Fuzzy Nation

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, John Scalzi - introduction

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

In John Scalzi's re-imagining of H. Beam Piper's 1962 sci-fi classic Little Fuzzy, written with the full cooperation of the Piper Estate, Jack Holloway works alone for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. On the distant planet Zarathustra, Jack is content as an independent contractor for ZaraCorp, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that's not up for discussion.

Then, in the wake of an accidental cliff collapse, Jack discovers a seam of unimaginably valuable jewels, to which he manages to lay legal claim just as ZaraCorp is cancelling their contract with him for his part in causing the collapse. Briefly in the catbird seat, legally speaking, Jack pressures ZaraCorp into recognizing his claim, and cuts them in as partners to help extract the wealth.

But there's another wrinkle to ZaraCorp's relationship with the planet Zarathustra. Their entire legal right to exploit the verdant Earth-like planet, the basis of the wealth they derive from extracting its resources, is based on being able to certify to the authorities on Earth that Zarathustra is home to no sentient species. Then a small furry biped - trusting, appealing, and ridiculously cute - shows up at Jack's outback home. Followed by its family. As it dawns on Jack that despite their stature, these are people, he begins to suspect that ZaraCorp's claim to a planet's worth of wealth is very flimsy indeed and that ZaraCorp may stop at nothing to eliminate the fuzzys before their existence becomes more widely known.

©2011 John Scalzi (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Science Fiction, 2012

“[Scalzi’s] style and skill make it a highly entertaining read. It succeeds both as a new novel from a talented writer and as a tribute and gateway to Piper’s work.” ( Wired)

"It’s a wonderful book.... [T]he way that Scalzi puts that wonderful novel of Piper’s into a fresher context is cynically lovely.... Year’s best? Yeah, one of them." ( The San Diego Union-Tribune)

“A perfectly executed plot clicks its way to a stunning courtroom showdown in a cathartic finish that will thrill Fuzzy fans old and new.” ( Publishers Weekly)

the right man

the right man rewrote this story from the 1940s
the right man narrated the story

Great Rewrite!

Story:
I first read Little Fuzzy when I was thirteen, and I loved it. I went on to read the other Fuzzy books Piper. So naturally when I first saw this I was a little upset. Why would any rewrite such an awesome book? Because I was so skeptical I didn't actually get the book for a couple of months after it was published, my loss, now though it is one of my favorite books and I have listened to it probably about five times now. The story line is VERY different from Little Fuzzy, but it is still really good. There are some great court room scenes in this book and some really great character development. John Scalzi did a great job of bringing Little Fuzzy back and in a way that someone in the twenty first century can enjoy.
Blood and Gore:
There are some violent scenes in this book, but the blood is very minimal. PG.
Swearing:
There is quite a bit of swearing in this book, which was not in the original Little Fuzzy.
Sex:
None, though it is mentioned a couple of times.
Overall:
This is a great story. If you liked Little Fuzzy give this book a try, and if you never ready Little Fuzzy then I highly recommend it. This is a great book.
Note:
The first part is Fuzzy Nation and the second file is Little Fuzzy so this is a short book, about eight hours.

Fun, fun, fun!

Scalzi's adaptation is the most fun I've had in a while! Fast moving and witty.

Both great versions New and Original.

This was a real bargain in that you got two books for the price of one. John Scalzi revitalized updated version and the original by H. Beam Piper. This gives you a real chance to compare and contrast the differences between the two. The new version is not just a carbon copy of the original but rather it uses it as a baseline for the overall feel of the world and its inhabitants. The inhabitants you might ask are small Ewok like creatures called Fuzzy’s that live on a world that is run by a massive corporation whose sole motivation is profit. There are laws set in place to protect any world that has sentient life, but that would bring all mining on the planet to a halt. But like many laws there is a long drawn out legal process to prove a life form sentient. Until the law declares the Fuzzy’s sentient ZaraCorp is free to treat them as a nuisance animal.

hilarious

another first rate narration job by wil wheaton
the story is predictable, but this is overcome by witty, ironic dialogue,(if a little too machismo at times), excellently rendered by the narrator.
The whole story screams of Hollywood screenplay aspirations.
The plot is near-identical to Avatar (if you replace the sexy blue giants with cuddly little cat-monkeys), until the courtroom scenes happen at which point the highly-amusing and satisfying dialogue overcomes any weaknesses the book would otherwise have. Bravo Scalzi and Wheaton

Great Reimagining

Would you listen to Fuzzy Nation again? Why?

Yes. Good characters, classic sci-fi story. Excellent performance.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jack Holloway (Protagonist). Sort of an anti-hero, but good guy.

What does Wil Wheaton and John Scalzi (Introduction) bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

The intro makes it clear that this is a re-imagining of a classic novel.
Wheaton is improving as an audio performer & does well at conveying emotion.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but it would be a spoiler.

Any additional comments?

Any fan of classic Sci-fi will like this & the second half is the original story, which though written for the 60s, is still a great listen & different enough from Fuzzy Nation that they didn't seem redundant.

