Reviews

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

buttcord's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

kendylldrilling's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

asimgasimzade's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

authoraugust's review against another edition

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5.0

I am perplexed. There is practically zero fanart of the characters and creatures from Zones of Thought. Yet this was the most original, striking work of science fiction I've read since Hyperion or The Sparrow. How has it not impressed the artists who read it enough to draw what they imagined?! I'm left to envision this rich, well-constructed world on my ownsome, which I suppose is okay. Vinge did such a fantastic job of interweaving worldbuilding and emotional arcs that I have no complaints (besides, upon reaching the end of the book, the realization that I would have to read at least two more books before I could get all of my questions answered).

kbhenrickson's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book and can definitely see why it won the Hugo Award. The world-building is so interesting with some truly alien civilizations and different zones of space. I especially liked the Tines world and the Skroderiders. The story builds very slowly, and you need to like a book with multiple points of view where you really have no idea what is happening at first, trusting that it will come together (which it does). The audiobook narrator does a great job, and I am glad that I listened to the book because very unusual character and place names sometimes make a book challenging for me to eye-read.

krystaldelusion's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

alexthealdrich's review against another edition

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adventurous informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

owook's review against another edition

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4.0

A classic I put off reading for a while. Some very interesting ideas in here. Will probably read next in series.

thomasin2's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

gbaty's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25