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3.5 

Little Fuzzy

By H. Beam Piper
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Little Fuzzy is a science fiction novel set on the planet Zarathustra, a world rich in natural resources being exploited by a huge chartered company from Earth. Jack Holloway is a free-lance sunstone miner working on the outskirts of civilization when he encounters a small, fuzzy animal which turns out to be remarkably intelligent. He soon begins to suspect that “Little Fuzzy” and his family are more than just clever animals, but in fact a new sapient alien species. Such a proposition is directly opposed to the interests of the chartered Zarathustra Company, and conflict ensues.

Published in 1962, Little Fuzzy rapidly gained popularity due to the charming nature of the little aliens and the well-handled tensions of the plot. It is today considered to be a classic of the genre, though perhaps considered to fall into the category of juvenile fiction. It was followed by a sequel, Fuzzy Sapiens in 1964.

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Little Fuzzy Reviews

3.5
“I absolutely adore the fuzzies! I said out-dated because it’s very obvious it was written in the 50s, but I think that’s part of the fun with classic sci fi. Like, I think it’s so quintessentially 1950s American to think that cigarettes and cocktail hour are of such vital importance to human societies, alien species would mistake it as religious observances.”
“I liked the idea. The story just didn't go anywhere interesting. I wish I had a fuzzy, but I also wish the book told me more about them.”
“I first came across this story AFTER listening to John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation, which is an adaptation that brings it up to date with the way technology and other things have developed in the years between the writing of the two stories. This is the second (maybe third) time I'm listening to the story and the misogyny and other outdated things are annoying me more and more. Having said that, I am aware of the fact that this is a story of its time and calling a "secretary" a girl - as in "I reached a girl who took a message for the man I was trying to reach" - and defaulting to male when speaking of a person or persons of unknown or unspecified gender was the norm at the time. This may also be a result of me reading a number of books this semester from earlier times that were also misogynistic and my tolerance level is low. The story itself is nifty, the plot twists are fun, and it is resolved in a satisfying way. I do however recommend Scalzi's version as that's the one I prefer.”

About H. Beam Piper

Henry Beam Piper (March 23, 1904 – c.  November 6, 1964) was an American science fiction author. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alternate history tales.

He wrote under the name H. Beam Piper. Another source gives his name as "Horace Beam Piper" and a different date of death. His gravestone says "Henry Beam Piper". Piper himself may have been the source of part of the confusion; he told people the H stood for Horace, encouraging the assumption that he used the initial because he disliked his name. On a copy of Little Fuzzy given to Charles O. Piper, Beam's cousin and executor, he wrote "To Charles from Henry."

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