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Summary: Qeng Ho! Qeng Ho! It's OnOff to work we go!
Review: A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY is a nifty parable about power, commerce and exploitation. It's almost a shame that it is relegated to the Science Fiction shelves, because I think it would be interesting to hear the insights of scholars in the political economy and linguistics fields after they've had a chance to pick through this thing.The premise in this novel is pretty radical. Two human societies are competing for the opportunity to exploit the resources of a newly discovered alien civilization. One society is secretive and repressive, and the other relies on a complicated ideology based on commerce and information sharing. Neither has a plan for returning to their home systems that doesn't involve waiting for the alien civilization to undergo rapid, 20th century-style technological improvement, so they have a long time to sit around and wait with each other. Can these two disparate economic philosophies get along? Hey! You're anchovies fell in MY peanut butter! Vernor Vinge makes this all work, and successfully draws it out into a novel that would normally be of prohibitive length. The repressive bad guys have unusually clever leadership for a bunch of moustache-twirlers. They are masters of trickery and propaganda, though Vinge is not above letting them have tastes for brutality and rape. The alien civilization initially seems charming and cutesy, until the reader understands the filter through which they are being viewed. It's a neat authorial trick, and is one of the many innovative features of this novel. Both alien and reconstituted human societies have an abundance of fascinating characters and surprisingly few cliches, and Vinge weaves them around to create an amazing display of storytelling. A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY is fully worth the considerable investment involved in reading it.
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Summary: In the grand old style of SF
Review: First, I have to say that I didn't think they made Authors like this anymore. Vinge apparently has a computer science background, but he's no slouch at physics and biology either, and his deft touch with the hard science as well as the literary aspects of setting, character and plot make him simply a delight to read. As a work of speculative fiction, Vinge shows the influence of Heinlein and Niven, but at his best he comes through with the erratic brilliance of Alfred Bester - especially in the extreme machinations of some of his more evil, yet believably self-interested human characters, who squabble for power and position even as their technologically advanced little spaceship-worlds are (literally) falling apart around them. As a work of allegory, Vinge shows us a race of alien Spiders who in fact have much in common with 21st century Earth culture, and the book works on this level, too. I'd recommend this book without reservation to anyone who loves great SF!
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Summary: The Vastness of Space
Review: This is one of the best SF books I have ever read. There is no warp drive in this universe and outer space is vast. This book really made me feel how incredibly isolated space travelers must be. I served on a submarine for three years and this book made the Pacific Ocean seem like a raindrop.
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Summary: Pretty good hard SF prequel, for advanced readers
Review: A Deepness In The Sky is one of those sequel/prequel books that might be read before, during, or after its predecessor, A Fire Upon The Deep. There is nothing in one book that gives away much of anything in the other, yet having read one book it will be relatively easy to link it to the next by way of the shared universe that both inhabit. Taking place three hundred centuries before the events of A Fire Upon The Deep, A Deepness In The Sky is at least as sharp--if not sharper--than the original and gives us a double helping of one of the major characters from the original, named Pham. In many ways Pham is the archetypical SF hero: long-lived, ever-resourceful, sardonic, trying to outwit a numerically superior and tyrannical enemy while making a profit on the side. Pham believes in humanity, for better or for worse, and faces some very compelling choices during his ride through this story. Reluctantly, he does the right thing in the end. As a Niven fan I enjoyed A Deepness In The Sky with its fleets of slower-than-light Qeng Ho trader ram ships plying the space lanes. Like the original, though, Deepness blends in some horrific elements focusing (no pun intended!) on mind control and the ethics surrounding slavery in an automated society. The Spider aliens are rendered almost more human than the humans who populate the book; something I believe Vinge did intentionally. I think I wound up caring about and rooting for the Spiders more than I did any of the humans, even Pham. As with Fire, Vinge's grasp of his sciences in Deepness is strong and clear. Maybe even more clear, since the gosh-wow fantastical technology of Fire is nowhere to be found and the technology at hand, while still being more advanced than current day, is recognizable. I enjoyed this book a hell of a lot. Good work again, Vinge.
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Summary: Magnificient
Review: This is a book of enormous scope and scale. It spans galaxies and thousands of years with the story of Pham Newen, and it spans three cultures with the tales of the Interstellar Traders, the Emergent Humans and the Spiders. The alien spider culture in this book is brilliantly antrophomorphised by Vinge by a brilliant technique that I won't spoil for you here. The complexity of the spider culture is developed in great detail and we develop a real feel for their personalities. Vinge is a magnificent writer and he has put all of his energy and creativity into this excellent book. I simply cannot recommend it enough. If you like serious hard sci-fi or military sci-fi there is a lot to be gleaned from it. If you like "cultural" sci-fi or even just a great story, you will still be totally in your element. And for those who love political stories this is a tale which contains wheels within wheels within wheels.
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Summary: serious writer, but mabee too serious for the ganre
Review: why to read the book : 1. it starts with dedication for paul anderson - it means that the book writing is in a way, a follow up to the late paul anderon books : the trader society concept,
the discovery of new species, pham trinily chracter (remind me nicholas van rein).
2. the plot is very thrilling and has a good pace, except for the spider scenes.
