Book Review: A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
I’ve tried to read as many sci-fi classics as possible this summer before switching to new indie titles. A few weeks ago I started A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge’s award winning far future space adventure. It did not disappoint. It is ones of the most imaginative books I’ve read, combining a number of sci-fi elements in a thoughtful and compelling way. It was a little long and on the dry side at times, but still good read.
On a remote, primitive world called Tines a human starship crash lands. Before the voyagers can call for help they are attacked by a race of primitive dog-like creatures. Two survivors, young Johanna and Jefri, are captured. On the other side of the galaxy, Ravna notices something is happening in the galaxy. A mysterious force called the Blight is consuming entire civilizations, expanding rapidly. A godlike entity called a Power uses a human named Pham Nuwen to investigate the Blight alongside her. When the Power is killed and Ravna’s world destroyed, she comes to believe the to stopping the Blight is held within the starship marooned on the primitive world of Tines.
The world-building in A Fire Upon the Deep is impressive. Vinge created several worlds and a number of intelligent alien races. Each race has some unique and realistic details and don’t follow the usual humanoid or human-thinking aliens of other novels and movies. The incredible technologies and scenery on several planets are evidence of a future where science has brought the entire galaxy to an era of relative peace and cooperation. Humans are a small proportion of the billions upon billions of inhabitants.
The tine species is fascinating. The tines are a large dog-like species that operate as mini-collectives or packs. An individual tine is not intelligent, but a pack of four or more has an IQ equal or greater than a human. They are telepathic, combining the memories, nature, and emotions of each individual to become a collective mind. Within the pack the link is strong, making them dependent on one another. When a tine from outside the pack gets too close, its thoughts disrupt the collective, creating mind-noise.
The skoderiders are another interesting species. They are trees with mechanical appendages allowing them to communicate verbally as well as through sign language, using their fronds.
The blight is never fully explained but it seemed to be a genocidal artificial intelligence of some kind, awakened by mistake. Powers are transcendent beings, super intelligent and largely benign. Their nature is not fully explored either.
The species of Vinge’s universe fit cleanly into either the good or evil categories. There are no shades of gray. The dichotomy is similar to Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek universe. The protagonists are all wise, insightful, and always rational people who see through the fog of ignorance. The antagonists are sinister in all their ways with no redeeming qualities. It is similar to the highly-principled and wise United Federation of Planets compared to the barbaric Klingon Empire.
While the universe is creative, Vinge’s descriptive power wasn’t as amazing. The descriptions are a little thin at times forcing the reader to use a lot of his own imagination. The book has plenty of action but there were a few parts where the pace slowed. Vinge info-dumped a few times, giving some more details about the universe with no clear connection to the story. He also jumps around from ten to eleven different character perspectives.
If you are willing to put in some effort to explore Vinge’s far future universe, A Fire Upon the Deep is an excellent novel. It is a triumph of imagination. The story is plenty exciting and has some touching moments as well. Next on my to-read list are Oryx and Crake, Anathem, and Red Rising.
4 Stars!
J
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