Fuzzy Nation

Don't think of this as a re-telling, or even a sequel to, the beloved source material--it is part homage, part alternative perspective, but all enjoyable. Best of all, it functions easily as a stand-alone novel and has, I'm sure, generated interest in H. Beam Piper's long-underappreciated original work. As usual, I won't bother with a plot synopsis--the story is as old as colonialism: bad guys want what innocent natives have and only the reluctant heroes stand in the way. Except the natives may not be that innocent, and the primary hero might not be just reluctant, but also cynical and aggressively self-interested and maybe not heroic at all. Scalzi's brisk, straight-forward narrative carries the protagonist's voyage through the course of the novel, from cynical self-interest to moral outrage. Indeed, at its base is a subtle consideration of the nature of ethics and morality, although Scalzi never clubs his readers on the head with the big ideas--rather, he adroitly slips them in behind a fun current of sarcasm and banter. Beyond that, this story features dog who loves explosives, a witty "un-love triangle," a couple of bad guys you just cant wait to see get what they deserve, and the cutest little creatures to have ever roamed the pages of pop sci-fi. Will the good guys win? If so, will it cost our hero the uncountable wealth he stands to lose or gain, or will he find a way to have both justice and treasure? Will the dog blow up more stuff? Will the Fuzzies survive their first extended contact with humanity?

This is a “reboot” of Little Fuzzy (1962) by H. Beam Piper with which it shares the basic premise, the main human character, and the courtroom drama-style plot. Jack Holloway is not only younger and a disbarred lawyer in Scalzi’s version, but he also has some serious character flaws and a checkered history. Scalzi also goes more into the biology of the Fuzzies and integrates the sunstones more into the story line, but he follows Piper in that the plot is driven by the process of determining whether or not the Fuzzies are sapient. Also like the original, the villains are all affiliated with the corporation exploiting the mineral wealth of the Fuzzy planet. However, I found Piper’s villains to be more like real people, but Scalzi’s seemed liked caricatures.
The cover blurb compares the book to the “reboots” of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. Of course, comparing Piper’s book to the original Battlestar Galactica is an insult to Piper and comparing Scalzi’s version to the new Star Trek is an insult to Scalzi. Scalzi said that he originally wrote it as a piece of fan fiction, and his agent contacted the Piper estate to get the rights. I found it to be entertaining, but completely unnecessary.

Zaracorp is a large corporation that extracts valuables from planets that have no sentient beings. Jack Halloway is a prospector on Zara XXIII who uncovers an immense supply of precious sunstones while working for Zaracorp. But he also encounters the fuzzys, cat-size creatures who may have sentience. Even though he may be worth billions of credits because of his find, proof that the fuzzys are people will stop any exploitation of the planet and destroy his potential fortune.

Mr. Scalzi actually wrote the book as an enhancement and variation of the book by Piper, "Little Fuzzy," that was writen in 1962. That book by Piper is now in the public domain, and I found an ebook copy of it on Project Gutenberg that I intend to read. It will be interesting to me to see the differences!

I really enjoyed reading "Fuzzy Nation." Like all of the other books that I've read by Mr. Scalzi, it is well written with some humor, some intrigue, some legal maneuvering, and some really cute fuzzys.

With the permission of the H. Beam Piper estate, John Scalzi was able to re-write the first novel of Fuzzy trilogy, "Little Fuzzy". The original trilogy is also available under the title "The Complete Fuzzy". All four works are focused on humans encountering a previous unknown intelligent species on a world undergoing extensive exploitation by a corporation.

Both "Little Fuzzy" and "Fuzzy Nation" are focused on the nature of capitalism and indigenous peoples, a topic still relevant to us today as it was in 1962 when H. Beam Piper wrote the original novel. But times have changed and so have corporate and human behavior. The original novel's lead is a rugged man of "The Bush" and has a South Africa-in-space favor to it. The re-write has a disbarred lawyer fighting the transstellar corporation - both with questionable motives in a Jurassic jungle. The two novels offer a spatially and temporal contrast between the Fordist and post=Fordist world, the colonial and the Late Capitalist business model, and the Modernist versus Postmodernist human. Central to all the novels is the question of what makes us humans and sapient.

Piper's work gives us a look into our past perspectives while Scalzi questions our present nature. All the novels are dramatic and humorous science fiction.

Firstly, this is an update to the H. Beam Piper "Fuzzy" series of books. It's been nearly 50 years since Little Fuzzy hit the shelves and in that time the universe Piper created has aged technologically but Piper used solid ideas and fully formed characters and a concept we've seen utilized since War of the Worlds, technology has consequences, sometimes unintended, so the story was ripe to be retold.

Mr. Scalzi indicates he started this project as a writing exercise out of respect for the ideas Piper created and in this book there is an acknowledgement to Piper. Some people have been less than pleasant in their questioning of Mr. Scalzi's motivation but the proof is, as they say, in the steak tartar. Okay, no one but me says that. But I found Mr. Scalzi's effort to be both worthwhile and enjoyable. It was not Piper, but then, that's not a surprise since Piper's been dead for some time now.

Regardless, on the whole, I enjoyed this book. Most of the characters from the original story are gone in both name and motivation and replaced by a polyglot of merged identities and personalities that maintain the general feel of the story fairly well. Folks who have never read Piper will never miss Victor Hugo and Leslie Combes and Gus Brannhard and I will freely admit, including them would have clouded an already difficult task.

There are three substantial changes in this re-work of the Fuzzy story:

1) Jack Holloway
2) The Fuzzies
3) Society

Technology is markedly different, of course, but as with Piper, Mr. Scalzi uses technology in this story without the need to over "gee-whiz!" it and so it fades into the background as it should.

And, for the most part, all of the noted changes work and support the story through its conclusion. Granted, I was not always overly happy about the changes, but they were internally consistent and never a surprise based on the context in which they were presented.

If I had to pick one thing out about this book that bothers me it's that it felt rushed. On page count it is over twice the length of the original, yet I felt the entire thing was both compressed and hurried. Major transitions happened a bit too quickly and character development was missing some of the depth I expect in a Piper universe, and I am still unclear about the structure of society, but, as I indicated from the start, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others with a clear conscience.

It's a solid story with defined characters and not magic "gotcha" moments. Nothing in the book feels as if it were created out of thin air. Even the one large and most surprising development has it's roots firmly established long before the revelation is made. It becomes an "ah" moment rather than "really?" and, given the state of modern fiction, I appreciated the effort.

I just received my Kindle download about 90 minutes ago. This is the first time ive put the book down since I started reading. In anticipation of this book coming out I re read Old Mans War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last
Colony, Agent To The Stars and Androids Dream. I found each of the aforementioned books to have their own distinct style. I found each of the books to be well written and they always left me wanting for more. I'd. Love To see John Perry join the CDF forces again and perhaps lead a battalion or larger force.

So far I'm 3345/5572 (kindle numbering) and the book is great. If anyone is a Scalzi fan then I recommend they give this book a chance.

EXCELLENT and well thought out re-boot of the original, with a lot less smoking. This was good enough that I bought it in paper when it came out, then started reading it aloud to Hubs on a long trip, and then we bought it on audible - which was a wonderfully well done edition!

I still have my first paperback edition original copy of H. Beam Pipers original - its not in great shape, but I have it - and even at 8 years old, when I read the original, I knew it was a sappy sentimentalist tale, and loved it anyway. This is an authorized reinvention of the original, a lot grittier, and with characterizations that resonate.

Jack Holloway is no longer a sentimentalist grandfather figure, but a guy who is a smart-ass loser at first glance, but turns out to be someone who plays the long game, and is willing to pay the price to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal, even if the action does not appear ethical on the surface. I rarely have to read a book twice to feel that I 'got' all the nuances; this was worth the second visit.

Book plot elements and character interactions were well thought out - I enjoyed this one as much as the Ardith Mayhar "Golden Dream" which was tangential to the Piper books, but written from the viewpoint of the Fuzzys.

I hope that Scalzi proceeds with reboots of the other Piper books! I would be fascinated to see where he takes the basic story and how he handles the anthropological issues of the originals.

The space navy makes no appearance in this one - they played a major part in the original. Folks don't fire up a smoke at the drop of a hat in this one like they did in the original, and there is a lot less happy happenstance here than in the original. Lots more characterization and believable motivation, though, and a much more hopeful look at the universe, I thought, particularly in that the native predators were not being eradicated wholesale by all and sundry, and there was a level of bureaucratic oversight which was believable here and totally missing in the original.

Highly recommended, and particularly terrific tossed into the player for a long car trip on Audible!

I still have this irrational idea that sci-fi is boring and goes over my head, and I'm still trying to convince myself that it's not true. When I tried to read sci-fi when I was younger, it always felt cold and distant and, well, alien. Fuzzy Nation, by comparison, is colorful, vibrant with life, and above all utterly human. The story is about a major corporation mining the minerals from an uninhabited planet and what happens when someone discovers their might be a sentient life form on the planet after all. It's almost like Scalzi took some traditional sci-fi and infused it with a dose of stark reality, including greed, lawyers, ethics, and environmentalists.

My favorite part of this story was Jack Holloway, the main character. I am all about interesting and imperfect characters, and this guy was the cream of the crop. He's kind of a jerkwad, but an amusing kind of jerkwad. He was incredibly compelling, because I had a hard time figuring him out. The more I learned about him, the more I doubted whether he was going to be a hero in the story. The whole time I was wondering what he was up to, and whether or not he would be only looking out for himself in the end, because you come to realize that he really isn't a 'good' guy, but you wonder whether he can become one. It kept me guessing. Is he an inherently good guy? Is he inherently self-interested? Also, he was hilarious and sarcastic and cheeky.

I liked that, though it was a sci-fi novel, it didn't really feel like a sci-fi novel. The story and the situation were written with such ease that it felt so natural and realistic. It's odd, but I love how much this sci-fi turned into a courtroom drama. I wasn't expecting that, and I have a feeling it's what added to the realistic feel of the story. We have lawyers and intense legality issues today, so we'll obviously have them in the future over futuristic things.

As a caution, there was quite a bit of swearing in this story. I'm surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did, and I've been trying to figure out why that is. I think the biggest reason is that the swearing was not there for the sake of swearing, but played into the characters and situations presented. Also the 'f' word was not used even once. While there was a lot of swearing, I didn't feel that it was used explicitly.

Overall, the story was excellent. It was interesting and thought-provoking.

Masterful performance by Wil Wheaton. I actually forgot halfway through who was narrating it because his performance essentially became the story for me. He wasn't Wil Wheaton; he was Jack Holloway and Wheaton Aubrey and all the other characters, and that's what makes a great narration.

I avoided this book for years because I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to "reboot" H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy novels (which remain on my keeper shelf to this day, although I last read them about 20 years ago). Now that I've read it, I understand. Scalzi has changed the sensibility of the story (among other aspects) from the mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first, updating the science, technology, and politics behind the basic conflict (are the Fuzzys sentient? what are the ramifications?). Jack Holloway and the Fuzzys are back on Zarathustra 23, but the supporting cast and much else have been completely reimagined. If you've read Piper's version, you'll still like this one (think Star Trek reboot, or Battlestar Galactica). If you haven't read Piper, you'll love this one for itself.

This retelling of Little Fuzzy benefits from inheriting H. Beam Piper's well-crafted original story, and some of the technological updates bring the novel to at least a late-20th century envisaging of future technology. An excellent concept with lots of potential, but reading Fuzzy Nation eventually becomes an unpleasant chore; choppy writing and inept descriptions weigh the prose down. If you are a fan of Piper's Terro-human future history, this may be worth a read. Otherwise, I suspect most readers would be more satisfied with the original.

“Sometimes in life you’re going to win and sometimes you’re going to lose. But just because you lose doesn’t mean the other guy needs to win.”

I loved this book, especially all the court-lawyer stuff. Don't judge me, but I found Jack Holloway to be pretty awesome!

This book, kind of sends a strong message about saving planets while being interesting and humorous and emotional.

John Scalzi mentions in the very beginning of the audio book that by the end you'll understand whyWil Wheaton narrates the book, personally I think his narration was awesome BUT he was a bit too fast for me.

My favorite thing I read this month. The plot isn't very dissimilar from H. Beam Piper's version. Both revolve around issues of sentience and environmentalism. Both end in a lengthy courtroom drama. And both plots tie up with the same "deus ex" revelation. But Scalzi's version has all his fast-paced, snarky, quick wit. Although, that's not necessarily a good thing.

Piper's version takes its time to explain the issues they're facing -- why it's so hard to define sentience, how both parties plan to mount their defense. Scalzi's version has more action. It's plays like a movie, with interjected action sequences that could be lifted out without losing anything. Granted, it's a fine movie, but it lacks the depth of both the original material and Scalzi's previous works.

The main character is kind of a dick, and the stakes don't seem as important as before (constant negotiations for the gobs of money from his claim instead of how do you define a human vs. animal?). On the other hand, the main character is a dick a la Tony Stark, and it's damn funny to watch him outwit just about everyone who crosses him. He manages to be the kind of guy we want to be, but not be around. It's a beach read.

A few months back I did a look for Piper related writings and saw that Scalzi was doing his reboot. I had reread Little Fuzzy which is now in the Public Domain through Project Gutenberg for Xmas 2010. Finally, receiving this for my birthday, I devoured it.

Not that it is a great book. It is a pretty good book. But it is Fuzzy and I loved Fuzzies.

Scalzi's writing will not make you love Fuzzies like Pipers does. For everyone who says in their reviews that they have not ready the original and think that this book stands on its own, well it can't. Scalzi did not think of the characters, or the situation, the plot. He had that handed to him. He changed things up and he had a good book. A great book though is the Piper books, and though Mayhar's addition is alright, i like Tuning's better.

