Henry H. Beam Piper Books In Order

Publication Order of Fuzzy Sapiens Books

Publication Order of Paratime Police Books

Publication Order of Lord Kalvan Books

Publication Order of Terro-Human Future History Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Anthologies

Henry Beam Piper mystery, thriller, fantasy and science fiction author from the US who penned a ton of novels and short stories. He is best known as the author of the “Paratime and Terro-Human Future History” series of short stories.

While he has been called Horace Beam Piper in several sources, he typically wrote his novels as H. Beam Piper. The author could have been responsible for creating much of the confusion surrounding his name.

He often told people that his name Horace was the H in his shortened version and gave the impression that he disliked the name Horace. On a copy of one of his novels that he left to his executor and cousin Charles O Piper ,he wrote that the novel was from Henry rather than Horace.
As for his education, Horace was for the most part an autodidact who self educated himself on history and science without attending college. During the time when he should have been in college, he was hard at work laboring at the Altoona yards for the Pennsylvania Railroad where he was a watchman.

“Time and Time Again” was the first short story that Henry ever published. The story was featured in “Astounding Science Fiction” and would also get an adaptation that was aired on “Dimension X,’ then a very popular radio program.

In his earlier years, he published short stories for the most part before he got into novel writing in the early sixties. In the mid sixties his career was flagging and since he had strong Libertarian principles he never could ask anyone to help him and committed suicide.

No one knows the exact date of Horace’s death even though his body was found several days after his last entry in his diary. According to some sources, the author had put drop cloths over his floors and walls, shut off electricity and water to the apartment, and then shot himself with one of the many guns from his huge collection.

The suicide note he left behind said that he hated leaving any mess when he was leaving but that whoever found his body had to forgive him as he could not clean up after himself.

Why Henry Beam Piper decided to take his own life will always be a matter of conjecture. Several biographers believe he had family challenges while others believe he took his life because of financial problems.

Some biographers believe a combination of financial challenges following a divorce and a feeling that he was not progressing in his career could have been responsible.

One editor who was personally known to Piper asserted that this act of suicide was mean to spite his fomer wife that he despised with all his being. Through the act, he ensured that she would never get the insurance payout.

“Only the Arquebus,” which was his latest unpublished manuscript went missing following his death but many believe he destroyed it just like he did with many of his private belongings and documents.

His works were later acquired by “Ace Science Fiction” and many of them were reprinted during the 1980s.

H. Beam Piper’s “Little Fuzzy” that Piper first published in 1962 is an award winning novel that was a blockbuster literary and science fiction work of the 1960s that resonates up to today.

The novel has been described in some quarters as a juvenile or young adult novel perhaps because of all the smoking and drinking that the characters do and the brutal violence and nefarious suggestions. It is a fun story that tells of colonists from Earth that encounter some little cute fuzzy bipeds.
On the other hand, it is also a serious discussion about what it means to be a thinking and sentient person. The story could also be read as an essay on the rights of indigenous people or an allegory for the personal relationships between big government and big business.

As a staunch libertarian, he usually included libnertarian themes in his novels. In this work, Henry casts big business as the villain from very early on while it was big government that came in to save the ordinary citizens.
True to his libertarian principles there are many people doing what is right and standing up for each other even when it is inconvenient for themselves.

“Fuzzy Sapiens” by H Beam Piper follows from “Little Fuzzy,” the debut of the series. The novel continues and finishes the story of the endangered “Fuzzy Fuzzy Holloway” species.

The treatment of the Fuzzies throughout the novel is somewhat bemusing. Even though they are described as sentient beings, most of the time they are treated as nothing better than pets. This could be something that the author does to deliberately show how confused the colonists were in their minds.
The novel also tells of the mid twentieth century attitudes that are quite quaint, particularly when it comes to the treatment of women and courting. It sometimes feels colonial as most people will usually stop whatever they are doing in the early evening to have a cocktail for an hour.

“Fuzzies and Other Poeple” by H Beam Piper is a novel that came out following the suicide death of the author. The novel starts off from where the previous novel of the series Fuzzy Sapiens left off.

At the opening of the novel, Hugo Ingerman’s crew finds itself facing charges of enslaving the protected Fuzzies who they had forced to steal some precious stones from some organization’s vaults. But Ingerman is a cunning fellow and he intends to throw a spanner in the works.

He claims that the Fuzzies had begged him to allow them to be part of the crew that had committed the crimes. Since the Fuzzies are unable to testify to their own innocence given that they lack a concept of falsehood, he believes everyone will have to take him at his word.

The novel provides a beautiful and enjoyable story as we romp through the fantastical world of the Fuzzies. It is a good, clean and fun read that everyone just has to love.

One Response to “Henry H. Beam Piper”

1. Diana M Pucci: 5 months ago

   I love the Fuzzy series. I have both Scalzi’s and H. Beam Pipers Book one in Kindle ebooks and as audio. I can’t find book 2,4 and 5 in audiobook form either as a add onto the Kindle ebooks or in Audible.(I have them as Kindle ebooks) Is someone going to produce the Audiobooks sometime soon? It sorta leaves the audio book lovers hanging. Book 3 is totally unavailable in ebook or Audiobook form. Thank you if uou have any answers.

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