Rating: 
Summary: How Did This Win A Hugo ?
Review: I am a big fan of Asimov and Card, so I thought I would enjoy this book based on the recomendations. This book read like a draft and I felt as though the writer was ineffective in 'telling the story' without straying too much. It is worth a try (some people love the book), but I did not find the book enjoyble or interesting at all.
Rating:
Summary: How Did This Win An Award ???
Review: I cannot believe this book is as bad as I thought it was (see all the positive reviews). (Are people reluctant to write bad reviews?) But I felt it read like a first draft of meaningless meandering. The style is just the opposite of the likes of Asimov and Heinlein (and the stylistic Orson Scott Card). I finished about 1/3 of the book, was very disappointed, and traded it away.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful ideas, shoddy construction.
Review: The author has some very creative and powerful ideas and language, and the book never gets boring, but the implementation seems forced. It almost seems that the author's motivation was to put all his ideas in one place. If it flowed together better, it would be a truly great book. As it is it is still very entertianing.
Rating:
Summary: Not much of an ending, but a hell of a ride
Review: I just want to tack my own opinion onto those of others... Vinge's "A fire upon deep" really manages to carry off the creation of a beautiful universe and romp around in it. It'd be a nine if not for the slow ending (I like endings that allow for sequels, although I very rarely like sequels. Isn't it ironic?) and half the points I'm handing it are due to wow factor. The wow factor, however, is why I will reread a book - because it causes me to experience a certain emotion. Another book which did that for me was Walter Jon Williams' "Hardwired", a cyberpunk tale of much less epic proportions. Both books have many of the same elements, however; A solid technological background, vivid imagery, and a handful of interesting characters, with many more who remain two dimensional, kind of like broth in a soup. (Not much flavor, but it adds volume). Anyhow, I can't give this one a nine or a ten, but I can give it an 8, a wow, and a "What else has this guy written?"
Rating: 
Summary: simply my favorite SF novel ever
Review: There are a zillion reviews here already, but I just can't resist. Not since I read "The City and the Stars" by Arthur C. Clarke when I was 12 years old have I been so captivated by a book. I gave my first copy to a good friend, then rushed out and bought a new one for myself and read it again. Then, over the next two years I repeated that pattern five times. It's a really good book.
Rating:
Summary: Would make a great movie!
Review: Grand Galactic Tale, as epic as Star Wars. A great 600+ page read that just begs to be another Star Wars plus Lost Planet movie.
Rating:
Summary: Some like it, some hate it. Regardless, read it.
Review: Most of us are probably aware of how, as you read more and more science fiction, your stack of 'extremely good' books stays mostly level while the stack of 'acceptable' books outgrows your bookshelf. You start to appreciate the writers who have done their duty to science fiction by studying the Drexlers, the Minskys and Feynmans -- the scientists whose sheer extrapolative powers really push the borders of imagination. Vinge is one of those hardworking writers. He is the author of the hard-to-find "True names and other dangers..." which means you can credit him for adding several of the future- or tech-based memes most of us take for granted today. The ratings for this book waver between 6-10, with a '2' thrown in by some poor fellow. Don't worry about Vernor Vinge's grammatical capabilities -- he writes a mean sentence, and some of the best technical descriptions I've ever read. For a genre which pedestalizes Asimov, who could hardly string 6 words together coherently (guess he was moving too fast), some people are MIGHTY picky! Also, you won't find the "-oid" syndrome which you get with Bujold, for example, where contemporary items are made to sound science-fictiony just by giving them a new name. You won't read sentences like "He grabbed his key-oids and jumped in his car-oid..." Vinge's science is deep, and the ramifications of everything from the 'slow zone' to the 'unthinking deeps' to the 'agrav fabric docks' to the hi-tech of the beyond, to the cute extrapolation of an Internet of galactic scope, to the effect of radio upon the Tines (a sophont race), to the matter-of-fact acceptance of racial senescence... all of these things are well thought out and brilliantly presented. You will see many of Vinge's concepts become commonplace in science fiction, and you'll be able to say you saw it here first. :) Vinge is a scientist/mathmetician, after all, and he seems constitutionally unable to write the soft-science glop which is taking over science fiction. His science fiction is as hard as diamond, and the only bad side effect is that the people you read between the 'good ones' will seem much more inept and unimaginative. Don't worry about Vinge's characterizations... they're strong and capable (especially those of the skroderiders (plants) and the tines (pack intelligences)). You'll be fascinated by his treatment of alien mentalities... and if you aren't, well, luckily science fiction isn't about characterization anyways. If you want character, read a novel, which is the genre of the character. If you want science fiction, you could do MUCH worse than come here... you'll be adding a nice thick book to your small stack of 'extremely good' books.
Rating:
Summary: A very reguvenating Book
Review: The only book that I've read so far and had such a detailed view of a possible alien culture was the Helliconian Trilogy by Brian Aldiss. And even that was totaly antropocentric. Mr. Vince has done an excellent job in giving us the everyday life of an alien culture and more importantly the ways that would have been used to over come tasks that we singletons take for granted. Great book, thrilling plot, couldn't put down every one of the six times that I've read it.
Rating:
Summary: SF Fable Transcends "Furry Friends"
Review: VV has created a galaxy of vastness and detail. History and legend fathoms deep, worlds of complexity and myriad wonders, beings of fragility and incredible strength. But through all, the unbroken strand of the story - an adventure that jumps between big secrets and small dreams, the destruction of millions and the pain of one, the cosmic and the mundane. It is a timeless fable of fear and treachery, courage and friendship; a classic race against time (and other horrors) amid the lies and speculation that are the true voice of current events. The surprise is not in the turnings of the tale. For me, it was in the accepting of creatures too alien to be believed but too familiar to be dismissed. This was my introduction to VV and I initially balked at the children-and-animals aspect. Now, I think overcoming that was part of the experience. I clearly have some exploring to do.
Rating:
Summary: Offers a powerful insight into the collaborative mind
Review: For the last twenty years, I've been part of the core of an intentional family. Over that time, I've been priviledged to experience and participate in the formation of a collaborative mind, i.e. a composite intellectual experience which draws from the characteristics and experiences of the constituent individuals to create something in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Many authors have written about extended families and what it might be like to live in one, but this is the only work that I've encountered which understood, and enabled others to understand, the thrill of enjoining with other minds and hearts to do and experience things which could not be done alone.
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