A Fire Upon the Deep

'A Fire Upon the Deep' is a novel written by Vernor Vinge, published in 1991. It combines superhuman intelligences, really alien aliens, spine-tingling space battles, love, loss, Usenet, and more into a galloping space opera.

Professor Vinge has been deeply concerned about The Singularity which makes writing comprehensible and realistic SF novels nearly impossible. To sidestep the issue, he creates the "Zones of Thought", where near the center of the galaxy, only simple machines and animal-like intelligences are possible; ranging out to the outer edges of the galaxy, where superhuman intelligences, nanotechnology, and Faster-than-light (FTL) travel are possible.