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    A Fire Upon The Deep
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    A Fire Upon The Deep
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    A Fire Upon The Deep
    Ebook783 pages14 hours

    A Fire Upon The Deep

    By Vernor Vinge

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    From Scribd: About the Book

    Humanity is no longer alone. Thousands of years in the future, a mind’s location in space determines its potential. In the Transcend lie the superintelligent entities, while the Unthinking Depths hold the limited minds of simple creatures and technologies. Nobody truly remembers when these regions of thought came to be but the warring Straumli realm, using an ancient Transcendent artifact, unleash a great power they cannot handle and destroy thousands of worlds in the process—and enslave all natural and artificial intelligence.

    In Vernor Vinge’s Hugo Award winning novel, A Fire Upon the Deep, Ravna must escape this galactic threat. After a crash landing on a strange planet with a ship full of cryogenically frozen children, Ravna and the children are taken captive by the Tines. Will they escape? Will the world all collapse? The stakes are already high in this first novel in the Zone of Thought trilogy and continue to soar.

    This piece of science fiction is compelling, visionary, and a must-read.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateApr 1, 2010
    ISBN9781429981989
    Unavailable
    A Fire Upon The Deep
    Author

    Vernor Vinge

    Vernor Vinge has won five Hugo Awards, two of them for novels in the Zones of Thought series, A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. Known for his rigorous hard-science approach to science fiction, he became an iconic figure among cybernetic scientists with the publication in 1981 of his novella “True Names,” which is considered a seminal, visionary work of Internet fiction. His many novels also include Marooned in Realtime, Rainbows End and The Peace War.

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    Reviews for A Fire Upon The Deep

    4/5

    1,846 ratings65 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A Fire Upon the Deep paints a picture of a galaxy full of many different civilizations, each of which are interacting and evolving. The interesting thing here is that these civilizations are stratified based on how far they are from the center of the galaxy, and for some reason technology works better the further you get from the center. The story tells of a "transcendent" power coming in from beyond the edge of the galaxy and enslaving large swaths of it (including many human worlds). While we never see this first-hand, we are involved in the quest, centered around a few humans, to travel to the inner galaxy to find some artifact that would stop this power. At the same time, we learn the story of an medieval alien civilization where a human ship containing this artifact has crashed, leaving only a couple of children. The children are manipulated by the aliens who desire their technology. These two plotlines start out wholly unrelated, but as the questing humans approach and start communicating with the lost children, they become more enmeshed. The best part of this book is definitely the worldbuilding, as Vinge puts forth a universe that's both fascinating and mysterious. And while I was first disappointed to spend so much time around medieval aliens, it turned out that they were strange enough that they quickly became very interesting. The ending was a little weird, as while the protagonists got their way, the end result was like fixing a catastrophe with another catastrophe. On the whole though, I very much enjoyed this one.
    • 5/5
      There are ideas in here that I am still thinking about. The gift that keeps on giving.
    • 2/5
      Gave up really - tried reading, audio.... no time for "Eh" books.
      Why did this get lauds?
    • 5/5
      Amazing book ...
    • 2/5
      I liked the big idea of the galaxy having spatial zones of different cosmic properties. In essence, it allowed for societies and life-forms of vastly differing levels of advancement to coexist in the same galaxy. I was also amused because Vinge did not try to explain the physics behind the zones but only explored their implications.

      The world was interesting and I enjoyed even some details. The plot was good, I was even surprised and felt tension in a few occasions.

      Two things which I very much did not like in the book: characters and writing style. The characters appeared shallow and childish. Sometimes (or often) their reactions or thoughts felt forced. Shallowness and low credibility applied to the groups and societies, too, maybe even more. You could suppose that when a whole advanced civilization chooses to speak as a whole to the rest of the galaxy, they most probably would use a good range of intellectual resources when gathering information, trying to make sense of it, and in the end, choosing what to publish and why. Not in this book.

      Writing was just terrible: the author used excessive punctuation in place of words to form thoughts. The most annoying device, or easiest to recall, were the lists of single word questions, which elaborated on the meaning of previous sentence or word, for example. In fact, often the language in the book resembled somewhat a slide show presentation. Not my favorite.

