Science Fiction

A Fire Upon the Deep

A Fire Upon the Deep

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  • Create Date：2021-04-13 13:55:07
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Vernor Vinge
  • ISBN：1250237750
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Summary

Now in a new trade paperback edition for the Tor Essentials line， A Fire Upon the Deep is sure to bring a new generation of SF fans to Vinge's award-winning works。

A Hugo Award-winning Novel！

“Vinge is one of the best visionary writers of SF today。”-David Brin

Thousands of years in the future， humanity is no longer alone in 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 this galactic threat， Ravna crash lands on a strange world with a ship-hold full of cryogenically frozen children， the only survivors from a destroyed space-lab。 They are taken captive by the Tines， an alien race with a harsh medieval culture， and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle。

Tor books by Vernor Vinge

Zones of Thought Series
A Fire Upon The Deep
A Deepness In The Sky
The Children of The Sky

Realtime/Bobble Series
The Peace War
Marooned in Realtime

Other Novels
The Witling
Tatja Grimm's World
Rainbows End

Collections
Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge
True Names

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Reviews

Michael Hatt ，

This book by Vernor Vinge is quite a read。 His galaxy spanning storyline is an entirely fresh concept with characters that are both human and alien。 Featured are the "Tines"， a wolfish type race that spreads each individual's intelligence over the several members of it's pack。 A pack of four to eight Tines make up one individual。 The Tines are stuck in a Medieval style society and are greatly affected by the sudden arrival of a human refugee space craft。 With the exposure to advanced technology， This book by Vernor Vinge is quite a read。 His galaxy spanning storyline is an entirely fresh concept with characters that are both human and alien。 Featured are the "Tines"， a wolfish type race that spreads each individual's intelligence over the several members of it's pack。 A pack of four to eight Tines make up one individual。 The Tines are stuck in a Medieval style society and are greatly affected by the sudden arrival of a human refugee space craft。 With the exposure to advanced technology， much intrigue and back stabbing quickly follows。 Also included in this story are space armadas， cosmic conflicts， incidents occurring all around the Milky Way， and an all encompassing evil entity bent on complete control of the galaxy。 Vinge has really let his imagination fly in this one。 Perhaps a bit difficult to read at times， but still a fascinating and original story。 A real winner！ 。。。more

Brent Byron ，

This is top notch science fiction。 The aliens are bizarre， complex， and somehow still relatable。 The Tines are now my favorite aliens。 The Skroderiders are also one of a kind。 The idea of zones based on mass density of the different areas of the galaxy is genius。 Transcend， beyond， slow zone， unthinking depths each have their own physics and limitations and protect lower beings from the higher technology and intelligence of the transcendent powers。 This creates a unique and engaging story platfo This is top notch science fiction。 The aliens are bizarre， complex， and somehow still relatable。 The Tines are now my favorite aliens。 The Skroderiders are also one of a kind。 The idea of zones based on mass density of the different areas of the galaxy is genius。 Transcend， beyond， slow zone， unthinking depths each have their own physics and limitations and protect lower beings from the higher technology and intelligence of the transcendent powers。 This creates a unique and engaging story platform。 This book is challenging for the first 100 pages or so， but well worth the effort。 。。。more

Joe ，

Too long

Rishindra Chinta ，

I only managed to about 70% of the way through。 There are some cool concepts here， but Vinge just never made me care about what was happening。

Iordan Dan ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 + Cartea are 3 planuri disticnte， tustrei interesante， bine conturate+ Cele 3 planuri se impletesc natural++ Extraterestri foarte interesanti+ Multiple intrigi， dezvalutie dea lungul primei jumatati--- Final spectaculos unde actiunile a 5 personaje （sau poate chiar doar a unui personaj） salveaza tot universul 。。。。。 americanisme tipice。- Caractere secundare unidimensiunale- Numele caracterelor principale

Ryan ，

Space shit is pretty good but the stuff with the dogs was lame and that was like half the book sooo

Nathan ，

This is a must read for science fiction fans。 The world building is amazing and goes very deep。 My only issue with the the book is that it’s basically two separate stories。 One is about two young spaceship crash survivors on a medieval world populated by strange， doglike creatures。 The other is about a rescue crew on its way to save them and also the get something very important from their ship that could save the galaxy from an evil intelligence beyond understanding。 Both stories are really coo This is a must read for science fiction fans。 The world building is amazing and goes very deep。 My only issue with the the book is that it’s basically two separate stories。 One is about two young spaceship crash survivors on a medieval world populated by strange， doglike creatures。 The other is about a rescue crew on its way to save them and also the get something very important from their ship that could save the galaxy from an evil intelligence beyond understanding。 Both stories are really cool and well written but I found myself really favoring the story of the kids on the medieval world。 That’s the best I can do without spoiling anything。Did I mention it has sentient trees on wheels？ 。。。more

