A Fire upon the Deep — Vernor Vinge

A space saga awesome in conception, and a riveting novel of conflict, love, loss, and survival...

"Fleeing a menace of galactic proportions, a spaceship crashes on an unfamiliar world, leaving the survivors-a pair of children-to the not-so-tender mercies of a medieval, lupine race. Responding to the crippled ship's distress signal, a rescue mission races against time to retrieve the children and recover the weapon they need to prevent the universe from being forever changed. Against a background depicting a space-time continuum stratified into 'zones of thought: the author has created a rarity-a unique blend of hard science, high drama, and superb storytelling"
--Library Journal