Falling Free

Book Details

64.3% complete

Author(s):

Lois McMaster Bujold

First Pub:

1987

Genre(s):

Science Fiction; Space Opera

First Read:

2018

Times Read:

1 time

Rating:

Chapters:

16 chapters

Internal ID:

1827

Series:

<- Ethan of Athos - Brothers in Arms ->

The Vorkosigan Saga*

#4 of 16

The Vorkosigan Saga*

A series of science fiction novels and short story collections by Lois McMaster Bujold centering around Miles Vorkosigan and his parents Cordelia and Aral. This is the series in original publication order.

View this series in the book list

1) Shards of Honor
2) The Warrior's Apprentice
3) Ethan of Athos
4) Falling Free
5) Brothers in Arms
6) The Vor Game
7) Barrayar
8) Mirror Dance
9) Cetaganda
10) Memory
11) Komarr
12) A Civil Campaign
13) Diplomatic Immunity
14) Cryoburn
15) Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
16) Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

Dedication:

For Dad

First Sentence:

The shining rim of the planet Rodeo wheeled dizzily past the observation port of the orbital transfer station.

Last Sentence:

May contain spoilers

They turned their faces to the new sun.

Comments:

Comments may contain spoilers

in Analog

Synopsis not on file
Extract (may contain spoilers)

Andy was clutching her blue T-shirt. She rolled over, as Tony had, palms to the surface, and pushed up. Andy, turning his head toward his father, reached out with his upper hands and tried to shove off from Claire with his lowers. The floor leaped up and smacked him.

For a moment he was too stunned to howl. Then his little mouth went from round to square and poured out the vibrating scream of true pain. The sound knifed through every nerve in Claire’s body.

Tony too jerked at the noise, and scrambled down from the window and back toward them. “Why did you drop him? What do you think you’re doing? Oh, make him be quiet, quick!”

Claire rolled onto her back again, pulling Andy onto the elastic softness of her abdomen, and patted and kissed him frantically. The timbre of his screams began to change from the frightening high-pitched cry of pain to the less piercing bellows of indignation, but the volume was just as loud.

“They’ll hear him all the way up in the pilot’s compartment!” Tony hissed in anguish. “Do something!”

“I’m trying,” Claire hissed back. Her hands shook. She tried to push Andy’s head toward her breast, standard comfort, but he turned his head away and screamed louder. Fortunately, the sound of the atmosphere rushing over the shuttle’s skin had risen to a deafening thunder. By the time the noise peaked and faded, Andy’s cries had become whimpering hiccups. He rubbed his face, slimy with tears and mucous, mournfully against Claire’s T-shirt. His weight on Claire’s stomach and diaphragm half-stopped her breath, but she dared not lay him down.

Added: 14-Jun-2015

Last Updated: 20-Nov-2019

Publications

03-Oct-2011

Spectrum Literary Agency, Inc.

Kindle e-Book

Date Issued:

03-Oct-2011

Format:

Kindle e-Book

Cover Price:

$6.99

Pages*:

320

Read:

Once

Reading(s):

1) 5 Aug 2018 - 15 Aug 2018

Cover Link(s):

amazon.com

Internal ID:

1861

Publisher:

Spectrum Literary Agency, Inc.

ISBN:

Unknown

Country:

United States

Language:

English

From amazon.com:

When engineer Leo Graf arrives at a free fall station circling a mining planet to teach welding, he’s in for his first shock: the genetically engineered inhabitants have an extra set of arms in place of legs. A second shock comes when the company that owns these four-armed “quaddies” decides to abandon them, and Leo must use all his ingenuity to respond to this new crisis. Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and a Hugo finalist.

"Bujold is one of the best writers of SF adventures to come along in years."
- Locus

on Lois McMaster Bujold:
“Bujold continues to prove what marvels genius can create out of basic space operatics.”
- Library Journal

“Bujold is not just a master of plot, she is a master of emotion.”
- SF Site

“A superb craftsman and stylist, Ms. Bujold is well on her way to becoming one of the great voices of speculative fiction.”
- Rave Reviews

"Boy, can she write!"
- Anne McCaffrey

“Bujold has a gift, nearly unique in science fiction, for the comedy of manners.”
- Chicago Sun Times

“Superb far-future saga.”
- Publishers Weekly on the 'Vorkosigan' series

Bujold's "work remains among the most enjoyable and rewarding in contemporary SF."
- Publishers Weekly

"Bujold is also head and shoulders above the ruck of current fantasists as well as science-fictionists."
- Booklist

author bio:
Lois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children. She began writing with the aim of professional publication in 1982. She wrote three novels in three years; in October of 1985, all three sold to Baen Books, launching her career. Bujold went on to write many other books for Baen, mostly featuring her popular character Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, his family, friends, and enemies. Her books have been translated into twenty-one languages. Her fantasy from Eos includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife series.

Cover:

Notes and Comments:

Book Links

Search Brave

Wikipedia

Good Reads

Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Library Thing

Search Library of Congress

Author(s) Links

Lois McMaster Bujold - Official Website

Lois McMaster Bujold on Good Reads

Lois McMaster Bujold on IMDB

Lois McMaster Bujold on The ISFDB

Lois McMaster Bujold on Library Thing

Author(s)

Lois McMaster Bujold
Birth: 02 Nov 1949 Columbus, Ohio, USA

Notes:

From the Kindle version of Shards of Honor:

Lois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children. She began writing with the aim of professional publication in 1982. She wrote three novels in three years; in October of 1985, all three sold to Baen Books, launching her career. Bujold went on to write many other books for Baen, mostly featuring her popular character Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, his family, friends, and enemies. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. Her fantasy from Eos includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife series.

Awards

1989	Libertarian Futurist Society	Prometheus Award	Nominee
1989	Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America	Nebula Award - Best Novel	Winner
1989	World Science Fiction Society	Hugo Award - Best Novel	Nominee

I try to maintain page numbers for audiobooks even though obviously there aren't any. I do this to keep track of pages read and I try to use the Kindle version page numbers for this.
Synopses marked with an asterisk (*) were generated by an AI. There aren't a lot since this is an iffy way to do it - AI seems to make stuff up.
When specific publication dates are unknown (ie prefixed with a "Cir"), I try to get the publication date that is closest to the specific printing that I can.
When listing chapters, I only list chapters relevant to the story. I will usually leave off Author Notes, Indices, Acknowledgements, etc unless they are relevant to the story or the book is non-fiction.
Page numbers on this site are for the end of the main story. I normally do not include appendices, extra material, and other miscellaneous stuff at the end of the book in the page count.