Falling Free

I love this book. It's another of Ms. Bujold's refreshing looks at humanity, ethics, necessity, and personal choices, and it's set in a framework of intriguing characters and unusual ideas. One of the things I adore about her writing is that she makes ideas that might seem absurd by themselves into integral happenings within her plots. She not only takes a concept--the quaddies, an intelligent, genetically-engineered species developed for free fall--but follows up the immediate consequences of their generation and the impact of technology. Ms. Bujold loves to balance her characters on the edge of personal morality, and explore the reasons behind their choices and the circumstances that push them to the choices; and she wraps it all in an exciting, fast-moving plot full of distinct personalities. I wish there were a sequel to this (more than the future references in "Diplomatic Immunity") but I'm happy to have the one book.

There are those who consider this below Bujold's usual standard, but I found it quite a fun novel with several highly sensitive sequences, and therefore give it five stars. It is a story to relax and enjoy, not overly analyze. It takes place 200 years before the Vorkosigan stories, and follows Leo Graf, an engineer sent to the planet Rodeo to be a welding instructor to the genetically altered Quaddies. He immediately discovers an attitude on the part of the administrators on the planet toward these mutated beings, but takes them as they are, a human species most of whom are still developing youngsters. This is primarily an adventure story with well developed human and mutated human characters. There are tender scenes such as that between Silver who's deeply attuned to music and Madame Minchenko, the project physician's wife who also is deeply musically inclined. But there's also plenty of action, and the underlying plea for respect for all forms of life.Read for enjoyment and I think you'll quite appreciate it.

This science-fiction book tells the stories of the genetically engineered quaddies (not much of a spoiler -- see the cover... Either of them.), and Leo Graf, who befriends them. My first reading, I was looking for something more like _The Warrior's Apprentice_, with a somewhat manic protagonist, and Leo isn't that. (Nor are the 2 quaddies who get some time as viewpoint characters.) But upon second and third re-readings, I really started to appreciate the characters and enjoy the story for the technology-solution-to-problem-(with-great-characters!) that it is.

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.

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.