      The book as a whole was interesting enough that I wanted to continue reading it, but far from being good literature.
    • 5/5
      Excellent, just excellent. Amazing breadth, great characterization, novel premise, enjoyable to read. What more can you ask for?
    • 4/5
      This book may be the perfect Space Opera. There's epic space battles, there's romance, there's a very cool doomsday scenario, there are neat and creative aliens. There's everything a SF fan could possibly want, but for some reason I was disappointed at the end of this book. I still can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's that I didn't really like any of the characters, or it could be that I found the plot to be surprisingly predictable. I liked the fact that the main character's a librarian. And I also liked the Tines a lot.

      I think that I should read this book again, I could have simply been in a bad mood while I was reading it.

      4 stars, not 3 because I think it could be a 5 next time around.

    • 5/5
      "Play? By themselves? Yes... I see how natural that would seem to you. To us, it would be a kind of perversion..."Excellent high-concept space opera. Vinge has created some of the most alien of aliens you could hope to imagine. The Tines, with their intermingling pack minds, are fascinating. As are the Skroderiders, who evolved without mobility or short-term memory. But it's the Tines who are the heart of the book, as we follow them through their fraught first contact with advanced civilizations.If there's a problem with the book, it's in the vast scale of the galactic community Vinge depicts. When an ancient destructive power is woken, and begins rampaging through the galaxy, some characters shrug it aside -- "Another civilization destroyed? Oh, well, these things happen." Some of this apathy rubs off on the reader. What should be catastrophic is at once too big to comprehend and too small to matter.There are a number of nice touches too. The changing nature of spacetime is a clever conceit. The interstellar newsgroups filled with spam and nonsense in the face of destruction are all too believable.It's the Tines that, in the end, make this book stand out. Through the course of the novel their characters become more rounded, and understood, but they continually take you aback with their sheer otherness. An impressive creation.
    • 3/5
      Starts very strong, with different regions of space, and "powers" of incredible intelligence. Then it somehow turns into a different book, with kids and aliens on a medieval world. I recommend you just read the first part, as I couldn't get through the rest.
    • 4/5
      In the far future, the universe is divided into Thought Zones, and one's level of intelligence depends on where in those zones you are. When the Straumli unwittingly (sort of) unleash a big-brained Thing, stuff goes really, really wrong. And then there's two or three other story lines on other worlds, but I'm not gonna try to summarize those, because I really didn't like it enough to bother. Big ol' space operas just generally aren't my jam, I guess. The few that I've enjoyed have been so fabulously written that I didn't mind that they're spacey. This one does what annoys me most about the genre: it takes way too much time describing in a level of detail that makes my eyes cross just How Things Work. Generally I don't care How Things Work; I just want to know what the characters are doing within a world that just works without me knowing HOW it works. *sigh*
    • 5/5
      Greatest science fiction novel ever?

      It took me almost 3 months to read this epic. It is so full of deep and challenging ideas that every 20 pages felt like a full meal, which I needed time to digest.

      And frankly, I wished for about 30 more IQ points, which I felt would have helped me appreciate the book even better. Because Vinge is way smarter than me, and he's doing something very, very hard here: writing about intelligences far beyond current human level, in a setting that spans vast stretches of time and space. Audacious, to say the least.

