1962’s Little Fuzzy is often overlooked among science fiction works, but it delivers a good genre tale that raises some interesting questions about the nature of sentient life.
What Is It?
On the colonial planet Zarathustra, Jack Holloway (aka “Pappy Jack”) spends a lonely yet content life mining for valuable sunstones until the day a small, furry, bipedal creature approaches him and the two establish a bond. Jack names the creature a Fuzzy and calls this particular one “Little Fuzzy.” Shortly thereafter, the creature fetches its entire family and moves in with Jack.
The miner decides that these Fuzzies are an intelligent species, which could potentially change the classification of the planet. The Zarathustra Company currently holds the charter, which assumes that no sapient beings inhabit the planet, but new evidence of intelligent natives could cause that charter to be revoked. The company seeks to discredit any notion that these beings might be sapient, but this has tragic consequences when one of the Fuzzies is killed and Jack Holloway shoots a company employee while trying to protect the others. This then sets up a court case that hinges on whether these indigenous creatures truly are sapient. The only problem is that the Fuzzies in question have gone missing.
Author: H. Beam Piper
Originally Published: 1962
Legacy:
This book is not usually considered a classic among genre works, but it delivers a good science fiction story with broad appeal, and it inspired multiple sequels and spin-offs.
A Closer Look:
H. Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzy, first published in 1962, doesn’t typically get mentioned alongside other well-known science fiction works by authors like Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, etc., but this is actually quite a good book that deserves to be recognized among the upper echelon of the genre’s literature (it was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1963). At first glance, many may lump it into the category of young adult books because of its cute and cuddly aliens, and it does have broad appeal to readers both young and old. But this is much more than a simple YA book, as it delivers an interesting and substantial science fiction story that raises the question of what counts as a sapient being.
Little Fuzzy doesn’t go the Disney route of making the Fuzzies and their antics the focal point of the story. They are important to the plot and are definitely lovable little creatures, but the main group of Fuzzies (with the exception of the youngest) actually disappears about a third of the way into the book and doesn’t return until near the end. Piper instead chooses to focus on the legal and moral issues raised by their presence and the killing of one of their race. In doing so, he delivers a rather talky book, though it’s rarely dry or tedious, a common mishap of authors like Asimov and Heinlein.
While younger readers may lose interest about halfway through as the action focuses less on the Fuzzies, the book never bogs down and remains a quite enjoyable and brisk read. Piper successfully taps into some of the best elements of the courtroom drama and merges them with questions only a science fiction story can ask, producing an excellent tale that deserves the attention of all genre fans. This one is rarely ranked among the classics, but it certainly counts as a must-read.
The Story Continues:
H. Beam Piper wrote the sequel Fuzzy Sapiens, which was published in 1964, though sadly the author took his own life that same year. There were rumors of another book written by Piper, and that eventually surfaced as Fuzzies and Other People in 1984.
Prior to that, Ace Books commissioned two sequel novels: 1981’s Fuzzy Bones by William Tuning and 1982’s Golden Dreams: A Fuzzy Odyssey by Ardath Mayhar. Since the book slipped into the public domain, several more sequels and spin-offs have followed, including three books by Wolfgang Diehr and John J. Carr starting in 2011. John Scalzi (Redshirts) also released Fuzzy Nation in 2011, which he referred to as a reboot of the original story.
Should It Be Adapted?
It would seem like this novel would be a perfect target for a big-screen adaptation because of its cute—and imminently marketable—aliens, and also because the book is currently in the public domain. The story, as written by Piper, does not necessarily lend itself to a big-screen blockbuster, but when has Hollywood ever let story stand in the way of making a movie?
As mentioned above, the author wrote two sequels to Little Fuzzy, and there were several additional sequels written by other authors, so there is plenty of material to draw from. More recently, John Scalzi produced a reboot of the books (you thought that was just happening with movies and television, didn’t you?) titled Fuzzy Nation, so it’s not impossible that this story could eventually make its way to cinemas, or perhaps to a TV series. Hopefully, if that happens, the adaptation manages to hold on to some of the more interesting science fiction concepts that Piper injected into it.
Comments on the Audiobook:
The audio version I listened to comes from the now-defunct Audio Realms, and it is a pretty straightforward adaptation. Narrator Brian Holsopple does an excellent job with the reading, successfully distinguishing between the different characters, and he definitely helps to bring the story to life. Sadly, this version is hard to find now, but there are several other adaptations available, seeing as the book is in the public domain.
Interesting Facts:
Under copyright laws at the time, Little Fuzzy needed to be renewed in 1990 but was not, because the author had passed away and his estate was not tracking the status of the book, allowing it to slip into the public domain. However, its sequel Fuzzy Sapiens was properly renewed, leaving only the first book in the series without copyright protection.
In early drafts of the Star Trek “Trouble with Tribbles” script, David Gerrold used “fuzzies” instead of “tribbles” as the name for his creatures. The decision was later made to change that to avoid confusion with the beings featured in H. Beam Piper’s book.
Where Can You Read It?
This book is widely available in print, eBook, and audio format. You can also get the etext for free at Project Gutenberg, and an audio version at Librivox.
Read More About the Book:
Wikipedia
Fantastic Fiction: Check Your Assumptions at the Door: H. Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzy
