Fuzzy Nation ~John Scalzi
–published 2011
–Tor Books
–301 pages
–9/10 stars
Evil corporations stripping planets bare of their natural resources all in the pursuit of wealth. Cute, cuddly creatures who turn out to be smarter than they first appear. A charming rogue torn between his own self-interest and the greater good. Multiple ecosystems in peril.
What’s that?
You say you’ve heard that all before?
If you are thinking that it all sounds familiar, you may be right.
Perhaps George Lucas’ teddy bears..er, Ewoks…sprang to mind, or the blue-skinned Navi from James Cameron’s Avatar. Or perhaps that all sounds familiar because you have read Little Fuzzy, the 1962 classic that provided the inspiration for John Scalzi’s latest novel. Whatever the case may be, I promise you that John Scalzi is a whiz at paying loving homage to science fiction classics while giving a contemporary kick-in-the-pants to well worn sf tropes. The result is a book that rekindles that excitement you felt when your older brother, best friend, neighborhood librarian (or in my case, uncle) handed you that first science fiction novel and said, “Here, try this.”
John Scalzi describes his novel as a “reboot” of the classic 1962 H. Beam Piper story, Little Fuzzy. With the permission of the Piper estate, Scalzi uses the original novel as foundation on which to build a different story, a story that pays homage to H. Beam Piper’s legacy while giving it a fresh and contemporary feel. Rather than draw people away from the original, Scalzi hopes that this reimagining will not only entertain readers but will encourage them to discover, or rediscover, Piper’s classic work.
When disbarred lawyer turned independent contractor Jack Holloway causes an accidental cliff collapse on a survey trip on planet Zara XXIII, he discovers a seam of jewels that could set him up financially for a good long time. With a combination of fast-talking and legal precedent Holloway quickly renegotiates his contract in order to secure a more lucrative stake in this newly discovered claim. On the way home with his faithful canine companion Carl, Holloway is alerted to a break in at his camp site and arrives to find a previously unknown creature making general chaos out of his belongings. This cute and innocent creature, which Holloway calls a ‘fuzzy’, is soon joined by what appears to be its extended family. When the biologist from ZaraCorp, the company mining the planet, is alerted to the existence of the fuzzys, she starts asking the kind of questions that could set cataclysmic events in motion. For if the fuzzys are determined to be a sapient species it could spell the end of ZaraCorp’s claim on the planet, and with it Jack’s hopes of unimaginable wealth.
At first glance Fuzzy Nation sounds as if it could be written off as merely a cutesy, fun throwaway novel. While there is no denying that it is indeed a fun and highly entertaining entry into the John Scalzi oeuvre, Fuzzy Nation is also a heavy-hitter that reads like it is made up of equal parts grand old space adventure, examination of the use of natural resources, and the kind of courtroom drama that called Perry Mason to mind. Early on in the novel the reader gets the impression that the course of the story is laid out before him/her. While the journey does travel some foreseeable paths, Scalzi infuses his novel with enough tension and surprise to make for a deeply satisfying reading experience.
It isn’t often that I read a novel and find myself wanting to shout out loud, but the deeper I got into the story the more John Scalzi played my emotions like a fiddle. The reactions I was having were barely contained and had anyone been watching me read the story they would have seen laughter, anger, tension, shock and even sadness played out across my face. I cheered inside every time I felt like one of the “bad guys” was getting their comeuppance. I fumed at incidents of injustice and cruelty. I chafed under the legal roadblocks and cooperate shenanigans that threatened the fuzzys’ existence. The key to this level of engagement was Jack Holloway.
The mention of Star Wars at the beginning of this review was not just a vehicle to work in an Ewok reference but was also a nod to the Han Solo that George Lucas introduced the world to in 1977. The swagger, the defiance, and the cocky wit of the scruffy-looking nerf herder is echoed in the character of Jack Holloway. In him John Scalzi has penned a character who is as likeable to the reader as he is unlikeable to nearly everyone he comes in contact with. Jack Holloway is smart and well-versed in the law and he knows it. The action and adventure of the early parts of the novel give way to a court room battle in the latter half that showcases Holloway’s savvy while ratcheting up the tension to the point where you simply cannot stop reading, you just have to keep turning pages until the very end.
At every turn John Scalzi surprised me. I was sure things were going one way and then they took a turn. I had characters pegged who turned out to be different than I thought they would be. And although I was sure I knew how things would play out for each character in the story, John Scalzi proved that even seemingly “predictable” story lines can be unpredictable in the end.
