A Fire Upon the Deep

Vinge, Vernor

ISBN 10: 0312851820 / ISBN 13: 9780312851828

Published by Tor Books, New York, NY, 1992

About this Item

391 p. Audience: General/trade. Fair in fine dust jacket. Signed by author. Some waviness to bottom page edges, but otherwise book and jacket are nearly flawless. Signed and dated by author "to Steve". 1st printing of 1st edition.

Seller Inventory # Alibris.0017104

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Fire Upon the Deep
• Publisher: Tor Books, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312851820
• ISBN 13: 9780312851828
• Binding: Hard cover
• Edition: First edition.

About this title

Synopsis

In a future universe in which a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, Straumli realm scientists use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon and unwittingly unleash a power capable of destroying the universe.

Reviews

It has been six years since Vinge's last book ( Marooned in Realtime ), but the wait proves worthwhile in this stimulating tale filled with ideas, action and likable, believable characters, both alien and human. Vinge presents a galaxy divided into Zones--regions where different physical constraints allow very different technological and mental possibilities. Earth remains in the "Slowness" zone, where nothing can travel faster than light and minds are fairly limited. The action of the book is in the "Beyond," where translight travel and other marvels exist, and humans are one of many intelligent species. One human colony has been experimenting with ancient technology in order to find a path to the "Transcend," where intelligence and power are so great as to seem godlike. Instead they release the Blight, an evil power, from a billion-year captivity. As the Blight begins to spread, a few humans flee with a secret that might destroy it, but they are stranded in a primitive low-tech world barely in the Beyond. While the Blight destroys whole races and star systems, a team of two humans and two aliens races to rescue the others, pursued by the Blight's agents and other enemies. With uninterrupted pacing, suspense without contrivance, and deftly drawn aliens who can be pleasantly comical without becoming cute, Vinge offers heart-pounding, mind-expanding science fiction at its best.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.