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78 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Deeper Symmetry than Some Realize, July 15, 1999
By A Customer
Some have questioned the relation between A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep, complaining that, aside from being in the same universe and sharing one character, that they have nothing in common. I beg to differ. A Deepness in the Sky is a Fire Upon the Deep turned inside out. There is a brilliant symmetry between the two novels and I definitely believe that either novel is enhanced by the reading of the other. AFUtD was grand space opera. It was also representative of what Mr. Vinge hopes the future can be: unlimited vistas and boundless advances in technology. As a consequence, the book had a tendency to focus on its grand vision to the detriment of its characters, who ended up feeling flattened by comparison (read some of the Amazon customer reviews for AFUtD to see what I mean). ADitS, by contrast, represents Mr. Vinge's fear of what the future may hold for us. If technology does, in fact, plateau at some level and if the technological singularity is never achieved, Mr. Vinge predicts that humanity will be doomed to an endless sequence of technological rises and falls. ADitS makes, in my opinion, some very good cases for this. As a consequence, even though the book is chock full of high technology, with respect to our civilization, and even though it imagines humanity spread among the stars, it manages to convey a sense of claustrophobia - especially for those who have read AFUtD. Because the universe is so "cramped", the focus of the novel is directed (with almost painful intensity) upon the characters of the novel. This novel is long and it has more than its fair share of depressing aspects. I can not, however, think of anything that ought to have been subtracted from it. As for the sense of pessimism, I think that it is absolutely critical to read this in context of the largert universe presented in AFUtD. Yes, the characters, and their cultures, are trapped within a cosmological box, but it's a box that DOES have an open end. An opening that will, more importantly, be found by Pham Nguwen... just not yet. In sum, I think that this is a true tour de force and an entirely apt sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep.
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100 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Less is more, February 11, 2000
This review is from: A Deepness in the Sky (Mass Market Paperback)
Vinge's body of work stands as a rebuke to that majority of SF writers who crank out a book or two of mediocrity every year. Although Vinge's books appear at three to four year intervals, each of them is a gem. His skills are getting even better, and this book and its predecessor, "A Fire Upon the Deep," will surely be considered classics. Vinge has all of the tools of a good SF writer: a mastery of science, creativity in projecting future developments, and the grasp of history necessary to make future societies believable. He's also a good writer. He creates credible characters. The good guys have weaknesses and the bad guys a few admirable traits. His scenic descriptions aren't great, but he does succeed occasionally in creating a sense of place for his exotic locales. But what marks Vinge as great is his logic. Many writers give have their protagonists win either because their opponents are stupid or are implausibly blind to key weaknesses in their position. The baddies in "Deepness" are smart and are constantly a half step ahead of the good guys, which makes for an exciting read. And, in a particularly brilliant touch, Vinge sets up the climax to look like a cheap deus ex machina, and then returns to explain how it all makes complete sense. Finally, Vinge also plays a neat little game with part of the narrative, making it seem to be from one point of view and then slowly revealing that it is, in fact, from another. In sum, "Deepness" is not just a good story, but a good book by a talented author who has thought through everything. If you buy it, maybe Vinge can quit his day job and give us more like it.
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41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece that can stand on it's own., January 6, 2000
Any new book by Vinge is a must-read for me, especially in the wasteland of GOOD science-fiction, where great reads are few and far between. A Fire Upon The Deep is still one of my favorites of all time, so when I saw this puppy on the shelf, I grabbed it right away. And despite only a loose link to that book, this is probably some of the best science-fiction I've read in years. At first I was worried that there would be too many recycled ideas, like any first-contact novel. But really this is a book about the limitations of civilizations, whether limited by environment, like the Spiders, or limited by history, like the Qeng Ho and every other human civilization mentioned in the book. And at a broader level, for those who've read A Fire Upon The Deep, it's indirectly about the limits of technology, and the Failed Dreams which the characters could never realize are caused by their location in the galaxy. The book also has a lot to say about cultural blinders and how we perceive others-I also thought the Spiders were too human at first but by the end Vinge patiently and cleverly explained it all. And while a lot of what the book has to say about human nature is very pessimistic (slavery and the inevitable fall of civilizations), it ultimately ends on a positive note. Although lacking the scope and grandeur of the galaxy as protrayed in Fire, this book complements Fire by being more inward-looking, and manages to deliver what most science fiction can't deliver-real, believable people. Buy it! Now! Why are you still here? Go!
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