Freehold (novel)
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''Freehold'' is a
military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and science fiction weapons, weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters ...
novel by Michael Z. Williamson, published in 2004 by
Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...
. The book tells the story of Kendra Pacelli, a young soldier who begins the book in the service of a world-dominant, authoritarian
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. Accused of a crime she did not commit, she flees
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
for the Freehold of Grainne where she struggles to adapt to the climate and culture of an ultra-libertarian planet. She eventually joins the Freehold military and fights in a war against a UN invasion. The novel received positive reviews in ''
SF Site ''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...
'' and ''Kliatt'' but a negative review in ''
Science Fiction Chronicle ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' (later, just ''Chronicle'') was an American science fiction magazine (also called semiprozine) published from 1979 to 2006. It was named ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' until 2002 and from then until 2006, just ''Chro ...
''. The ''Freehold'' series is continued in ''The Weapon'', which begins prior to ''Freehold'' and ends approximately two years afterwards.


Background

In an autobiographical essay, Williamson relates that he was frustrated with the difficulty of selling his short stories and was discussing the issue on the ''Baen's Bar'' forum. He was then contacted by
Jim Baen James Patrick Baen (, beɪn , ; October 22, 1943 – June 28, 2006) was a U.S. science fiction publisher and editor. In 1983, he founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, specializing in the adventure, fantasy, military science fiction, ...
who asked him to send a single chapter of something he was working on. Williamson sent him a chapter of ''Freehold'' and after six months of discussion and editing, Baen bought the book. Williamson has remarked that the main character of Kendra Pacelli is partially based on himself and his experience immigrating from the UK to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Plot

In the future,
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
has become an oppressive society with pervasive bureaucratic regulation by a global
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. Kendra Pacelli is a logistics non-commissioned officer in the UN Protection Force (UNPF) until she is implicated in a scheme that involved stealing millions of dollars worth of materiel from the Protection Force. The UN Investigators are notorious for brutal interrogations of prisoners and exoneration is unlikely even though she is innocent. Warned by a friend, she decides to seek asylum with the Freehold of Grainne, which is independent of UN control. Kendra moves to the colony, though due to the expense of her transit she must enter the colony’s indenturing program. Kendra slowly becomes acclimated to the totally
free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...
society of Freehold. Differences she must deal with include total lack of regulation of anything, pervasive personal firearms ownership, relaxed mores regarding sex and dress, voluntary taxation, almost nonexistent crime, and minimal government infrastructure. The total lack of regulation on commerce causes the UN to impose sanctions on Freehold due to safety concerns which causes Kendra to be laid off from her initial job and enlist in Freehold's military. She is required to go through
basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...
before she is assigned a billet as a corporal. Her superior sends her to
noncommissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted rank ...
training after a short time, believing that war with Earth is imminent and unavoidable. After a precipitating incident involving a group of immigrants from Earth, war breaks out and the UN launches an invasion. The UN forces are numerically superior and the Freehold military resorts to
guerilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...
with support of the armed citizenry. Kendra is stranded out in the rural sections of the planet, and becomes a commander of a local guerrilla force made up of a large community of farming families. She starts becoming hostile and participates in brutality and violence beyond the rules of war. At one point, her prior criminal record on Earth is brought up and a reward offered, which requires her to shoot some of her colleagues who want to turn her in. The UN forces are hampered by the realities of Freehold: 90% of freehold is armed, a large number are military service veterans, the planet has gravity 1.18 times that of Earth's, they do not know the terrain, and there is no government infrastructure for them to assimilate. Eventually the Freeholders organize a massive counter-offensive in which Kendra is charged with holding an infantry line against a numerically superior force with little support. She is seriously wounded in the effort, but holds her line and the UN forces are defeated. Kendra helps with the systematic
urban warfare Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...
to clean out the cities and suffers further violence in the process. Freehold uses captured space materiel to launch orbital strikes on Earth and launches several black operations missions on large cities, causing massive death and destruction. In the end, Earth negotiates a truce. Kendra survives the war and is bestowed a medal.


Reception

''Freehold'', was released in January 2004 and made #3 on the April 2004 '' Locus'' Bestsellers list for science-fiction and fantasy paperbacks. Compared with other newcomers on the list, ''Freehold'' was behind '' Thief of Lives'' but ahead of '' Engine City'', '' Heirs of Earth'' and ''
Probability Space In probability theory, a probability space or a probability triple (\Omega, \mathcal, P) is a mathematical construct that provides a formal model of a random process or "experiment". For example, one can define a probability space which models ...
''. ''Freehold'' was nominated for the 2005
Prometheus Award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the Best Novel category for the award in 1979; however, it was not award ...
for best
libertarian science fiction Libertarian science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the politics and social order implied by right-libertarian (especially American libertarian) philosophies with an emphasis on individualism and private ownership of ...
novel and much of the critical coverage of the book discussed its political aspects. In a review for ''Prometheus'', the newsletter of the Libertarian Futurist Society, Fran Van Cleave criticized the depictions of torture and violence and called the book a "neo-con fantasy".
Don D'Ammassa Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror critic and author.SF Site ''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...
'' conversely called Williamson's portrayal of a libertarian society "sound and believable" and described the book as "a satisfactory debut". He drew comparisons to
Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
's '' Stranger in a Strange Land'' and ''
Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...
'' as well as to the works of
John Ringo John Ringo (born March 22, 1963) is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several ''New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York ...
. Ginger Armstrong of ''Kliatt'' called ''Freehold'' a "highly readable SF adventure" with "a strong female protagonist". He praised the pacing, the attention to technical detail, and the depiction of alien cultures.


References


External links


Freehold – free download from Baen Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freehold (novel) 2004 American novels 2004 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Military science fiction novels Novels set on fictional planets Baen Books books Novels about women in war