Review: A Fire Upon The Deep

Book

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge was originally released in 1992 [01].

Review

The book follows a race to save much of the galaxy after an ancient evil is accidentally awakened.

The story takes place in a galaxy where the laws governing intelligence and technology vary by region, making faster-than-light travel impossible in some areas. It also explores how outside knowledge can accelerate a civilization’s technological development.

The idea of pack minds in the Tines civilization is one of the most interesting ideas I've read in a while. Think about a single, yet distributed consciousness where the pack members can be swapped or die while keeping the core of the pack's soul intact. It evokes a Ship of Theseus of the soul.

Some technological limitations did feel dated to me, particularly the voice interfaces for computers being restricted to a special region of the galaxy: with today's conversational AI, I found it hard to believe.

Score

8/10.

References

• [01] Vernor Vinge. A Fire Upon The Deep. 1992. ISBN: 978-0-8125-1528-2.