A prequel to A Fire Upon the Deep set some 30,000 years prior, this is a work of hard scifi with a strong military feel as two human civilizations come into conflict over a planet which home to a sentient alien species. Unlike the first book, which greatly intrigued me with the culture of the pack-minded Tines, this one presents aliens that are essentially quite human but with a lot more arms. Furthermore, the pace dragged to the point of tedium and presenting all times in seconds was disruptive to the reading experience.