On This Page
Description
More than three decades ago, H. Beam Piper's bestselling science fiction novel Little Fuzzy captivated readers everywhere. Now, all three of Piper's delightful books are available for the first time in one volume: Little Fuzzy, Fuzzy Sapiens and Fuzzies And Other People.Tags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Member Reviews
Little Fuzzy - A charming novel about a crotchety old miner (Jack Holloway) on a colony planet to who discovers a race of intelligent aboriginal peoples. The existence of these Fuzzy threatens the charter of the large mining concern which owns the planet. Almost at once, Jack and his small family is under attack by a team of company scientists who have been set to disprove the claims of sapience. One of the men cruelly murders a Fuzzy and Jack kills someone in self-defense. So begins a large court case which will determine the fate of a couple of men and of an entire race of peoples. I read this book for the first time when I was very young. It is a simple story with a very satisfying plot. It was a joy to revisit.
Fuzzy Sapiens - With show more the Zarathustra Company's charter revoked, it's now up to our story's protagonists to cobble together a democratic government as quickly as possible. More and more Fuzzy's are arriving from the wilderness on Beta continent and Jack Holloway finds himself appointed head of the Native Affairs Commission. The biggest problem besetting the Fuzzies as a society is their abnormally high infant mortality rate. It seems there is some sort of genetic element at work. Also a pressing concern is the growing shortage of the Fuzzies' preferred food - a basic survival ration from Terra that isn't typically in such high demand. Victor Grego, head of CZC is a new defender of the Fuzzy after discovering a Fuzzy living in his apartment. He names the creature Diamond and it soon becomes clear that he was kidnapped with five friends and held by an unknown number of CZC employees for some unknown purpose. Grego and his people are hot on the trail of these Fuzzy slavers but will they be able to rescue the Fuzzies in time?
Fuzzies and Other People - After the enslaved Fuzzies who robbed the Sunstone vaults of the CZC are recovered, a landmark trial is launched to prosecute the group of people responsible. This case will be formative for the new government, because it will stand as an example of seriousness with which abuse of Fuzzies will be taken. The state brings charges of enslavement and Faginy, both of which are capital crimes. The difficulty arises, however, that if the convictions are to stand, the Fuzzies will have to testify in their own defense. The only problem is that the lie detectors don't seem to work on the Fuzzies. Meanwhile, Little Fuzzy gets lost while out on a trip with friends. He's washed far downriver and must use all the skills he's been taught to find his way back to his family.
I love these books. They are nice, simple stories about cute little furry animals in space. Delightful! show less
Fuzzy Sapiens - With show more the Zarathustra Company's charter revoked, it's now up to our story's protagonists to cobble together a democratic government as quickly as possible. More and more Fuzzy's are arriving from the wilderness on Beta continent and Jack Holloway finds himself appointed head of the Native Affairs Commission. The biggest problem besetting the Fuzzies as a society is their abnormally high infant mortality rate. It seems there is some sort of genetic element at work. Also a pressing concern is the growing shortage of the Fuzzies' preferred food - a basic survival ration from Terra that isn't typically in such high demand. Victor Grego, head of CZC is a new defender of the Fuzzy after discovering a Fuzzy living in his apartment. He names the creature Diamond and it soon becomes clear that he was kidnapped with five friends and held by an unknown number of CZC employees for some unknown purpose. Grego and his people are hot on the trail of these Fuzzy slavers but will they be able to rescue the Fuzzies in time?
Fuzzies and Other People - After the enslaved Fuzzies who robbed the Sunstone vaults of the CZC are recovered, a landmark trial is launched to prosecute the group of people responsible. This case will be formative for the new government, because it will stand as an example of seriousness with which abuse of Fuzzies will be taken. The state brings charges of enslavement and Faginy, both of which are capital crimes. The difficulty arises, however, that if the convictions are to stand, the Fuzzies will have to testify in their own defense. The only problem is that the lie detectors don't seem to work on the Fuzzies. Meanwhile, Little Fuzzy gets lost while out on a trip with friends. He's washed far downriver and must use all the skills he's been taught to find his way back to his family.
I love these books. They are nice, simple stories about cute little furry animals in space. Delightful! show less
This is one of the books that I've read several times and still want to come back to now and again. Besides falling in love with the Fuzzies themselves, I enjoy the process of discovery that occurs through the whole book as Jack Halloway learns more and more about this race of apparently sentient beings. Jack must prove that the Fuzzies are sentient or else they will be treated as mere animals and thus lose their homes, be sold as pets, and possibly used in experiments. Unfortunately, the Company is out to make sure that doesn't happen by any means necessary.
