Is John Scalzi's new book a follow up to H. Beam Piper's work?

carld · 05-05-2011, 03:17 PM

Tor is releasing Fuzzy Nation which appears to be set in H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy universe. Does anyone know anything about this book? I'm a big fan of Scalzi but it's been years since I read Piper's Fuzzy books (got the MR collection waiting on my Kindle).

I'm just curious if they're set in the same universe or if it's an unrelated homage, I'm fine with it either way.

ardeegee · 05-05-2011, 03:24 PM

Lots about it on his blog:

http://whatever.scalzi.com/?s=fuzzy+nation

5thWiggle · 05-05-2011, 03:26 PM

Had a quick read of the excerpt. Not only set in the same universe, uses some of the original characters. Thanks for the link, Fuzzy Nation is now in my TBB pile.

mwheinz · 05-05-2011, 03:41 PM

Wait. Are these the books where the protagonist is some sort ambassador to a planet of teddy-bear like creatures that are obsessed with imitating parts of human culture? I seem to remember something about the Galactic Series of Baseball or some such.

DiapDealer · 05-05-2011, 03:43 PM

It's basically a reboot of H. Beam Piper's work.

jsmack65 · 05-05-2011, 10:11 PM

The first two chapters were posted to io9.com - it's a reboot. Essentially the same story, which is a shame, really. I'd rather have read a sequel set in the same universe than have Scalzi rewrite a superior author's book. It's not as if Little Fuzzy is so hard to find - it's a classic.

carld · 05-05-2011, 10:23 PM

It's surprising, a reboot, or retelling of the same story, isn't something I would have expected. I do really like Scalzi's writing though, so I think I'll give it a try. The first few chapters piqued my interest, but the $11.99 ebook price tag is pretty off-putting.

Hellmark · 05-06-2011, 12:42 AM

I guess the reason for it being a reboot is so Scalzi can write future stories without having to make sure his stuff meshes up with that of two other authors.

WillAdams · 05-06-2011, 08:15 AM

If you want a straight out sequel to H. Beam Piper's works, then you want _Fuzzy Ergo Sum_:

http://www.amazon.com/Fuzzy-Ergo-Sum.../dp/B004XQVEP2

(there's a single review, which I don't find encouraging)

Hellmark, there's only one writer who matters, Piper --- William Tuning's _Fuzzy Bones_ and Ardath Mayhar's _Fuzzy Odyssey_ were displaced by Piper's _Fuzzies and Other People_ which was eventually found and published.

Scalzi has taken a lot of liberties w/ Piper's characters (he's no longer ``Old Man'' Jack Holloway) --- I read through the sample chapters and didn't much like the character (who had none in comparison to Piper's original) --- YMMV.

I also don't see the point of a reboot --- of all Piper's works, _Little Fuzzy_ has held up the best IMO (the anachronistic developing of film &c. don't bother me at all).

William

Hellmark · 05-06-2011, 09:30 AM

Jeez, more than I remembered. I only remembered Piper and Tuning.

Still, I stand by my point that a reboot would be the best way to work in the Fuzzy universe without having to worry about continuity with other people. I mean, look how convoluted it gets with comics. Not saying I'd like Scalzi's work better, just makes more sense on his side of things.

EDIT: Additional thought here
Out of curiousity, how does this effect the books going into the canadian public domain. If I remember right, there it is Life+50, and we're 3 years off from the 50th anniversary of his death. Little Fuzzy and his earlier works I know are in the US public domain, but his later works are not. I'm not canadian, and don't plan on raiding the canadian PG in a few years, just a random tangent I got on (just had some Canadian candy while going through this thread).

JeremyR · 05-06-2011, 06:09 PM

As a big fan of Piper, I am conflicted. On the one hand, it's great people are remembering his work.

On the other, the books are classic and they are being remade by someone who is really rather overrated.

DiapDealer · 05-06-2011, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyR

On the other, the books are classic and they are being remade by someone who is really rather overrated.

You know, a few years ago, I probably would have argued with you over Scalzi being overrated. But frankly, after (and excepting) Old Man's War, I've been largely unimpressed with everything he's written. Don't get me wrong, most of the books are OK, but really nothing special. So I'm going to have to agree with you--Scalzi's a one-hit wonder in my opinion. He seems more concerned with blogging now-a-days anyway.

Jadon · 05-07-2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillAdams

there's only one writer who matters, Piper --- William Tuning's _Fuzzy Bones_ and Ardath Mayhar's _Fuzzy Odyssey_ were displaced by Piper's _Fuzzies and Other People_ which was eventually found and published.

Which I think a pity, since Fuzzy Bones is a stronger work than Fuzzies and Other People, IMHO. It had an original idea, whereas Piper's one conclusion was just more of the same.

bwaldron · 05-07-2011, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You know, a few years ago, I probably would have argued with you over Scalzi being overrated. But frankly, after (and excepting) Old Man's War, I've been largely unimpressed with everything he's written. Don't get me wrong, most of the books are OK, but really nothing special. So I'm going to have to agree with you--Scalzi's a one-hit wonder in my opinion. He seems more concerned with blogging now-a-days anyway.

Mirrors my opinion exactly.

Worldwalker · 05-07-2011, 06:25 PM

It's not bad enough that Hollywood is digging up the corpses of greater creators than they and doing things to them I can't say on MobileRead ... now we have writers doing it.