      Greatest science fiction novel ever? Well, I ain't read 'em all, but I've read quite a few. If we agree that SF is to be judged by the power of its imagination, the scope and originality of its ideas, then I'm hard-pressed to name another novel that's even in the same class.
    • 2/5
      I wanted to like this. But the book desperately needed an editor. For about 300 pages, en route to the Tines planet, nothing happens. We get the same scenes, with the same conversations, over and over again. The characters go nowhere. The plot is unbelievable. In a few days, the Tines discover gunpowder, build cannons, and then take them off to start a war, with a thirteen-year old along for the fun. The writing itself is so childish and awkward, it is terribly irritating. I did enjoy Vinge's creative ideas on the Tines race of dog packs, and on the consequences of pack identities that can live on through generations. I won't read anything else of his. (less)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Incredible. Intimate, character driven space adventure. Delivers on many levels.
    • 5/5
      Lots of times, "book of ideas" means boring and insular. While Vinge's novel is more a book of ideas than a plot-driven book, it engages deeply by exploring various modes of thoughts and societal constructs as they might exist somewhere in the universe. The races depicted here are thoroughly described and decidedly alien while still being empathetic. There's a layer of cosmological/theological thought that serves to propel the plot a bit here but is worth considering as its own deep impact is thought-provoking. Though the plot plods a bit in a sort of old-fashioned way, the characters keep you engaged.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I found this title on a list of the Top 100 Sci Fi novels of all time - I can't possibly imagine why it was on there!
    • 2/5
      Rambling. Hard to care about any of the characters. SF for people who want to argue about relativity.
    • 4/5
      Yes, I'm a quarter of a century behind in my SF reading; should have read this one long ago but oh well!
    • 4/5
      While the narration was excellent, I wish that I had read this in print. I struggled with the alien names and places not being able to see them written and so I suspect that I missed some of the plot.
    • 5/5
      When I first read this book, years ago, I was blown away by the scope of the story and the intricacy and originality of the plot. Reading it again, I'm amazed at how well this book has weathered the years (it was written in 1992). Of the two parallel plot lines, the first time I read it I was more interested in the fate of the two children shipwrecked on the Tines' World among hostile, group-minded aliens and their complex and Machiavellian culture. This time, it was the story of the transcendent Power/Artificial Intelligence that is threatening to destroy the universe, and the small crew of four (one human female, one male human/puppet/zombie, two wagon-mounted kelp-like aliens) who are trying simultaneously to rescue the children and defeat the Power/A.I. Perversion. How these two stories tie together, and the deep history and culture of this far future galactic civilization, is an amazing and satisfying read.
    • 5/5
      I rarely re-read books, but this one was so good I read it twice. The second time, it was still very good, but his interstellar internet is really ridiculously similar to our internet, and seemed slightly dated. Quite unlikely... Still, good story, very original aliens, quite enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      Hands down, one of the best books I've ever read. Wonderful central concept, great characterisation, superbly realised aliens, vivid, crackling storytelling, and generally a thrilling and ultimately emotional roller-coaster ride. I can see how this won the Hugo Award. I only wish Vinge was more prolific.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Another 4.5 starworthy book. This book while not being nearly as excellent as Deepness is still great. If it were not for the rather hard to understand ending I would have definitely rated 5 stars
    • 4/5
      On a mission seeking power, humans accidentally release an ancient entity intent upon enslaving or destroying all life. The universe's only hope lies in a human librarian, an unreliable construction of a Power, two alien traders, and rumor. A space opera with the feel of epic fantasy, fascinating aliens, incredible worldbuilding, and breathtaking battles.
    • 4/5
      This is a 1992 book by author U.S. author, Vernor Vinge and is considered hard science fiction, space opera. The story covers so much in its 600 plus pages that it really is daunting to try to put together a review. The story opens with the quick departure of family and two children and a bunch of deep sleep children to leave a menace that sounds a lot like an intelligent AI on the order of covid pandemic. They land, the parents die, the children are separated and do not know that the other is still alive. They are surrounded by strange aliens and the world is medieval and there are wars between the inhabitants. The story series is called zones of thought with the galaxy being described as levels of thoughts; Unthinking Depths, Slow Zone, Beyond, and Transcend. The world building is very interesting. I do think it is helpful, as I find with many SF books, to read some information prior to reading the book to help in not getting lost in the massive details. I think the book was in general good, but it is quite long and when I get done, I feel like it should be reread but the large book makes that less appealing. I listened to the audio read by Peter Larkin and it was excellent job of narration.
    • 5/5
      Every dozen pages or so my mind had to expand another notch, just to keep up. When the Galaxy is your playground, and history extends a billion years, give or take, there's a lot going on.
    • 4/5
      The length of this space opera gives the author time to fully develop the otherwise comic-bookish characters - by the end of the book I was seeing the canine packs and sentient plants as real “people” – but oddly enough, the human characters seemed flat and two-dimensional. The concept of “Zones of Thought” in the galaxy was fascinating ; I would like to read more about “Powers” and things Einstein could never foresee because we are stuck in the “Slow Zone”. However, it is painfully obvious this was written in the late 1980s/early 1990s, with its dated predictions about the future galaxy-wide net.
    • 4/5
      First Impressions:

      I finished Vernor Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep" and let me tell you this monster book, clocking at nearly 600 pages, does have adventure, medieval civilizations, a bit of romance and has its dark side as well. Parts of the book do drag and the author might have been in need of an editor, but overall not a bad space tale.