If we get into the heart of what is good, and what is not about Scalzi alone, then let us like at Jack Holloway who has been on Zarathustra 23 for 8 years. Along with a great many other miners. Big coincidence that he discovers a great find, wait it is better than great, it is better than anything for 50 years for a multi-planet spanning business conglomerate. He does this when he discovers Fuzzies as well. And the heir to the conglomerate happens to also be on planet. A lot of coincidence.

Then the matter and heart of the story, is the discussion of new sentience discovered by man, and what we would do with/against it. Well the mercenary aspects become Machiavellian and making Jack a lawyer to wiggle through them, very convenient again. (I don't want to compare the original, but Scalzi blew this making it too pat. Making his hero uber hero instead of concentrating on the Fuzzies.)

To play off uber hero, another lawyer is brought in replacing some of the original story characters with making all our loners on the outskirts of human space all young enough to have active libidos. Libidos that get them in trouble and entangle the story further. So now I could have accepted some of the things. I can't accept all of them. Least of all the mineral find. Using a relation so we think of a credit in the novel as it was a dollar today, Scalzi plays fast and lose with numbers that you might expect, a few million credits for the claim, to 1.2 Trillion (with a T) credits.

Having our hero think on such wealth (No man alive now has been worth even 100 Billion with a B) makes the entire thing that far out of joint.

Some of the sequencing here is better than the original, some is not. But the hyperbole that Scalzi's Jack would be make the entirety weaker than it should be. And the great elements that Piper saw 50 years ago that such a story needed, are missing.

In the end, Scalzi writes a good story. One not worthy of a reread, since Piper wrote a better one. And that is worthy of many rereads.

This is one of my favorites by Scalzi. I’ve read it multiple times and think it’s in each instance. I do enjoy a good anti-hero as the protagonist of a book and, just like the others of Scalzi’s books, there is plenty of humor and good world-building sprinkled in with the character development. An overall great read, love it!

This is one of the very best science fiction books I have every read, and it stands alone as the best that ever was at telling a story about humans meeting a sapient alien on its planet. The writing on lawyers, judges, etc. is just brilliant. The aliens are unique. Splendid read. I would include a lot more, but all would be spoilers, and I don't want to ruin this masterpiece for anyone. Above all, it was really run.

***Updated: See Below***
"Fuzzy Nation" is both overpriced and unworthy of its origins. Here's why:

Law flows from order. While H. Beam Piper understood and explored this truth in "Little Fuzzy", Scalzi reverses the flow and so breaks the back of "Fuzzy Nation". The attempt at "re-imagining" the classic Fuzzy novels denies the basic premise that individuals are the first responders in keeping order, and that the military is the ultimate guarantor of order that made Piper's work a coherent whole. Scalzi and editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden share the blame for just missing the point.

On the frontiers, we must look to ourselves for order and civilized behavior, not to the law. The law follows so distantly that to rely on it for protection in the field is madness. Piper wrote about a frontier so we could reflect on the limitations of our civilization and ourselves. Scalzi writes about a frontier that doesn't quite explore the limits of Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles, let alone the reaches of human experience and potential.

In the original "Little Fuzzy" the Navy is always present and capable of meaningful action when the circumstances warranted without waiting for a long delay. In "Fuzzy Nation" there is no military anywhere, only law enforcement under the "Colonial Authority". The flatly ridiculous notion that law enforcement protects in unusual circumstances ignores modern experiences with Enron caused rolling blackouts in California, Mayor Daley destroying a private airfield in Chicago, and planes flying into buildings on 9/11. Funny how a book written fifty years ago describes the actions on Flight 93 better than a book written nine years after it happened. I guess that Scalzi and Hayden just want to crawl back to a fantasy world where integrity is not a requirement.

There's a bunch of other problems, too:
A surveyor and prospector for seven years on a frontier world is badly out of shape.
That same discoverer of new things is also unfit to protect himself in a jungle, a bar, or in a relationship.
Corporations and capitalism are bad, which is why you should pay twice as much for this piece of junk.
This is picky, but swearing a little bit is dull, either go full-Mamet or write around it. Scalzi uses naughty words instead of displaying intensity through craft.
100K people can strip a planet's resources bare in the blink of an eye, no really, people will travel to the stars to do this. Repeat after me, Corporations are bad. Ignore the part where 100K miners in the US can't even get all the coal in less than 300 years.
Guns are bad, which is why we have them, but don't check on them or any other gear regularly when we're going out into wildly dangerous jungle. How did anyone survive seven years without checking their gear thoroughly and habitually?
In an overly litigated universe, how does any flying machine have software that can be tampered with to reduce its safety? In our overly litigated world, builders of flying machines use refurbished tractor parts from the 1920's because of safety lawsuits.

I could go on, but it's just too depressing. The original is free here: Little Fuzzy That is a good book, "Fuzzy Nation" is more like fuzzy lollipop in seriousness, quality, and result.
***Update***
So I re-read another Piper work: The Cosmic Computer. (Another great free book by Piper) That really drove home the fundamental differences between Piper's vision of the future and Scalzi's in this book. Piper envisioned ready access to abundant energy and resources constrained by the capacity of people to imagine uses for them. Scalzi imposes irrational and not historically demonstrated limitations on energy and resources that don't exist in the real world. Piper's characters remain people I want to spend time with and Scalzi's people are jerks when they aren't simpletons in this book.

Also, the premise I stated in the beginning of this review also holds true for The Cosmic Computer. Law flows from order. Scalzi's characters in "Fuzzy Nation" aren't able to impose order on themselves, let alone a new world. "Fuzzy Nation" is like a cheap stuffed animal, not a living creature capable of inspiring continuations on its own merits.

I’m not a huge reader or listener but decided I needed to make a change since I’m missing out on a lot of good stories. This book was amazing. It kept me thinking how certain characters would go one way but instead do the complete opposite thing I thought they would. This book kept me on my toes and not wanting to stop listening to it. I was very sad when the book was over because I had enjoyed it so much.

It's been a loooong time since I read the Fuzzy novels, so my recollection may be a little fu...hazy. But the general outline is still the same. We get a whole story with a beginning middle and end and every important plot thread neatly resolved. We get the big questions about sentience and the rights it brings asked and satisfactorily answered.

We also get more-Scalzi-than-Scalzi one-note characterization. If there's a weakness to this book it's that it sounds like all the characters are one person talking to himself in different voices...which of course they ARE, but most good authors do a better job of hiding that fact.

One particular strength, again one shared with other Scalzi works, is the simplicity of the language. This is a good science fiction novel for a young reader or foreign language learner. The all-ages appeal (hey, I was what...10? when I read the Fuzzy novels) of the subject matter definitely complements this. Some vocabulary may be a little tough, but the sentence structure mostly stays pretty simple.

I went in with modest expectations and they were met.

First let me start by stating that John Scalzi is one of my favorite sci-fi authors. I haven't enjoyed everything of his, but the the ones I have enjoyed have been absolutely great.

This book was a great and fun read in that it allowed me to feel like a kid again. The story and characters reminded me greatly of the stories I enjoyed in grade school. The tale recalled to me the 80's sci-fi children's cartoons and movies I loved as a kid (think Ewoks meets Fraggle Rock). I won't say too much about the story other than it was fun and had enough intellectual stimulation to keep my interest. I look forward to reading this again.

It's been a loooong time since I read the Fuzzy novels, so my recollection may be a little fu...hazy. But the general outline is still the same. We get a whole story with a beginning middle and end and every important plot thread neatly resolved. We get the big questions about sentience and the rights it brings asked and satisfactorily answered.

We also get more-Scalzi-than-Scalzi one-note characterization. If there's a weakness to this book it's that it sounds like all the characters are one person talking to himself in different voices...which of course they ARE, but most good authors do a better job of hiding that fact.

One particular strength, again one shared with other Scalzi works, is the simplicity of the language. This is a good science fiction novel for a young reader or foreign language learner. The all-ages appeal (hey, I was what...10? when I read the Fuzzy novels) of the subject matter definitely complements this. Some vocabulary may be a little tough, but the sentence structure mostly stays pretty simple.

I went in with modest expectations and they were met.

This books is good, and is nothing like the original. I liked the original better.
So what is a reboot? It has the same names of the characters, but different personalities. So Holloway is not the warm happy occasionally drunk person that he was in Little Fuzzy. He is not the obvious nor firstchampion of the fuzzies. The environment has been changed. Little Fuzzy is not chasing landpawns, they do not exist. And Damnthings do not exist. And .. well that is enough to give the altered flavor without spoilers. And the 'wonderful food' thing? I am half way through the book and it has not surfaced, and does not look likely to do so.
This is not a lovingly done fanfic -- that might be better, truer and closer to the original. This is a new story in old clothes -- with many alterations, so many that the old clothes are only barely recognizable.

First let me start by stating that John Scalzi is one of my favorite sci-fi authors. I haven't enjoyed everything of his, but the the ones I have enjoyed have been absolutely great.

This book was a great and fun read in that it allowed me to feel like a kid again. The story and characters reminded me greatly of the stories I enjoyed in grade school. The tale recalled to me the 80's sci-fi children's cartoons and movies I loved as a kid (think Ewoks meets Fraggle Rock). I won't say too much about the story other than it was fun and had enough intellectual stimulation to keep my interest. I look forward to reading this again.

I got this book as a signed hardcover a few years ago but never read it because even though I'm a Scalzi fan, I didn't expect to enjoy it. I read the original version as a kid and wasn't a huge fan (I might like it now). And I hate ewoks.

But I glanced at the first page one morning, and didn't blink until I'd finished the book. It's a non-stop page-turner with a great sense of humor and a sense of decency, even sweetness, that's hard to come by in sci-fi these days. Now I'm especially proud to have a signed copy on my shelf, and I'm certain to read it again some day.

Had I known it was based on H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy, I probably would have read it prior to reading John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation. That, however, is not what happened, so I went into Fuzzy Nation with no preconceptions of what the book would be like, who it was about, or what would happen. With that out of the way, Fuzzy Nation was an enjoyable, if not familiar, read.

Like most of his previous works, Scalzi provides another entertaining experience. However, also like his previous works, Scalzi concludes the story a little too neatly, bow tied nicely so that everything worked out in the end with an unexpected trump card. One of the most surprising things in Fuzzy Nation was the lack of swearing. Scalzi has a knack for flagrant swearing, and while Fuzzy Nation did include some, it was nowhere near the amount of his previous works (something I appreciated). The fuzzys and their interaction with Holloway and his dog, Jack, were, in typical Scalzi fashion, fun to read. Fuzzy Nation is not an amazing read, but the political intrigue and straight forward characters, on top of entertainment provided by Holloway's wit and the fuzzys, made reading this a breeze to read.

Well, this is a charming book, and i guess that I’m nor going to quibble with how many stars it deserves. Scalzi’s writing is delightful; his touch with characterization is both humorous and human. Do yourself a favor ,and grab this novel!

Fuzzy Nation, by John Scalzi, is a reboot of the novel Little Fuzzy, by H. Beam Piper.

I have not yet read Piper's book, but I just completed Fuzzy Nation. It is a surprising read. If you are one of the millions who frequent Scalzi's blog, Whatever, you know that Scalzi is very smart, very quick, and an extremely entertaining and engaging writer.

But Fuzzy Nation is a surprise because he also demonstrates an incisive understanding of human motivation, not to mention the fact that he must have been a lawyer in another life.

The book follows Jack Holloway as he works as a contracted surveyor for ZaraCorp on Zarathustra, a planet rich in minerals and precious stones. Jack works with his dog, Carl, whom he has trained to blow things up. This seems, at the start, like a silly thing, but that is the other way that Scalzi surprises-- nothing is a throwaway. Everything that the characters are and do have a great deal to do with the story.

Holloway finds a huge seam of precious sunstone, cannily stakes a claim on it when he realizes ZaraCorp is going to screw him on what he is due, and quickly becomes the enemy of the huge corporation. Add to that the emergence of what he dubs Fuzzies-- bipedal critters who are very smart and very cute.

So smart, that they just might be sentient. And if they're sentient, he and ZaraCorp are out a lot of money, because the Fuzzies would then have claim on their planet.

The book reads fast, mainly because Holloway has an honest, very funny voice. The characters is wonderfully fleshed out and... wait for it... he changes and becomes a better him by the end of the book. Thus, the book provides what readers want.

Secondary characters are also quite excellent, with the antagonist satisfyingly blurry but evil. Who doesn't like a big bad company as an antagonist anyway? The technical details are also excellent, although it is important to note that this was the first actual science fiction novel I had read in a long time. The science seems accurate, insofar as I can tell. The plotting is slick too.

The greatest strengths of Fuzzy Nation are the voice, the pacing and the excellent plotting. It reads in a few hours and you will feel good about spending those hours with John Holloway.

Cover blurb:

The secret to the magic of Fuzzy Nation is the simple fact that John Holloway is a guy we want as a friend. Smart, determined, and sometimes too snarky; he's also got his priorities straight. Kudos to John Scalzi for creating honest voices, an intriguing world, and a thrilling science fiction novel with some legal drama thrown in.

4.5 out of 5 pens.

Such a fun read! The story builds rather quickly, as our smart (and smartmouth) protagonist with a heart of gold (or gold plate) finds himself squared off against a megacorporation while surveying and prospecting on an alien world. The man is not without ingenuity and resources, and the stakes are quite literally life-or-death for an entire species... one that may well be sentient... and for the man himself, as the corporation will stop at nothing if it affects their bottom line too badly. There are several places where I cackled like a hen... and even more where I fought the urge to fist pump and shout, "Yes!" Highly recommended.

Not finished yet, but Audible book content has frequent audio drops that I have not experienced previously. I don't know if is just a corrupted file that I am accessing, or if the MASTER file is damaged, but it is very annoying. Not enough to make me not finish listening and the current level of occurence, but if it gets worse I will requesting a refund.

