Scalzi, John: Fuzzy Nation
Fuzzy Nation (2011)
Written by: John Scalzi
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 301 (Hardcover)
Why I Read It: When Scalzi first announced this book, I'll admit I wasn't enthused in the slightest. While Scalzi's a favorite author of mine, I wasn't interested in reading a reboot/book-heavily-inspired-by of something I hadn't heard of, let alone read. But as the release date got closer, I shook off my initial feeling of blah and reminded myself that reboot or not, this was Scalzi, which meant the book would have to have something of merit. So I ordered it. I even downloaded the free Kindle version of the original (Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper), with the intent of reading the original before reading the Scalzi. However, I knew that plan would force me to wait until I was in the mood for the Piper, which might take FOREVER, so I decided to read the Scalzi on its own merit.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn’t care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorp’s headquarters on planet, 178 light-years from the corporation’s headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an independent contractor, 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 canceling 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.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay, only because this is the kind of book that, while reading, you have a good sense of where it's going anyway, so spoilers aren't THAT big of deal. That said, if you want to remain pure for your own reading, I highly recommend skipping to "My Rating" instead. The rest of you, onward!
I didn't take many notes on this one, to be honest. If you're a fan of Scalzi's prose, like I am, you get absorbed pretty quickly and aren't distracted by the need to point out every little thing that makes you laugh or every time you think you know where the story is going, etc. The notes I did take were slim:
1) Holloway introducing bacon to the Fuzzys on page 166, which made me laugh, because I've started to notice that Scalzi finds way to slip bacon into his books somehow (granted, this is only the second time I've noticed it. The first was with Agent to the Stars, which was the last Scalzi book I read).
2) The comment to Holloway playing a "long con" against ZaraCorp on page 209. As you'll learn below in the "Cover Commentary," I was already picture Jack Holloway as Josh Holloway, the actor who played Sawyer on Lost, and Sawyer was a con man. There's even an episode called "The Long Con," so my brain was squealing. Intentional or not on Scalzi's part doesn't matter. My brain went there. :)
3) SPOILER: Papa Fuzzy's speech at the very end of chapter twenty-six, on page 294. It was really unnerving for a number of reasons, but the primary one was that while it was funny, I had a little trouble believing that Papa would adapt the language/wording that Holloway would use. Logically speaking, it makes sense: Papa's been listening to Holloway talk for a while, right? But it was still jarring to hear that kind of language come out of a cute little Fuzzy mouth.
That's it for notes. So let's talk about the book in general terms and wrap up.
I love reading this kind of science fiction because it's not quite brain-candy (wherein I turn my brain off, read, then completely forget about it), but it's not the kind of SF that forces me to wade through explanation after explanation, which can sometimes make my brain hurt or worse, bore me to the point of not reading. I can always count on Scalzi for an enjoyable read, and he definitely didn't let me down. Starting from the very first chapter, where we learn that Holloway has taught his dog Carl to set off explosives to the very end, wherein we see how the Fuzzys are able to take control of their world. While there's always going to be hardcore SF readers who scoff and gripe about SF that's not very technologically advanced, I really enjoy the stories that are more about the people than the technology/setting. I also found the book unique (to me) in that the bulk of the action took place in a court room, which I found I enjoyed very much. The revelation not only that the Fuzzys could speak and therefore had sentience, but that they had also had taught themselves the English language was very nicely done, and while I knew the Fuzzys could communicate (that much was obvious), I was pleasantly surprised by the English. It was fun for me to be able to guess the shape of the story, but still be surprised by the details of how it all worked out.
It didn't hurt that more often than not, the Fuzzys were a nice source of humor, especially when Carl was involved.
Also enjoyable was the fact that contrary to your typical storybook fare, the hero does not win back the girl. In fact, she gets married to her boyfriend, and I have to say, it was really, really nice to see how this cast interacted with each other, how they played off of each other, and how they were able to form and maintain a friendship. The cast, and the fact that they weren't just best buddies, really created a nice level of tension.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Holloway is quite entertaining as a hero. Or anti-hero. However you want to look at it, I really enjoyed reading this story through his third-person point-of-view.
My Rating: Couldn't Put It Down
Scalzi's prose is always reads at a quick, easy pace. Part of it's the humor, part of it's the ease in which he portrays a scene, and the characters are almost always relatable. The other good thing about Scalzi is this: you like him or you don't (seriously, reading his blog is the best way to tell if you're going to like his fiction). In terms of Fuzzy Nation, I had a great time with it. I worried that I wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the story without having read Piper's original, but now, I'm glad I read this unhindered by the original. This way, I had no expectations and could enjoy Scalzi's vision on my own terms, rather than constantly comparing it to the source material. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to read the source material one day (that's Little Fuzzy, for those of you wanting to get your hands on it), but it terms of enjoying Scalzi's novel, it's not necessary. I had a lot of fun with this and was completely and totally wrapped up in the world and the story. Even though I recognized the shape of how events would play out, I still found myself surprised by HOW things played out, the details, and of course, Jack Holloway made for an entertaining hero/anti-hero as well. And the Fuzzys. How can you not love the Fuzzys? This is the kind of SF that's friendly for everyone, especially those readers who are afraid of the genre. If you've not read Scalzi before, this is a great place to start: I think you'll have a lot of fun.
Cover Commentary: Okay, so here's the thing: when I first saw this cover, I thought the model looked quite a lot like Josh Holloway, the guy who starred in Lost as Sawyer. He also recently starred in the penultimate episode of Community's second season (paintball war!). At any rate, I had this actor FIRMLY in mind before ever reading, and then when I got to the first page? And the main character's name was Jack Holloway? There's no way I can see ANYONE else in that role. In fact, if this is ever made into a movie or television show? I demand that Josh Holloway play the lead. Scalzi, please make this happen!
At any rate, I do like the cover, all celebrity look-a-likes aside. It's sci-fi enough that you know what you're getting into, but not SO sci-fi that it scares of readers that would otherwise enjoy this. So I'm pleased with the cover.
Next up: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews