A ship of sentient (and slightly humanoid) space rabbits land on earth, only to realise it is already inhabited by another (violent) sentient species - humans. They decide to live underground for a few generations, establishing themselves before making contact, all while monitoring human transmissions (e.g. what is playing on tv) and making careful explorative trips to the surface in the remote area in which they landed. Unfortuanatley for the rest of the Quozl contact is made early when Runs Red Rising runs into a boy, whom he forms a friendship with.

The concept of this book intrigued me - I mean, what scifi loving nature nerd doesn't want to read about space rabbits? The book gets off to a bit of a slow start, but I started to really enjoy it once the world/community building aspect had been somewhat established. I loved learning about the Quozl and their culture, although I wasn't a big fan of their constant insistence that humans would be less violent and stop warring if only they had more sex. I completely disagree with the premise (I mean, look at all the violence DRIVEN by sex. I do wonder if the fact I'm asexual made it hit harder but I don't think it's that important.) But overall the Quozl were delightful characters and I enjoyed their curiosity and intelligence. I would love to learn more about them. The humans on the other hand... Let's just say I don't think that the reaction to discovering an alien species was particularly accurate. People and governments, especially those who would like to experiment would not immediately just shrug it off because greater society was aware. I also think there would be a far greater pushback against their immediate acceptance, no matter how cute they may be. Honestly, I was with the scientists. You can't just introduce a new species that breeds like rabbits anywhere - you need to understand the impacts. Sentience doesn't take that need away - environmental impact assessments are also required before humans are allowed to move into a new area. They also felt less developed than the Quozl and the main human characters kind of felt like their sole purpose was to facilitate the discovery of the Quozl. But I do think that the Quozl do largely make up for this. The parts that focussed on the Quozl were the strongest in my opinion, and the story unfortunately no longer felt as strong when humans became fully involved.

I think you will probably have a good time with this one if you are looking for a fun first contact story and/or you love rabbits. I did have to suspend my disbelief a bit at times and it had a few moments I didn't like as much, but overall I had a great time with this book! And if you enjoy audiobooks, I can definitely recommend the version narrated by Paul Bellantoni. I feel like his talented narration enhanced the experience.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all views are my own. ( )

This particular paperback edition of 'Quozl' is a prime example of "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover". Jim Gurney's zany cover art and Foster's own reputation as being able to handle humor in a genre that sometimes takes itself way too seriously combine to suggest this first-contact tale will be a screwball comedy.

It's not, and the quicker the reader can re-align expectations, the better. Because the real star of this novel is Foster's carefully-realized alien culture, with its own biology, history, social structure, and technology, and a genuine life-or-death need to locate and colonize planets beyond its homeworld due to explosive population growth.

The plot is set in motion once their generation-ship makes its irreversible decision to make landfall on a planet they realize, too late, is already inhabited by intelligent, but violent, life forms. Making the best of a bad situation, they opt for a landing site in the most remote and unpopulated area they can identify, which turns out to be north central Idaho's Sawtooth Wilderness Area. There they literally burrow into a remote mountain canyon and create an underground habitat, using historical precedent and advanced technology to establish and maintain a thriving, hidden colony.

Several generations on, the inevitable contact with a local sets off a chain of events which will ultimately threaten to destroy the colony completely.

Foster sets a leisurely pace here, establishing a plausible scenario both for the long-sustained concealment and for the initial human-to-Quozl meeting, and keeps those interchanges moving in minuscule increments. The emphasis for most of the first half of the book is firmly on the Quozl characters and on their adaptations to or struggles with the restrictions of their hidden community.

Eventually, of course, the secret gets out, as virtually all secrets will, but even here Foster has developed a plausible scenario that puts both Quozl and their human contacts on the spot as all attempt to control and manage the biggest news ever to hit the human race. ( )

a different kind of contact story

Creatures from Qozlene come to earth (Shiraz) not expecting any intelligent life. When they finally meet up with humans, it's ages before they become publicly known and are then are readily accepted. ( )

Wonderful quirky scifi story that makes me think a bit about human nature. I don't know if the way the Quozl view humans in this story is how a superior alien race would view us, but I suspect it does contain some truth. Fun to read and thought-provoking. ( )