Alex ，

Although this is a highly recommended and acclaimed book I've had a hard time getting interested in the story and the characters。 The story feels disjointed （and not in a good way）， the characters seem bland to me and the whole chase sequence （which is forming the biggest chunk of the book） is rather dull。 Don't get me wrong， there was good stuff in the book as well - the fall of SjK was beautifully described， the end was entertaining。 I was looking forward to a book that could rival Tchaikovsky Although this is a highly recommended and acclaimed book I've had a hard time getting interested in the story and the characters。 The story feels disjointed （and not in a good way）， the characters seem bland to me and the whole chase sequence （which is forming the biggest chunk of the book） is rather dull。 Don't get me wrong， there was good stuff in the book as well - the fall of SjK was beautifully described， the end was entertaining。 I was looking forward to a book that could rival Tchaikovsky's Children of Time， but the development of the non-human civilization in A Fire Upon de Deep did not live up to the mark。 I may revisit this book in some time and give it another chance via a re-read， but for now I would not be continuing with the next instalment in the series。 。。。more

M Hamed ，

i have been staring at this book for seven years ，daring my self to read itand you know what，i didn't like it i have been staring at this book for seven years ，daring my self to read itand you know what，i didn't like it 。。。more

Jack Reid ，

Imagine if maximum computing power depends on your location within the galaxy。 The singularity awaits in the furthest-flung stars while IQs can't break 100 closer to the galactic core。 In A Fire Upon the Deep， Vinge tells us a story that takes us from the top to the bottom of such a universe。I think I've read this book three times now。 And I'm not a big re-reader。 In good science fiction novels， the ideas and plot blow my mind the first time around。 Then， the second read reveals the characters' Imagine if maximum computing power depends on your location within the galaxy。 The singularity awaits in the furthest-flung stars while IQs can't break 100 closer to the galactic core。 In A Fire Upon the Deep， Vinge tells us a story that takes us from the top to the bottom of such a universe。I think I've read this book three times now。 And I'm not a big re-reader。 In good science fiction novels， the ideas and plot blow my mind the first time around。 Then， the second read reveals the characters' hollow shell， the language is strained （"she said softly" is so noticeable）， and the plot loses its allure when the punchline is known。 I'm not saying Vinge is perfect。 But knowing the plot does NOT diminish the joy of reading Vinge's novel。 The world and its inhabitants are that awesome。 Each re-read， I've discovered nuanced foreshadowing and created alternate theories for why Vinge's Milky Way is bifurcated into the Zones。 It's so fun。 And that's why this book is amazing。 He's not pushing a story about races getting along or good vs。 evil。 A Fire Upon the Deep is a thriller in a plausible universe。 It's morally ambiguous and action-packed。 And it doesn't give you the answers at the end。 That's my favorite type of novel。 I'm letting this novel sit on the shelf for a couple of years then picking it up again。 It's that good！ I couldn't recommend it more。 。。。more

Ami ，

A great beginningA great start to the trilogy。 Interesting concepts， developed characters that you care about， and a few plot twists thrown in as well。 Looking forward to the next book！

Benja ，

He intentado leer el libro 3 veces。 La última llegué a la mitad pero no pude más。 Es infumable， no puedo con él。Si a alguien le gusta que lo disfrute por mi。 A mi me ha sido imposible leerlo。

Hirondelle ，

Never rated this， read long ago， loved it， not sure what I would make of it right now。

Lonnie Veal ，

What I liked most about this is the notion of a far flung technic civilization existing for Millions of years， yet always churning。 And best was the thought that just because a civilization may be dead doesn't mean you should poke at it。 Sometimes， old things need to be left where they are。 What I liked most about this is the notion of a far flung technic civilization existing for Millions of years， yet always churning。 And best was the thought that just because a civilization may be dead doesn't mean you should poke at it。 Sometimes， old things need to be left where they are。 。。。more

Eero ，

Great worldbuilding and a story full of interesting concepts - too bad Vinge concentrates on the ones that interested me the least。 A race of medieval group mind puppies was neat， but I was more interested in the idea of civilizations trancendencing to a god-like status。 Too bad the latter was just stage dressing。 Nevertheless I enjoyed the story a lot。 With the right ending this would be a book worthy of 5 stars - but the ending just was not as mind-blowing as a book full of amazing worldbuildi Great worldbuilding and a story full of interesting concepts - too bad Vinge concentrates on the ones that interested me the least。 A race of medieval group mind puppies was neat， but I was more interested in the idea of civilizations trancendencing to a god-like status。 Too bad the latter was just stage dressing。 Nevertheless I enjoyed the story a lot。 With the right ending this would be a book worthy of 5 stars - but the ending just was not as mind-blowing as a book full of amazing worldbuilding and ideas should have had。 。。。more