I closed the book with an enormous smile on my face and sat back content to let my thoughts on the story simmer for several hours before sharing them with you. Enough time has now passed and I can no longer contain the pleasure I got from reading Fuzzy Nation. I had to share it with you. If you are looking for a suggestion to give readers wanting to try science fiction for the first time, or if you would like to experience once more just how fun science fiction can be, look no further than Fuzzy Nation.
Sounds like a great read, I keep meaning to read more Scalzi, I enjoyed Old Man’s War, but have yet to read more of his work.
Yes, you definitely need to read more Scalzi. Especially if you haven’t read the rest of the Old Man’s War series!!!
when I saw this book cover I immediately knew I had seen “fuzzy’s” before..and sure enough.. they are in my Michael Whelan book.. he did the art work for Fuzzy Nation!
Desily: Yes, Whelan did do the cover for the original. I know science fiction isn’t your favorite genre, but I know you enjoyed Avatar and I think you’d enjoy this one.
Well Carl, you’ve certainly sold me on reading Fuzzy Nation. And they have it at Audible.com so I can listen to it, my preferred way of “reading.”
Jim: I would so like to listen to the audio version of this sometime. I looked to see if my library had it yet but they don’t. Need to check interlibrary loan. I want my wife to read this and she drives so much for work the audio version would be the perfect way to entice her to do so.
I got this one just last week, and it’s on the shelf, high on the TBR list. Scalzi was here in Portland at Powell’s Books, talking, reading and signing, last month on his Fuzzy Nation tour. He’s a darned interesting guy, though I didn’t get a signed edition (long story).
Oh, and JIm: “listening” to a book isn’t “reading a book”. It’s listening and not at all the same experience.
Richard: Hope you enjoy it. I got a chance to see John Scalzi at the Heinlein Centennial here in KC a few years ago and got a book signed. Unfortunately didn’t get to attend any panels or speaking events. But I get the email updates from his blog and have read one of his two nonfiction books and based on those I would agree that he is indeed an interesting guy.
I think Jim would disagree wholeheartedly on the idea that audio books aren’t “reading”. I used to feel that way but once I started listening to more audio books I came to the conclusion that I was investing the same amount of time (if not more, sometimes I read faster than the narrator) and so I count them as books read.
Nerf herder! Carl…such language,,I’m shocked and dismayed…lol So glad you read this one first…I was itching to get it, but still a little iffy. Now I gotta have it!! TY 😀
Kelly: There was no way I was going to let too much time pass after this book came out before reading it. It’s John Scalzi, for goodness sake! LOL! I hit a groove this weekend where I suddenly didn’t want to do anything else but spend time with Jack Holloway. I even had my wife delay our Sunday evening meal because I was on the last chapter and didn’t want to break the spell. If you’ve liked his other work (can’t recall now if you’ve read any of it) you’ll like this. If you haven’t read Scalzi, please come join the club.
Glad this is good! My library actually has it, so I consider that a sign. 🙂 I was thinking about reading him the other day, but I still haven’t finished his series… Probably should do that before reading something else by him.
Oh, what a conundrum. Keep on with OMW or jump to this one and return to OMW? The OMW series remains my favorite of all the Scalzi has written. But this is a very entertaining read. I’m torn as to what to advise. This isn’t a long book, just at 300 pages, if that is any help to you at all in deciding.
I am trying to go with finishing the series because I own the books all ready. Yes, let’s keep that in mind. 🙂
(I am doing up my post for Wednesday in case I am busy tomorrow and I chose the quote on page 303.)
Great, thanks for the update. Need to finish reading the stories I have left tonight so I can work on my post tomorrow evening. And get to those Scalzi books so we can talk about them!
I am hardly reading, but I will!
No pressure. I know I go through those reading slumps too, or times when it is just way too busy.
fantastic review. i am intrigued, and especially by this author–having read Logan’s review of Old Man’s War recently. will have to move him up the TBR pile.
I first discovered John Scalzi through a blog review of Old Man’s War back when it was released in trade paperback by Tor Books. He quickly became one of my favorite science fiction authors. His work reminds me of the kind of book that ignited that first love for science fiction and yet it is also contemporary. He has a way of melding a classic sensibility with current concepts which, I believe, broadens the appeal of his stories. The Old Man’s War series is great because each book is just a little bit different, giving you a sense of his range and storytelling abilities. The Androids Dream is a hilarious science fiction caper tale and as I said in this review, this is sort of an eco-adventure, courtroom drama, science fictional novel.
I suspect that John Scalzi would be writing the stories he wants to right (for example Fuzzy Nation) regardless of whether or not they were getting published. I’m excited that he is at a place in his “fame” (for lack of a better word) where he can sell projects like a reboot of a 1962 novel that obviously means something to him. I love that.
