Details Containing Books Freehold (Freehold #1)
| Title | : | Freehold (Freehold #1) |
| Author | : | Michael Z. Williamson |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 688 pages |
| Published | : | January 1st 2004 by Baen (first published December 30th 2003) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. War. Military Fiction |
Michael Z. Williamson
Paperback | Pages: 688 pages Rating: 4.04 | 3941 Users | 182 Reviews
Commentary To Books Freehold (Freehold #1)
As others have said: this book was deeply cliched, lazily written, and inexpertly welded to a political manifesto; at best, it's "bubblegum" sci-fi. I read it for the explosions and space battles, and even then it disappointed several times. For one thing, there aren't any space battles till well into the second half of the novel. The first half is entirely consumed with the main character (a tall, leggy, gorgeous blonde who doesn't know she's attractive) escaping from Earth; most of this, however, takes the form of a political tract against The Evilz Of Big Guvvermint and The Awesomeness Of Freehold, the Libertarian nudity-tolerant utopia she runs to. There follow endless pages of Kendra marveling at everyone's firearms, sampling freely-sold hallucinogenic drinks, and learning to "relax" in the nude around her new boyfriend (the strong, manly military officer and ace pilot who lives next door) and girlfriend (a petite Asian courtesan with a nonstop libido) -- yep, she randomly becomes bisexual, presumably so the author could write a bunch of cheesy, gratuitous threesome-scenes. I'm not opposed to threesome setups, but the writing for this was as lazy and clueless as the rest of the book, resulting in Kris spending about ten seconds contemplating her new interest in women, and lines like "your body is so sexy"... Seriously. For another, all of this is frequently interrupted by pages-long explanations of how Freehold's system works and how wonderful it is. (Personally, I spent it racking up a count of how many branches the "small" government of Freehold had. There's an awful lot of them.) This includes one gem about how their military cuts its costs in half by selling off used equipment to the highest bidder, no questions asked. Yes, they know they're quite likely supplying terrorists on other planets, but those terrorists are probably going to attack Earth, not Freehold, and the *really important* thing is that their military budget is reduced! This book could have been an entertaining, but not memorable, hour's read if only some wise editor had cut out 200 pages of political harangue, and perhaps required some more effort expended on the war with Earth and the fallout on the characters. As it stands, the traumas they suffer play out as mere afterthoughts -- particularly egregious in the case of Marta, who is viciously gang-raped. The rushed and superficial handling made it feel over-the-top, done for shock value rather than a necessary part of the plot... Especially after suffering through Williamson's weak and irrational handwaving over why rape is a nearly unheard-of crime on Freehold. (As another review noted, this came down to "there's a taboo against it for some reason," yet -- given all we're told of how Freehold works, including a legal system that relies almost entirely on provable monetary loss -- by its own logic only a prostitute can be raped.)
Itemize Books In Pursuance Of Freehold (Freehold #1)
| Original Title: | Freehold |
| ISBN: | 0743471792 (ISBN13: 9780743471794) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Freehold #1, Freehold: Grainne War #1 |
Rating Containing Books Freehold (Freehold #1)
Ratings: 4.04 From 3941 Users | 182 ReviewsCriticize Containing Books Freehold (Freehold #1)
Freehold is one of my favorite books of all time and had a strong impact on my decision to be more a libertarian. It is the story of Kendra Pacelli who is wrongly accused of a crime on Earth and is forced to immigrate to the Libertarian utopia of Freehold.There are basically two parts to the book. The first part is classic mellui story. The point of the story is not so much character growth and change, but to move around the setting and show the reader what it is like. This is the type of storyWilliamson himself said (not verbatim) that he thought this was one of his most poorly written novels. After reading most of his catalogue, however, I find it to be second only to his next book "Better to Beg Forgiveness". Yes, the writing is clunky at times but the action is well paced and the so called "gratuitous" sex pales in comparison to some of the other military scifi novels I have read. If you are of a libertarian leaning mind I think you will thoroughly enjoy this book as I did. It
Kendra emigrates from a restrictive, politically correct society to a very libertarian one. The 1st half of the book is devoted to expounding these libertarian ideals. The 2nd part of the book is of the war between the two societies and Kendra's part in it.I enjoyed the book, but not enough to keep it and read it again.
Kendra Pacelli escapes from a human hell -- the kind of Earth most dread, but know deep inside that we could become if we continue on our present course. Human beings are controlled by government, by force, tracked, licensed and regulated. The United Nations, corrupt and power-hungry, governs earth with a socialist iron fist. Framed for a crime she didn't commit, Kendra escapes to the Freehold of Grainne - a society of a truly free people that refuses to become part of the UN's domination plans.
The book earns about a 3.5 from me but I can't feel justified giving it a 4, so be it. I read it for free on Amazon, which means I had no need to justify the cost, and thus no buyer's remorse or trying to reassure myself that it was a good purchase. All that was lost was time, and at 700 pages, it was a bit of an undertaking.The length is justified since the book crams three whole arcs into its overall plot, any two of which alone would probably justify the novel on its own.The first third/half
This is one of the worst things I have ever read. And it's not just the stupidity of pretending that people would run around naked AND be taller in a hot high gravity environment.The book has just too much stupid shit going on that makes me angry.
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