I am coming to the conclusion that Space Opera is not for me. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.Ī Fire upon the Deep, which began the Zones of Thought series, is the winner of the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these 'regions of thought', but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.įleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function.

They are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle.Īt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these 'regions of thought,' but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.įleeing this galactic threat, Ravna crash lands on a strange world with a ship-hold full of cryogenically frozen children, the only survivors from a destroyed space-lab. Thousands of years in the future, humanity is no longer alone in a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures, and technology, can function.

'Vinge is one of the best visionary writers of SF today.'-David Brin Now with a new introduction for the Tor Essentials line, A Fire Upon the Deep is sure to bring a new generation of SF fans to Vinge's award-winning works.

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge