Michael Z. Williamson (born 1967) is an American

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 ...

and

military fiction Military fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or alternate history, focusing on military activities, such as war, battles, combat, fighting; or military life. Classes of military fiction Types of military fiction include: * War novels, ...

author best known for his libertarian-themed ''Freehold'' series published 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 ...

. Between 2004 and 2016, Williamson published eight ''Freehold'' novels, exploring military and political themes as well as first contact with alien beings. This was followed by the ''

Forged in Blood ''Forged in Blood'' is a science-fiction anthology edited by Michael Z. Williamson and published in September 2017 by Baen Books. The book consists of 16 short stories tracing the story of a single sword. The first story takes place in feudal Jap ...

'' (2017) and ''Freehold: Resistance'' (2019) anthologies, consisting of short stories taking place in the ''Freehold'' universe, some by Williamson and some by other authors, including

Larry Correia Larry Correia (; born 1977) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer, known for his ''Monster Hunter International'', ''Grimnoir Chronicles'', and ''Saga of the Forgotten Warrior'' series. He has authored or co-authored over 30 novels, h ...

Tony Daniel Antonio Salvador Daniel (born 1977), known by the Anglicised professional name Tony S. Daniel or simply Tony Daniel, is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on various books for DC Comics, including ''Teen Titans'', '' F ...

Tom Kratman Thomas P. Kratman (born September 4, 1956) is an American military science fiction author and retired United States Army officer whose work is published by Baen Books. Kratman's novels include the ''Desert Called Peace'' series which has been pra ...

and

Brad R. Torgersen Brad R. Torgersen (born April 6, 1974) is an American science fiction author whose short stories regularly appear in various anthologies and magazines, including ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' and '' Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine ...

. Work outside the ''Freehold'' universe includes '' The Hero'' (2004), written with

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 ...

, and the

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

story '' A Long Time Until Now'' (2014). Short fiction by Williamson includes the story "Soft Casualty", an exploration of psychological warfare which won a readers' choice award organized by Baen Books. Williamson's ''Wisdom From My Internet'', a collection of witticisms and political polemic from the Internet, was nominated for a

Hugo Award for Best Related Work The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...

in 2015, as part of the

Sad Puppies Sad Puppies was an unsuccessful right-wing anti-diversity voting campaign run from 2013 to 2017 and intended to influence the outcome of the annual Hugo Awards, the longest-running prize (since 1953) for science fiction or fantasy works. It wa ...

campaign. SAD PUPPIES 3: announces its 2015 Hugo sample slate
by

; archived at SciFiWright.com; published 2 February 2015; retrieved 24 December 2021 As of 2016, Williamson's books had sold half a million copies.

Biography

Williamson was born in 1967 in Birkenhead, England. His family moved to Canada, then to

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city in Licking County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located east of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus at the junction of the forks of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 United ...

, where he graduated from Newark High School in 1985. After high school, he joined the military and served in a support role in the Air Force for 5 years, then in the Air and Army National Guard, for a total of 22 years. Williamson's military career included service with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in deployments in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. Williamson has three children and is married.

Freehold books

Williamson's first book, ''

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

'', was released in January 2004 and made #3 on the April 2004 ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Mathematics and science * Locus (mathematics), the set of points satisfying a particular condition, often forming a curve * Root locus analysis, a diagram visualizing the position of r ...

'' Bestsellers list for science-fiction and fantasy paperbacks. ''Freehold'' 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 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. Williamson has remarked that the main character is partially based on himself and his experience immigrating from the UK to Canada and the United States.

Don D'Ammassa Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror critic and author. Michael M. Jones of ''

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". Ginger Armstrong of ''Kliatt'' called ''Freehold'' a "highly readable SF adventure" with "a strong female protagonist". Carolyn Cushman of ''Locus'' noted heavy emphasis on the exposition of Libertarian ideology with plotting and pacing taking a back seat but described the novel as "amazingly entertaining". Many of Williamson's other works are set in the universe established in ''Freehold''. One is ''Contact with Chaos'' (2009) where humanity has first contact with alien beings. This becomes a further source of conflict between the United Nations and the Freeholders. In a review of the book, Joseph T. Major praised Williamson for refraining from heavy-handed political messages and instead creating "a diverse, varied human interplanetary society ... trying to understand an exotic, alternative nonhuman society". Other novels set in the ''Freehold'' universe include ''Better to Beg Forgiveness...'' (2007) which Mark Lardas of the ''

Galveston Daily News ''The Daily News'', formerly the ''Galveston County Daily News'' and ''Galveston Daily News'', is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state of ...

'' praised as an "exciting and violent adventure" and ''Rogue'' (2011) which he described as Williamson setting "a new, higher standard for himself". The novel ''Do Unto Others'' (2010) made the ''Wall Street Journal'' best-seller list in

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

science fiction and ''Angeleyes'' (2016) sold in more than 100,000 copies. Williamson was the editor of ''

'', which was released in September 2017. The book is set in Williamson's ''Freehold'' universe and he also wrote or co-wrote five of its 16 stories; other contributors included

, and

. The stories are linked as they trace the history of a single sword, from its forging in Japan in the third century BC through to Williamson's Freehold of Grainne in the 24th century. Mark Lardas praised the authors for creating a coherent anthology while attempting "something original ytelling a story through an object." He described the result as an "engaging book". The science fiction review magazine ''

Tangent In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is, intuitively, the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point. Leibniz defined it as the line through a pair of infinitely close points o ...