John Scalzi's latest novel Fuzzy Nation opens with a bang: Holloway, a disbarred lawyer turned prospector has his dog blow up a cliff while in search of precious stones on Zara XXIII, only to be fired when he overdoes it. So begins an entertaining and smart novel, one that feels highly relevant to the modern day.

It's a novel that has no right to be as fun as it was. Holloway, an irritating man to all around him (think Sawyer from the show LOST - if this is ever made into a film, he's the perfect actor. Even better, they share names), is let go from his mining contract when he potentially costs the Zarathustra Corporation a considerable amount of embarrassment and money, only to reneigotiate his contract when it turns out that he's hit the mother load when it comes to Sunstones leading him to potentially become one of the richest men on the planet, and yielding the company trillions of credits. That is, before a small creature breaks into his cabin, one that turns out to be deceptively intelligent.

Many of the plot points in the story won't come as a surprise: anyone who has watched the news in the last couple of years will recognize the motives of an enormous company and the lengths that they'll go to to ensure their profits in the short term. Fuzzy Nation comes along like clockwork as Holloway's `Fuzzies' are looked at as a major threat if intelligent, as conspiracies emerge and the lawyers are trucked out to protect the company.

Fuzzy Nation is a remake of H. Beam Piper's novel Little Fuzzy, but both books, while sharing plot points and characters, feel like entirely different novels. Largely gone is Piper's musings on intelligence and alien life forms, replaced with a far more straightforward and somewhat abbreviated version in Scalziverse. Where Piper was a bit more deliberative, Scalzi has amped up the story and sent it running on its own. Both work really well, and both stand on their own.

However, this novel brings out an excellent example in how remakes and reboots function. Fiction and art is created and informed by events around it's time of creation, and the context for Piper's Little Fuzzy and Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation are from very different times. Where Piper's book comes off as a story on intelligence, Scalzi goes to corporate responsibilities and the regulations that restrain them, although elements of the intelligence storyline are still there, just as there are elements in Little Fuzzy about corporate interactions with the environment.

The result seems to be as Scalzi intended: take an old story that doesn't really fit with how we now see the future, and update in his own vision. This new Fuzzy story feels more relevant to the modern day, extending beyond the window dressing of objects (touch screens, computers, space ships etc) and to the dominant themes that deal with environmentalism, free market economies and the role of government in those two things. And more importantly, where there's plenty of material there to absolutely kill a story, Scalzi makes it excel.

This is a story that I found agreeable, not only for the themes (which have been popping up in other science fiction stories, from Avatar to Moon) but for the characters. Scalzi's Holloway finds himself in problem after problem, but a driving component of the story's plot is his ability to think fast and solve problems, not through force or a whole lot of action (although there's some there), but with his knowledge of the legal system and logic that helps him gain the upper hand. It's a story of a small man against a large company and it's a gratifying thing to watch as the story unfolds. There's a whole host of supporting characters, but Holloway (and Chad), really steal the show.

This is also probably the most fun that I've had reading a book in a long while. Readers of Scalzi's blog, Whatever, will recognize his prose, and it feels very much like this was a book that he had a blast writing. It's funny - I found myself laughing to myself every couple of pages as some familiar references: Holloway screening Return of the Jedi for the Fuzzies, and later, frying up bacon for them. Carl, Holloway's dog, is also a character in and of himself, stealing the show with his own imagined dialogue whenever he's in the scene. Think Dug, from Pixar's movie Up.

I read Fuzzy Nation nearly in a single sitting - on a bus, in the airport and on the plane as I flew down to DC for a conference, and I was a little disappointed at how quickly I blew through the book. I don't know if that's because I've also read Little Fuzzy, or because I read Whatever frequently, but this was a book with a world and characters that I was able to slip into with absolutely no problems. (In fact, it got so immersive that I missed my terminal on Logan's airport bus, much to the surprise of the bus driver.)

Fuzzy Nation is a fun, quick book, but one that's a good exercise in writing and in looking at the genre, especially when looking at a larger context for what helps to frame a story in the first place. Scalzi's long been on the record for just wanting to tell and sell a good story, and this one certainly meets that description, telling a fun story but with greater themes and plot elements that makes this book a strong, smart and thoughtful one.

Originally published to my blog.

First I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. A lot of the things that bugged me about the original [which I first read as a kid back in the 60s and re-read over the years] were readdressed in this version of the story. The original book was a product of its time. Things were a lot different in the 60s and the subtle sexism and other behaviors of the adults were the accepted mores of the day. Re-reading the original with a more modern [and adult] attitude made it even more glaring, so I enjoyed the re-imagining Scalzi presented.

John Scalzi took a different tack from the original. Piper's "Pappy Jack" was an all-knowing protector, a nice guy, a cross between Santa Claus and crochety curmudgeon, but his character didn't have a great deal of depth. Scalzi's is a much more complicated person. Is he doing this for himself or for the Fuzzys? He starts off as a completely self-serving jerk and ends up growing a little and becoming a better man for the experience of meeting and coming to care for the Fuzzys.

And therein lies the reason I gave this book only 4 stars. While I enjoyed the update and the growth of Jack's character, I missed getting to know more about the Fuzzys. That's where H. Beam Piper's version exceeded this one. I loved the Fuzzys. They were small, but spunky, capable of surviving in poor circumstances, making the best of a hostile environment. In this version, Jack is a more fully realized character, but the Fuzzys become a sketch.

That's my only quibble here: The name of the book is "Fuzzy Nation," not "Pappy Jack Grows Up." I wanted Scalzi to more fully develop his idea of the Fuzzys and present me with a whole world, not just one person.

But don't let my quibble stop you. It's still a good book on its own and, as always with Scalzi, an enjoyable read that makes you want more.

John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation is a reboot of the H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy. I read Little Fuzzy mumble-mumble years ago and while I can't comment on how Scalzi's and Piper's books compare along story lines or with characters, not having taken the time to reread the originals prior to reading Fuzzy Nation. I can unequivocally state that it gave me the same feelings of awe and wonder as when I read the original books of Piper because I still fondly remember reading the Little Fuzzy. In an introduction, Scalzi states that he kept most of the character names and the major plot points.

It starts off setting the tone for the entire book: [Begin Quote]
"I can't believe we have to go through this again," Holloway said. "It's not that I don't value you as part of this team, Carl. I do. Really, I do. But I can't help but think that in some way, I'm just not getting through to you. We've gone over this how many times now? A dozen? Two? And yet every time we come out here, it's like you forget everything you've been taught. It's really very discouraging. Tell me you get what I'm saying to you."

Carl stared up at Holloway and barked. He was a dog. [End Quote]

Holloway is the main character, and while the reader is never allowed to know his internal thoughts, we've got a very close seat to the action. As the snippet above shows, Holloway is the type of man who talks to his dog and treats him like a person, almost. You later learn that Holloway is a loner. He's also a contract surveyor and prospector for Zarathustra Corporation, known as ZaraCorp, on the planet Zara XXIII. Most people who know Holloway and Carl, love Carl and barely tolerate Holloway. He plays fast and loose with the environmental regs and trained his dog to set off explosives - a trick that lost him his girlfriend. He's always pushing the limits but never enough to get kicked off planet.

Not a hero kind of guy by any stretch of the imagination, but on the day he finds the richest deposit of sunstones in the history of ZaraCorp mining, he also finds a fuzzy cat-like creature in his tree-house. Before long a family group of the creatures moves in and Holloway's troubles begin -- big time.

The charter under which ZaraCorp mines the planet is on the condition that there is no sentient life currently existing on Zara XXIII. The more Holloway interacts with the Fuzzy family (Papa, Mama, Pinto, and Baby), the more he is convinced that they are smart, very smart. But are they smart enough to be declared sentient and lose him his share of the sunstone find. Holloway's not sure but someone is not taking any chances and life gets very dangerous when you live hours away from any other surveyors or the company town.

Scalzi keeps the reader not only invested in the story but concerned and emotionally invested in the Fuzzys and their fate. Will Holloway sell them out? Or, will he help to protect them? You'd think that would be easy to figure out, but Jack Holloway isn't your standard main character - you never know what he's thinking and all his actions are surprises until after the fact when they happen and you think about them. It's a neat trick to keep the reader going, and difficult to do well, and Scalzi excels - this is a treasure of a reboot to a group of characters that deserve to be brought to the attention of modern readers. (And, it wouldn't hurt to get a copy of H. Beam Piper's books (Little Fuzzy, Fuzzy Sapiens, and Fuzzies and Other People) to understand just what Scalzi is rebooting - I intend to.)

I have read many of the works written by H. Beam Piper, and I read "Little Fuzzy" when it first came out in the early 1960s, and it stuck in my head over the years, and I came back and read it again, so it is safe to say that I liked it. I have also read and liked some of contemporary SF author Scalzi's books as well, books like "Old Man's War," "The Ghost Brigades, " and "The Last Colony."

"Little Fuzzy" was not only a fun read back in 1962, but it was also an important book for the issues it raised, at that point in time and in that 1960s mental atmosphere, about the intersection and conflicts between the definition of intelligence, the law, morality, and corporate culture, although the formulaic "boogey man" and whipping boy of the greedy, immoral businessman, figuratively twirling his mustachios as he counts his "ill-gotten gains" and cackles and sneers in derision at all the "little people," the ordinary folk he has stepped on to get that loot, vs. the moral, noble "scientist" and the noble "Law," while it might have been more palatable back then in the 60s, is now in 2011, in my view and with all the developments that have occurred since, far less convincing.

I thought that "Fuzzy Nation" was well done, was interesting and I liked it but, for me, the more important question that hung over this book as I read it was the idea of Scalzi doing what he called "rebooting" "Little Fuzzy," by re-imagining what happened using some of the characters and the basic plot that the late H. Beam Piper published in 1962, shortly before he died in 1964.

I am not very comfortable with this. According to the Wiki bio on H. Beam Piper, H. Beam Piper's estate has given its "blessing" for "Fuzzy Nation," but I believe that a note to this effect should have been included in the front matter of "Fuzzy Nation" to clarify things.

You may call "Fuzzy Nation" a "homage" to H. Beam Piper and his "Little Fuzzy," but nonetheless, "blessing" or not, for me "Fuzzy Nation" seems more of a "hijack" than just merely a "reboot," and I think that Scalzi should have been inventive enough to have created his own particular characters and situation rather than working off those created by H. Beam Piper because, as I look at it, "Fuzzy Nation" was way too close to the original to be similar to, say, those works that you sometimes see by other authors writing stories "in the Universe" that another author originally created.

It also seems to me that this is part of the lamentable trend in the "entertainment industry" of taking something that was a hit and just basically cloning it, as some have done again and again, a rubber signature stamp that gets fuzzier and more illegible the more you use it, until the original, very distinct signature gets blurred almost to the point of illegibility; the interminable and increasingly dreadful "Rocky" series comes immediately to mind.

Even though it is listed as a "young adult" book, a more masterful take on this theme, of an intelligent but vulnerable race just discovered on a newly settled planet, is David Weber's just released "A Beautiful Friendship." which is apparently the first book of a planned series that will be prequels to Weber's very good Honor Harrington series.

P.S.--I wonder if anyone has thought, just yet, about how good a movie "Little Fuzzy," or even "Fuzzy Nation" for that matter, might make, now that CGI techniques have gotten so good? After all, the necessary CGI/animation work for the Fuzzies shouldn't be anywhere near as demanding, for instance, as it was in "Lord of the Rings." So, provided they didn't go too cutesy, I'd expect that a collaboration like, say, Director Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, just might clean up.

Once upon a time, there was a man named H. Beam Piper, and he wrote a series of books that began with Little Fuzzy, a tale of space-going humans who have to learn to live on a world with an adorably cute, yet sentient, species. While I haven't read these books, my research tells me that they're the type of fun, optimistic science fiction that is so emblematic of the early 60s. They dealt not only with the issues of human expansion into space, but with what it means to be an intelligent, sentient species. Given that we only have one case study - us - that definition will necessarily be narrow, and challenged. Humans have trouble relating with other humans who live only a six hour drive away, after all. Being able to relate to a non-human sentience that evolved on another planet will be a massive philosophical undertaking.

In 2010, John Scalzi announced on his blog that he had done a "reboot" of Piper's work, revisiting the characters, themes and world that Piper had created and seeing what he could do with them. He did this partly because it seemed like a good idea, but also because it was something that hadn't been done before in literature.

If you're a fan of science fiction, you know that stories from the visual media - TV and movies especially - get rebooted from time to time. The most notable recent examples are "Star Trek" and "Battlestar Galactica," and include shows like "Smallville" and the most recent run of Batman movies. If you read comics, you know this happens all the time as well, in ways big and small. Characters like Green Lantern, Thor, and the Fantastic Four are fundamentally the same as when they were created, but have evolved in ways their creators may have never expected.

In all of these examples, the fundamental core of each story is kept from the original - the world, the characters, the themes - and given new life. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and Scalzi felt that Piper's world was good enough and interesting enough that it deserved to be re-introduced to a modern audience who might not otherwise know about it.

So, just for fun, he started writing Fuzzy Nation, a book that uses the characters and ideas from Little Fuzzy, the first of Piper's books, and builds an entirely new story out of them. What resulted was a story that he thought was good enough to let out into the wild, and so - with the help of some intellectual property law and the blessing of Piper's estate - he published Fuzzy Nation in 2011.

As I said, I haven't read the original Piper books, but if they're half as much fun to read as this one was, then I have to pick them up.