Two novels, two reviews

There are a number of things that made buying this book an interesting idea. First, the idea of two novels written by two authors based on the same basic idea. I wondered exactly how different the stories would be, how interesting the second would be after reading the first and how dated the earlier version of this story might be. Second, any novel by John Scalzi seems worth at least some investigation as I have not read anything by him that I have not considered to be worth the time spent. Third, Wil Wheaton does a good enough job narrating a book that his narration made the purchase even easier. So, how are the two different stories?

Fuzzy Nation (approximately 7 hours, 20 minutes)

Simply put, this book is a gold mine and, at the same time, a roller coaster ride. It is one of the few books I have read where I could say I really did not know how it was going to turn out. Of course you have a general idea that things will turn out for the best, but this book has so many ins and outs, so many legal turns and so many unexpected developments that I was unable to figure out precisely what would happen.

At the same time this novel is just plain fun. There are laugh-out-loud moments when my wife just looked at me as if perhaps I needed to see a doctor, suspenseful moments when I did not want to stop listening and just plain interesting moments when time seemed to fly past. I have not had this much fun listening to a book is quite some time. In particular I had no idea how the courtroom drama at the end of the novel would turn out, who would win, who would lose and how all of the lose ends would get tied up. In the end Mr Scalzi did a neat job of closing all of the loose ends and answering all of the questions and in a way that caught me completely by surprise. This is not a simple book and the plot is quite involved, but also quite satisfying at the end.

The narration, of course, is first class. The writing is first class. The story is first class. The first novel in the book is worth the purchase price alone. Five stars.

Little Fuzzy (approximately 6 hours, 25 minutes)

I had such a good time with Fuzzy Nation that I was actually reluctant to start listening to Little Fizzy. It was hard for me to see how the story could match John Scalzi's re-writing of it and the narration by Peter Ganim sounded harsh and uninviting by comparison. I actually waited for a day before I even began listening and, after 20 minutes or so, stopped listening and waited another day before getting back into the novel. I should not have worried.

The main character, Jack Holloway, exists in both books but is a completely different type of person in each. He is an independent mineral prospector on the same planet in both novels, but that is the extent to which the characters match. In Little Fuzzy he sounds like an older grizzled loner as compared to the young ex-lawyer in Fuzzy Nation. His views and opinions are much more dated and altruistic in Little Fuzzy, but he is still a main character worth spending time with in both stories. He is open and welcoming to the fuzzies when he finds and makes a home for them.

Little Fuzzy is a much simpler book than Fuzzy Nation. The plot is fairly straight-forward, the characters are mostly what you expect them to be and the “bad guys” seem to be operating with a much simpler set of goals. However the story is also interesting in its own way with what turns out to be a parallel, although somewhat clearer, set of plot lines. Still, the characters are interesting, there is a good deal of uncertainty as to what will happen to the fuzzies themselves and the courtroom drama at the end is, in its own way, as interesting as the first book.

This is, in many way, a very different book from Fuzzy Nation, but is worth reading on its own. While the narration is, in my opinion, not as polished as that of Fuzzy Nation, it is still well done. Four stars.

Summary

Both books are worth spending the time. Fuzzy Nation seemed to me to be a much more sophisticated novel with deeper character development, a more nuanced story and a more satisfying ending. Little Fuzzy, which I think is worth the time on its own, seemed more superficial by comparison with a much simpler story line, more straight-forward characters and has a more paternalistic feel than Fuzzy Nation. I believe the narration of Fuzzy Nation to be better than that of Little Fuzzy, but both are good. I have rated the combined book at 5 stars since I cannot give 4 ½ stars which would be the average of the two novel ratings.

An interesting question is how my views might have changed if I had read the stores in the reverse order. Having finished both books I clearly cannot do that but readers might want to think about which one to listen to first. Regardless, I recommend this combined book to those who like science fiction and are looking for a light read.

Best "reboot" ever ...

First, this is a two-file download. The first file is Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi, the second is Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. This allows you to compare the new to the old.

Little Fuzzy is a great story, but dated. Scalzi modernizes it without changing the core of what the story is about in a really effective way.

I Love Love Love this book!

Fun, dramatic sci-fi

I went into this expecting to enjoy passing a few hours but not much more than that. I was so wrong. The characters, storyline, and narration were the best I've heard in a long time. It's perfectly balanced science and fiction, with some drama for seasoning. The story sucks you along without relying on overdone deep future technology and is completely plausible with minimal suspension of disbelief. You forget the genre and just enjoy the story of some people and an exciting adventure. This is a must read.

Scalzi makes me happy

What made the experience of listening to Fuzzy Nation the most enjoyable?

Scalzi turns a character (who you're first inclination is to hate due to the fact that he's a complete jerk) into a man that you cheer on despite the fact that he's still a complete a-hole. You just can't go wrong with that!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Charlie

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh a bunch, not so much cry but made me a little sad

Any additional comments?

Awesome sauce John, keep it up!