Home Literature Stories Movies Games Comics Blogs News Discussion Forum Art Gallery
  Science Fiction and Fantasy News
SFFWorld News – 11/16/09 (11-16)
SFFWorld News – 10/31/09 (10-31)
MERLIN Book Signing at Forbidden Planet UK (10-22)
Coming Soon TEMPEST RISING (10-09)

Official sffworld Reviews
The Words of Making by David Forbes (11-16 - Book)
Transitions by Iain M. Banks (11-16 - Book)
The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fa by Jack & Gardner Dann & Dozois (11-09 - Book)
Wolfbreed by S. Andrew Swann (11-02 - Book)

Author

Site Index

Book Info    Bookmark and Share

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

  (17 ratings)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Rating (17 ratings)
Rate this book
(5 best - 1 worst)
 
Book Information  
AuthorVernor Vinge
TitleA Fire Upon the Deep
SeriesZones of Thought
Volume1
Year1992
GenreScience Fiction
 
Book Reviews / Comments (submitted by readers)
 
Submitted by Ben
(Apr 17, 2001)

One of the best Sci-Fi books of the past 20 years, this book is so chocked full of extrapolations, interesting cultures, strange aliens, unusual physical phenomena, and just rousing ADVENTURE, that I couldn't put it down and read it straight through in one sitting. The book is set in the same sci-fi universe in which Vinge set his sequel "A Deepness in the Sky", though that storyline occurred 10,000 years earlier. In this universe, the laws and physical constants of physics change as one goes further from the galactic center. Near the center, physical laws become restrictive, physics breaks down, and complex devices and even life become impossible, while further from the center such things as faster than light travel, communications, and even god like AI are not only possible, but common. Human explorers, having escaped the restrictive mid section of the galaxy with slower than light ships, and colonized worlds in the 'transcend', the section of the galaxy between the restrictive zone and the dangerous outer periphery occupied by a variety of mysterious godlike super-beings. Here, near the edge of transcend, they find a mysterious archive from which they hope to extract new knowledge to compete with the myriads of other emerging life in the transcend. But ancient archives are dangerous, and unfortunately for the human researchers, this archive is a trap. The exploration team, and soon the human civilization from which it came, is 'absorbed' by a rouge super-being called an 'abomination' which they inadvertently released from the archive. Two children, survivors of the exploration team manage to escape, but soon find themselves on a world with some of the strangest and most imaginative aliens I have ever seen. Meanwhile the Abomination continues to absorb nearby civilizations on the galactic periphery at an ever increasing rate. The origins of the abomination must be found, and something must be done to stop it before it's too late. An artificial man (Pham Nuwen), and a human woman and survivor of another of the Abomination's victim civilizations search for the missing research ship and the two children that escaped from the birthplace of the Abomination in order to stop it. In the mean time, the children find themselves at the hostages in the center of an ancient feudal conflict on the strange world they escaped to. The aliens are truly unique, and very imaginative. It took me a while to figure out what was going on when they are first described, but once you understand, you'll find it marvelously inventive. As with all Vinges books, a great deal of attention is paid to strong characterization, and great storytelling. The extrapolations and sci-fi inventions are incredibly interesting, but never overshadow the human drama and wild seat of the pants adventure. Certainly one of the best books I've read, and I've read a large number of them.




Sponsor ads

 

Latest

The Words of Making by David Forbes
11-16 - Book Review
Transitions by Iain M. Banks
11-16 - Book Review
SFFWorld News – 11/16/09
11-16 - News
The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fa by Jack & Gardner Dann & Dozois
11-09 - Book Review
Wolfbreed by S. Andrew Swann
11-02 - Book Review
Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
11-02 - Book Review
SFFWorld News – 10/31/09
10-31 - News
Isis by Douglas Clegg
10-26 - Book Review
Isis by Douglas Clegg
10-26 - Book Review
Isis by Douglas Clegg
10-26 - Book Review
Isis by Douglas Clegg
10-26 - Book Review
MERLIN Book Signing at Forbidden Planet UK
10-22 - News
Salamander by Nick Kyme
10-19 - Book Review
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
10-12 - Book Review
Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero by Dan Abnett
10-11 - Book Review
Coming Soon – TEMPEST RISING
10-09 - News
Something that is not a packaging device.
10-09 - News
How Victorious is the Victorious Parasol?
10-07 - News
The odd neighbors of a first-time homeowner
10-07 - News
Silly Fantasies
10-06 - News
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
10-05 - Book Review
X-Isle by Steve Augarde
10-04 - Book Review
“It Somehow Always Involved an Assassin with Extraordinary Powers And A Love of Espressos”
10-02 - News
In Their Own Words: K.J. Parker on The Company
10-02 - News
The Drowning City by Amanda Downum
10-01 - Book Review
Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson
09-28 - News
Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper
09-28 - News
The Black Raven by Katharine Kerr
09-28 - News
The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling
09-28 - News
Brightness Reef by David Brin
09-28 - News

New Forum Posts




About - Advertising - Contact us - RSS - For Authors & Publishers - Contribute / Submit - Privacy Policy - Community Login
Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use. The contents of this webpage are copyright © 1997-2009 sffworld.com. All Rights Reserved.