I picked this up from the book sale table at the local library for 20 cents. I’ve picked up some gems that way, as well as lots of clunkers. But in general it’s a ‘what the heck’ impulse. You can’t go far wrong for 20 cents.

This book is a curious project, to my mind: a modern re-writing by Scalzi of the classic SF novel Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. It’s a pretty bold venture to tamper with a beloved classic. We’ve certainly had any number of imagined sequels of classics like Jane Austen’s novelsway too many, in fact. But it’s a lot rarer for someone to actually re-write the original in the original context. It’s as though Helen Fielding had decided to pay homage to Pride and Prejudice by setting Bridget Jones’s Diary in England in the Regency period and to call her heroine Elizabeth Bennett. Is Scalzi trying to show that he could do a better job than Piper with the concept? It just seems odd.

Nevertheless, considered by itself without reference to the original, it’s an entertaining enough read. This version, like the original, deals with the corporate exploitation of a planet which is threatened when a prospector encounters a cute little animal which eventually turns out to be a sentient species. The consequent legal battles constitute most of the fun. The good guys, of course, triumph in the end. ( )

A great story that moves across the legal rights of sentient beings. An entertaining banter that flips into a tour de force legal trial. ( )

Fun, uncomplicated read. That's not damning with faint praise, but rather an appreciation for a tale well told, with bad Bad Guys, and (mostly) good Good Guys. ( )

Scalzi describes writing Fuzzy Nation as a “reboot” of the classic 1962 science fiction novel Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. This is a "reboot" in the way J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek films (known as the Kelvin Timeline) introduced a new generation to the franchise featuring Captain Kirk and Spock. Like the 60s and 70s Star Trek, Piper's novel is apparently quite dated. It appears Scalzi's desire was to bring this story to a new, younger group of readers in an updated fashion because although . Fuzzy Nation uses the original plot and characters to tell an original story in a different continuity. Having never read Little Fuzzy, I can't vouch as to whether or not Fuzzy Nation is indeed an improvement but I can say that I certainly enjoyed the heck out of Scalzi's book.

Fuzzy Nation is a riveting estate-authorized reboot of H. Beam Piper's Hugo-nominated 1962 classic Little Fuzzy, Scalzi changes the hero from a grandfatherly miner to a handsome dude (think Chris Pratt) and updates the plot with new events while retaining the prescient focus on ecological concerns (giving a literary and philosophical nod to Ursula K. Le Guin and her 1976 novel The Word for World is Forest). Disbarred lawyer Jack Holloway (the Chris Pratt like dude), 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 (note: this catlike native biped is, like, the cutest thing ever...and reminded me a lot of ewoks). Holloway forwards footage of the "fuzzies" to a biologist friend, who believes they are sentient—but if they are, Zara XXIII and its sunstone must be abandoned. Soon hired company thugs, murder, and arson happen and we are on course for a strange ecological murder mystery set on a planet in space. All the plot collides in a to a stunning courtroom showdown that felt like Law and Order in space (which was pretty damn awesome).

Fuzzy Nation is a compassionate, thrilling, and funny science fiction novel. I really enjoyed it. Pick it up if you want a fast paced ecological science fiction novel with some intriguing court room drama. ( )

I really loved it. Couldn't put it down. Stayed up all night reading. ( )