Fuzzy Nation, by John Scalzi

Science Fiction

Billed as a reboot of Little Fuzzy, Fuzzy Nation is indeed a reboot. Gone are mentions of contragravity and collapsium. Also gone is the Yeoman Farmer pipe-dream that was always a hallmark of H. Beam Piper’s work. There is a hint of it at the beginning, but it evaporates by the end. While I did miss contragrav and ExTeeThree, the story rings true and Scalzi kept my attention.

The story begins much the same as the original, with the addition of a running gag that’s present throughout. And it works. The list of characters is a bit different, but still full of rivalry and tension. Whereas Holloway of the original was a gunslinger, Scalzi’s Holloway is a schemer. It’s a sad state of affairs but it’s not an indictment of the work; merely an observation Scalzi wove into the story line. Perhaps it’s also a wry comment on the current state of our schizophrenic Nash Equilibrium obsessed world.

I’m a bit of a retro-grouch and protective of my childhood scifi. Even so, I can still recommend Fuzzy Nation.

Review written by Christopher Jones