Julian Lanza ，

Plot-wise this book jumps between 3 converging story-lines and long distances。 It is a very complex and convoluted story and feels like it is trying to do too much all at once。 I really enjoyed a couple of the plot lines， but it felt really hard to keep up with and follow everything this book is trying to convey at times。 The Characters are interesting in their own ways。 I really like the ideas and thoughts behind some of the alien species and how they work。 I wish there was almost more to how t Plot-wise this book jumps between 3 converging story-lines and long distances。 It is a very complex and convoluted story and feels like it is trying to do too much all at once。 I really enjoyed a couple of the plot lines， but it felt really hard to keep up with and follow everything this book is trying to convey at times。 The Characters are interesting in their own ways。 I really like the ideas and thoughts behind some of the alien species and how they work。 I wish there was almost more to how their anatomy works。 It was a very hard concept to grasp and picture sometimes。 I guess that was the idea， but I just had a hard time with it。 The World building is well done and woven into the story pretty well。 It does have a bit of out of place exposition to explain some pretty out there concepts trying to be hard sci-fi， but feels far more fantastical。 Overall I liked this book well enough， but just found that it's reach far exceeds it's grasp。 It just feels like the author has so many ideas and concepts that they are trying to shove all in to a single book to set up a series。 The concepts are pretty cool and I really like some of the characters and story-lines， but just felt it really hard to keep up with at times。 I don't have any interest in reading the next book in the series， and likely won't。 。。。more

Matt Anderson ，

After seeing all the positive reviews I thought it would be a great book。 The initial part of the book is complete gibberish followed by a story plot of characters that were devoid of any compelling interest。

Fernando Hisi ，

Putz， não curti não。 Só ganha duas estrelas porque tem um monte de idéia interessante aqui。 Foda é que são trocentas milhões de páginas e um lenga lenga desnecessário que deixa a coisa muito mais arrastada do que já seria se ele tivesse focado a atenção em uma personagem。 No começo até parece que vai nessa linha， mas depois começa a misturar e lá no penúltimo capítulo ele tá colocando fala na boca de personagem novo。 Esse vai-vem de pontos de vistas não funciona tão bem。 E sim， tudo parece meio Putz， não curti não。 Só ganha duas estrelas porque tem um monte de idéia interessante aqui。 Foda é que são trocentas milhões de páginas e um lenga lenga desnecessário que deixa a coisa muito mais arrastada do que já seria se ele tivesse focado a atenção em uma personagem。 No começo até parece que vai nessa linha， mas depois começa a misturar e lá no penúltimo capítulo ele tá colocando fala na boca de personagem novo。 Esse vai-vem de pontos de vistas não funciona tão bem。 E sim， tudo parece meio unidimensional。 。。。more

Charlie ，

Fantastic sci-fi！ There were a dizzying number of concepts explores in this book， and the author weaved them together into an exciting space opera。 It has extremely intriguing depictions of alien races （truly alien， not just human minds in weirder shapes）， and delves into the roots of technological progress in a really cool way。

Cory Mojo ，

Great book。 Sweeping scale galactic adventure with super cool concepts while still being pretty accessible。 The story alternates between a crew in a galaxy-wide starship chase and a medieval planet with sentient hivemind dogs。 The civilization of dogs turned out to be surprisingly complex and super neat with how a hivemind society might function。 Then there’s Vinge’s concept of the zones of thought which is so creative and allows for fascinating explanations of the universe。 At its core it’s a f Great book。 Sweeping scale galactic adventure with super cool concepts while still being pretty accessible。 The story alternates between a crew in a galaxy-wide starship chase and a medieval planet with sentient hivemind dogs。 The civilization of dogs turned out to be surprisingly complex and super neat with how a hivemind society might function。 Then there’s Vinge’s concept of the zones of thought which is so creative and allows for fascinating explanations of the universe。 At its core it’s a fairly simple rescue plot with a massive foreboding evil threatening the galaxy， but overall it’s an exciting adventure with top tier ideas。 。。。more

Richard Mclellan ，

Attempts a mix of fantasy and sci-fi that doesn't really nail the landing on either。 Some great ideas presented but the plot overall was quite weak and few of the characters compelling enough to keep you hooked。 Attempts a mix of fantasy and sci-fi that doesn't really nail the landing on either。 Some great ideas presented but the plot overall was quite weak and few of the characters compelling enough to keep you hooked。 。。。more

