Rabbitlike aliens from outer space colonize Earth during humankind’s Second World War in a delightfully funny and thought-provoking science fiction adventure.
The Quozl just need somewhere to call home. A gentle race of extraterrestrial rabbits, they have a propensity for reproduction that has left their home planet, Quozlene, dangerously overpopulated, and in their search for greener and less-crowded pastures, they have discovered the perfect place to start over: the third planet away from a healthy, warming sun. What they don’t realize is that this world they call Shiraz is already inhabited by a species of violent sentient creatures known as humans.
But there’s no going back now. In the midst of the brutal and helpfully distracting global conflict the Shirazians call World War II, the colony ship lands undetected, and the space rabbits immediately go into hiding. But a secret like the Quozl can be concealed for only so long, especially when their numbers start to increase and certain rebellious members of the long-eared society decide the time is ripe to claim their place in a world they believe is rightfully theirs.
One of the most admired and prolific authors in the science fiction arena, Alan Dean Foster will delight readers who hunger for something different with this funny, thoughtful, and wildly inventive novel of first contact and coexistence. Once you meet the Quozl, you will never forget them.
Review:
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review.
I need to start by saying that I barely read any books set in space, or with alien characters, so I am not an expert on this matter, but I think I can honestly say this is probably one of the best developed out there right now.
The Quozl culture, their costumes, their identity as inteligent beings, their way of living. It felt as if nothing was left out. Everything was interestingly detailed and analysed, leaving us with the sense that we knew them as well as the author, there was nothing else we could ask for that wasn't mentioned here. The story didn't feel shallow, basic. It went kilometers deep into Quozl history.
I especially adored the way it was funny and light and easy to read, but also extremely profound, scientific and fascinating. It made these little guys feel so real and the story so much more intense and fast to get trough.
The next thing that needs to be acknowledged is the way these aliens see the world they are about to enter. In the beginning of the story we see the crew of the Sequencer, after generations and generations of interspace travel from their overpopulated planet, Quozl, as they land on a new (supposedly) unoccupied planet, Shiraz. However, as they study it further, they discover it has already been popularized by other intelligent beings. They landed on Earth. As peaceful, respectful and polite creatures, the Quozl are aghast when they start studying Humans and learn of their violent wars. That's probably what stuck me the most, the views they had on the Human society and their way of exposing it. In my opinion, it was brilliantly made and it was carried all throughout the story.
I believe these alien colonists really force us to see what we have let technology, evolution and Human nature do to the world we live in and give an example everyone reading would want to follow.
I absolutely loved to love and loved to hate some of the characters. Not because they were detestable, but because they were so clueless and naive. Anyhow, all of the characters were explored and described immensely well and we get to met such a diverse set of them that it's hard to point out any negative aspects.
The relationship between aliens and humans was one of the best aspects about the last half of the book. The differences and similarities, especially the differences in the dialogue, was what, in my opinion, took this story to the next level.
The ending was not how I pictured it, but it was still really good, and showed that a book like this can remain constant and true to itself and still keep you guessing and reading on. There is always something new to discover, until the very last page. I utterly believe we would like to think that that is not how things would play out, but I think, deep down, we all hope for it. There is no way to guess what would actually happen, but Alan Dean Foster did a remarkable job.
Although this isn't a recent book, I would still absolutely recommend it. It was, overall, such an interesting, enjoyable, amusing book, with cute moments, awkward scenes and lovable characters. Under all the subtle humour, it is the kind of sci-fi novel that makes us wonder 'what if?'
One last thing: because I read this as an ebook, I didn't get to experience the flip-a-motion art inside the original paperback copies of Quozl, but I found a video and I leave it here if you also like to watch it:
