Falling Free (Nebula Award Stories) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lois McMaster Bujold (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nebula Award Stories | Publication Date: June 1, 1999

Leo Graf was an effective engineer ...Safety Regs weren't just the rule book he swore by; he'd helped write them. All that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat. Leo was profoundly uneasy with the corporation exploitation of his bright new students - till that exploitation turned to something much worse. He hadn't anticipated a situation where the right thing to do was neither safe, nor in the rules...Leo Graf adopted 1000 quaddies - now all he had to do was teach them to be free.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This recording, based on a Nebula Award-winning sf novel, centers on the moral dilemmas created when a bioengineered breed of humanoid workers are considered capital assets. The narration is shared between Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan, who handle the male and female roles, respectively. The narrators attempt to give each character a unique voice, and although they succeed, the subtle nuances of a single reader are absent. Perhaps more disturbing is the lack of messages instructing the listener on such things as when to turn the cassette over and when to insert a new cassette. The packaging is also a problem, as this reviewer cut his finger on two separate occasions while trying to extract a cassette. Regrettably, not recommended.?Ray Vignovich, West Des Moines P.L., Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Superb. . . . Read, or you will be missing something extraordinary. --Chicago Sun-Times

Bujold's best work in my opinion. --Science Fiction Chronicle --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Baen (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067157812X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671578121
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,584,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who actually own genetically engineered products?, June 28, 1999

By 

R. D. Allison ([e-mail]) (Gainesville, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falling Free (Nebula Award Stories) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. Bujold's novel won the 1988 Nebula Award for best science fiction novel of the year. It is centered in an orbiting workstation of a megacorporation. The corporation has genetically engineered humans (most of whom are teenagers or younger) having no legs and four arms, called quaddies, so that they are more effective and efficient in a zero gravity environment. The corporation considers them property rather than workers since it was the corporation that actually made them. A visiting welding instructor and engineer named Leo Graf sets out to free them. Actually, this novel is a part of Bujold's science fiction series, most of which are centered around members of the Vorkosigan family. The action in "Falling Free" occurs about 200 years before the action in Bujold's first novel, "Shards of Honor" (1986). The question of who is the real owner of genetically engineered products is a hot topic in biochemistry and molecular biology circles today and, believe it or not, Ms. Bujold's novel has been discussed.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graet story, greater characters., September 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Falling Free (Nebula Award Stories) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is only marginally in the Vorkosigan Saga, but this does not make it a minor book by Bujold. The story is breath-taking, as are all Bujold stories. But the depth of some characters (Leo Graf in particular) is maybe even better here. Bujold's remarkable humanism, which is a constant throughout her work (Ethan of Athos, Mountains of Mourning, etc.) is here at its best.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun sci-fi adventure with some deeper philosophical issues, July 19, 2001

By 

Aimee "reader extraordinaire" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Falling Free (Nebula Award Stories) (Mass Market Paperback)

I absolutely love Lois McMaster Bujold; she is one of my all-time favorite authors. But one of the problems I have with recommending her books is that I don't know where to start! It's hard to find the beginning of her Vorkosigan series. Falling Free, although not really part of the series, is the chronological beginning and a good introduction to LMB. In this book (as with all her books), she combines intelligence, humor, drama, and a touch of philosophy and blends them into a rollicking, quick-moving adventure story. This particular novel also has some good, hard science-fictional ideas, ideas which I found fascinating.