Frankly, this looks to me like a blatant cash grab. He's grafted LF names onto his own story so that a) he can get sales from people nostalgic for the original (or just confused) who would never have bought it with original names, and b) if someone sells, say, a Baby Fuzzy with an elastic band to hold it on your head, he can demand a cut. Not a good thing at all ... and as an SF reader, I have to say an even worse thing from one of our own.

05-05-2011, 03:17 PM	#1
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Is John Scalzi's new book a follow up to H. Beam Piper's work? Tor is releasing Fuzzy Nation which appears to be set in H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy universe. Does anyone know anything about this book? I'm a big fan of Scalzi but it's been years since I read Piper's Fuzzy books (got the MR collection waiting on my Kindle). I'm just curious if they're set in the same universe or if it's an unrelated homage, I'm fine with it either way.

05-06-2011, 08:15 AM	#9
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,258 Karma: 3439432 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	If you want a straight out sequel to H. Beam Piper's works, then you want _Fuzzy Ergo Sum_: http://www.amazon.com/Fuzzy-Ergo-Sum.../dp/B004XQVEP2 (there's a single review, which I don't find encouraging) Hellmark, there's only one writer who matters, Piper --- William Tuning's _Fuzzy Bones_ and Ardath Mayhar's _Fuzzy Odyssey_ were displaced by Piper's _Fuzzies and Other People_ which was eventually found and published. Scalzi has taken a lot of liberties w/ Piper's characters (he's no longer ``Old Man'' Jack Holloway) --- I read through the sample chapters and didn't much like the character (who had none in comparison to Piper's original) --- YMMV. I also don't see the point of a reboot --- of all Piper's works, _Little Fuzzy_ has held up the best IMO (the anachronistic developing of film &c. don't bother me at all). William Last edited by WillAdams; 05-06-2011 at 08:19 AM.

05-06-2011, 09:30 AM	#10
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,591 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	Jeez, more than I remembered. I only remembered Piper and Tuning. Still, I stand by my point that a reboot would be the best way to work in the Fuzzy universe without having to worry about continuity with other people. I mean, look how convoluted it gets with comics. Not saying I'd like Scalzi's work better, just makes more sense on his side of things. EDIT: Additional thought here Out of curiousity, how does this effect the books going into the canadian public domain. If I remember right, there it is Life+50, and we're 3 years off from the 50th anniversary of his death. Little Fuzzy and his earlier works I know are in the US public domain, but his later works are not. I'm not canadian, and don't plan on raiding the canadian PG in a few years, just a random tangent I got on (just had some Canadian candy while going through this thread). Last edited by Hellmark; 05-06-2011 at 09:53 AM.

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05-05-2011, 03:24 PM	#2
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	Lots about it on his blog: http://whatever.scalzi.com/?s=fuzzy+nation

05-05-2011, 03:26 PM	#3
5thWiggle Benevolent Evil Lord Posts: 1,704 Karma: 48339466 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Evil Canada (We all have goatees!) Device: Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Note, iPad Mini, PocketEdge(retired)	Had a quick read of the excerpt. Not only set in the same universe, uses some of the original characters. Thanks for the link, Fuzzy Nation is now in my TBB pile.

05-05-2011, 03:41 PM	#4
mwheinz award-winning bozo Posts: 258 Karma: 172703 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Philadelphia Device: Kobo Libra 2	Wait. Are these the books where the protagonist is some sort ambassador to a planet of teddy-bear like creatures that are obsessed with imitating parts of human culture? I seem to remember something about the Galactic Series of Baseball or some such.

05-05-2011, 03:43 PM	#5
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,373 Karma: 203720150 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	It's basically a reboot of H. Beam Piper's work.

05-05-2011, 10:11 PM	#6
jsmack65 Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 865830 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: nook	The first two chapters were posted to io9.com - it's a reboot. Essentially the same story, which is a shame, really. I'd rather have read a sequel set in the same universe than have Scalzi rewrite a superior author's book. It's not as if Little Fuzzy is so hard to find - it's a classic.

05-05-2011, 10:23 PM	#7
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	It's surprising, a reboot, or retelling of the same story, isn't something I would have expected. I do really like Scalzi's writing though, so I think I'll give it a try. The first few chapters piqued my interest, but the $11.99 ebook price tag is pretty off-putting.

05-06-2011, 12:42 AM	#8
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,591 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	I guess the reason for it being a reboot is so Scalzi can write future stories without having to make sure his stuff meshes up with that of two other authors.

05-06-2011, 06:09 PM	#11
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	As a big fan of Piper, I am conflicted. On the one hand, it's great people are remembering his work. On the other, the books are classic and they are being remade by someone who is really rather overrated.

05-07-2011, 06:25 PM	#15
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	It's not bad enough that Hollywood is digging up the corpses of greater creators than they and doing things to them I can't say on MobileRead ... now we have writers doing it. Frankly, this looks to me like a blatant cash grab. He's grafted LF names onto his own story so that a) he can get sales from people nostalgic for the original (or just confused) who would never have bought it with original names, and b) if someone sells, say, a Baby Fuzzy with an elastic band to hold it on your head, he can demand a cut. Not a good thing at all ... and as an SF reader, I have to say an even worse thing from one of our own.

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