I have discovered that I like John Scalzi's writing, so when I saw that he had done what he calls a 'reboot' of one of my favourite SF stories - Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper - I thought, well, okay, I can read this.  Also, a couple of my friends said they enjoyed it.

So, did I?

Yes, for the most part.  Like I said, I enjoy Scalzi's writing.  Which is a good thing, because all the lawyer talk, the scientific talk etcetera, could have been very dry and unappealing in another author's hands. 

There are a lot of differences from the original Piper novels. A lot of characters missing or retooled into other, maybe composited, characters.  The plot, while remaining true at its heart, is focused much more on the legal aspects of the story as well as the um... not-niceness of Jack Holloway.  All that is fine, but what I missed was the interaction with the Fuzzies.  How Jack grew to accept and care for them as people, not pets.  How the Fuzzies showed their sapience. I remember a scene in the original about a funeral that's stuck with me all these years.  I missed those scenes in this book.

So, yeah, I enjoyed it and would probably recommend it to others, but I wasn't as satisfied as I'd hoped I'd be.  I would totally direct people to read the original Fuzzy books by H. Beam Piper, though.  :)

This is the second of the Fuzzy books that feature among the most memorable aliens in science fiction. Mind you, they're so cute as to induce sugar shock. Creatures "two feet tall, with wide-eyed... face... covered with soft golden fur," playful, sane, sweet and emotionally and intellectually about ten years old. The first book dealt with some sophisticated concepts. The "Fuzzies" are on a planet colonized by humans and largely owned and ruled by a corporation under a charter only valid if there are no sapient indigenous life forms. So when the Fuzzies first show up, it soon becomes a very serious matter indeed whether they're just cute animals--or people. The second novel develops some issues not resolved in the first one, and is still entertaining, although perhaps not as fresh in conception. I did like how in the second novel things were less black and white. Piper's not an elegant prose stylist. There are point-of-view jumps, and flaky section breaks (might be more an issue of bad editing than writing) and at times clumsy phrasing. But Piper's a good storyteller nevertheless and presents appealing characters--human and non-human alike. It's an good read.

The first book, Little Fuzzy, charmed me.  Started reading thinking just another space adventure on unsettled planet (i had read other of authors works like Uller Uprising so was expecting more military action or soldier of fortune usual fare).

 

Jack and the rest snuck into my heart before I had blinked.      The whistle scene ... The soldier's reaction ... 

 

And then came Fuzzy Sapiens and really ramped it up a notch.  The characters and the whole fuzzy race that I got caught up in in the first book -- well everyone including the villains were just more in this one.  The what-ifs that make me keep reading science fiction books.  Themes like colonization, corporate greed, native peoples in the face of another race's expansion, good vs. evil — all there without destroying one durn good inventive yarn.  Mr. Piper knows how to draw you into a story.  One that does not read dated despite publication date.

See my review of The Fuzzy Papers, which combined this book and its predecessor, Little Fuzzy.

The second book in the Fuzzy trilogy (you can read my review of book one - Little Fuzzy) continues the dilemma of how humans and other sentient beings get along. The question is - now that Fuzzies have been declared to be intelligent beings - how do Fuzzies and humans live in harmony?

I still feel that the viewpoints in this book are a bit outdated and definitely not politically correct. In addition, there is at least one deus ex machina involved in the plot (ugh). Fuzzy Sapiens is also not a book you would want to read without having read the first book in the series. There is not a lot of backstory given to explain how the story got to where it is.

That being said, and taking the book for the time it was written, I very much enjoyed this read. And, intended, or not, it was definitely thought-provoking!! I wonder if the books had been written after Star Trek, if H. Beam Piper would have caved to the Prime Directive?