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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not really one for space operas, so I'm not planning on looking for the sequels/prequels. But Vinge manages to introduce a very interesting (pair of) worlds while keeping me hooked with the characters (even if they seem a bit simplistic at times). Though I will say that there are essentially two unique stories, with two unique settings. One interstellar in the zones of thought (with the one flaw that makes the story very very dated--information is spread by news groups), and the other planet bound, with a very interesting alien species that spreads personality and thought over 4-8 mortal members who would be unintelligent on their own. (It took a little too long for me to realize that, though I'm not sure if that's because of something Vinge did, or if that's because I listened to tis on audio book).
I think this was a pretty good sci-fi book, right? This is what people say is a good hard sci-fi book? But I don't really remember it. I remember two things:
1) The utterly bizarre notion of some kind of change to consciousness or something the farther you get away from the galactic center (or something like that??) I think there was a diagram about it in the front of the book.
2) The dog-pack collective intelligence species with speakers on their shoulders. Totally fucking amazing and thought-provoking.
Beyond that I literally have no idea what happened in this book.
1) The utterly bizarre notion of some kind of change to consciousness or something the farther you get away from the galactic center (or something like that??) I think there was a diagram about it in the front of the book.
2) The dog-pack collective intelligence species with speakers on their shoulders. Totally fucking amazing and thought-provoking.
Beyond that I literally have no idea what happened in this book.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What if your puny space civilization were next door neighbors to an ancient alien race that had technology beyond your wildest dreams? What if you could trade for that technology or steal it? What if it was so advanced you could be endangering your entire species without even knowing?
This is what makes Vernor Vinge’s zones of thought universe so interesting. Basically the galaxy has different “zones” where technology works differently. There’s a zone where nothing works at all, a middle zone where there are spaceships and whatnot but take decades to get anywhere, and there is the “beyond” where super technology abounds and thousands of civilizations interact.
The basic plot is that humans accidentally create a near omnipotent monster that begins destroying the beyond, and the only hope to defeat it is on a crashed ship on a medieval planet with a very interesting alien species.
Honestly the setting wasn’t really my cup of tea. The technology is so advanced it was hard to picture and much of it is sort of vague. However, it is a fascinating and unique idea and is definitely someone’s cup of tea.
The highlight for me were the aliens. I don’t want to give any spoilers about them because there are some truly fascinating species in this that I loved discovering.
This is a long book with an epic scope. In the course of the book billions if not trillions of people die. If you are into sci fi on a massive scale with a unique world and lore, you’ll love this. If you prefer a more grounded and recognizable universe you probably won’t be into it. That being said Vinge is a talented writer with interesting ideas and definitely deserved the Hugo award for this.
This is what makes Vernor Vinge’s zones of thought universe so interesting. Basically the galaxy has different “zones” where technology works differently. There’s a zone where nothing works at all, a middle zone where there are spaceships and whatnot but take decades to get anywhere, and there is the “beyond” where super technology abounds and thousands of civilizations interact.
The basic plot is that humans accidentally create a near omnipotent monster that begins destroying the beyond, and the only hope to defeat it is on a crashed ship on a medieval planet with a very interesting alien species.
Honestly the setting wasn’t really my cup of tea. The technology is so advanced it was hard to picture and much of it is sort of vague. However, it is a fascinating and unique idea and is definitely someone’s cup of tea.
The highlight for me were the aliens. I don’t want to give any spoilers about them because there are some truly fascinating species in this that I loved discovering.
This is a long book with an epic scope. In the course of the book billions if not trillions of people die. If you are into sci fi on a massive scale with a unique world and lore, you’ll love this. If you prefer a more grounded and recognizable universe you probably won’t be into it. That being said Vinge is a talented writer with interesting ideas and definitely deserved the Hugo award for this.
A Fire Upon the Deep was a welcome and much needed read for me. In the well tread style of it's genre, it's a massively sprawling universe of a story that's only told through the minds of a handful of sources scattered among the stars.
Conceptually, I found the science part of the fiction to be viable enough to be interesting, while also outlandish enough to be fun. Technology is only limited by your proximity to the center of the galaxy. Stray too close and risk becoming a backwater like Earth. Stray too far and the technology that mortals only dare to understand threatens to assimilate you. Thankfully, I also found the fiction part of the science to be quite enjoyable. Science fiction authors often make the mistake of only getting the science part to be interesting, which can be a bit of a drag. Characters are well thought out and have thoughts and feelings that feel authentic and, even though some of them are completely alien, the story pulling them all closer together feels very human.
A minor critique for the sake of practice. I always find it funny when the technology present when writing a book are just space aged in order to show progress. For people that weren't technologically savvy in the 80's to 90's, it may seem strange the galaxy basically runs on a bunch of fancy Usenet servers. Obviously it's impossible to predict what the future will hold, but I dearly hope it doesn't involve trolling alien forums.
I found A Fire Upon the Deep to be massively satisfying. The scale is large enough to draw interest and imagination, while the characters are real enough to keep the story rolling. Throwing in a story that is enjoyable only furthered my enjoyment. It's quite clear to me why this is considered a classic in the space opera genre.
Conceptually, I found the science part of the fiction to be viable enough to be interesting, while also outlandish enough to be fun. Technology is only limited by your proximity to the center of the galaxy. Stray too close and risk becoming a backwater like Earth. Stray too far and the technology that mortals only dare to understand threatens to assimilate you. Thankfully, I also found the fiction part of the science to be quite enjoyable. Science fiction authors often make the mistake of only getting the science part to be interesting, which can be a bit of a drag. Characters are well thought out and have thoughts and feelings that feel authentic and, even though some of them are completely alien, the story pulling them all closer together feels very human.
A minor critique for the sake of practice. I always find it funny when the technology present when writing a book are just space aged in order to show progress. For people that weren't technologically savvy in the 80's to 90's, it may seem strange the galaxy basically runs on a bunch of fancy Usenet servers. Obviously it's impossible to predict what the future will hold, but I dearly hope it doesn't involve trolling alien forums.
I found A Fire Upon the Deep to be massively satisfying. The scale is large enough to draw interest and imagination, while the characters are real enough to keep the story rolling. Throwing in a story that is enjoyable only furthered my enjoyment. It's quite clear to me why this is considered a classic in the space opera genre.
Interesting concepts and enjoyable reading. I originally only gave it 3 stars because I was a bit burnt out on this genre, but looking back now, I realize it was much better than that.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great ideas, unique story, but really hard to read and follow, for me.