      Basic Premise, Some Comments:

      In this universe we have 'zones of thought' that are linked through a subspace network, similar to our Internet which is colloquially called the "Net of a Million Lies." Would make a great advertisement for Wikipedia and the World Wide Web of today! The book was written in the 90s and so the pattern is of the Usenet groups of that time.

      The book is broken down into several areas - the release of the "Blight", a malignant force that destroys all who oppose it, a family that discovers the "Countermeasure" but crash on a planet of dog-like aliens that only communicate in groups (a "pack" can think and respond only in a group, not singly), Ravna's planet, her job at "Relay" (as a librarian) and her relationship with a human (put together from parts by "The Old One," a superior being from "The Beyond", and their adventures together.

      These parts don't always fit well. Each is expanded on (such as in the dog-like alien world, "Tine's World") and that's where the story tends to drag. We get involved in the intrigue, the castles, the battles and traitors of their race. The man and woman mentioned earlier crash-land and are immediately killed by this race. The brother and sister (Jefri and Joanna) are separated and each thinks the other is dead. The warring factions take advantage of this misunderstanding and slowly leech out technology that these children may know for their own advantages.

      Interest:

      I did enjoy the clash between factions in this alien society and the imaginative way they built "packs" where you would take different skills from each "dog" and they would somehow think together. With the invention of radio, thanks to the humans, the Tines discovered that they could radio to each others' brains! This was interesting but never expanded upon to include the whole race, but just one pack.

      Other aspects of the story: The warring factions clash near the last 100 pages of the book which I found fascinating, how each faction used the children as pawns and at one point wanting to kill them to gain advantage.

      The part where each discovers that the other is alive is heartwarming but also comes with the price of a life. That was the best part of the book.

      Romance: There is a bit of this, between Ravna and Pham (at least before she discovers he's not all man - oops!). Also camaraderie and loyalty between starship captains as they attempt to rescue Ravna from "the Blight." Great space battle here.

      World Building and The Internet:

      The author dwells too long on detail and I felt the reader spends a long, long time on the chatter of the 'Net, which can be annoying as you just want to story to move along, and the extraordinary time we spend on the Tines' World. There's not a lot of explanation of the "Beyond" and how and what that's all about - just hints of superior beings and we as humans or lesser aliens are their pawns, and only in the lower levels are we safe from them.

      Finally, it's a tough book to put down and wait awhile and pick up again. You have to reread a few sections to refresh your memory on what's going on. As well, Vernor Vinge tends to make up words without explanation and leaves it up to the reader to figure out, as well as not fully explaining what's going on. For example it took quite awhile into the book before discovering that the alien "packs" communicated as groups not as individuals.

      Final Thoughts:

      Overall, a decent read. Set aside some time and give Vinge your full cooperation. May not be as good as the amazing space operas of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, but it is a worthy, if dragged-out read. Recommended.

      Vernor Vinge's Other Novels:

      The Children of the Sky
      Marooned in Realtime
      The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge
      A Deepness in the Sky [Sequel to "Fire."]

    • 3/5
      I found myself skimming more and more as I read farther. The ideas were intriguing, but were bogged down by the Tines' World intrigue, politics, and endless walking through the underbrush.
    • 4/5
      True Science Fiction. I was overwhelmed by the originality and creativity of the Skroderiders and the Tines. I often had to change my way of reading, and thinking, in order to understand what was going on. I think I missed on some of the details, but really enjoyed the overall story - in a lesser author's hands, this book would be a complete disaster. The prediction of the internet (usenet, whatever) is really evident here and I loved reading all the different messages that planets/races were sending each other about the Blight. It's such a weird mish mash of ideas that I don't think it *all* comes together, I had a hard time identifying or really loving any specific individual character, but the whole is more than the sum of its parts and it's a fantastic, if flawed, fictional adventure.
    • 5/5
      Highly original. A very entertaining read.