Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good Book
Review: I don't remember why I picked up this book in my library...but I did...and it was certainly worth it. The characters are well drawn...and the Skroderiders and Tines are great aliens. In fact, the Tines are the reason I gave this book four stars instead of five...I found them extremely engrossing, so engrossing that when Vinge switches to his human characters I didn't seem to enjoy it as much...also, with the human characters Vinge shows his training as a computer scientist...he tends to focus a bit much on computer systems in the "human world". This doesn't mean the "human stuff" isn't good, it really is...Pham Nuwen is a great character, full of depth and well...character (which is probably why Vinge uses him in the prequel, A Deepness in the Sky). Overall, the book is definitely worth reading...and the prequel is even better.
Rating: 
Summary: Really Liked this one
Review: This was a great book. The writing was clear, which I found surprising considering the size of the novel. The pacing was good, it felt like an "epic" in that it slowly built the tension. I was surprised by how well he worked the unique idea of technology zones of the galaxy. I thought it would end up being hokey, but it was actually very well done. I thought about quibbling about the tines race and how I think parts of his creation of the pack mind were unplausible, but after I finished reading the book, I found this only a very minor thing....highly recommended book!
Rating:
Summary: To the dogs
Review: The only problems I had with this book were the cover illustration and the title, because they don't match the content in the book at all. The illustration on the book shows some sort of spaceship in space. There are no significant outerspace scenes in the book, it takes place almost entirely on the surface of a planet with a medieval level of technology, and is mostly about alien life forms, and two human children.
As for the title, I'm not even sure what "a fire upon the deep' is supposed to refer to, but I found it a terribly weak title becasue it doesn't prepare the reader for the brilliance that lies within!This book is primarily a study of an alien intelligence of unique structure. These aliens are comprised of multiple creatures which are psychically bonded, such that the sum is much greater than the parts. One body alone has only animal intelligence, but 5 together create not only a highly intelligent entity, but a unique personality, which would change if any one of the 5 were killed or switched with a new body. The author takes this concept and runs it through all the wonderfully complex ways it would interract with its world, its weaknesses and its strengths. Several subplots in the novel are more standard sci fi, and I could hardly stand the petulant little human children, but the doglike creatures are a stroke of genius!
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Allegory
Review: The setting: outer galactic worlds or the entire universe-an overly ambitious work, if that's possible. Unheard of faster that light space ships, battling at unheard of speeds with unheard of weaponry. Blazing space battles to stop an intergalactic blight from spreading throughout the universe. Packs of four, five, six dogs inhabit a planet where individuality doesn't exist. The several members of the group think in a single dimension of thought. Does this social arrangement become a metaphor for the divisive splits in humankind over religion, philosophy and economics? Trapping a group of humans, Two Legs, on this dog pack planet unleashes a flurry of group interaction that might eventually usher in a utopia. The author writes an allegory of great power. Add to this mix unheard of alien, conscious machines, the Riders, who might become the puppets to any master power. Add an android, Pham, who is downloaded with god-like data-"godshatter." Thus enabling him to encase great portions of the universe, trapping the pursuing Blight ships into a slow zone, as insect fossils were buried in a band of amber. You have the most imaginative rescue of any melodrama ever written. On the negative side the long transmissions received on the net of a million lies, added little and only slowed the story down.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating inventions of aliens and future technology
Review: Vernor Vinge created a fascinating universe, then filled it with a top-notch story. This novel was a Hugo Award winner, and it's hard to disagree with the selection committee's choice. The primary leap of faith is the way Vinge sets up his galaxy - he stratifies it (based on density?) into 3 zones: The Slowness, where the speed of light is the fastest possible speed (and where the Earth currently resides); the Beyond, where lightspeed and near-instantaneous communication is possible; and the Transcend, where instantaneous communication (among other things) is possible. In the Transcend live the Powers, transendental beings of great power, that are severely limited in other zones because of the time-lag in communication, etc. Many corporeal beings from the lower levels try to acheive transcendance, and therefore tinker in that level. Our story starts with a human colony trying to achieve transcendance, but they unwittingly release a Power of great malevolence and extreme strength. This Power destroys the colony and goes on a rampage through the rest of the galaxy, bent on universal dominance. However.... Two children and their parents have escaped the holocaust with a vital piece of information - a Countermeasure that could damage/destroy the Power. The Power knows it's missing, but not where. When these refugees crash on a pre-industrial world, the race is on between the Power and a small group that have the key to using the Countermeasure. The story is more complex than a simple outline can describe, and includes a number of extraterrestrial races, planets, and subplots. They are held together by a galaxy-straddling faster-than-light newsnet, much like the newsgroups of current internet technology. Vinge's greatest inventions, though, are the two extraterrestrial races that are featured in the story, the Tines and the Skroderiders. The Tines are a fascinating invention, pack-animals (similar to dogs) that need to live in groups to support their intelligence (single members are only semi-sentient). Vinge fully develops the society of these creatures in a convincing and fascinating way. Likewise, the Skroderiders are sentient plants with high intelligence but low short-term memory capacity, and are an interesting twist on standard alien societies. Most of the book is built around tension - there is very little action. This is good, because Vinge seems out of his element when writing about battles. The book's climactic battle is a little contrived relative to the freshness of the rest of the story. This is a very minor quibble. A Fire Upon the Deep is a vast undertaking, but so well written that you immediately fit into the universe and get pulled into the story.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I hoped, but pretty good pulp SF
