| The latest catalog from a book dealer, of whom I'm a steady customer,
lists FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE as being available. I haven't seen it
for sale in any book store, though I haven't been to a store in the
last week or so. At any rate, it's most likely an August release, so
it should be out within the next week, if not already.
--- jerry
|
| Fuzzies and Other People is not only out, it's sold out at Lauriet's already!
When I got there yesterday there was a gap on the shelf right at "Pi...", with
a "New Title" tag on it, so I asked the clerk if it was the new Piper book, and
as I was giving the title she said she wouldn't be surprised if they were gone
as she'd been selling them like hot cakes. And this man shot himself 'cause he
was a failure!
JimB
|
| Article: 317
From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: REPOST: Belated Reviews #3: H. Beam Piper
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: 04 Aug 93 01:56:44 GMT
Belated Reviews #3: H Beam Piper
H Beam Piper wrote mostly in the fifties and early sixties. He died
thinking himself a failure, before receiving word that may have made a
difference. Piper is a personal favorite, so I have more trouble than
usual judging which of his works a new reader would enjoy today.
The political tenor of Piper's works is fairly consistent: On the one
side, reasonable men, willing to do what needs to be done and competent to
do it. On the other side, corrupt officials, crooked lawyers, hypocritical
or misguided (liberal) idealists, and the mob. The mob is important:
Piper was well-read in history, and his future history features what he
perceived to be a perennial tendency for the barbarians at the gates or the
barbarians within to short-sightedly pull down civilization. Many
contemporary authors duplicate his stance, but not the gently ironic tone
of much of his writing.
Most of Piper's works (except for two novels) have been reprinted. The
majority form a future history of humanity in space repeating the errors
of the past. The majority of the rest belong to his 'Paratime' sequence,
about a civilization that spans (or at least interacts with) a multitude
of alternate Earths, and whose Paratime Police attempt to oversee those
interactions. Piper's books include
Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (***+). Sometimes the Paratime Police mess up,
and this particular mess drops a member of the Pennsylvania State Police
into an alternate medieval-tech land which is about to be conquered and
destroyed at the behest of a theocracy which owns the local gunpowder
monopoly. Fortunately Calvin (soon Kalvan) remembers his chemistry and --
even more important -- his military history. This book is probably the main
inspiration for the entire military-sf subgenre whose main contemporary
practitioners are Drake, Pournelle, and Stirling. It focuses as much (or
more) upon the technological, logistical, and political problems Kalvan
faces as it does upon his battles.
"Little Fuzzy" (***+) is the Piper novel that readers have probably found
most charming. The Little Fuzzy of the title is a furry foot-high hominid
who wanders into the camp of Jack Holloway, an old prospector on the planet
Zarathustra. Holloway 'adopts' him without thinking of the implications,
which are obvious to the Company that controls the profitable planet: If
Zarathustra has an intelligent species, the law makes it clear that the
planet is theirs, and not the Company's. So the Company becomes motivated
to prove that the Fuzzies aren't intelligent -- and might be willing to
settle for proving that they're extinct. This book spawned sequels --
"Fuzzy Sapiens" (**), "Fuzzies and Other People (**+), and lesser works by
other authors.
"Space Viking" (***) is his most history-repeats-itself novel. In the
dark age that follows the collapse of the Federation, worlds that still
maintain space-faring technology have found it easier and more profitable
to raid the less fortunate worlds than to stay home and build. Trask is
one of the few who does want to stay home, but when a madman kills his
wife and flees offplanet, he finances a space-viking expedition and follows.
His story intersects that of another space-faring planet on which history
is repeating itself -- only in this case the history that is being repeated
is that of the Weimar republic.
"A Planet for Texans" (**+), reprinted as "Lone Star Planet", was written
with his occasional coauthor, John J McGuire. This tongue-in-cheek tale
features a planet of Texans whose dinosaur-sized cattle that have to be
herded with tanks, and whose system of government has some unique features.
The protagonist is a Machievellian diplomat who was appointed as ambassador
to this planet after the previous ambassador was assassinated. The crux of
the story is the trial of the assassins -- under a legal system which
classifies the shooting of a politician as justifiable homicide.
%A Piper, H. Beam
%T Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
%T Little Fuzzy
%T Fuzzy Sapiens
%T Fuzzies and Other People
%T Space Viking
%T A Planet for Texans
%O APfT coauthored by John J McGuire
Standard introduction and disclaimer for Belated Reviews follows.
Belated Reviews cover science fiction and fantasy of earlier decades.
They're for newer readers who have wondered about the older titles on the
shelves, or who are interested in what sf/f was like in its younger days.
The emphasis is on helping interested readers identify books to try first,
not on discussing the books in depth.
A general caveat is in order: Most of the classics of yesteryear have not
aged well. If you didn't encounter them back when, or in your early teens,
they will probably not give you the unforced pleasure they gave their
original audiences. You may find yourself having to make allowances for
writing you consider shallow or politics you consider regressive. When I
name specific titles, I'll often rate them using the following scale:
**** Recommended.
*** An old favorite that hasn't aged well, and wouldn't get a good
reception if it were written today. Enjoyable on its own terms.
** A solid book, worth reading if you like the author's works.
* Nothing special.
Additional disclaimers: Authors are not chosen for review in any particular
order. The reviews don't attempt to be comprehensive. No distinction is
made between books which are still in print and books which are not.
-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity." -- W.B. Yeats
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