It may look like it might be heart-warming Hallmark Special pap to please the grannies and the milquetoasts, but actually "Little Fuzzy" is a court procedural, an exploration of show more first contact, and a book that poses some tough questions like "what is sentience?". This is good science fiction, people, and if you come for the cute covers, that's cool. Just stay for the great characters, the discoveries, the drama (there will be tears), and the fun. Speaking of covers, nobody does furries like cover artist Michael Whelan. This review is about a compilation of Fuzzy books, but I recommend getting them seperately for the artwork. It's a pretty light read and is available to read on Stanza for iPhone or computer for FREE so check it out and spread the word. show less
It may look like it might be heart-warming Hallmark Special pap to please the grannies and the milquetoasts, but actually "Little Fuzzy" is a court procedural, an exploration of show more first contact, and a book that poses some tough questions like "what is sentience?". This is good science fiction, people, and if you come for the cute covers, that's cool. Just stay for the great characters, the discoveries, the drama (there will be tears), and the fun. Speaking of covers, nobody does furries like cover artist Michael Whelan. This review is about a compilation of Fuzzy books, but I recommend getting them seperately for the artwork. It's a pretty light read and is available to read on Stanza for iPhone or computer for FREE so check it out and spread the word. show less
(Published originally on:
The Complete Fuzzy (Paperback) by H. Beam Piper
Piper belonged to a school of writers, who didn’t question the notion that Man was the best thing that had happened to the Universe. His was a literature of high organization and obscure knowledge. He also believed in the reconciliation of problems by logic, common sense or compromise, and in the last resort, by justifiable force.
The three fuzzy books that I’ve just read (“Little Fuzzyâ€, “Fuzzy Sapiensâ€, “Fuzzies and Other Peopleâ€) have a coziness that is lacking in the rest of Piper’s work. The coziness consists of a creature twelve twenty-four inches tall, a ball of fur with large brown eyes and lacking show more all malice. Compare with the Moties from the book by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle “The Mote in God’s Eyeâ€â€¦ Quite different, but the intrinsic qualities of both books are not much different! The same voiceless characters, also quite a number of main figures, usw. All in all I much prefer the Fuzzy creatures than the Moties. The Moties are quite laughable in terms of character building for a start. Sometimes they look like some guys I know … eh eh eh. Not much alienness!
For me the Fuzzies can be seen as symbol of conscience, of lost innocence. The struggle to prove and then assert the sapience of these creatures lifts these trilogy above the pulp fodder that was published at the time.
A long time ago I had read the first two books of the trilogy (the third was not available to me at the time). Now I decided to re-read the complete trilogy “The Complete Fuzzyâ€, which comprises the three books.
Unfortunately these novels cannot withstand the test of time. By today’s standards this trilogy is just a bunch of drivel. There are too many main characters, and they all seem the same. Even the Fuzzies seem the same, that is, it’s very difficult to tell them apart. The characters read like some 50’s pulp fiction romance (“Astounding Magazineâ€, “Amazing Stories†and so on) and behaved quite unlike anyone I know, despite the fact that the books were written in the 60’s. Maybe it's simply a reflection of the time when the novel was written. Still I got a kick while re-reading these trilogy. I still have fond memories of reading them in the 80’s. I’ve always been a sucker for retro-SF-books…The test of time is a bitch. The eyes that read those books back then are not the same that have read them now. That’s the problem. For those of you who like to dwelve into retro SF, I think this trilogy is going to be a safe bet. For those who don’t stay clear." show less
This was such a fun read. I fell in love with the Fuzzies straight away. I enjoyed that this had three of the books about the fuzzies in it.
If you enjoy a read that is fun, with a small touch of redemption and sci-fi, pick this up. You won't be sorry.
If you enjoy a read that is fun, with a small touch of redemption and sci-fi, pick this up. You won't be sorry.
This collection is a great gift for any young readers. I last gave one of these as a gift to a co-workers 13yr old daughter, I'm told she would not stop talking about it for several days and in this day and age thats a really long time!
For mat of the ebook was not great, but the stories were fun once again.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Favorite Series
238 works; 94 members
Favorite Science Fiction
452 works; 216 members
Author Information
117+ Works 9,385 Members
All Editions
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Complete Fuzzy
- People/Characters
- Baby Fuzzy; Gus Brannard; Leslie Coombes; Diamond; Victor Grego; Jack Holloway (show all 14); Hugo Ingermann; Little Fuzzy; Mama Fuzzy; Ernst Mallin; Ruth Ortheris; Claudette Pendarvis; Justice Pendarvis; Bennett Rainsford
- Important places
- Holloway Station, Zarathustra; Mallorysport, Zarathustra; Zarathustra
- First words
- Jack Holloway found himself squinting, the orange sun full in his eyes. (Little Fuzzy)
Victor Grego finished the chilled fruit juice and pushed the glass aside, then lit a cigarette and poured hot coffee into the half-filled cup that had been cooling. (Fuzzy Sapiens)
Officially, on all the half-thousand human-populated planets of the Terran Federation, the date was September 14, 654 Atomic Era, but on Zarathustra it was First Day, Year Zero, Anno Fuzzy. (Fuzzies and other people) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Later, when they learned how, they would give their help, too. (Little Fuzzy)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)There were still so many things Fuzzies had to learn. (Fuzzy Sapiens)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Damned if he didn't wish sometimes that he was a Fuzzy! (Fuzzies and other people)
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 211
- Popularity
- 154,245
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (4.34)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 1
- UPCs
- 1
