A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge

Hi everyone,

Widely regarded among science fiction readers and critics as one of the standout space opera novels of its era, A Fire Upon the Deep has been on my radar for a while but hasn't made it to our survey. I was glad to see it immediately selected by membership. It's especially touted in hard sci-fi circles, so it will be a good follow-up after a more fantasy-leaning novel in Black Sun.

Book of the Month
A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge (1992)

Much of A Fire Upon the Deep's reputation comes from its innovative worldbuilding and unique alien culture. Vinge is generally praised for his writing chops and being able to balance the concept and the details. As reported in this interesting Wired article, the novel "...juggles dozens of characters and plotlines without ever becoming confusing. Science fiction author Abby Goldsmith [says] '...plotwise it’s stunning...the work shows. The amount of time and effort he put into thinking it through, I really admire that.'" All this said, I've heard that it can be a slow start for some readers and a hill to climb at the beginning. But once it gets going, it's hard to put down. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one!

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