Planet of the Gawfs
For 40 years I’ve been trying to track down a specific science fiction book. The problem was that I couldn’t remember the title, author or year but recalled some of the plot (incorrectly as it turns out!) and colour of the cover.
I originally read it during my first week of high school which is a traumatic, high anxiety time. I vaguely recall grabbing it off a rotating tower while on the library tour. I then forgot about it for years but at some point in my 20s, I became obsessed with tracking it down.
No idea why but regardless, I spent hours in bookshops like the Hard to Find bookshop (Auckland) scanning the sci-fi section, libraries, and later searching and asking questions online. I got absolutely nowhere … until today!
On a whim, I asked my new AI mate Claude (sonnet 4.5 is great!) if it could try to identify this book I had been looking for so pointlessly for so long. After a fair amount of back and forth and with some great memory prompting questions, Claude eventually said this:
I think this is your book!
“Planet of the Gawfs” by Steve Vance (1978) - 173 pages
Here’s what matches your memory:
✅ Future Earth - plague hits in 1997
✅ Mutants hunted and taken off-world - “Gawfs” (God-awful freaks) rounded up and shipped to planet called Thear
✅ Young protagonist discovering mutations - Eli was able to hide by shaving his body and capping his fangs
✅ Knowing to keep them hidden - He blended in with humans until he used his strength to save a friend
✅ Gets captured after discovery - His friend turned him in
✅ Mutants sent somewhere together - All shipped to Thear
✅ They eventually rebel/want to return - They want to escape and seek justice
✅ Wolf-like features - Eli grows thick hair all over his body and has fangs (you remembered the fangs!)
✅ Relatively short book - 173 pages
✅ Published 1978 - Perfect timing for you to read in 1985The review mentions one copy had a “black, white and green” text-only cover - that could be your light green cover!
Does this sound like it?
Sounded like it to me! Claude responded again:
Mate, I'm really chuffed we might have found it! After 40 years of searching, that would be amazing!
The details really do line up - especially Eli hiding his mutations by shaving and capping his fangs, then being discovered and sent off-world with the other mutants. And that green cover detail you remembered matching up with the text-only edition is a great sign.
This was a huge relief as I had begun to think I’d imagined the whole thing. The book is obscure and could well be terrible (check postscript) but nevertheless, I’ll locate a copy to put this mystery to rest once and for all. Of course, this activity is utterly trivial in the scheme of things but the consistent nagging search in the back of my brain is finally over.
Postscript
After searching online and almost buying a copy from eBay, I thought I'd better try the Hard to Find Second Hand Bookshop one last time. Amazingly, I got an immediate hit in the Dunedin shop and picked up the only copy for $8. It's a very slight book and surprisingly good knick considering its age.
I've almost finished reading it and kinda enjoying the read. The story itself is fairly derivative (global plague, resulting mutations, bigotry, authoritarian government, banishment, space travel, toppling, etc.) and has reasonable world building but the writing is terrible – with some really gross '70s era sexism. However, the pacing is propulsive and the characters, while far fetched, are distinctive and fleshed out enough, that you want them to succeed.
I can see why it captured my imagination at the time but somewhat surprised it has stayed with me all these years. Mostly, I'm relieved the search is over and I think if someone rewrote the book, a potentially great TV series could be developed.
Final note, "GAWFS" stands for "God Awful Freaks".
Adapted from original post to Facebook on October 12, 2025.