A Deepness in the Sky

It is a prequel, set thousands of years before 'A Fire Upon the Deep,' which was published in 1992. Both novels share the same fictional universe but can be read independently, as they cover different eras and largely different sets of characters.

Yes, it won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2000, the same year Vernor Vinge also won the Prometheus Award for the book. It also won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, making it one of the most decorated science fiction novels of its era.

The alien civilization, known as the Spiders, are intelligent spider-like beings who live on a planet orbiting an unstable On/Off star that periodically plunges their world into deep freeze. Their society and technological development are depicted in rich detail as they emerge from each dormant period.

Pham Nuwen is the central human character, an aging but brilliant trader and prince of the Qeng Ho, a spacefaring merchant civilization that operates across many star systems. His strategic maneuvering against a rival human faction called the Emergents drives much of the novel's political intrigue.