How does Vernor Vinge use imagery in A Deepness in the Sky?

Example of Imagery:

"Brent, the other twelve-year-old, was more like the stereotype of an out-of-phase child: withdrawn, a little but sullen, perhaps retarded. He didn't seem to know what to do with his hands and feet, and though he had plenty of eyes, he favored his foreview as though he were still much younger."