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Title: Fuzzy Bones by William Tuning, Michael Whelan ISBN: 0-441-26181-7 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 1981 Format: Paperback |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A really cool addition to the Fuzzy canon
Comment: Tuning appropriately dedicates _Fuzzy Bones_ to "Anubis, the guide from the first life to the second life" - this is, after all, the first book about the Fuzzies of Zarathustra to be written by anyone other than their creator, H. Beam Piper. At the time _Fuzzy Bones_ first saw the light of day - December, 1981 - Piper had published two Fuzzy novels, _Little Fuzzy_ and _Fuzzy Sapiens_; in the nature of things, _Fuzzy Bones_ contains massive spoilers for both of them, since it picks up a continuing cast of characters at a turning point in Zarathustran history.
However, _Fuzzy Bones_ is *NOT* in sync with Piper's 3rd Fuzzy novel, because Piper's tragic death in 1964 left his estate in such a mess that the manuscript of _Fuzzies and Other People_ wasn't located and published until 1984, 3 years after _Fuzzy Bones_. Consequently, Tuning's projected results for the trial of Diamond's kidnappers and the ultimate fate of Hugo Ingermann, the sleazy lawyer who controls the Zarathustran underworld (mainly Mallorysport, its only full-fledged city) differ from Piper's actual resolution.
Since Ingermann is a major character in _Fuzzy Bones_, that portion of the plot makes this an alternate history of Piper's Zarathustra instead of a seamless continuation. Apart from that - something Tuning couldn't have foreseen - he's done well in taking up Piper's mantle, and the flavor of his writing is close enough to Piper's to satisfy a craving for a new Piper story. At 47 chapters, it's about twice as long as any single Piper Fuzzy novel, but there's no makeweight.
Tuning picks up 6 months after the end of _Fuzzy Sapiens_, starting with the 3 first-class passengers aboard _City of Asgard_ in the wake of the immigration boom triggered by the Pendarvis Decisions of _Little Fuzzy_. None of the 3 is a typical colonist, if there is such a thing, and each is a hook providing a window on a different section of Zarathustra, in addition to the regular cast inherited from earlier books. Master Gunnie Philip Helton's en route to Xerxes to see that the naval base is up to scratch in case of further civil unrest, given the changeover in colonial government and the sudden influx of immigrants - many of whom will wind up broke and desperate on finding that the loss of the Company charter hasn't paved the streets of Mallorysport with gold, even though much of the planet is now technically public domain. The Rev (Helton pegs him as an ex-marine) has been sent by his immediate boss to a) get him as far away as possible and b) to set up the first soup kitchen/mission on Zarathustra. Any planet settled for 25 years is bound to have a slum, immigration boom or no. (In Mallorysport, it's Junktown, and mostly owned by Hugo Ingermann.) The last of the 3 first-class passengers is also travelling for "business" reasons - Christiana Stone, taking up the oldest profession after being callously abandoned by her fiancee when she asked for help for her father.
Christiana's basically a good egg, just young and naive - she has to grow up rapidly after trying to make a living in Mallorysport without knuckling under to Ivan Bowlby's control of prostitution. (We don't actually *see* Christiana doing anything "on-stage"; there aren't any explicit sex scenes in the story, although there's one mutual seduction.) After learning of her father's death within a month of her arrival on Zarathustra, Christiana has sense enough to ask the Rev for advice, and gets temp work at the Charterless Zarathustra Company. Not that the CZC is so breezy about security clearances as to take someone they can't background check in less than the year's turnaround-time it takes to communicate with Earth; she's just hired to help arrange the wedding of CEO Victor Grego's current Fuzzy-Sitter-in-Chief, Sandra. After Grego meets Christiana at the reception - explaining basic genetics to the Fuzzies, who want to know why she's strawberry-blonde but Sandra's red-haired, having noticed that humans vary much more in looks than Fuzzies do - Grego, in his usual "scientific selection" process, hires his new Fuzzy-Sitter-in-Chief on the spot. Quite typically, he overrides his security chief's protests about background checks...not knowing that he's hired a blackmail risk.
The "Fuzzy bones" of the title relate to the many anomalies Piper quite deliberately not only introduced in the Fuzzies' background, but (metaphorically) flagged with flashing red lights. Why are the Fuzzies present on only one continent on Zarathustra, and why have they left so few traces in the fossil record? They're not only considered super-sane and stable, but possibly *more* intelligent than humans - but they have only low-paleolithic technology. Why do they have a critical need for trace amounts of titanium in their diet - something *very* scarce on Zarathustra?
At the same time the Fuzzyologists are working on a better understanding of Fuzzies, their diet-related fertility problems, culture, and language, Colonial Governor Ben Rainsford has to cope with a Constitutional Convention whose foot-dragging has held up electing a legislature - without a legislature, the new Class-IV government can't levy taxes, and they've been running on the CZC's goodwill for nearly a year now. (He'd dearly like to shoot a couple of the worst of the delegates so that the survivors would get a grip.) The longer they stall, the worse the unemployment problem and lack of support systems among the immigrants in Mallorysport will get, and Zarathustra has some pretty grim examples in Federation history of what happens when a planet's economy and government collapse together. And always there's Hugo Ingermann in the background, pulling strings in the criminal underworld and looking to come out on top.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great classic series everyone should read.
Comment: I recommend reading Little Fuzzy and The Other Human Race (consolidated in Fuzzy Papers, or available singly if you can find them) first. They are written by H Beam Piper, and followed nicely by Mr Tuning.
The series is good for all ages, and gives us perspective and food for thought on making room for all species.
Rating: 5
Summary: No Wonder I Couldn't Find It
Comment: Recently, I acquired a copy of The Complete Fuzzy and was confused. The story simply was not as I remembered it, from first reading the Fuzzy books years ago. The reason, of course, is that I had read every Fuzzy book I could get my hands on. Fuzzy Bones had completed the story so well that it had become an integral part of H. Beam Piper's universe -- to the extent that I was unaware Piper hadn't written it! This really is a "true" Fuzzy book, regardless of who wrote it.
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Title: Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper ISBN: 0441484980 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: December, 1986 List Price(USD): $2.95 |
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Title: Fuzzies and Other People by H. Beam Piper ISBN: 0441261760 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: March, 1987 List Price(USD): $2.95 |
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Title: Fuzzy Sapiens by H. Beam Piper ISBN: 0441261957 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: August, 1984 List Price(USD): $2.75 |
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Title: The Complete Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper ISBN: 0441005810 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: December, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Fuzzy Papers: Little Fuzzy & Fuzzy Sapiens by H. Beam Piper ISBN: 0441261930 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: September, 1980 List Price(USD): $2.95 |
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