I mean, gosh. There weren't even any aliens! I didn't find it anything like the ride his previous two were, but I'm not sure it was meant to be. That's not to

I mean, gosh. There weren't even any aliens! I didn't find it anything like the ride his previous two were, but I'm not sure it was meant to be. That's not to defend the book; I definitely think character took a bit of a back seat to the technology, but in a sense, I think technology -- rampant and out of control -- is a character. One thing, speculatively, along those lines: I think (or perhaps merely hope) Rabbit is another Pham Nuwen. Remember, Fire upon the Deep was written first; Deepness seven years later. When I read the former, I kept wondering what Vinge was on about with the crazy reanimated historical dude. Then I read the second. Rabbit felt a little like Nuwen like that.