It's true science fiction, exploring ideas, even if they are mostly "soft" ideas. I can't help but sit in awe with what he pulled off, even if the novel isn't completely mind-blowing.
It isn't. It's not going to rank at the top of any list, but I am supremely glad I got to experience it. No reservations. No regrets. When you're following up one of the best science fiction books of the late 20th Century A Fire Upon the Deep , expectations will be high. And unfortunately, they're dashed here.
There are parts of this book that are fantastic, but there are a few sections that are glacially paced. A bigger problem is the characters: One of the heroic leads from the first book comes across as a myopic idiot at times in this one, and having just re-read AFUTD prior to starting this, that was hard to swallow.
Also and this may not be Vinge's fault as much, as I know from friends who are dealing with today's publishing industry that there's huge pressure to create series and trilogies , this is obviously the first book in a multi-part story.
There are things left unresolved that can and should have been neatly wrapped up here, and the unresolved situation is as unconvincing as some of the actions of established characters. That said, I did rate the book three stars, and it's only because of the lofty expectations here that I spent the first paragraphs expressing disappointment. Despite the issues this book has, it is a fascinating look at a group-mind alien society and of humans having to adapt to losing their technological crutches.
And ignoring the sluggish and ridiculous "circus" section in the middle, there's some really engaging adventures here as well. Then pick this one up knowing it's another chance to visit fascinating characters, but temper your story expecations, and you'll still find it worth a read. I was one of the numerous people who was looking forward to this book yet like so many others I found that, while it's enjoyable, it falls far short of the mark of its predecessors.
There are two big drawbacks to this book. One is the glacial pace I easily skimmed at least a hundred pages in the middle of the novel with no loss.
Antagonists who are so obviously evil that they should've been dispatched earlier somehow hang onto power through twists that seem little more than the author stringing things along.
This book could have easily been shorter by at least a third and perhaps should have been. The second drawback is that the book is clearly intended to be the first of at least two sequels but this fact is not revealed until it's clear to the reader that the major story lines -- at least the story lines that the reader cares most about -- will not be resolved by the book's conclusion.
I have nothing against multi-part sequels but I do like to know going into a story whether I can expect it's end in that book or the next one. Add in a couple truly evil characters whose motivations remain unclear and basically at the level evil-for-the-sake-of-evil, and you have a product that pales by comparison with Vinge's recent award-winning novels. A number of other reviewers are criticizing those who criticize the book, claiming that people are criticizing it for not being a different book, i.
I don't feel I fit into this character as I was looking forward to revisiting many of the Tines characters such as Woodcarver and Pilgrim. In fact, the parts with the Tines were the best parts of the book. It was the parts dealing with the humans which was most of the book that fell flat, again, mostly due to the glacial pacing. This is a book I'd recommend people read but perhaps check a copy out of the library instead of buy one. Peter Tillman. I liked the book, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
It's mid-quality Vinge, and definitely not the place to start if you're new to him. A definite must-read for Vinge fans, like me. For those lukewarm re Vinge -- I'm not sure. For me, 3. I liked it a bit more on rereading. There are writing-craft issues here: blurry characters, slow pace, cartoonish villainy I wonder if this is a "trunk novel," resurrected in his retirement.
I don't read SF for literary excellence, but if you do, maybe you should give this one a miss. He likes it, but glosses over the writing-craft problems. Not quite as good as the first two, but still really enjoyable. The first two just have this great scope to them - they take place on more than just a single planet and with multiple groups of characters - while this one is smaller, confined to a single planet and a fairly straightforward story.
Like I said, though, still really good. I really enjoyed this series and Vernor Vinge's writing. Looking forward to reading more by him. Author 10 books 18 followers. Well, it's the sequel I've been waiting for - for almost 20 years. Why, oh why, would a man who takes 20 years to write a sequel, clearly write something that does not wrap up the story?
Yep, this is a trilogy, at the very least, and he puts these things out so slow, he's all but blackmailing the world to come up with some life extension technique that will allow him to continue writing for many more decades. Either that or we never find out how it ends.
That's why I'm a bit pissed, not because the novel isn't good, it is, but because it isn't giving me the payoff I expected after so long. Look, A Fire Upon the Deep was a self contained story, it had just a sliver of items that left the door open for a sequel, but none was really needed. It was still coming. And I was right, in a way. Not that that means much, it's the only logical place to take the story I suppose. So, what did he do? Something clever, and something I think he stole from the crappy Star Trek movie: Insurrection.
That movie was on the other day, I saw half an hour or so of it before I fell asleep. Man, I can't believe how poorly conceived that was. I think it's human nature, people generally learn through experience, you can sit and tell them the consequences of their actions all you want, but they'll go out and do stupid stuff anyway.
It's just our way. In The Children of the Sky, all those caskets full of children in cold storage were awoken. When they had gone to sleep, their parents were at the brink of raising humanity to godhood, and had achieved the highest order of civilization that the universe would allow given the physics of the zone they were in, but they woke up in a medieval alien world, all their technology was gone, and the stories they were told was that their parents had awoken a great and ancient evil that had led to the destruction of most life in the galaxy, humanity was blamed for the blight and many alien species decided that humans were to be destroyed no matter where in the galaxy they might be.
Yep, mom and dad had destroyed the human race, and most life in the galaxy. But it's okay now, we stopped it, and we're going to rebuild a technological society here on this world, with its inhabitants, and find a way to stop the small piece of the ancient evil the blight that hunts us still. Well, stories like that didn't sit so well with the children, as they got older, talked among themselves, and began to think about what they actually knew, they decided that they've been lied to.
The events of the first book were lies, their parents were trying to save the galaxy, the blight was fighting a war to save civilization So, that blight that was bearing down on them was stopped by the super powerful countermeasure read the first book, it's epic , by altering the laws of physics for most of the galaxy and forcing the blight to pursue at sublight speeds, why that act doomed countless spacefaring civilizations to certain death, it did preserve life in the galaxy.
Ravna has done some math, and realized that the blight will be here in a few decades, they've got to be ready. The kids, however, they have convinced themselves that Ravna is either a tool of the real enemy, the countermeasure that took away their ability to live as civilized people, or simply a fool.
That 'blight' is really their salvation, coming to restore the universe to the way it was before. It was what their parents were trying to do. Okay, Ravna is 'overthrown' and disposed of as ruler, she explores the world, and engenders the help of the locals, who are about the most clever type of alien species I think I've ever read about, and eventually comes back to hand out some cummupins. Also Johanna, the only child that was around during the events of the first book that was old enough to understand what was happening, has a story as well.
It's a fine story, really good in fact - aside from an overly complicated climax perhaps - but what about the big picture? Vinge gives these super small hints that big, epic, huge, events are happening, but only hints at it.
This is galactic scale space opera, after an Apocalypse, that doesn't tell the reader any new information, it's just a small story about people fighting amongst themselves. That's it. And that's where he failed me. This isn't the book I was promised, no, that isn't fair, it isn't the book I wanted.
George RR Martin could write several series of books by then, I mean, this is way too long to wait. If the next installment is coming out next year then I might feel differently, but as it stands this is a good book, but better if you think of it as a stand alone novel.
The weight of expectations is going to kill this for a lot of people. It almost did for me. Displaying 1 - 10 of reviews. You've reached the maximum number of titles you can currently recommend for purchase. Your session has expired. Please sign in again so you can continue to borrow titles and access your Loans, Wish list, and Holds pages. If you're still having trouble, follow these steps to sign in. Add a library card to your account to borrow titles, place holds, and add titles to your wish list.
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New York Public Library. Search Search Search Browse menu. Sign in. The Children of the Sky.
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