3. the detailed description of the spider world and the emergent and queng-ho habitat. why not to read : 1. cause it's too long, about 800 pages.
2. cause the spiders are not convincing, and not interesting.
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Summary: Another Good Read by Vinge
Review: Deepness in the Sky is another good read by Vinge. Criticisms? Yes, many. There is the typical difficulty all science fiction writers have dealing with interpersonal issues- romance, motivation etc. They often don't really ring true (though any literary genre can be guilty of this it's especially true in science fiction) and here the characters themselves seem at times rather immature. For example, a main character- pining for decades and hundreds of pages over "T"- realizes he will never have her and is told to pay attention to "Q". Next scene with "E" is, he and "Q" AND child. Huh? That is the kind of shallow writing dealing with interpersonal issues that often gets science fiction in trouble. The Qeng Ho are the traders of space, yet Vinge's description of economics and business operations is extremly rudimentary which contrasts poorly with his well done descriptions of technology and societies. Vinge would do well to steep the Qeng Ho (or himself) in some sort of tangible economic theory. I never really believed they were very viable as an economic force. The best model for Qeng Ho economics would be the Dutch trading empire of the 17th century. Why four stars then? Because, Vinge's world is so detailed, his description of the three societies of spiders, Emergents, and Qweng so well thought out that it overcomes the faults of the story. He keeps the reader guessing as to what the direction of the story will be and his scientific explainations are detailed and entertaining. Vinge's storytelling overcomes the story weaknesses and makes for an entertaining read. He is a good writer and at the end you're left wondering what other adventures will take place in his universe.
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Summary: This will be known as one of the classic SF novels
Review: This book is engaging on many levels. The one I found most clever was the way the author humanized the extremely alien "spider" race, and then later completely justified doing so. Brilliant! The villian, Tomas Nau, was extremely evil - and made even more chilling by his plesant outward nature. I thought it quite a portrait of the evil lurking in the real world, fully realized and fleshed out. It kept the tension level high. The vast canvas Vinge used to paint this story was breathtaking. It reminded me of classic Asimov, but better. More engaging. Filled with wonder and depth, and lots of detail without being bogged down in it. Yes, I really enjoyed this book.
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Summary: Vinge leaves me humbled
Review: Never have i read a novel that caused me to expand my scope of normal human thinking. I honestly had to take everything i used to interpret science fiction and thow it in the trash. A Deepness In The Sky blows it all out of the water. Vinge's ideas are amazing, he creates a universe so believable that you wonder if he didn't step in a time machine and take a peek at humanity's future. Even the basics of this epic are to intricate to describe. But i will do my best.
Vinge tells his epic novel from a variety of different beings. But each are based in 3 races. The human Queng Ho. The human Emergents. And then the completely alien Spiders. Essentially Vinge tries to hit this point. Each new planet that a race can control brings infinite benefits. Resources and the possibilty of unlocking new mysteries of the universe. A new planet is about to awaken from being frozen for 2 centuries. The star within its system will relight and it will be a fight between the Queng Ho traders and the sinister Emergent race. But a catastrophe cripples both fleets and forces them to work together in what is now a race for survival. A single, mysterious, human and the alien Spiders play a unexpected role in this amazing space drama.
I cannot really do any justice to the grand scale of this novel. Just read it. The pages will be burned at the tips you will have turned them so fast. Vinge won't let the whole meal plop into your lap. He leaves a trail of bread crumbs along the way, with some unexpected surprises. He drops you in the middle of his universe and expects you to figure it all out. But when you receive that final epiphany, you will be left with a magnificent satisfaction. If i told someone to read one more sci fi before they died, this would be the one, no doubt!
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Summary: DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: I have been an admirer of Vinge's work since The Peace War and A Fire Upon the Deep. It was with eagerness that I purchased A Deepness in the Sky, winner of the 2000 Hugo Award. Unfortunately, there was a passage in the book about which I feel compelled to express my most strenuous objections. On page 287 of the paperback edition, Qiwi viewed an immersion video in which the antagonist, Tomas Nau, raped her mother while stabbing her with a knife. Words cannot adequately describe how nauseating I found this image. Especially disturbing was the implication of sexual pleasure derived from the experience. I fail to understand how a book detailing such cruel degradation of a human being, particularly a woman, can win an award. Sad to say, this is not the first book I have read which portrays women as victims in such grotesque terms. Yet I am shocked that the World Science Fiction Society would stoop to such a low level, having maintained a high standard until now. I am committed to opposing unnecessary violence in the media. In my view, Vinge's otherwise excellent book was ruined by the inclusion of this passage. I was so upset by it, I was unable to continue reading the remainder. This book has been shredded, and I will never again purchase another of Vinge's books. In addition, if I buy another TOR book, I will first check whether Frenkel was the editor. Writers may generate many things out of their imaginations, but editors should function as the gatekeeper of good taste. Judging by this product, Frenkel seems to feel quite OK about passing on gratuitous violence to unsuspecting readers. May I suggest a rewrite of that passage? I urge you all to reconsider the long-term effects of your values and actions. Don't promote graphic violence as entertainment. Your mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters could be the next victims of someone else's "amusement."
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