Mikheil Samkharadze ，

ძალიან მომეწონა。 ხუთ ვარსკვლავსაც დავწერდი， რომ არა ერთი დეტალი。 ცოტათი გაწელილია სიუჟეტი。 ძალიან კარგი კი ისაა， რომ სრულიად განსხვავებული სამყარო აქვს აღწერილი ვერნონ ვინჯს。 მსგავსი სახის გონიერი ცივილიზაცია， როგორც ფოლადბრჭყალები არიან， არსად შემხვედრია。 მათი სამყაროს ნიუანსები და დეტალები ძალიან საინტერესო საკითხავია。 ოდნავ დამაკლდა იმის გარკვევა და ახსნა， თუ რა არის， რას წარმოადგენს მანკიერება。 ან რა პრეისტორია აქვს， ახლა მიმდინარე დროში რა ამოძრავებს。 ან კონტრზომა რა არის და რას წარმოადგენს ძალიან მომეწონა。 ხუთ ვარსკვლავსაც დავწერდი， რომ არა ერთი დეტალი。 ცოტათი გაწელილია სიუჟეტი。 ძალიან კარგი კი ისაა， რომ სრულიად განსხვავებული სამყარო აქვს აღწერილი ვერნონ ვინჯს。 მსგავსი სახის გონიერი ცივილიზაცია， როგორც ფოლადბრჭყალები არიან， არსად შემხვედრია。 მათი სამყაროს ნიუანსები და დეტალები ძალიან საინტერესო საკითხავია。 ოდნავ დამაკლდა იმის გარკვევა და ახსნა， თუ რა არის， რას წარმოადგენს მანკიერება。 ან რა პრეისტორია აქვს， ახლა მიმდინარე დროში რა ამოძრავებს。 ან კონტრზომა რა არის და რას წარმოადგენს？ ეს კარგად არ ჩანს და ვისურვებდი， რომ უკეთესად იყოს გაშლილი წიგნში。 საბოლოო ჯამში ძალიან კარგი， დაძაბული， საინტერესო და ჩამთრევი რომანია。 。。。more

Aaron Boyd ，

I liked this book overall but the physics and where faster than light travel worked and where it did not was hard to wrap my head around。 I wish that this plot was more linear with one set of characters that is followed through all three acts of the book。 This would allow for more natural world building。The author wanted to spend a lot of time with hive mind dogs which did not have really anything to do with the plot （I don't think） Each author wants to create interesting Aliens that had not bee I liked this book overall but the physics and where faster than light travel worked and where it did not was hard to wrap my head around。 I wish that this plot was more linear with one set of characters that is followed through all three acts of the book。 This would allow for more natural world building。The author wanted to spend a lot of time with hive mind dogs which did not have really anything to do with the plot （I don't think） Each author wants to create interesting Aliens that had not been seen before but all of the weird names for things got annoying。I see what this book won the Hugo Award in 1993 and how this book influenced other authors 10 years later。 。。。more

James Hogan ，

I always forget how much I love a good sci-fi book。。。until I read a book like this， a book that rekindles my love for a quality science fiction tale， a book that sings of new ideas and exotic beyond。 Somehow I've missed out on Vinge。 This book is one that is full of crazy ideas and brain-stretching concepts。 Multiple times while reading （especially during the first half） I had to take a step back， stop reading and try and understand what the author was talking about in his description of the gal I always forget how much I love a good sci-fi book。。。until I read a book like this， a book that rekindles my love for a quality science fiction tale， a book that sings of new ideas and exotic beyond。 Somehow I've missed out on Vinge。 This book is one that is full of crazy ideas and brain-stretching concepts。 Multiple times while reading （especially during the first half） I had to take a step back， stop reading and try and understand what the author was talking about in his description of the galaxy and its zones。 What is even going on here？ This book is one of so many strange and wonderful aliens （truly strange and beautiful！） in settings both slightly familiar and utterly foreign。 This book takes concepts from fantasy and sci-fi and somehow weaves them together in a tale that dazzles。 There is a true wonder that comes from reading this book， and I was grateful to be along for the ride。 。。。more

