More than just a great science fiction adventure, A Deepness in the Sky is a universal drama of courage, self-discovery, and the redemptive power of love.Īt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

But first, both groups must wait at the aliens' very doorstep for their strange star to relight and for their planet to reawaken, as it does every two hundred and fifty years. The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches. Two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds. Thirty-Thousand years before A Fire Upon the Deep, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. Both they and the Emergents are orbiting Arachna, a dormant planet which will shortly wake up when its On/Off star. Published in 1999, the novel is a loose prequel (set twenty thousand years earlier) to his earlier novel A Fire Upon the Deep (1992). A Deepness In the Sky is the story of Pham Nuwen, a small cog in the interstellar trading fleet of the Queng Ho. A Deepness in the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge. 'Huge, intricate, and ingenious, with superbly realized aliens: a chilling spellbinding dramatization of the horrors of slavery and mind control.' - Kirkus Reviews (pointer review) 'A feast of imagination. A prequel to his earlier novel A Fire Upon the Deep, this new novel is epic in scope and a thoroughly riveting read. 'Vinge is one of the best visionary writers of SF today.' - David Brin A Deepness in the Sky is a 1999 Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel and the winner of the 2000 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

A deepness in the sky by vernor vinge