Cover of A Fire Upon The Deep

Book · 1993 · Fiction

A Fire Upon The Deep

by Vernor Vinge · Brought up by 4 people on 4 podcasts

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge has been mentioned in 6 episodes across 4 podcasts (5 episodes recommend it and 1 episode discusses it), through . Most frequently brought up by Lenny Rachitsky (3 episodes), Ben Goertzel (1 episode) and Kat Cosgrove (1 episode) on Lenny's Podcast (3 episodes), Lex Fridman Podcast (1 episode) and The Joe Rogan Experience (1 episode).

episodes
6
podcasts
4
people
4
episodes recommend it
5

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I'll quickly recommend a sci-fi book to you if you haven't read it. Have you read Fire Upon the Deep? Uh this is Vinge, right? Yeah, it's great.
Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny's Podcast · Feb 2026 Listen at 1:19:27

Questions about A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge

Who recommends A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge on podcasts?

Lenny Rachitsky (3 episodes), Ben Goertzel (1 episode) and Kat Cosgrove (1 episode) have recommended A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge on podcasts. In all, 4 people brought it up across 4 podcasts (3 people recommended it).

Which podcasts mention A Fire Upon The Deep the most?

Lenny's Podcast (3 episodes), Lex Fridman Podcast (1 episode), The Joe Rogan Experience (1 episode) and The Pragmatic Engineer (1 episode).

Is A Fire Upon The Deep recommended, or only discussed?

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge was recommended in 5 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 1 episode, as of 2026-02-19.

What do people say about A Fire Upon The Deep?

Lenny Rachitsky on Lenny's Podcast (2026-02-19): "I'll quickly recommend a sci-fi book to you if you haven't read it. Have you read Fire Upon the Deep? Uh this is Vinge, right? Yeah, it's great."

When was A Fire Upon The Deep last mentioned on a podcast?

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge was last recommended on Lenny's Podcast by Lenny Rachitsky on 2026-02-19.

The best things said about it

2 of 7 · every mention
Recommended
Um right now I'm rereading A Fire Upon the Deep by Verer Ving which is very weird, very um very very strange hard science fiction. Um it's one of my favorite books. I would I would absolutely recommend that if you like hard sci-fi.
Kat Cosgrove The Pragmatic Engineer · May 2025
Recommended
His book uh fire upon the deep one of the great science fiction books.
Ben Goertzel The Joe Rogan Experience · Dec 2018

Where and when it comes up

4 people who brought it up

Most recommendations first

Why people recommend it

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge is a celebrated hard science fiction novel known for its sweeping scope and imaginative exploration of galactic civilizations and the technological singularity. Kat Cosgrove appeared on The Pragmatic Engineer to recommend the novel as one of her absolute favorites, noting that she was rereading it and considering it a very strange yet brilliant piece of hard science fiction. On The Joe Rogan Experience, Ben Goertzel praised the work as one of the truly great science fiction books, referencing it while discussing authors who contributed meaningful concepts surrounding the technological singularity. George Hotz also briefly noted on the Lex Fridman Podcast that the novel is interesting. Across these discussions, speakers highlighted the book's imaginative depth and its status as a standout contribution to the genre, making it a frequent point of reference for enthusiasts of speculative fiction and futuristic technology alike.

Every mention

7 quotes from 6 episodes
Lenny Rachitsky I'll quickly recommend a sci-fi book to you if you haven't read it. Have you read Fire Upon the Deep? Uh th… 3
Recommended
“I'll quickly recommend a sci-fi book to you if you haven't read it. Have you read Fire Upon the Deep? Uh this is Vinge, right? Yeah, it's great.”
Recommended
“Uh, if you love sci-fi and you're an AI, you got to read this book called A Fire Upon the Deep by uh, Vernon Vege. Mhm. Check it out. It's incredible.”
Recommended
“If you want another AI-ish sci-fi book, uh have you read Fire Upon the Deep? No, I haven't. Okay. It's uh incredibly good. It's like uh a sci-fi space opera sort of epic tale with uh super intelligence.”
Ben Goertzel His book uh fire upon the deep one of the great science fiction books 1
Recommended
“His book uh fire upon the deep one of the great science fiction books”
Recommended
“his book uh fire upon the deep one of the great science fiction books”
Kat Cosgrove Um right now I'm rereading A Fire Upon the Deep by Verer Ving which is very weird, very um very very strang… 1
Recommended
“Um right now I'm rereading A Fire Upon the Deep by Verer Ving which is very weird, very um very very strange hard science fiction. Um it's one of my favorite books. I would I would absolutely recommend that if you like hard sci-fi.”
George Hotz fire upon the deep is interesting 1

Portraits from Wikimedia Commons: Ben Goertzel, Web Summit / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).