Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #4 of the Vorkosigan series
Introduction
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold is book four of Vorkosigan series. They published the book fourth in the series but the events happen two hundred years before the earlier books, so it is possible to read this book first. GalacTech assigns Engineer Leo Graf to the Cay Habitat at the farthest edge of inhabited space. He came to the habitat to teach space workers but becomes involved in his students’ struggles with the company supervisors of GalacTech. Leo must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students.
Summary
In Falling Free, space engineer Leo Graf arrives at the Cay Habitat to teach his short course on advanced welding and non-destructive testing. His students are called quaddies. Quaddies are genetically engineered humans designed to work in free-fall. They were created by the recently deceased Chief of the Project, Dr. Cay. Leo meets his new boss, Bruce Van Atta, the current Chief of the Project and Leo’s former student. Leo’s best quaddies student is Tony. Tony has a quaddie girlfriend Claire and their infant son, Andy. After talking to GalacTech psychologist Dr. Sondra Yei and to Bruce, Leo realizes that GalacTech is using the quaddies as slaves in a high-tech disguise.
When Bruce changes assignments in the habitat which mains that Tony and Claire will be separated, Tony and Claire plan to escape the habitat. They get Silver, another quaddie, to help them stowaway on a shuttle to the surface. Bruce is preoccupied with the inspection tour of GalacTech Operations VP Apmad. Leo and Sondra find out Tony and Claire are missing and try to get to them before Bruce finds out. Bruce and Apmad consider terminating the Cay Habitat project, but Leo realizes that the solution is an engineering problem. He plans a daring escape for the quaddies and the experience changes him.
Recommendation
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold is a fun self-contained space opera romp. Leo Graff and his quaddie friends are easy to like and to root for. The science is believable, and it’s interesting that the solution was an engineering problem. The biggest issue in the story is the villains. Bruce and Dr. Curry are to one dimensional. Their focus is to defeat Leo and the quaddies at all costs, logic not applied. I will continue to read the Vorkosigan series. The first three books are about Miles Vorkosigan’s parents and the rest of the series is about him. They published this novel in Analog magazine in four parts; December 1987, mid-December 1987, January 1988, and February 1988. I kept the magazines for 31 years unread. I’m glad I read the story now but wish I had read it back then.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1234847.Falling_Free
A similar book in the space opera category is Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. This is the link to my review.
A similar book I have read in the Hard Science Fiction category is All Systems Red by Martha Wells. This is a link to my review.