Having seen many times, on many various websites the multitude of glorious reviews garnishing Lois McMaster Bujold's work I decided to finally give in to my temptations and read one of her award winning novels. In fact Falling Free is the first novel to earn Bujold the Nebula award for in the novel category back in 1989 and with my curiosity piqued I recently decided to open said novel to page one. The first thing that struck me when reading Falling Free is how silkily she introduces us to a newly developed, bio engineered, slave race. These slaves, called Quaddies don't even know that they are slaves. They were engineered to breed, work and live out their lives in zero gravity which means they no longer have legs supporting feet. Instead they have two sets of arms - no need to run when directional floating is the most efficient form of transportation. A newly arrived engineer named Leo Graf arrives on this research station housing one thousand of these Quaddies and is totally shocked at how they are treated. He is a man that is torn with an inner conflict over the living arrangements of the Quaddies. Property - that is what he is told what they represent and what they are. Train them to become the best they can be but don't worry about their future - they may not even have one. Bujold writing and prose is effortless. Their is no great hero, no generation ship full of bio engineered supermen that are being bred for combat. This is a novel of giving dignity and freedom to those who have never tasted it. She gently and very deftly applies a human and humane touch to a cast of characters that have lost their way, been shown that their is a way, another way of living a more fulfilling life. Modes of moral conduct they never believed they possessed are brought to the surface with some characters while juxtaposed we have those who moral compass is controlled by the bottom line. The first half of this novel is compelling to read but the second half is predictable and lacks creativity. It is a good read but I am surprised it won the Nebula award way back in 1989.
| Authors | Awards | Blogs |
| Fanzines | Index | Magazines |
| Publishers | Retailers | Reviews |