'' described the work as a celebration of "soldiers and their tools" that is satisfying to those for whom that premise appeals. A further anthology, ''Freehold: Resistance'', was released in December 2019. Reviewers praised the tight braiding together of the different contributions to form "a

mosaic novel A mosaic novel is a novel in which individual chapters or short stories share a common setting or set of characters with the aim of telling a linear story from beginning to end, with the individual chapters, however, refracting a plurality of viewp ...

masquerading as an anthology".

Other works

Among works not set in the ''Freehold'' universe is Williamson's second novel, '' The Hero'' (2004), which was written with

and made the ''Locus'' Bestseller list in February 2006. The book is a part of the ''

Legacy of the Aldenata The Legacy of the Aldenata, also known as the Posleen War Series, is the fictional universe of one of John Ringo's military science fiction series. Premise The central premise is that in 2001, humanity receives greetings from a highly advance ...

'' series. It appeared in German as ''Invasion – Heldentaten'' and in Russian as ''Герой''. Williamson has also written the ''Target: Terror'' (2004–2005) military fiction series which is set in the world of the '' Target: Terror'' arcade game. His stand-alone novels include the time-travel story '' A Long Time Until Now'' (2014) which was praised for its characterization and survivalist elements. As of 2016, Williamson's books had sold half a million copies. Williamson has contributed short fiction to numerous anthologies, including many which take place in the ''Valdemar'' and ''Elemental Masters'' shared universes created by

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar (fictional co ...

. He has also contributed stories to the ''

Heroes in Hell ''Heroes in Hell'' is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy, created and edited by Janet Morris and written by her, Chris Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others. The first 12 books in the series were published ...

'' shared universe and to many anthologies of military science fiction published by Baen. An anthology of Williamson's short fiction, ''Tour of Duty'' (2013), was reviewed by ''Publishers Weekly'' which singled out "The Humans call it Duty" as "strong" and "Desert Blues" as "subtly haunting". In 2015, Baen Books released an anthology, ''The Year's Best Military SF & Space Opera'', which was described by

Don Sakers Don Sakers (June 16, 1958 – May 17, 2021) was an American science fiction writer and fan who lived in Maryland, and wrote several novels and edited a short story collection. In 2009 he succeeded Thomas Easton as book reviewer for Analog Scien ...

of ''Analog'' as "long overdue". Baen Books invited readers to vote for the best story from the volume. Sakers commented: "We can only hope that the award, like the anthology, will become an annual event." Williamson won the readers' poll for the short story "Soft Casualty" and was presented with an award at

Dragon Con Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. , the convention draws attendance of over 80,000. ...

. The story deals with psychological warfare as an occupying force encounters harsh resistance tactics. Williamson's ''Wisdom from My Internet'' (2014), a collection of witticisms and political polemic from the Internet, was nominated for a

in 2015, as a result of the

ballot manipulation campaign.SAD PUPPIES 3: The Slatening?
by

; at MonsterHunterNation.com; published 2 February 2015; retrieved 24 December 2021Last Sad Puppies Book Bomb for This Hugo Year!
by

; published at LJagiLamplighter.com; published 5 March 2015; retrieved 24 December 2021, via

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

Rabid Puppies: the Enfoaming! – the Slate
by

L. Jagi Lamplighter L. Jagi Lamplighter is an American children's and fantasy children's writer and editor. Personal life Lamplighter graduated from St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe), St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. She is married to fellow author ...

; at LJagiLamplighter.com; published 2 February 2015; retrieved 24 December 2021, via

Hugo voters ranked ''Wisdom from My Internet'' below "No Award". Williamson himself stated while the poll was underway that he had voted for no award in all categories, including the one in which his own work appeared.

Themes

Williamson was recruited as an author by ex-soldier and publisher

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 "recruited a batch of younger, like-minded authors from similar backgrounds"; Williamson,

David Drake David A. Drake (September 24, 1945 – December 10, 2023) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran, he worked as a lawyer before becoming a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography ...

and

. Commonalities in the works of these authors include the setting of a civilization in decline with heroes battling against conventional wisdom.

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

comments in ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' that a pattern running through the works of Williamson is a fight to maintain freedom against external enemies with the heroes adhering to

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

principles. Clute notes the frequent presence of female heroes in Williamson's works and feminist critic Liz Bourke describes Williamson's treatment of female characters as "less clearly marginalizing" than that of

and

. Blair Nicholson, in a doctoral thesis from the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

, points out commonalities in the authorial stances of Williamson and

David Weber David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best-known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nov ...

who both emphasize that in military science fiction, the hypothesized military environment must be depicted in realistic detail down to details of strategy and tactics. According to Williamson the work should then seek to "explore the proposed system, and its interactions with the people – soldiers and civilians – involved". Nicholson notes that Williamson depicts the

as an enemy, and particularly so in his ''Freehold'' (2004) novel, where the United Nations appears as an authoritarian oppressor. This depiction of the United Nations has parallels in the ''Marine in Space'' series by Ian Douglas and in the works of Tom Kratman and is reflective of a negative right-wing popular opinion on the institution.