Tragic ，

Novela ganadora del Hugo， que al final se queda algo corta。 No explorando en su totalidad la idea -magnifica y terrorífica- de las Zonas de pensamiento。 Decantándose más por la aventura fantástica， la intriga y la «redención»。 Lo que no le quita lo entretenido que es。Me ha recordado mucho a la tetralogía de Niven de Mundo anillo。 Ese preparado al termino medio de Ciencia ficción y Fantasía no es algo que muchos autores logren hacer。 Al menos no con estos resultados tan entretenidos。Tampoco estoy Novela ganadora del Hugo， que al final se queda algo corta。 No explorando en su totalidad la idea -magnifica y terrorífica- de las Zonas de pensamiento。 Decantándose más por la aventura fantástica， la intriga y la «redención»。 Lo que no le quita lo entretenido que es。Me ha recordado mucho a la tetralogía de Niven de Mundo anillo。 Ese preparado al termino medio de Ciencia ficción y Fantasía no es algo que muchos autores logren hacer。 Al menos no con estos resultados tan entretenidos。Tampoco estoy seguro de que pueda catalogarse siquiera como una Space Opera。 Termino medio también。3。8/5 。。。more

Sirmikon ，

I liked the story but it took me a a full three times through the first three chapters and prologue to understand what I was reading。 I was very confused by the Tines ‘ world at first。 Once I understood what was going on I was drawn in。 The scale is an epic adventure story with unique world building。 Threat of interstellar destruction， FTL， medieval politicking， first-contact， hive mind intelligence and survival story all interwoven fairly successfully。 Lots of great ideas in this book and would I liked the story but it took me a a full three times through the first three chapters and prologue to understand what I was reading。 I was very confused by the Tines ‘ world at first。 Once I understood what was going on I was drawn in。 The scale is an epic adventure story with unique world building。 Threat of interstellar destruction， FTL， medieval politicking， first-contact， hive mind intelligence and survival story all interwoven fairly successfully。 Lots of great ideas in this book and would recommend。 Didn’t get 5 stars because although the ideas were cool I wasn’t gripped throughout the story。 I will read the prequel soon。 。。。more

Madeleine ，

Recommendation from BP。 Great world building， apparently a sci-fi classic， I was pleasantly surprised by this。 For me， it was a bit computer heavy — I prefer more magic and humanity in my sci-fi after describing AI daily at work — but it was intricately built and ultimately still a good story。

Darrell ，

We start with a spaceship escaping from an evil AI。 Our point of view characters on the ship are both children who don't really know what happened， so the mystery of what the AI is and why it's killing people can last longer。 They end up landing on a planet with medieval-level technology。 We then shift to the point of view of the aliens， who are truly alien。To the humans， the aliens look like a pack of dogs， or large rats， with long necks。 They're able to use weapons and build castles despite no We start with a spaceship escaping from an evil AI。 Our point of view characters on the ship are both children who don't really know what happened， so the mystery of what the AI is and why it's killing people can last longer。 They end up landing on a planet with medieval-level technology。 We then shift to the point of view of the aliens， who are truly alien。To the humans， the aliens look like a pack of dogs， or large rats， with long necks。 They're able to use weapons and build castles despite not having opposable thumbs because a pack of four to six dogs works together as a single individual。 One dog can hold a bow in its mouth while another pulls back the arrow， for example。 If one of them dies， it can be replaced with another， so in a way， a single individual can live hundreds of years even if the individual wolves that make up the pack don't live that long。 Their name is a combination of the individuals in the pack plus their profession。 A highly imaginative and unique alien species I've never come across before。Off planet， there's a humungous universe filled with countless civilizations and aliens， including one species of intelligent plant that rides around on an automated cart。 Humans are a minor race in the wider universe。 There are different levels to the universe with low-tech planets occupying The Slowness where faster-than-light travel isn't possible。 In higher levels， more advanced technology is possible。 A team is sent to rescue the spaceship including a thousand-year-old human who was resurrected by a god-like being。 （Ironically， my tablet started to go slow when the characters entered The Slowness。）A fun， action-packed adventure with grand worldbuilding， unique characters， and imaginative aliens。 Recommended。 。。。more

EJ Natale ，

Artificial intelligence。 Primitive worlds。 Aliens all over。 Fun book。

Alondra Diazo ，

It's a breakout quality science fiction。 Yet I think it I never heard of it before because the publishers obviously didn't pay enough attention to its publicity and cover。 And the author isn't hyper-energetic to do his own publicity。 All these together made this book invisible until of course I bumped into it in a local bookstore while waiting for someone。 It's a breakout quality science fiction。 Yet I think it I never heard of it before because the publishers obviously didn't pay enough attention to its publicity and cover。 And the author isn't hyper-energetic to do his own publicity。 All these together made this book invisible until of course I bumped into it in a local bookstore while waiting for someone。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Fire Upon the Deep

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Fire Upon the Deep&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Fire Upon the Deep&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0