06 October 2004 Blog Home : October 2004 : Permalink
Michael Z Williamson wrote an absolutely amazing brilliant wonderful book called Freehold last year. Now you can read it electronically for free at the above link or download it in the format of your choice from Baen's Free Library.
Mini-review for those that haven't already started reading:
There are lots of things I like about this book. It describes quite well a libertarian society and how it turns things upside down from the kind of statist society one sees developing currently in the developed world - especially in Europe although it is also visible in the US. As well as a believable and interesting background the characters, both good and bad are well described and multi-dimensional and it has an action story that keeps you turning the pages (or scrolling down if you read the eBook version).
The book reminded me of a number of my favourite Heinlein books in particular The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers. If you don't like Heinlein in his "mid season form" then you won't like this, because it covers a number of the same areas and, arguably has as heroine a "boy-scout with boobs" just like much Heinlein. However, while comparing a first time author to a great such as Heinlein is perhaps presumptive I feel the comparison to be both apt and not as one-sided as one might expect. This is a book I'm sure I will be re-reading frequently and which I expect to find interesting twists when I do.
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