From: hal@rain.org
Date: Sat Feb 27 1999 - 23:02:24 MST
Vernor Vinge's new novel, A Deepness in the Sky, is a prequel to his
Hugo winning A Fire Upon the Deep. It takes place a few thousand years
in our future.
I enjoyed the story, but it didn't seem to have as many topics of
Extropian interest as some of Vinge's other work, such as Fire, or
Marooned in Realtime. It gives more background on Pham Nuwen, one of
the main characters in Fire, and on the Qeng Ho, the trading empire he
was part of. The Zones of Thought are not mentioned, and we see their
effects only indirectly.
With the entire story taking place in the Slow Zone, technology is capped
at a level not too far above our own. Super-intelligence and even human
level AI is impossible; software projects inevitably bog down in their
own complexity before something as complex as human AI can be reached.
Medical science allows people to live perhaps 300-500 years at most
(although with cryonic suspension their lives can extend over much
longer periods). Nanotech remains a dream which was never fulfilled.
Most civilizations are trapped in a cycle of boom and collapse, similar
to Niven and Pournelle's Moties. The Qeng Ho help to moderate this
effect somewhat as they carry technology between star systems in their
ramscoop powered vessels. Earth itself has wiped itself out four times
and been recolonized from outside.
All in all I found it a depressingly limited future.
As for the story itself, while it was engaging and exciting, there
were disturbing elements. The bad guys are really nasty. In Fire,
we saw the Straumli Perversion only at a distance. Characters like the
Tine leader, Steel, were seen up close, and their lies and manipulation
were more tangible. In Deepness we have characters similar to Steel,
and we get exposed to their methods in far more detail. I had a sick
feeling in my stomach for much of the story.
The aliens were a pleasant counterbalance to this. Although physically
very different from us, Vinge presents them through a translation
interface so high level that they are completely understandable and
recognizable, and in fact utterly charming. I found that my mental image
of the aliens was constantly shifting between humans and their actual
physical form. The conflict between their alien and repellant physical
appearance and their appealing emotional and mental states was felt by
the characters as well, and it was interesting to experience the same
thing as the reader. I could understand the ambiguous feelings people
had towards the aliens, since I shared that same mixture of views.
A number of surprises pop up in the climax, and frankly I didn't quite
understand everything that was going on. I still can't figure out how
certain characters had crucial information and the ability to manipulate
key systems. When more people have read the book maybe someone can
explain it to me.
Overall, it's a good book and a long book. We know that Pham is going to
survive, which helps when things are looking their darkest. The aliens
are a lot of fun. But if you're looking for the kind of grand-scale
ideas which Vinge provided in Fire, I don't think you'll find them here.
Hal
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