). You'll be fascinated by his treatment of alien mentalities... and if you aren't, well, luckily science fiction isn't about characterization anyways. If you want character, read a novel, which is the genre of the character. If you want science fiction, you could do MUCH worse than come here... you'll be adding a nice thick book to your small stack of 'extremely good' books.