(pb; 1962: first book in the Fuzzy Sapiens series)
From the back cover:
“Zarathustra was a Class-III uninhabited planet, and the chartered Zarathustra Company owned it lock, stock and barrel. They developed it, exploited it and reaped huge profits without any interference from the Colonial Government.
“But then, out of nowhere, came Jack Holloway – with a family of Fuzzies and a great deal of evidence that they were more than just cute little animals.
“If the Fuzzies were a race of intelligent beings, than Zarathustra would automatically become a Class-IV inhabited planet, and the Company’s charter and privileges would be over.
“The chartered Zarathustra Company wasn’t going to allow that to happen...”
Review:
Description of the Fuzzies, taken from the third Fuzzy book, Fuzzies and Other People: “erect bipeds, two feet tall... their bodies were covered with silky golden fur. They had five-fingered hands with opposable thumbs, large eyes set close enough together for stereoscopic vision, and vaguely humanoid features.”
Part science-fiction nature book, part courtroom drama, author Piper keeps the tone of this book gentle, except when the bad guys (employees of the Zarathustra company) are doing bad things. Even then it’s PG- rated, alarming in a Bambi’s-mom-got-shot kind of way.
Piper manages to keep it interesting and complex, despite the relative gentleness of the story; he also manages to avoid become too cutesy, which is easy to do when dealing with creatures as adorable as Fuzzies.
This is a good read for science fiction and animal lovers, if they can deal with a couple of heartbreaking scenes. The ending naturally lends itself to a sequel, Fuzzy Sapiens.
Showing posts with label H. Beam Piper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H. Beam Piper. Show all posts
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Fuzzy Sapiens, by H. Beam Piper
(pb; 1964: second book in the Fuzzy Sapiens series)
From the back cover:
“The Pendarvis Decision had declared the Fuzzies to be intelligent beings – guaranteeing them protection and security. But just how much were those assurances worth?
“The Fuzzies were about to find out... Someone was going to make big profits by exploiting them, and there wasn’t much that could prevent the Fuzzies from becoming just another extinct species on Mankind’s conscience...”
Review:
A week has passed since Judge Pendarvis adjudged the Fuzzies (who actually call themselves “Gashta”) to be sapiens. Now, a plethora of new dangers has arisen, ones that their human friends have to deal with.
First, there’s the question of a limited food supply – the Extee Three (military rations) that the Fuzzies eat is running out. Not only that, but new questions about the Fuzzies’s birth mortality rates have come into play – why are their successful birth rates so low?
Last, and certainly not least, there’s Hugo Ingermann, a corrupt criminal lawyer who’s agitating the masses for profit – and political position. (Given author Piper’s descriptions of Ingermann, one wonders if Piper didn’t model Ingermann after the character Willie Stark, played by Broderick Crawford, in the 1949 film, All the King’s Men.)
The Zarathustra Company, now the Charterless Zarathustra Company, and its employees are no longer the bad guys. They’ve joined the rank of “Fuzzy lovers,” and are fighting to help them, too.
Just as enchanting and ecology-minded as the first novel, Fuzzy Sapiens is a worthy sequel.
Followed by Fuzzies and Other People.
From the back cover:
“The Pendarvis Decision had declared the Fuzzies to be intelligent beings – guaranteeing them protection and security. But just how much were those assurances worth?
“The Fuzzies were about to find out... Someone was going to make big profits by exploiting them, and there wasn’t much that could prevent the Fuzzies from becoming just another extinct species on Mankind’s conscience...”
Review:
A week has passed since Judge Pendarvis adjudged the Fuzzies (who actually call themselves “Gashta”) to be sapiens. Now, a plethora of new dangers has arisen, ones that their human friends have to deal with.
First, there’s the question of a limited food supply – the Extee Three (military rations) that the Fuzzies eat is running out. Not only that, but new questions about the Fuzzies’s birth mortality rates have come into play – why are their successful birth rates so low?
Last, and certainly not least, there’s Hugo Ingermann, a corrupt criminal lawyer who’s agitating the masses for profit – and political position. (Given author Piper’s descriptions of Ingermann, one wonders if Piper didn’t model Ingermann after the character Willie Stark, played by Broderick Crawford, in the 1949 film, All the King’s Men.)
The Zarathustra Company, now the Charterless Zarathustra Company, and its employees are no longer the bad guys. They’ve joined the rank of “Fuzzy lovers,” and are fighting to help them, too.
Just as enchanting and ecology-minded as the first novel, Fuzzy Sapiens is a worthy sequel.
Followed by Fuzzies and Other People.
Fuzzies and Other People, by H. Beam Piper
(pb; 1984: third book in the Fuzzy Sapiens series)
From the back cover:
“... Following Piper’s tragic suicide in 1964, there were persistent rumors that he had written a sequel to Fuzzy Sapiens, a third Fuzzy novel; some of his friends had been told about it, a few had even read parts of it. But the manuscript itself remained lost until it was discovered in a trunk in a basement in Pennsylvania.
“Now, at last, return to Piper’s Zarathustra. It’s been twenty years for us – but only three months since Jack Holloway found and befriended a small golden-furred being... three short months that have changed both their lives...”
Review:
Piper dropped the ball on this one. The second sequel in the Fuzzy series feels like a half-hearted thematic and structural retread. The issues aren’t as vital – they’re more legal technicalities than anything – and it doesn’t get good until the last third, when Little Fuzzy returns to the wilderness, where he may or may not link up with a band of other Fuzzies (briefly seen in Fuzzy Sapiens) to save the day for other characters, and themselves.
The wilderness parts with Little Fuzzy are good. The rest of it’s okay, but I’d only recommend it for completist readers or diehard Fuzzy fans.
Two other Fuzzy books have been published, neither of them written by Piper. I won't be reading them (I'm "Fuzzied out"). If you're interested in reading them, the titles are: Fuzzy Bones, by William Tuning, and Golden Dream: A Fuzzy Odyssey, by Ardath Mayhar.
From the back cover:
“... Following Piper’s tragic suicide in 1964, there were persistent rumors that he had written a sequel to Fuzzy Sapiens, a third Fuzzy novel; some of his friends had been told about it, a few had even read parts of it. But the manuscript itself remained lost until it was discovered in a trunk in a basement in Pennsylvania.
“Now, at last, return to Piper’s Zarathustra. It’s been twenty years for us – but only three months since Jack Holloway found and befriended a small golden-furred being... three short months that have changed both their lives...”
Review:
Piper dropped the ball on this one. The second sequel in the Fuzzy series feels like a half-hearted thematic and structural retread. The issues aren’t as vital – they’re more legal technicalities than anything – and it doesn’t get good until the last third, when Little Fuzzy returns to the wilderness, where he may or may not link up with a band of other Fuzzies (briefly seen in Fuzzy Sapiens) to save the day for other characters, and themselves.
The wilderness parts with Little Fuzzy are good. The rest of it’s okay, but I’d only recommend it for completist readers or diehard Fuzzy fans.
Two other Fuzzy books have been published, neither of them written by Piper. I won't be reading them (I'm "Fuzzied out"). If you're interested in reading them, the titles are: Fuzzy Bones, by William Tuning, and Golden Dream: A Fuzzy Odyssey, by Ardath Mayhar.
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