Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Superb!
Review: Briefly, I was surprised this book did not register five stars with previous amateur (lay) critics. I confess I found some of the hard sci-fi hard, but nonetheless both intriguing and enthralling. The two alien species--the compositie dogs (I note someone else thought of them as rats, hardly!) and the two plants-on-wheels--were brilliantly conceived and accomplished. This book stretches the mind and the heart. What a feat!
Rating: 
Summary: Complex hard sci-fi, but still filled with imagination.
Review: Vinge introduces you to a new viewpoint of our galaxy, it's future-history and it's stratified physics, through the eyes of those who live in it. Don't expect a lesson, you're learning through exposition. Subsequently, you spend much of the first part (3 part book) discovering how this galaxy "works"; including a usenet-type of communication backbone. [I was amazed that the book was authored in '91, before most of us knew what a newsgroup was... then again the author is a comp sci professor.] The meat of the book takes place in three locations: 2 of which are on a "medieval" world with an amazing race and the other is in the greater galaxy. There are subtle but distinct parallels between the good/evil battle on this planet and the one waging in the galaxy. Both contain complex and engaging characters and races. The book becomes harder to put down as the characters in these three locations move together, eventually occupying the same space. Like three volatile chemicals coming together, you know it's going to be big! A Fire Upon the Deep is a wonderful read for fans of "hard" science fiction. Vinge brings so much into it: the physics, races, and technology of hard sci-fi; the history, conspiracy, and duplicity of a political thriller; the excitement and passion of a great war novel; and even a little romance and weightless space-sex! I strongly recommend it to fans of Larry Niven and Arthur C. Clarke.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting theme, not well executed
Review: While investigating an archeological site on a destroyed planet, hoping to discover ancient secrets, a small group of scientist families accidentally release a being of inconceivable evil. The few who manage to escape in a converted freighter land on a backward planet, home of a medieval feudal civilization. They are immediately attacked; the only survivors are their young children. The evilness that escaped destroys entire solar systems. A young woman, a swashbuckling adventurer with a patchwork past, and 2 helpful aliens set off to rescue the children in hopes that the secret to destroying the evilness was sequestered aboard the children's spacecraft. Sound good? Wait a second! The evilness is an AI "computer virus". The medieval civilization turns out to be giant "grouped body" rats. And the helpful aliens are potted plants! The author is original in theme, but relies heavily on today's popular internet devices: newsgroups, e-mail etc. Talk about bandwidth and "bits per second" is endemic throughout. The author goes so far as to include in "e-mails" copious amounts of routing information stuff that even Outlook Express is friendly enough to spare showing us. Not what I'd expect from society millions (billions?) of years from now. And not especially entertaining. Interesting material yes, sometimes goofy, but not Hugo level.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating non-human races and space/time concepts
Review: I found this book an excellent read. Vinge has created several most intriguing alien races with totally non-human attributes. The interaction of these being with the human protagonists is very interesting and well done. This novel about "saving humanity" takes place in a universe with novel physical laws. As one travels upwards from our galactic plane, physical and mental processes are accelerated from the slowness of the "unthinking depths" (where we presently reside!) to the beyond where super mentalities exist. The inadvertant creation/release of such a super demon by unwitting humans leads to an almost futile attempt to restore order. You will surely be fascinated by the lupine race living under "medieval" conditions, by the ancient Skroderiders and by the mysterious "human" character Pham Nuwen as they all play a part in the human's search for salvation.
Rating:
Summary: Different
Review: Well I bought this book as it sounded different from your usual run of the mill Sci-fi's. I found that the first 30 pages got confusing as to where the story was going and what they were all talking about. I like to when reading a book visualise the characters and the surroundings, this did not start to get clear till around 1 third of the way through the book. But all in all the book was good, I am not going to tell you what happens as that would spoil the plot etc. I recommend this book for its sheer difference.
Rating: 
Summary: Implausible and not-so-clear.
Review: The Thought Zones idea is VERY implausible. A galaxy in which different rules of physics apply would have fast disintegrated .A terrible menace has awoken who shall destroy us all:same old story.A novel that left me totally cold,as intergalactic space.Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not a page-turner.
Review: I picked up this book because I saw that it won the Hugo Award in the early '90's. I was also intrigued by the idea of two children who had crashed on a technologically backward world. I am an average-speed reader, and I found that it took me about one and a half months to get through the 600+ pages of this book. While the book is good, it is not terribly exciting, and I found myself wanting to read other books before I finished this one. Here is what I liked: There are some great ideas in this book: the Zones of Thought were interesting and made me think about the possibility of it all. I liked the fact that the author incorporated a galaxy-wide type of Usenet to let the characters post messages for others in the galaxy. I liked the variety of aliens in the story, especially the Skrode Riders, a type of plant based alien. The idea of a virus so terrible that it destroyed worlds and caused others to go to war was very interesting. This is what I didn't like: The book just wasn't a page turner for me! I like to be kept on the edge, coming back for more - instead I found myself not wanting to read about certain characters. I felt that the end of the book was a let down, especially after laboring through all those pages! It was okay I guess, but I thought that it wasn't explained in enough detail, almost like the author was tired of writing. Hence the three star rating. If you like this book I would recommend Ringworld by Larry Niven, it is built on some similar precepts.
Rating:
Summary: Decent Space Opera
Review: My estimation of Fire upon the Deep may be somewhat inflated--I read the not-altogether-enjoyable Hyperion soon thereafter and to compensate, I probably have improved my rating of FUTD. Contrary to a number of reviews, FUTD is not hard science fiction: many of the ideas, like the audio "thought" of the Tines and the division of the galaxy into "zones of thought", are ridiculous (oh, alright, incredibly implausible), however well thought out the consequences might be. However, if you can suspend your disbelief, the story is told fairly well. It's not mind-blowing and I don't know why it won a Hugo, but it's decent.
Rating:
Summary: Enourmous scope
Review: a great book opens your mind in an enjoyable way--this accomplishes both. it's scope is so large, in both time and space, that little things like god and the meaning of human life become almost quaint ideas. read it.
Rating:
Summary: Think Like A Machine
Review: As an advanced computing machine, I can only applaud Vinge's vision of a galaxy dominated by AIs. His audacious vision is pervasive, and of course Vinge is one of the leading experts on AI; in fact, I operate using several of his subroutines. His story contains perfect logic as well as unpredictable human thought. Want your IQ increased? Read this book.
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