Fuzzy Nation

Starred review from March 21, 2011
In this gripping estate-authorized reboot of H. Beam Piper's Hugo-nominated 1962 classic Little Fuzzy, Scalzi (Old Man's War) changes the hero from a grandfatherly miner to a handsome hunk and updates the plot with new events while retaining the prescient focus on ecological concerns. Disbarred lawyer Jack Holloway, prospecting on Zara XXIII for ZaraCorp, finds an immensely valuable stream of sunstone. But this find pales beside the cuteness of a catlike native biped who shows up at Holloway's house the same day. Holloway forwards footage of the "fuzzies" to a biologist friend, who believes they are sentientâbut if they are, Zara XXIII and its sunstone must be abandoned. Enter hired company thugs, murder, and arson. A perfectly executed plot clicks its way to a stunning courtroom showdown in a cathartic finish that will thrill Fuzzy fans old and new.

Starred review from May 1, 2011

An acclaimed modern sci-fi writer adds depth and unexpected poignancy to a "reboot" of H. Beam Piper's classic 1962 novel Little Fuzzy.

In a future, when corporations strip-mine entire planets if the Colonial Authority doesn't stop them first, disbarred-lawyer-turned-prospector Jack Holloway discovers an unbelievably rich seam of sunstones on Zara XXIII, exquisite jewels found only on that planet. His claim on the seam puts serious stress on his already shaky relationship with ZaraCorp, the company that runs Zara XXIII. And that's before Holloway discovers a race of native creatures whose potential sapience could nullify ZaraCorp's right to the planet. In his original novel, Piper tackled issues that would go on to be the plot of many a Star Trek episode, including the meaning of sentience and the brutal fallout of colonialism. Scalzi (Agent to the Stars, 2010, etc.) adds more emotional capital to the debate by replacing Piper's stock characters with richly rendered, real-seeming people (and aliens). Piper's Jack Holloway is a crotchety prospector with a heart of gold; Scalzi's Holloway is a brilliant, ruthless jerk who makes the occasional moral choice as a way of scoring points against the universe. Scalzi also updates and expands upon the cynicism of the original to be more familiar to a contemporary audience: Piper's corporation attempts to hide its frequent environmental depredations from notice; Scalzi's actively papers it over with a public "eco-friendly" campaign. In an author's note, Scalzi claims that he does not intend to "supplant or improve upon" the Piper novel. However, he may have done just that. In a genre flooded with bloated epics, it's a real pleasure to read a story like this, as compactly and directly told as a punch to the stomach.

A totally unnecessary endeavor, but an enjoyable and powerful one nonetheless.

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April 15, 2011

As an independent contractor working for ZaraCorp's mining enterprises on the planet Zarathustra, loner Jack Holloway accidentally collapses a rock shelf and discovers an immensely valuable vein of sunstones that place him in a unique position with regard to his bosses. Unfortunately, Holloway also discovers the presence of a heretofore unknown mammalian species, a terminally cute furry biped that almost meets the criteria of sentience and could bring all resource mining to a crashing halt. The author of Old Man's War pays homage to H. Beam Piper's classic 1962 Little Fuzzy in a tale of one man's reluctant battle to save a species. VERDICT Scalzi readers as well as Piper fans should enjoy this modern throwback to sf's early years.

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