In the future, humankind has expanded out into space, as we so often do. With us, we have taken that peculiarly human trait, naked avarice, and brought it with us. The Zarathustra Corporation (ZaraCorp for short) is one of the leaders in exploiting and extracting usable resources from a planet. They've cornered the market on Sunstones - a decorative rock that glows with its wearer's body heat and makes diamonds look like beach pebbles - and turned the ravaging of worlds into an art. A horribly environmentally destructive art.

Jack Holloway is a contract surveyor, a former trial lawyer, and not a very nice man. He helps ZaraCorp search for Sunstones on the hostile world of Zara XXIII, with the help of Carl, a dog with a fondness for explosions. Holloway finds seams of Sunstone and gets his cut of the money. It's a nice enough arrangement out on a backwater world, and it doesn't get complicated until he (and Carl) discover a Sunstone deposit that could fill the company's coffers for decades.

At the same time, he encounters a curious form of life - or rather, it encounters him. Small, bipedal, intensely curious and undeniably clever, the Fuzzies (as Jack names them) seem to be truly remarkable animals. It is not until the ZaraCorp field biologist (and Jack's former girlfriend), Janice Wangai, suggests that they might be sentient that things get truly complicated. After all, Colonial law is very clear on what companies like ZaraCorp are and are not allowed to do on each planet they run, and "ravaging the world of another sentient species" is pretty much at the top of their Do Not list.

It soon becomes a race to save the Fuzzies from ZaraCorp and its army of lawyers. If they win, the Fuzzies will have a planet on which they can grow and thrive. If ZaraCorp wins, they'll have nothing but the least useful bits of dirt and shrubbery left. Holloway has to do a good thing but he has to do it his way - a way that rarely has him acting like a good man.

The first thing I thought when I finished this, actually, was, "I needed that." My reading choices for a while have been kind of heavy, or at least not a whole lot of fun to read. Good, yes, but not fun. I know this because I find myself doing things that aren't reading - listening to podcasts, reading through articles I've saved on Instapaper, going through old columns at Cracked.com, things like that. With this book, though, there was none of that stalling. I read it every chance I could and blew through the whole thing in two days. So let that be take-home lesson number one: this book is fun to read.

And while it is an adventure, it does hit on some interesting and contemporary topics, not the least of which is the question of how ethically a corporation should be expected to behave. ZaraCorp, like any company, has a primary mission to make money, especially as the company is publicly traded. They have to get money to those stockholders who have invested in them so that they can make more money to exploit more resources. And that's a point that Scalzi has made in his own blog: "I think the majority [of] corporations act logically and rationally and in a manner consistent with the general reason for their existence," he writes. "And the reason most corporations exist -- and most large multinational corporations in particular -- is simple: To maximize shareholder value."

In Fuzzy Nation, he takes this to the place where corporate rational self-interest turns bad. You see, it is perfectly possible for a corporation to achieve its goal while still being environmentally responsible or socially conscious. In other words, to fulfill its responsibility to the shareholders without violating the ethical or moral codes of the people who actually make up those groups.

But there are those who are all too willing to put the fiduciary responsibility of the corporation above the ethical responsibilities of people, and that's where the Evil Corporation comes in. ZaraCorp fits this to a T. They see nothing but profits in Zara XXIII, and if the Fuzzies stand in their way - sentient or not - they will do whatever is necessary to eliminate them while at the same time doing their level best to stay within the legal bounds prescribed by the Colonial Authority. Or not to get caught crossing them, at least.

In the end, this becomes about why we do what we do, and how we project those reasons onto other people. ZaraCorp is motivated by untempered greed, and assumes that Holloway will be too. Holloway is interested in himself, but finds himself needing to be interested in other people. The motivations of the Fuzzies, for most of the book, is unclear, but they too have to learn the difference between what they think other people want and what they really want.

It's a fast, tight book that is great fun to read, has characters that you like, even if they're despicable, and has some moments of wonderful emotion that come around the corner and hit you like a hammer. It's part philosophical adventure, part legal thriller, and part sarcastic comedy, verging on satire. Books like this are why I keep coming back to Scalzi.

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"...with all due respect for your considerable skills and intellect, the fact of the matter is that you have absolutely no clue what it is I want out of this."
- Jack Holloway, Fuzzy Nation

John Scalzi has set a very high bar for himself. While I've never read the H. Beam Piper book upon which "Fuzzy Nation" is based, I've read a lot of John Scalzi, and his other tremendous work which form the basis of my opinion on his latest short novel.

Make no mistake; ANYTHING from Scalzi is better than 90% of what's being produced today. The story of the discovery of a new alien species is deliberately light-weight, fun and funny. The fuzzys, small cat-like beings who have a mysterious intelligence about them, are wonderfully written. Scalzi's at his absolute best in piecing together interactions between fuzzys and humans and fuzzys amongst themselves.

It's a given that Scalzi's stories will be well-written, have solid characters, good science, and great dialogue. His "Old Man's War" series combine all of that with a deep multi-layered plot which, in total, delivers the best science fiction being written today. "Fuzzy Nation", however, falls short of the standard he's set for himself. The characters, with a few exceptions, aren't as vibrant, the plot is more predictable, and the multi-layered threads of the story are thinner.

Scalzi always writes very smooth and witty dialogue. The protagonist, Jack Halloway, is purposefully only sort of likable. Every interaction he has is laced with snide, biting dialogue - funny in spurts, but frustratingly unrelenting throughout.

It becomes clear, early on in "Fuzzy Nation", who wears white hats and who wears black. The baddies are too clichéd. I'm usually pretty dense when it comes to predicting plot routes and destinations, but they're fairly obvious here.

Despite those shortcomings, I highly recommend this book and am considering having my 6th grader read it as well. It's a short simple story, with clear themes of good v. bad, smart environmentalism, with a story arc that concludes satisfactorily (if not unexpectedly). If you consider Scalzi's "Old Man's War" as movie-grade entertainment with large scale, cross-universe, sweeping scifi themes, then consider "Fuzzy Nation" as a high quality TV Movie or Mini Series.

Fuzzy Nation is a reboot, or reimagining, of H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy. I have not read Piper's work (yet) so I came into the story fresh. This book is everything I have come to expect from John Scalzi. The story was fast-paced, featured engaging characters and an interesting plot.

Fuzzy Nation is the story of Jack Holloway, a surveyor (and disbarred lawyer) on the distant planet Zara XXIII. He discovers an unbelievably rich deposit of a diamond-like mineral that will make him and the corporation mining the planet very wealthy. Shortly after that, his tree-top home is visited by a small, cute, furry and intelligent creature. If the creatures prove sentient, his wealth, and the corporation's claim on the planet, could disappear.

This was a very fast read, mostly because there is no good place to stop and catch your breath. Jack Holloway is perhaps the most complicated character I've come across in a Scalzi novel. He is generally likeable even though he is incredible self-serving and of highly dubious morals. Every time you think he's done a good deed, he reveals a selfish motive. This time though, the rights and lives of the fuzzies and the future of a planet rest on his shoulders. He's learning about himself as much as you are learning about him. This complicated characterization makes him riveting and keeps the plot from becoming too predictable.

The supporting characters, good and bad, are well drawn. The fuzzies themselves are wildly entertaining, as is Carl the dog. The story wouldn't work if you didn't care about all of them. There are honest-to-goodness laugh out loud moments in this book, as well as deeply moving, poignant scenes. By the time you get to the last page, you'll want to flip to the beginning and read it all over again. I hope he returns to this world, because I'd love to revisit these characters. Highly recommended.

This is a retelling of H. Beam Pipers Fuzzy stories, and from reading other reviews it seems that whether you love or hate Scalzi's version depends largely on which one you read first. I read this one first and I found it highly entertaining.

Jack Holloway is a freelance surveyor out on the planet Zarathustra. We are introduced to Jack as he's talking to his dog, Carl, who he's trained to push the explosive charge detonation button on command.

As explosives are dangerous substances, allowing your dog to set off the blast is reason for revoking your mining license and subsequently getting kicked off the planet.

That doesn't happen. Jack watches the explosion and then curses as it sets more of the cliff face in motion than he'd anticipated. Oops, that's an ecological infraction, one he's cursing having to explain to Chad Bourne, the man who oversees his work and hates his guts, and then he sees it. A large Sunstone blinking at him in the light. Several of them. He's hit a major seam.

As a character, Jack Holloway is a rogue, a man who walks the grey line between right and wrong, and one who'll lie if it gets him what he needs, but he's also a loveable scoundrel. As the story progresses we see that while he's perfectly willing to do the wrong thing and get paid for it, the act does have to right a wrong of some kind, if not the one it should be.

All in all, Holloway is an antihero who happens to be in the right place to do the wrong thing and save a planet for a people that no one knew existed.

The story is dialogue heavy and a quick read I thoroughly enjoyed.

John Scalzi wrote a rather impressive tale here, and if he had not tried to claim that this was a reimagined version of Little Fuzzy I might be willing to rate this at around the 3.5 star level. It's well written and a rather light read.

However,

He openly writes about how this was an attempt to perform a reimagining on H. Beam Piper's 1962 Hugo award nominated book Little Fuzzy, and even gives the main human character the same name, and because of that I found I could not like this book.
The original is a light and almost funny tale. H. Beam Piper wrote with an optimistic tone and it raised the story up. From Jack Holloway's rugged frontierman persona, with a reputation for fiercely protecting himself and his friends, to the other people in the colony who willingly work to protect the fuzzies from the corporation, the story works to bring a smile to the reader.

Fuzzy Nation has little of the optimism and almost none of the charm. John Scalzi sees Jack Holloway as a disgraced former lawyer who was disbarred more than a decade before and has no real friends other than a dog who at times seems to have more personality than many of the humans. Worse, this story delves deep in office and courtroom politics of a Zarathusra company that is far more evil than the one in H. Beam Piper's original tale. The company now is completely heartless and throughout the book bullies the contractors and workers without a care.

It's like John Scalzi read the worst tales of Enron and other early 21st century cases of corporate malfeasance and then distilled that to generate the ultimate evil corporation. For me at least the corporate scenes were boring as I knew that they would twist around in an attempt to make the company look evil and Jack's anti-hero character to look good in the bargain.
All this brought down the story. Fuzzy Nation is a dark and almost depressing story with a rather unsatisfying ending that is almost cynical in how it subverts its own justice. I read this story thinking that it would have the same positive forward looking feel as the original and found myself reading a dark and depressing tale with no characters I liked.

If you have not read Little Fuzzy, this will likely be a pleasing story, as it is well written. If you liked the reboot of Battlestar Galatica this story will likely be one you enjoy as it does to Little Fuzzy what the reboot of Battlestar Galatica did to the original. IF you enjoyed the original for its heart and warmth stay far away from this story.

I like my reading fun and humorous, so I hated this book.

I have discovered these truisms about life and myself:

1) I want to meet a Fuzzy.

2) John Scalzi has written far to few books for my satisfaction and needs to write more.

3) Wil Wheaton reads the audio version of this book. I did not have the audio version. A splendid solution is for Mr Wheaton to come to my home and read the book to us here (after all, he's here on a regular basis via his blog and other assorted internet and television appearances.) (And I'd like to meet John Scalzi, too. I'll even bring bacon.)

4.) I laughed out loud a lot while reading this book, which is something, apparently, I think I do a lot, but, given the odd looks javaczuk sent my way, I probably do more in my head than actually out loud. If Carl Hiaasen and John Scalzi ever team up, I'm screwed.

5.) H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy is on my wish list now.

Thank you Tor Books for plucking this from my wishlist and sending it my way.

I love John Scalzi's Old Man's War and I love the original Fuzzy books by Piper. In rewriting the story, something came up missing. I think booth Fuzzys and Humans lost some of their innocence in Fuzzy Nation. The writing is excellent, but the original is better.

Another fun read by John Scalzi, Fuzzy Nation is Sci-fi but a bit different than his other work. It takes place on a new planet in deep space but that’s about where the similarities end. Instead of battling alien life forms the main character ends up battling other humans on behalf of aliens. The interaction between Jack and the Fuzzies and his fellow man make this a fun book. A must read for any sci-fi loving lawyers out there!

Full disclosure, I'm not a reader of sci-fi (unless you count "The Martian", with I loved ) and I haven't read the source material. But I enjoyed this story, loved the humor, and choked up a few times ( no spoilers here). Definitely deserves (5) BIG stars !

John Scalzi is nowhere near the writer H. Beam Piper was. Or William Tuning (Fuzzy Bones) or Ardath Mayhar (Golden Dream; A Fuzzy Odyssey).

Piper created a spare, smooth story about an independent, competent prospector whose lonely life is changed by the discovery of little beings who turn out to be much more than animals, throwing him into conflict with the planetary corporate government.

Scalzi turned Jack Holloway into a bitter, profane misanthrope tormented by a ruthless corporation consumed by greed. Welcome to the 21st century, the world of Avatar, etc.

Find a copy of the Little Fuzzy, Fuzzy Sapiens, Fuzzies and Other People, Fuzzy Bones, and Golden Dream. Fall in love with the Fuzzies, see a corporation learn from its mistakes, see justice meeted out from Jack Holloway's pistol, see the Fuzzies learn to smoke a pipe, discover why the Fuzzies biology may not fit the world they live in.

It has been years since I read Little Fuzzy. Loved it then, love it now. Scalzi's book is a "reboot", which is an interesting concept in itself. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. Have read also read The Old Man's War and sequels. I like them, too. But to compare that series to this novel is comparing apples and oranges. They're both SciFi but for different audiences. I agree that young adults would really like this book.

Lacks the character of Piper's original trilogy. All the fascination of the interplay between Fuzzies and humans is missing and that's a big part of why Little Fuzzy and it's sequels were classic. That being said, it is well-written and the intrigue is engaging. If the author had created his own race, his own world I'd given it 4 stars. It does make me want to peruse Scalzi's other works. I recommend the originals books by Piper.

Sometimes I really wish this site had half-star increments. This is a solid 4.5. 5 stars would be just a bit too strong a statement, but I greatly enjoyed this book.

Fuzzy Nation is, as Scalzi puts it in his Author's Note, "a reimagining of the story and events in Little Fuzzy, the 1962 Hugo-nominted novel by H. Beam Piper." Scalzi urges readers to read the original, and perhaps I will -- eventually. But whatever the original's merits, I'm pretty darn sure that Scalzi's version equals them, at least.

This book has Scalzi's patented blend of humor and pathos. It gives you a side to root for, and just the right amount of suspense as to whether that side will prevail and -- if so -- how. The plot is easy to follow without being overly simple. And Scalzi avoids what a lesser author might have done with the personal relationships involved.

Bravo!

I've never read the orginal "Fuzzy" books, so I can't compare this story to them, but, I can say that this was great! It read like a sci-fi Grisham with all the Scalzi charm and humor that we have come to expect from his books. Comparing him to Heinlein is probably an accurate description. He's witty, entertaining, savvy, and tells a great story! I was turning pages with manic speed at the end to find out how the book ended! It reminded me a little of "The Android's Dream" in how the protagonist worked the situation for his benefit. If you liked "Old Man's War," or "Agent to the Stars," you will enjoy this book. I'm giving this four stars purely because I wish the book had been longer.

When Jack Holloway's dog blows up a cliff during a prospecting mission on the planet Zarathustra, Jack loses his contract with ZaraCorp. Fortunately, inside the cliff he discovers the biggest vein of precious gems that have ever been found on the planet and he gets to take a percentage of the profits as finder's fee. Things start to get complicated when Jack returns home to discover that his house has been invaded by a fuzzy mammal that seems a lot smarter than he should be on this planet that has no sapient creatures. When he calls in his ex-girlfriend, ZaraCorp's biologist, to have a look, they realize that there may be trouble ahead. A sapient race means that ZaraCorp will have to give up their rights to the planet's resources. Murder attempts and court cases ensue.

Fuzzy Nation is John Scalzi's "reboot" of H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy. I mostly enjoyed Piper's original plotline, but his novel got bogged down in long repetitive discussions about sapience which included some outdated ideas about the nature of consciousness. Not his fault, of course, since those ideas were trendy (though not empirically derived) back then, but they did make Little Fuzzy feel dated. In addition, the court proceedings were laughable and this is not likely to be dismissed by today's readers who have grown up watching courtroom drama on TV.

In Fuzzy Nation, Scalzi has not only ditched the bad court procedures and old psychology (he replaced Freud's psychoanalytic theory with Theory of Mind), but he has also eliminated the dull sapience discussions, too. This is still a story about what it means to be sapient, but Scalzi manages to intelligently address the issue without making us watch his characters sit around and talk about it. He also does a better job of explaining why humans shouldn't be removing resources from planets with sapient races.

Scalzi's characters are also more vibrant, especially Jack Holloway who, in Piper's version, addressed himself as "Pappy Jack." In Scalzi's version, Holloway is a young hot-head who doesn't seem to be able to open his mouth without spitting testosterone. Jack's dog Carl is a welcome addition and his interactions with the cute Fuzzies gives the book some warmth and humor. I also liked Jack's ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend who becomes Jack's lawyer. All of the men in Scalzi's story are unrelievedly aggressive and sarcastic, and I'm tempted to assume this is some manifestation of John Scalzi's own personality, but instead I'll argue that those types of personalities are likely to be disproportionately found on a distant inhospitable planet that's home to man-eating raptors.

I listened to the audiobook version of Fuzzy Nation which has been produced by Brilliance Audio and Audible Frontiers. It's the same recording, but the Audible Frontiers version includes H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy. Fuzzy Nation is narrated by John Scalzi's friend, actor Wil "Don't be a Dick!" Wheaton. He did a great job with all of the characters and he was especially perfect for the role of Jack Holloway. (I guess it's okay to be a dick if you're just acting).

Fuzzy Nation is a successful re-write of Piper's classic, and I can heartily recommend it. The audio version is especially rewarding. If you want to read Little Fuzzy first, you can download a free print version because it's in the public domain. Originally posted at FanLit.

Having read several of Scalzi's books, it was easy to trust him on this "retelling" of Piper's "Little Fuzzy". The story centers around Jack Holloway, a former (disbarred) attorney turned contract prospector for a mega-corp currently (strip) mining an earth-like planet with no sapient life forms. Jack his the mother lode, a literal trillion dollar vein of rare gems and ore and even his small % is going to be very substantial. Jack is set for life (and so are his descendants!). But, enter the Fuzzy's - a small, catlike but intelligent species never before seen on the planet. They live in trees, travel in family groups and just might be sapient. And that's the rub - if the Fuzzy's are sapient, all mining must stop immediately and the mega-corp must vacate the planet. Now you see the problem. If Jack tells people about the Fuzzy's and supports a claim for their sapience, he loses a fortune. If he keeps the a secret, there's a good chance the Fuzzy's will become extinct and their planet strip mined.

Scalzi really keeps the pages turning for the reader here. It's rare that I read a novel in a single night or sitting (just too many demands on my time) but I read this almost non-stop - it was that engrossing. There's plenty of humor, action, suspense and surprisingly a fair bit of legal courtroom drama. The book reads a little like Avatar (the planet is a lush but dangerous jungle like setting) with a dose of Law & Order towards the end. The characters are well crafted and likable or appropriately despicable (depending on their plot assignment).

The only factor that stopped me from giving this an easy 5 stars was that once you are in the home stretch, you can see the resolution coming a mile away. Scalzi loads the deck with a friendly judge, an evil corporation and a brilliant former lawyer turned prospector who is eager to make amends for past misdeeds. I found myself thinking "Ha! In a true court of law they'd never get away with that.." but then I checked myself and remembered I was reading a book about space miners and intelligent cats.

A terrific summer read.

This is a very short book, in fact think of it more like a long short story. You can read it in a single evening after coming home from work.

It's not indicative of Scalzi's other work in that it's different from what he normally writes. However, he still develops his characters and gives you insight into them like normal.

There's nothing terribly original here, but I was laughing in a number of spots. Scalzi has a good sense of humor.

I wouldn't spend the money for it in hardback given how light the content is, but it's an amusing read. If you want to see some pricks get it handed to them then this is a good book to read :)

I can honestly say I enjoyed this book as much as ANY book I've read in my 45 years. $9 is an inexpensive price to pay (at a local bookstore not the store) to have so many hours of enjoyment. Like several of Scalzi's other books, I genuinely enjoyed this story. I enjoyed (and laughed at/with) the characters and cheered in the final chapters. Few authors give me so much joy that I don't mind sitting quietly and reading their written word in the hustle and bustle that is often modern life. Bravo Mr. Scalzi, bravo.

John Scalzi is one of my favorite scifi authors. In each of his novels he has created unique characters and well developed universes. His "Old Man's War" universe is one of the best scifi universes ever imagined. In this novel, Scalzi has again created a planet like no other.

Jack Holloway is the main character of this novel. He is, in his own words, ...selfish, and unethical and...happy to deceive to get what I want." Jack is a disbarred lawyer. Disbarred, not because he doesn't know the law, but because he once punched a client in the face in the courtroom. He might be a loose cannon, but he knows the law.

Jack finds himself prospecting on a planet being mined by a ruthless human corporation. Jack accidentally discovers a rich vein of incredibly valuable gems. Jack's miniscule share would make him richer than the dreams of avarice.

Then, one day, he returns home to find one of the cuter members of the local fauna inside his house. As he interacts with the furry creature and its family, Jack notices that they are extremely intelligent. In fact, they might qualify as a sentient species. This would be bad for Jack and the corporation. Legally, the planet and its riches would then belong to the local sentient inhabitants.

As the plot progresses, while sorting out the legal entanglements of his discoveries, Jack manages to anger his former girlfriend, her lawyer husband, the local law, enforcement and the visiting corporate big wigs. Some of whom try to have Jack killed.

The story is told in the third person limited point of view. Yet the author does not let us in to all of Jack's thoughts. This makes following him a real roller coaster. We are in on some of his ideas, but he often surprises us with his legal tricks. And his motivation is always in question.

I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it, and all of John Scalzi's novels.

Picked this up and couldn't put it down until I finished it. It really was just that good. A fun science fiction romp that keeps you wholly entertained. A nice break from super serious space sci-fi. Mr. Scalia is now on my list of authors to seek as he publishes New material after having read Fuzzy Nation and Old Mans War. Keep on writing and I'll keep on reading!

I read "Little Fuzzy" years ago and absolutely loved it from the beginning. I couldn't get enough of the fuzzys and the people who grew to love them and protect them. I was excited when I saw this reboot because it gave me a chance to read about the world again and perhaps have more books afterward. This book is okay. I have to admit there were parts where I thoroughly enjoyed it but it didn't seem to have much depth and seemed rushed. I felt like there was much more "meat" to Piper's work even though it was shorter. My biggest problem with this book is the fuzzys and their relationship with humans. The fun of seeing humans start to interact with the fuzzys and learn about them and learn to love them was the amazing part of the book. Watching the fuzzys learn and adapt with their new humans was my favorite part. In this book the fuzzys just don't get talked about much until the end. They are a side note to an arrogant Jack Holloway, corporations and the legal process. Don't look for any extended writing about any of the humans interacting with fuzzys, it just doesn't happen. It's missing all the "heart" of the original. I was even disappointed that the names of the fuzzys have changed. You'll like this book if you've never read the original because you won't know what you're missing but if you enjoyed the original you'll be very disappointed.

At first I felt like this book is more legal jigsaw puzzle than scifi novel. But then I think about the necessarily sci-fi elements and realize that it is just very GOOD sci-fi, the kind whose story and characters stand independently of the sci-fi ideas. But it definitely ventures into the speculation of planetary exploration and the legal complexities that might involve.

But the intrigue and legal complexities of the plot itself are extremely cool. Well worth the read.

I never read the original, and it seems the people who slam this book do so by comparing it to that. But the thing is, this book stands well on it's own. It's a fun story with heart in the typical Scalzi style, which seems to indicate Scalzi is a great fan of the old SciFi space operas. You won't find any hard science here, but you will find believable characters and anthropomorphized aliens who nevertheless you end up liking and pulling for. A very good read. Put aside the comparisons and let it be what it is - a darn good story.

A fun and enjoyable legal drama in outer space. Based on someone else's shorter story, this stands on its own and gives you a little adventure, and some cute creatures, and a court room drama. It is in the witty legal drama in outer space genre, the best example of which for me is Monument by Lloyd Biggle. Monument is a much more enjoyable story, but Fuzzy Nation is also fine, witty at times, and enjoyable. It is short too, lots of pages but in a big font. Oh, and if you are going to get Monument, please do not read the reviews of plot, so many of them give away far too much of the story. Both for Monument and Fuzzy Nation, you want to discover the story as you read it.

Someone once told Mark Twain he would gladly pay $50 for the pleasure of reading Tom Sawyer again for the first time. I know how he felt. John Scalzi is the most gifted writer I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The humanity of his characters, and his creatures. The delightful way he plays with the relationships, both work and play. The twists and turns of the plot, multiplied by Jack's self-deception, as well as his self-awareness, all combine to make this story a great read and a great movie script. Move over Andy Weir, this guy's got his mojo working.
Dave Tucker

I’ve just finished “Fuzzi Nation”, listening straight through with nary a break and all I can say is “WOW!!!” What a wonderful story. I laughed and later cried as events unfolded and found myself totally captivated by Scalzi's awesome storyline and Wil’s fantastic rendering . I am soooo glad I discovered this author. As a recent Audible platinum member, after consuming many wonderful Podiobooks, I’ve already got a long list of scifi on my wish list but will now add all of this author's books to the list. I thank you from the bottom of my heart… John and Wil... you made me smile and chuckle and those are good things these days, given that I’m steeped in climate change and other related issues facing humanity.

Again, thanks for making my day truly magnificent.

Good "first contact" story with some interesting characters, who sadly, because of the brevity of this story, aren't as developed as they could have been. Judge Soltan was my personal favorite - who was similar to Judge Sn in Scalzi's The Android's Dream. I enjoyed the legal battles, as well as the buildup of the Fuzzy "surprise." Please note - this isn't Old Man's War, there are no epic space battles, guns, space ships, etc... FN doesn't have the humor of Android's Dream, even though it has it's humorous parts. It's an enjoyable book though, I think i finished it in only a few hours.

**If you haven't read the Old Man's War series, you are missing out on some of the best SF ever. Also, check out Android's Dream - it's extremely good as well.

Get this book. John Scalzi has given us Fuzzy lovers a real treat. Some things are the same, some things are different. Yes, there's Jack Holloway, sunstone prospector. He's not the same Jack as Piper's Jack, though. Scalzi's Jack has his reasons for being a prospector, and he has his own problems. This Jack also solves problems differently than Piper's Jack. Scalzi says that he intended to reboot the Fuzzy universe, and he's succeeded. Scalzi is one of the best SF writers in the business today, and also it's clear that he respects Piper very much. I'm not going to say that Scalzi is the new Heinlein (though he writes excellent military SF) or Piper, nor will I say that he's the new <any of the old Grand Masters>. Scalzi is Scalzi, and I'm delighted that he's decided to write SF.

This reboot story seamlessly updates the characters and situations. For instance, The Company is now worried about PR, after having destroyed planetary ecosystems in the past. The Company is not particularly concerned about the ecological damage that they do...they're just worried about the PR. The Company is still very worried about the issue of finding a native sentient species on what it has fondly regarded as its planet, though. THAT hasn't changed. And yes, a big part of the story is how The Company tries to deny that the Fuzzies (or, as Scalzi spells it, the Fuzzys) are people.

Darn it, I keep trying to write about what's in the book, but it's nearly impossible to do so without spoilers. I'll just say that if you like SF, especially the sort which examines what it means to be human, and how humans might cope with new situations, you'll probably like this book.

If you HAVEN'T read H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy novels, go forth and get them, there's a reason why the Fuzzy novels are one of SF's best beloved series. But you can read Fuzzy Nation without spoiling Piper's Fuzzy stories.

And after you've read Fuzzy Nation, you'll be relieved to find out that Scalzi has several more books available for sale.

I have to admit that, for the most part, I don't like Scalzi's writing so that may have predisposed me against this book. Also, I think authors of any quality, be it books, movies or TV, should try to have original plots and not rehash things that have already been done.

This book takes an existing story and trashes it. The characters are mostly unlikable and non-dimensional and the story line totally misses that point of the original story. Instead of retelling the same story in a different way FROM THE SAME VIEWPOINT, tell it from a different character's point of view or write a sequel like William Tuning did. C'mon, Scalzi, use some smarts in your storytelling.

I gave this book one star because the publisher/printing house used decent paper and the font was clear and well inked.

This was not the first of Mr Scalzi's book I've read but it will probably be the last.

I have never read the original Fuzzy book. If I had I would have probably enjoyed this book less as my expectations would have been different. Nothing ever matches the original. Going in with no expectations I found this book laugh out loud funny and have gifted it to several people. If you like Scalzi you will like this book. If you are reading it because you loved Fuzzy, try to clear your expectations. The Fuzzies are not central characters. You will disappointed if you expect them to be.

This is the first John Scalzi novel I’ve read but it won’t be the last. It is great. The characters, the settings and the action are all fabulous. The story is compelling and entirely realistic. The dialog is clever. And the fuzzies are as cute as the Ewoks. A must read for any fan of science fiction.

I brought this book along on a rustic camping expedition to read aloud for entertainment. I wasn't allowed to put it down and was hoarse and finished by the end of the third day. After several days with nothing left to read, we went crazy and stared at trees and chewed our fingernails. Needing more Scalzi, we ordered REDSHIRTS from my phone as soon as we got a signal, and read that for the eight-hour drive home.

I enjoyed this immensely, in part because I'm a fan of the original and mainly because of Scalzi's particular twist and style. This is not so much a reinterpretation as a reboot. The essence of the original "Little Fuzzy" is there but Holloway and his point of view are brought to the fore aggressively and the story sails along on those formidable shoulders. I hope Scalzi keeps going and does the whole trilogy. 4 stars.

I have not read the original and this is the first novel by this author I've read. I think it's safe to say this will be my last. The highlight of the book is the conversation between the protagonist and his dog. Everything else is a disaster: the excessive use of the vulgar language, one dimensional characters, juvenile plots, forced dialog, etc. It is sad that there is a market for writers of this caliber.

Not a bad read. Not a great read or anything to outstanding. I give it 4 stars because Scalzis humor almost always gets me, the guy can make me laugh most of the time. So I suppose I am biased in that regard.

If you're a fan of Scalzi give it a try. If you're just checking the Author out, I suggest you go pickup Old Mans War and enjoy.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book during long drives, and kept listening for an hour even after I got to my destination. Wil does a great job with the voice acting, fully conveying the protagonist's hotshot nature. The story and the characters were a lot of fun and I really appreciate John Scalzi's style, sense of humor, and plot development.

I'm a big fan of the original fuzzy books. This was different but excellent in its own right. It had a lot of legal thriller in it, but also some good fuzzy interaction, clever plot twists and humor. I could barely put it down!

H. Beam Piper's three "Fuzzy" novels (Little Fuzzy, Fuzzy Sapiens, Fuzzies and Other People) beat this hands down, as does William Tuning's "Fuzzy Bones". I even feel that Ardath Mayhar's "Golden Dream: A Fuzzy Odyssey" is better. Don't waste your money with this one; instead get the REAL "Fuzzy" novels by Piper.

I am a fan of Pipers work and knew this was a reboot of the fuzzy book. I have not read the H Beam Piper version so I can't accurately compare. I have read Empire and Federation so I am familiar with Pipers work. So on to the book. I enjoyed it the characters were well thought out and intelligent. Carl was probably my favorite character because i miss my old dog and it reminds me of that. The main character Jack Holloway is a bit of a smarty pants like myself and plots things out to his benefit but in the end he has to do the right thing and looses most of the money and redeems himself as a human. The fuzzies are clever and hide a lot from the reader till the end. I like the setting it seems realistic and gritty reminding me of my time working in the middle east for companies that like the one in the book thought they were above the law. I want to read more by the author now. Great way to introduction to a new author.

Read the book get back in touch with your friends afterwords.

I listened to this book on audiobook. The audiobook was very well done. This is a great story that is fast-paced, fun, and deals with serious environmental and societal issues.

Jack Holloway is an independent contractor on a ZaraCorp planet. When Jack finds a huge vein of very valuable Sunstone material (after causing a major cliff collapse) he thinks his future is set. This all gets more complicated when the Fuzzys enter his life. Jacks ex-girlfriend is the ZaraCorp biologist and she thinks these Fuzzys might be sentient. If that ends up being the case then all bets are off for ZaraCorp's mineral claims and Jack's fortune.

This book is very well written and very well read. It's fast paced, funny, and talks about a lot of serious issues while providing a very engaging story.

Jack Holloway is a great character. At some points he is selfish and is just looking out for himself; but as the story progresses you find out that deep down he wants to do what is morally right...kind of. Jack legal speaks a lot and worms his way out of a lot of tight situations by referencing various cases and laws; he is an ex-lawyer with a chip on his shoulder so this comes naturally to him. In general I found it amusing and fun. Jack is really part of what makes this story great, as a reader you aren't sure where his loyalties lie; Jack is flat out unpredictable.

The other characters that really makes this book are, of course, the Fuzzys. There are described as adorable, very intelligent animals in the beginning. As the story continues you see they are so much more than that.

There really aren't any badly done characters in this book. Everyone from Jack's ex-girlfriend biologist, to ZaraCorp's lawyer and security staff are well-fleshed out and interesting to read about. There is a large court room drama type scene towards the end of the book, I know a bit crazy, but it was very well done and held some of the biggest surprises in the book.

Now you are thinking...yeah but is this just another story about a big bad corporation trying to take over the world? In many ways it is. ZaraCorp is trying to keep up a face of corporate responsibility while stripping planets of their minerals. They go to great lengths to make sure there get their money's worth out of a place. So yeah, issues about environmental responsibility are addressed, as are issues about a corporation basically owning a planet. For the most part ZeraCorp reacts how you would expect it to when a large portion of its income is threatened. That being said there are a lot of twists and turns to the story that are surprising and unexpected. There are a lot of different story elements being brought together here that make this a lot more than a story about an evil corporation taking over an alien world.

The story ends well and is complete. I would love to hear about more adventures between Jack and the Fuzzys in the future. The audiobook version actually has a version of the story that this book is based off of, Little Fuzzy by Henry Beam Piper, recorded after Fuzzy Nation. I have not listened to this original novel yet.

Overall I really, really enjoyed this novel. It was a fun, fast-paced novel, full of unexpected twists. The audiobook version was incredibly well done, so I recommend listening to it on audiobook if you like audiobooks. The book manages to address some serious issues but in a way that is interesting, incredibly engaging, and fun. Jack Holloway is a wonderful character he is so unpredictable, funny, and smart...it was a lot of fun watching him navigate his way through the story. The Fuzzys were adorable and much more than they initially appear to be. I highly recommend this book for all young adults and older. I especially recommend it if you are a fan of fast-paced sci-fi or interested in the "corporations in the future" type of story.

Caveat: Haven't read the original "Little Fuzzy" yet, so this is just my assessment of the book on its own.

Great story, sharp, snappy back-and-forth dialogue, interesting issues it raises.

Pulled a late night because I couldn't put it down until I was done.

I'm surprised by the negative reviews of this book. They don't seem to go to the substance of the story. Only that it isn't exactly like the original, or has some editing issues. I read (or listen) for pleasure. I purchased the audible version of this book, so - no editing issues! This book should be read as an original. A tale of meeting an intelligent species that is completely different from homosapien. It was entertaining and yes - a feel good read. What's wrong with that? In this day and age, a little feel good is a "good" thing. Try it, you'll love it!

The first line of dialog in the book is "I can't believe we have to go through this again". I concur. In the end this seems one of the more aggressively pointless works, largely due to its reboot qualiteis. In the introduction to the piece Scalzi tries to present it as all things to all people--it's a new version of the story to bring the main themes up to date, it's an autonomous story that happens to use some of the same characters, it's an homage to the original that can bring more attention and readers to a past classic. The result is to make me quite unsure on why Scalzi actually settled on this project.

My own connection to the original franchise is minimal, I've heard it mentioned a few places and read the last volume a long time ago. I don't feel that it's a betrayal to revive it again, and am not as critical as if it were, say, another butchering of the Foundation Universe. I don't much like the practice of taking over abandoned genre sand-boxes, and it's hard to fight the impression that Scalzi is doing this as a way of provoking more discussion and a sense of newness over his writing while at the same time is explicitly becoming less original.

All that aside, what emerges from the story is quite generic, even if it were rebranded enough to have no relation to the original series I'd still feel safe calling it heavily derivative. There's dynamics of colonization, alien contact, a bit of corporate intrigue, and a protracted high-impact legal battle. The story isn't terrible, but it doesn't do very much with any of these elements, or do more than slightly warm over the stock SF narrative of past decades. Scalzi has in the past brought a lot more humor and energy to proceedings that can push through his employment of cliches, here the plot is slow enough and the dialog labored such that it settles into mediocrity early, and only pushes past that in brief flashes across the book. For all that we were laboriously told about the impact of the proceedings on the planetary ecology, on the characters' finances and ideals, on indeed on the larger colonial economy, it was very hard to feel that there were real stakes at any point. I've read worse books from 2011, and even books less distinguished, but this had a sense of controlled mediocrity that felt particularly frustrating, like Scalzi was consistently hitting safe groundballs to push forward his story, and in the process draining it of real interest.

I gobbled down the Old Man War trilogy, a fun ride with a fair bit of substance below the surface, particularly in worldbuilding. Since then I've felt a deep sense of diminishing returns, Scalzi's contribution to the 2008 Hugo Shortlist meltdown with the breezy, inconsequential tie-in Zoe's Tale, the deeply inert God Engines, and in the 'real world' his own insistence on defending fandom against the whiners and critics--which is to say defending it as a zero-challenge exercise in mediocrity, among other things. I guess given that it shows an avoidance of hypocrisy to carry that into his own writing, in which the very reboot format declares his intention to boldly chart a story of change and revolution in an echo of past forms, staying strongly within a particular box. Which isn't the worst thing in the world, and I'm sure a lot of people will be pleased by Fuzzy Nation, but I'm not pleased by the way things seem to have gone. I think I'll add Scalzi to the category of Dropped Authors (with Stross, Sawyer, Martin, Bear and Haldeman) authors that I had followed pretty regularly, but are not delivering at a level to reward that attention, whom I'll avoid in the future unless I encounter a review or other reason to suggest things have significantly changed.

Similar to and better than: God Engines by John Scalzi

Similar to and worse than: Newton's Wake by Ken Macleod

I'll admit that a huge part of why I chose this book and listened to it on audio was the fact that Wil Wheaton was narrating. (and if you remember, it's not the fact that Wil Wheaton played Wesley Crusher that got me. It was READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline.) Anyway...

FUZZY NATION by John Scalzi (Tor Books, May 10, 2011)

Never based on premise would I have thought I would enjoy this book so much. But I picked it up and started listening, and it got to the point that I couldn't wait to drive from place to place so I could have an excuse to listen to my audiobook more. I had to find out what was going to happen to the cute little fuzzy creatures. I know, sounds silly but totally is not.

John Scalzi does a great job blending humor, drama, and sci-fi. I'm not a lawyer and in general, I don't lean toward books with lots of law jargon in them (so don't let the lawyer part sway you). But the way this whole book played out was masterful. And I have to mention that the main character Jack Holloway was flawed yet so immensely likeable and seems to live the funnest life :)

If you remotely enjoy science fiction, I'd highly recommend this one. Also, if you do audio books, this one should top your list. Loved!

This is probably young adult science fictiin but after the glut of apocalyptic books lately, I wanted something different. It is a quick read that I finished in two evenings. Not the best Scalzi but fun.

I friend recommended this book to me. It was good from the first second of the book. Part of this was not only how well written it was but by Wil Wheaton who was the narrator of the Audio book. I really enjoyed the book. It was by far one of the better books I've read with in the Sci/Fi genera. I also read the book this was based off of, "Little Fuzzy". I don't like that book as well as the new one. Yet it's was a good book and worth check out.

The interesting thing to me was the collection of characters: a smart-ass lone prospector, evil corporate big-shots, a new species of too-cute animals. Despite the handicap of these stock characters, Scalzi produces a great story that will leave you sad when the novel is over; you really want to stay with some of the characters and read more about them.

Zaftan Entrepreneurs: Book 1 of the Zaftan Trilogy

An extremely fun and entertaining read. I very much needed a break from a few of the series I have been reading and writing and John Scalzi provided such. Cheers to you good sir and the Fuzzy nation!

Fuzzy Nation is the story of "Little Fuzzy" for this post-9/11 world. The fuzzies are disarmingly cute and also a bit feisty. This Jack Holloway is a renegade lawyer with excellent survival skills even if we question his moral character. I would have done everything he did in the same situation, but I might have questioned myself about it. He has no doubts. That makes him the perfect defender of the rights of the fuzzies on Planet Z.Fuzzy Nation

It's really hard to go wrong with Fuzzies, and John Scalzi does an excellent reboot. I'd love to see more books follow. My one complaint--and this is not against Scalzi--is that I bought the audio book on sale from Audible.com recently for $7.95. There is NO WAY that it costs less money to make an audio book (read by an actor) than an eBook. The publisher REALLY needs to revisit its pricing model. I'm actually holding off on buying the eBook until the price comes down to a reasonable ePaperback price.

Still, do add this to your wish list or pick up the Audible.com version for when the price is reasonable as John Scalzi does H. Beam Piper proud.

I love the original HBP Little Fuzzy. Scalzi was able to bring the story up to the modern age without changing too much. Although the original will always be my favorite, this version is a very good read from one of my favorite authors.

If there were a way to give this zero stars, I would. If you like the Fuzzy books - if you like H. Beam Piper in general - do not read this book. He destroyed the character of Jack Holloway; he took an interesting character and turned him into a complete ***. I do not know how this author thought he was giving a tribute to H. Beam Piper, when he destroyed the original story so utterly. Other fuzzy books that were written at least tried to keep the feel of Piper's works, and at the very least kept the characterization intact. This author did not. I can guarantee that I will never read anything else by this author because I feel that he devalued Piper's work so thoroughly.

I like the premiss of the book, but they changed one important thing, and that is that the fuzzy's were not native to the planet, and doing that completely changed the direction of the further story...

Scalzi can really cover the Sci-Fi bases. Fuzzy Nation is a great read and got the point where I was laughing out loud while reading it in public today and had people wondering what I was reading.

It's too bad I can only give it 5 stars - I would give it 10 out of 5 if that was possible.

This novel is a reboot of the H. Beam PIper "Little Fuzzy", a novel enjoyed by many and certainly one I have fond memories of. John Scalzi has actually taken up the premise and kicked it up a notch. This is masterful enjoyable reading with plenty of surprises.

The basic premise of Little Fuzzy is kept where Jack Holloway a Sunstone prospector discovers this new species and comes to suspect they are sapient. The Zarathustra Corporation which has rights to the planet have a vested interest that no sapients are found since they would lose their rights to the planet.

How this plays out and the confrontations take on new angels in this book. For one Jack Holloway is much more of a self-interested jerk in this one though while still likable screws up relationships around him. These tensions in his character play out throughout the novel where you are not quite certain about his character strengths and flaws. There is also more thinking out about the consequences of the corporation vs. little fuzzies. In particular case law relating to other human-sapients finds and how it affected this universe. Most of the plot elements ring true and the new characters introduced add to the novel. There is also some fine humor in the novel especially one scene involve the watching of one of the Star Wars movies.

John Scalzi said he wanted this book to be a reboot like the new Star Trek film and I think he succeeds at that. Old trekkies can love both the old trek and the new movie, the same can be said for fans of the original novel - at least in my case since I really liked both of them since they both have their strengths.

The original novel is in the public domain despite the fact that it was written in 1962 and is certainly recommended. The old and the new complement each other which is certainly what I believe the author hoped for.

As an author I have quite enjoyed John Scalzi's previous novels and I place Fuzzy Nation at the top of his works along with Old Man's War and I would really give this novel 4.5 stars.

Scalzi's retelling of the Little Fuzzy story is bland and joyless compared with Piper's original. This is really a different tale that just happens to have Fuzzy sized sapiens involved. Go find the Piper version instead.

I haven't been disappointed by any of John Scalzi's books and this was another enjoyable read. The book starts off in a similar style to Robert Heinlein's early books with shades of Avatar. A nice easy to read and entertaining style with a sense of humour I enjoy. As the story develops, it just keeps getting better. Some of the courtroom scenes had me laughing out loud. Well thought out plot that falls together nicely at the end.

FUZZY NATION (2011) is a story about "first contact" with an intelligent alien species on another planet. The main character is flawed, and not very likeable, but this makes him more "real" and "believable", and you can't help rooting for him, in spite of his lousy attitude at times.

I've read other Scalzi SciFi books, and have generally found them to be entertaining, but this one somehow hit the spot.

The ending is a bit too contrived, and there are some passages of the book that are too predictable; but, all in all, this is a good, quick, fun read.

Skalzi is a talented writer, but he misses the mark on Fuzzies. I liked his Old Man's War, but not this one. He re-tells the first contact story in our new century style, but without the affection and warmth of the original. I prefer the characters and emotions of the original books by H. Beam Piper.

I haven't been disappointed by any of John Scalzi's books and this was another enjoyable read. The book starts off in a similar style to Robert Heinlein's early books with shades of Avatar. A nice easy to read and entertaining style with a sense of humour I enjoy. As the story develops, it just keeps getting better. Some of the courtroom scenes had me laughing out loud. Well thought out plot that falls together nicely at the end.

FUZZY NATION (2011) is a story about "first contact" with an intelligent alien species on another planet. The main character is flawed, and not very likeable, but this makes him more "real" and "believable", and you can't help rooting for him, in spite of his lousy attitude at times.

I've read other Scalzi SciFi books, and have generally found them to be entertaining, but this one somehow hit the spot.

The ending is a bit too contrived, and there are some passages of the book that are too predictable; but, all in all, this is a good, quick, fun read.

Skalzi is a talented writer, but he misses the mark on Fuzzies. I liked his Old Man's War, but not this one. He re-tells the first contact story in our new century style, but without the affection and warmth of the original. I prefer the characters and emotions of the original books by H. Beam Piper.

I'm not at all familiar with Beam Piper, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have read all of Scalzi's Old Man's War books and really liked them and wasn't sure what to expect with this book. I have to admit, it was a quick read, but worth it. I don't think I'll look up Beam Piper's book or books after reading this because I don't want to compare the book or books. This was well worth the read.

So what we have is a remake or side track of what was an endearing story from one of the princes of the golden age of sci-fi. The storyline and the author are such that I would be tempted to buy it if it wasn't for one glaring fact: THE DIGITAL COPY (KINDLE EDITION) IS $4 HIGHER THAN THE PAPERBACK PRICE!!!

John Scalzi, I apologize to you personally as I've always enjoyed your books. You may just be collateral damage in a publisher's price scheme designed to kill ebooks but either way the cost is not justified by the content.

I didn't complete it. It was a mistake even attempt to read it. I'm reminded of the comparisons between Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, the novel and the drivel that was the movie. Scalzi's writing style was not a problem. His "reboot" takes the heart out of the original story. I've read almost every story H. Beam Piper ever wrote. They are all classics of early science fiction. But they are admittedly dated; computers ran on taped programming, everyone smoked tobacco, drank whiskey and had the manners of the 1940's Americans. The essence of the original "Little Fuzzy" was what happens when we discover an intelligent alien race that does fit the established legal definition of sapience. How will we recognize and define sapience. And more importantly what would our reactions be, especially if they run counter to some of our own interest. Piper created characters that addressed the ethical thing, the legal thing and the self-interested, shareholder profits thing.

Go over to Project Gutenburg and download it for free.

To be honest, I thought this was going to be mostly just a reboot of the science, not a "let's change the characters and the tone of the original." Part of me felt that this was Zarathustra meets 90120. If it was going to be a mash up Scalzi have just used Zombies like everyone else.

Absolutely fantastic! John Scalzi took H. Beam Piper's 'Little Fuzzies' and did a wonderful job. It's essentially a reboot of the series as an entirely new approach top the world Piper built. The book is exciting, heart-warming and hilarious at times. I only hope that Scalzi continues with the series. No one can ever better the original series, but John has proven himself to be an equal to PiperIf you like fuzzy little people in trouble, you have to read 'Fuzzy Nation' by John Scalzi.

The humor throughout Fuzzy Nation is solid as well. Jack has quite the wry outlook on life, and his banter with various friends and enemies drives many of the scenes.

This isn't a space opera science fiction novel, nor is it full of maundering drama and angst--for which I am thankful. The plot is direct, doesn't have much in the way of subplots, and will likely be a quick read for many fans. With a great mix of adventure, exploration, and a study of the motivations that fuel humanity's drive for expansion and exploitation of natural resources, Fuzzy Nation will hook readers both mentally and emotionally.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Review: Fuzzy Nation, by John Scalzi - National speculative fiction | [....]

I won't go over the plot or how it differs from the original H. Beam Piper stories, others have already done that. I will just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself laughing out loud in several places and tearing up in others. It's a very good read and It caused me to go back and re-read the original (available on the kindle for $0.00). Great characters and some exciting courtroom bits. Highly recommended.

Having read Piper since the 70's I looked forward to this "rebooting" but I found it to be a Ho-hum retelling. Sorry but adding a dog, dropping the smoking, and adding more profanity still didn't make the story better. The Fuzzies also seemed secondary to the story instead of the main idea. Please Mr. Scalzi, don't try to rewrite anymore of H. Beam's stories, yours is too different and too weak. As far as a "reboot", let the publicist pick another phrase, because it definitely is not a reboot.

Fuzzy Nation (2011) is a standalone SF novel. It is a reimagining of the Little Fuzzy scenario. This version focuses on the legal aspects of indigent rights.

In this novel, Jack Holloway is a survey contractor for ZaraCorp, the holders of the exploring and exploiting rights to Zara XXIII. He had been an attorney before being disbarred.

Carl is a dog. Jack had gotten him as a stress reliever. Now Carl sets off his test charges. Everybody likes Carl, even if they don't like Jack.

Chad Bourne is the ZaraCorp contractor rep who supervises Jack. He leans hard on Jack for his improper surveying practices, but is really a nice guy.

Isabel Wangai is the biologist on Zara XXIII. She and Jack had been close, but Jack has said that she perjured herself under oath. Now she only wants to be his friend.

Papa, Mama, Grandpa, Pinto, and Baby are Fuzzies. They have recently moved into the neighborhood.

In this story, Carl pushes the button on the remote and the sonics drop the face of a cliff. Indeed, more of the cliff is blown off than Jack intended. But the new face shows a number of sunstones.

Chad called shortly after Carl drops the cliff and complains about the excessive environmental damage. Chad threatens to delete Jack's contract. When he arrives, Jack confirms that his contract has been deleted and then shows Chad the sunstones.

Jack discusses a change in the contract terms and then agrees to the modified contract. Chad flies off to inform headquarters of a major find and Jack returns home.

Back at his treehouse, Jack finds a catlike thing inside. Whatever it is, the creature doesn't seem to be afraid of Jack and Carl. It is soon petting Carl and accepting fruit from Jack. Jack records its antics and gives Isabel a copy.

Later, the creature appears again with its kinfolk. Jack names the original creature Papa. Baby soon becomes a favorite. They live nearby and visit fairly often.

Then Isabelle shows up, all excited about the Fuzzies. She records more activity and soon concludes that they are sentient. Jack disagrees because their sounds do not seem to be a language.

This tale takes the Fuzzies to a hearing on their sapience. Isabelle and Jack testify that they display smart behavior, but Jack still says that they aren't sapient. The court orders an investigation into their sapience.

This is only the latest work about Fuzzies. Works have been written by Ardath Mayhar,William Tuning,Wolfgang Diehr, and others. The theme of cute aliens seems continually popular.

Highly recommended for Scalzi fans and for anyone who enjoys tales of cute aliens, legal shenanigans, and likeable scoundrels. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

The story sets up in a quite classic mode: fuzzy creatures are discovered on a planet being strip-mined for its resources. Are they sentient? If so, the corporations (and independent contractor surveyors) are out of jobs and minerals. In (now classic?) Scalzi mode, the characters are warm, deep, sarcastic, funny, and give great quips on cue, and the plot flies along at an easy pace, never slow, not too fast to leave the listener behind. Wheaton's narration here is nicely paced as well, not a long, drawn-out affair, nor one with heavy characterizations on the voices (when it comes, it's very nice -- but that's in spoiler territory). The fuzzies are cute -- but not unbearably, and there are a few laugh out loud moments here, and (our main character, the independent contractor) Jack's interactions with his dog, Carl, are wonderful.

It is, however, over a bit too easily -- and unexpectedly quickly. Fuzzy Nation comes in at a little over 7 hours, with download "Part 2" being a Peter Ganim narration of the original H. Beam Piper novel Little Fuzzy which runs about 6 and a half hours. So don't be fooled into thinking you're approaching halfway through the story as part one comes to a close, or you'll be regretting (as I did) that we have to leave Zara XXIII so soon. On the other hand, that's certainly a packaging and marketing artifact, and the 7 "Fuzzy Nation" hours of this audiobook were a good, enjoyable story, showing off what Scalzi can do with good characters: take us on a fun trip through another place, make us laugh, make us cry, and give us a little bit of what it means to be human -- even if we see it reflected in the eyes of someone much smaller and furrier.

On Ganim's narration of "Little Fuzzy", it was definitely interesting to compare the setup, characters, and storyline of the original novel to the reboot's, and Ganim is as-always quite competent. His reading is a bit slower-paced, which adds a bit more to the era contrast between the books.

"Fuzzy Nation" by John Scalzi is by-far one of the most invigorating, impeccable reads of all-time. It was a fantastic, heartfelt, edge-of-your seat ride that took my breath away. I have seen reviews before calling this book James Cameron's "Avatar" with Ewoks. I would like to agree with that, but I would like you all to consider adding Law and Order to that mixture because the law involved in this story was thorough and had me floored. I recommend this book to anyone that will listen to me! 5 stars, hands down... and spoiler free :)

The story is retelling of the 1962 tale, so overall the story has classic Sci-Fi written all over it. Jack Holloway, a debarred lawyer, is a loner. He works as a contractor for an "evil" mining corporation that generally mine on planets across the galaxy, till the planet has nothing to offer. The mining company, by law, can only mine on the planets which do not have sentient life forms. Jack is on the verge of becoming very rich since he helped discover the largest mine of the rare gemstones on any planet. He has also discovered a new sort of "animals" on the planet (which Jack names Fuzzy). This poses a threat to the company who will not be allowed to mine, if proven that these beings are "people" (natives). Jack undergoes an ethical crisis.

The story take a legal turn and the battle between three parties - Jack who wants to get rich, the Biologist community who are excited about this new discovery (who are employed by the company) and want to study these new species, and the future CEO of the company, who wants to stall the legal battle and get the minerals out before anyone can sneeze & to prove to everyone that he is ready to take over the company.

And in this tussle, is suspended the fate of the Fuzzies, that no one has yet decided if they are "animals" or "people".

A gripping story of legal drama, action, emotions, in an all updated Sci-Fi classic.
Fuzzy Nation is one of those books which I finished in a single sitting in a long time. I generally take my time, and finish the book in couple of days.
Fuzzy Nation was something that gripped me right from chapter 1 and 3.5 hours later, I was done. I could not put it down. The flow of the story maintains the pace, and subtle twists and turns keep the reader guessing.

Audible.com released the audio for the book read by Wil Wheaton, who does an amazing job. After finishing the book, I realized, there is no one else who could have read it better.
Audible book also includes the original H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy.

I never read H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy. And after reading Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi, which is a sort of rebooting the series, I think I should have (maybe I will listen to it on the audiobook).

A great book, I highly recommend this to anyone - Sci-Fi lover or not.

My esteem for John Scalzi dropped when I saw this book. H. Beam Piper was a fine creative mind. John scalzi proved to be a fine writer in the Old Man's War universe. Now he has proven that he can steal other fine writer's material. I am very disappointed in this book. I may not spend anymore money on Scalzi's career.

I find myself puzzled as to why Scalzi would write this book and why anybody would publish it. The original is still available (thanks internet) and still a great read. Whether you agree with Piper's philosophical worldview or not it is consistent and he must be turning over in his grave at Scalzi's reimagining of his tough, self reliant hero as a disbarred lawyer with a PC girlfriend.

Rather than buying this derivative piece of work I would suggest buying Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen and the sequel written by Roland Green and John Carr (Great King's War).

I had low expectations, as sequels and "reboots" usually do not approach the quality of the original. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find a book that was well-plotted, with better backgrounds that Piper's original, and well-written. Contrary to being a book for teens, as another reviewer mentioned, I consider this a thoughtful treat for adults, as well.

I haven't read the original by Piper, so I can't speak to differences between that and this book. What I can say, however, is that this book is highly readable, and I found it to be very entertaining. It's a page-turning sci-fi book with a lot of elements of a procedural crime/courtroom thriller. You can read my whole review at [...]

Laugh out loud and experience sadness - all within 300 short pages. Scali succeeds at pulling the heartstrings. From mooning the villain to the grief one experiences at the loss of a child. Well worth the few hours it takes to read it.

Just finished my copy of "Fuzzy Nation" last night and was very pleased. John Scalzi's writing is easy to read and flows well. This is a well done re-telling of H. Beam Pipers "Little Fuzzy". (I hate the use of re-boot for things like this). The only similarities were between the two are Jack Holloway, the Fuzzies and the evil Empire, errrr, Zara corporation. As a previous reviewer already remarked Jack Holloway is not really a likeable person unlike in "Little Fuzzy" where he was not much more than a nice old coot. Jack plays a larger role in "Fuzzy Nation" and to good effect. I didn't end up liking him although I had a bit more respect for him at the end. Mr Scalzi introduces some nicely done twists here. What you're seeing is not always what you're going to get. Read it. You'll enjoy it.

This book is a supposed re-imagining of the original Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. It failed spectacularly in that endeavor. This book is more of a treatise on how to become a Social Justice Warrior. Political Correctness is splashed throughout the entire story. Homage is paid to the environmentalists and gender identity also rears it's head. With all this PC crap throughout the book, the actual story is mostly relegated to the "back of the bus". H. Beam Piper must be spinning in his grave and the Gashta must be filing a lawsuit for defamation! I would emphatically NOT RECOMMEND this book.

Why appropriate existing characters and an existing setting and then write a different story that undoes Piper's work? The author did not need to bring Piper's creation into this. Why did he feel compelled to take Piper's characters and turn them into something else? Why make Holloway a jerk? Write your own jerk Mr. Scalzi, don't take another author's decent main character and modify him.

There are lots of corporate entity vs sentient aliens stories in science fiction. Go ahead and write your own if you want. Don't mangle a famous author's story and call it a "reboot". Little Fuzzy did not require any reboot.

I checked this book out of the library because I thought someone had continued the story along the Piper thread and was curious. Not so, the author just wrote a story and instead of coming up with names and settings on his own, stuck Piper's in there. I believe him when he claims he admired Piper's work, but I surely don't understand what he thought he was doing by essentially unmaking it. I hope Piper's name wasn't brought into it just to help sell the book.

Piper's books were excellent. I own Piper's books. This book, had it been written without using the names from Piper's work, would have been ok. Not worth buying, but ok.

I mean, really? Piper did a bang up job when he thought up the idea years ago. I really don;t see enough of a difference to bother. They call it a reboot, but I don't see it as that at all: it's a copy.

Major elemets of Star Trek and Galactica were changed for their "reboots." I didn't see that here. I only saw a rip off and copy of a great book. Did I miss something? I mean, why bother retelling essentially the same story? I just don't get it.

I like some of Scalzi's work, but with this I can't help but think he should be shamed of himself. Tor books as well. The Piper Estate too.

Are we so far out of ideas that we have to copy other people's work?

Here's an idea. You want a reboot? You start essentially the same, but have the fuzzies lose. Let them fight a guerrilla war against the corperation trying to get word off planet what's going on. Change the technology level. Change SOMETHING FERCHRISTSAKES!

So in short- DO NOT buy thios book. But the original, brilliant, wonderful book by H.B. Piper who is not around to defend himself. And shame, Shame, SHAME! on those who let this get into print.

I freely admit that I did not purchase or read this book. Nor will I do so.

H. Beam Piper was one of the giants of science fiction, who, sadly, took his own life in despair. But he wrote some amazing work, including the classic, Little Fuzzy and the subsequent books. Little Fuzzy is a classic.

How DARE John Scalzi rewrite a Piper classic? What's next, a reworked version of The Foundation series? A version of Have Spacesuit Will Travel that turns Kip into an incompetent fool? Instead of buying this book, I suggest reading the original. If you've already read the original, well, read it again.

Despite his Hugo for a light and derivative farce, Scalzi will never be the giant that Piper was. He's not fit to polish Piper's typewriter, much less rewrite one of his stories.

Impudent and disrespectful.

I haven't read Scalzi's version, but isn't this a blatant attempt at plagiarism? H. Beam Piper Wrote the originals; is re-issuing them not an option?
I suppose Kalvan of Otherwhen is the next target.
I don't plan on reading it; I don't want my memories of the original besmirched. Any publisher who puts this crap up can forget about getting my money as well.

I enjoyed this book - it was fun to read, and the story was good. I tend to drift off sometimes and miss parts and have to go back - I didn't do that with this book. It kept me entertained the whole time.

Funny howbthis entire book is nothing more than a plagiarism (badly done, by the way) of H. Beam Piper's original book from the sixties, "Little Fuzzy".

Just exactly how pathetic is it to steal an entire book, swap around a few names and occupations, and publish it under your own name with just a minor title change.
What's next, is he going to plagiarize another well known writer, like Alan Dean Foster? How about Heinlein? Pitiful, John, really pitiful.

Fuzzy Nation is very disappointing. The main character is always three steps ahead of everyone else like Jack Bauer. The book is very predictable and not fun since the main character so cool with a cool dog. I have read all of Scalzi's books and this is near the bottom. He peaked at Old Man's War.

A great story from a great guy!

I cannot say enough great things about Mr. Scalzi. But I will say this.... Funny, creative, and humble! The best example of humanity!

If you ever have the chance to see him when he is out on a book tour or at a con, make sure you do!
And please buy his things!

The plot's nothing exceptional, but the characters and dialog are fantastic. There're also some hints of a death-note esq battle of wits here and there. This book reads similarly to agent to the stars, but with a less ridiculous plot. Great overall, I didn't put it down until I finished it.

I read H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy stories when they first came out (yes, I'm that old), and loved them. Scalzi's Old Man's War series was recommended by a co-worker, and I very much enjoyed them. However, I approached Fuzzy Nation with a great deal of scepticism, and wanted, first of all, to make sure Scalzi gave credit to Piper - which he did.

I don't see this as a continuation of the Fuzzy stories, but rather Scalzi's version of how it all started. (I haven't read the originals in a while and will have to re-read them to be sure.) Scalzi's style is not like Piper's style, and that's just fine.

The characters are reasonably believable. Yes, Holloway is greedy, and the villains are greedier.

I finished the book with a big grin, and kept grinning for the next half-hour. I think this is the first time I've read a book in which the hero (and yes, he is a hero) is a scuzzbag (and doesn't get the girl).

I enjoyed this book - it was fun to read, and the story was good. I tend to drift off sometimes and miss parts and have to go back - I didn't do that with this book. It kept me entertained the whole time.

Funny howbthis entire book is nothing more than a plagiarism (badly done, by the way) of H. Beam Piper's original book from the sixties, "Little Fuzzy".

Just exactly how pathetic is it to steal an entire book, swap around a few names and occupations, and publish it under your own name with just a minor title change.
What's next, is he going to plagiarize another well known writer, like Alan Dean Foster? How about Heinlein? Pitiful, John, really pitiful.

Fuzzy Nation is very disappointing. The main character is always three steps ahead of everyone else like Jack Bauer. The book is very predictable and not fun since the main character so cool with a cool dog. I have read all of Scalzi's books and this is near the bottom. He peaked at Old Man's War.

A great story from a great guy!

I cannot say enough great things about Mr. Scalzi. But I will say this.... Funny, creative, and humble! The best example of humanity!

If you ever have the chance to see him when he is out on a book tour or at a con, make sure you do!
And please buy his things!

The plot's nothing exceptional, but the characters and dialog are fantastic. There're also some hints of a death-note esq battle of wits here and there. This book reads similarly to agent to the stars, but with a less ridiculous plot. Great overall, I didn't put it down until I finished it.

I read this novel because of my enjoyment of H. Beam Piper's works, and I wanted to see what another author could do with Piper's materials. John Scalzi said he intended to update the story to appeal to early 21st Century sensibilities, but whose?

To begin with, the story doesn't make sense technologically; Scalzi doesn't provide enough of the backstory to explain how humans engage in interstellar travel, for example. And why would ZaraCorp need to mine coal, of all things? Do the spaceships in this universe use coal-fired engines or something? Piper by contrast assumes pervasive and safe nuclear power as the basis of his future technology, because he celebrates man's ability to harness the forces of nature; so a more faithful update would have ZaraCorp looking for deposits of fissionable elements like uranium and thorium, which can release, what?, about seven orders of magnitude more energy per gram than the chemical energy released by burning coal. (Piper would probably agree with Ayn Rand's line in her unproduced screenplay about the Manhattan Project, "Man can harness the universe, but nobody can harness man." And just because we still make mistakes with nuclear power doesn't mean we can't get better at using it. Our species has used fire for millennia, and we still have accidents with fires.) Moreover, why couldn't someone in this allegedly advanced civilization also try to figure out how to synthesize sunstones, the way we can now synthesize diamonds? I also find it underwhelming that Scalzi calls his story's versions of tablet PC's, iPads and smart phones "infopanels." He might as well call TV's in this story "visiplates" or something, like in E.E. "Doc" Smith's stories. Why don't the characters in this society have their IT integrated into their bodies, as Michio Kaku forecasts will happen by the end of this century in his book Physics of the Future?

Two, the story doesn't explain the social and political assumptions adequately. Does Earth have a united political sovereignty, for example? Why does Jack Holloway have to come from a disbarred law background in North Carolina, instead of some place more appropriately globalized, like, say, Papua, Uruguay, or Malawi? At least his ex-girlfriend comes from Kenya by way of Oxford. And how does the government actually rein in corporations like ZaraCorp? Does it have a functioning monopoly of force to get its way over ZaraCorp's ability to hire a private army? The corporation's leaders act as if they had little to fear from whatever government the story assumes.

Three, a lot of Piper's world view gets lost in the reboot. Piper's heroes display self-reliance, self-mastery and competence, rather like the heroes in Ayn Rand's and Robert Heinlein's stories; perhaps they lack much in the way of drama, but you might find them interesting to know nonetheless. Scalzi's Jack Holloway, by contrast, sounds like the sort of guy I wouldn't want to have as a friend. An American-style gun culture also figures prominently in Piper's stories, yet Scalzi's version of Holloway bought a shotgun without diligently keeping track of it, maintaining a level of skill with it and making sure he had ammunition. Piper's Holloway would not neglect something so important to his survival, especially in a frontier environment.

Yet, I found the experience of reading the reboot frustrating. I don't recommend it.

And probably for the same reasons.

If you enjoy seeing crusty prospector and pistolero "Pappy" Jack Holloway turned into a pathetic smart-ass disbarred lawyer with an environmentalist girlfriend you might enjoy this book. I don't guarantee it.

Turning "Little Fuzzy" from a Space Western to a legal and evironmental procedural is a slap in the face to everyone who ever enjoyed H. Beam Piper's work. Frankly, I find it hard to imagine a worse choice for converting Piper's most endearing story.

I wish I could give this book negative stars.

H. Beam Piper was a brilliant, original writer. His untimely death was a tremendous loss to the science fiction community. This author is a carrion crow picking at the bones of his betters. If you must, read it in the library. Better yet, read original Piper to wash the foul taste of this trash from your mouth.