Quozl

First the good: This is one of the best books I have ever read! It is cute, funny and written in a way that will appeal to children as well as fun-at-heart grown ups. I HATE epics - I have no time for them - but this is a book that covers decades but doesn't get bogged down. An Epic that doesn't read like an epic. Now the bad, and for me it was bad indeed. The book ain't perfect. There are a few small places it drags and one or two that seem to me to be rushed in as an after-thought. These can be forgiven though. On the other hand... Mr. Foster came up with a great concept, wonderful plot, amazing characters and ... after taking the reader through them he then - in my opinion - hangs it all on a meathook in the final chapter! I won't give away the ending except to say that *I* hated it to the point of actually RIPPING OUT the last several pages and letting the book sit there on my shelf for a few months to let the memory dim. Since then I have read it many times and went away feeling lighter in soul for it. A feel good book that is worth the price 10X over, though I advice to stop a few pages before the end. :)

One of the best books along with "cachalot", "Midworld" and "Dark Star" from this author.I read Quozl some years ago. The story starts slow, but after the first contact is establised, the story grows towards a " read with speed, no pauses". Don't miss any sentence.

Quozl is one of those books that most fans of Alan Dean Foster will love: It's classic Foster. It's unique, humorous, enjoyable, but not stupid or simplistic. If you're a sci-fi fan, you should enjoy it. If you're a Foster fan, you should enjoy it. Highly Recommended.

Foster didn't attempt to write a comedy book, but rather a 'First Contact' novel. The space-comedy angle seemed to have been the bad idea of his publisher's marketingpukes.I loved it when I first read it almost ten years ago. And, whenever I see/read first contact/alternative history SciFi, I compare it to 'Quozl' and wonder how a story can come across with them in it. What I'd really like to see is a sequel where a joint Shirazian/Quozl expedition arrives at Quozlene. Perhaps human ingenuity can improve the Quozl hyperspace drive and thus make the trip faster. Quite a few furry ears would pop up, I'm sure.Foster did a great job in providing a richly detailed background and alien race. While I was able to emote somewhat with the characters, the detailed world is what got me hooked.

When I looked at the cover art and read the synopsis, I liked what I saw and bought the book. I was looking forward to a Sci-Fi comedy something akin to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," or "Ded Dwarf." The last thing that I expected was the best first-contact type story that I have ever read. The thing that struck me most about "Quozl" was Foster's attention to detail with respect to the development of this new alien race. Rather than the cuddly, bumbling, comical rabit-men, Foster created a complete culture based on a rather interesting angle. What happens to a race of intelligent, rational beings who have reproduction rates consumate with, well... rabbits. You have a race that has overpopulated its home world to the breaking point. The story surrounds a colonization ship which is heading toward Earth... the catch, they have no idea that the planet is already inhabited until after it is too late to find a new target for colonization. The Quozl end up landing on the Earth in secret some time during the height of WWII and decide to remain underground until the human race grows up a bit. I can't really go on without giving away much of the book and all of its wonderful suprises. Let me just reiterate that this is absolutely the most wonderful first-contact story I have ever read. Quozl was actually the first book by Alan Dean Foster that I had read, and from that experience, I have gone on to read quite a few more. (I highly reccomend Codgerspace) Foster definately brings a very different perspective to everything he writes. The plots are often strange, but he has yet to bore me; in fact, I can not seem to put his books down once I pick them up. Tananda Densmore [email protected]