Product Description

This is science fiction on the grandest of scales - a cast of thousands set across hundreds of years and in the farthest reaches of Human Space. A prequel to his earlier novel A Fire Upon the Deep, this new novel is epic in scope and a thoroughly riveting read. A Deepness In the Sky is the story of Pham Nuwen, a small cog in the interstellar trading fleet of the Queng Ho. Both they and the Emergents are orbiting Arachna, a dormant planet which will shortly wake up when it's On/Off star relights after decades of darkness. Both groups hope to exploit the coming age of technology and commerce on Arachna. But while the Queng Ho seek only to trade aggressively, the Emergents plans are far more sinister, amounting to little short of genocide . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #249097 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 704 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent!
I found this book impossible to put down. The development of the characters, the evil podmasters, Pham Nuwen, the Spider society - it was all fascinating. I've read many sci-fi books and this is one I highly recommend. Gotta say, the podmasters ethics seem strangely familiar - Reminds me of some of the politicians these days! Overall, if you like a real sweeping epic, this is the book for you.

Gripping and absorbing
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found this book almost impossible to put down - I certainly enjoyed it more than Across Realtime, and possibly more than A Fire Upon the Deep.

The storylines about the humans are all the more enthralling because these are characters you come to care about, and they're in a very sticky situation indeed. The way that the bad guys mess with their victims' minds and literally integrate them into their computer systems is chilling and memorable...

The spider-beings are another example of Vinge's greatness at inventing aliens. It's true that their society and actions are couched in human terms, but that made them all the more understandable without glossing over their alienness.

It did take a fair few pages to get me hooked, though. If you're looking for something that will grip you from page one, this might not be for you...

Accomplished and absorbing.
This is another example of Vernor Vinge's imaginative exploration of alternative alien psyche, while at the same time investigating the darkness of "human" interactions and exploitation on a grand scale. I found both plots gripping to the end.

Perhaps it was a mistake to market this as related to A Fire Upon the Deep in any way; there are only tenuous cross-references and a reader hoping to "learn more" from this prequel will be disappointed. Rather, the story should be treated as an excellent - and involving - yarn in its own right.

The spider-analog aliens do have particularly human emotions. I thought that was the point. In the course of reading this you will develop genuine empathy for creatures most would find otherwise physically repugnant.

The plot follows a complex path alternating between human and spider-analog themes and the competition of rival factions within each. The crescendo is the final coming-together. Personally I found the development and conclusion highly imaginative and very rewarding.