Review: Vinge is probably best-known today for his early exploration into the idea of a technological "singularity". (Type "vinge singularity" into Google to find his 1993 essay.) He thinks this singularity will occur by the year 2030 here on earth, the result being that our society will transform into something we can't in principle predict today. With this kind of ammunition, Vinge ought to be able to turn out stories with immediate relevance to our society, in the manner of Michael Crichton or Arthur C. Clarke. Unfortunately, in all of his fictional works he combines his very relevant ideas with too many fantastical elements (e.g., "zones of thought", "bobbles") to stir any real debate. So my criticism is that he's not exercising his potential as a writer. That aside, I was fairly entertained by the plot and some of the ideas. Especially the Tines, a dog-like race with collective intelligence. In general the book has a very "space opera" feel to it, harkening back to the golden age of SF when the focus was on cruising across the galaxy at warp speed, exploring new worlds and new civilizations. Again it's fun, but I can't shake the feeling it's cotton candy compared to what Vinge is capable of writing.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: The first 6 chapters were confusing to me. The author jumps into the story without setup, and you are left wandering what the heck he's talking about. Then it blossoms into a beautiful story full of depth and character. Sweeping, grand, and brilliant. I can not say enough how much I enjoyed this novel. My only quibble is the ending; not that it was bad, but I had hoped from something more tension packed. As it stands, it was a good ending but not great. When I bought the novel I had some worry that the story would be about the "kids" saving the day, like some TV tripe. I was glad to learn that the kids are treated as kids with real frailties and nature. If you read the description of this book and think that this will be some "superkids" book you would be wrong. They play a major part of the story but they are believable and endearing. Having said that, I whole-heartedly recommend this novel. It was VERY deserving of the Hugo award. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Not that exciting
Review: This book had interesting potential, but it failed early on. The character development was laborious and in the end, I really didn't care too much about anyone. The idea of physics as being mutable over distance does not correspond well with the hard-science misnomer given to this story. At some points, it almost seemed that the author was giving grandiose explanations that really explained nothing. I don't know if the author was trying to inspire thoughtful reflection on possibilities or wax poetic. Either way, it is a miss. The idea of the Tines was probably the best aspect. Group thought and individual interaction on that level is quite interesting, but nothing to hang a story on. If you want hard science/action, try David Weber. If you want philosophy, go to Dune.
Rating:
Summary: Clearing up some misconceptions
Review: I felt I should clear up a couple of misconceptions people seem to have, that I believe are true, regardless of whether one thinks the book is good or not. I have to say that I stopped reading it after roughly 200 pages, not because it was particularly a bad story or poorly written, but because I just did not care what happened next to any of the characters. Misconception #1: The book is "hard science." One of the central ideas of the book, the "Zones of Thought", violates the laws of physics as we understand them today. While you can argue this is an interesting concept, it cannot be labeled "hard science". Misconception #2: The book is exciting. Granted, this may be regarded as subjective, but the fact the characters are not developed all that well (something that even those who like the book concede, which means that we do not sympathise with them or care what happens to them) and that the main protaginist is regarded by all as a temporary evil that will seemingly go away of its own accord with time (and we are presented with no evidence to contradict this) make a strong argument that this book is not a "page-turner." I would recommend Dan Simmons' "Hyperion" series to those who are looking for very good "recent" science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Deserved its Hugo
Review: An absolutely amazing book. It took me a while to absorb enough of the context of this universe to realize what was happening, but then it all came together in this flash of "WOW!" I was particularly fascinated by his galactic cosmology, where the highest technology is only available in areas of low density (and hence the lowest resources), where there are caches of tremendous and sometimes dangerous knowledge. Journeying into the bulk of the galaxy, "deep-mining" for resources, is extremely dangerous, because high-tech solutions for FTL, or even _safe_ space travel, just aren't available. Intriguing story, where actions of a small child and some fugitives pursued by a hostile fleet have impact on galactic stages they cannot even comprehend. Vinge has put together a fascinating set of rules, and a plot high in creativity and complexity. His ability to even tell a story of such complexity while keeping it comprehensible is impressive. While I never grew attached to the 'Tines, and thought the naming was unfortunate, and would have liked to see a more solid link to, say, Earth (Earth is apparently in the "Deeps," the dead zone making up the bulk of the galaxy where FTL travel is impossible), there is tension, action and surprise revelation enough to satisfy any adventure-hound. And enough food for thought to occupy you long after the books is finished.
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