Works

Freehold Universe

Grainne War/Aftermath

# ''

'' (

Baen 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 ...

, January 2004, ) # ''The Weapon'' (Baen, August 2005, ) # ''Contact with Chaos'' (Baen, April 2009, ) # ''Rogue'' (Baen, September 2011, ) # ''Angeleyes'' (Baen, November 2016, )

Ripple Creek

# ''Better to Beg Forgiveness...'' (Baen, November 2007, ) # ''Do Unto Others'' (Baen, August 2010, ) # ''When Diplomacy Fails...'' (Baen, August 2012, )

Freehold anthologies

These are anthologies containing stories set in the Freehold universe by multiple authors. * ''Forged in Blood'' (Baen, September 2017, , as editor and author) ** "Broken Spirit" with Dale C. Flowers (short fiction) ** "Choices and Consequences" (short fiction) ** "The Day the Tide Rolled In" with Leo Champion (short fiction) ** "The Reluctant Heroine" (short fiction) ** "The Thin Green Line" (short fiction) * ''Freehold: Resistance'' (Baen, December 2019, , as editor and author) * ''Freehold: Defiance'' (Baen, May 2021, as editor and author)

Target: Terror series

A military sniper adventure series set in the world of the '' Target: Terror'' arcade game. * ''The Scope of Justice'' ( Avon, July 2004, ) * ''Targets of Opportunity'' (Avon, March 2005, ) * ''Confirmed Kill'' (Avon, September 2005, )

Legacy of the Aldenata

Set in the ''

'' series created by

. * '' The Hero'' with John Ringo (Baen, June 2004, )

Collections

These are collections on Williamson's fiction and non-fiction. * ''Tour of Duty: Stories and Provocations'' (short story/essay collection, Baen, August 2013, ). Stories original to this collection include: ** "Misfits" with Gail Sanders (short fiction) ** "One Night in Baghdad" (poem) ** "Port Call" (short fiction) * ''Tide of Battle'' (short story/essay collection, Baen, July 2018, ). Stories original to this collection include: ** "How Sweet the Sound" with Morgen Kirby (short fiction) ** "Off the Cuff" (short fiction)

Short fiction published by Baen

* "The Humans Called It Duty" in ''Future Weapons of War'' (Baen, March 2007, ) * "The Price" in ''Citizens'' (Baen, May 2010, ) * "Battle's Tide" in ''Exiled: Clan of the Claw'' (Baen, August 2011, ) * "The Brute Force Approach" in ''Baen Books Free Stories 2011'' (Baen, August 2011) * "Soft Casualty" in ''Baen Books: Free Stories 2014'' (Baen, February 2014) * "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Grandpa?" in ''Black Tide Rising'' (Baen, June 2016, ) * "Starhome" in ''Baen Books: Free Stories 2016'' (Baen, 2016) * "Hate in the Darkness" in ''Star Destroyers'' (Baen, March 2018, ) * "Inhale to the King, Baby!" in ''Voices of the Fall'' (Baen, March 2019, )

Short fiction published by DAW

* "Naught but Duty" in '' Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar'' ( DAW, December 2005, ) * "The Sword Dancer" in ''Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar'' (DAW, December 2008, ) * "Wounded Bird" in ''Changing the World: All-New Tales of Valdemar'' (DAW, December 2009, ) * "The Groom's Price" with Gail Sanders (DAW, December 2010, ) * "The Bride's Task" with Gail Sanders in ''Under the Vale and Other Tales of Valdemar'' (DAW, December 2011, ) * "A Flower Grows in Whitechapel" with Gail Sanders in '' Elemental Magic'' (DAW, December 2012, ) * "A Peony Amongst Roses" with Gail Sanders in ''Elementary'' (DAW, December 2013, ) * "A Fire in the Glass" with Jessica Schlenker in ''Crucible: All-New Tales of Valdemar'' (DAW, December 2015, ) * "Medley" with Jessica Schlenker in ''Tempest: All-New Tales of Valdemar'' (DAW, December 2016, )

Short fiction published by others

* "Heads You Lose" in '' Lawyers in Hell'' (Kerlak Enterprises, August 2011, ) * "A Hard Day at the Office" in ''Rogues in Hell'' (Perseid, July 2012, ) * "The Digital Kid" in ''2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush'' (

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canada, Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholar ...

, April 2016, )

Other works

* '' A Long Time Until Now'' (Baen, February 2014, ) * ''That Was Now, This is Then'' (Baen, December 2021, ) * ''Wisdom From My Internet'' (Patriarchy Press, December 2014, )

References

External links

* * *
Williamson, Michael Z
at ''

''
Williamson publications
at publisher

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Michael Z. 1967 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers English emigrants to the United States Living people Writers from Birkenhead People from Newark, Ohio Novelists from Ohio 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers