Book Review: A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge

Humans are the monsters from outer space in this truly original, truly epic space opera.

Tor, 1999, 775 pages

Publisher's description:

Vernor Vinge established himself as one of our greatest living science-fiction writers with his critically acclaimed, best-selling, Hugo Award-winning novel A Fire Upon the Deep. Now he returns to the captivating universe of that book, transporting us back 30,000 years.

After thousands of years searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. There are two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds. The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches. But first, both groups must wait at the aliens' very doorstep for their strange star to relight and for their planet to reawaken, as it does every 250 years

Then, following terrible treachery, the Qeng Ho must fight for their freedom and for the lives of the unsuspecting innocents on the planet below, while the aliens themselves play a role unsuspected by the Qeng Ho and Emergents alike.

More than just a great science-fiction adventure, A Deepness in the Sky is a universal drama of courage, self-discovery, and the redemptive power of love.

( This is how you write rockin' sci-fi that does not insult my intelligence or bore me. )

Verdict: If you are a science fiction fan, why haven't you read this yet? An unqualified recommendation for anyone who likes epic space adventure that never suffers from bad prose or rote genre tropes. A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep are both on my Top Ten list of great SF.

Also by Vernor Vinge: My review of A Fire Upon the Deep.

Book Review: A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge

Humans are the monsters from outer space in this truly original, truly epic space opera.

Tor, 1999, 775 pages

Publisher's description:

Vernor Vinge established himself as one of our greatest living science-fiction writers with his critically acclaimed, best-selling, Hugo Award-winning novel A Fire Upon the Deep. Now he returns to the captivating universe of that book, transporting us back 30,000 years.

After thousands of years searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. There are two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds. The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches. But first, both groups must wait at the aliens' very doorstep for their strange star to relight and for their planet to reawaken, as it does every 250 years

Then, following terrible treachery, the Qeng Ho must fight for their freedom and for the lives of the unsuspecting innocents on the planet below, while the aliens themselves play a role unsuspected by the Qeng Ho and Emergents alike.

More than just a great science-fiction adventure, A Deepness in the Sky is a universal drama of courage, self-discovery, and the redemptive power of love.

( This is how you write rockin' sci-fi that does not insult my intelligence or bore me. )

Verdict: If you are a science fiction fan, why haven't you read this yet? An unqualified recommendation for anyone who likes epic space adventure that never suffers from bad prose or rote genre tropes. A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep are both on my Top Ten list of great SF.

Also by Vernor Vinge: My review of A Fire Upon the Deep.