Sergeant Kendra Pacelli is innocent, but that doesn't matter to the repressive government pursuing her. Mistakes might be made, but they are never acknowledged, especially when billions of embezzled dollars earned from illegal weapons sales are at stake. But where does one run when all Earth and most settled planets are under the aegis of one government? Answer: The Freehold of Grainne. There, one may seek asylum and build a new life in a society that doesn't track its residents every move, which is just what Pacelli has done. But now things are about to go royally to hell. Because Earth's government has found out where she is, and they want her back. Or dead.
This all-new offering contains Michael Z. Williamson’s brilliant novel Freehold plus three new stories along with a complete new novella—each set within the legendary Freehold series universe. Contains these additional stories: "Humans Call It Duty," "The Price,” "Soft Casualty," and novella “The Brute Force Approach."
Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.
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Excellent book!I really don't care if there were 'all that many differences' between the two versions; I own both. I bought both intentionally as I like his writing style.
This book starts out with so many similarities between life in the American military and their regulations. Anyone who has tried to succeed in the military by obeying ALL the rules will clearly notice this.
Where his description of the military differs from reality is that he has made real and significant improvements to true military standards. Everybody has to follow the same exact standards as opposed to what really happens in the military.
However, I do have some questions for the author.
The main one is related to my own experiences as a disabled veteran. How does the Grainne government deal with those of us who can no longer fully contribute to a society such as theirs?
I appreciated the story of his experiences with our justice system; One really is guilty until one can prove themselves innocent.
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Im former military , & I think it is great, a fabulous book
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Product ReviewNot too bad. If you can suspend disbelief, it is actually a good read. As I have never been in the military I can not comment on the accuracy of that part of the story. But as the battle started I moved to the edge of my seat.
Overall, pretty goodPosted on
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Product ReviewPlot holes galore, and extremely cardboard good guys and bad guys. I had a hard time getting through this book, which I wouldn't have purchased if it weren't part of a bundle.
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First, as near as I can tell, the 'all-new content' consists entirely of a brief afterword by the author. It would seem Baen posted this to make a few bucks and keep Amazon happy. If this doesn't show up in a monthly bundle, like it did for me, just read the Free Library edition instead.
The story, looked at as military fiction, is pretty good; as science fiction, not so much, but that's not really the point of the story.
As is frequently the case, the teaser text on the website doesn't have much to do with the actual story, except in the vaguest sense - the war doesn't have anything to do with Sergeant Pacelli except for her being stuck in the middle of it.
There are holes, lots of them, in the author's logic - or perhaps better, in his willingness to follow an idea to its logical conclusion - most likely because the book would self-destruct if he did. On the other hand, that's pretty much par for the course in military SF.
All in all, Freehold is a good read, and not bad at all for a first novel on Mr. Williamson's part.
Update:
So, for those of you reading this and saying that the website clearly shows additional material, Baen didn't bother to add the short stories until literally years after this was first posted.Posted on
