Īlastair Reynolds described Vast as 'one of the most enjoyable SF books I've read in the last 12 years' and noted its influence on his own novels, particularly Redemption Ark and House of Suns. Among hard sf writers, Linda Nagata is a pearl, able to render her complex landscapes in moving, quick-paced stories that linger in the mind. John Clute, in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, described the 'Deception Well' sub-sequence (comprising Deception Well and Vast) as 'an immensely complex tale,' drawing comparisons with the work of Olaf Stapledon and Larry Niven. 'VAST lives up to its namebig, important, yet written to a human scale so the perspectives of science emerge all the more strongly.

The SF Site gave the novel a positive review, commenting on the balance between the relatively straightforward plotline and the complex character interaction.

While Vast is a standalone novel, there are links to The Bohr Maker, Tech-Heaven and Deception Well, primarily in the form of two shared technological innovations: advanced nanotechnology and 'ghosts', a name given to electronically preserved human memories and personalities. Aboard Null Boundary, a giant starship thousands of years old, four survivors of an ancient alien war are making a desperate journey: Lot, son of a fiery. The Chenzeme, using the 'cult virus' and other, more conventional, weapons have destroyed much of human-occupied space, leaving the inhabitants of the Null Boundary to attempt to discover why. The main characters of Vast are the crew and passengers of the Null Boundary, who are fleeing from the alien Chenzeme. Vast is a science fiction novel by Linda Nagata, part of her loosely connected 'Nanotech Succession' sequence.

Vast linda nagata