I have not read Scalzi before, but I have also learned that I am not huge on reading Sci-fi books or at least not the ones I have been choosing. Although, I do love Star Wars and your reference to that movie has me wondering if possibly this book would be one that I would like.
Ooo…I see that Jim Harris mentioned that audible.com has the book. Maybe ‘reading’ this one via the audiobook format would be a good way for me to go.
I am going to put it on my list so that I do not forget about it.
Richard – you do have a point about audiobooks not giving the same experience as reading the book. Many times, I wonder if my like or dislike for a character has been influenced by the narrator’s talent or lack thereof. Beyond that though, audiobooks are a great way to read the story; you get the full text just in audio.
Ibeeg: In your case I would definitely recommend Fuzzy Nation as a starting place for reading John Scalzi. And in my wholly biased opinion I think reading John Scalzi is very worthwhile. I truly believe this is a good ‘gateway’ book for those who either haven’t read much science fiction or haven’t found themselves particularly fond of the science fiction books they have read.
As for the audio versions of books, I cannot help but think one can be influenced one way or the other by the reader. I have stopped listening to books because the reader was doing (in my opinion) a poor job. In those cases I have seldom actually went on to pick up the book for myself to read it. In those cases I am letting audio books unduly influence me, I admit. On the other hand most of my audio book experiences have been richly rewarding, with the experience of being read to bringing out things in the book that I might not have seen had I read it myself. I know this to be the case because I have experienced that when listening to audio versions of books I’ve already read (sometimes more than once).
In the positive cases I don’t really care about the influence. I figure that if I am open and honest in blog reviews or in personal discussions that my experience with the book was with the audio version, then that is all I can speak to. I don’t know that the same experience will translate to someone picking up the book and reading it for themselves. But again I don’t know that that will happen anyway, audio or not. In fact it rarely does as we all have our own experiences with books because of our unique outlook, personalities, etc.
Excellent. Good to know this is another cracker from Scalzi. I’ll be getting my copy sooner, rather than later me’thinks! 🙂
Darren: Make sure I don’t miss your review, I’d love to know your thoughts one way or the other. I hope you can get to it sooner.
I don’t think any two people will experience the story in the same way regardless of whether it is actually read or listened. We each bring different life experiences and expectations to the plate that do indeed influence how we intake a story.
Specifically for audiobooks, the narrator’s inflections, emphasis, tone, etc do have an influence on me…sometimes, I do think. This is true because I don’t think I would have necessarily read something in the same manner, or had a character speaking in a certain despondence, crispness, snottiness, rudeness, etc. For me, audiobooks work, on the whole. It gives me the pleasure of traveling into a story when I have limited time. I can ‘read’ while driving or cleaning the house which are both time zappers.
As for Fuzzy Nations, it is on my list. I will either read or listened to the book. I hope it is a better gateway into the genre than the ones I have chosen.
“I don’t think any two people will experience the story in the same way regardless of whether it is actually read or listened”
Exactly right. The best we can hope for when reviewing books, audio or in written form, is to be honest about our own experience of the book and hope that if someone takes our advice to read it that they at the very least enjoy it. And some times that won’t happen and hopefully those moments can generate some wonderful discussions.
The reader makes such a big difference. Which is why I especially enjoy authors (who can perform well) reading their own work. And of course Neil Gaiman springs immediately to mind. There are stories in his Fragile Things collection, by way of example, that I didn’t have a strong connection to when I read them the first time but when I heard him read them they came alive in a way they hadn’t when it was just me and the book and I changed my opinion about them. And I’m okay with that. I mean what could be bad about finding something you enjoy, even if it meant seeing (or in this case hearing) it from a different point of view?
The one thing I feel pretty confident about is that you will either like or not like Fuzzy Nation based on the characters and the plot and not based on the science fictional elements. Those won’t make or break the story for you.
I’ve decided I’m going to read Little Fuzzy and The Other Human Race which is the sequel before I read this one. I have a SF Book Club edition with the two of them which is now shelved. Or maybe I’ll just read Little Fuzzy and then Fuzzy Nation, then go back and read the other one. Except Benjamin Hoff’s The House On The Point came Saturday and I HAVE to read it as soon as I finish Zorro by Isabel Allende (I’m 4/5 finished). Sigh. Reading is so wonderful, but sometimes the decisions are tough.
Speaking of which, if it was me I’d finish the other 3 OMW Scalzi books, then read Fuzzy Nation.
