Point Books Toward Freehold (Freehold #1)

Original Title:	Freehold
ISBN:	0743471792 (ISBN13: 9780743471794)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	Freehold #1, Freehold: Grainne War #1

Freehold (Freehold #1) Paperback | Pages: 688 pages

Declare Containing Books Freehold (Freehold #1)

Title	:	Freehold (Freehold #1)
Author	:	Michael Z. Williamson
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 688 pages
Published	:	January 1st 2004 by Baen (first published December 30th 2003)
Categories	:	Science Fiction. Fiction. War. Military Fiction

Interpretation Concering 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.)

Rating Containing Books Freehold (Freehold #1)

Ratings: 4.04 From 3941 Users | 182 Reviews

Judgment Containing Books Freehold (Freehold #1)

Awesome story. More like 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. Kendra Pacelli was well fleshed out. The supporting cast was done pretty well if not all that in depth. The action flowed fast and furious at times, at others slower but still intriguing. Told in essentially four phases of unequal length. The first was the fish-out-of-water where we are introduced to the main character and her major supporting cast as she attempts to adjust to her new environment. The second was her military career,

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,

So, let us start with the cover. "Earth's most wanted woman" is the splash while the picture is of a female running from burning buildings and being strafed by a couple of jets. Pretty exciting huh? Well, somebody needs to be done under the Trades Description Act.We start off on Earth, a rather fascist future vision. An female NCO is framed as part of a corruption conspiracy and, fearful of a flawed and oppressive justice system, goes on the run. She ends up in the embassy of Freehold of

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

Freehold is really a fantasy book with some science fiction elements. I don't mean fantasy as in "here are elves and wizards," but as in "these are the things that Michael Z. Williamson likes to imagine to be true about the world." The idea of the United Nations being a tyrannical global powerhouse? Pure paranoid fantasy. We're talking about an entity whose main power is sending strongly worded letters. The idea that guns are so much of an equalizer that their presence is all it takes to make

First quarter of book is about Kendra leaving her home planet and integrating into Freehold society. We learn about it from her perspective. Mr. Williamson presents a new culture similar to Mr. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, but brought into the new millennium and made his own. It idealizes extreme individualism, which one would expect from a recent colony; weak, stupid and average need not apply to this high gravity planet. (I had a lot more to say about whether I think this society is viable

This really is one of my favourite books of all time. I have read and reread it several times and get something new out of it. If you have ever wondered what a true free-market society with little government influence could be like and what a very "democratic" U.N. style society could be like; this is the book for you. Trust me that whether you agree with Williamson or not, you will love the book.