Share <Embed>

Buy New

$9.99

Temporarily out of stock.
Order now and we'll deliver when available. Details

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

This item ships to France. Learn more

Deliver to France

Buy Used

$4.99

+ $3.99 shipping

Deliver to France

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Brain Builder

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Add to Cart

$7.11
+ $28.72 shipping

Sold by: indoobestsellers

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

A Fire Upon The Deep (Zones of Thought) Mass Market Paperback – February 15, 1993

by Vernor Vinge (Author)

504 customer reviews

Book 1 of 3 in the Zones of Thought Series

See all 25 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

"Please retry"

$5.20

—

—

"Please retry"

$76.24

"Please retry"

$16.05

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

$9.99

Unknown Binding

"Please retry"

—

—

A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale.

Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.

Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.

A Fire Upon The Deep is the winner of the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Frequently bought together

+

Total price: $17.98

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:A Fire Upon The Deep (Zones of Thought) by Vernor Vinge Mass Market Paperback $9.99
Temporarily out of stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
A Deepness in the Sky (Zones of Thought) by Vernor Vinge Mass Market Paperback $7.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Vernor Vinge

369

Mass Market Paperback
$7.99
Vernor Vinge

195

Hardcover
$29.91
Vernor Vinge

195

Mass Market Paperback
22 offers from $10.12
Vernor Vinge

223

Mass Market Paperback
$8.99
Kim Stanley Robinson

1,064

Mass Market Paperback
$7.19
Dan Simmons

2,056

Mass Market Paperback
$7.19

Sponsored products related to this item

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Feedback

Cixin Liu

1834

Kindle Edition
$9.99
Feedback

Martha Wells

"The Murderbot series is a heart-pounding thriller that never lets up." —Annalee Newitz, author of Autonomous

24

Just Released

Hardcover
$12.32
Feedback

David Alastair Hayden

Jam packed with action and sci-fi fun, Rogue Starship has sentient AI’s, alien mysteries, starship battles, quirky robots, and even a space messiah.

138

Kindle Edition
$3.99
Feedback

David Reiss

"A humorous and intelligently-written take on the superhero genre that’s well grounded in adult thriller and conspiracy fiction." Readers' Favorite

31

Kindle Edition
$3.99
Feedback

Toby Weston

Battle Suits, Biotech and Robot Propaganda.A Hard SF excursion into a ghettotech future.

28

Kindle Edition
$2.99
Feedback

Francis Halpin

A hidden code awakens a mysterious compulsion, leading a young man on a wild and crazy journey of unearthly discovery—the truth lies beyond . . .

7

Just Released

Kindle Edition
$2.99
Feedback

M.A. Rothman

“Chilling science fiction from a new Arthur C. Clarke.” - William C. Dietz, New York Times bestselling author

52

Just Released

Kindle Edition
$4.99

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this Hugo-winning 1991 SF novel, Vernor Vinge gives us a wild new cosmology, a galaxy-spanning "Net of a Million Lies," some finely imagined aliens, and much nail-biting suspense.

Faster-than-light travel remains impossible near Earth, deep in the galaxy's Slow Zone--but physical laws relax in the surrounding Beyond. Outside that again is the Transcend, full of unguessable, godlike "Powers." When human meddling wakes an old Power, the Blight, this spreads like a wildfire mind virus that turns whole civilizations into its unthinking tools. And the half-mythical Countermeasure, if it exists, is lost with two human children on primitive Tines World.

Serious complications follow. One paranoid alien alliance blames humanity for the Blight and launches a genocidal strike. Pham Nuwen, the man who knows about Countermeasure, escapes this ruin in the spacecraft Out of Band--heading for more violence and treachery, with 500 warships soon in hot pursuit. On his destination world, the fascinating Tines are intelligent only in combination: named "individuals" are small packs of the doglike aliens. Primitive doesn't mean stupid, and opposed Tine leaders wheedle the young castaways for information about guns and radios. Low-tech war looms, with elaborately nested betrayals and schemes to seize Out of Band if it ever arrives. The tension becomes extreme... while half the Beyond debates the issues on galactic Usenet.

Vinge's climax is suitably mindboggling. This epic combines the flash and dazzle of old-style space opera with modern, polished thoughtfulness. Pham Nuwen also appears in the nifty prequel set 30,000 years earlier, A Deepness in the Sky. Both recommended. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk

Review

“Fleeing a menace of galactic proportions, a spaceship crashes on an unfamiliar world, leaving the survivors--a pair of children--to the not-so-tender mercies of a medieval, lupine race. Responding to the crippled ship's distress signal, a rescue mission races against time to retrieve the children and recover the weapon they need to prevent the universe from being changed forever. Against a background depicting a space-time continuum stratified into 'zones of thought,' the author has created a rarity--a unique blend of hard science, high drama, and superb storytelling.” ―Library Journal

“A tale that burns with the brazen energy of the best space operas of the golden age. Vinge has created a galaxy for the readers of the '90s to believe in...immense, ancient, athrum with data webs, dotted with wonders.” ―John Clute, Interzone

“Vernor Vinge's best novel yet.” ―Greg Bear, author of Moving Mars

“Vast, riveting, far-future saga...The overall concept astonishes; the aliens are developed with memorable skill and insight, the plot twists and turns with unputdownable tension. A masterpiece of universe building.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“The first grand SF I've read in ages...Vinge is one of the best visionary writers of SF today.” ―David Brin, author of Earth

“Fiercely original...Compelling ideas in the book include problems and advantages of group mind, galactic communications turbidity, and the prospect of civilizations aspiring to godhood.” ―Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Series: Zones of Thought (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction (February 15, 1993)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780812515282
ISBN-13: 978-0812515282
ASIN: 0812515285
Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.4 x 6.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 504 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #294 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Hard Science Fiction
- #368 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Exploration
- #426 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > First Contact

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Be the first video

Your name here

Sponsored products related to this item

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Feedback

Craig Alanson

Their ship is breaking down, their alien AI is dead, yet the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman must find away to survive and win, before Zero Hour.

334

Paperback
$8.83
Feedback

Travis Bradberry

1241

Hardcover
$14.99
Feedback

Eric Asher

A mad god. A vile betrayal. Creatures from the Abyss. Necromancer Damian Vesik faces his darkest hour, but he's not dead yet. Now in Kindle Unlimited!

18

Kindle Edition
$8.99
Feedback

Aer-ki Jyr

Enlist in Star Force and begin your journey across the galaxy!

194

Kindle Edition
$4.99
Feedback

Peter Flannery

Battle Mage by Peter A. FlanneryHave you read it yet?Read this amazing fantasy adventure now!

1222

Kindle Edition
$3.99
Feedback

M.A. Rothman

“Chilling science fiction from a new Arthur C. Clarke.” - William C. Dietz, New York Times bestselling author

52

Just Released

Kindle Edition
$4.99
Feedback

Stephen Arseneault

Grab Stephen Arseneault’s amazing space opera series now!

127

Kindle Edition
$4.99

Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features:

See Kindle Edition

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

See all 504 customer reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

it gets you thinking when you put it down

March 11, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is the first book I have read by Vernor Vinge. It is full of mind boggling ideas and wonderfully complex aliens.

One mind boggling idea that the galaxy has zones. The closer you get to the galaxy center, the dumber you are, and the slower you go, the longer you live. A fast, smart, malevolent force from the outermost region reaches into the lower zones spreading death and destruction.

Vinge depicts different types of non-human intelligence in a really thought provoking way.
example the Tines who are dog like animals who have human or greater than human intelligence when gathered in packs; they are intelligent, pack animals that live on a close-in feudal world. Many individuals make up a personality. They don’t have hands but use their jaws and paws together in a coordinated way to get things done.
The Skroderiders who are plant-like creatures who become intelligent when paired with carts that some being had created for them billions of years ago
and beings of nearly god-like intelligence created by evolving computer networks, and more.
He also comes up with interesting astronomy by splitting the galaxy up into zones in which physics is differentiated, so that it's possible for certain creatures to travel at beyond light speed and become advanced, and for others to be trapped in zones of slowness (like Earth).

The entertainment to cost ratio of this book is enormous. It is long, it is well written, it gets you thinking when you put it down, and it makes you want to re-read it.

9 people found this helpful10 people found this helpful

Five stars for the concept, three stars for the story

April 3, 2018

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Vinge gives us a truly interesting, galactic-level speculation on how the universe may work, tying together physics and theology by positing that the laws of physics vary according to one's observational point. In other words, sentient beings close to the galactic core are governed by a time-space that is different from the time-space of the fringe.

There are innumerable civilizations, which rise, change, and become extinct over millions and billions of years. Moreover, some of these close to the core discover space travel, and gradually "transcend" as they are able to travel farther from the core.

The narrative and realization of this concept is not bad but nothing special. There is a basic good adventure story, but it is wordy and sometimes a bit immature. It's a long book, and I skipped over entire pages.

Also, the book falls down sometimes on the creation of alien species, especially the dog-like race at the center of much of the action.

But the concept still comes through. If Fire Upon the Deep were well-written, and all the alien species well thought-out, this would be one of the great sci-fi novels of all time.

3 people found this helpful4 people found this helpful

David.G.Wonnacott

This is one of my favorite light reads in SF (my other favorite authors are ...

May 1, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is one of my favorite light reads in SF (my other favorite authors are Kim Stanley Robinson (novels, not short stories), U.K. LeGuin, and (despite points of incoherency/inconsistency) Phillip K. Dick). AFUtD start with an original if rather bizzare premise through which faster-than-light travel is possible in some regions of space, and then stays true to this premise without introducing other major violations of our current laws of physics. A real "page-turner" that alternates between two interconnected stories in high-tech and low-tech civilizations, with aliens that are deeply alien in physiology but are still driven by needs and desires that make them familiar. There is a great deal of good-guys/bad-guys structure, which makes for good chase/confrontation scenes, but it is not without exception or occasional subtlety, and thus I found this aspect quite tolerable.

One note: I found the "prolog" weak and (perhaps intentionally) confusing, and it put my younger son off the book. If you want to make sense of the book without this, you could skip it, or (possibly better) start with Chapter 8, in which some new characters are introduced to each other and brought up-to-speed on what's going on in the universe, and read until they leave The Wandering Company. Then go back and start in Chapter 1.

4 people found this helpful5 people found this helpful

Adventures in a Truly Vast Cosmos

May 9, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This unusual tale is highly entertaining and intellectually challenging. I greatly enjoyed the degree to which I was thrown off base by the authentic strangeness of the aliens and the immeasurable scale of the cosmic background. The universe of "A Fire Upon the Deep" is complex and is developed in good detail. Instead of a lot of exposition, the reader finds out how the universe works by virtue of the rules that the characters have to face up to through exciting action. As they get into more and more difficulties, the reader comes to understand why things are happening; it's also as though the reader is experiencing the complexities of the strange and inhuman cosmos at first hand: much more effective than just being told that this is the way it is. Lots of good lyrical passages, clear description, and a story that moves along but still manages to engage the emotions.

3 people found this helpful4 people found this helpful

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Kim Stanley Robinson

1,064

Mass Market Paperback
$7.19
Vernor Vinge

369

Mass Market Paperback
$7.99
Arthur C. Clarke

1,229

Mass Market Paperback
$7.19
Vernor Vinge

195

Hardcover
$29.91
Vernor Vinge

223

Mass Market Paperback
$8.99
Alfred Bester

521

Paperback
$16.27

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: red zone, tor books, classic animal novels

English United States

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads
© 1996-2018, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates