Hokas Pokas!

Hoka #4

by Poul Anderson, Gordon R. Dickson

If a human thinks he's Napoleon, it's time to get out a straitjacket. But when a Hoka thinks he's Napoleon, you'd better believe it! Just remember that with Hokas, reality is merely optional. . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Humor, Space Opera, Short Stories, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Pseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]

Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.


Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry

Reviews

[Mohammad Ali Abedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

[My comments are on Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! and Hokas Pokas]

Both books are set in the future, where all the planets are in some sort of U.N. thing, and they discover new planets and then slowly work with these new inhabitants until they reach the stage where they can be part of the group.

By the way, I didn't mention this, but its a comedy science fiction. The planet in question has creatures (that are like short teddy bear looking creatures) who mimic whatever they read. The books are split into separate chapters, each having the Hokas being engaged in a new identity that they mimic, such as a society of cowboys.

I know this sounds stupid and childish, but it is actually funny a lot of times! No, really. Seriously. It is.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book is good. A bunch of teddy bear like aliens read the literature of Earth and then take it too extremes by becoming the characters. The one weak story in the collection is "Star Prince Charlie" where the Hoka is a supporting character.

The writers do a very good job of keeping the Hokas in character. Despite the sly reference of "hacks", Anderson and Dickinson are far from it.

[Matteo Recrosio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per me la razza aliena degli Hoka, inventata da Poul Anderson e Gordon Dickson è una delle più divertenti e ben scritte che abbia mai visto o letto. Sono sempre affascinanti in ogni racconto e anche alla fine di questo libro, dove è presente un romanzo breve, l'Hoka funge da contorno e da secondario ad una storia che allarga ancora di più i confini e ci mostra un altro pianeta e altri alieni, anch'essi molto interessanti. I due scrittori mescolano benissimo l'umorismo alla fantascienza, costruendo delle storie che guardano all'essere umano e che attraverso una creatura simil orsacchiotto, lo criticano e lo descrivono attraverso le epoche, cercando di renderlo migliore e di andare oltre alle buone e alle cattive influenze dello stesso. Scorre tutto bene come sempre, i dialoghi degli Hoka sono molto belli e prendono sempre dialetti o modi di dire e di fare storici che contribuiscono ad arricchire l'immaginario di questi alieni e del loro mondo. L'influenza umana però si vede anche altrove, con un pizzico di critica al colonialismo, oltre che a leggende e modi di fare e di dire, sempre, appresi e rivisti anche in maniera più seria di quel che un umano ha mai considerato, ma essendo alieni tutto appare per loro più profetico o misterioso. Il finale del romanzo breve "Star Prince Charlie" è dolce amaro ma anche emozionante e restituisce pure un personaggio bambino/ragazzino che non sembra stupido o inutile ma che riscopre a sua volta, attraverso gli stessi Hoka e gli altri alieni le fallace umane, cercando di non ricadere negli stessi errori della guerra e della politica. Consiglio di leggere tutto quello che riguarda gli Hoka ✌🏻

[Caseoh · Rating 1 out of 5]

i regret reading this so many people die and have too much sex. I would not recommend to any young kids this is such a dark book, DO NOT READ.

[Erin L · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books were just plain fun, cheesy sci fi.

[Skjam! · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hoka of the planet Toka are the galaxy’s best live-action roleplayers. Given a story they find interesting, the teddy-bear-looking aliens will take on the characters as their own personalities. And they especially love Earth stories. Thus it is that they have entire subcultures based around Sherlock Holmes, or the pop culture version of Napoleon or the Lord of the Rings novels. Alexander Jones, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Interbeing League, has his hands full trying to keep the Hoka safe until they’re considered advanced enough to join galactic civilization.

The Hoka stories are comedic science fiction; some of the funniest ever written. This volume contains three of those stories.

“Full Pack (Hokas Wild)” gives Alexander Jones’ wife, Tanni, a rare day in the limelight. While her husband is away, Tanni goes to investigate a downed starcraft, along with her young son Alex Jr. It’s in the Hoka version of India, which is based more on Rudyard Kipling books than on the Mahabhrata. The mission is complicated when her Hoka escort overnight switches from a British military regiment to a wolf pack from The Jungle Book. Yet those who are familiar with the book rather than the Disney movie may catch on to the twist more quickly than Tanni does.

“The Napoleon Crime” explains where Alexander Jones was during the previous story, on Earth negotiating for an upgrade in the Hokas’ status. But back on Toka, someone or something has been twisting the Hoka games, and the planet is on the brink of having actual wars. With the aid of the heavyworld free trader Brob, Alex must return to Toka unannounced and go undercover as Horatio Hornblower to head off a deadly reenactment of the Napoleonic Wars.

Star Prince Charlie moves the setting to the world of New Lemuria, and the archipelago kingdom of Talyina. This feudal society has been contacted by the Interbeing League, which hopes to eventually bring the Lemurians up to galactic standards with the minimum of outside interference. Talyina is visited by young Charles Edward Stuart and his Hoka tutor, taking a vacation from the cargo ship of Charlie’s father.

There’s trouble in Talyina, though. The current king is a usurper and tyrant, and the people grumble. One drunken night for the tutor and a local warrior later, a prophecy about a destined prince and the tradition of the Young Pretender cast Mr. Stuart in the role of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the Hoka is now his Highland Scots retainer, Hector MacGregor. A local lord is pushing Charlie to fulfill the prophecy, and due to the League rules, the boy can’t just have technologically advanced guards come get him.

The prophecy begins to come true, with a little “help”, and the people rally behind their alien prince. But as events sweep Charlie along, he comes to realize that overthrowing one tyrant may only lead to a worse one taking the throne. For the sake of Talyina, he must become the hero they deserve, if not the one they think he is.

This is actually a short novel, written for the young adult market. It’s very much a boys’ adventure in the spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson, with rather more humor. (All the chapter titles are literary references, for example.) Charlie moves in a world of men; women are mentioned from time to time, but none are important to the plot, and I cannot remember Charlie ever having a conversation with one. He does, however, learn not to look down on people just because they’re less educated or technologically advanced. The bittersweet ending demonstrates how much he’s grown as Charlie chooses to do the right thing rather than the easy thing.

There’s some college papers waiting to be written about colonialism and cultural appropriation in the Hoka stories–much of the humor derives from the latter being turned on its head, and the League tries to avoid the worst effects of the former, but those things are worth considering.

While the first two parts are not specifically written for young adults, they should be okay for junior high students on up. Some references are likely to go over the heads of younger readers, which makes this a good choice for re-reading later. Highly recommended to fans of science fiction humor.

[Lonnie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. I enjoyed the outrageous concept of an imagination dominated race of teddy bears that are near on impervious to damage. Quite enjoyable.

My one quip with this book was that of the three short stories involved, the last and longest one had very little to do with the Hokas... While there was a Hoka in it, the story heavily revolved around the young human child protagonist. This was confusing as I expected it to be more about the Hokas, like the first two stories. Other than that, I quite enjoyed it.

[Brett]

Science Fiction

[A.B. B. Lucian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical when I heard "teddy-bear like aliens", but the authors have done a very good job with the concept. The stories are original and make for a very good read.