Free Space

by Brad Linaweaver (Editor), Poul Anderson (Contributor), John Barnes (Contributor)

It is the twenty-third century, and large space habitats have evolved where individual societies exist without formalized government-a galactic federation called Free Space. These are stories of the men and women of this new era, visions of adventure, social speculations, and downright arguments about freedom and responsibility. Free Space offers fiction from Hugo and Nebula Award winners such as Poul Anderson, Gregory Benford, and Robert J. Sawyer, and particularly from winners of the Prometheus Award of the Libertarian Futurist Society, such as Victor Koman, Daffyd ab Hugh, and L. Neil Smith. In addition, there is work from William F. Buckley, Jared Lobdell, John Barnes and a number of other writers, making Free Space a big, rich, varied compendium of politically-engaged science fiction adventure.

Genres: Science Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, it was kind of dull, not what I expected, and I didn't really read the last two stories.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the whole I found this anthology disappointing, and it won't be keeping its place on my bookshelves. The book is comprised of 20 short works of libertarian science fiction--almost all original to the book, set in a shared universe and organized historically from an alternate history incident in our recent past to centuries into the future. I read another anthology of libertarian science fiction recently, Give Me Liberty, and by and large that was stronger, because its editor could pick and choose stories written by various authors over decades fitting its theme, while this, as with many other theme anthologies of new stories was rather hit or miss--and I felt more often miss. I'd say a good half of the stories I concluded once I finished weren't worth reading or I skipped to the next midway, because they were too heavy-handed and didactic or confusing, even incoherent or just plain boring. Almost another third of the stories were okay--just okay. Nothing that really stood out as memorable at all. Finally, there were five stories that I did like:

1) "Madam Butterfly" by James P. Hogan - dealing with the "butterfly effect" I thought this was one of the very few stories worth reading for its own sake with strong storytelling, not simply a libertarian polemic.

2) "Early Bird" by Gregory Benford - this one stood out as the one work of old fashioned hard science fiction dealing with sophisticated scientific concepts and featuring one of the rare strong and believable female characters in the book. (There was only one female author in the anthology. As the editor condescendingly put it, McElroy was only "babe" he was able "to talk between the covers." She contributed a rather lackluster poem rather than a story.)

3) "Tyranny" by Poul Anderson - Anderson has written a lot of science fiction I have loved. He was one of only a handful of standouts in another theme anthology of original stories I read recently, Dangerous Visions. His story there, "Eutopia" was so much better written, with a strong literary style, while "Tyranny" suffered from infodump and seemed clunky in comparison. But I did appreciate that this story dealt with the price you pay for freedom--that there is no such thing as utopia. The most thought-provoking story in the book.

4) "The Hand You're Dealt" by Robert J. Sawyer - I enjoyed this as a well-written noirish hard-boiled science fiction mystery.

5) "The Performance of a Life-Time" by Arthur Byron Cover - Memorable like "Tyranny" for examining one possible weakness of a free society and with a clever twist.

That's not enough though. I liked the above stories--only a quarter of the whole, but I didn't love them. I have loved stories by authors included in the book--particularly stories and novels by Poul Anderson, Ray Bradbury (yes, that one, of Fahrenheit 451 fame), James P. Hogan and Robert Anton Wilson. Bradbury and Wilson provided undistinguished poems, and though Anderson and Hogan contributed two of the best stories in the anthology, I don't think either of those stories are examples of the best they're capable of. Recommended to fans of libertarian science fiction only--and by no means do I think even they would find this book a standout in the subgenre.

[T.Z. Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I heard about this collection composed of science fiction stories incorporating themes of libertarianism, I was desperate to read it. But the book was out of print and difficult to find. So I was ecstatic when I found a hardcover copy at a used book sale at a local library for $1. Like any collection, there were hits and misses, but unfortunately the collection as a whole did not meet my sky-high expectations. It is still a great idea for a collection (libertarian science fiction stories), and I would like to see a new version (I may just do it myself.). The best stories from Free Space were “Demokratus” by Victor Koman, a satirical critique of democracy on an alien planet where citizens must vote on everything, illustrating how that strips everyone’s freedom through mob rule, and “The Hand You’re Dealt” by Robert J. Sawyer, a sci-fi noir murder mystery set in a future where people’s futures are predicted based on their genetics.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from June 24, 2000