Freehold (2004) is the first SF novel in the Freehold universe. It is set several centuries in the future in an era of interstellar colonization. Freehold on Grainne has declared its independence, but the UN is unwilling to let it go. The very existence of an autonomous star nation is a threat to their hegemony.
In this novel, Sergeant Second Class Kendra Pacelli, UN Peace Force, has returned from her temporary deployment to Mtali and is finishing up the paperwork. She is a logistic admin tech who had been sent offworld to assist the Logistic Support Function to document unexplained losses in UNPF materiel. Large quantities of ammo, weapons and vehicles have disappeared from the UNPF stockpiles.
She is working when a phone call from her friend and lover Tom Anderson alerts her to an arrest order issued on herself. The UN Bureau of Security is not noted for its concern about the guilt or innocence of the people associated with criminal activities. Arrested suspects are assumed to be guilty and are interrogated (and tortured) until they confess.
Tom has packed her bag and provided some cash cards, putting the luggage in her car. Kendra leaves the office and drives her car offpost. Then she starts considering her options. She needs to get offworld and the only possible destination is Freehold.
After she gets into the Freehold embassy grounds, the troops guarding the compound search her and the car thoroughly. Kendra asks to see the ambassador, but she is told to stay quiet. Then she is escorted to a cell and left alone for some hours.
The ambassador eventually sees her and gets her story. Kendra is shown how the public media is handling the story and is both appalled and offended. A Freehold trooper is assigned as her escort and introduces her to other staff members.
After a thorough investigation, the ambassador is convinced Kendra is telling the truth. She tells Kendra that the transportation to Freehold will cost more than she has available, but Kendra is offered a means of paying off these costs. Kendra readily accepts the indenture and is provided a couple of escorts to take her to Grainne.
On the planet, her case is assigned to Citizen Hernandez and he explains the conditions of her residency. He provides her with the address of a job broker. When Kendra takes exception to the jobs offered the broker, Hernandez looks for other job skills that she has not previously considered.
Hernandez finds her a job as groundskeeper at Liberty Park. He also gets her an apartment and administers the Oath of Responsibility. When Kendra tries to find the apartment, she meets Robert McKay on the streets and discovers that he is the manager of her apartment building.
Bob has been to Earth and also to Mtali. He takes her out shopping and shows her the Park where she will be working. She finds Liberty Park to be huge, beautiful, and very clean.
In this story, Kendra is shocked by the number of people wearing weapons in the city. She is also amazed at the quality of the food and drinks. And then she is surprised at the amount of public nudity. She has to adjust to many things in Freehold.
Kendra becomes friends with Marta -- a popular and costly courtesan -- and visits some risque night spots with her. Gradually, Kendra begins to modify her viewpoints on public exposure and sex, but she never becomes comfortable with taking money for sexual activities. Yet she does become a sexual partner with both Bob and Marta.
Later, Kendra finds that her attitudes about crime are strange to the residents of Freehold. In particular, her acceptance of rape as just another hazard of city living is very repugnant to the local residents. When she expresses this viewpoint, the locals refuse to discuss the issue; they view rape as almost worst than murder.
This tale takes Kendra back into the army, but now in the Freehold Military Forces. Both Bob and Mara are reservists, so she has met many other reservists and active duty soldiers. With her prior experience, she is offered a guaranteed Corporal slot if she passes basic.
Kendra finds the FMF training to be much more difficult -- and better -- than the UNPF version. She finishes her training and returns to the world of military logistics. None of the methods are too unfamiliar and most of the troopers are first class. A few, however, are scumbags and she helps to get one such out of the service.
The story leads up to -- and through -- the war with Earth. Kendra is accidentally directed to the wrong plane during evacuation of the base and finds herself alone in the boonies. While expecting work as a logistic tech, she adjusts to leading the local farmers in guerrilla warfare against the UNPF.
This plot starts with Kendra's accommodation to a new world and then turns into a war story. The first part is fascinating in the wide differences between the socialistic United States and the libertarian Freehold. The second part is filled with action and violence. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Williamson fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of cultural shock, military affairs, and a budding romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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baff
it's too good for me to want to do that to you
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 31, 2014Garry M
Fast paced and fun but wears the authors politics on its sleeve
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 2, 2014
