Book Review - A Fire Upon the Deep

As a fan of near-future, hard science fiction, I usually prefer books grounded in science and centered on human space exploration. I especially enjoy the first contact subgenre that imagines humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial beings.

Vernor Vinge’s 1992 book, A Fire Upon the Deep is neither focused on hard science nor centered on human exploration. Instead, it is a grand, far-future space opera on a galactic scale. Although the book is not “hard science fiction”, I was delighted to find a mixture of unique ideas, interesting characters, and an exciting plot.

Spoiler Policy

The review below contains mild spoilers, including a high-level view of the plot, a description of the aliens, and a discussion of the ideas that the author explores.

Storytelling - Rating 5 / 5

Set in the Milky Way galaxy in the far future, humanity has explored and colonized much of the galaxy and has encountered many intelligent civilizations. When a colony of human scientists accidentally unleashes a latent super-intelligence “Blight” that threatens to destroy civilizations throughout the galaxy, a family of scientists escapes with critical information to stop the Blight. Their ship crash lands on a distant, medieval planet inhabited by dog-like animals, called the Tines, who kill the parents and capture the two surviving children.

Vinge masterfully intertwines two parallel storylines that converge in a satisfying conclusion. The first storyline describes the plight of the stranded children who are used as pawns in a war between two warring factions. The second storyline follows a small team of humans and sentient plant-like creatures called Skroderiders who mount a rescue mission to save the children from the Tines and the galaxy from the Blight.

Ideas - Rating 5 / 5

I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of fascinating aliens in A Fire Upon the Deep. The Tines species, with pack intelligence, is unlike the typical alien creatures found in many science fiction books. Much of the narrative is told from the perspective of the Tines creatures. In this way, it is an upside-down “first contact” story in which the humans are the strange aliens landing on a primitive world. It is entertaining to follow how the Tines beings use data from the human ship to develop primitive technology such as guns and radio.

Another prominent alien species is the Skroderider, a sentient plant-like creature that relies on “skrode” machinery for mobility and memory. The ancient Skroderider creatures are portrayed as amiable traders in the galaxy and loyal friends to the humans.

Characters - Rating 4 / 5

Although some of the characters are not deeply developed, several interesting characters are central to the plot. The characters in the Tines world are the most interesting. Each “person” is a collection of several individual animals, joined together by a collective pack mind. Vinge excels at developing the Tines characters, especially the queen of the Tines, “Woodcarver.”

Other interesting characters include the Skroderiders - Blueshell and Greenstalk. Of the human characters, Pham Nuwen and Ravna Bergsndot (on the rescue ship) and Johanna Olsndot (one of the children) were the most interesting, but I wished for more depth in these characters.

Science and Technology - Rating 3 / 5

In this book, science and technology served as a literary backdrop for the narrative.

The galaxy consists of concentric zones that define the laws of physics and the level of possible technology. The “slow zone” is close to the galactic center. Civilizations in this zone cannot advance beyond rudimentary levels. The next zone is “beyond” in which faster-than-light travel and advanced technology are possible. In the outer reaches of the galaxy, the “transcend” is occupied by super-intelligent powers who are not concerned with the beings below. While the concept of galactic zones is an interesting literary device, it seems implausible to me that the laws of physics would vary by location within the galaxy.

Vinge also introduces an interesting galactic network, but the text-based bulletin board communication within the galaxy seems dated to the technologies of the 1990s. However, Vinge illustrates the vast network’s potential for good (spreading warnings about the Blight) and evil (spreading misinformation about humans being agents of the Blight). The nickname given to the network, “Net of a Million Lies,” seems appropriate in today’s climate of crazy internet conspiracy theories.

Overall Rating - 17 / 20

I highly recommend this book to fans of grand space operas with intriguing ideas. Even though it did not include believable science and near-future human exploration, Vinge impressed me with his fascinating concepts and entertaining story.