Subject: Review: A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY by Vernon Vinge

From: David Brukman <[email-masked]>
Date: 07 May 1999 14:22:22 -0400

A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY by Vernon Vinge
	Book review copyright 1999 by David Brukman

While not without flaws, this outstanding novel combines grand and
thoughtful ideas, the sweeping grandeur of millenia of history and the
immediacy and emotional impact of a small-scale adventure.

Genre: Science Fiction (Aliens, Interstellar Civilizations)

Synopsis: After eight millenia of space flight (I wonder if they are
concerned about the Y10K bug?), the human civilization has achieved a
sort of stasis. The light-speed communication and sublight transport
have created a loose collection of cultures at various levels of
sophistication, with Qeng Ho, a far-flung collection of trading families
the only unifying influence.

Evidence of an alien culture, only the third in history, has attracted a
Qeng Ho exploratory expedition to a star system just beyond human space.
However, an expedition from a nearby culture, young, repressive and
well-armed, is arriving at the OnOff star at the same time.

The natives of the planet, the spider-like inhabitants are just
contemplating nuclear energy and space flight, when the forces above their
heads are about to enter a deadly fight, one which will decide the fate of
the Spiders and perhaps the course of the human civilization.

Full Review: This is a remarkable book in both the breadth and the depth
(no pun intended) of its ideas. Vinge, an expert in computer science, has
made a name for himself in considering natural and artificial
intelligence, its limits and implications. Some terms, like Vinge's
Singularity and Intelligence Amplification, have entered the vocabulary of
Science Fiction and Futurism alike. Other ideas, such as the limits of
complexity of nanotech-like tools because of lack of control, and the
constraints on our understanding of complex, legacy software systems, are
integrated into a taut adventure novel.

Other more political points include the old trade-offs between the larger
good and the human rights, the role of trade versus direct government, and
the contribution of ubiquitous surveillance to the downfall of human
society.

In this novel, Vinge returns to the universe of the Zones, featured so
prominently in _A Fire Upon the Deep_. Deepness takes place long before
the previously published _A Fire Upon the Deep_. In Deepness, humanity is
still confined to the Slow Zone, although neither the terminology nor the
mileau of Fire is apparent. Instead, the implications of this play a
strong role in the plot: the death of the great Dreams of the Dawn Age:
artificial intelligence, faster-than-light travel, nanotechnology; the
slow stagnation of the human progress, as civilizations grow, peak, and
self-destruct, advancing human knowledge and technology by diminishing
increments.

In this environment, the only true power lies in information. This lure is
what attracts expensive expeditions to the astronomical oddity of the
OnOff star: the sun that shines for a few decades between centuries of
cold, dark off state. The planet orbiting the star is far too inhospitable
for a civilization to arize, therefore the radio signals must come from
the remnants of an alien, star-faring race, the mythical grail worth
almost any price.

The sophisticated traders of Qeng Ho, an interstellar culture where the
individuals spend the centuries of the slow, sub-light trips in cold
sleep, are matched against a local civilization: the authoritarian
Emergents are seeking the same prize. While lacking the negotiating and
technical sophistication of the Qeng Ho, the Emergents have ruthlessness,
and experience in treachery, and secret and chilling methods of
intelligence amplification which may tilt the balance of power against the
scattered human population.

However, the unsuspecting Spiders, struggling against biological and
social restriction of centuries of cold-enforced hibernation nine-tenths
of their lifetimes, may end up being the victims--or the players in the
deadly struggle in space.

The struggle pits a group of naive Qeng Ho against exploitive, but still
human Emergents, and a mysterious, Lazarus Long-type old man. The plot
spares few punches, and the sympathetic characters suffer pain and
death. Meanwhile, on the surface a small group of Spiders are followed as
their actions change their civilization. The aliens are portrayed as
almost rediculously anthropomorphic, as we follow Sherkaner Underhill (no
relation to Salafrance), a Spider inventor like a combination of Einstein
and Edison, and his remarkable family. The anthopomorphism is neatly
explained by the miracles (and exaggeration) of Emergent translation, and
in one scene the two plot lines merge spectacularly.

With great skill, both the human and the alien characters become
sympathetic to the reader, and add both suspense and elucidation to the
grand picture. The foreshadowing and memories of generation-skipping,
cold-sleeping humans are used to describe the frequently tragic sweep of
millenia of human progress, while avoiding expositionary lumps and
applying many of the lessons to the struggle in the OnOff system.

While admiration is called for when describing a book of this quality, the
work is not without some flaws. While well-handled, the frequently
shifting point of view makes the somewhat complex plot harder to grasp and
weakens emotional impact.

The language extensions used, frequently computer culture-derived, are
easily deciphered, but not entirely necessary. The examples are "oophase"
for out-of-phase Spider children (children born in the middle, rather than
in the beginning of the warm phase); "tas" for "it was", pov for "point of
view" and the multiple uses of the word "lurk".

The role that some of the Spiders play in the human struggle is revealed
at the very end and seems unwarranted based on the persons involved.

Despite some poignant elements, the book ends on a note of hope, both for
the protagonists and the civilization. While no sequel is needed, one
could be envisioned.

The ideas and their implications explored in this book are too numerous to
list here. Suffice it to say that the achievement of combining them with a
taut, at times chillingly plausible plot of using poor man's versions of
nanotechnology and intelligence amplification, nuclear weapons and
conspiracies, human pain and human love (at times in alien individuals),
is truly remarkable. This book is one of the best science fiction novels
of the decade.

Universe: The Zones

%A Vinge, Vernon
%D March 1999
%G ISBN 0-312-85683-0
%I Tom Doherty Associates (Tor)
%O Cloth
%P 607 pp.
%T A Deepness in the Sky
-- 
	David Brukman	"Long live Jame Talissen!"	
http://visitweb.com/InOtherWorlds  "Fantasy, SF & Mystery Reviews"