Richard: I read a few reviews where the reviewer read both books back to back and the consensus seemed to be that both books are definitely worth reading, especially since Scalzi’s is not a rewrite, but a reboot. Scalzi compared it to what J.J. Abrams did with Star Trek or what was done with Battlestar Galactica. I would certainly like to give Little Fuzzy a read some day.
And you are right, decisions are tough. I’m reading three different short story collections right now but am having a heck of a time deciding where I want to go, novel-wise, now that I am done with Fuzzy Nation. And it isn’t like I’m hurting for choices here in the Anderson home. 🙂
Of course I’m actually reading three books at present, the above names fictional Zorro</em as well as two non-fiction ones. Oh and did I mention I'm on page 15 of Mistborn, the first book of that trilogy? Double sigh.
I have a good friend who started reading the Mistborn series recently and is really getting into it. I’ve heard that Brandon Sanderson is proving to be a pretty special author.
Though I think it’s safe to assume that my immediate association of Han Solo stemmed from your reference at the beginning of the post, I have to admit that it’s a pretty strong hook. I’ve hesitated to read Scalzi until now based on a good friend’s assessment that Old Man’s War was bad (which is obviously not the consensus, but it was a pretty adamant opinion from a very trusted source). At some point, I’ll obviously get around to reading something by Scalzi but even though this sounds kind of cool, I think it can wait maybe a little longer. See how it sinks in…
Everyone certainly has their own tastes. I can see someone not liking Old Man’s War. It is a particular kind of science fiction that hearkens back to some of Heinlein’s better work. Bad? Yes, definitely not the consensus, especially as the series has won quite a few awards. But that is never a good arbiter of what is good to the individual. If you don’t like something, you just don’t like it. There are several lauded authors with award nominated/winning books that I have yet to like (China Mieville–but I’m going to try a few more. May have just got the wrong book for me).
This would be a good place to give him a try, especially since you are not committing to some series and it is a short book by today’s standards.
I’ve seen others make the Han Solo connection in their reviews of Fuzzy Nation as well, so I’m definitely not alone in getting that vibe off of Jack Holloway. 🙂
I didn’t like China Meiville either, gave up on the book after about 100 pages in fact. Not an author I’ll try again. But Scalzi… I’ve been reading science fiction since 1955, have read a LOT of it, and for my money Old Man’s War and the other novels in that series (because the 3 books tell a story) is some of the best written in the last 20 years.
Richard: You’ll get no arguments from me! In a time where I was paying less and less attention to my first love, science fiction, Old Man’s War rekindled that love and I’ve read more in the genre in the last several years since Tor released it in trade than I had for decades before that.
I enjoyed Fuzzy Nation just as much as you did my friend. Another entertaining tale for Mr. Scalzi. One that is so good it inspired me to pick up the original classic tale to see how they compare. I’ll let you know what I think of Piper’s classic version when I finish it.
I can definitely see where one might get the Han Solo vibe from Jack Holloway as well from Fuzzy Nation. I never really thought of Han Solo while reading the book myself but I can see that in retrospect. All I could think of when reading the story was of you whenever he mentioned his dog. 🙂
My one disappointment in the story is how often multiple main characters drank beer in the story. I realize that the book is being shelved in the adult section of the book store and not young adult so drinking is ok. My regret is that early on in the story I thought about handing this to my daughter to read as well and by the end I knew I would not for sure all because of the drinking. I didn’t see where alcohol consumption was needed for the story so I wish Scalzi would have left it out personally.
Jeff: It made more sense for me to get the Han Solo vibe considering I was in the middle of a re-watch of the original trilogy while I was reading Fuzzy Nation. That and I tend to always compare charming rascals to Han since he was my first boyhood adventure hero (at least that I can remember embracing to any large degree). Snoopy was probably first, but few novel characters remind me of Joe Cool. LOL!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Like you said in an email (or text), I too hate that now we have to sit around waiting for Scalzi’s next one.
Since Tori is older I don’t pick up on those child cues as much so I didn’t notice the drinking, but in the context you bring it up then yes it is unfortunate.
Joe Cool always reminded me of The Fonz from Happy Days…
As for child hood hero I always wanted to be Capt. Kirk as Star Trek had a bigger influence on me than Star Wars. I don’t think Kirk was any better than Han it was just the amount of times I was exposed to Kirk. I saw tons of ST reruns but I only was able to see SW once.
For me it was just a ‘who I remember seeing first’ thing. I wanted to be Kirk as well, but the whole Han and Chewie running around in the Falcon thing was just too attractive to me. And of course we played with Star Wars toys too, not Star Trek ones, so even though I too saw ST more often over that period, the SW characters were always more prevalent, if that makes sense.