Review: Falling Free

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Its good... but it feels a bit like a prequel.

I've been avoiding Bujold - unfairly, as it turns out, because I had her mixed up with [a:Melanie Rawn|8661|Melanie Rawn|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1223871368p2/8661.jpg] in my head for some reason. So I was surprised to keep reading such good reviews for her stuff, but finally let it convince me to give it a try despite my prejudice. I'm glad I did, because this was a fun little story. It feels like space opera (and I've shelved it as such) but thats more in the size of the universe that it depicts. It lacks the galaxy-spanning consequences that usually go with that genre, and I think that makes it a better book than it would be if she had reached for that epic scale. Its more personal, and the story of the genetically-engineered "quaddies" is more central and real that way.

So why do I say it feels like a prequel? It doesn't really feel like it resolves. There is a climax, but it feels more like the end of a chapter than the end of a story. I'm wary of any series that runs into 15(!) books, but I'll definitely check out the next one at least.

One comment; Nebula for Best Novel in 88? Really? I mean, it's a cute story and an interesting world, with some nice touches of engineering realism. I really did quite enjoy it. But Left Hand of Darkness it aint. Must have been a slow year...



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