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A Fire upon the Deep (1992)

by Vernor Vinge

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Zones of Thought (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
6,3361391,507 (4.1)3 / 234
In this popular and widely praised novel, a rescue mission races against time to save a pair of human children being held captive by a medieval lupine race-and to recover the weapon that will keep the universe from being changed forever.
  1. 60
    Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds (voodoochilli)
  2. 40
    A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (timspalding)
    timspalding: Both are fantastic books.
  3. 30
    Blindsight by Peter Watts (electronicmemory)
    electronicmemory: Excellent hard sci-fi which contains concepts which will challenge your mind.
  4. 20
    House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds (junkblocker)
  5. 43
    The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven (tcgardner)
  6. 10
    Accelerando by Charles Stross (ahstrick)
  7. 21
    Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton (orange_epsilon)
    orange_epsilon: If you like reading about space travel and alien cultures, then this is the book for you.
  8. 10
    Lifelode by Jo Walton (sandstone78)
    sandstone78: What if the zones of thought were within walking distance of each other? Gods live in the East, time passes at a rapid rate in the West, and a stranger from each direction comes to the manor of Applekirk in the Marches between them.
  9. 10
    Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (electronicmemory)
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» See also 234 mentions

English (131)  Spanish (2)  Italian (2)  Hungarian (1)  Danish (1)  Finnish (1)  All languages (138)
Showing 1-5 of 131 (next | show all)


I loved the first 4 or 500 pages of this book, especially the big ideas: zones of thought, transcendence, FTL travel, AI, etc. Unlike some, I was somewhat disappointed in the conclusion. Part of it was that the whole dog race thing just didn't work for me, not sure why. I also had a hard time rooting for Jefri. I loved the skroderiders.

I'm still wanting to read the sequel because the book felt very unfinished to me, as I suppose it was meant to do. However, next on the pile is the conclusion to the Hyperion series, which is in my view a better written series. ( )
  roguelike | Feb 4, 2024 |
Good pulpy hard sci-fi. ( )
  audient_void | Jan 28, 2024 |
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 10
Setting: 10
Prose: 8.5

Original review from 2013:
Profound. Definitely one of the best scifi books I have come across. The real key is the character design of the Tines and the setting, namely the "Zones of Thought". A Tine is a small group of separate entities with a local-based collective intelligence. Never come across another character like it, though there are not really that many collective intellect characters around. The Zones is a theoretical universe framework addressing both technology and intelligence. Everyone about the book was strong, but these two elements are especially unique.
Looking forward to reading the rest. ( )
1 vote MXMLLN | Jan 12, 2024 |
enjoyed this, it was hard to follow at first but it starts to make more scene as you continue to read. great imagination. ( )
  Everlord42 | Dec 5, 2023 |
Really interesting conception of the cosmos plus a couple of really interesting non-human species with well-imagined implications of their biology. (I liked the Riders' psychology even though their origins were kinda ludicruous. Why can a plant see?). ( )
  mmparker | Oct 24, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 131 (next | show all)
Mr. Vinge writes what might be called thoughtful space opera. His setting is nothing less than the galaxy we call the Milky Way. I don't mean that he simply lets loose a few spaceships and has them chase one another among the stars to act out another old-fashioned shoot-'em-up plot. The human and nonhuman characters of "A Fire Upon the Deep" live in a complex galactic society that Mr. Vinge has worked out in admirable if economical detail, and the scope of his story is such that it requires just a background.
 

» Add other authors (7 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Vernor Vingeprimary authorall editionscalculated
Frenkel, JamesEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mitchell, ElissaCartographersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tervaharju, HannuTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vallejo, BorisCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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To my father, Clarence L. Vinge, with love.
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How to explain? How to describe? Even the omniscient viewpoint quails.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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In this popular and widely praised novel, a rescue mission races against time to save a pair of human children being held captive by a medieval lupine race-and to recover the weapon that will keep the universe from being changed forever.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale.

Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.

Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.

A Fire Upon The Deep is the winner of the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Haiku summary
Galaxy's at risk.
And you thought SkyNet was bad.
Kill all the AIs.
(Carnophile)
Evil shows its face.
God-in-man is here to help.
Let's hope this thing works.
(milotooberry)
Race to the bottom.
Crashed ship holds key to rescue.
Will we make it there?
(milotooberry)

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Average: (4.1)
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