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Fuzzy Ergo Sum
Jul. 9th, 2011 03:28 pmFinished Wolfgang Diehr's Fuzzy Ergo Sum today, the sequel to H. Beam Piper's original Fuzzy trilogy.
I want to be careful here. It wasn't bad -- but, on the other hand, I can't really call it good, either.
Here are some positive things about the book:
1) It was a fun, lighthearted read. It was just the right length -- I honestly find most books these days to be too long. Seriously, every idea doesn't deserve 1200 pages.
2) The cover art. Fuzzies riding golden retrievers.
3) Continuity with Piper's books is excellent. Diehr even manages to deploy appropriate references to other Piper stories set in the same universe. This isn't just some work-for-hire hackery pounded out for the advance. It reads like the work of an ardent fan who just wanted to have more Fuzzy stories.
4) Effectively captured AND updated the mid-20th-century feel of Piper's writing so that it was consistent with Piper, without going out of it's way to be retro-cutesy. Well done.
Some of the drawbacks:
1) There were kidnappings, surprise revelations of unknown offspring, sunstone poaching, a duel, romance, underworld crime lords battling each other, organ transplants... Lots and lots of stuff happening in the book. Sadly, all of the above involves Hagga (humans) not Gashta (fuzzies.) For being a book in the Fuzzy series, there was precious little action that involved FUZZIES. I hope Diehr's next Fuzzy book has more fuzzy content. Which beings me to...
2) Huge cliffhanger ending. No, scratch that. Very little ending whatsoever. A couple of threads were wrapped up, but lots and lots of threads were left dangling at the end. So hurry up and write the next one, before Scalzi locks down the Fuzzy franchise.
3) I'm gonna have to challenge Diehr to a duel if he can't learn to spell "Pancho." "Poncho" is a loose cloak with a slit for your head, worn to keep the rain off. "Pancho" is the first name of Lt. Commander Ybarra. It was spelled correctly once or twice in the book, and wrong another dozen or so times. There were numerous other typos, but this was the one that annoyed me.
4) This is the work of an ardent fan who just wanted to have more Fuzzy stories, not the work of an experienced writer. The book has some structural problems (not that Piper's didn't) that I hope Diehr will smooth over in later books.
Off to read John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation now, the re-imagined updating of Little Fuzzy. I fear I'm in for a lot of smart-ass "updating."
I want to be careful here. It wasn't bad -- but, on the other hand, I can't really call it good, either.
Here are some positive things about the book:
1) It was a fun, lighthearted read. It was just the right length -- I honestly find most books these days to be too long. Seriously, every idea doesn't deserve 1200 pages.
2) The cover art. Fuzzies riding golden retrievers.
3) Continuity with Piper's books is excellent. Diehr even manages to deploy appropriate references to other Piper stories set in the same universe. This isn't just some work-for-hire hackery pounded out for the advance. It reads like the work of an ardent fan who just wanted to have more Fuzzy stories.
4) Effectively captured AND updated the mid-20th-century feel of Piper's writing so that it was consistent with Piper, without going out of it's way to be retro-cutesy. Well done.
Some of the drawbacks:
1) There were kidnappings, surprise revelations of unknown offspring, sunstone poaching, a duel, romance, underworld crime lords battling each other, organ transplants... Lots and lots of stuff happening in the book. Sadly, all of the above involves Hagga (humans) not Gashta (fuzzies.) For being a book in the Fuzzy series, there was precious little action that involved FUZZIES. I hope Diehr's next Fuzzy book has more fuzzy content. Which beings me to...
2) Huge cliffhanger ending. No, scratch that. Very little ending whatsoever. A couple of threads were wrapped up, but lots and lots of threads were left dangling at the end. So hurry up and write the next one, before Scalzi locks down the Fuzzy franchise.
3) I'm gonna have to challenge Diehr to a duel if he can't learn to spell "Pancho." "Poncho" is a loose cloak with a slit for your head, worn to keep the rain off. "Pancho" is the first name of Lt. Commander Ybarra. It was spelled correctly once or twice in the book, and wrong another dozen or so times. There were numerous other typos, but this was the one that annoyed me.
4) This is the work of an ardent fan who just wanted to have more Fuzzy stories, not the work of an experienced writer. The book has some structural problems (not that Piper's didn't) that I hope Diehr will smooth over in later books.
Off to read John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation now, the re-imagined updating of Little Fuzzy. I fear I'm in for a lot of smart-ass "updating."
